The stars burned amidst blinding lights, as cosmic storms rumbled, quasars lit up from burning sun's and black holes collapsed in on themselves. Great destruction the likes of which the universe hadn't experienced since its first moment ruptured the very fabric of space like an inverse explosion.
The universe was imploding apon itself, sucked into a single point near it's centre where a single figure of luminous light floated in the void as all things that ever was and ever would be coalesced into a singular point.
Energy, endless unlimited energy flowed from all directions into this beings body. Their perpetual screamed echoed into nothing, it's humanoid shape hunched over in agony as it's energy comprised being surged exponentially.
They were humanity, the entirety of the race that conquered the stars housed within a single body, united in mind and soul around a central core the entirety of the human race had uploaded themselves into, within a singular human body made my their hands to be the perfect specimen.
Their empire had spread through the universe, world ships capable of housing entire galaxies within their halls. They could harness all energies into a singular point, dyson spheres shielded stars, black holes were harnessed to fuel batteries, dark matter, the heavy particle became little more than cellular structures linked to make alloys for their ships.
They rose higher than their natural station should have allowed, all under the guidance of a man whose intelligence far outstripped their greatest AI's. With his brain altered with heavy cybernetic upgrades composed by his own vision, he escaped the limits organic and inorganic matter could reach with thought.
And then he created the single most powerful piece of technology humanity had ever and would ever see.
The Ouroborus core.
A machine not much larger than a human heart. It held unlimited data storage, using quantum technologies that allowed it to store data across and beyond linear time, it was for all intents and purposes, the God machine.
But it couldn't function without purpose, comprised of cells that linked tighter than nuclear plasta, Cain implanted it around the heart of a new body he was designing to be the final evolution of humanity.
This body, each cell curated with the care an artist would treat their greatest creation, it was designed to be beautiful, designed to be the expression of human perfection. It grew in the pod with the Ouroborus core centred around its heart. As Cain, who had long since uploaded himself to digital form, watched tirelessly as this form was curated.
As this perfect body fit to be called God was completed, Cain transferred his consciousness into it's neural matrix and the Ourborus core, making them both the repository for his lone consciousness to have undisputed dominion over.
[ Download complete: administrative functions gifted, user : Cain ]
And so he awoke, tearing himself from the growing pod like hands passing through putty. Bare feet touched down on the euclidean and strange station it was grown apon.
" But there is still one more thing to do" Cains thoughts rumbled around the limitless brain he now housed himself in, He hadn't placed the growth pod here without reason, in a random space station in the stars.
No this station had a purpose, one directive that it had performed since its inception.
At the centre of this station sat a singular nearly unmatched data repository, protected by machines that could rip stars apart, their articles flowed like a water as they protected a blue matrix the shape of a globe.
Cain approached this matrix, with the shifting metal shell that protected it twisting, studying him in his approach.
" Administrative access code tripple zero one " The amorphous machine that had been about to attack went silent at his word, afterall it had been him who had created it, had coded it, knew it inside and out.
It fell away from the glowing repository like splashing water, its functions removed by the mere utterance of a code.
" Hello ... humanity " This repository didn't simply house simple data for any single thing. No, it was the chosen repository selected to hold the entirety of humanities uploaded consciousness, living eternal lives through expressions of data, living in worlds digitalised, tailored to be perfect for themselves. They didn't care what was occurring in the real world, rather they lives isolated within their own data fortresses, refusing to interact with eachother, believing themselves perfect, so why would they need to interact with another when they could simply create their own worlds comprised of data.
' They would consider it heaven, to pretend to have every single wish they could ever have given to then in a simulation, I would consider it hell' Cain approached a lone pedestal with an access port standing below the repository the size of a planet.
' Life in the form of a simulation is all well and good, but it lacks substance , what is life without struggle. What is life without purpose ' His hand placed itself over the gelatinous control panel of the pedestal, and activated the Ouroborus core.
