《Replicator: My clones will rule the world!》
1. Awakening; or, The Second Coming
Awakening; or, The Second Coming
"WHERE THE HELL AM I!" I scream as loud as possible while I feel my guts scraping out of my bones.
"Calm down, Kurio. we haven''t even got to the good part yet." The dark floating figure says. I can''t see clearly from all the blood flowing down my face, but I can feel him smiling while torturing me.
"No need to rush Kurio. You will get used to it soon."
My whole body slowly starts feeling like it''s boiling up. "PLEASE STOP!"
"Humans these days are so impatient."
Suddenly, my limbs are being pulled and torn out. I see my view stretch, then blank out.
All of a sudden, I see again. Immediately, I started hyperventilating, I took at least five minutes to catch my breath before finally calming down.
''Thank God it was just a dream.'' I was wide awake in my room. Slowly, my eyes began adjusting to the dark environment around me. It looks like it''s way past evening.
I haven''t had a dream since forever, but why did it have to be a nightmare? Did it have to do with what I had for a late-night snack? Now that I think about it, there''s a fat chance it was the moldy pizza, which I microwaved and drank an unhealthy amount of root beer.
''Besides that, that didn''t feel like a dream. It felt too real.'' I look at my hands and arms, blood red and sweating like I was just recently wrung dry of my blood. Surprisingly, it looks much worse than it feels.
Anyhow, it seemed like I woke up too early. The last thing I remembered was playing some video games with the new cheats I installed. I reach out my trembling hand towards my bedside table to grab my phone. As I was reeling my arm back, I suddenly got a sudden cramp. FUUUUCK!
Aggressively, I snatched my blanket and wrapped it around my arm, easing the pain.
I additionally dragged more of the blanket to accommodate for the cold weather. However, the blanket got stuck on the right side of the bed.
As I was bringing my right arm outwards and ready to pull in, I noticed something in the bed. I look longer to make sure I see it correctly. I see the silhouette figure of a person''s body shape extruding out of the blanket. They seem to be fully covered and looking away from my direction.
I immediately freeze. There''s no mistaking it. There''s someone under my blanket. I can barely tell from the darkness. I chose to wait until my cramp faded out before I uncovered the sheet. Meanwhile, I''m constantly keeping my eye on this person. The moment it moves an inch, I''m getting up and packing my bags, ready to go to another country with a same-day flight ticket.
After what felt like ten solid minutes, I calmed down a little. The cramp was completely gone now. I checked my phone and saw it was only four-thirty in the morning, the sun would start rising soon.
''Since I''ll be staying awake either way, might as well search up how to wake myself faster,'' is what I think to myself before I open the browser and one of the top news is a virus break out. It wrote, "What''s Going On With The World? New Virus Instantly Spreads The Globe!"
''What kinda of shitty clickbait is this?'' I think to myself. I thought I set my browser settings to not provide any degenerate news sources. I bring my phone closer to head the bottom text, "Official Publication Written by the Foreign Press Center of Japan." Why is the foreign press writing a title like this? The thought that government agencies are attempting to use the new generation''s dumb marketing tactics made me cringe a little.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
''Well, I''ll just read this article later in the morning,'' " is what I thought to myself.
I decided to finally uncover the blanket so I would get up early.
In one big swing, I pull out the entire blanket and see... a woman? A NAKED WOMAN?! "What the hell?!" I yelled while tripping backward from the sudden shock.
''Why is there a naked woman in my bed?!'' I think to myself. ''I don''t remember going to a party or anything, wait, I never go to parties or get drunk!'' I snapped back up from the floor after I heard my mom''s voice coming from the hallway. "Yuuji! Are you ok? Why did you scream all of a sudden?" ''Mom? Now?'' I hear my mom''s feet hit the floor from her bedroom and start walking towards my room.
I quickly throw my blanket back on the naked woman. I immediately noticed something was off. Besides the fact that there was a naked lady in my bed, she had attributes similar to me! Light brown straight hair, sharp nose, round face with average cheekbones. What stood out was the longer hair, bigger lips, eyelashes, and somewhere around D-cup breast size!
I quickly turn around and stand in front of the bed in an attempt to hide the woman from my mom. The only door in my room bursts open. "Yuuji, are you ok?" My mom barges in the door. I stare at her speechless, pointing my finger toward her head, "Your hair," I murmur. "What are you talking about?" Mom says as she whips her hair in front of her and immediately starts to notice her hair has turned into some sort of crystallized strands that also bend just like normal hair. The reflection of the sun on her hair makes it glow a soothing sky-bluish color.
Her hands start shaking a little. "Is this real? What is this?" She looks awfully distressed. I also calm myself down, "I don''t know what''s been happening, I think something happened when we were asleep."
"Like a disease?" She says as she fiddles with her hair.
"I''m not sure."
"Well, what happened to you? You were screaming just now, but I don''t see anything weird on you." Immediately after her question, a scream started in the other room, my brother''s room. Kazu.
"What the fuck is this?!" We hear as we see Kazu on his bed, examining his new, rock-shaped body. His skin, no, his muscles perhaps, were all made of light-orange rocks and a couple of stones poking outside. Mom steps forward to hug him, "Oh God, my dear Kazu." He used to be around 5''9", now he seemed about 8 feet tall at least. All the clothes he was wearing were ripped except for his boxers.
"Are you freaking"¡ª his voice became more tearful,"¡ªkidding me?" I began to release tears after the situation dawned on me, ''We will probably never go back to how we were before.''
I think back to what I read on my phone, about that article from the foreign press, "I think it''s happening to more people it''s not just us." I tried to explain. "Like a virus, but it turns people into different stuff. I saw a news article when I woke up. But I didn''t read it, just the title," I spew out while cover my face with my arm to wipe off tears.
When he saw me starting to sob, he reassured me, "Hey, don''t cry, at least the rocks on my head don''t make me look smooth-out bald." I don''t know how he could stay calm like that. If I were him, I would be going insane.
They will start to ask me about my power, and I''m not exactly sure what it is, but anyone with a brain could connect what the woman sleeping in my bed has to do with this new power. Could it be that my ability allows me to pull hot ladies? Maybe this ability thing doesn''t sound too bad after all.
A moment later, all of our phones start blaring out, "This is a public service announcement, an unnatural phenomenon has occurred, please stay inside and await further orders. I repeat. This is not a drill. This is a public service annou"¡ªKazu shuts it off.
"Hey, if this isn''t just happening to us, then what about the rest of the world?" Kazu asks the most important question in this situation. "No one is going outside right now!" Mom declares, wiping her tears out.
I''m getting a sense that something big is about to happen. The air is fuming with the promise of interesting things to come.
2. New World Understanding
Off in the distance, we hear the faint sounds of explosions and
screaming. Many people must also be experiencing this new phenomenon.
I get closer to the door window to watch and observe the outside
world, and as I peek my head out the curtains, the only way to
describe this event is a dream.
There were a couple of people floating in the skies, I barely saw
what seemed to be someone running at Mach Speed in the street,
causing a mini shock wave in the process. A wall of fire suddenly
arose and immediately was put out. The ground deformed, causing
spikes coming from the floor¡ªalmost piercing another person who was
testing his power on the street.
Surprisingly, there weren''t any cars driving on the street, which
makes sense considering the situation. Trying to escape from all of
these people¡ªit''s equivalent to running through a temple''s tunnels
that have traps with fire, arrows, swinging axes, and sharp spikes. I
wasn''t ready to go outside and go through a death run.
"Honey, look at this!" Says mom while showing off a crystal
cup in her left hand and a crystal ball on the other. "I just
imagined a ball, and it was made in my hand! The cup took a little
longer, but it also worked!" She said with excitement.
Suddenly, a long stone beam shoots
at me, and I immediately freeze from fear. The beam hit the wall
hard, making cracking noises. After I took my attention off the wall,
I noticed my right arm was bleeding, and the sharp stone barely
touched me. "Uhh... Oops," Kazu says with his hand behind
his head.
Mom walks up to Kazu, grabs him by
his ear, and brings him down to her level, "Are you
insane!?"¡ªShe yells at him with anger"¡ª"You almost
killed your brother!"
"I''m sorry, it was an accident, I swear! I just pointed my arm
forward, and a stone flew out!" Kazu explains himself. "Be
careful next time!" She warns. "Sorry."
Kazu walks towards me with a worried face, I
use my shirt to block the bleeding while I look at the cracked wall
with the beam still sizzling from the impact. If
that thing didn''t miss, I would''ve died in an instant.
"Ryuujiro! I''m so sorry! Please forgive me!" He says with
genuine tears. I''m not the type of person who can get mad, you might
say I got a screw loose in my brain, but when I saw him cry like that
I immediately laughed at the idea that this dude is 6 years older
than me. Kazu was 25 years old, and I 19.
"Ok, I forgive you, but if
you keep crying, I might start making fun of you," I say with a
chuckle, to which he slowly turns from crying to laughing and crying.
After we both calmed down, he asked the
question we all wanted to know: What is
my power? "I don''t know
yet. But I have a clue." I say while thinking about the naked
lady I left in my bedroom. "Oh? What is it?" Mom says
curiously. I''m not sure I want to tell them just yet, after all, I''m
not sure if that lady has anything to
do with my powers, she could be a drunk girl I met at a bar...? The
more I think about it, the more true it seems.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The power to create another human is just absurd! After all, all I''ve
seen so far is what people would call "elemental" powers.
Like the abilities to manipulate and control fire, air, earth, and
water, there are also unique ones, such as the person I saw going at
ultra-fast speeds. But creating a full human? It didn''t seem likely.
Although... these powers are still new, and I haven''t seen what they
can offer. I wonder if this phenomenon is worldwide or just here in
Tokyo.
"Let me go see something first. You can both get used to your
new powers while I try to find mine." I tell them before going
into my room and locking the door. Now then. I slowly grab the
blanket from the top and bring it below just enough to see her face.
''Why isn''t she awake yet?'' I think to myself. The more I look at her,
the more she seems similar to me, but as a female. I use my fingers
to open her eyes to see if she has the same brown eyes I have, to
notice that she has gray, lifeless eyes. ''Wait. Lifeless? Is she
dead?!'' My heart quickly started beating at the thought that I
might''ve caused the death of a girl in my room, I quickly put two
fingers on her neck to check her pulse. Lub
dub lub dub. Phew, she seems to
be alive.
Maybe she just has really rare
gray eyes. I guess it''s time to wake her up. I grab her by the
shoulders and start shaking her from side to side. "Hey, wake
up!" Nothing happens.
"If you don''t wake up, I''m going to pinch you!" Nothing
happens.
"Look, you asked for this!" I use my right and left hands
to pinch her cheek. All I get is a funny face.
''Why isn''t she waking up?'' I think to myself, to which then I sit on
my knees beside the bed, holding her hand.
''Maybe this has to do with my powers?'' I absurdly think to myself. I
decided on a different approach this time. What if she is like a
guardian I can summon and I can pour my magic for her to be
functioning? It would certainly explain why she was in my bed when I
woke up this morning.
Feeling more optimistic this time, attempted to force magic into the
lady¡ª'' Wait that sounds wrong...'' Also, I have no clue how to
control magic, or even if I possess magic in the first place. I still
feel very much like a normal human.
Deciding I needed to somehow put out my energy, I started grunting as
if I needed to go to the bathroom. ''This isn''t working!'' My brain
aches. So, I instinctively start meditating a little to calm my mind.
''Man, why is this happening to me?
Why can''t life just be simple? Ouch¡ª" the wrapping around my
bleeding arm stung for a second¡ª"maybe I should rest a little
more so the wound can heal a little more."
I started thinking back to what I was doing yesterday. A day ago, I
was just playing a game with my online friends, and now life has
decided to throw all this stuff at me without warning. I''ve never
even had real friends I could count on. I wonder if I''ll be able to
finish making that mod menu I was paid to make.
''What am I even saying.''
After I''ve decided that I''ve had enough rest, I
open my eyes. Wait. Why
am I looking up at my ceiling? I move my eyes around to see the
blanket on top of me. ''Why am I in the bed? Where did the lady go?
Did she wake up?'' Many questions entered my head, to which all were
answered after I turned my head to see me.
''What''s the
meaning of this? Why am I seeing
myself meditating?'' I say to myself, anticipating the truth. I raise
my arms, don''t tell me. I
bring my hands down below the blanket.
2.5. Prologue
"Mr. Kline, a visitor at the front gate. It''s Ms. Kolvak, sir."
One of the guards informed through the intercom.
"So she has finally come to see my great invention? Let her in."
The big front gate slowly opens apart to reveal a wide underground
tunnel and an innocent woman in her 30s wrapped around a white lab
coat.
"I, Silvester Kline, the world''s most genius, smart, powerful,
God-like in the world have just made a small discovery, and now the
Future Princess has come to visit me?" Silvester announces
ecstatically.
