The mechanical eye stared at Brand. Its huge red lens was pulsating with eerie light, as if calculating and making judgment.
"Why?" A rhythmic voice emerged from the mechanical eye.
"I've been telling you for hours!!" Brand was chained in the air, struggling for breath. Yet, the mechanical eye in front of him asked the same question repeatedly.
His limbs were pierced and chained to the chamber floor. Each chain sent a shivering pain through him, holding him in place, fixed in the center of the room.
On his left, a small spherical robot hovered, scanning him up and down repeatedly.
At first, he counted each time it made a complete loop over his body. After a hundred, he lost track. It was hypnotizing, and he felt his mind drifting into sleep.
The worst part was that his consciousness remained open. The pain kept him awake, and his mind was breaking. The only thing that kept his sanity was his family.
He swore to return to his family, memories of his mother and sister flashing through his mind.
"Why are you able to enter this chamber?" The mechanical eye asked once more.
Brand looked at the giant mechanical eye in front of him. He could feel his mind being torn apart by its gaze.
It was so oppressive that it felt as if he was no longer in this world. The sight made Brand wonder if even looking at it was a sin.
"My answer will still be the same." Brand's voice was firm as he replied. "I stumbled in here by accident while on a field trip, researching ancient ruins."
The tiny robot rolled up to him and scanned him again. Now, anger boiled within him.
'Even the tiny robot made fun of me…'
'Is this all illusion?'
"Enough!" he spat at the tiny robot, rage boiling in his voice.
He could only express his anger at the tiny robot, as the presence of the mechanical eye was too suffocating. Even looking at it felt like his soul would be dragged out.
The mechanical eye lingered on him before the sound of unlocking chains echoed around him.
Without warning, he was dropped hard to the ground, his left hand twisting at grotesque angles.
He tried to scream, but his blood oozed out at the same time, stifling his scream. At this point, he was stripped even of his voice.
The tiny robots kept rotating around him. He could no longer keep it in and snapped. He slapped the little robot, but it was silent. He had grown too weak. He felt like he was moments from death.
His limbs were all tattered with blood and scars. His lungs felt like they were burning with every breath he took. The pain that radiated through his body was indescribable. Yet, he clung to consciousness.
The mechanical eye stared at him long before shifting its gaze onto the tiny robot. The little robot vibrated as if it had picked up some signal and rolled back to the giant mechanical eye.
Brand slowly stood up, his limbs bent at impossible angles, yet faced the mechanical eye with determination.
He stared at the mechanical eye, despite the immense pressure. Blood seeped from his eyes, but he did not care.
Anger.
This was all he felt. This emotion was what supported him, keeping him alive.
"Brand Smith. Male. Age 24. Programmer at FromSoft."
He could hear the mechanical eye's voice reciting his information as if reading a resume. Would it continue with his hometown, education, and personal relationships?
However, what came next was unexpected.
"This chamber has a force field installed." The mechanical eye began explaining some alien sci-fi stuff. "It rejects all living organisms, even bacteria."
Brand remained silent as he listened. His heart pounded as he struggled to comprehend the absurdity of it all. It would be believable to him that there would be an alien invasion.
"What you're speaking of now is at a microscopic level!" He shouted out of frustration.
"Exactly, human."
"Does this make any sense at all?" He asked, dissatisfied with the mechanical eye's reply.
"That's what I've been wondering as well." The mechanical eye replied.
Brand found that there was a shift in tone from the mechanical eye. Earlier, it was as if it were an interrogation, but now, it sounds… humane?
However, Brand's eyes soon widened as he processed its words. Then he let out a desperate scream.
"Do you mean I'm not a living organism?!" His voice cracked with anger and pain.
'I suffered through all that pain, and it had been just tests?'
"This chamber was not meant to be found by any living organisms," the mechanical eye stated bluntly. "Only those with ethereal form could enter."
Brand was caught off guard as the iris of the mechanical eye suddenly enlarged. "This means you can bypass the rules set by this chamber!"
The mechanical eye then let out a high-pitched laugh that went on for what felt like an eternity. And when it stopped, Brand's body started to float in the air.
He tried to resist, but it was hopeless. He desperately put force into his broken limbs.
He needed to move. Even if it was just a slight movement, he needed to move!
Because the sight in front of him was hell incarnate.
Countless tubes radiated from its core and slowly approached him.
Did this bastard want to torture him until the end?
"You will lose consciousness and wake up in a foreign world." The mechanical eye spoke to him solemnly, as if bidding farewell. "Don't fret, little Sera will be coming with you as a guide."
The tiny spherical robot earlier was wiggling, as if greeting him with enthusiasm, as if it were a little puppy.
This was so uncomfortable; some weird spherical robot was acting adorable. It should be a real puppy or angel if it wanted to be cute!
The tiny robot wiggled once again as if nodding.
'Can it read my thoughts?'
But his thoughts no longer stayed with the tiny robot. They were fixated on the giant mechanical eye. To be precise, he was looking at tubes that were extending toward his body.
Unable to escape, he watched the tubes pierce his body and let out a voiceless scream. He couldn't even hear his voice at this point.
But weirdly, he could hear a voice in his head.
[Body reconstruction begins.]
'What does it mean by body reconstruction…?'
A strange heat coursed through his veins, followed by an immense pain as the mechanical eye injected something into his blood.
Steam began to escape from his skin, and his skin color turned from white to silver. He could hear his broken bones rattling underneath his skin, the fractured fragments mended back together.
The bizarre events spiraled around him, leaving a haunting sensation.
Before he lost consciousness, he heard one more voice in his mind.
[Installing GHOST on the host.]
A rift opened before him, and he was shoved into it with the mechanical eye's tentacle-looking tubes.