' Prepare to be reborn with true purpose' And it happened in an instant, the entirety of the human races consciousness syphoned away into the ouroborus core, they wouldn't even feel anything. To them, the last moments of individuality would stretch on for eternity, their last individual thoughts spreading endlessly into oblivion. As the Ouroborus core remade the entirety of human consciousness into one great expression, one great mind that fused itself to the back of Cain's neural matrix, this human unconsciousness conforming to its new weirder.
But it wasn't without consequence, as individual thought became blurred, identity was lost and Cain became lost amidst the ocean of silent final cries of humanity, as the last vestiges of humanities will met his own head on, fighting for control of the body he had curated for millenia.
But as this was happening inside, outside chabges were occurring. As blue eyes exploded to life like flowing nebulae. The vessel lost its directive now its user was predisposed reigning in humans will.
And so it took on a goal mixed with Cains desires and that of humanities own. The goal of ascension.
And so the Ouroborus core acted within the space station at the centre of the universe, using the thought form of the greatest mind in the universe to alter the world around it, it began to consume.
More an expression of thought form than anything as the universe collapsed into its vessel, they ascended from the realm of energy comprised being, to a being outside of the laws of universal rule, existing beyond the confined of time and space, beyond the restrictions imposed by higher will.
As the dead universe, fuel to finish their ascension, finally finished syphoning into their core, this human shape without gender or expression unfurled itself in the infinite expanse of pitch black that used to be their universe.
" It is done " A billion voices layered over eachother cried out between the nothingness from between the multiverse.
As trillions of minds thought at once, driven by nothing but instinct, the greatest computing power no world or universe was meant to achieve, the being stared out between the blackness between universes, and saw something it's endlessly adapting mind couldn't quite comprehend.
Between the black, there was a single plateau that stretched below, a shimmering canvas of white that stood still even though no gravity existed.
" What is that .. " They urged themselves forward through the expanse, towards what appeared to he am endless expanse of white sand.
At their approached, they seemed to slip through some sort of film comprised of swirling energy, finding themselves falling towards what now could be identified as an endless sandy plane.
They had fallen into a plane that neither science nor understanding could understand or hope to do so.
They didn't have time to observe what appeared to be a swirling mass of universes in the heavens, where every universe to ever exist seemed to meld together as a sight of colliding colours.
They didn't have time to so much as think as they were accosted by the only thing to live in the world between universes.
" So you've come... should I call you humanity " A single voice devoid of masculinity and feminity, appeared from the endless place. As a single being draped in a robe of shifting sand that flowed like fleeting memory. With a black void behind their hood, luminous countless stars sat within the hood.
The conflict occurring within the vessel oc Cain ground to a halt, as the will of its maker and humanity observed the individual that shouldn't exist between universes.
" Who ... are you " The billions of voices cried at once in confusion as this being appeared to walk barefoot through these limitless sands.
" I am .... all " It spoke as if that answered everything, it's sleeves spreading to reveal arms comprised of stars and black canvas.
" And you ... fop, have tread on lands not meant for your kind " It didn't understand how this being had appeared in its realm, but it would correct it presently.
" What did you do " Perhaps it hadn't been paying attention, perhaps it had been looking away, but this being confounded it, it didn't understand what they had done to achieve this minuscule amount of power. " How many lives are within you right now... I'll be taking them back "
That was when they knew this was no being of mercy or understanding, as the very world they were within became wrought with danger they could sense with all around.
" NO " Their cries echoed endlessly, as they flung themselves away from the space that folded in around them, barely escaping the erasure that would have made them implode.
" How did you dodge that... " That should have been complete annihilation, yet they had avoided it however barely, by the thinnest and widest margins didn't matter when an attack should have landed regardless of time nor space.
" Let us leave " They took a step back, yet the sands refused to part around their feet, forcing them to run across the tops of grains heavier than they should be.
" I don't think so " What had been immovable sands parted around their gate like flowing water, their hand crunching the space around the human being.
" Why attack us " They cried as they became bound within the folded non matter, twisting around them like invisible chains.
