Darkness enveloped him, a cold seeping into his body and an immense pain was all Alex could feel as he tried to open his eyes. Still sitting in his own warm pool of blood, he looked around the eerily quiet floor of the building.
Seeing his men lying there lifeless, as if to ensure he never forgot what happened, a deep rage surfaced within him and flashes of Lucian's emotionless and cold face danced around his mind.
'Why?'
Confusion
Why did Lucian, a brother and someone he considered his one and only friend in this world put two bullets right into his chest, and as if to seal their fate, not even spare a second glance at his dying brother.
'Is this all that our brotherhood amounts to?'
'Is it not enough to lose a friend, now…...MY BROTHER BETRAYS ME.'
Screaming in his mind at no one in particular, Alex clenched his chest as if feeling it breaking into million pieces inside his body.
Realizing that the expected physical pain didn't come, for the first time he looked at himself. More confusion surfaced in his mind. And for a second, he thought he was hallucinating with everything,
'Wait...there's no pain….?'
The concrete beneath him felt colder—like a slab beneath a corpse. The air was thick, unmoving. If hell had a waiting room, this would be it. Alex sat motionless, breath ragged, as the metallic taste of blood lingered on his tongue. His fingers trembled against the floor, slick with red.
Then—
[Ding!!!]
[Host vitals stabilized. Initiating diagnostic scan…]
He froze. His bloodshot eyes darted around the room, searching for the source of the voice. It was clear. Calm. Unfeeling. Like a machine that didn't understand death was in the room.
"What…?" He coughed, wincing.
"Who the hell said that?"
There was no one. Just the corpses of his men—and the shrieking silence.
[Foreign neurological activity detected.]
[Mental stress levels elevated: 91.2%. Symptoms indicate acute emotional dissonance, trauma-induced confusion, and dissociative displacement.]
[Recommendation: Stabilization protocol pending.]
Alex blinked. "The f*ck does any of that mean…?"
The voice—if you could call it that—responded, cool and clinical. Unwavering.
[You are experiencing post-traumatic shock. Cortisol levels: dangerously elevated. Neurological activity: erratic.]
[Cognitive clarity at 42%. Emotional state: compromised.]
He leaned back against the wall, head pounding.
"So now I've lost my mind and gained a personal robot therapist…?"
---
Alex chose to ignore everything said by the system as he tried to get up from the floor, the blood not making it any easier for him. With great difficulty he got to his feet and staggered towards his dead men
Looking at them lying there, fury surfaced in him,
'Useless…'
He thought to himself, but immediately his eyes filled with guilt as he knelt next to one of his men, Steve, turning him over half expecting to see him open his eyes looking at him with a smile on his face laughing while screaming "Got you Boss, should've seen your face."
But he knew that wasn't the reality. He looked at the now lifeless body of Steve, slowly he closed the still opened eyes with his hand and took a deep breath trying to center himself from all the chaos around him.
Looking around again he thought to himself, with some semblance of calm
'I need to leave...'
Getting up and looking around one last time for anything he might have missed, noticing his handgun on the floor, memories of him and Lucian came to him like a flood.
With unsteady steps, he made his way towards the gun, looking at the stainless-steel Colt M1911 smeared with his own blood and shining under the moonlight that seeped in the empty floor.
Alex couldn't help but remember the time when Lucian gave him the gun as a gift.
'Alex, this is a symbol of our bond, we face the world together, me and you brother's, Fratres in Aeternum.'- Lucian
Alex slowly picked up the gun, and a new resolve surfaced in him and muttered to himself
"Fratres in Aeternum."
After holstering the gun, he left the scene and lingering feelings behind. His step echoed onto the now silent floor.
--
Alex, wandering, alone and confused, started to walk towards his own secret safe house that was on the outskirts of the city, moving discreetly trying to avoid drawing any attention to himself.
The city was bustling with life even though it was well past midnight. Shady deals being done in the dark corners of the streets and gunshot sounds echoing in the city and sirens following immediately after as though it was a beautiful orchestra.
Moving with great familiarity, he soon saw the empty warehouse. After checking his surroundings, he quietly entered.
Walking in, Alex took off his gun and placed it on the table that had guns dismantled. His eyes lingering for a moment on a photo that was on the table depicting his younger self with Lucian and Rebecca. His hands moved as he placed the photo facing down.
Taking his time to clean himself and burn all the clothes he was wearing. After all that he took a seat on the single bed that groaned under his weight as though protesting. He took a deep breath and hesitantly spoke,
"Hello?"
Instantly he heard a sound that was so vivid that it dispelled any doubts he had,
[Ding!!]
[System detects host intention for communication.]
[Waiting for directive….]
Silence filled the room as Alex narrowed his eyes, contemplating what was happening. This was something that he couldn't comprehend even with his brilliant mind working on overdrive.
'So, this thing can respond to me…...and it sounds like it waiting for me to command it...?' He thought as he continued to speak
"What…. are you?" Alex wasn't even sure if that was the correct question to ask now, but with little information he had, that was all he could think of.
[System Designation: Influence System.]
[Primary Functions: Increasing Host Efficiency, Accelerate Host influence acquisition, enhance decision making.]
[Directives: Assist host in all possible requests.]
Hearing the monotone voice responding to him, he frowned as he thought about what the system just said. Thought after thought passed in his brain trying to figure out this 'System.' Remembering that it also healed him, he couldn't help but ask the system
"So did you heal my wounds."
[Affirmative.]
"Can you do it again?" His mouth moved before his brain can process what the system just said,
[Negative host.]
[Host is not in any immediate danger to activate Life Protocol.]
[Displaying host status for comprehensive overview.]
[INFLUENCE SYSTEM | STATUS WINDOW
Name: Alex Gray
Age: 21
Status: Unstable (emotionally unstable)
Level: 4
Assets: $160 000
Reputation: Operator]
Alex jumped back, startled to see a screen appearing in front of him.
"What the f*ck......Yep I'm losing it."