The future Kane looked at his alternate self and realized his thoughts. Unlike him, the kid was just a noob who was experiencing everything for the first time. So understanding this much, he knew it was time to shut up with his story. He raised his hand to get his attention. Now he had to properly lay out his deal, as this had to do with both of their survival as well.

"Okay, so this will be the last lecture on complex stuff from me. Let's get done with this so we can return to your dream stage and start preparing you for the reality stage real quick."

Young Kane nodded his head, readying himself to get hit by another train of facts about the universe and the merger that he was too noob to really make sense of.

"So the GUIDE should have mentioned this to you before, how no one really dies in the merger. And it's not technically wrong. But it's not the truth either. Absorption, as it sounds, means to physically absorb your alternate self. You would get all their traits, memories and everything. And this process of absorption will help you to strengthen yourself for when the universe completely merges itself with the countless other realities."

"But getting absorbed is not dying. Your countless alternate selves within you would still continue to exist. Like different skins in a game. And what I mean by "releasing me back" is to actually release me from yourself. If that makes sense to you. This information is something you would never learn until after the complete merger is over, or your authority is raised greatly. But releasing someone within you is the same as weakening yourself in the merged universe. So not everyone would choose to release their collected selves. Which is why I want to make a deal with you here. You will absorb me now, for all the info I am providing, and once the merger is done, you will release me. Is that good?"

Once he was done laying out his conditions, silence was once again regained in the white room. Young Kane closed his eyes and placed his head down on the table in front of him. He needed to think about all this information. But it was just too much. His mind felt like a black hole, as all the data was getting sucked into nothingness. He couldn't focus his thoughts. He wanted to just sleep now. A good nap right now could be the solution he was seeking and maybe when he wakes up, this would all just be a dream.

'You know, if we ever find ourselves in an apocalypse, just make sure to find me the first chance you all get. I am the expert in these kinds of situations, so I will make sure that each of us survives and lives the best life, even if it's a zombie apocalypse.'

A memory from a long back emerged from his mind, back when he used to spend hours and hours reading webnovels and fiction. How he would talk about the different plots and storylines with his gang, always fascinated by the world of fantasy. Building fantasies of his own or brainstorming about how he would act in different situations in a story.

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A large time of his childhood had been spent inside these stories. Inside these fantasy worlds, fighting monsters and finding treasures with his group of friends always all along him. And now, when he was finally here, the overwhelming feeling was consuming him. The weight of all that he had learned was drowning him.

He found himself as a speck in an infinite ocean. Just floating within a world of uncertainty and infinite possibilities.

A minute passed by. Seeing no movement from him, the future Kane thought that maybe his alternate self had fallen asleep. He thought about whether to wake him up or wait for a while, when the young guy stood up.

"Alright. There is no other option left it seems. You would have thought of all other possibilities before deciding to come to ask help from me. But I will also go through all the data within this drive to confirm your words. So absorbing you, how does that work? Do we have to do it now or wait for me till I reach the reality stage?"

Hearing him, future Kane knew that his alternate self had finally made up his mind. He felt satisfied about his decision as well, seeing the person he chose finally showing some determination.

"After my reality got invaded by the Neimun civilization, everyone of us was caught unaware. Most of us got obliterated right away. I don't know how they were able to open a gate to another reality, or why they chose to destroy our reality. I was caught in that storm. Destroyed almost instantly. In the small instance before I was obliterated, I decided to take a risk. I sent myself into the past."

"Time travel during the merger is a great risk, almost a certain death. But without my body and only my mind traveling to the past, I somehow managed to survive. Or at least that's what I think."

"I don't know what happened to my world, but my current self is just like a ghost or a soul. No you have to absorb me, but you don't have to actually do anything. We both exist on a different frequency, but if we can reach a similar frequency, one party can absorb the others. As if it's a natural process. Since I'm stuck without a body in a dream like stage, you will only be able to absorb me in here. But first we have to establish a link."

"Doesn't this also mean I can absorb others in the dream stage as well, if I find a frequency that can match their?" Kane couldn't help but ask that.

"No, you can't. And I won't explain why, as you will understand once you absorb me. Now give me your hand. I have to establish a link before you can absorb me and we can go back to your stage."

His voice was firm when he stated that it was not possible to absorb during the dream stage, so Kane didn't question him further on that. He brought his palm forward to match his alternate self's outstretched hand.

'SMACK'

Instead of holding his hand like he was expecting, sort of like a ritual, future Kane gave him a high-five. Then he just stared at him in silence, a mysterious smile on his face.

"Are you sure that was it? Don't tell me you were fooling me about all this? Wait, are you going to absorb me instead?" Immediately, the worst scenario possible came to his mind.

His overthinking getting the better of himself, Kane started voicing his thoughts aloud in a go, not sure what was happening when he felt it.

A tug at his chest, as if a black hole had replaced his heart, started pulling at his whole body. Scared at what was happening, he stared at future Kane, who smiled back at him. It was a smile of relief.

"I was worried it was impossible for me, but I guess we are lucky. You will understand everything in 5..... 4.... 3... 2.. "