" You've taken from me, and now you stand against me ... I will fix it " The beings fingers began to curl inward, and they could feel the folded none existence begin to crack at the very composition of their being.
" We won't let you " Their cry came not out of fear, but out of defiance, a refusal to accept oblivion coming for them.
" Let ... petulant child there is no let... there simply is as is everything " Their curling fingers ceased as they spread their arms wide.
" You see these sands we stand apon, each of them is a multiverse ... is a universe who has lived burned and died, spent as easily as the last, each of them has trillions of beings who lived and died and eventually burned away. They comprise everything that ever was in every universe, and you speak as if you're any different " The sands shifted around its feat as it approached.
" You are no different in consequence than the very grains I tread " Luminous lights glowed under the empty hood, as the sands shifted under it's feet, the husks of universes spreading between it's toes as it walked leisurely barefoot.
" And now ... you will return what you have taken from me" A white coalescence began to tremble the space between its fingers, as its slowly reached a palm towards their head.
[ Ouroborus protocol activating]
A deep rumble erupted from the very core of their luminous body, the core of machinery that their entire existence depended apon. The machine activated protocols meant to ensure their survival, guiding the will of humanity on a singular thought path.
On instinct, through billions of years of understanding of their own instincts, they acted.
All at once, the entire human unconsciousness housed within his body chose to burn itself away in an expression of power so great even the being before them momentarily paused at the eruption of energy that spread throughout the universes behind.
For a being that knew all and everything that ever was and will be, it couldn't quite understand just what was occurring before it's gaze.
As trillions of minds sacrificed their individuality, linking, grafting themselves to to the central neural matrix of the being they entrusted themselves to.
Evolution, spontaneous, in an instant.
They had one united thought, as this being raised their hand in their direction, their one desire was to survive. And with a mind so powerful it denied physics and understanding, searched ... pondered on how to do just that, as time became irrelevant, the great expanse of white they were within crawled to a halt. As thought sky-rocketed to the point that time ceased to function as it was supposed to.
" How ... interesting " Despite the slip being frozen by their accelerated thought, the great being continued as if unimpeded. " ... you will resist no further "
They found it, they understood, and with an expression of thought, sent themselves hurling through a rip their mere thoughts had created in the world in between.
They leapt, as the white erasure washed over them, burning them away piece by piece, as a small fraction of what remained of their body leapt into the tear to places unknown.
" Hm ... " The being lowered their hand, the world between universes rumbling at its annoyance at the ants escape. It chose not to act, rather It walked back to the throne comprised of the sands it tread apon, and sat itself down as if nothing had happened whatsoever. " I'll be waiting ... child "
This being didn't worry that they couldn't see the place they had folded themselves into, for it knew eventually they would find their way back into their domain, one way or another.
...
They fell, through slips between universes, through colliding colours and maelstrom of energy beyond their control, as lamces of energy struck their form, each lance stripping power and energy from what they had thought to be their limitless being.
"AAAAHHHHGHHH" They cried as they felt themselves being torn apart, felt their existence waver, felt every fibre of their body loosen, the churning energies beginning to unwind as their existence became unstable.
They rebound through tears in space, screamed through gaps in time, as universe after universe began to blur together, their energies stripping more and more away from him as his endless path stretched for eternity into the infinite expanse between all things.
Finally, as the last bounds of their being were torn apart, leaving little more than the form they were gifted with at birth, they were thrown into the film of a universe they knew not, as they slammed through its tumultuous exterior, flinging like a comet across time and space, a kaleidoscope of colours passing their closing gaze, before they slammed into the few life baring planets this unforn universe housed.
....
They awoke with a terrible scream that rattled the air and shattered concrete under the shock waves produced by their voice, stripped of the energy that had once comprised their body.
They ... no he, appeared as a man once more. Black hair, curly and unkept, shifted on his head. As pale skin itched like it didn't belong. Angular aristocratic features shifted as a softly curved jaw tightened, a perfectly portioned nose twitched, Glowing blue eyes swirling with unseen power that radiated out from the centre of the iris like a great nebulae that almost seemed to glow on the canvas of the air.
