17 Kezal

'Third match,' spawned, '-another will die to my hands.' DLS-40 on the back, the match began without delay. Crouched behind a broken-wall with the bridge facing down the middle, '-pull the trigger.' Dust lifted, *BANG,* [Player One 1 – 0 Laila]. Exploded instantly, bullet travel was toggled off. Instant travel, a pull without having to witness the scene that was to unfold.

[Restart]…[Three… Two… One…FIGHT!] '-it wouldn't be fair if I killed and did not know who I defeated. It's the burden I've chosen to bear.' Sat on the bike with pistol drawn, the vehicle accelerated with a gust of wind. Trailed with dust behind, the focus had turned to only one thing, victory.

'That's a girl,' RS-2 drawn, aimed whilst on the bike, *BANG,* faster than his opponent, [Player One 2 – 0 Laila].

'I'm fighting against a girl, one young to boot,' round restarted, '-I need to win,' dashed out into the open to have her spawn in sight, '-I knew it,' locked in, *BANG,* [Player One 3 – 0 Laila]

[Congratulations! Score 3-0. Total domination. Game ending in three… two… one…]

*Tsst,* the pod opened to face another. A crew of hazmat wearing workers came in with a stretcher. Tube-shaped masks stared both the girl and him. 'I killed,' silently stood with the body taken away, '-again…' twitched, '-why?' Placed onto the stretcher, the girl, with half of her face melted from de-virtualization, kept a smile. Peaceful with her remaining eye out of its socket.

"He did it," shrugged Hep, "-he amazes me. Look at the reaction time, toggling on Instant Travel effectively made him as good as pro-players. 0.129, 0.130, 0.128, those are good average scores. He's the perfect candidate."

"Y-yeah…" trailed off, Cherry faced out the window.

"It's a shame," at the door, "-the next D-game is tomorrow," the swinging of a light-bulb in the hallway made the shadow vary in size.

"What do you mean tomorrow?" asked with glare, "-is there something you have to say?" *poof,* a flickered screen came to a harsh end of smoke and noise.

"Listen," throwing an uninterested glare, "-you know full well why we host these D-games. That boy could have been a pro-C-sport player," shadowed by a forehead of which resembled metal crates, Hep's usual glare of anger lessened. A glimmer of the past forced a smile, "-if only I'd have met him sooner," mumbled and face harsh, a tip of the head later, the door closed.

"Pro C-sport player," peering out the window, '-do you have that much promise?' Taken away, cleaners walked into the room with mops and tired gazes. Left as if a statue, Sayer stood unknown of what to do. 'You killed the girl without mercy, Sayer,' lost in thought, they unknowingly locked eyes. Saddened to the point of sobbing, he visibly shook.

'Help me,' holding out a hand, the mind gave under-pressure.

"Killed or be killed…"

"Isn't that the convenient excuse…"

"No, it's the excuse for protecting Elise."

"He killed for Elise…"

"It was all for Elise…"

"What about those who died?"

"What about me?" familiar, the face of Hun hovered atop a coffin.

"What about me?" asked the second victim, "-I had dreams of being a C-sport player. How can you live without atoning, how can you dream of a peaceful life? You stole mine away, HOW DARE YOU."

"What about me?" in the middle of a perplexing dark space, a vacuum, "-I had so much to live for. An innocent child…"

"How will you atone?" said the hovering face of his mother.

"How will you atone?" said the dismembered body of his father.

"How will you atone?" lastly, Elise, "-how can you say you saved me. Killing to save another, you must atone," quiet, "-you must atone," louder, "-you MUST ATONE!" screeched, the vacuum cracked into total silence. No sight, no feeling, only auditory. Empty and devoid of thought, he floated from darkness to darkness. The perpetual question, perpetual insults, perpetual agony, perpetual hell…

[Host recognized: Player One Connected].

'What is this…' shattered as if a mirror, '-where am I?' a faint glimpse of a world beyond another. A foggy pod that plunged into another dimension that allowed the slaughter of another.

[Commence Match in Three… Two… One…FIGHT!]

'Isn't this manticore?' light, the body moved without conscious effort, 'DLS-40,' aimed and pulled. The scoreboard updated, [Player One 3 – 0 Laurence.]

[Congratulations! Score 3-0. Total domination. Game ending in three… two… one…]

'Who's the lady behind that foggy screen, she's always watching. Do I know her?' plunged yet again into total darkness, a state of abandonment. The cycle repeated day after day.

"Are you going to sleep forever?"

"Yes, sleep forever!"

"Don't ever wake up,"

"Devil of a human, heck, you��re not even human."

"Death will come soon; we'll make sure you die having killed us."

"Sayer, you will die."

"Death awaits."

"Die already."

"Why won't you die."

Far beyond the reaches of normality, the mind wandered from here to there with the voices of the deceased wishing misfortune.

"Cherry," stood against a window in a sterile laboratory, "-the experiment began faster than I anticipated," smiled Hep.

"Well, the D-game was put in place to find the next Kezal," she answered with a frown.

"One of the researchers suggested that in order to find the best test-subject; a game of death to break the host's mind. What better way than to have a little girl take the hit. Cherry, you planned this from the start. Getting close to him was a way to make sure the mind never had a chance to recover. Trauma is the easiest way into the subconscious – what better way to give the strongest feeling of all, love, attachment. Confusing and perplex, you didn't allow his mind to settle; forcing that much out resulted in a shut-down."

"I suppose," she stared blankly at a monstrous pod. One with countless tubes going inside the mind and body of Sayer. Test patient 05 was written across the device.

"It's a good thing he broke early. You did do the same act of passion to so many more prospecting candidates. Cherry, you're the heartless one," nodded, the man echoed down the empty hall.