"We haven''t met in 6 years, and you already want to start off
being petty? Don''t think I''ll hold back when it''s time for me to
antagonize you." Eleanor Kolvak informs. Ms. Kolvak was
appointed one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurs worldwide, she
started by developing an Artificially Intelligent computer before she
reached her 20s, capable of maintaining itself and working flawlessly
through every scenario you would throw at it. Kolvak was no longer
amused by the riches after her 20s and chose instead to retire at the
age of 23 and continue her research of attempting to achieve
immortality.
"To be honest, I don''t think it''s possible¡ªlet me rephrase, I
don''t think it''s practical to get to the point where the human body
doesn''t age anymore," Silvester claims while maintaining a grin.
Silvester is 36 years old, and for most of his life, he too was
attempting to achieve a medicine to allow someone to tremendously
slow down or even completely stop the aging process.
Kolvak pulls out a pistol and starts shooting at Kline. She shot
around ten bullets, each with a high-pitched popping sound. "Ouch!
Did you switch from Air-soft to BB guns now?!"
"Keep talking shit and I''ll
switch to real guns soon." Kolvak talks playfully. "So
let''s see this new ''superpowers'' you seemingly achieved out of
nowhere, I thought you were trying to establish a system to edit
DNA." Kolvak signs.
"I was, but in the time of doing that, I discovered something
that could change the world. For better or worse." Silvester
explains while they both walk towards the Testing Facility.
As they reach the door, Silvester
taps his hand on the door lock scanner and exclaims, "Feast your
eyes on this!" The door opens slowly, revealing many test
capsule chambers, each with a different animal. "I know I didn''t
come all the way here to watch a zoo," Kolvak says unfazed.
"Well, I was going to show you how we experimented with these
animals and gave them powers, but if you''re gonna be that impatient,
let''s just get to the main course." Silvester taps the door, and
it automatically slides closed again. "This way." He says.
As they walk longer, the more they feel heavy. "What the heck is
that..." Kolvak expressed her discomfort. "Don''t worry,
you''ll see now."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Silvester turns to one of the doors on the side and opens it, and
they both go in. Inside was a massive isolation chamber with what
seemed to be 20 people peacefully sitting around and testing out
their powers, one of them lit up his cigar just by snapping his
fingers, and another was spinning objects around herself while
levitating mid-air. Kolvak watches in amazement, off to the side was
another warping the ground and environment around himself as if it
were fabric, the one next to him was a woman who turned all like a
ghost almost with particles resembling dry-ice mist coming out of her
body, her ethereal form was astonishing to see as she moved swiftly
with a flowing motion.
"This is not what I thought you meant when you said
''superpowers''," Kolvak admits that this new invention is truly
revolutionary. "I know, right?"
"This could start a whole new era of scientific warfare. How
strong are these powers? What research have you done so far?"
Kolvak expresses her concerns.
"So far, they just recently started getting used to their new
powers. But the most anyone has achieved is equivalent to destroying
three whole mansions."
"No way... how do you give them the powers? Injection? Pills?"
"Simple, they just have to come in contact
with this formula I developed, ''CM Formula,'' the Command Module
Formula. It allows the user to control their power after they come in
contact with your Red Energy." Red energy was discovered by
Eleanor Kolvak as a part of her mission to make faster computers, the
red energy or electricity worked just like normal electricity,
however, they could generate their gravitational pull and can be
programmed to perform specific actions.
They were initially used to help the CPU chip of
the computer perform multiple calculations in a much faster time.
However the project was postponed after they
found out red energy can be very unstable,
similar to Solid State Batteries, they are more likely to destabilize
and explode. Although they were revolutionary, they couldn''t be used
effectively due to their unstable nature, not to mention the amount
of electricity and resources it costs to output, very expensive
machinery is required to produce this energy since it needs very
precise calculations and movements.
Kolvak never thought of
using red energy on humans. The CM formula theoretically would
capitalize on the red energy''s ability to perform
these magical powers.
"How were you able to stabilize it? Even my A.I. couldn''t break
through." Kolvak exclaimed. "I didn''t."
"There''s no way they would be able to sustain
that energy for long! They would die in less than a month!"
"They¡¯ve been here testing
for 2 years already."
"How is that possible?!"
"All I did was give them a very truncate amount of red energy
and CMf and they slowly started gaining powers. However, I found that
if I changed the CM formula just a tiny bit to accommodate for
navigating human blood veins, it spreads the red energy much faster,
and just overnight the user will have full-on superpowers"
Silvester claims.
"I can''t believe this... I thought you were just going to show
some gimmicks after I saw your paper on the science board. I decided
to come see you since I haven''t for a while."
"Would you want to join me in this research?" Silvester
says.
"Join you? You know I have my project I''m working on right?"
Kolvak says while knowing that Kline''s research would also benefit
her research mutually.
"Fine. I''ll join, but I will also bring my assistants on this
project." Kolvak exclaims.
"Fine by me!"
3. Me & Myself
I sit up in the bed with the blanket covering my body.
The real me
seems to be still meditating. Or is he sleeping?
I reach my hand from under the blanket to tap the real me.
Nothing happens.
This time, I grab the shoulders and start shaking him. "H¨Chey!"
A high-pitched voice came out. Whoa, I sound completely different.
Nevertheless, I put it aside, for I have a bigger problem at hand,
"Are you gonna wake up?" Nothing happens.
There''s no way I''m that
much of a deep sleeper.
After I''ve deemed it hopeless, I stopped
shaking the real me. It looks like my mind was transferred to this
body now. Well, there''s nothing I can do about it now. Although I
know the truth, I decide to check for my thing down
there. ''This felt too
weird.''
Suddenly, my real body starts stretching his arms. ''Wait, what?!'' Why
is my real body moving? How is it thinking by itself?
The real
me stood up after stretching his arms to turn around, and we both
stared at each other. "Ah! Why are you naked?!"
The real me said, immediately turning around. "W-what the hell!
How are you awake?!" I say. "What the hell do you mean?!
Who even are you?! I gave you a blanket, so why are you naked?"
"I''m Ryuujiro! Who are you?!" I yelled out. "Are you
being dumb? I''m Ryuujiro! And you''re a girl. How would you have a
guy''s name?" Says the real me. "Dumb ass! I was just in my
real body. What are you, a parasite who takes people''s bodies?"
I don''t even know what I''m saying at this point, I feel threatened
that I can''t control the real me. "You get out of that body now!
Give it back to me!" I tell him.
"Look, I don''t know who you are"¡ªhe says while looking
upwards to avoid his vision on my body¡ª"but there''s only one
of me, so you better start telling me what you came here for or what
you want from me." He says with a serious voice.
"I''m serious. I''m Ryuujiro!
"Then if you''re the real me, then you would know something only
I would know." He says after letting go and turning around. I
suddenly realize I don''t have any secrets I''ve had hidden from
anyone. How am I supposed to think of one right now?
I try to muster up anything I could think of, "I know your
account password is ''KingdomOfDoom888''!" I say with confidence.
"Oh? So you hacked me? That isn''t convincing enough. You need to
try harder than that." He says. ''This dumb ass doesn''t believe
me!''
"I know that you like classical music." This is sure to get
his attention, I''ve always enjoyed listening to classical music and
never really told anyone about it.
"Huh? So you''ve been looking at my music app? Anyone can just
open someone''s apps and see their history."
''What
strategy can I use to convince the other me, that I''m also
me? Wait I''m confused now." Oh wait that''s right!
I grew impatient. "Look,
moron! I know you are¨Cno, I am a fanatical war strategist!"
This is no way he could get around this one since there is inherently
no easy way for anyone to get access to that information.
Dating all the way back from my Junior year of high school, I was
always fascinated with war. I would go to the local library and read
any books I saw that related to historical wars throughout history
and analyze the strategy parts of those books, which made me like I
could become a military leader one day. I would just write any
important information into a little notepad I had and later move on
to another book the next day without checking out the book, so no
records were written.
"I''m seriously the real Ryuujiro Kurio! I don''t know how, but my
mind switched from my real body to this girl''s, and somehow, you
gained consciousness all by yourself! So, can you understand the
situation for once?"
He slowly turned himself around
and sat down on the floor with his palm on his face. "Oh shit,
you''re serious!" He says with a dumbfounded look on his face.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"So my ability is this? How
do you go back?" He says worryingly.
"I have no clue. I just remember meditating next to the girl and
waking up as her." I explained, "Also, can I get some
clothes?"I say after suddenly realizing the temperature in the
room is cold, especially since I''m naked.
"Uh, sure, I''ll turn around." So he does.
I get up from the bed and open the closet to
get some casual clothes I would wear in public, gray jeans, a black
T-shirt with an old classic car model on it, and also put on my older
shoes that were getting too small for me, but they fit just fine
on this body.
"Hey, let''s try to control this... power," I tell him.
"You mean this is
my power?"
"It has to be. If not, then what else is
your power? I''m the one experiencing it!" I tell him. I thought
it would have been easier for us to understand each other since we
are the same person, however, the confusion between us is creating a
whole flood of uncertainties.
"Fine then, what do you have in mind." He says after
sliding his hands in his pockets.
"I don''t know, let''s try what I did
before, try to use your power so
I can be the real me again."
"You be
the real me? So
then, what happens to me?" He points out a good question. If my
consciousness got duplicated, and we both feel like we''re the real
ones? Who is the
real one? Who would be gone? Wait, would they even go away?
"Maybe then you will become the girl?" I point out an idea.
"Are
you dumb? Why would I want that? Hell, I haven''t even experienced
this new power. All I
know is I woke up from a nap and saw that the naked lady who was
sleeping suddenly woke up and claimed she was me."
"Well, do you not want to learn more of this power or not?
Everyone else will be getting stronger. If we don''t do this now, will
it ever happen?" I explain my perspective.
Knock knock. "Hey
Yuuji? Are you okay? You''ve been there for a while, is everything
alright? Your big brother and I just got the hang of our new powers.
Kazu is in the backyard trying to get stronger." Mom spoke from
behind the door.
''They already got used to their
powers? That fast? And I haven''t even discovered how to use it yet!''
I suddenly feel left behind.
"Ya Mom, I''m alright, I''m just getting used to my new power
right now, I''ll show it to you later." Says the real me.
"Alright, hun. Tell me when
you''re out!" She says before walking away.
He looks back at me, "Alright, fine, let''s do this. Uh... how do
we do this?"
"Maybe try what you did last time."
"Last time didn''t work. It happened when I was asleep."
"Just try it again."
"Fine." He says, proceeding to put his arm on my shoulder,
wrinkling his face and grunting like a mad dog trying to suppress his
bark.
"It¡¯s"¡ªhe takes a breath¡ª"not working." He
says after a couple of seconds.
"You know you don''t have to hold your breath, right?"
"Hey, let me try it. Maybe it will work because I was the one
receiving the power." I tell him before removing his hand from
my shoulder and putting mine on his, realizing the height difference
between us is higher than I originally expected.
"Alright, try it." He says.
Preparing myself, I start, "Here I go."
Without warning, my head starts hurting, as if I''m learning
everything you can read from a dictionary.
"Ahh! What the fuck!!!" I scream as I open my eyes and
notice I''m looking at the girl. My brain feels like it went through a
washing machine, and soon it settled back to normal.
"Holy shit! I''m back to my normal body!" I say as if I
mastered my newfound ability. "How is it?" I ask the other
me.
Instead, the girl was just looking at me, emotionless. "Is it
how?" She says with a monotone voice.
"Are you joking around or did something wrong happen?" I
say, realizing it isn''t the time to joke around.
"Are did happen?" She says as if she''s asking the question.
"Shit. I''m guessing something wrong did happen this time. Well,
I guess I don''t have to call you another me this time since you seem
different." I say to her, expecting another bad answer.
"Shit" she responds.
"Me and you the same. Can you walk? I''m too tired to keep
testing this shitty power, I might get stuck in the girl body and the
other me is a douche bag." I say while grabbing her hand and
slowly walking her to the door.
"Keep same walk." She says after taking an awkward step as
if it''s her first time walking.
She doesn''t seem to be a person with her own mind. I wonder if the
reason she woke up was because I was in her body and she learned from
it. That could explain why she wasn''t doing anything when I first saw
her. She was only an empty vessel. Does that mean she can learn?
"Well I gotta give you a name since I can''t keep calling you
''the other me,'' so I, Ryuujiro Kurio will give you a new name,"
I say without having any name ideas in mind.
"Rookoryo eia mi" She tries to imitate my words. Which
suddenly gave me an idea for a new name.
"How about... Ryuuka! That''s it, Ryuuka."
I unlock the door and walk Ryuuka out with me... I just realized...
how will I explain this to them?
After a couple of seconds, as I was walking Ryuuka out, she slowed
down gradually and stopped. Her eyes close down and she''s no longer
holding herself up.
I try to pick her up as I say, "Hey, what''s wrong? Get up."
She''s now sleeping just like she was before.
Mom spotted us from the living room and looked at me with a worried
face. "Ryuuji who is she?"
"She... is part of my
power... Can you help me put her on the couch for now?" I ask.
4. Rip Each Other Apart
"Everyone run! Those who can fight, please step up and defend
the weak!"
"They''re headed this way! Those murderers!"