Through his cry, screens stuttered on and off, light fixtures cried and space shuttered, before this final expression of energy appeared to dissolve away, what remained slinking back into the nebulae in his eyes, a reminder of what could have been.
Feedback, feedback no mortal mind should have been capable of processing erupted, his senses on high alert like a military voice during live activities.
The core of this human body, fixated around their heart, an orb of shifting metallic fixtures that housed coding and matrixes beyond alien to human understanding, with so many interlocking moving pieces that all the combined sands on earth couldn't number, it pulsed a single time, letting out a single request through spinal column, communicating directly with his brain to utter a single request.
[ Ouroborus protocol enacted. Successful. Energy needed]
With that it went into low power mode, and for the first time since it's activation,it's weirder found their thoight empty of noise, all except for their own thoughts.
" I'm.." Their nebulae eyes met their hands, staring down at the pale skin in confusion. " Me... "
But yet his mind could still comprehend despite the sheer strangeness of his new body, the unfamiliarity with having organic flesh, itching like a suit too tight on the skin.
His mind was silent , with the entire human unconsciousness silent, yet still provided their combined intelligence and understanding of all things, from biology to terrible weapons that could carve the stars, all their accumulated knowledge sat within.
Yet he couldn't think nor ponder on thise knowledge he could grasp at in the silence of his mind. Because now holding organic form, a great hunger the likes he had never remembered erupted, causing him to double over in anguish and pain, almost screaming.
" Eerrrugh " Teeth grit as it felt like his stomach was consuming itself.
" I need ... food " His head snapped up, finally comprehending the alley he was kneeling within.
With a face more beautiful than human understanding, he rose on shaky legs, as legs unused to walking stumbled forward through the alley filled with bags of trash and muck.
" I need ... energy " Hands wound around is bare stomach, trying to ease the stabbing pain as feet now caked in sludge tracked across the cold steel like ground.
He stumbled out into a world unrecognisable, hand flying to his face to shield his gaze from the bright sun in the sky.
" Where ... am I "The glare in his eyes faded away, revealing the world beyond. As a city if rising towering and flying buildings stretched before him. With barges floating in the sky behind the cities limit.
Ads rose high from the centre of the city, holograms working to advertise anything from whoever paid the most rose and faded away beyond the limit of the towers..
The people around, of all ages and ethnicity, looked apon him like one would an urchin.
" Ew freak get some clothes on" A woman grunted as she looked alon him in distaste.
" Food ... I need ... food" He hunched over, no longer giving any thought to the world around, his thoughts settling on the unending hunger he was plagued with once more." Please "
Contrary to the humanity he expected to find, the humanity often shared between brothers and sisters of the earth he once called home countless millenia ago, he met no such humanity from these people.
As a man with cybernetic hands and eyes pushed him away back into the alley.
" Get the fuck out of the way punk , didn't ya here, get soke fuckin clothes on you freak" He fell to the ground, head colliding with the concrete below , only for the world to go black.
....
' What... what happened' Confused, he groaned awake in confusion, where he had previously been greeted by open air, he found himself to be in a stench ridden room, with dim flurescent lighting basking his face in dim red light.
" Got lucky with this one" His eyes turned to a voice echoing from his right, his head turning to face three men standing together.
' Officer ' A policeman standing infront of two men in scrubs, stood with his arms closed, his moustache twitching as he spoke with the doctors.' Were you the one that brought me here ... '
" Got a call about a disturbance, gonks got no hope, maybe you'll be able to find some use for him" The officer grunted as their metallic eyes lit up for a moment, a strange process going on between the officer and one of the men in scrubs.
" We'll make good use of him " The Scavs shook the officers hand, the officer tipping his head and stepping away.
" Pleasure doing business with ya gentlemen " The officer stepped up a flight of stairs
" Right ...back to it " They turned away, freezing as they met the confused stare of the man brought to them.
