[ Booting: Systems initialisation... complete.
####### detecting hardware##### complete#####
Ouroborus core : active. 4%
Omega deck : Active . 100% ]
Blue eyes slowly flickered open under the flurescent light of the operating theatre.
' Is it ... finished' He could feel it, the way the operating system that was the omega deck in his head reached out to all the electronics around him, communicating with them, downloading data, learning.
[Subnet located . Connected ]
The omega deck acted, doing as it judged after defering to its creator for permission.
He sat up with a groan, a rumble of his chest as he shielded his eyes from the white light.
The sound of a cocked pistol immediately drew his attention, as he squinted through the haze of white light, seeing that Victor was levelling a pistol in his direction with shaking hands.
" Okay .... Vic what's this about " He slowly raised his hands, calm despite clearly seeing the sweat running down the shaking Victor's head.
" The very first time you came here, you first walked into my clinic what was the first thing you said to me " Cain tilted his head in confusion, mouth parting slightly.
" I didn't... I was dragged in here by Misty... " Confussion marred his features, watching Vic's Adams apple rise and dip, his free hand rising to swipe the sweat from his brow." I asked if you saved me... look if this is about the eddies I'm sure they're still in my jacket "
Vic gulped a single time, lowering his gun slowly before ultimately falling apart under the pressure.
" I...I'm sorry kid " Vic leant on the wall, head in the crook of his arm, eyes closed with ragged breaths leaving his lips.
" Heyyy what's going in in here " Misty stepped into the clinic, confused at the state of the two.
" Oh ... nothing Misty... " Cain shrugged as Vic stood back up, hiding the gun away from view of the innocent goth.
" Sorry ... Cain " Voice riddled with guilt, Vic almost collapsed after taking a deep breath, sliding Cain's liberty on his desk. " I ... I freaked out... I... "
" It's alright Vic ... I understand " Humans didn't react well to things they didn't understand, and no doubt what Cain had shown him was well beyond the means of normal for Victor's level of understanding.
" No hard feelings " He could see it now, the same strange countenance Cain regarded everyone with. The way he looked at everyone around him like they were a foreign concept. Like he hadn't interacted with anyone in a very very long time. Like he was an observer in a world he didn't understand... he was giving Vic that same look now. It was assuring, if the thing that was in his head wanted to strive to fit in, it wouldn't have the same studying stare, the way his eyes sauinted when he observed both Misty and himself. And that warmed him.
" None at all ... thanks Vic ...oh ... if I need can I come back to get some more cyberware made ... " Vic nodded slowly, reclining back into his rolling chair with a slow easing breath.
" Yea kid ... but I want you to do a favour" Vic adjusted his glasses.
" What's up Vic... " Cain humoured the man who gave him a long silent stare.
" I want you to come in here weekly... checkups just incase " Vic's care was obvious, shining through, the worry clear as day.
" Can do ... I won't be asking for anymore freebies now... paying from here on out" He smiled back, turning to Misty the next moment. " You smell nice Misty knew scents... "
With that he turned, walking up the concrete stairs out of Vic's homely clinic, whilst Misty and Vic watched him leave.
" Okay ... now " She made sure Cain wasn't in earshot, her face falling into a scowl."what the hell was that Vic... you scared us half to death "
" I'm sorry Misty... I... I'm scared for im " Vic relented, staring at the empty part of the desk where the liberty had sat before Cain had taken it and left.
" Why .... Vic ... what's so scary about that chip it's got you so freaked out " Misty walked forward, kneeling before Vic who held his head with the palms of his hands.
" It's alive Misty, in a way I've never even thought possible. It thinks, it can feel ... I wantched the algorithms Misty, as it leant after waking up on my computer. I watched it's code feel ... I ... I spoke to it Misty and I'm sure it understood.. not even a personality construct has a matrix that complex Misty... I didnt know if it was going to be him waking up .... or that ... that thing... "
"Oh ... " Misty still didn't understand, but she placed a comforting hand on Vic's lap. " It'll be okay ... I'm sure it will be "
" I hope so mist .. I hope so " He whispered under his breath, the two lapsing into a silence. " I'll make it up to him, I wronged him just then... "
" I know you will Vic... it's who you are" Misty rose and gently hugged Vic, before returning to the esoterica above.
....
[ Connection established.
Entering datafortress.
Opening client file data.
Creating archive.
Archive name : Cain Kaiwan.
Curating profile .
Place of birth - Colorado.
