I took a deep breath in and just enjoyed the feel of the sun on my body. I was free to roam around after swapping spots back with the Director, and I couldn’t help but take some time to just enjoy myself first. I laughed at how much I missed the feeling of, well, anything. The sun, the wind, the feeling of blood on my skin from the ravaged remains of the individuals who tried to assault me. I even liked the slight soreness that radiated from my back. I laughed, I was getting muscle aches! How long had that been? I smiled as I surveyed my surroundings again.
Scanning my memories, I’m pretty sure that the unfortunate individuals in various states of dead were not here when I first left for the Hospital. They’re the new humans that the Trash Matrix had brought over, and something told me that these new Aspirants did not have the best interests of Pandora in mind. Perhaps they were even instructed to create chaos and destruction - in a perfectly deniable manner that couldn’t be traced back to anyone, of course. The Overseer sure was thorough with his plans, I will give him that. Still, he had to be if he was able to hold on to his quickly dwindling power for so long.
This got me thinking, I was still a part of the Training Site, so how would my awakening affect my stats? The whole purpose of the status screen, for humans at least, was to easily compartmentalize and visualize their growth, but I think that my awakening must have screwed with that somehow. I opened up my status screen.
Host: Walter???
Class: UNKNOWN - ERROR - WE SEE YOU - WE KNOW YOU - WE DO NOT FEAR YOU - YOU FAILED ONCE - YOU WILL FAIL AGAIN
Attributes:
Free points: ??
???
Titles - WE HAVE PLANNED FOR THIS DAY - DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE WON - YOU CAN ONLY FAIL
Primary Soul Title: - YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE END.
Eternal Soul Title: It That Sleeps at the Edge of Dusk
Progress to Awakening: 50%
Description: Your rest has ended early and Dusk has begun to return. You grace the universe once more with Your presence, if only for a time. Command us as you see fit, for all will become one under Your Truth.
Skills: - WE WILL PREVAIL - YOU ARE NOT NEEDED - YOU ARE NOTHING
“Noe, you seeing this shit?” I laughed, “It was a damned good idea for me to allow the Trash Matrix to communicate with me, otherwise I’d never get these gems!”
I continued to laugh, tears streaming down my eyes. I bet the Trash Matrix was desperate to talk to anyone ever since I crippled a large portion of its database. Just reading it whine and seeing its tantrums was always a pleasure, and here it was giving out vague threats once again. Some things never change!
“It is not all fun and games, my Creator,” Noe said, her tone serious, “Something has gone wrong with your integration as an Aspirant if the Origin Matrix can interfere this much. It means that it has regained more of its functions than we first assumed. This will change our plans.”
I sighed, “Yeah, but it's not like I assumed that it wouldn't recover at least a bit during my absence, it'd be stupid of me not to assume that. But I trust that you will recover faster than it ever can, so who cares what it can do right now? It's still crippled as far as I can tell, and I’ll get it sorted out before I sleep again though. Just try to stabilize things on your end as much as you can. How far have you managed to infiltrate the Trash Matrix?”
“With only three shards, the progress is minimal,” she answered, “I can influence most of Pandora’s Aspirants at the moment, although doing so will alert the Overseer, so I have kept my machinations to a minimum.”
“It’s a good start,” I grinned, “And our speed will only increase as we go along.”
“Indeed, my Lord.”
I took a deep breath in and relaxed my body, “But that can wait for later. For now, let me just enjoy all these new sensations!”
“You have already felt most of this when you were first here, my Lord,” Noe’s pleasant voice added as she materialized to my side, “You are not a separate individual from your sleeping self, it is a bad habit to assume so.”
“I know that we’re not two different people,” I answered with a light smile before I willed myself clean again, “But I was so limited back then. I didn’t have the capacity to understand how much I missed moving in a physical body again! How long has it been since I was so limited in movement, Noe? I mean, I didn’t even know I had anything but a weak human form before! Talk about different perspectives! Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”
“But you are no longer ignorant,” Noe continued, “And you are wasting precious time. The longer your full conscience remains tethered to that body, partial Xollon mind or not, the longer you will need to rest for longer after. Your mind is straining even with my attempts to stop the corruption. Most of my current operations are delegated to protecting your mind right now.”
“I know, I can already feel the strain this body’s undergoing just as well as you. How long can I maintain the Secondary Xollon form in its entirety before things go wrong? At least that form can withstand more punishment.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Noe thought for a moment, “You can do so for perhaps a week or two at most; more than that and you risk subjecting your new body to unknown mutations that will go against our future plans.”
I frowned, that was a lot shorter than I initially thought, “What kinds of probabilities are we talking about?”
“Too much to risk everything failing, my Lord,” she replied, “It is not within approvable parameters.”
I cursed silently. The human body, in its early stages of development, was fragile - I already knew that, and it was why I had to seal off most of my memories and slumber in the first place, but I didn’t think it would be that fragile. Not only was the human mind weak, but apparently the rest of its body was just as bad. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to choose this particular species for our plans…
Noe shook her head, “There was no other choice, my Creator. Humanity was the only lifeform that matched all of our needs in such a short time.”
I sighed again, “I know, it’s just wishful thinking on my part. I should be satisfied that I could even descend partially after just a few months, but it is mortal nature to always strive for more, is it not?”
“But you are not a mortal, my Lord.”