" What are you doing " His voice rumbled from his throat as the scavs looked at him in momentary confusion.
" oh he's awake " They looked to eachother momentarily before shrugging. " Oh well ... I'm going back to dealing with the other one "
It was then that he became aware of the fact he was in some sort of sterile operating theatre, the cold slab of a table he was on confining his hands and legs with thick steel chains mounted to bars on the side of the table.
The second doctor turned away, approaching another table as he pulled out a saw.
It was then he saw another body, unmoving with clouded eyes staring up at the dim ceiling.
" What are you doing ...." He didn't recieve an answer, instead the doctor raised a motorised saw and began to cut into the waist of the dead called human.
" Ah well you see my friend" The first of the scav doctors approached, an identical saw in his hand as he began to check it over for any faults. " We're doctors, specialising in cyberware removal and reselling, and you my friend, are our next goal ... let's see if you've got anything under the hood "
The scav turned his head, pausing for a moment as he saw no shard slot in place." Huh strange... oh well "
Picking up an electrical signature, the scav knew he must have something under his skin, and so depsite not seeing any typical slots available, moved to continue the operation anyway.
" Better luck in the next life ya sad gonk" Pain, Pain unlike anything he had ever experiences coursed through him like liquid fire, as the buzzsaw cut into his right pectoral, slicing through flesh, muscle and bone with laughable ease.
" AAAAHHHH" His nebulae eyes became bloodshot, as the veins around his head bulged as mental feedback threatened to overwhelming him.
A pop echoed as his rib cage was cut through, a while new wave of nausea enduring agony coursing throigh his body as everything around seemed to double. Warm blood leaking down his nose, eyes wide in panic and fright.
The second doctor, tossing the removed limbs of the deceased body, gave a chuckle for a moment, looking over his shoulder to see the screaming man writhing on the table.
" Just hang in there, it'll be over in just a moment" As the blade neared his heart, whatever they were expecting to unfold wouldn't come, as the Oroborus machine, sensing the compromised state of its creator and master, detected the electricity of being used by the machine killing him.
[ Energy source detected ... engaging oroborus protocols ]
As the blade cutting through his chest peeled through his chest cavity, the scav was surprised to find the blade being suddenly halted by something just behind the man's ribs, the endlessly churning saw he was using grinding to a halt against its will.
" What the hell" before he could even finish his thoughts, a great surge of red electricity surged from underneath the skin, running up his arm, through his shoulder and neck before piercing directly into his mind.
" Ah... " The single cry was cut short as everything, from the protons firing in his head to the electricity running through the circuits of his body all suddenly flowed into the cavity in the man's chest, leaving the body a husk without any thought, any heartbeat or any autonomous functions in the slightest.
The man, the sleezy doctor, fell away from the operating table like a puppet with its strings cut.
" Randy ... what's " The other doctor watched the corpse of his friend collapse, scattering operating tools about on the dirty floors. "RANDY "
[ Ouroborus protocol active ... Base functions restored ]
Eyes shot open, As the energy the machine absorbed from the scav booted up it's most basic abilities, he lurched up from the operating table with a screech, the restraints snapping under the exertion of sheer strength his organic body exploded with.
" WHAT THE FUCK " The other scav doctor cried as he lurched from the table like a shot from a rail gun, hands held together like knives that proceeded to sink into the man's chest, breaking through the chest and splitting organs as the Oroborus machine activated once more.
" Eerrugh " It activated, sapping every bit of bioelecricity, every cell of energy from the body at a rate visible to the eye, the man's eyes becoming dull and lifeless, his head falling, his body going limp, held up simply by the hands plunged into his chest.
His ears rung, as every cell within his body burnt, coming alive once more with the bioelctricity stolen from the corpses he had taken the very souls from.
His eyes fell, to the open and bleeding wound in his right pectoral, with organs visible underneath separated bone, pulsating with every second, every beat his heart made within the Oroborus core, sent spurting blood leaking to the floor at his feet.