The TV was broadcasting news of users with strong powers running
around and destroying the city. Watching it, I didn''t feel all that
terrified, I felt like I was watching a movie. On the other hand, Mom
was completely devastated. Knowing that your life can always be at
risk from other people who decide to be dangerous with their powers
can be daunting.
Kazu enters the living room from the backyard door covered in sweat.
"Who''s that?" He asks after sliding the door shut.
"Something that relates to my
power. Don''t ask." I say, trying not to cause a commotion. "She
looks like you a lot. What is she a duplicate of you or something?"
He says.
Mom takes a glance at the sleeping girl, "Oh I didn''t notice
that before." She says surprised. I don''t understand why Ryuuka
went back to sleep. She was just walking and talking a moment ago.
"Kazu look at the TV. People are dying everywhere. It''s out of
control." Says Mom, "No one goes outside for now, at least
until things calm down."
Kazu gives a slight nod while gazing at the TV before looking back at
me. I''m currently eating a sandwich while sitting on the couch, with
Ryuuka sitting asleep and laid back.
"So what are you gonna do
with her? Does she do anything?" Kazu asks.
"I believe I can take control of her," I say while still
munching and chewing food. "Wait you can control her? How? Show
me!" Kazu demands.
"Not now, I haven''t gotten used to it yet, plus I get a
brain-ache every time I use it." I spoke out, "I just don''t
want to bother right now. Let me understand the environment we are in
first." I contest.
"Sure man. Imma take a shower so take care of the house. I''m too
sweaty right now, I guess even rocks can sweat hah!" He says
while walking away.
As I finished my food, Mom confronted me with a great question, "Wait
Yuuji. Doesn''t the girl need to eat as well?"
"I don''t know." I''m
almost certain she would need food since otherwise how else would she
get energy, or she would always be draining me of my power to remain
active? One important thing to know is, how powers operate on energy.
Is the energy just using your stamina? I don''t have any answers as of
now. I guess it''s better to leave it for the experts to figure this
stuff out and explain it properly. As for now, I have to work off my
guesses.
"I think you should give her food," Mom says. "I''m
gonna need to switch to her then, I''m not sure if it will work
correctly though." I express my concerns.
"Is that difficult to do?" She asks.
"I should be able to do it, but there might be some problems,"
I explain before getting ready to switch. I kept hard focus on what
felt like my power and tried to point it towards Ryuuka''s head and
released my energy, after a couple of seconds I felt like my power
had a different, odd feeling to it. I remembered feeling like it when
switching before, but I didn''t pay attention to it.
"Just be careful." I hear my mom say before my vision fades
to black and get up as Ryuuka.
As I attempt to pull my head forward and lean into a sitting
position, I suddenly feel my brain burning like hell, as if I have a
cramp in my brain. All I could do was hold my head firmly with my
hands to try and ease the pain. It felt like I was relearning every
piece of information I ever knew all at the same time.
"Are you okay? Is everything fine?" Mom asks. I wish I
could answer but my head is hurting so much I could only bite my lips
and brace the pain.
Then I feel a rub on my back, "Looks like it worked, but I''m
still awake, and you''re the real me now." This was the split
consciousness talking that is now controlling my real body while I''m
on this one.
"I don''t understand. How can you be two at once?" Mom asks
after witnessing my power.
"I honestly have no clue, but what I know is that I''m not the
real one, but the one taken over Ryuuka is the real me. As for me,
all I did was focus my power on the girl and just saw her become
alive again." The split one tries to explain his point of view
while my head feels like it was just healing back up after being
turned to mush from a chainsaw.
"It hurts too much, I think I''ll switch back now," I say
after showing my abilities.
"Wait you have to eat some food first." She takes a spoon
and tries to feed me some of her soup, to which after I eat five to
six spoons. "I think the pain is going away now," I say.
"Do you think that''s because
of the food?"Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"I think it just fades after a while."
"So what now," the split body spoke. "I think we
should try to master this power more. There has to be other stuff it
can do. Maybe if you keep switching then it won''t hurt as much."
The split body knows exactly what I was thinking.
"I agree." I say standing up, "Let''s try a bunch of
stuff with the power and see how it works!" I was genuinely
excited. What could this power hold?
Wait a second, I have to try this, "System window!"
"What?" Mom questioned.
"Oh, good idea, real me." Said split body.
"System popup! System call! Board! Hey system! Stats!"
Nothing happened at all.
"What are you trying to do?" Says mom.
"Nothing, it''s just something I see a lot in books, I guess it
doesn''t make sense in real life." I try to explain without
revealing that I read a lot of anime and mangas that have crazy
leveling systems. Which makes sense. This is real life, not a game.
"Well, me and I will go start testing some stuff out so I can
get stronger with my powers." That''s right, stronger, now that
everyone has gained powers, the world has changed from a
money-oriented status ranking system to a power status ranking
system. Having power is what''s going to allow someone to rule over
another.
I had split body write multiple notes on the possible theories we had
on this power. First of all, I switch back to my real body, or a
better way to say it is, merge everything I learned while I
controlled Ryuuka and everything that happened with my split body
into the same clump of memories. Although I anticipated that my brain
would hurt switching back, it didn''t hurt as much as before. What
affected it? Or is it because I was controlling Ryuuka for a much
shorter time?
Speaking about Ryuuka, after I merge back to my real body, Ryuuka
starts being active again, almost like she''s alive by herself.
However, it didn''t seem like she improved her learning or anything at
all. Every time I spoke to her, she would sparsely repeat or combine
words and mumble them. After a couple of minutes, she would shut down
entirely and go back to sleep.
Here''s what else I found out. The more often I switch, the less my
brain hurts since less information is sent or updated to each other''s
brain. The downside is that the pain is dramatically harsher the
longer I wait before switching bodies.
On the third day, I understood a fundamental concept, the farther I
am from my main body, the longer time exponentially it takes to
switch back when focusing on the other body. For example, 10 feet
away takes 5 seconds to switch back, while 20 feet takes 15 seconds,
it''s a huge difference, and the farther we are apart, the longer it
takes.
One thing I noticed when I was
attempting to switch bodies extremely fast was that there seemed to
be a thread between me and Ryuuka, each time I tried to connect, it
felt like I was, or my consciousness was sliding on that thread
across to the other side. This gave me another theory to test out.
However, it seems like I need to learn how to control my power
correctly to test out my new ideas.
After a couple of days, my split body and I were able to work
together to achieve more productivity. For instance, split body,
which is my real body, can be reading a book, going on the computer,
or even learning a whole subject, and on Ryuuka I can clean around
the house, prepare food, or heck, even just read another book! Once I
merged back, I learned and understood everything I did on both
bodies. The only problem is the headaches, or what I call brain
cramps.
To use this power effectively, when the split body is sleeping, I
control Ryuuka and get on the computer to research and take notes. I
wouldn''t want my real body overworked. I research everything and
anything I can get on how powers work fighting techniques and
tactical information on survival. This has helped a lot, I''ve also
built much better mobility while controlling Ryuuka, since according
to anatomy, female bodies have different maneuvers and movements than
male bodies, it took less than a week for me to get used to fighting
in it like it was my own body.
The more information I learn, the harsher the pain is, after just
reading half a book on one body, and learning a dinner recipe, I was
given an almost 30-minute long headache after merging. It was a
painful problem and I had to find a way to solve it.
"The streets look much calmer now than a week ago," I say
watching the window.
"I think it''s safe enough outside to go buy stuff, I think I
even see some normal civilians outside." Split body claims.
"Do you really think so? I''ll
go tell Mom I''ll be going outside." I say, realizing I was
Ryuuka. Does that mean my mom has essentially also gained a daughter?
What am I saying, this body is just a power, but I can''t help but
wonder, what if I met danger outside and was killed, would my
consciousness merge back to my original body, or would my real
consciousness be gone forever and split body lives? Wait, isn''t Split
Body just the real me?
"Do you think the real me will die if I die as Ryuuka?" I
ask split body.
"Your guess is literally the same thing as mine." His
answer makes total sense. We are the same person after all, with the
same mind.
I go over to the living room and see Mom watching the news again.
"That guy is insane! Someone stop him, he just destroyed two
6-story buildings just because someone made fun of his shoes?!"
Then the camera zoomed in to a guy with spikey hair and goggles with
a maniacal smile, looking like a came out of a steampunk cosplay
convention.
"Hey, mom."
"Who? Wait oh never mind, I almost forgot you can control the
girl now." She says.
"I''m gonna go outside and buy some stuff from the hardware store
and some clothes."
"Don''t go outside! It''s very dangerous don''t you see the news?"
She objects to my actions.
"It''s okay, I''ve been watching the streets these days, it''s much
more calm outside, also I''m going as Ryuuka so no matter what
happens, my real body is at home," I reassure her.
She looks at me with second thoughts, "But didn''t you say that
your real consciousness is when you are controlling Ryuuka?"
Shit, she got me there.
"It''s okay, even if something happens, my consciousness will go
back to my real body by itself."
She stares at me for a while before speaking again, "Only if you
are really sure, I don''t want you to get into any fights okay?"
"You should get your mind off the bad stuff on TV, you know
that''s happening on a whole different provenance right?" I
picked up the TV remote and switched to a different channel that was
playing cartoons.
I grab some cash from my wallet and put on a hoodie to conceal myself
and avoid any contact with anyone who seems threatening.
"If I''m not back by
tomorrow, assume I''m dead if the power doesn''t let you know,
although I would like to be back in less than 2 hours." Split
body nods while staring at the computer screen, playing chess. I
unlock the front door and lock it back on the way out as I begin to
walk down the sidewalk. I wonder if the outside will be turned into a
strategic stage, and if then, what moves can I make, except to become
a pawn.
AUX/4.01. Experiment Attempt 500,000
All it could see was pitch dark.
All it could hear was wind-tearing sounds surrounding itself.
All it could smell was a strong metallic smell.
''Who am I?''
"DPC five hundred thousand," a monotone female voice
responded. "Combat initiation within 10 seconds."
The entity now identified as DPC 500k was now able to see when it
opened up its eyelids.
As its head was pointed downwards, it noticed its body, ''body
confirmed female, approximately 20 years of age.'' DPC 500k thought to
herself.
Looking up, DPC 500k noticed it was in a brightly lit room, an
experiment chamber.
"Initiation in 5 seconds," the female voice spoke again.
DPC quickly noticed a window panel
that was filled with a gray solid color.
She attempted to move and noticed the floor was filled with an
unidentifiable dark red liquid that rose to DPC 500k''s ankles, with
what seemed to be limbs spread around the room.
"Initiation in 2....1"
Vrrr, the
center part of the wall in front of DPC, opened to expose a gun
barrel, which immediately shot out a heavy caliber round.
DPC''s entire bloodstream gushes at record-breaking speeds and dodges
the bullet by forcing her feet to push her body off the ground,
tearing her leg muscles in the process.
DPC lands on the top corner of the room with her feet, to which she
notices another part of the wall is opening on the opposite side of
the wall, aiming directly at her.
DPC quickly pushes her feet off the wall, this time calibrating
herself to not rip her muscles apart.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
DPC landed with her feet on the floor, splashing the red substance.
On each of the four walls, a barrel popped out. However, they didn''t
shoot immediately, and some of the bullets were delayed. DPC
immediately noticed this when two bullets were shot in a different
timely manner.
There was no way to know which would shoot first. As soon as a bullet
was fired, DPC was ready to push off.
Each second, more and more barrels opened up on every wall. All she
could do was dodge the bullets in the center.
When all the walls were filled with guns, they all stopped firing at
once.
DPC 500k breathed heavily in an optimal rhythm to concentrate her
breathing.
Then suddenly, without warning, all the guns from every side fired
their heavy rounds at the same time.
Within almost the speed of light, DPC 500k calculated 10,000
different scenarios to find the maximum percentage of survival.
DPC immediately curled her feet into a bone-breaking angle to
establish enough rotation force to spin around, using her right arm
to block all the bullets while spinning to attempt to halt the
bullets from reaching her internal organs.
After spinning around blocking all the bullets with her right arm,
DPC''s entire right arm exploded from catching all the bullets at
once.
DPC 500k was bleeding and was now feeling dizzy and had blurry
vision.
Barely holding herself together, DPC thought to herself, ''Is it
finally over?''
Immediately again, all the guns in the room shot at once.
This time, DPC used her left arm
and used her broken legs to spin counter-clockwise.
This time, DPC''s left arm exploded. Also, despite her attempt to
block all the bullets, a whole row of bullets managed to shoot her
right side.
DPC fell to the floor, face-planting into the metallic substance.
All the guns on the walls were closed back up.
DPC 500k thought to herself, ''Maybe the red substance can heal me and
restore my lost limbs,'' since her limbs were extruding the red
substance, perhaps it would rebuild itself if it were consumed.
DPC started drinking up the red substance on the floor that didn''t
add any effect.
DPC then noticed a red line beam slowly crawling towards her.
In fear, DPC attempted to move out of the way, for she was not fast
enough, and the red line managed to sever her legs off.
