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The Rusty Crown
The Rusty Crown 6

The Rusty Crown 6

Jaded broke the silence, rupturing the quiet air with her determined voice. "Let's first run some tests on you. We want to see your proficiency in the Incarnation." The night unfolded before me, the promise of settling my mother's debt lingering in the air like a light distinguishing itself in the darkness. I nodded in agreement, the commitment to my mother's safety guiding each step I took.

I stood up, promptly following Jaded to where she pointed. "You can sit here. Viper will take care of you," she indicated a chair, and I settled in, eager for the next step that would shape my destiny. Next to me, a burly man known as Viper prepared to conduct the tests.

"This will hurt a bit, so try not to make any noise," Viper warned, his dry and raspy voice hissing the words. With my sleeve rolled up, the scar on my arm was revealed, an eternal mark from the night a lightning struck my room when I was only 11. Surprisingly, Viper, Jaded, and the others present seemed intrigued by the scar. "When did you get this scar, Rev?" Jaded inquired, approaching.

"When I was 11. Is that a problem?" I replied, a hint of suspicion lingering in the air. Jaded shook her head negatively. Before I could anticipate what was to come, I felt a sharp sting in my arm. A sensation of numbness and dizziness took hold of me, obscuring my vision. The real world faded away, and once again, I plunged into the depths of my dreams, or rather, nightmares.

The familiar surreal landscape unfolded before me. Thousands of silent moans echoed, merging with the mist that enveloped me, dragging me into the unknown void. The towering wall, sinister and grinning, awaited my arrival, as always. "I missed you. How is it here in the void?" I murmured to the man on the wall, a grotesque figure that had accompanied me since childhood. As usual, he remained silent, his expression undisturbed by the words I poured.

"You're quite dull every time. You never say anything, ever since I was a child." I floated towards the giant eyes of the wall, challenging its usual indifference. "I managed to settle my mother's debt, you know? You could at least celebrate with me, blockhead." However, the wall remained impassive, its silence echoing in the vastness of the void.

The transition between reality and dream was like a chaotic dance, where I was a mere spectator, dragged by invisible chains. The man on the wall, my nightmare companion, remained an enigma, his intentions and meaning hidden in the shadows of my subconscious. While floating in the void, I waited, anxious for some answer that never came.

My body seemed to be pulled by an invisible force. "Again, here we go," I heard a distant voice, but before I could fully comprehend the situation, my eyes met those of the man on the wall. A sense of despair enveloped me when I realized I was trapped, unable to free myself from that penetrating gaze. "What the hell? Are you really alive?" my words echoed in the darkness, but there was no response. The mouth of the man on the wall opened, and an irresistible force began to pull me towards it.

"What the hell is this? Are you really alive?" I shouted, feeling myself being forcibly drawn towards the wall, as if absorbed by it. The connection that linked me to the real world was unraveling, and finally, I was swallowed by the ominous figure of the wall. Darkness surrounded me, a tumultuous transition between dream and reality.

I opened my eyes slowly, finding myself back in the chair. I observed my surroundings, my smile, identical to that of the wall, forming on my face. With a voice echoing with a strange melody, I uttered, "So, what do you want, contacting me so early?" My expression was calm, yet it was evident that I was no longer Aidan. An unknown entity inhabited my body, and my gaze met the bewildered faces of the five people present. My mind was now under the control of something beyond my understanding.

Jaded was the first to break the silence. "Sir, I apologize for waking you up so early, but we have issues. We need to advance our assault; the other 6 vessels have been killed or captured, leaving only 3 more." I sighed deeply, absorbing the gravity of the situation, and rose from the chair, feeling the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. "This vessel is not ready yet, and its progenitor has not completed her work."

I walked towards the display of the large holocube, my steps echoing in the spacious room. "What are the current data on Pomodoro?" I inquired, without taking my eyes off the panel. The blonde-haired girl, Whisper, approached, bringing with her an aura of mystery. "We are expediting measures, but we don't have enough spies, sir."

"Did you think it would be a good idea to contact my vessel and awaken him so early? His incarnation hasn't even been developed yet." I let out a frustrated sigh, bringing my hand to my head in exasperation. "We can apply your own Incarnation to you," suggested Jaded, presenting an alternative.

My heart raced at the risky proposal. "You know this vessel is not ready. After injection, my consciousness would completely disappear, and I would merge with him permanently." I faced Jaded with seriousness. "Do it, but take care of him throughout the process until he reaches the desired age. Don't leave his side, and convince him to go to Pomodoro as soon as possible. As for the others, they should wake up soon too." I concluded, heading to the bed and plugging the wire into my arm once again.

Upon opening my eyes, my body felt heavier, and my mind, shrouded in more shadows. I stared at my own reflection on the wall, questioning what I was. "What am I?" I asked, seeking understanding. For the first time, I received an answer, or something close to it. "You... you are part of something you shouldn't understand now. You are me, or at least something like that. I didn't want you to find out now." The face on the wall uttered enigmatic words that reverberated in the space. "Find out what?" I persisted, staring at my own reflection. "Who we are, and why we exist." The answer, complex and unsettling, hung in the air, leaving me bewildered.

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"So tell me, is it unfair for my life to turn upside down without an explanation?" I poured my indignation into the echoing space. "I don't remember everything, but I... you, are part of a small life extension experiment, call it what you will. They used my DNA, and we created you, injecting my mind, or part of it, into you." The truth was revealed, unraveling the intricate web that entangled me. "It's complex, but all I can tell you is that it was necessary. My... no. Your past needs to be resolved, and for that, I needed to extend my life. That's why you exist." The revelation shook the foundations of my understanding.