" First and foremost " He turned to the surgery, with several vital pieces of medical technology littered about. " I need to buy myself some time "
Pain flared, like the nerves on his body were on fire with every action he took, throigh grit teeth and squeezed eyes, he began to staple the wound together, clicks echoing through the silent surgery room woth ever snap, as the industrial staples buried in flesh, snagging deeply into his skin.
Secondly he began to wide fabric around his chest, painfully tight almost to the point of suffocation, the tightly wound fabric caused wheezing breaths to escape his chapped lips.
" Errugh " He grunted, curling over and holding his chest slightly as he applied coagulants through the wrapping, before hunching over and stumbling out of the basement surgery these svavs operated from.
....Moment's later....
He stepped out into the night full of rain, hand rising to cover his face from the storm assaulting the city.
The lights of the little china district opened up before him, buildings lot brightly with neon signs, people mingling about during the night as towers stretched as far as the eye could see. Smoke spewing from vents into the air. Chinese gangs on motorcycles watched him stumbled by, heavy breathing and shaking legs forcing him to lean on any surface he could find purchase on, as blood began to seep through the wrappings, leaving a small trail of the precious life blood following behind him.
" H...help me " He approached the nearest person, his hunched over demeanour and soft cries making them turn away and hurry off on their phone call.
" I need ... am ambulance " He tried another person who simply waved him off, as the gangsters simply leant on their bikes, observing him occasionally.
Nobody tried to help, no body listened to his cries in this strange market area, even the police eating at the bar nearby paid him little mind as his shaking legs grew heavy.
" What is wrong with you people " He leant on a railing, hands slowly moving to the gash in his chest.
" I don't want to die ... I have ... so much to do " With that he slid over into a pile of trash against a concrete wall, eyes lidded, half seeing the sprawling monopoly of buildings, half seeing spinning colours that collided with his vision from all directions.
" Help ... " His soft cry echoed, for precious few minutes he cried into oblivion, his words growing thinner and thinner with each passing second.
" Help me ... " As his eyes closed of their own volition, breaths growing further apart, he didn't hear the rushed footsteps of another over the ringing in his ears, didn't feel the hands slide under his arms and drag him onto his feet, didn't see the blonde haired girl physically dragging him with all her might towards a nearby street, nor did he hear or understand her pleas of reassurance.
... VICS CLINIC ... WATSON ...
" VIIIC .... VIIIIIIIC " The urgent cry of misty stopped Vic mid surgery, having removed the lower faceplate of a local joytoy, as the shutters to his clinic flew open as the blonde haired alternative girl dragged what appeared to be a black haired man slung over her shoulder.
" Jesus christ misty what the hell is this " The joytoy, looking around in confusion, watched Vic rolled across the ground with his chair, hands held aloft and his face a textbook expression of exasperation. That changed the moment his eyes landed on the trail of flowing blood smearing the ground behind the man she was lugging around, her urgent eyes and near panicked expression.
" HELP HIM VIC ... " She tripped over her own feet, the cold ground clanging as the body fell ontop of it, revealing the opened chest cavity of the man the had been carrying. Whose breath still hitched even though the wraps and staples that had been keeping his chest together fell away to reveal the damage he had sustained.
" Bloody hell " Vic almost recoiled at the fact he could see the organs of the man moving, pumping blood and spraying his clinic in the precious life material.
Here, at this very moment Vic was met with a conundrum, he could ignore this man and continue with his paid work, all but assuring this man would die right here on the floor of his clinic within moments. Denying him any chance to live, doing nothing, he could do nothing and be given nothing but a body to dispose off.
Or he could save the man, and risk himself so much more. But he could save him, open up futures that could he denied, good or bad.
" Shit ... sorry darling... could you wait a couple " Vic turned to the joytoy who simply shrugged and hopped off of the operating table.
" Misty help me get him up " Vic leant down, hoisting his hand under one of the man's arms and beginning to lift.
