V2C19 Hidden evolution; making the illogical logical (2)

What would happen when he died? Looking at the orphanage's roof from his bed, he couldn't sleep. Every time he tried, the thoughts of death stopped him.

He was afraid he wouldn't wake up the next day, already seeing his body in a coffin, observing earth change from the sky. Time passing, people passing, societies evolving. Evolving without him.

He would be nothing, no consciousness, no thinking... It was harsh to him, even in a fool's world.

One day, while trying to sleep, he had a kind of electric shock in his body to prevent him from sinking into sleep.

He was a child who was afraid of death, who, as far as he could remember, had never lived without it.

He spent time arguing with his peers and his adoptive mother, Eva. He did think he was right and still thinks so.

What he said about life was true, he knew, and it was not the religious ideas of his upbringing that made him change.

He was raised the hard way, with a relatively low standard. For several winters, he was particularly close to death. Sometimes starving, other times sick.

But he was lucky enough to survive.

Around him, half of his friends had died before they were 14 years old. The diseases were killing them with unbearable pain. He had heard in the free republics, people prayed to several gods and yet had a higher lifestyle.

He did not understand his adoptive mother's beliefs. But, despite the blows he received, he carried with him a deep admiration for her.

She was somehow a person who knew life and chose to accept it.

He simply would not make that mistake.

So, one day, when he was 12, Louis 14, and Eloise 11 - just before she had to wear the veil, they went into the forest.

He wanted to see the world, to strengthen himself.

Or maybe some part of him wanted him dead for the better survival of his species.

Why go with them? The others were simply dead. They lay on the mountain-high pile of corpses of their ancestors.

They came across a nasty beast he could not remember. All he knew was that they had all gone down when he woke up, the beast dead.

The future was brighter. Children who would not die by half before their 14th birthday, bigger harvests, everything.

Louis didn't seem to remember it, the world before, nor did Eloise. But he noticed immediately that their intelligence and reasoning had increased, more than the people around them, and so had their fears. Some beliefs had been reduced, which surprised him, considering that from his experiences, the richer and more religious the person was, the more intelligent they were. And kind in the right way.

It was at this moment that he understood. He was the protagonist of his world. He remembered what others could not.

The world had left a way for him to become immortal. These were energies.

He set out to become a role model since he didn't have to be so challenging anymore to get respected and hope to live.

He did the opposite and took advantage of their intelligence with his kindness. Not entirely false, just a little forced and self-serving. But everyone was happy.

One adapted to everything. The fear of his own death became bearable. His body did not stimulate him anymore; he could sleep happily, forever engraved with this way.

He learned how to handle energies together with Gregory and Michael.

The progress was fast but not enough for him.

When Alain was 21, a catastrophe occurred. At that moment, he realized his weakness again and had to change. He had to evolve more quickly.

He tried to improve but could no more. Luckily, the catastrophe of his 31' became a gold mine.

He had stumbled upon a little secret of Louis. During this day, Louis lost control. Two flying figures left his house while his mother lay lifelessly on the ground, bathed in blood.

He began to gain land, and it was even better that there were many more villagers than in the first world: the production had more than quintupled, and the deaths divided.

Playing on the fear of intelligence and on the fragility of children, he rapidly increased his profits. All the energy he bought was used: if he did not become strong, the demons might control his mind.

To support his new version of himself, maybe wanted and necessary, but not desired, he began to really make friends, people he wouldn't need to use his concentration to study their slightest reaction so that he could calm himself, turning his attention to other points.

Like his evolution.

It was a surprise and an attack in his vital zone that the system penetrated his mind. Fortunately, he was used to modifying his thoughts, having a benevolent voice, and acting without long thoughts.

Was it the accident in the forest foreseen by the system? It was likely. That son of a bitch had hidden its conscience so Alain wouldn't eradicate him.

Then he made a childish version of himself that took care of all the settings. It was a humiliation. It was a danger.

Alain clenched his hands.

But rage was only helpful at specific times.

Time passed, and he saw the system's usefulness, and his desire to conquer it only grew.

He was rational: he had stepped out of his village because he had to evolve. To live. He couldn't afford to waste time.

This demonic war killed several trusted people, but maybe all was not lost.

He had a thought: now that almost everyone who knew how to fight was dead, and that he could control Louis, that Manon would follow Louis, and that Emily was a stranger, with Michael never coming, didn't he just have to get rid of Eloise?

It wasn't his fault. The world had made him untalented enough for him to force his luck and manipulate it. The system also reduced him, giving him one useless power - compared to the others.

Now that same power had killed him. His rage rose.

That's when the notice appeared:

[The protector has organized a coup. He got the part of the system from Alain].

Followed by a laugh coming from his brain

[Interesting life. It fits you. The vision of the red star was relevant. Fortunately, I'm not like those stupid systems that give everything to their master. Calm your rage and just enjoy your life in this little paradise; who knows, maybe this world will make you discover your true nature or change it; instead, you can't hide anything from me]

'You'll see.' It wasn't even a thought, just a product of Alain's unconscious. 'My story began long before you appeared.'

[While that might be true, it's not your story. So, become a fucking sheep like them all, and live their path!]

A wave of depression went through him.

"No..." He said, shaking, "that, that wasn't me... someone... someone manipulated it all..."