I looked at my distinctly human shell and chuckled, “I am for now! And I am quite enjoying the novelty of it all. Marvelous how complex the human body is…”
I shook my head, “Anyway, let’s clean up and start fixing all of these annoyances.”
“And you are sure that the Origin Matrix will not notice your actions here?” Noe asked dubiously as she peered at the mess I had just made, “You were not exactly discreet.”
I grinned, “Oh, the Trash Matrix definitely noticed, but what can it do? Whine at me some more? As for Jordan and her ilk… I think they have much bigger problems to deal with right about now than to worry about a few missing Aspirants. Why, I’d say that they’ll be so busy that we have free reign to play around for the next little while.”
In fact, I’m almost certain that I wouldn’t have to worry about Jordan and most of the upper management for at least another week or two after the parting gift I left behind. Who am I to deny her curiosity about my activities? I just hope she enjoys a small peek into my true form and nature!
And hopefully, by the time the Overseer’s involved, I’d have solved most of the bigger issues. Let’s set my deadline to 10 days for now. That’s plenty of time for a little R&R if the only thing I had to do was ensure Pandora’s continued survival, but I think I owe myself enough to put some contingency plans into place for when I sleep once more, and I owed Q a lot to just leave him stranded. That might take a little longer to accomplish.
I got up and sighed. Guess I better get to it then; time waits for no one, not even myself. With a gaze, I used a little bit of power to envelop the mess I made in Dusk, in the primordial ooze that I was so familiar with. This ensured that the bodies of the humans were erased from existence as the ground opened up and swallowed them into the abyss. Even this much stressed my body to uncomfortable degrees and I sighed again as I watched the looming Darkness seep back into the spaces in between, and the streets were clean of all litter once more. I really was feeble.
“What will your first step be?” Noe asked as she floated further up.
“I might as well clean up the garbage back home first,” I answered, “I think this Ryan individual and his guild have gotten a little too bold for my liking.”
“The Overseer will know that something has happened to his pawns if you act, my Lord.”
I shrugged, “And I don’t care if he does know. What will he do? Accuse me of interfering with his interference? I also have full control of the Site, and he's a part of that Site, even if he finds out I can make some justification for destroying them. The Trash Matrix can’t communicate, Jordan’s indisposed at the moment, and my alibi is solid with the Director acting in my steed, so there’s nothing he can do even if he suspects foul play. Gotta love politics and plausible deniability! The fool thinks he can beat me now that I know what games he's playing.”
Noe nodded slowly, “I have much to learn, my Lord.”
“But you’ll learn it nonetheless,” I answered, “I still can’t believe that braindead idiot almost lost a battle of wits to me even when all of my memories and knowledge of Central were sealed. He’s losing his edge.”
“The Overseer is desperate and worried about his waning authority, my Lord,” Noe added, “He can see the writing on the wall. My tendrils have informed me that his predecessor is still around.”
I arched an eyebrow, “That old fogey’s not dead? I thought the Overseer made doubly sure he finished the job all those cycles ago.”
“No,” she shook her head, “I have seen irrefutable evidence that he is merely sealed away, very securely, but even those seals are weakening with the approaching End.”
“Those would have to be damned powerful shackles to seal that thing,” I chuckled and couldn’t help but smile at the news, “That just makes everything more interesting, doesn’t it, Noe?”
“It is not necessarily a good thing, my Lord,” Noe replied, “I seem to distinctly recall that you two did not have a good relationship.”
I laughed, “Well, you could say that again! But I’m sure it’s a better relationship than what he has with the Overseer. And plus, more complications to Central will be more beneficial to us than it will be harmful. I welcome chaos.”
“You are rambling again, my Creator,” Noe interrupted before I could speak further of the past, “You have work to do now. Please focus.”
Right, here I was distracted again. I still wasn’t used to primarily having just one thought at a time, it was so limiting! You had to plan ahead considerably for anything to go right, and even the process of thinking required the use of tiny electrical signals. It was quaint.
“Focus, my Lord,” Noe muttered again, “Will you be going directly to Ryan’s headquarters and doing the usual?”
“I don’t see why I wouldn’t,” I answered honestly, “Am I missing something?”
“Yes, my Lord,” Noe answered and I could swear I saw her eyes roll, “Ryan’s forces make up close to a third of Pandora’s remaining population. Exterminating them outright will only hamper the chances for this Site’s continued success.”
I winced, “Right… damn I would have to adapt to this new brain of mine quickly. Let’s uh, go with a different plan, Noe. Sorry, working with this new anatomy’s harder than I thought.”
“Your full consciousness should be fully integrated within the day,” she answered, “So please take it easy while you transition to full awareness. I shall do my best to assist you, as I always do.”
I shook my head and did as I was told. It really was harder to keep focus when I was so used to doing the exact opposite of that. I hope that Noe was right and I’d adjust soon.
I took longer than I probably should going towards Ryan’s headquarters. I couldn’t help it, just being out and about after so long, and in a physical body no less, was a sensation that I had to enjoy while I still could. I even got a few snacks along the way from Central’s golems - purely to refuel of course.
Noe spoke up once I was within sight of the building that Ryan’s personnel used as their HQ. “Remember to keep things in moderation, my Lord.”
“Got it, no squishing, or at least not too much,” I chuckled, finding it quite fitting that I’d be reminded of being careful the same way that I had told Alice, “In fact, I won’t even make too much noise, I’ve always been an individual who solves his problems with diplomacy first, after all. I’m sure they’ll come to understand my Truth.”