''Calculated 5,000 scenarios to survive, 4 plausible outcomes,'' DPC
500k let out her last words before her eyes faded to black.
A portion of the ceiling opened up for a robotic arm to show up, a
needle attached to it.
The arm pointed the needle towards
DPC, moved closer to inject the needle, and extracted a tube of blood
from DPC 500k.
"Operation attempt 500,000
successful, clone survived procedure 13.51 seconds longer than the
previous highest record. New DNA sample extracted, ready to commit
disposal. " The female monotone voice spoke before the center of
the floor opened up and sucked in all the blood and limbs in the
room.
5. But The Evil Is Necessary (Part 1)
It''s been less than 2 weeks, and people are already getting
accustomed to their powers. While my other body was getting used to
itself, I realized I had been getting less sleep as each day passed.
People all around the world were getting accustomed to their powers,
I didn''t understand how they could have accomplished these feats with
haste. After I asked Mom and Kazu, they both gave me a similar
answer, "It feels like a muscle in my body that I can control."
Was it really that simple for them? For a whole week, I''ve been
merging my brains, and we haven''t achieved any real progress.
I have full knowledge of everything that has happened after we merge
our brains. So I have full experience of being Ryuuka and Ryuujiro.
The bad part about it is when we disagree, if I believe something to
be false, while the other body believes it to be true, merging our
brains will give two sides of the story and while in theory it should
make it easier to choose, it only makes it harder to make the logical
choice.
A very detailed article studied by authentic scientists came atop the
hill. It explained the fundamental parts of powers. They operate
through the use of their energy. Currently, it is unknown how people
can regenerate their energy after a while. They also guarantee that
these powers are artificially made. It is most definitely not a
natural phenomenon.
The article was very short, but in the end, it stated that some
powers operate completely differently than most powers. They have a
whole different league of complexity. Lastly, they began to talk
about the infinite numbers of powers that could exist, "There''s
no way all of these powers were programmed individually. The core of
these powers that reside in us have a way of deciding how they
operate. There is a carefully designed program inside it! It must
have a formula! If only we had access to it, then we could replicate
its initial form and learn about all of its complexity."
The door opens slightly, causing a beam of light to illuminate the
room. "Is everything fine? I haven''t heard from you much these
days." Kazu speaks out. I turn around to face him, "I''m
fine, what have you been up to."
"I think I got the hang of my ability now. My friends have been
texting me about their abilities. We agree next week I''ll meet them
if life isn''t gonna get in my way, I''ll be driving Mom to her
friend''s house." Kazu informs me. It must be nice having
friends, I wonder if that would''ve been a bigger advantage if I had
made some acquaintances before the Awakening. That''s what everyone
refers to now.
"I''ll just be exploring more of power. It seems like it''s much
more complex than I thought it would be."
"Alright, but tell me if something happens." He says,
closing the door back up. My family and their friends have been
leveling up their game, I hope it''s my turn soon.
Ryuuka has gone off to the outside and explored for 4 hours now, I
found out something interesting that is related to our power. I''ve
been testing it only just recently. It''s also the reason why I found
out that both our bodies can use the power. However, I still don''t
understand how the original body can not choose to merge with the
replicated mind. How does it prioritize it? That, to me, is still a
mystery.
Regardless, when she comes back, I believe my questions will only get
closer to being answered, for the ability I gained is very
intriguing. Let''s just say we need lots of garbage bags and a strong
stomach.
"Hey, dumb ass! Catch my truck!" A fat man yells after
lifting and throwing a gas tank semi-truck at what seems to be a
gang-related member, judging by the tattoos I spotted on his face and
arms. The gang member raises his fist like an uppercut punch and
causes fire to come out of his arms and make the truck explode where
he stands. I huge explosion arose from where the man was. He was sure
to be dead.
''Is that guy stupid? He just took a semi-truck explosion to the face!
He didn''t even try to dodge it!'' I thought to myself before watching
a burning human body walk out of the explosion like the Terminator.
The fire on his body dissipated, and now he was laughing maniacally,
"HAHAHA! You fucking ass hat! Fire and explosions don''t do shit
to me!" The gang man says while being naked, looks like his
clothes can still be affected by fire and explosion.
''No way! That guy just took a whole gas explosion to the face and
still survived?!'' I think to myself, suddenly realizing I might be
too close to the battleground. ''I just want to get to the store
dammit! Just kill each other elsewhere!'' I have been waiting for a
whole hour for these two morons to finish their fight and leave,
they''re blocking my way to the hardware store and I definitely can''t
handle a semi-truck being thrown at me!
This body of mine is too weak, even compared to an average person. I
haven''t done any physical workouts or training whatsoever. Seeing a
man just casually throw an entire truck at another man like it was a
toy truck, and the other man just eat it up like it was nothing made
me completely break down mentally. ''They''ve already got this strong?''
Meanwhile, all I can do is switch between two bodies, and the other
is inferior. I feel like just dropping to the floor and start crying.
After waiting for a while, the gang dude flung the fat man into a
building farther away and they started fighting on the other side of
the street.
I checked one more time for any other trouble before slowly making my
way to the store. I can''t believe there are idiots like that fighting
in broad daylight.
At the entrance, the door automatically slides open when it detects
my presence.
"Hold it! Don''t move!" A man behind the cashier counter
yells out.
The sudden appearance of a gun frightened me, I almost jolted out of
the way as my senses told me to, but I had to stop myself in case he
might''ve thought I''d been dangerous.
"Who else is out there?"
The man shouts.
"It''s just me," I say putting my arms up.
The man takes a peek around the window to attempt to spot any other
people then proceeds to slowly shuffle around the counter and move
towards me while pointing his gun at me.
"Please stop pointing that at me," I say quietly in fear
with my hands up. Having a gun pointed a me is truly horrifying. If
something were to scare him, he could accidentally shoot his gun. I
don''t even know what would happen if I died as the other body. Would
my consciousness merge back with Split Body or would I die and lose
my consciousness? If I were to attempt to find that out I would have
to be prepared to die, and currently, I''m not.
The man gets behind the closest shelf, which seems to be stocked with
drills, his arm pointing a gun at me, "No can do missy! Now tell
me what freaky power do you have? I have to see it so you aren''t
lying." The man answers with a demand.
"Look I''m just here to buy some stuff and I''ll get out, I''m not
here to steal stuff," I answer, pulling cash from my pocket to
show.
"Yeah? You couldn''t wait a while? You see what theys been doing
on my street? I''m not letting no one take over my store. Now tell me
what your power is!" He demanded.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
I was going to ask him what his power is, but I''m not really in the
position to say that. I can''t risk telling him my power, I don''t want
to know what he would do if I told him my power is controlling two
people. Would he consider me not as important since I have another
body? I don''t want to find out.
"I haven''t got used to my
power yet. So I don''t fully understand it." What I said isn''t
false.
"What does it do!"
Trying to come up with a useless power, I say, "My power lets me
freeze things, but right now it''s very weak." I lie to him.
"Oh yeah? Prove it." He
says.
"Well, I need something to use it on," I say.
He rummages around his fanny pack and throws me a water bottle,
"Freeze that." He demands.
I hold the bottle up to my waist and make a pose that shows I''m
attempting to concentrate on the bottle. His finger is still on the
trigger, I wanted to throw the bottle at him and run behind the
shelf, but I was too scared.
"What are you waiting for!" He says impatiently.
"I was only able to make it very cold, here check it." I
throw the bottle at him as hard as I can after I see his arm lose
concentration on me. I dash behind the shelf into a prone position
and start quickly crawling.
"You fucking bitch!" Loud bullet shots go off, creating
holes in the shelves. ''Holy shit!''
He was shooting from two shelves ahead of me. I move quickly between
shelves, so he doesn''t spot me. I peek my eye between a bunch of
wrenches to see him looking in the opposite direction.
I quickly run up the shelf and push it as hard as I can to make it
fall on his head.
The shelf full of drills falls but only grazes him before hitting the
floor with a bunch of loud metallic clanging sounds bursting my ear
drums.
"Shit!" He screams out as he pushes the shelf off and puts
his hand on his head.
I run at him to attempt to knock him out, but suddenly, as I punch
him, he shoots his gun at me. I hear a loud bang before I punch him
down and grab the gun.
I point the gun at him and pull the trigger, the gun clicks without
going off.
I need to reload it, I try to move my left arm to lock in the barrel,
but my hand isn''t there. I turn my head to look at my left shoulder
and see it bleeding.
"You stupid fuck! You shot my arm!" I scream in rage. I
immediately started kicking him and stomping his face with my shoe
until his face bled and he stopped moving.
The pain on my arm escalated
quickly and I felt the agony immediately.
Holding my bleeding arm, I look for something to ease the pain. I
took a pack of ice and I found an emergency kit with supplies and
bandages in the store''s bathroom.
It looks like the bullet only went through my flesh and went right
out the other side. But I was barely able to move my arm, It felt
like it got a big portion of my muscles.
The gun had no ammo so I decided to throw it away.
I ate a couple of snacks I found hidden behind the checkout counter
and then slowly went around the store looting the place for anything
of worth. It wasn''t my original intention, but certain circumstances
have led me here.
This was a hardware store but it barely had anything useful. The best
thing I could find was a nail gun. There was a chainsaw and a
tactical hunting axe, but they were too heavy to handle for me so I
decided to leave them behind. I also take with me a hunting knife and
a utility knife for backup, also because I like knives.
After I roamed for around 20 minutes, I decided to walk out of the
store and explore someplace else. The man was still unconscious. He
might be dead, but I didn''t bother to check. I wonder what his
ability was.
The doors slide out to welcome the warm air outside. I step out,
scouting around for any troubles.
All clear. Sadly, the clothing
shop I wanted to go to was destroyed. It was too risky for me to
enter it and die from falling debris.
I suddenly remembered that there was a small thrift shop nearby, it
was originally owned by a retired veteran, the new owner was the
veteran''s grandson after he passed away. The last I had been there
must''ve been a couple of months. I went to buy retro video game discs
that I resold online for a profit almost four times the amount I
bought them for after I realized how rare they were.
I remember the store had a good amount of military equipment and
such, which probably belonged to the veteran.
The only problem was that there
were a couple of power users jumping around the area. I would need to
be extra cautious if I wanted to get there safely.
I snatched a tactical fanny pack when I was in the hardware store to
be used as a holster for the nail gun. I made sure to keep it open so
I could easily take it out if I needed to.
I gripped my hunting knife tightly before I started to sneak toward
the thrift shop. The street clears out for a while so I start slowly
walking, when I reach the big separation between the two sidewalks
and make it all the way to the other side. It felt uncanny when I
crossed the big street, I even instinctively looked on both sides
while sprinting to the other side. Tokyo is always full of people and
cars, so it felt wrong to see it as empty as it was. ''It feels like
it''s the aftermath of an apocalypse.'' Is what I thought to myself.
After I safely crossed to the other side, looks like it was closed. I
peek inside to spot any person. I started going around the building
to look for a way inside. There were two entrances, the front glass
door, and the back door. I tried budging the back door but it was
locked. That means my only option is to break into the front doors.
After I peek once again for safety, I smash my heavy-duty nail gun at
the glass, and with only one hit, the glass broke down. Carefully
watching my steps, I enter the shop. I feel bad for breaking into
their shop, but I need it to survive.
Taking one look around, everything seems to be just junk lying
around. However, I was able to find some items that paid off for the
cost of getting here. I found 2 combat military helmets, tactical
combat boots, and cargo pants. There were other military clothes but
they were going to be too heavy for me. I snatched a stack of long
socks and black women''s underwear to accustom the boots and I was
able to find myself a black sports tank top, which was better for
movement. I felt my luck hit the top of the ceiling when I found a
large forest green duffel bag to carry all the items I''d be taking. I
decided to change my clothes to the military set I chose in the store
and put all my original clothes in the duffel bag and the extra socks
and underwear, along with the second helmet. I wore the
sturdier-looking helmet with the head straps it came with.
I looked at a dusty mirror and saw myself looking like a bad ass,
although I could use more muscles. As I was about to leave, I spotted
a sunglasses display stand. I tested out different sunglasses, and
most of them seemed to be older-generation glasses, however, from the
start I already had my eyes on the cooler, visor wraparound
sunglasses. They were a little big and bulky but it looked way too
good to pass up the opportunity. I felt like a trained assassin who
would always keep a serious tone when wearing them and hitting a cool
pose in the mirror.
I try to hit an athletic pose until I feel a rush of pain when the
wound on my arm opens up again. ''Are you kidding me?'' I breathe a
deep sigh before lifting the strap of the duffel bag onto my right
shoulder so the bag hangs on my left hip and I have more
maneuverability on my right and begin trudging along. Looks like it
was starting to get dark outside now, I looked around my environment
to see more people outside, they seemed to be carefully looking
around their area to watch for any dangers.
