Hybrid

As Neaf spoke, he awaited Adam's response with bated breath, feeling a mix of anxiety and anticipation. Adam regarded him with a gaze that mirrored the one Neaf had given himself when he first saw his reflection in the mirror. It was a look that seemed to carry a hint of pity, an emotion he was not accustomed to. Hatred or something else, but pity was not in his repertoire.

"Is that so?" Adam inquired, disbelief evident in his eyes as he looked at Neaf.

Neaf sighed, unsure of how to explain himself. He wanted to spill everything, but here he was in the hospital, soon to be transferred to an asylum if he spoke about it. Keeping quiet shouldn't be too difficult. It was better than being labelled a freak.

What was he going to tell them? That he was human and they were not? Or that he had woken up here because he had been beaten to death over money or for not sleeping with someone's girlfriend? It made no sense. He surely needed to be in an asylum before he himself believed he had lost his sanity.

"Tell us what's happening with our son. We're not here for a riddle," Alfred demanded, frustration evident in his voice.

"How can I make you understand? We don't have many human-AI hybrid children like Neaf, and this kind of issue has never arisen before," Adam truthfully replied.

"Human-AI son? Not just robots? Artificial intelligence robots?" Neaf exclaimed, rising from his chair and causing it to topple, splashing water onto his back. It felt like a cold shower. He wasn't human, nor was he a robot. He was the son of an AI robot. How had this come to pass? Even a robot wasn't trustworthy, so how could he be the son of AI? It was absurd. Death wasn't enough, bullying wasn't enough, parallel worlds weren't enough, and not being human wasn't enough. Now he was an AI robot, not even a full one, just the offspring of a human and an AI. What more could there be? Was he even alive, or was he experiencing some kind of hallucination?

Unbelievable. Nothing made sense. He didn't make sense. Neaf grabbed his hair, feeling frustration and a headache. Why couldn't God just end his life with minimal suffering? He had died in so much pain and still hadn't found peace. Instead, he had been given this life, not human, not anything.

Did anything even make sense?

He had so many questions, and there was no one who could answer them. The more they explained, the more he felt a lack of understanding.

"Neaf!!!"

Before he could comprehend anything further, he lost consciousness and fell to the floor. Adam, Alisa, and Alfred rushed towards him.

"Do something, my son," Alfred panicked, while Alisa began to cry.

They immediately carried Neaf to the stretcher, admitting him and placing a metal helmet on his head to check for any potential damage to his body.

"Please," Alisa begged as she held her husband's hand, watching her son connected to various machines.

"He will be fine, don't worry," Alfred tried to reassure his wife, though he himself was more panicked than anyone else could be. It was his son, who didn't remember them and had now lost consciousness.

"Both of you, please step outside. We need to conduct some tests. He is breathing, don't worry," Adam urged, trying to calm them down as more nurses and staff entered the room to manage the situation.

Before Alfred and Alisa could say anything, they were both pushed out of the room.

"I am surely breathing, motherfucker," Neaf tried to open his mouth to reply, as he was able to hear everything but couldn't move his body or do anything. He could feel everything. Every sound, everything.

"Someone has a stinky mouth," a voice reverberated through his ears.

Neaf tried to figure out who had just replied or if someone had heard him, because he surely wanted that.

"Who?" Neaf spoke again, lying completely still on the bed, where nobody could hear or see him doing anything.

"Your friend Axtral. You just forgot me in a few hours. Damn, you really create chaos in just a few hours without me."

As soon as the words fell into Neaf's ears, Axtral appeared in front of him. He was able to see all darkness and Axtral only, unconscious with his body, but conscious with his mind.

"Where did you vanish, huh? Why do you have to do this to me? I never did anything wrong to deserve this. Send me back, dead or alive, I care not," Neaf desperately replied.

"That's out of the syllabus, my dear Neaf, but maybe we can negotiate. What are you even going to do there? You're already dead," Axtral replied as he came close to Neaf and hovered in front of him.

Neaf just wanted to tear this little thing into pieces but couldn't even move his hands to do anything.

"You are in a lucid dream that I created for you, Neaf. You think you can do anything to me, just like you did before. If you try, I am leaving, and you're going to the asylum or maybe somewhere else," Axtral's eyes turned deep red.

Neaf shuddered. This little thing before had looked strange and not harmful, but seeing the blood-red eyes and the way he was talking and making faces, it was clear Neaf couldn't mess this up, or else he could be in serious trouble.

"Please, I'm begging you, tell me what you want from me," Neaf pleaded weakly.

Desperation coursed through his veins, consuming him.

"That's my boy. Didn't you always want to die and be reborn as something other than human? I fulfilled your wish . Just remember, Neaf, one wrong move from you, and it won't just be you who pays the price. This body and everyone around it will suffer. And as for you, I might send you back, but can you guarantee you'll be alive and won't return? The loop is no place to spend your entire life in,"