Trying to save myself at least temporarily I switched to sleep mode, just to get a couple minutes of rest while the transport was moving. According to my calculations, I was supposed to get off in two minutes and thirty seconds.
When I came to, I was back home. I started hearing a thudding sound. Like something pounding deep inside a heart, only much louder. Rising from the chair, I walked into the hallway the sound grew stronger. I could hear it clearly now. It was coming from the door that led to the basement.
"Nothing good ever comes from this kind of thing in movies," I muttered, trying to chase away the bad thoughts. "Shit... been too curious about this stuff since I was a kid."
The desire to know overpowered my caution. As I approached the door, I started to hear more than just the heartbeat there was the sound of rain, and the scent of cigarettes. I reached for the handle and opened it. Darkness flashed before my eyes, and then the scene slowly began to clear. A man stood before me, holding an umbrella. A heavy downpour raged outside.
Memory
"Hey, got a smoke?" I asked him. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack, and offered it to me. I grabbed one and brought it to my lips.No way… this… this smells like the ones from the fire.
"Thanks. Got a light?" I asked again. Without a word, he pulled out a lighter and flicked it on, holding the flame out to me.
I leaned in, lit the cigarette, and took a long drag, savoring it. Exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. My mind eased instantly.
"Feels like I was just born again," I murmured with pleasure.
"Not for long," my savior replied. His voice sounded eerily familiar. Slowly, he started to lower the umbrella.
As the umbrella moved aside, I suddenly saw Carlo DeVargo alive and smiling at me. I was sure I had killed him with my own hands.But before I could react, two men grabbed me from behind.
[image]
"How the hell did you survive? I shot you in the head!" I demanded, confused.
"You know, what you see isn't always the truth. And death? Death is just another beginning," he said. His face was calm, smiling faintly. His voice cold like death itself was speaking to me. "Now it's your turn to start over."
He pulled out a knife and began stabbing me over and over in the gut and chest. The men held me tight. I couldn't fight back. He kept going until my body was covered in wounds.I should've died instantly, but I stayed conscious more like a spectator, unable to act. When he was done, he wiped the blade on my clothes and slowly walked away.
I watched him go, helpless, feeling my life slip away. I couldn't believe this was how it would end bleeding out in a trash-strewn alley. As everything started to fade, my eyes caught sight of a crushed can of energy drink beside me."Illusion of Life," it read.
I must've started hallucinating because the can flickered like static, glitching in and out. But after a moment, it turned back into a normal can.
The last drops of life drained from my body, and my consciousness began to dissolve into the endless dark.
So this is what death is like. Just cold and darkness.
End of memory.
Everything stopped all at once. I was standing in front of the open basement door again.
Only one question echoed in my mind: How the hell did he survive? I just couldn't wrap my head around it. I'd seen his corpse with my own eyes. I put those holes in his skull myself. How was this even possible?
The sound of a timer on my watch broke the loop. Looked like I'd arrived.
There were too many questions but first, I needed a ripper.
Mode: Active.
Reality snapped back into focus but it looked... wrong. A kid couldn't be older than ten was standing right in front of me, tongue sticking out in concentration as he worked on something. A marker in his hand.
Catching my reflection in the train window, I saw my face had been scribbled on big cartoon eyes and a wide, crooked smile.
I shot up, making the kid flinch back. Gave him a quick glare before stepping off the train.
Cognitive Failure Risk: 79%.
Not much of a drop. I pushed through, forcing my legs forward. Just needed to reach the ripper.
I spotted the familiar clinic sign in the distance. I was close so close. And then my legs gave out beneath me.
I hit the ground, less than ten meters from salvation.
Cognitive Failure Risk: 83%.
I couldn't move my lower body. I clawed at the ground, dragging myself toward the door, using just my arms. When I finally reached the access panel, I hit it and slumped back against the wall.
Everything around me went silent. Sound module's gone, I thought vaguely.
My vision dimmed. Darkness took hold.
Cognitive Failure Risk: 92%.
Entering Sleep Mode.
Within the depths of my consciousness, I found myself surrounded by ruins. Everything was torn apart walls shattered into fragments, frozen mid-air. Objects were so distorted I couldn't even remember what they were for. Everything looked alien. Wrong.
I wandered through the wreckage, trying to make sense of it all, until I bumped into a wall.
Outside the window, I saw my old backyard disappear into nothingness replaced by a gaping void. Only my house remained, floating in the emptiness. It must've been the last stronghold of my mind.
My childhood home.
A cigarette pack materialized in my hand. I lit one and took a drag.
This at least I remembered. Something familiar. Something real.
Militech Laboratory
"How?" Henry asked, standing beside his assistant.
"It's incredible," Masashi said. "He survived and stabilized despite his mind nearly shutting down."
"I know. The others lost it before they even hit seventy percent," Henry replied, eyes fixed on the data feed.
"Should we deploy a team to extract him?" she offered.
"No," Henry shook his head. "Minimal interference. If this continues, we'll hit ninety-nine percent stability and no more failures."
"What about the ripper? He might find out things he shouldn't."
"Send one of our agents to deliver replacement implants. We'll recruit the ripper, make him ours. Let him work for us."
"Understood," Masashi nodded.