I should probably get going in the unfortunate case that the owner of
the shop might decide to check up on his store. Wearing this new tank
top allows me to feel the breeze of the air. It was surprisingly
cleaner than I expected. Honestly, I expected more people to be going
outside and looting everything, was I the only one who had this
mindset? I''ve always felt like I was ready for war. I''m not sure why,
but I feel like I would enjoy it. If I do ever go to war, I hope that
isn''t the case.
As I continued walking down the block, I heard someone shouting, I
tried to ignore it until I heard it again louder, but I couldn''t
quite make it out so I continued walking. I turn back to my path and
continue until a man shouts at me, "Hey you! Stop ignoring me!"
I take a look at him, he appeared to be a blond college freshman like
I was, but as I''ve seen before, looks can deceive. I prepared myself
to run at full speed, even contemplating if I should throw away my
bag to make myself light. Unless it''s a Gucci bag, my life isn''t
worth a duffel bag. "Wait don''t run! Look my power lets me make
things fly!" He says before opening his palm and showing a candy
bar. The bar starts to levitate and gradually flies at me while
gaining speed.
''Wait is that gonna explode?!'' Is the only thing I can think of while
in this situation. I try to dodge it when the snack bar hits my
forehead and drops to my hands. "See? I wasn''t lying! Hey,
what''s your name!" He shouts from afar. I decided to stay
silent, I wasn''t sure what to do, but the last thing I wanted to do
was give my identity to strangers, especially in the devastating
state the world is in.
"You don''t talk much, do you? Well, my name is Haruto! If you
want we can be friends!" He yells out.
I look at him briefly before turning the corner and running away. ''Is
he a dumb ass? Who goes outside and yells out their power to the
first stranger they see?'' After I ran away he didn''t seem to be
following me and wasn''t shouting anymore. I break my run into a jog,
then to a walk again to avoid opening my wound again. I look at the
snack bar he threw at me. "Jolly Jar''s Nutritional Almond
Protein Bar," a cheap snack bar that I even remember my school
giving out in elementary school.
Eventually, I reach the front
porch of my house and start knocking on the door. The first person to
open should be Split Body, as he should be expecting me, so when Kazu
opened the door, we both surprised each other.
6. But The Evil Is Necessary (Part 2)
The door
opens with Kazu on the other side of the frame.
He sees me wearing a new outfit, which is kind of embarrassing. He
has a surprised face on.
"I just took my second body to get some loot. It''s survival
basics," I tell him.
"Uhh, yeah, sure ok," He says while opening the door wider.
"Not what I thought Mom went when she said you''d be going
outside." He admits.
''What else could I mean?'' I thought to myself before going to my room
to meet Split Body.
I drop the duffel bag on the floor as I enter and see my original
body waiting there menacingly.
"Why weren''t you the one to open the door, huh?" If it
wasn''t me, I would''ve probably punched Split Body.
He looks at me with amazement, "Nice outfit! You probably don''t
need the helmet on when you''re inside the house," He says while
ignoring my question. "Hey, let''s merge quickly. You need to
learn about this."
"Give me a break dude, do you even know how tired I am? I got
shot in my arm, and the first thing you think is merge?!" I
whine out as I toss my helmet to the ground and lay on the bed with
my arms and legs stretched out.
"How bad is it?" He says using a tone of carelessness.
"It just went right through the muscle, and it hurts. I found
bandages, but I think I need to use rubbing alcohol."
"Yeah... good luck with that." He says, lying back.
"Merge me and let Ryuuka rest. We can use alcohol when you''re
not using the body. This is important." He says this time with a
more serious tone.
"Fine," I said, bracing myself for a brain cramp, then
proceeded to use my mind to push my power forward to Split Body
without lifting a single finger. I learned to do that after a while
of merging minds.
My eyes fade into my main body, and my brain feels like it is getting
violently scratched with huge, sharp nails, to the point my body was
twitching and snapping from my sharp pain sensors going off.
My mind was now merged with Ryuuka and my main body, I learned a lot
more stuff instantly about powers from articles my main body read
while Ryuuka was out, this came along with dirty thoughts I had while
in my main body. One thing that immediately stood out though, was a
new concept of how I would use my power.
When I''m merged, the only way to tell apart which memory I''m looking
at is either from another memory that remembers which body I was in
or by what I saw in the memory. I assume this is why it takes a while
to process all the information in my brain. Sometimes, if I don''t
process the information in my brain thoroughly, I feel like I made
memories that don''t exist or start repeating stuff I already did on
the other body.
Although it bothers me, it can wait until I find a solution.
This new memory of the concept of
my power was the first thing I processed in my head, immediately
after, the inside of my mouth was filled with vomit. I went to the
toilet to puke it out twice.
''How is that possible?!'' The new power I discovered was much more
complex and uncanny than I initially thought.
What I saw in my memory, or what I remembered was my main body
reaching out his hand in the backyard with air spinning around,
tearing itself, around where his hand was pointing.
The scary part was what looked like a small human heart was being
grown out of thin air as if it was being generated. As the air kept
going around in a circle like it was tearing the air around it, the
human heart started beating¡ªSplit Body got scared and let go of the
power, the heart immediately dropped from floating above the ground,
and as it squashed and rolled on the ground, blood sprayed around it.
Split Body immediately moved away and started vomiting a storm.
Split Body brought a black trash bag and used a piece of cloth to
pick up the heart and place it inside the bag. As he does this, I
feel all of the sensations, the squishy meat, the oily blood
drenching my hands. It was like it was me who was there, even though
I was controlling Ryuuka at the time.
Split Body no longer attempted to move forward with continuing what
he was doing and waited until I came back.
After processing this, the first thought that came to my mind wasn''t
that I might be able to create more bodies while controlling Ryuuka,
or how it was even possible, the science behind creating all of it,
or even understanding how it operated. No, the first thing I could
think of was if this was even morally right.
My brain thought of a whole ocean of questions on this new ability
I''ve discovered, ''What will Mom and Kazu think?'' I contemplate in my
mind the many moral problems and complications that could occur.
I take a look at Ryuuka who is sleeping on the
bed, slightly drooling. ''Was Ryuuka also created like that?'' It was a
wild thought, if I could make many clones and
somehow found a way to control multiple of them at once... No wait, I
might be thinking too optimistically, although, even if
I couldn''t control
all of them, wouldn''t that still allow me to have multiple lives to
go through? If I have to go through the process of creating clones,
does that mean I can change their genetics? The last question held
great value, I just imagined a whole city of normal-looking people,
but each person is controlled by me...
I suppressed myself from thinking
too far off. First off, I needed to get accustomed to this power.
There''s already some people who have overpowered abilities.
Meanwhile, I can only control two people, which is a major difference
in power scale.
Maybe because my power isn''t meant to be structured for quality like
all of those strong abilities, my power is within numbers.
Even though I would like to create more of me, it''s already weird and
awkward with Mom and Kazu having to live with Ryuuka and when I
control her.
I choose to split my food in half and eat only half the plate and
leave the rest for when I control Ryuuka. Something that bothers me
is when I switch to Ryuuka, it delivers me a much stronger headache
than when I merge back to the main body. Not to mention showering,
last thing we need is another person hogging the bath, so when I go
shower, I switch and both of us go in, we quickly shower and get out.
When Mom and Kazu realized this, they were fearful that I might''ve
been doing the dirty stuff. I made them realize once again that I own
the bodies and have already seen both of them naked.
After all, I''ve only done one session of intercourse with Split Body,
it was fine and all at first, but you can only imagine how tangled my
brain got after merging. Feeling the sensations both from each side
was too weird so I stopped doing it. Not to mention, doing it for the
first time with yourself is well...
Either way, adding another Ryuuka
to the family would be too hard, I can''t be sharing my plates in
three ways, not including how Mom and Kazu would react if they see me
go in the shower with two women.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
This is all considering that I would be making another Ryuuka, I
would hope to make more men so I have more muscle and strength.
There are other things that are bothering me, Ryuuka, although
doesn''t have a huge rack, they still gets in the way and the movement
at first felt completely different from a man''s. Secondly, I need to
buy clothes for men and women''s. Lastly, for now at least, I need to
cut her hair, it''s too long, when I had the hoodie on it wasn''t much
of a problem since the hoodie locked the hair in place, however, as
soon as I changed to a tank top, the hair goes all over the place.
I didn''t want to bother my family knowing I can make more humans, but
it''s necessary for my power to evolve, so I will just have the new
one living in the streets and survive after I learn how to control
this power first.
I switch to Ryuuka and experience the brain cramp. I had Split Body
take a nap. I needed to test if my power works while I''m not in the
main body.
It seems that the flesh wound that was inflicted from the bullet on
my left arm had dried out. Moving it quickly still stings, I still
need to add alcohol later after this.
I go under the kitchen sink cabinet and roll
out a couple trash bags for the failed tests.
I know that
what I''m doing is probably wrong, but if I don''t do it, who will?
It''s evil... but the evil is necessary.
I walk out onto the top right corner of the backyard, behind a tree.
I spot blood and vomit stains that were caused from the first time my
main body attempted to create a human.
I open up a trash bag and lay it open outwards on the floor, I came
outside expecting some failed results.
After taking a long, deep breath, I take my right arm outward and
focus on my power. From my main body''s memory, a lot was going on
through the senses, I have to take into account that feeling
sensations through memories is hard to interpret since they aren''t
currently happening.
Looks like Split Body was just careless dumping in lots of energy and
twisting it into different threads.
I try to duplicate the same action from my memory and pour in energy,
I can never see my energy, but I can somehow sense it, I don''t
understand how, but my brain kind of buzzes when I sense energy. This
could have also been the case when I was outside and watching those
two guys fighting.
The only problem with is that it can easily mistaken with sound
vibrating in your ears, or when your having a minor headache. So in
order to feel it you would need to concentrate on the feeling.
My energy starts pouring out in a large blob. I try to find different
ways to twist my energy, the best I could manage was rotating the
blob counter-clockwise in a very slow pace, and it wasn''t consistent.
''I don''t get it, why isn''t it working,'' I think to myself.
I start trying every thing I could
think of in my brain to control it, until, a dash of wind quickly
stirred the air like a tornado, but it stopped immediately.
"Oh, I did something!" I
say excitedly to myself, attempting to repeat my action.
At the very lower back of my brain I can kind of control it, I try to
budge the muscle, and it causes more wind to fly out.
I find that, if I pour energy
while using the odd part of my brain, the blob of energy I produced
starts spinning horrifically fast. I wasn''t done yet, it''s still not
like strings like how I recalled.
I start playing around with the movement of the blob. I immediately
find out the solution, if I spin the blob extremely fast, and then
stop only at the half part of the blob, one side would stop, and the
moving side would crash into it, producing these threads.
The wind started spinning around me now, some blood was forming! My
excitement turns into disturbance when I slowly start seeing it form.
But why was it so slow?
I pour in more energy, which seemed to barely make it faster. So
instead I tried to fold the threads again... but how?
The blob was easy because it was
just a big sphere. But strings is going to be a different process.
After some time, I finally found that I could immediately stop the
speed of half of the string''s body, which would propel the other side
into itself and cut itself in half vertically and horizontally from
the twist.
''Now it''s going four times as fast!'' I thought to myself as I watched
blood veins start to form in.
After almost a minute, a very tiny heart is formed, it''s not beating
yet. This was where split body stopped, but I was committed.
In fear of it going out, I pour more energy, but something was wrong.
My energy felt like it was colliding with itself. It''s halting every
few times it spins and that stops the process of creating the heart
every now and then.
Suddenly my energy feels like it got tangled with itself and stopped
working for a whole two seconds. The heart almost started to far from
the air, but I forced my power to hold it up and continue the
process.
''Don''t do this to me!''
Pouring more energy felt exhausting now, every time it breaks, I have
to send in a more energy constantly. The exponential drain of my
power was getting in the way.
My energy feels like a PC with
lots wires and horrible wire organization.
The heart forms more and starts faintly beating.
''Yes! Keep growing!''
Suddenly then after, the threads get clogged up and stop spinning, as
the heart falls from the air, my heart sinks in despair.
"Noooo!" I scream unintentionally.
''Why? Why didn''t it work!'' I sob as I look down at the heart, which
slowly loses it''s already faint beating.
The little heart was sat conveniently on the black trash bag. I
didn''t know how to feel at this moment, it was as if I just killed a
real person. I pulled up the bag''s pull tabs to get the heart within
the bag.
After I stopped shaking from the horrors I bestowed upon myself, I
started concentrating again.
This time however, I will try to stabilize the strings from the
start!
My energy forms the blob, I use my power to fold it into strings,
then before I fold those in half, I sorted them into a particular
pattern to avoid getting tangled, then folded them once more before
starting the process.
It went smoothly, until the lungs started to form, the strings
started forming differently than before and were unintentionally
connected together to form different proportioned strings. The
different sizing immediately clogged the whole system and the heart
dropped.
''What the hell! It was just going well!''
The problem was that, in order to untangle the strings, I would have
to decrease the speed tremendously to catch them. In doing so, I risk
the heart being destabilized and drop.
I do it again, this time with a
different pattern.
The heart drops halfway through the process.
I try again, this time I make more than one blob. It starts forming
almost 20x faster, but immediately fails on the kidneys.
