Chapter 04: A Problem{Rewritten}
Arael's POV:
[Shell lost]
[Recalibrating]
[Scanning for available shell]
[Ding!]
[Compatible shell located]
[Initiating insertion]
[Insertion in progress…]
[Insertion complet—]
[Error!]
[Host detected to be fused with an unknown soul]
[Initializing Disengagement]
[Disengagement in progress…]
[Error!]
[Soul cannot be disengaged from host]
[Forced disengagement initializing…]
[In progress…]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Soul cannot be disengaged]
[Attempting complete fusion]
[Soul signatures——> Determined]
[REPLICAS]
[All requirements for fusion satisfied]
[Fusion in progress…]
[Error!]
[Error encountered at 70% fusion]
[Fusion cannot be completed]
[Troubleshooting…]
[Error determined——> Existence of Multiple personalities]
[Initiating Forced fusion]
[Fusion——>0%]
[Fusion——>10%]
[Fusion——>20%]
[Fusion——>30%]
[Fusion——>40%]
[Fusion——>50%]
[Fusion——>60%]
[Fusion——>70%]
[Fusion——>80%]
[Fusion——>90%]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Existing soul fused]
[Detecting existence of multiple personalities]
[Arael>>> Samael>>> ????????????]
[Attempting to liquefy personalities]
[Initializing forced merge]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Stabilizing…]
[System encountered…. %^&*()@((*]
[Person@lities stab!l!zin%]
[M@el>>> 60%]
[S@m@el>>> 30%]
[??????>>>10%]
[Inser%Y#tiO@n cOM@oPLE#tE]
"HAAH!"
A young man jolted awake, his gaze immediately fixating on what appeared to be a ceiling, though it looked old and dilapidated, as if it might cave in at any moment.
"What… What happened… Wh-where am I?" he mumbled, his voice barely audible. Exhaustion weighed heavily on him, as if he had traversed an entire continent without rest.
He looked around, disoriented. "Wait a... minute..." he rasped, his bleary eyes focusing on something that seemed impossible. He attempted to reach out with his hand, but his body refused to respond.
With great effort, he managed to tilt his head and was met with the sight of a skeletal, emaciated hand—his own—that looked as if it might shatter with the slightest touch.
"Uhhh!" He shuddered as intense pain assaulted his senses. It became painfully clear that getting up from this bed was an insurmountable task.
His eyes were drawn to a translucent blue screen, pulsating with an eerie, otherworldly glow.
[St@r3t$r p@ck lO@din$]
"What is this?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
[D& Y@u Wis# T^ Cl@M St@Rt@r P@cK]
"Huh…?"
[St@rT@r P@ck ReJ#CtEd]
"WHAT...? But I didn't... say anything…" Confused, he tried to make sense of the situation.
[St@rTeR p@ck cONv#Rt#rEd t! Poi#Ts]
[Aw@It3NG COmma#nd]
"WAIT… What is all this…?"
[Comm@nd ACC@Pt#d]
"Huh…?"
[All P0i#ts Attr!buTED tO Ch@rM @nd @G!l!TY]
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"
[SYS@TEM rEC@liBR!at@#ng]
[G)ing inT@ HibaNAtion]
[MeMORY assIMUl@Ti)n RunNIN@ I# b@CKgr@UND]
Overwhelmed by confusion and frustration, the young man was on the verge of shouting when suddenly...
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A searing pain, unlike anything he had ever felt before, consumed him. It felt as if his mind was being torn to shreds. The agony was unbearable, a torture that lasted for what felt like an eternity.
Eventually, the pain became too much, and he lost consciousness. But even in that moment, an unending stream of memories flooded his mind—some were his own, others were not.
He remembered his life in the slums, the relentless struggle of his mother to provide for them, and the way others had cruelly labeled him a monster for no discernible reason. He recalled the looks of disgust and disdain from the priest and gatekeeper whenever he begged for healing potions, even when he explained they were for his dying mother. Their refusal to help only deepened his hatred.
He remembered the love and warmth his mother had shown him, but then...
No, something was wrong. These memories... they weren't right. They were fragmented, incomplete, as though parts of his past were shrouded in darkness.
And that wasn't all.
He recalled a life of isolation, a person who wasn't him, yet felt strangely familiar. He remembered an entity devoid of emotion, a person treated as a freak for his inability to feel, someone who was loathed for his unintentional cruelty. He remembered being called a monster, someone who killed without remorse. But, as before, the memories were incomplete, obscured by an unseen force.
Why couldn't he remember everything?
"HAAH!" he gasped as he regained consciousness.
DRIP.
DROP.
DRIP.
DROP.
Liquid dripped onto the concrete floor from the bed. His entire body was drenched in sweat, soaking not only his ragged, worn-out clothes but also the bed he lay on.
"Was that... real?" he whispered, his voice trembling. It was only natural for him to question it, after all, he had just experienced not one, but two lifetimes.
In both memories, he had met his end, and neither death had been ordinary. Now, he found himself here—wherever here was—lying in a body that was definitely not his.
So... where were the memories for this body?
He closed his eyes, desperately trying to recall what had led him to this moment, but his mind remained blank. Something was wrong.
"S-system," he muttered, attempting to summon the interface he had seen moments ago. This was knowledge he had gleaned from his memories as someone called Samael—reincarnation, and then, a system.
It seemed that in every notion of reincarnation, there was an inherent connection to the existence of a system, or so the memories suggested. Countless works of fiction supported the belief that a system was almost synonymous with reincarnation.
With that understanding, he surmised that what he had seen earlier was likely HIS system, but...
"Huh?" he blurted out when nothing appeared.
'I'm certain that wasn't a dream, so what happened—' he thought, suddenly remembering something.
'Hibernation... I think it went into sleep mode...' he concluded, clicking his tongue in frustration.
What he was about to attempt would be excruciating, but it had to be done. He shut his eyes tightly and then...
...sat up.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The pain was overwhelming.