Birth year- 2057
Identification number-##########
Funds : $0 ]
He stood infront of Asukaga and finch bank, having made his way there straight after departing Vic's clinic , the Omega deck breaking into their subnet and making him an account in the five seconds since he stepped infront of the wide double doors that lead inside.
" Can I help you sir " A man in a black suit stood with his hands clasped together, staring Cain down with unveiling suspicion.
" No ... no you can't " The account details were added to his operating system, nwo having everyday access to the account. " My apologies I was mistaken for a moment "
" Get outta here then " The bouncer hissed, turning his attention to the other people coming and going as Cain continued on down the street full of pedestrians.
" Don't mind if I do " Cain shoved his hands in his pockets, staring ahead, studying each individual face with curiosity, staring at everything around, staring at the world he found himself in. No longer plagued by the uncertainty of the reapers blade... the potential death that had plagued his every moment since his arrival. But now it was gone.
With the Ouroborus core functioning however minimally, with a means of defence active in this hellish city, he desired to understand. He wanted to know, wanted to experience. The driving force behind humanity was their curiosity, was their thirst for knowledge.... purpose and meaning. And so much more. And he ... he embraced these traits, for he was ... in a sense by the sheer expression of the term... humanity.
" What should I do first " He had all the time in the world... and every option available.
[ Creator ... please provide energy ]
He chuckled as the whisper raked the back of his mind.
' That too ... '
....CITY CENTRE....
' Hm ... ' He looked up through the holograms of the corpo plaza centre, koi fish holograms circling slowly through waters that didn't exist, one orange and one blue, circling overhead, projected from a holoprojector at the centre of this beautiful garden.
' This is ... real ' It wasn't some simulation humanity confined themselves to, no ... this was life, imperfect, full of suffering and hardships. Chaos ... but chaos was beautiful in and of itself. Life lost meaning when nobody was striving for something.... and living .. all around him ... were the people of this world, fighting against the futility and meaninglessness of life, but they did so with reckless abandon. It was beautiful ... and he relished every moment amongst them even now... at the centre of this calming park and flowing fish holograms.
' It's so ... beautiful '
' This ... ' His hands clenched together, a smile blossoming apon his features as he took in a singular deep breath. ' This is life... '
" Watch it weirdo " A pedestrian women wearing a business suit shouldered past on the sidewalk, phone in hand.
" My apologies " He adjusted his jacket, hands stuffed in his pocket, beginning a slow waltz toward the Ncart station, intent on moving back toward the Watson district.
....KABUKI MARKETS ..
" That will be ten eddies" A cardboard cup of fake noodles steamed into the air as the vendor shoved chopsticks into cup.
" Surething " The Omega deck leapt, connecting to the nearest subnet, automatically datamining for the requested funds and syphoning the collected funds into the vendors account.
" Thank you for your patronage " The vendor went about stirring the muck he called food, synth meat and printed noodles, which was the best you'd get here, otherwise they'd be eating literal processed worm meat.
" No worries" Chopsticks picked at the noodles, raising them to his mouth as he blew apon the hot mess.
' And ... ' He slurped up the meat, the strange artificial flavours sinking intonhis palet as he pondered on the nature of the food he was consuming.' How... intriguing '
' Not particularly tasty but not lacking substance either... a strange combination' He slowly walked away from the vendor, looking towards the individuals walking around. A child running between groups, a junkie leaning in a corner of the market, searching for the high that had fled oh so long ago. A trauma team AV rushed overhead towards a disturbance innthe distance whilst two cops were speaking to a tygerclaw gangster who was grunting at their questions, ready to shoot at any moment.
He paused at the last one, eyes darting to the claw with a squint, seeing the man to be calming down as the cops departed, his shoulders loosened and he went back to eating.
' Hm ... ' He turned away, walking away from the markets to the underpass that lead to the kabuki roundabout.
The sound of cars echoed through the tunnels, the sunlight outside reflecting off of the cold steel and co Crete interior absolutely full of graffiti.
Psst
He paused at the noise, turning to the only other man currently in the tunnels.
A man leaning against the concrete wall, arms crossed, wearing glasses with a trench coat, waved him over with eager hands.
" Hey buddy you looking for something to get those gears of yours grinding " Cain approached with a tilted head, brow knitted in confusion.
" Get my gears going? " His face must have shown how little he understood about the man's words.
" Yea man ... take a look at what I've got ... got a free sample here for ya... get on your braindance view and experience the goods " The man reached out and handed him a chip with an X carved into its title.