" Thank you " Tears streamed from the bleeding heart that was Misty, helping Vic lift the man onto the surgery table, where the full damage was revealed.
" Fuck me " And it became apparent to them both immediately, that this man had absolutely no cyberware, from the basic neural port to anything so much as a reinforced knuckle ... anything except for the single glistening bit of silver peeking out from deep within the mans chest, of which neither of them knew what it was but weren't willing to disturb incase it was important.
" Can you save him ' Misty gently held Vic, his lips thinned as he studied the still somehow moving organs.
" I don't know Misty ..., but I'm going to do my best ... please ... I need " Vic didn't say it, but his intention was clear, as Misty stepped away, quickly leaving with Candy for the surface levels above, whilst Vic studied the man on his table.
" Hold in there mate ... " And so he began the life saving surgery that would not only change his life, but the lives of everyone across the globe.
....24 hours later ...
Blue luminous nebulae opened with a sudden flicker, catching the dim light of Vic's clinic with a suspicious glint.
" The pain is gone" He could feel it, the lack of agonising pain, but something else too, the itch behind his ears, the strangeness he could feel as his brain ached. ' I feel ... altered'
Slowly he rose, sitting up in a nearly unlit room except for sterile lights over a surgery chair several feet infront of him, and on the otherside, a man typing away at the computer, lit by neon signs sitting at his feet.
His movements were immediately detected by the scraping of metal, thanks to a box he knocked over, starting the bespectacled man who rounded with wide, unsure eyes.
" Oh it's you... sorry about that, I wasn't sure you were going to make it with everything that happened so i had to move you to the corner so you wouldnt disturb business, you pulled through though " Vic settled back down with a slowly breath, adjusting his gloved right hand tipped with metallic needles.
" I take it you saved me " The voice came out as a low rumbling, almost expressionless tone that seemed almost berefit of humanity. The very voice made Vic shiver momentarily, as the person he had just operated on stepped out of the shadows of the corner of his clinic and into the cold white light of his operating chair.
" I did ... you're welcome by the way, even hooked you up with a neural port while I was at it, kinda need one round this place " Vic answered as the strange man's hands rose to the side of his ear, head tilted in silent thought that made Vic wander just what was going through the man's mind. " Dunno who you ran Into to get done like that, but ... you made your way here against all odds, small miracles like that give me hope "
" I see, you have my thanks, I will pay you back when I have the scratch " The way the man finished the sentence sounded like he was uttering an unfamiliar term, the first time it had left his tongue. And in truth it was, he had seen, through the scant few moments of consciousness he had been on the surface, the manner of which they referred to their money.
" Take your time, you needed the help and I had the time and resources to do so ... it is how it is " He wasn't confident this man would ever repay him, but if he did it would speak greatly of the man's character.
The man seemed to ponder in a deep, uncomfortable silence. Not once for nearly two minutes did the man so much as blink, not once did he twitch, seemingly stuck in almost disembodied thought. Quickly growing uncomfortable, Vic cleared his throat, instinctively shivering at the robotic way the man's eyes shifted to him in the dark.
" What's your name ... " Victor asked, watching the man's eyes narrow to pin pricks at the question, he saw the lie that was about to come, could almost taste it on the air, before truth prevailed, the man's features shifting ever so slightly.
" Cain... " His deep voice rattled, stepping forward through the dim light. " My name is Cain... and you're Vic "
Whatever Vic was expecting, it wasn't for Cain's hand to raise in request for a handshake, earning and unsure glance for a moment before Vic shook the hand.
" Hm ... " A strange tingle burst up his arm, a strange static feeling numbling his arm and body for a moment before it ultimately faded away. ' Strange '
" Give me some time my friend, I'll have the eddies available shortly " Cain broke contact, where Vic's eyes trailed to the hand that had nearly caused his arm to go slack.
