9 [Replacement]

[Medical Analysis v0.2 has detected fluctuating vital signs, initiating 001 Body Scan]

Haley groaned as he opened his eyes, he was back in the pure white space that he'd been told was his Mental Space. 'I'm alive?'

He couldn't feel any pain fortunately which was one of the benefits of being in the Mental Space he assumed, he was cut off from his body entirely right now; Haley took a minute to gather his thoughts before taking a deep breath, even if he didn't need to, it gave him some sense of reassurance that he was still alive.

[That analysis is incorrect, technically only your mind is currently alive – courtesy of 001, your consciousness has been saved in the Data Sphere and is currently existing within your body.]

Haley felt a cold chill run through his body as he read the text, 'So I'm only half-alive? 001, or whatever this thing actually is, saved me?' Haley sat down and questioned his situation, despite his attempts to stay calm this was outside of what anyone could call a 'normal' situation, "Is… Can we revive my body?" He asked slowly, his future hinged on the following response.

The seconds passed quickly but they began to feel like hours as he waited for a response, it was finally ten seconds later that the familiar black text began to write in the air once more.

[There's two ways.]

"How?" He jumped up in excitement and questioned, in his heart he was willing to pay any price as long as he was given a second chance, 'I finally know who's been fucking with me these years! I can't just die like this…' He gritted his teeth and prepared himself for any conditions.

[The first: Replace the brain with the Data Sphere, the User will become the Data Sphere and the Data Sphere will become the User.]

If Haley was in his physical body, he had a feeling his face would've been pale as he read what he was being told, "And the second?" He asked cautiously, if the first was so harsh then he couldn't help but start to imagine the conditions of the second.

[Second: Become the Data Sphere, your body will be the Data Sphere.]

The second option was short and simple, yet its implications were huge, 'So it's either giving up my body or replacing my brain with a machine? Is there even a choice here?' He asked himself bitterly, he would rather exist within his own body than float around as a sphere.

"Are there any others that you're not telling me?" He asked, but as expected.

[Your authority is too low to access this knowledge.]

'As expected.' There was definitely more than a few ways for him to regain his body without losing anything that he would probably come to regret but 001 was probably giving him the options which brought itself the most benefits and the worst part about it was that he had no other choice than to allow it to do so or let himself die.

Desperately before he finalised his decision, he asked a simple question, "Why can't you just put my consciousness back?"

[Your brain is already dead.]

"Hahaha, of course it is." He laughed coldly as he stared at the black text, his tone was bitter and reluctant but there was nothing he could do to fight what he was about to do next.

'Dammit, isn't it just replacing my brain? Is my revenge not worth this simple thing?!' He asked himself furiously, the last bit of hesitation disappeared in his heart as he steeled his gaze.

"Do it. Replace my brain!" He said resolutely and quickly in case he changed his mind, maybe it was his imagination but he felt as if he heard a faint laughter in the distance; 'Maybe I did, it feels like I'm making a deal with the devil – am I gaining something or losing my humanity?' He asked himself with a sigh as he waited.

He didn't have to wait long, a short five minutes later 001 returned with surprising news:

[Brain replaced, starting consciousness transference.]

'That was… fast, too fast considering how long it took for it to implant something in my head the first time, did… did it replace my brain beforehand?' A terrifying thought crossed his mind, if he was sharing his body with an equally intelligent being that could make decisions without his consent then… 'Am I really going to own my own body?'

Before he could think any further however he felt himself 'wake-up' which unlike the first time felt more forceful, he had no control over it this time and it felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of hot water on his face and it was now somehow burning his head – he felt like screaming but he couldn't move his mouth or any part of his body in fact.

He couldn't even open his eyes; all he could feel was the pain. 'You'd think I'd have become numb to it by now…' But despite that he wanted to shrivel up into a ball and die, he even felt as if he should've just let himself die.

Slowly, after an unknown amount of time, the pain began to fade and it was replaced by his senses seemingly coming back 'online' which was in actuality what had happened, the moment he opened his eyes the first thing he saw in place of his HUD was the familiar black text in front of him.

[Sense Online, Body Rebooted.]

He quickly put two and two together, if the sphere had replaced his brain then it meant that it had also connected with all of his nerves which in turn would've connected it to the HUD, 'Considering the HUD is connected and has Medical Analysis v0.2 Installed then… did it connect with both of them fully?' Haley didn't know whether these changes would benefit him or not…

Haley took a moment to get his bearings before opening fully opening his eyes, he was alone on a bleak desolate landscape. Mountains of dirt towered around him in the distance, from a quick glance he could see the outside of a City Dome which is what he assumed to be his home.

"So, he really did it." Haley shook his head and laughed heartily; he was outside the city but alive – that was all that counted.

'It's fortunate that Lunuva's atmosphere isn't toxic to humans, if it wasn't for the violent meteor storms there wouldn't be a need for the domes.' Haley thought, he knew there were some 'tribes' that chose to wander outside the city because they hated the restriction of freedom of living inside a dome.

He took a deep breath and couldn't help but agree with their views, the air out here was much better than inside the cities. It felt fresher, despite the few meteor craters he could see littering the ground around him and the burnt landscape it had an eerie beauty to it.

'Well, guess I better start walking!' Haley thought enthusiastically as he began to stroll at a leisurely pace, his enthusiasm was fueled by his sole desire for revenge.

But for now, he had to survive.

End of Prologue Arc

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