Too Generic

Ahna held the questioning look but didn't say anything. I could tell something was on the tip of her tongue; I got this from Helen when she was trying to say something to me, but not be rude.

"What's wrong?" I asked hesitantly, not really sure if I wanted to hear the answer.

"Umm, your eyes are red… they weren't before… Do you have one of them inside of you?" Ahna asked me with the same hesitance.

I blinked, unsure of just exactly what she was talking about.

"Them? I am not sure what you are talking about, but my eyes were green before this. Maybe it has something to do with the magic I used?" I asked, but then I looked inwardly.

What was Ahna talking about, and who were the "them?"

<This is the first time I am hearing about this, and I didn't find anything mythical when I was going over the game's contents? There is no way there is anything outside of basic monsters right now in the game. Once Players start coming in… no… Akio was the first player in, but I had checked right after he came out. I also monitored the entire time the best I could while he was in here, so I have no idea what she is talking about.>

That was bothersome if C6 didn't know something about this, and now I was concerned for Ahna. I had seen a red flash in her eyes, but I still had no idea what it could be or even mean.

"Can you tell me about them?" I asked and took Ahna by the hand and brought her over to the bed to sit down.

She looked pretty shaken, but I needed to know what she did about whatever it was that was inside of Ahna. I wished that I had some way of checking her out to be able to see what was wrong.

You would think that with being able to change how things worked, I would be able to do something like that.

<In time, you will be able to do more than just scan Ahna. As your level increases, you will be able to even change your own body and those of the people around you. Except for the PCs; Player Characters Avatars and Skins can only be changed by them. Not even Matrix can mess with that, even though she is going to mess with just about everything else when those people and myself enter.>

Does that mean that you will be different when I see you again? And how long will it be until I see you again after you leave?

<No more than three months. I will need to take a super-fast shower and then eat something. I will code my load-up screen, so I am not affected when I enter the game like the others. I wish that I could do this for everyone else, but I can't talk about the game to anyone. If I do, I will get thrown in jail, and this will already be long over before I can help them. It should only take me about ten minutes in my world, but since the game is active, each minute is equal to nine days.>

Three months was going to be a long time, but we still had time. If the BETA Player warning was these players entering, then that meant we would have one year before C6 would have to leave.

<Provided that nothing goes wrong, and I don't get kicked out by one of the other admins. People are watching the game now, but the use of magic isn't unusual, so we should be alright for now. I am positive that Matrix knows I am here already but is letting me stay because I am not interfering with whatever it is she is trying to do.>

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and focused back on Ahna, who was focusing quietly, obviously deep in thought. I was sure that she had hardly even noticed me going quiet and just took advantage of the silence to step in her own head.

The real question was, what was inside of it, and where did it come from. While I needed to know this, I also didn't want to push too hard on Ahna when she had been so good to me, save the shock wand and boots.

"I don't want to pry, but I feel like this is something that I need to know about. If you want to wait to tell me, that's fine, but we are going to have to talk about this at some point. It might just be better to get it out of the way now, rather than wait until it pops up as a problem, if it is one," I explained, not wanting to make any assumptions.

Ahna stayed silent, so I laid back in the bed, unsure what to do about myself. Ahna took in a deep and shaky breath, and I perked up but stayed lying down.

"I don't know how it was done, but when I was a child, my father and mother took me to visit the people I told you about that worship the Martyr. I was taken into a temple and then went far underground. I think I was only six at the time, but I remember being told to go stand in a room alone, but it was like nothing I had ever or have ever seen since," Ahna started to explain, and C6 was Monologuing in the background at the same time as she spoke.

<So, she is using the followers to gather people to… what? Put demons inside of them? That would be too generic for her. No, that can't be right, but nothing that she has done here so far seems right. This is why I couldn't find anything! She buried them or something and then probably shielded the place! This is just like the information Matrix collected from the leak. She must be doing some kind of tests on the NPC, but why, and to what end?>

I had no idea what was going on, and all I could do was listen to the conversation inside and outside of my head. I was worried to find out what they had done, but there was also a part of me that craved to know.