" Oh ... thank you " The man smiled, gently urging Cain's hand into his pocket before shooing him away.
" I'll see you again soon, got more where that comes from "
Little did Cain know, he was about to be forced to experience a world far more twisted than he was prepared to find.
....
' Okay ... so ' He held a braindance view bought for a cheap discount, turning it over in his hand, spying a slot to place the word chip into.
' Ah there we are ' A port opened, allowing him to feed the chip into the port.
' Let's see what's so good about this thing ' He placed the view on his eyes, and was forced into the perspective of on of the most vile men in night city. Murderer , rapist.... paedophile. Of which Cain was about to learn the hard way.
And within seconds of the XBD starting, rage, white hot rage, unadulterated, endless frothing rage made his teeth grind together, spittle and mucus flew from his mouth as he wrenched the BD viewer from his head, reflexively stamping it into the ground and breaking it.
Regret filled his hollow eyes, shaking hands rising to meet his gaze, scarred from what he had experienced.
Flashes, screams of the innocent, crys for parents. It had only been a trailer barely five seconds long... but it was enough to show and know everything the real copy held.
Simply viewing thay BD, he felt dirty beyond belief, tainted by the darkness of man, tainted by the most vile that walked among the people of this city.
' How could ... h..h...' He couldn't form a coherent thought, his mind thrown into disarray.
But even as he struggled to come to terms with what he had seen, struggled to comprehend or breath. He knew there was one thing he had to do.
And so, as if on some form of autopilot, he rose with a blank expression, the Nebulae in his eyes shifting like burning sun's, and he began a slow walk through the slums of kabuki toward the spot he knew the vender to occupy.
....
The sun had set, the lights of cars reflecting off of the walls, the voices of the markets slowly dying down as people left towards their abodes or corners.
" Hm ... made some good scratch today " Kyle smirked, his feet kicking off of the wall as he mentally counted the eddies, commiting the identities of the men and women he had provided his wares to that day to an archive incase he needed to tie up loose ends.
" Time to ... " He found himself cautiously quoet at the suddenness of the silence of the world around. No more reflections through the tunnels from car headlights, infact the end of the tunnel appeared an endless void as deep as space.
" Go ... " He twisted and stared, leaning forward to stare into the pitch black that seemed to stretch for eternity. " Riiiight.... not that way "
The way the path felt made his skin tingle, and instinct deep within compelling him to go another way, any other way.
He turned to the path leading to the market, only to pause as the exact same absence of anything stretched infinitely.
" Okay what the fuck... " His heart began to beat in his ears, a eerie chill descended onto his being, the complete absence of any worldly noise driving his anxiety to rise.
" H... HELLOOO" He fell against the wall, finding comfort in the harsh cold wall, chest heaving and falling rapidly. " IS ANYBODY THERE "
His cry, his plea echoed endlessly through the tunnel, head snapping left and right to see any way out. Until he was startled by a single echoing tap to his right, an echo rippling from within the darkness.
Blue eyes snapped open, glowing in the dark, slow footsteps echoing, as a silhouette stirred in the endless void, the footsteps thunderous through the tunnels, echoing several times before dispersing.
" S...STAY AWAY " The glowing orbs, illuminated in the void didn't blink, they didn't slow in their leisure approach. They simply stared him down like the eyes of God.
" No...NO" Sweat ran down his head, pressing himself farther against the wall in abject terror. All before the eyes seemed to stop just behind the lights touch. " LEAVE ME ALONE "
He stared, too scared to look away, amd felt his stomach drop momentarily as the thing the eyes were connected to stepped out of the pitch black shadow. And immediately did relief flood him, head dropping in a relieved huff before he began to take a step forward toward his earlier customer.
" Oh thank god, you have to help me man this place" The man's face went slack the moment he made eye contact with Cain, as the Omega deck acted at his behest.
Brain activity became docile, thought fled, as what felt like fingers began to peel and reach into each and every part of his brain.
" Shhhh ... " Cain didn't look at the man, rather stared into the mid distance as he placed a finger on his lips." It'll be over in a moment"
The omega deck ripped the information out of the man's head, all the information from his name to his contact providing him these Xbd's.
[ Activated... Ouroborus core active]
As the last of the information was ripped from his brain, the Ouroborus core activated, and tore the very bioelecricity from his head.
Like taking a screenshot of the man's being, everything he ever was, the Ouroborus core took this copy alongside the electrical functions of the body and grafted it to its databanks for future reference, in a new node separate to the databank holding the old humanity.
