<h4>Chapter 4: A Parasite?</h4>
Khan looked nkly at the golden-colored panel, but his attention was elsewhere.
It was thest memory he had just witnessed. Slowly raising his right hand to his neck, which unknowingly to him had broken into pieces just hours ago, he felt the cold ne in his hand.
Golden-colored, just like the one given to him by thatdy in the memory.
"So it''s true..." Khan muttered as a drop of tear escaped his eyes.
Not remembering who he was for the first ten years of his life and having to grow through the inhumane treatment in the Orphanage where he didn''t even understand what they were saying.
Then three years of death training where all the people he grew up with died in one way or the other in his hands.
He had gone through pain.
Pain he didn''t even understand why he deserved.
He had sat down in the middle of the night alone, wondering who he was. Who his parents were, actually, what was even a parent in the first ce? What were colleagues?
He, Khan, was the hollow devil who understands nothing, cares for nothing, nothing but the mission.
"Now it all made sense..." Khan muttered under his breath.
#The orphanage, his inability to cultivate like the rest, the strange ne on his neck ever since he could remember. Now it all made sense.
Khan, I want you to live a peaceful life, away from death, away from sadness. I want you to love and be loved. To be grateful for the life that you have been given.
Those words echoed deep in his heart, resonating with something felt within him but as Khan raised both of his hands to his face, all he saw was a thick sea of blood.
"I... I''m sorry, mother..." The mournful cry rang throughout the wild, breaking the heart of anyone who had the slightest understanding of the true meaning of being lost, the true meaning of being strong for too long, and the true meaning of pain.
"I wish...I wish I could see more..." Khan muttered, teeth clenched and fingernails deep within his hands.
[Well, technically you can see more...] The same golden-colored notification panel appeared again as Khan finally gave it a bit of his attention.
"What do you mean?" Khan asked absentmindedly.
[If you''re talking about the memories you just witnessed, I believe there are more than a thousand of such all locked in that tiny ne on your neck. And if you''re talking about seeing your mother again.
Well, she left two hints, one is that ne and the other is the location she mentioned. She mentioned the whole of Takamahagara, I believe that to be a gxy or world, not urately sure but most definitely a ce. And checking throughout my database, I have found a location bearing that name..."
"What! Wait. Are you sure?" Khan asked jumping to his feet.
[Yes I am. Though I don''t really know much about the ce. It''s just like it''s present on my search button.
And the only thing I can tell you so that, it is at least a thousand gxies away from here which is more than trillions of light years. You can at least forget returning home for now...] The notification appeared, shutting down his hope.
Khan immediately stood to his feet, wiping away the tears in his eyes as he opened them and they returned to the cold predatory look he had before.
"What do you say you''re again?"
[I''m the AI of the Bio-Nanotech System. I havepletely fused with you due to your very highpatibility. The highest that has ever been recorded...]
"Hmm, are you from that blue crystal?" Khan asked, noticing there was still the sign of the apocalyptical collision but the crystal was nowhere to be found.
[Yes, I am. And I''ll once again repeat, I''vepletely fused with you. Even if you cut out your eyeballs, I''ll still appear in front of you. So put that knife back into your pockets and don''t do anything stupid...]
Khan''s hands, which were formerly pocketed, slowly released the object he held as he brought out his hands.
"Fine. You win..." Khan replied, stopping what he was about to do before.
"So start with my history. Well, I''ve been here for as much as I can remember which is no specific time. My former purpose was a single one and that is finding the perfect Host to attach with. Noteworthy is that I''ve rejected a million beings, the majority of which I sucked away all their energy into my core..."
Khan raised an eyebrow upon hearing that as he finally learned of the reason for the so many bones present around the ce.
[As for why I bonded with you. It''s because I can tell you''re the perfect host in this ce, the reason behind that something I know but strangely can''t say, it''s must be due to the restriction protocol ced on me...]
"So you''re a parasite..." Khan said, immediately concluding.
[Um, that''s a way to put it...]
"Is there a way to get you out of my head..." Khan asked, already tired of this long chit-chat. He wasn''t used to talking.
[No!]
"So you took all the trouble of staying here probably for a thousand years and rejecting hundreds of beings?
[Actually, it is millions,]
"OK, that number. So you must have a purpose, right? Like a true mission, your reason for needing a perfect host?"
[I do. Though you still can''t ess that information yet...]
"Ok great. Not like I care about it. Now that we''re chained together forever, we need to have some kind of benefit to each other if this is going to work out, and I think you''re pretty useless. At least I don''t see much of your usefulness other than screaming in my brain?"
[Actually, we can help each other. I''m a system designed to increase the power of my host. And if there''s someone who needs power the most right now, it''ll be you...]
"Are you sure?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
[Yes. You''re an ordinary mortal. Which I can tell is very strange as your otherpanions are awakeners.]
"So that shows I''m weak or need some power? What makes you think they''re in any way better than me? I can literally decimate all of them in less than an hour..."
[Yes. Although you''re a mortal. You''re stronger than some Awakeners and that''s because of your weird constitution. Looking at your constitution, your body is strangely extremely weak!
But through inhumane training, it has been developed. As your bones break and fracture, your body gets stronger.
But I''m also detecting signs of strange body-developing serums.
Not only was your body getting broken down and growing stronger like that, but you were always infused with serums which made your body grow thrice stronger than they were supposed to, every time it broke down making you greatly above a mortal and even rival an awakener...
But even you know, your body is reaching its limits. ording to my calction, your peak of power, if you continue down this path would be a quarter of that of the statue that almost wiped all of you out in a single p.
You will never be able to reach half of that level of strength which yourpanion said is the meteor rank stage. I want to believe that stage isn''t the highest in the world]
"Yeah, it''s actually the second beginning stage..." Khan replied.
[So that means you''ll never reach the second stage of cultivation level of this if you continue down this path. Talk of the third and fourth...]
"Well, thanks for thepliment. But I don''t think I''ll need to reach that level. I mean I''m fine with without it..." Khan replied uncaringly.
[Are you sure about that, or have you forgotten that golden ne is still on your neck...] The notification panel appeared as Khan stopped dead in his tracks.
-- -- --
"One day, I truly wish for me to see you again"
-- -- --
[But this system is capable of not only improving your strength but also to a level that this world of yours can''t evenprehend...]
Khan''s eyes narrowed as he deeply thought about the offer.
"Fine, but before it bes a deal, show me if you''re not all just talks and no action..."
[To ess the power of this system, call out system Interface...]
"System interface..."