"3... 2.. 1."

Kane felt the tugging grow in strength, as if he was going to be consumed by it. And then there was nothing.

All sensations disappeared.

Everything around him turned into nothing. It all just a white expanse. And he stood alone. Future Kane had disappeared as well. And then it began.

His form seemed to spread in all directions infinitely, as if reality itself was glitching. Suddenly, as if stacking images, countless forms of individuals started to overlap and merge with his lonesome form in the middle, forming a mesmerizing mosaic of existence. Each version was slightly different, and they shimmered with diverse experiences and potentials. These silhouettes of the alternate selves, like cosmic jigsaw pieces, shifted and converged into his existence.

As the merging intensified, it was as if a whirlwind of memories and knowledge were unleashed into him. Echoes of laughter, triumph, and sorrow cascade like waves. He becomes a nexus for all forms merging into him, their potential and beings combining into him, absorbed by him.

This union of consciousness overwhelmed his senses. He felt it all. All of their lives passed through him in an instant. And he knew all there was to know about them. Not only about Future Kane. He had absorbed a huge number of alternate selves of himself. And now he had gained all the benefits and traits from these alternate selves.

As the process started to end, the euphoria he had felt, as if his whole existence was being raised a level, started disappearing. It was like being on a drug, as Kane wanted it to never go away. But a newfound restraint within himself made him straighten out quickly. He had learnt countless secrets and various knowledge from all paths of life, so he also knew what his next course of action had to be.

He had to quickly start challenging the reality stages now.

After what felt like hours, Kane finally opened his violet eyes. He looked around him, at the white expanse. Then he stared at the black drive in his hand and chuckled.

"You were worried that it was not possible for me to absorb you. Which is why you prepared this drive. But now that I have all your memories, I don't think I need it."

He was not talking to anyone, just stating his thoughts. But a familiar voice interrupted him then, "I was also not expecting that I would be able to retain my consciousness if you successfully absorbed me. But here I am, a ghost struck to you now."

The cheeky voice made Kane smile. From the memories, he knew that the future Kane's status was a bit unusual. He wasn't exactly dead. But without a body, he couldn't be said to be alive either. The closest answer would be sort of a temporal anomaly. Due to the merger, traveling to the past had made him a temporal anomaly. So naturally absorbing him would be different from absorbing other alternate selves of him.

"But you never mentioned that you had already absorbed so many other alternate selves before. I imagine that amongst countless Kane's out there, there shouldn't be anyone who could match me. Other than those versions who exist within the higher civilisations."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"That is exactly my thought. So let's get out of here now and be done with your dream stage. Also, until you make contact with the stronger versions of us, don't call out to me. I can feel myself draining talking to you, so I am gonna hibernate now. My current status is even weirder than when I was a temporal ghost. It's truly marvelous..." and his voice trailed off, like he had dozed off mid sentence.

Kane was surprised at his words, but agreed to his request. Not that he liked having a ghost speak in his mind, but having someone experienced to guide him would have been nice. But maybe he did not need that, since he had all these memories to help him.

The absorption had changed him at a fundamental level. The way it worked was such that only the best was picked and reflected in the final merged version. And while he would retain his identity, he was also no longer just the Kane of past. It was difficult to put into words. But he would continue to walk on this road from now. Becoming the only Kane in this universe.

He again looked at the white expanse around him and then called out, "GUIDE, take me back to the dream stage now."

Without any response, the white void trembled once before he disappeared from there. And with him, the white color also faded, nothingness returning to the void space as everything turned dark like outer space.

...

The fast velocity of the fighter jet once again enveloped him, as Kane adjusted in his seat. The black hole, which was the last scene he remembered before disappearing was no longer around him. He immediately checked his location and confirmed that he was not far from where he had first located the dragon.

He remembered what his last thought had been before future Kane whisked him away.

This was all an illusion. A very advance technology that could not be detected by even the best surveillance machines he had on his jet. But he was sure of that. The dragon and the black hole had both been illusions. And what were illusions best at? Hiding something.

"GUIDE, update me on the scenario and anything else that I need to know of."

There was no response for a few seconds. And then, as if finally reconnecting with him, he heard the static voice again.

|*Congratulations, Resident Kane, on absorbing 1024 alternate selves. Being the first on your planet to surpass the count of thousand, I will reward you by raising your authority a little. Getting back to the topic of your dream stage, two days have passed since you fell into the illusion, having lost contact with your station. The objective has since been updated to the following:*|

Scenario Type: Individual Objective Clearance

Scenario Brief:

You have discovered the possibility of an advanced illusion technology, which has entrapped you within an elaborate and deceptive scenario. To regain your connection with the station and unveil the truth behind this illusion, locate the core of this technology, escape the hold of the illusion and successfully report your findings to the ground station.

Mission Details:

Objective 1: Safely navigate through the illusion's treacherous twists and turns to reach core of this technology.

Objective 2: Once you have arrived at the specified location, conduct meticulous observations and collect essential data on the illusion's functioning.

Objective 3: Escape the hold of the illusion or turn it off and then report back your findings to the ground station.

Outcome:

Successfully escape the illusion and report back your findings to the ground station.

A familiar window popped open in front of him. As expected, the objectives had now changed. He also noticed that the GUIDE did not mention anything about his incident with future Kane. He would talk to it about that later though. Right now he had to be done with this stage.

Wasting no time, Kane handled the jet towards a direction in random, a plan already forming in his mind to complete his job as soon as possible.