I floated in the void as my body was pulled, and my reflection on the wall slowly disappeared until it vanished completely. I returned to reality, with my eyes open, staring at the ceiling of the old room. The impact of the truth echoed in me, and I felt the weight of duality: the shared existence between me and the man on the wall. The future stretched before me, carrying the burden of revelation and the uncertainty of an intertwined destiny.

A sigh escaped my lips, betraying the whirlwind of thoughts swirling in my mind. Seated in the chair, the spacious room around me seemed to shrink, suffocating me with the weight of revelations. I disconnected the wire from my arm, feeling a slight tingling where the connection had been.

I walked aimlessly towards my belongings on the chair. My staff and balaclava seemed like distant objects, disconnected from my immediate reality. I picked them up, almost instinctively, as the fog of bewilderment hung over me. Returning to the exit, each step felt like a burden, a walk on unfamiliar and treacherous terrain.

I didn't know what to say, how to react. The recent revelations were an earthquake in my world, shaking the foundations of who I thought I was. I couldn't articulate words or even fully understand the meaning of the existence that had been revealed. I was an experiment, a life extension, a mix of DNA and consciousness. The past I knew was not mine but something woven by other hands.

The door opened before me, revealing the deserted hallway of that place that now seemed stranger than ever. The sound of my footsteps echoed, a soundtrack to my own disconcertion. The staff in my hands was not just a physical object; it was an anchor point in a world that was unraveling.

I walked through the facilities, thoughts swirling like a whirlwind. The balaclava concealed my face, but it couldn't hide the confusion bubbling behind those eyes. Lights blinked above me, creating dancing shadows in the silent corridors. Every corner, every door, carried the burden of a secret, a truth that I had barely scratched.

Upon reaching the outside, the night enveloped me like a dark cloak. Stars twinkled, oblivious to the storms shaking my interior. The city before me, New Eden, rose like a monument to the complexity of life that I tried to understand. The staff in my hand felt like an extension of my own quest for stability, something tangible to anchor my being amidst uncertainty.

I walked through the streets, following an automatic route, lost in thoughts. Every face I crossed, every building I circled, became part of a surreal landscape. Pomodoro and New Eden were at war, but the real battle was within me. I was a pawn in a game that I had barely begun to comprehend.

The night breeze caressed my face, a fleeting touch of normalcy in a world crumbling. My steps led me to the highest point of the city, a panoramic view that, under normal circumstances, would have provided me peace. However, I looked down at the city, and all I saw was a tangle of question marks.

I sat on an edge, watching the city lights flicker. Each one of them was a story, a path, a life that continued, indifferent to my own tumultuous journey. The staff lay beside me, a silent reminder that even in the midst of confusion, there were tangible elements I could lean on.

The war between Pomodoro and New Eden now seemed like a secondary conflict. My life was intertwined with mysteries and enigmas, and I had barely begun to unravel the surface. As the stars witnessed my silence, I reflected on my own existence—a crossroads of intertwined destinies.

The solitude of the void stretched before me, an abyss of uncertainties and unsettling discoveries. I stared at the stars, as if seeking solace or answers to the tangle of truths that had been revealed to me. The silence of the void was deafening, reflecting the turmoil unfolding within me.

My mind, a battlefield between what I believed to be true and the truth emerging like a relentless storm. The revelations had torn the roots of my identity, leaving me adrift in a sea of doubts. Sitting atop the building, my legs swung over the void, I struggled between the weight of the unknown and the urgency of decision.

Staring into the distance to the ground, a voice whispered the temptation of surrender. For a moment, I entertained the idea of ending it all there, allowing the void that surrounded me to become the final embrace. Every thought, every emotion, converged towards a dark precipice, where the unknown awaited.

However, before I could take the decisive step towards the ultimate unknown, the city was shaken by a new wave of explosions. The distant roar of bombs echoed through the surroundings, cutting through the silence of the void. More Pomodoro explosions, this time reaching the limits of the dome, danced on the horizon.

The impact of the explosions echoed like distant thunder, reverberating through the rooftop where I stood. Unsettled, I was thrown backward by the force of the blast. The world spun around me, and my body met the cold concrete of the roof, while dust and debris floated in the air.

Amidst the chaos, I realized that my own inner struggle was a small fraction of a much larger conflict. Pomodoro and New Eden, two forces colliding in a power play that transcended personal narratives. As the sound of explosions continued to resonate, the urgency to make a decision intensified.

I rose from the ground, eyes still fixed on the stars but now with a newfound determination. The void would not be my end; instead, it would be my battlefield. Every explosion, every tremor, fueled the spark of resistance within me. I didn't know who I was, but I was willing to find out.

I walked to the edge of the building, not to plunge into the abyss, but to confront the unknown that stretched before me. The chaos below continued, the lights of New Eden flickering like distant stars in a turbulent sky. The staff in my hands became my link to reality, a tangible extension of my uncertain journey.

The city was now a stage for a chaotic dance between explosions and shadows. Pomodoro unleashed its fury upon New Eden, and I was at the epicenter, oscillating between the desire to uncover the truth and the need to take a stance in the unfolding conflict.

I decided to descend from the building, face the chaos, and embrace the uncertainties that awaited me. Each step was a promise to my own rebirth, a journey in search of answers, even if they were hidden at the core of my existence.

The night continued to unfold, witnessing the clash between invisible forces. I, a question mark in the vast night sky, advanced towards the unknown with a newfound courage. The void, once my adversary, now became the stage where I would write my own story.