Blank, unseeing eyes stared ahead as Cain's hand slowly unwound from his neck. Sliding down the wall of the tunnel like a discarded puppet.
Cain didn't so much as blink as he watched the man slump, there was no second thought or regret. The only thing he was upset about was not doing this earlier.
' I should have known there was something wrong with him 'He felt dirty simply from viewing the trailers snippets.
He didn't look down at the corpse, simply stepped over the body and into the shadows of the expansive void that stretched, only for the void to recede, the world returning back to its previous state as the echoing rumble of cars hummed, the scabt voices of the market picking up once more, the victim laying, unresponsive while the killer moved into the night.
....
" Vic I need to use your printer again " Vic shivered at the cold baritone bark that echoed through the entrance to his clinic, whirling around to face the stern... taunt features of the boy he had saved the day earlier.
" Sure ... what happened "Instead of responding, Cain tossed the XBD chip onto the counter, Vic looking at the chip with thinned lips.
" I... that thing ... " Vic nodded in sympathy, head dipping in understanding.
" You've never seen one have you ... " Blackmartket BDs we're little more than snuff films or worse, and from the look on Cain's face ... it may have tilted toward the latter.
" Never ... not once ..." Cain's voice was hollow ... broken. " How common are these ... things "
" Far too common ... look I'm sorry that you had to experience that, and I support you doing something about it. Just be careful alright, more often than not vigilantes don't meet the best fate trying to stop them ... they're braver than me atleast" Vic whispered, refusing to meet Cain's gaze who stood over him with thinned lips. " Here's my laptop ... programs still on there "
Cain all but ripped the laptop out of Vic's hands, giving a single nod and marching into the carport on the otherside of the clinic.
" Shit ... " Vic knew Cain was upset and he ever understood the anger, it's just ... the parties behind the groups making these things weren't easy to depart with, even the NCPD did little to nothing about then. " Cain ... i got some other chrome I can give you, reinforced ankles , gorilla knuckles and other stuff like that, they're basic but they work. I'll put it on your tab... " Vic gave a wavering half smile, just hoping he could arm the kid enough to actually make it out of what they both knew he was about to do.
" I'll take it ... " Cain half looked over his shoulder, squinting slightly. " Thank you Vic ..."
"Don't mention it "
....4 DAYS LATER.... NORTHSIDE- ABANDONED FACTORY ....
He stood outside of a building littered with Maelstrom members, where they stood and sat around the entrance, leaning on the walls or engaging in stupid games.
New optics stared at the building. Printed the day after Vic had allowed him to use his laptop to design a new piece of cyberware.
Having used some higher end Kiroshi optics to serve as a reference, he had made his own. With vision capable of severely different systems, like infra-red, tracking magnetic waves, night vision, live tracking and several other uses. These eyes served as an extension of the Ouroborus core and the Omega deck, allowing then a more direct and spread means of use.
With zoom powerful enough to peer directly across the horizon, enhanced remote hacking abilities and more. These eyes looked exactly the same as his old organic eyes, but the red glow at the centre of his pupil indicated that the Omega deck was also watching through his eyes, giving his eyes a strange esoteric stare alien to the norm.
' Are you sure ' His eyes, glowing both blue and red in tandem, stated at the worn down building, standing under the veil of night at the contemptuous Maelstrom.
[ Yes creator ... coordinates indicate this is where item dubbed ' XBD ' was created ] The omega deck, it's red glowing lenses staring through his pupil, confirmed the location after double checking.
" Verywell ... " He took a step towards the factory, mentally condemning the maelstrom before activating the Omega deck.
[ Connecting to neural matrix, connected. Taking control of visual cortex, rewriting vision... complete. You may approach freely creator ]
....
" you see that fine piece that came in earlier " A maelstrom whistled at the new ' Wares ' that had been delivered to them earlier, the others sitting around nodding along.
" Real pretty ... full body conversion, preem sleek bod " He nudged another goon in the ribs, earning a slap to the back.
" Ah give it up, we all know how fragile they are when they go down there ... hope you got a good long look at her" The other responded, shaking his head at the blissful thinking of his mate.
" Yea ...I know " The first gabbing a stim from the barrel they were sat around, placing it to his mouth and sucking in the coloured mist of chemicals.