I try again, this time it will use a special pattern for each blob
and group of strings. It drops halfway through the colon.
I try again, and again, and again.
Every time, it gets more and more closer to how a person''s organs
would look. I was crying throughout the whole time.
Four hours passed by, I only got
to making the limbs, not even at the bones yet.
It was in the middle of evening. I couldn''t take it anymore for
today. I decided to continue it the next day before I turn delirious.
While my hands were shaking, I managed to put all the organs I
created into a single trash bag, they were all very small, but they
were pretty heavy.
I closed the bag extremely tight. As I slowly start regaining my
sanity, I smell the molded metallic smell of blood engulfing my nose.
I had to throw this bag away quickly before anyone found out what
horrifying events took place here.
First of all, I leave the bag behind the tree and go through the
kitchen door and grab a spray can of air freshener.
I go back outside and empty out the entire can on mostly on the bag,
and some spray some of it on the floor where the stench also reached.
I pick up the trash bag on my right arm, with the can on my left.
I move out from the backyard toward the backyard fence gate, open it,
and close it on my way out onto the front yard.
To my horror, I see Kazu checking
the mailbox.
''What the hell! Why is he checking the mailbox?! What does he think,
we''re getting a birthday invitation in the current state of the
world?!'' My thoughts start going off.
He turns around and sees Ryuuka carrying a black trash bag with an
odd shape to it, a terrified face, and the most shady part, she was
coming from the backyard.
Kazu starts walking towards Ryuuka with a confused expression.
"What are you carrying?" He asks.
"I was just going to throw away the trash."
I continued walking towards the trash bin.
"Why did you come out of the backyard?" He asks.
I felt like I was covering up a murder¡ªbut it wasn''t right? Since
what I create aren''t real people.
"S¨Cso the um, the bag had a lot of liquid inside that was
going to dirty the floor, so I went around the house." I told
him, slightly stuttering my lies.
I start hearing trickling drops of liquid under the bag, the blood
was coming out.
I quickly walk and open the trash container and start lifting the bag
in with my other hand. "O¨Coh the¨Cthat pomegranate juice."
What am I saying? I''m making it more suspicious.
"Hey, wait!" He walks to me before I throw in the bag.
"Why are you acting so weird?" He asks as I throw in the
bag and close the lid container.
"What do you mean? I don''t know, there''s a lot of things going
on these days." I said before going back inside.
I look back at him before entering the house, still standing there.
I go inside and wash my hands and face, before going to my room.
I was tired and didn''t want to merge, my mental state was already
shattered and my body was shaking. The last thing I needed now was
another headache.
I got in the bed with my main body and slept facing the other side.
I made a lot of progress, but my
power feels drained, I''ll just continue it the next day.
7. Connection
I took a wide stretch before
opening my eyes. I was still asleep in my bed.
I yawned, raising the blanket over me to continue sleeping.
I''ll sleep a little longer.
After half an hour, I could no longer sleep after I recalled what
happened yesterday.
Sitting up on the bed, I take some time to think about what has
happened so far.
After glancing at my computer, I wondered how the internet was taking
this new phenomenon.
Sitting on my swivel chair, I reach down to turn on my computer.
I noticed a reflective figure with messy hair staring back at me, ''Oh
right... I''m still Ryuuka.'' I forgot I didn''t merge from yesterday,
merging now after a while would give my brain a severe earthquake.
But where is my main body? Maybe in the living room? Perhaps so.
My hair needed a wash, so I got up and entered the bathroom. Staring
at the mirror, I let down my hair and wet it. I had no idea what I
was doing but went with whatever seemed right.
I was not too fond of this hair, it was too long for my liking. Even
though it only reaches down to just under my shoulders, it got in the
way too many times. I wanted to cut it, maybe when I merged back so I
can do it correctly.
Mom would probably get mad if I used her hairbrush, I just used a
regular comb instead. After it was somewhat straightened out, I
washed my face and returned to my room.
I saw my notifications go off on
my monitor. Many notifications were from the news, ignoring the
headlines, I looked at my group chat notifications instead.
It was me and four other guys, and we always played video games with
each other. When my main body would use the computer, he would only
use it to research, probably too focused on progress instead of being
laid back in a group chat.
I''ve never met them in person, so
I never considered them as significant people in my life. They acted
more as testers who got to test the mods and cheats I made for the
video games we played together.
That''s probably what they were using me for either way.
Nevertheless, it''s always better to get some info from them.
I enter the chatroom, and my
username turns green to signal my online presence. I scrolled up to
see what previous conversations they were having.
From what I read so far, I haven''t learned anything new. The group
leader has the power to spawn force fields that push off anything it
comes in contact with, the other guy was someone who barely went
online, and he can make his body like springs, elastic, and stuff.
The other guy can turn whatever he eats into power he can use to
punch or kick with a force that allows him to fling off a whole tree.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
It seems they have very interesting powers as well. But they still
didn''t talk about anything of major importance regarding the
fundamental power systems and such.
As I keep reading, someone goes online and starts typing, ''Jiro
you''re finally online!'' The group leader texts before tagging
everyone to get on the chat.
''Yo sup guys.'' I type back as I see everyone''s green bubble pop up.
''Where have u been? What ability u got?'' The group leader says
impatiently.
''I''ve just been trying to get used to my power these days so I didn''t
get any time to get on.'' I respond.
''So are u just gonna keep us waiting? What. Is. Your. Power?''
I try to think of what my power
does. Well, I got two of me, and I''ve been trying to make another me.
Although, they are the wrong gender...
''I guess my power is cloning, but it''s hard to get used to.'' I
responded.
''No way!'' The group leader responded.
''How many clones do you have right now?'' One of the other two entered
the chat.
''Just three right now.'' I lied, but if I can use my power correctly
today, it will be true.
''I can switch between them and when I''m not controlling the., they do
whatever last thing I told them to.'' I partially lied.
''How does that work?'' The group
leader asks.
''It''s complicated and I''m not used to it yet.'' I inform. I didn''t
want to tell them that my clones were the opposite gender, as they
would probably lose it.
''That''s pretty sick tho!'' The other one of the two started chatting,
now everyone was in the chat.
''Thanks but I like your guys'' powers more''¡ªI wrote in envy¡ª ''the
other day I saw someone throw a whole truck with one hand with no
effort, and the other guy just blew it up in front of his face and
came out without a scratch.'' This was how I truly felt, seeing
everyone have these cool overpowered abilities, and then me who can
make more bodies, it makes me want to cry.
''I''m sure there''s probably something you can do too if you keep
evolving your power! I just realized I can make some stuff I stand on
into springs!'' Said the one who''s ability allows him to turn into a
spring.
''Thanks, I will try.'' I respond.
''Well then I''ll be going now, just trying to get used to my powers
and it''s taking a long time.'' I send out before exiting the chat and
getting up from my chair. I always leave in such a manner, so I
expect them to understand. Also, I make myself more productive by not
chatting and wasting time.
As I stood up, I wondered where my
main body was and began to walk out of my room.
"Morning other Ryuuji!" Mom says as I scout the living room
for my original body.
"Oh morning, do you know where the other me is?" I
asked.
"How do
you not know where you are?
Don''t you communicate with each other?" She responds.
"Certain circumstances have
occurred," I told her.
She looks at me unsatisfied with the response
and points outside, "The other you went
for a jog." She says.
"What? Why?" I asked.
"He said he wanted to exercise for better health. Wouldn''t you
also want that? Since you know, you are the same and all." She
says with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I would NOT want that! It''s too dangerous!" I said
before storming outside to look for my original self. I started
thinking about how bad it would be if my main body died while
outside.
A while ago I decided that the death of the main body would probably
shut down all the other bodies because it was too much of a risk. I
didn''t want to find out if another body would die if my main body
were to die.
''Where the hell did the other me go?!'' I thought to myself.
I wasn''t going to start chasing
after him now, so I just turned around and went home, hoping for his
return.
Although I just woke up, I still felt tired from yesterday.
''Wait, what did I do yesterday?'' I asked myself, immediately
recalling the trauma, unfortunately, caused by my newfound abilities.
I ate half a sandwich on my bedroom desk that Split Body left behind.
I took a dozen trash bags and told Mom I would go outside to buy some
stuff. The reality was that I was going somewhere where I wasn''t
going to get caught with a trash bag full of human organs.
I venture out into the streets, behind a dark back alley filled with
garbage.
Here I can start again.
8. The Clone and I
Exhausted as I am, I tie up
another trash bag. This time, I was barely able to make the knot,
everything was so blurry, and I could barely keep up my balance. This
is the¡ 15th, possibly 16th, bag¡ full of dead bodies.
But I think I''m only one replication before achieving it, another
clone. I swing my shaking arm up to prepare for the final result. I
begin pushing out my energy, I feel it reverberating through my guts
out to my arm. The air commences to spin faster, tearing through the
air, emitting shrieks and whistling.
The whistling fades out into a deep water-splashing reverberation.
It''s when the blood starts to form, the flesh is molded afterward. I
watch the flesh grow thick, the blood vessels sprout like roots, but
they hang instead of being implanted into the flesh. This continues
until the heart is fully generated, I''ve seen it so many times now.
The muscles start forming now, they start tightening while the blood
vessels slowly inject themselves within. There is no way this was
natural, I knew this process was wrong, but I''m not experienced
enough or even understand how it works.
The rest of the organs start forming, I can barely even witness what
is forming due to the size of the body and organs, it is as small as
a baby, and it is horrifying, and I hate it. Though after most of the
organs are formed, now the skin begins to thin.
The skin is so thin that you can see the all the bloody compartments
of the human body under the skin. This part of the formation is what
caused me to fail most of the other attempts I''ve made, for the
further I progress, the more monstrous and hideous of a creation I
bring. I vomited and lost concentration too many times, but it''s
gotten so bad that I might''ve gotten used to it.
Now the muscles expand, the bones are being built and mended
throughout the body. The clone now looks around the age of around
seven to ten. I continue pouring my power, I feel like I''m about to
pass out. Just a little more, just five more minutes. My tiredness
caused my knees to give out. I close my eyes while on my knees and my
arm up, I wasn''t going to give in. The body is already around teenage
years.
After what felt like ten minutes, the body was looking exactly like
me, or the clone I''m controlling at the moment. From my previous
attempts, I tried to reverse the spinning after I thought I cloned a
kid body. The problem was that the heart stopped too soon, but I
figured out that reversing the spinning of the formations will give a
little boost to their bloodstream and therefore pump their blood fast
enough to keep the heartbeat running.
I start to reverse the flow of formations, I can''t leave it like this
for too long or else the entire blood gets messed up and the whole
body explodes. Not literally, but in the inside of the organs it
does. I watch closely as the skin thickens slowly, and the
bones creak a little. The heartbeat was getting louder and louder,
and¡ CUT IT! I
scream mentally as I stop the process. The clone drops to the floor,
under it being the black trash bags I spread out, slightly covered in
wet mud and some blood.
* * *
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
I sit with my back to the wall, I want to rest and sleep. But right
now there''s something more important to look at. I can hear the
second heartbeat apart from my own. I wait a while to wear off my
hyperventilation before crawling over to my new clone. It looks
exactly the same as the clone I first had. It feels so surreal, I
just created a clone from literal thin air. I lay my ear near its
mouth to hear it breathing very slowly.
I want to test out my ability on the new clone, but I have no more
energy left, my head feels like a bell being rung over and over. I
take off my jacket to cover the clone in the cold, dark back alley we
are sitting in.
The bloody bags around us, I don''t know how I''ll get rid of them.
Then I suddenly remembered that there''s a sewer manhole around here
somewhere. As much as I want to sleep right now, if I don''t get rid
of the bodies now, I will have a much worse time tomorrow.
Considering that it looks like it might already be around four in the
morning, I don''t want to risk any chances.
I didn''t have to look far to find a manhole. So I leave off the new
clone sitting aside the wall while I grab two bags out of twelve,
which was a little less than what I thought I had made. I drag two
bags at once to the nearest manhole, which is around fifty meters
from the alley way, near a small doughnut shop. There were almost no
cars in the streets at this time, it felt so refreshing, and uncanny
at the same time. Due to the events of the Awakening, all the
violence and such has led to many citizens to leave the city. I guess
it became apparent to me here since there wasn''t any cars parked
outside around this area.
If I still had my fear of monsters in the dark, I would be very
terrified being outside in the dark alone. But I put an end to that
fear a long time ago. It was when I started to part my self from any
paranormal beliefs, so I also stopped believing in curses, ghosts,
monsters. It took me some time to accept them, but I did and probably
won''t change my mind unless magic becomes a thing, end of story.
After I took some time to observe the stars, which was impossible
before with so many lights turned on in the city, since light
pollution is a thing. So I put the bags on the ground while I open
the lid of the manhole.
The lid has a square opening in the center, I can put my hand inside
and pull out. Which I did, I had to budge multiple times, but I
finally popped it open and put it to the side. I lean my head over to
see how dark it is, there are no lights at all, it''s all just pitch
black.