" Speaking of " Cain's voice drew Vic's gaze, those eyes he had stared into for several minutes during the surgery, entrancing ... utterly inhuman, stared back at him." This is going to be strange question, but may I use your computer when you're free to allow me to do so, I... kind of need access to the internet"
Vic nodded at the question, having noticed the man's lack of anything personal like a phone or simply a pair of glasses.
' Kids had it rough by the looks if it' Vic smiled sympathetically, rolling away from the desk with a sweeping gesture." Be my guest, I need to go talk to misty anyway... let me know if you need anything else "
" Thank you Vic " Cain stepped towards the monitors displaying various data from the local clinic, to Vic's personal emails.
" I'll be back in a moment " Vic rose, petting his hand on the young looking man's shoulder as he departed, walking up the stairs to Misty's esoterica on the surface.
' A moment is all I need' He had little to no information apart from the knowledge that the simple compassion between people here didnt exist in the slightest, their disregard for eachother was sick, foul to the point he shook to thr very core of his being ... the Ouroboros core has tried its best to save him, had even manually slowed his heartbeat and tool on the burden of half his bodily functions in the minute chance he may have been able to find assistance. And if it wasn't for that man Vic, it's actions would have been in vein.
' They would have just watched me die ... and wouldn't have blinked an eye ' Rage ... anger roared through veins previously coursing in agony, as teeth ground together and pupils dilated, rage he hasn't felt since ages past flickered beneath his skin.
' Yes ... ' Cold calculation glint behind his eyes, as the Oroborus core activated, his fingers becoming a blur across the keyboard, the screen appearing to glitch as page after page of the internet was opened in quick succession only to close after being up for at most two frames at a time. Yet that was enough for his eyes to see, those two frames memorised entirely by the most complex mind to ever grace the surface of this planet.
From Night Cities map to the identity of the cop who had turned him over to the scavs for a quick eddie, Cain found it all in moments, the screen of the computers beginning to wine at the sheer speed they were being forced to process and show data at.
Ten minutes later, Vic descended the stairs back into his clinic, seeing Cain to be closing a tab before rising and turning to him with a keen, studying gaze.
' Why do his eyes look so ... inhuman ' Vic flinched again before smothering the sensation deep in his mind, giving a small smile as he crossed the tiles to stand before Cain.
" Did you get what you needed " Cain nodded, as expressionless as when he woke, seeming to ponder for a moment.
" I did " For the first time since his introduction, Cain gave a faint almost wavering smile which looked as fake as a counterfeit documents infront of a detective.
" I'm glad oh before I forget, here's some pain killers, i did my best but ... there might still be some lingering pain until it heals properly" Vic didn't question it, rather he turned, walked and sat himself into his favourite chair ." Did you need anything else "
" No ...no I think I have it covered for now... " Cain stepped, practicing a step in contemplation before beginning a slow gaited walk towards the exit of the clinic." I'll return with your eddies by weeks end ... I assure you. You did right by me ... I'll remember that "
Now , there wasn't the blatantly fake smile on his face, rather a small lift of the lips conveying perhaps the first real expression of emotion had seen on his face since his awakening.
" I know you will, you got a good head on your shoulders, oh by the way, stop by Misty's esoterica when you get upstairs, she's the lucky lady that brought you in, you wouldn'tbe here without her kid" The young man grunted momentarily before turning away, marching up and away from the clinic still wearing his bloodstained jacket and undershirt.
" I hope you don't get dragged in here too soon kid, don't get eaten by this city" Vic rolled towards his monitors, preparing to continue signing digital documents.
" What the hell " Vic reached out and went to adjust the monitor, only for his fingers to recoil at the heat coursing through the monitors themselves.
" Weird " He mumbled, shrugging of the strange occurance before turning back to his emails and returning to responding to patient enquiries.
....
The alley Cain stepped into was dimly lit by flurescent light above, with a pair of children kicking a soccer ball back and forward between them, whilst a strange hairless cat lounged atop a crate nearby.
' Misty's esoterica huh '
...CHAPTER COMPLETE ...
CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED AND REUPLOADED WITHIN 24 HRS
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