'Heartless one,' hands-on the cold windowpane, '-I guess,' tears flowed onto the floor, '-sorry, Sayer. I'll make sure that Elise is taken care of,' sniffled, '-you said that there was no one to mourn your death,' opened to a changing room, '-well,' crouched on a bench, '-don't give me that crap,' whimpering filled the empty room.

"Ma'am," opened the door with a lady dressed in a tuxedo, "-your father has called for you."

"On my way," hiding the tears, they walked out of a dome-shaped building. One that had the logo of a leaf on its side. Held open by a butler, a large limousine drove out the compound and onto the road.

"Forgive my asking," interjected the lady, "-why were you crying just then?"

"It's none of your business," dodging the question, the scenery changed from laboratories and research institutes to one with skyscrapers in the distance. "Eden, 3 Kilometers North," was displayed on a screen of blue hue.

"Charlie, please take us to the mansion before we head to the office," spoken through the phone, the limo took a sharp left that gave onto a hill. Climbed for another few kilometers, mansions of varying sizes were built and barricaded all along the slope. Heavy surveillance, the further it drove, the more lavish and obnoxiously it grew.

Host to the most expensive mansion, gates the size of three to four meters high didn't allow one to glimpse inside. Opened automatically, the darkened road lit with many lights. A fountain to the right and a garden to the left, the center, a mansion reminiscent to olden Victorian style, lit with a thousand light. Stopped at the entrance, the door was opened by another retainer who stood with white gloves and tuxedo. Along the stairway and into the manor stood what could be described as an army of servants.

"Lady Elle, a bath has been drawn. Your attire for tonight's reception is there for the picking, though the master is particular on one dress," said a man with a well-groomed mustache of which the ends curled, blue colored eyes, and greyish hair.

"Alright," she walked without care, "-have my lunch ready, I wish for something light and refreshing."

"As you wish, mistress."

Two o'clock dropped by, "-mistress, transport has come."

"She'll be out in a minute," yelled one of the many servants.

"As you wish."

"Jenny, could you explain why has father ask for such a cumbersome dress?"

"I have no idea," the door opened, "-its most probable that is to do with tonight's event."

"Is it about the Kezal project?"

"Yes," she smiled approvingly.

"Should have known as much," helped inside yet another luxurious car, the duo drove further into where the skyscrapers rested.

Filled with the building of various companies, the infrastructure here, unlike anywhere else, was the true pinnacle of technological advancement. Heavily digital, one couldn't enter the vicinity without a bot giving the green-light. At the center all of the cluster, a hauntingly beautiful massive building with the highest peak of 45 floors. Streamlined at the summit, one couldn't see that far. Labeled with many logos signifying what companies had rented floors, the top was owned by Celle's Medical firm.

Taken up high on lifts – it opened to an empty hall. Twist and turns here and there, the door opened to a grand space with high-ceiling and numerous figures. The latter were of highly influential repute. Millionaires and billionaires, the crowd was of utmost value. At the back, close to a deep red curtain stood a man surrounded by ministers.

Catching a glimpse of Cherry, he nodded and approached.

"My daughter," a wine glass in hand, "-welcome back home," a pretentious smile with glasses and almond-shaped eyes.

"Father," she nodded, "-it's good to be home," letting a grin of lesser interest, he turned without much said.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a spotlight lit his figure, no visible mic in hand, yet his voice seemed to travel across the room loudly, "-I've called for this event today in honor of my daughter. As you know, our company with the help of many who stand today has researched and searched for a suitable host. A project named Kezal. Those who aren't familiar with the term need not worry," a giant interface sprang into life, "-opposed to talking about what the project entails, why not see for yourself."

[Loading Host: Test Subject ID 05… Recognized]

[Mental linked established]

[Transferring Data]

[Linked: ID 05, the mission assigned is the destruction of a resistance outpost 1.5 clicks to the north.]

"Acknowledged," came through the speakers, the screen showed what 05 saw. "Twenty-five targets spotted, permission to fire."

"Granted, go ahead, 05, complete the mission," returned a robotic voice. One by one, bodies dropped – utmost precision, 05 killed without mercy.

"Shut off the feed," ordered the organizer. "As you've seen," transferred to another display, "-that is the Kezal project. One of a virtual soldier capable of taking an army on his own. Fighting may have stopped," clicked, "-another quandary rises on the horizon. Illegal Hyde-Dive, the technology used to continue the war on the virtual plane. What you saw was live-footage of one of said outpost being taken out." Applause filled the room, "-all this would not have been possible without my daughter," spotlight turned to her, "-she was the one who found the perfect test-subject. A boy with nothing to lose, a memory that has erased itself due to intense trauma. Held by the clutches of hell, the boy will become Kezal, a single man unit with unlimited life. There's only one reason he lives, and that is to exterminate those who wish to get in the way of the peace Celest gave us graciously. Let's toast to the supreme being," glasses up high, smiles of relief flashed across the faces.

'A soldier?" away from the attention, "-no memories," the heart sank. Images of the night they spent together, the words of her being the only one he could rely on. The one that would never betray him. Ruined, the smiling face turned to one robotic, no life nor will, '-what have I done…'

"To help in saving the world," spoke yet again, "-Kezal will be sent into orbit. A facility with connection around the whole globe rests at the international space station." Pressed onto a large launch button, [Command received. Beginning the preparation.]

"Please turn to the left," the curtains parted revealing the night sky.

"Three… two… one… LAUNCH," simultaneous on the screen as well as far into the night. The faint glow of a slowly ascending rocket had the crowd in awe. "FOR THE SAFETY OF HUMANITY!"