I can hear the faded sounds of the sewer water moving throughout the
tunnels. I quickly take the bags and drop them in, it''s not worth
going anywhere inside. That''s two down, ten more to go.
After I take my time, I spend the next hour tossing the rest and
close the lid back up.
I had cleaned up the alley way to look how it was before. Now I need
to sleep. I''ve been yawning the entire time. I needed somewhere safer
to sleep. Me and my other clone.
There was a large garbage bin behind one of the stores that I dragged
my new clone to, we weren''t going to sleep in it, that would be
disgusting. But it would hide us if we slept alongside the wall
behind it.
So that''s how we will wake up smelling rotten eggs. There was most
definitely a better option if I looked harder, but that would take
too long, and I''m too close to dying from exhaustion.
* * *
¡°Buhther ther luk eh.¡± I
hear as I slowly wake myself up. Someone is nearby and talking.
I look next to me and grab my clone next to me, she''s still alive.
¡°Fer ouv lakter jaar.¡± I
hear the same voice again, the words sound like a different language
but the tone and accent of the words sound like perfect Japanese. It
sounds like a man speaking formally, slightly deeper vocals.
The speaking sounds a little farther away, so I don''t think I should
be in any danger. I peek my head around the garbage bin to spot
anyone passing by, but no one, no sign of any person.
"LUK
ER QUI JUMIN," I JUMPED. The
voice was loud and right behind me. I quickly turn around, prepared
to throw hands. But to my surprise, there was no one behind me, but a
bird.
9. Carbon Copy
A¡ bird¡ talked¡
In front of me is NOT a parrot, I can tell because parrots usually
sound annoying when they repeat something they''ve heard. This one
just spoke like it is second nature to it. It stood upon the edge of
the garbage bin.
I was so surprised that I was stunned for a couple of seconds. I
didn''t even know what to think. The bird stared back at me like a
normal bird. Was I just hearing things? Maybe controlling a clone can
make me delusional after a while. That must be it. Or I thought,
until the bird opened its mouth and started speaking like a normal
human male, ¡°Bulvik ni vuud paydi.¡±
¡°What the hell!?¡± I flinched at the
unexpected event. THE BIRD DID
TALK! It sounds so formal, is
it a person who can change into a bird? Is that possible?!
¡°How can you speak? Are you a person?¡± I responded, awaiting a
reply, which I never received. ¡°Hey! Do you understand me?¡± I
said louder.
¡°Luujre huk!¡± The
bird squawked a little aggressively before taking off and not turning
back. What the¡ what the hell
was that?! I thought to myself.
Well, I guess I should add ¡°talking animals¡± to the list of
things I should get used to in this new life.
Shocked as I was, I moved on. I realized I had no way of
transportation, and I don''t like the idea of carrying my new clone
while I slowly walk home. Even though I don''t feel like I have enough
energy in me, I decide to try to use my powers on my clone and
attempt to control it.
With a little zap from the wrist, followed by severe brain aneurysms,
I slowly awake from the clone''s perspective. Watching my former clone
staring back at me, I rattle my body, swiftly swelling my muscles and
cause muscle cramps to occur. It must be like that due to the process
of how it was fabricated.
My former cloned body had light fading from its eyes and eventually
gave in and got on to its knees before finally falling asleep and
collapsing. After my mentality stabilized, I realized I barely had
any clothes on and decided to switch back to my former clone. I found
a pair of clogs and ripped blue jeans behind one of the little shops.
I hastily switched back and forth to put on the new clothes as to not
let one of them fall on the ground. This made me realize that I
noticeably got a little better managing my control between switching
between clones. Before, I would need to focus almost twice as hard.
Now that we are both ready, I finally got to
the part that I was avoiding, how
am I going to walk both of us home? The
last thing I wanted was to switch back and forth like crazy. Even
though I could, it definitely makes me use up a lot of energy and
makes me drowsy.
It does not appear to me that I have another choice. I started
switching rapidly every ten seconds, so I had some recovery time to
contain my brain cells. After only three seconds of switching, the
empty clone fades out and I start dragging them. And it continues
like that for a while.
There was still a lot of distance to cover, and it was getting very
inefficient after five minutes, so I decided to go a little faster.
Every time I counted up to seven, I would switch. Another ten minutes
go by, I decide to go even faster. Every five seconds I was
switching.
For the next, I think half an hour, I was getting used to it. I
wasn''t being as dizzy as before, it was more like a tingle I felt
after switching. I think I even went faster than five seconds,
unconsciously. I was evolving¡ I wish I could say it feels good,
but after this many times of switching and dragging my selves at a
snails pace, it was tiring.
Still a mile to go. I don''t know why I had to go to a far place in
the beginning, it definitely proved itself to be a pain.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
But as we walked, yes, walking. We started to be more in sync. Or it
could be that I''m switching connections so seamlessly that it feels
almost natural. Only a while ago, I was switching every three
seconds. The more energy I put out, and the faster I use it, the
better results.
An hour before, switching felt like opening and closing one of my
eyes and getting dizzy, now it feels like I''m shifting left and right
smoothly. This is like practice to me, and it''s amazing.
But what if I just keep getting better?
I decide we should both sit down on a nearby bench on the sidewalk
and relax for a little while. I look around to see some people
walking and driving on the streets. It feels so empty now, everyone
must be inside, even though it has almost been a month.
As I stare blankly, I start thinking about the actions that have
occurred. It is quite a lot to process. As I think about my
improvement of switching rapidly between clones, I came to a
realization. For some reason, when I initially made a connection to
my new clone, it wasn''t as bad as switching between my former clone.
Actually, comparing them both is like comparing a minor headache to
someone throwing your brain in the blender and putting it back in
place afterward.
I vaguely remember that when I
switched bodies before, I could perceive my memories coming back to
me like a train full of knowledge. However, it wasn''t at all like
that in this new scenario, when I switched I immediately understood
that I was the clone and my memories felt like they were already
there.
Before I finish my thought, I notice someone walking close towards
me. I look up to see a woman, who is wearing some kind of
professional attire for business.
She looks at me with her sunglasses on while holding on to her
handbag. They reflect the sky in a dark-crimson color tone, so I can
barely make out the outline of her eyes.
I''m not sure why, but instead of talking, I just froze up. I never
noticed her coming at all. She was standing in between my sleeping
clone and I.
She looks at the clone, then me, ¡°So¡¡± she speaks. I quickly
searched around her person to spot any weapons, none I could see.
¡°Are you two like twins?¡± She asked while turning towards me
again. Her voice was calm and soothing. I think I was too tired
mentally to respond. I just didn''t feel like talking, so I didn''t
respond back.
After a second of silence, she opens her mouth once more.
¡°You''re a quiet on, aren''t you.¡±
¡°What do you want?¡± I talked a little, sounding less confident
than I intended.
¡°No need to be shy, I''m just trying to make friends.¡±
I sounded shy to her? Either way, the last thing I want right now is
get my self wrapped up with some shady person with unknown abilities.
When she appeared out of nowhere, that could be some kind of stealth
ability.
¡°So, what can you do?¡± She asks, slowly leaning in.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°You know¡ powers¡± She interrogates.
I keep shut.
¡°Oh, how ill-mannered of me. What''s your name? You can call me¡
Marilyn.¡± She steps back. All I can think of, is that she doesn''t
look like a Marilyn.
She smiles at me normally, too normally. I''m probably paranoid, but
I''m tired and just wish she would go away.
I decided to not answer her once more. After some silence, a black
sedan drives into the side of the street, the door opens and a man in
the same professional attire pops out and starts calling.
¡°Miss! We need to head out now, the officer won''t be happy if we
are late.¡± The man shouts.
¡°Oh shoot!¡± She turns to face the man, then turns back to me and
waves her arm, ¡°Well, I guess it''s time to go,¡± as to signal a
goodbye. She enters the car and it takes off urgently.
What are they, some kind of spies? I
ask myself.
Either way, I will go now, I''ve rested more than enough. And while
that woman was yammering, something came to mind and I want to test a
new theory.
I stood up and started rapid switching between clones as I was doing
before. This time, I only felt a little dizzy instead of a full
headache, which is what happens when switching after more than a
couple of minutes. It definitely felt more natural and easy. But that
wasn''t what I wanted to know. What I really wanted to know is what
would happen if I was able to switch as fast as possible.
So I started going faster, from every five second switch to four,
then three, and I couldn''t get any faster, I just couldn''t switch
fast enough. It feels like a muscle, and I just can''t flex it fast
enough, it needs a little time to rest each time I switch. I kept
trying harder and harder, I got as fast as two seconds, but it drains
far more energy than waiting an extra second.
I started to
slowly notice that my energy felt like it was flowing instead of
targeting a different body. It motivated me to keep going at
it. Switch, then take two steps,
then switch, two steps, take two steps, then... Wait...
my other clone just took steps without me switching...
10. Either
Before my thread of energy fully
reaches the body, I stabilize it in between my body and the clone.
Then I pour more energy that creates two new threads that come out of
the initial thread and connect both of us into one.
It''s much simpler than what I would have thought, controlling two
minds. I learn what the other clone knows, while the other clone
learns what I know, then the thread in between connects our minds
into one. But in reality, that would mean there are three minds¡
right?
Or perhaps not, but then that would mean both brains are processing
the information together. That''s what would make the most sense, I
guess, as if anything I''ve encountered makes sense.
Ryuuka lets go of the clone.
Both clones look at each other while walking
slower, wondering how they both see each other at the same time. It''s
a new feeling, they both can understand each
other. Constant energy flows through them like it''s being shared, a
low amount is being poured from each clone, they connect and
transport information.
"What the heck," Ryuuka says,
while not in
confusion.
"I have no clue either," the clone spoke blankly.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
They both smile, they feel like one person, controlling both at the
same time, they should be confused. But they immediately understood
what was happening. They both feel connected to each other, like they
know each other completely. Anything that happens to each clone, they
both see, feel, hear, taste, smell and sense it, but only one
experiences it.
This was a new ability. Downplayed due to exhaustion, they both
continue walking, this time, not supporting each other. One looks a
direction, the other the opposite, the clones learn of everything in
each direction and share it.
Both bewildered, continue forward. Finally reaching their home. Both
of their brains were used to come up with a way to explain the
situation. It felt less stressful for both of them.
Up on the porch, Ryuuka knocks. Ryuujiro answers.
"Quickly connect," Ryuuka asks of Ryuujiro, Ryuujiro taking
a split second to observe the second clone before charging his
energy.
Ryuuka released another connecting thread from the two female clones
and merges it with Ryuujiro''s energy waves.
Ryuujiro immediately felt a knot through his brain, the other two
clones also felt it before acquiring all the knowledge of what the
other two have gone through. It should have felt more painful, but
all the new knowledge was processed by three brains instead of one,
perhaps spreading the pain more evenly.
Ryuujiro''s knowledge has also been diluted into the carpool, but it
was barely anything significant enough to mention.
It was weird, within just a matter
of seconds, he learned everything they know, like we went through the
experiences they had. At the same time, he felt the need to feel
weird even though he had felt the same thing before, from the minds
of the clones.
11. Social Problems (Part 1)
"Well! It seems that most of
the students are present!" The professor announced, overseeing a
half empty lecture hall, she smiled mildly.
"You can call me Mrs. Yakima, and I can see there are a lot of
interesting things going on in your lives." Yakima exclaims
while glancing at the students who sit in the front, emitting smoke
and glowing yellow.
It took only 3 months for society to adjust to this new world. Or at
least some part of it.
Across from me are a bunch of students who seem enthusiastic about
their new powers. Next to me is no one, I decided to sit alone for
now, at least until I know someone won''t accidentally kill me. When
you got three brains, you think of more possibilities.
"Alright, class, so today we won''t be going over anything just
yet. As you all know, or have already got used to, the world has
changed a lot in just a couple of days. Today and for the next few
days we will go over many safety regulations regarding the new
powers, and also we will learn together what we know so far about
these powers." She explained, while no one said a thing.
I''ve had two clones running on max researching and writing this new
phenomenon and listing lots of the data in spreadsheets, I wonder
what they could teach me that I haven''t learned yet. I certainly want
to know how the energy works and how it reacts to different elements.
Some students were chatting, most were quiet. I took out an empty
notebook and started observing and taking notes of everything I saw
that was interesting. Not that there may be anything noteworthy, but
it could come in handy in the future.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
I was sitting in the middle and slightly farther back. "For the
first week we will just go around discussing our experience with our
powers, if you don''t want to talk about it because it might be
personal then please don''t force yourself, you can when ever you feel
like it." The professor looks anxious.
The professor started off by introducing her power and how it works.
"I can make certain areas lose light, I''m not fully sure on how
it works, but I just imagine a like an invisible box, and it seems
that it absorbs light." Everyone looks at her like that''s the
most useless power given to a human. One girl in the front raises her
arm and asks a question, "So isn''t that kind of useless?"
Pretty rude, but she is right. Although if she was able to cover the
sun with it then that could be a dangerous power. I don''t see it
happening.
"It''s the one I''ve been given. I haven''t found a very good way
to use it, but I might if I keep experimenting." She said with
sincerity. "Well, since you want to judge based on my power, how
about you start us off by talking about yourself?"
Judging people based on their powers is a major concept that I''ve
already seen happening around social media. There definitely will be
a caste system or some rank system that people will make and adjust
towards.
The girl stood up with a smirk, looked around for something, grabbed
another student''s notebook and tore a page off it, "hey what the
hell that''s mine!" Said the guy next to her. "Watch!"
She says before holding the paper in her hand, and it slowly turns
into a thin sheet of silver. The others make a surprised expression.
"Stainless steel on demand!" She shouted as they started
applauding.
Okay, that certainly is a helpful
power. It could be used for so many things. It looks like it just
turns into steel but not as stainless as it did have many uneven
formations. Wonder if it would work on humans, certainly interesting.
12. Social Problems (Part 2)
"My power lets me heat
anything I touch."
"Mine lets me expand objects."
"I can eat poison, and it doesn''t affect me... don''t ask how I
found out."
"When every I use my energy on something, they always rotate and
turn South."
"I can see people''s skeletons and other types of bones like
x-ray but for bones."
"My hands can create a flash explosion."
"When ever anything touches me skin, it just bounces off."
Lots of information was spoken, I took lots of notes of these powers.
The teacher kept going on to the next student and ask about their
powers. Around 30% of students so far have declined to answer or
didn''t know their power yet. There were still a handful of students
to go over. While they do that, I''ll relay this information to my
clones at home.
I haven''t trained using my power in very long ranges, so it takes
much longer than usual, or sometimes I wouldn''t even be able to
connect to my clones. I force my energy out and shoot lasers in all
directions, then wait a while. After around 30 seconds, the laser
shoots back at me from the closest direction.1PROTOCOL 6, the 6th
concept of detecting RE (red energy). Thin RE rays bounce back once
in contact with Active RE waves.
I concentrate to create a thick rope to communicate to the clone''s
energy waves. Now I begin reading in my mind what I wrote, slowly so
I don''t disturb the wave lines and cause distortion. After every 2
letters, I send out strong short and long pulses, like sending binary
information. I practiced it beforehand and decided it would be much
more efficient than sending out my entire brain data to the clones.
When I was testing out the limits of how far I could keep a
connection and send data, I learned that the farther I am, the more
distorted the energy becomes and doesn''t work as fast. The worse part
is that it''s exponentially degrading and if I was 10 feet away, the
connection speed would be around 12,000 words per second, however if
I was 20 feet, it would be 3,000 words per minute. I''m just using
words as a way to convey brain data.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The college was around 2 miles away from my house, so that would be
around 11,000 feet, I can''t even send full words without causing some
of them to be lost. If I were to practice new ways to counter this
limit, then it would make life much easier.
I could just send my clones a text, but that would defeat the whole
purpose of learning about my power and evolving it.
Took me a five whole minutes to finish transmitting my data, felt
kind of relieved, but now I have to wait for one of the clones to
send a signal to indicate confirmation.
"Alright, who is the next student? I think that''s everyone,
right?" I heard the professor say.
"You forgot that girl over there, professor!" I heard one
of the girls yell. I guess just one more student, then the class ends
for today.
I didn''t bother taking notes of the other students, I only wanted to
know what these new powers were capable of, a sample if you will.
Also, the fact that it would take me half an hour to send all the
data to the clones and that is while hoping they have the patience to
slowly receive all of it, since they must hold a stable energy level
to understand the data or it might as well be gibberish. Anyways why
is it so quiet in the class.
I look up from my notes to see the professor and the other students
looking at me.
"Did you hear me? Are you not paying attention?" professor
Yakima asked.
When she saw me paying attention she asked, "can you introduce
your self and if you are comfortable, your power?" She asked me.
I stand up from my seat to introduce myself.
I was about to speak, but I had to clear my throat since I haven''t
spoken the whole day.
"Uh ya my name i-" oh crap I just realized...
"Your name is...?" The professor continued.
I forgot right now I''m Ryuuka, my first clone. I wanted Ryuuka to
commute my education, so my main wouldn''t have to. Crap, I should''ve
thought it out more. I just kind of did it without much care. I don''t
want to give out my real name and reveal my actual power. I even made
up a useless power so no one would suspect it.
I open my mouth to speak, "My name is... Ryuuka."
"Is that all?" She asked.
"My power lets me remember anything I''ve learned when I want
to." A partial truth and a lie. But the most important part is
that they won''t be able to make me prove it.
"Oh, that''s a neat power, it would certainly make you smarter if
you are able to use any part of your memory." She exclaimed.
One of the guys starts talking, "Hey, let''s trade powers, mine
lets you grow plants faster." He joked around, and some students
laughed a little, I kind of ignore it and sat back down.
If we were able to trade powers, I
would be in some Third World country right now trying to threaten a
native to give me his power.
13. Dust Reactions
10:15 PM
"He''s been there for like
twenty minutes now," Shouki muttered, lowering his phone camera.
Throughout the whole day, Akie, his childhood friend, has been
persistent on capturing and reporting a new upcoming villain.
"Quiet! I might miss something!" Akie snapped, her voice
low but urgent. She dreams of being a top news reporter and since
superpowers are taking over the world, she wants to be the first to
cover the interesting stories. The man they are stalking goes only by
"Killer" in the streets. She roped Shouki on this adventure
with her. Right now they are outside hiding in the bushes, waiting
for him to exit a liquor store.
"You know," Shouki began, slouching against the wall, "I''d
take this more seriously if we didn''t have school tomorrow morning.
We''re going to get scolded for breaking curfew. Haven''t you thought
that this guy might just be an innocent person? We''ve been stalking
this dude for three days and nothing''s happened."
Killer was anything but normal. His body gleamed like polished
marble, his stainless steel skin eliminating any need for clothes.
Massive metal coil cylinders replaced his biceps, giving him the
appearance of a mechanized titan. Standing at a towering eight feet,
he looked like a smoother, more humanoid version of the Terminator.
Every feature screamed "military-grade weapon," not
"innocent civilian."
Akie¡¯s eyes remained glued to the store''s entrance. "It¡¯ll
all be worth it when we catch him in the act."
Shouki sighed, finally grabbing her hand. "Come on. Let''s go
before someone sends a search party for us."
"Wait¡ª"
"Nope. We''re leaving."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Just as they turned to leave, a deafening explosion erupted behind
them. The force slammed into Shouki, who instinctively shielded Akie
with his body. Shrapnel sliced through the air, embedding itself into
his back as chaos unfolded.
* * *
5:00 AM
A sharp slap jolted me awake.
Blinking groggily, I saw my second clone, 2c, grinning as she dragged
me out of bed.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± she chirped, dumping me onto the floor with zero
formality. My head hit the carpet with a dull thud.
Ryuuka¡ªmy first clone, lifted me to my feet. Without a word, she
carried me to the bathroom, where she made sure I brushed my teeth
and freshened up. Meanwhile, 2c flopped onto my bed, taking my place.
Efficient? Sure. Dignified? Not so much.
Breakfast was already laid out. My schedule for the day was planned,
my clothes ironed and ready. Ryuuka handled most household chores
now, much to Mom¡¯s delight. The free time she gained from
outsourcing tasks to clones had been life-changing.
2c had spent the night multitasking: finishing freelance gigs,
updating my programming skills, and tackling my school assignments.
While she worked, I slept. A perfect system. Except, it could be
better. With more clones, I could amplify my efficiency¡ªbut space
was a problem. Our house wasn¡¯t exactly a clone-friendly fortress.
Lately, 2c had been making some extra money through small freelance
schemes, while I juggled retail shifts. Every dollar went toward
saving for a studio apartment, a future HQ for my operations. With
enough room, I could expand my abilities and maybe even launch a
small business.
Throughout the past few months, I''ve already realized many more
features of my powers. The interesting one being Subconscious
Partitioning. Currently, I have it split 50-40-10 for me, 2c, and
Ryuuka respectively. It allows us to use more or less of our
subconsciousness, although it might be a bad way to name it, since it
also contributes a lot towards how aware a clone becomes.
If I remove all consciousness from a clone, they will get
disconnected after a few tasks and go limp. However, even as small as
just 0.01%, it will be enough to finish any tasks given, although
sometimes I must be very specific. The more of my consciousness I
allow, the better connection and control I have over the clone.
The fascinating part was when I
put most consciousness on 2c, which seems like it made it the master
clone, and in a way it felt like it became the main body.
14. Desolated With
An energy wave was sent out in the
middle of nowhere during the night, signaling the success of an
operation.
[Got your message 2c, expecting status in 30 - k]
In front of 2c stood another copy
of itself, with slight variations.
Covered in a thin, viscous, glue-like texture, 2c peeled it away,
revealing a mirrored version of herself. Blasting several energy
lines directly into the new clone''s skull initiated a connection. The
third clone was now conscious.
2c handed a wardrobe to the newly awakened specimen, which
immediately understood the situation and began dressing.
* * *
It surprises me how many people have almost immediately returned to
the city after moving out. I¡¯ve had my clones monitor local news,
feeding me anything noteworthy. After just a few hours of research,
we identified hundreds of dangerous power users in Tokyo. We drafted
a rudimentary map to highlight "probably shouldn¡¯t go there"
zones. It¡¯s crude, but enough to be safer.
I¡¯ve kept 2c operating at 90% consciousness using my partitioning
technique, dedicating her to job hunting. Unfortunately, with so few
people venturing outside, market managers aren¡¯t hiring. So much
for clean money. Time to move on to Plan B.
In this new world dominated by power rather than wealth, conflict is
inevitable. The government is struggling, and citizens are too scared
or unwilling to help reinforce order. Even the police have stopped
using lights and sirens, knowing they¡¯ll be hunted down the moment
they confront a strong power user.
The latest underground trend involves drugs that temporarily boost
abilities, amplifying them up to twenty fold, depending on the user
and the drug. Using the dark web and illegal forums, I acquired
formulas for common variants. Most ingredients can be naturally
grown, and these formulas are still in their infancy, leaving room
for improvement¡ªand profit margins.
I¡¯ve taken precautions to mask my online identity. Given the
current chaos, I doubt the feds have the manpower to track me down.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Before risking my clones on drug deals, I sent 2c to a secluded area
under the cover of the night to create a new clone. This one will
serve as the group¡¯s strategist, tasked with devising operational
plans and conducting research. I¡¯ve slightly improved the cloning
process to enhance logical and computational capabilities.
I wonder how many attempts it will take 2c to produce this clone.
* * *
The explosion hurls Shouki and Akie through the air, crashing into
debris as a wave of heat and noise washes over them. Shouki groans,
pushing himself upright, and spots Killer stepping out of the store.
His marble figure is eerily smooth, metallic, and featureless,
betraying no sign of the chaos surrounding him.
"How¡ is he unscathed?" Shouki mutters to himself, his
gaze shifting to Akie.
Killer moved on, unaffected, his footsteps deliberate, as though the
devastation was nothing more than an inconvenience. Cries of the
injured echoed in the aftermath, as he disappeared into the night
without so much as a glance.
Akie lies nearby, blood soaking her sleeve from a deep gash on her
arm. "Shouki," she gasps, her voice trembling. "I
scanned him."
Nodding, he scrambles to her side, hooking her arm around his
shoulders to help her stand. Together, they stumble away from the
wreckage, their movements unsteady but urgent.
"I''ll get you to a hospital."
* * *
Meanwhile, in the middle of the western desert, out in the oasis,
lives a man and his cattle.
Bah! The
sheep said.
"Hello, cow." the man spoke to the sheep. "It''s time
for milk this morning." He said during the afternoon.
Bah bah bah bah bah
The whole cattle was distressed, this hasn''t happened before.
What could the cows be
stressed about? Thought
the man before looking behind him, where the sheep were
screaming at, to see a massive ball of flames approaching him through
the air extremely fast. He dodged it instinctively and moved out of
the way, to which he noticed the massive lava globe was flying
directly at his cattle, and before he could react, the ball crashed
and turned the entire cattle into a blood stream.
He ran to see what the flaming ball of rock was, to his surprise it
was a woman, at least it is from the lower half of the body, with her
head in the sand like an ostrich. She was wearing what seems to be
some Chinese clothing style.
He went closer to see if she was conscious, she
wasn''t moving. He patiently waited five minutes to see if she would
respond. Nothing.
The man decided to do something about this case and asked, "Are
you alright?" Calmly. That didn''t seem to work.
Then he had a genius thought, what
if the woman couldn''t hear him because her ears were in the sand?
Instead of needlessly wasting his voice, he thought of the fastest
way to remove the sand from her ears. The man got closer and kicked
his right foot behind and forward into her stomach to get her out of
the sand. To his surprise, the woman launched five feet in the air
and fell back down, choking on the sand she accidentally inhaled and
coming back to her senses.
The woman coughed for a while
before proceeding with words, "Wat-water please." She said
with a slightly high-pitched tone and Chinese accent before passing
out.