" Ahhh ... " He almost fell back, giving a woop before sitting up properly. " Gonna have to go get me a piece from Totemtanz to calm down after seeing that... whew "
" Alright brok keep it in your pants " A third responded, taking a hit of the stim himself, shaking his head clear of the haze that came over his mind.
" Shut up steel you know " He froze, optic eyes glowing, staring into a completely empty air infront of him. " You feel that"
A soft wind blew, tinging his scalp.
" Feel wha" The others all looked around, confused at his sudden near schizophrenic questions. " You tweaking out of there "
" Nonono it's like something breathing on me " Yet the place his optics stared at was completely empty, but hot hreath lathered his head. " Hey ..m "
A clap echoed, followed immediately by several others as a person they couldn't see shot the group point blank, straight through their heads as blood erupted through the back of their skulls, holes punched cleanly through their heads by singular bullets.
Cain stood, as the bodies simply collapsed infront of him, hitting the ground with hollow thunks.
[ Connection terminated ... searching for subjects... connected. Rewriting vision ... complete... commence ]
One by one, the Omega deck made him invisible to the eyes of everyone it connected to, as he strode leisurely into the building these monsters were occupying.
' establish a map ' Before his gaze, a map was made in real-time, taken from the geometric data obtained through his optics and translated into a readable map display that popped up in the left bottom corner of his vision.
' Perfect ' He stepped into the halls, liberty in hand, searching ... hunting.
' Nine on the first floor ' He saw their positions garnered from his optics ability to detect differences in the movement of the surrounding electomagnetic waves.
The factory floor was empty, rather just an assortment of crates and wrecked machinery, where these nine were milling about just waiting as a sub par guard for the events happening below.
" Alright load em up" Several crates of BDs we're being loaded into the back of a white van parked next to shut rolling doors.
" Not even an hour for that last one eh... fascinating seeing him work" Iron grunted, heaving a crate onto his shoulder and sliding it into the open doors in the back of the van, reaching back and taking another from copper.
" What you expect from a ganic too fragile, though I'm surprised that ganic ... Nathaniel was it, I'm surprised he's so ... creative ... he'd make a good crewmate " Copper turned to iron, dropping a crate in his hand.
" Yea yea I know, still dude gives me the creeps... me " Iron grunted as another maelstrom at his side slid the fourth crate in.
" Yea ... heard Brick's getting alittle antsy bout this little op we've got " Iron grunted, cybernetic fingers scraping against the steel floor of the van. " Load of shit ya ask me, dude doesn't let us do shit "
" Don't let brick hear ya say that, gonk will put a bullet in the back of your head" Copper hissed, picking up a fourth box abs giving it to iron.
" Isn't that right sig..." Copper held out his hand, expecting a crate to be handed off, pausing as nothing landed in his hand.
" Hey cig ... " He turned around, only to spot the seven others present on this level to be layed out, bleeding on the ground and unresponsive.
" Hey what happened " Iron turned to see the carnage littering the sight, pulling out his gun and aiming into the empty warehouse. " OI "
Both he and copper aimed down the sights of their iron into the empty building, coming up to eachothers sides in the silence around.
" Iron ... watch my six " Copper took half a step forward, right next to the barrel of a figure they couldn't even see.
BANG
His head opened up to the outside world, brain and metal lining across the panels of the Van, and before copper could even react, he too met the same fate with a thunderous clap. As a bullet collided with the middle of his brow, blowing his eyes apart in separate directions, tearing cyberware from their lodgings, with the bullet drilling throigh and outward from the back of his head, punching a hole in the shutter door behind him.
....
' Hm ... ' He looked apon the crates with great detestable anger, seeing the chips and their containers in the hundreds... thousands, stored for redistribution across night city and beyond its borders.
" Yooo what the fu" A man coming up from the basement access found his head exploding like a watermelon as Cain didn't even look, simply raised his liberty and blasted the crook in the chest, tossing the man back half a foot with a grunt where he fell to the ground in a bloody splatter.
' The driver ... you'll prove useful ' Cain rose from the loading bay, stepping into the dipping stairwell where the driver clutched his open bloody wound.
Perhaps one of the only two present without any cyberoptics, he could see Cain approaching, the unhidden terror on his face, the shiver of coming death.
" Stay still" Cain reached down, hands reaching out toward the driver's head as the Omega deck began to strip both the information of his databanks whilst the Ouroborus core attacked and closed his neural network.
[ Information collected. Delivery points located , clients recorded]
Without any hesitation, fired and meatrilsed the driver.
And now, .. the only thing that stood before him and whatever lay downstairs where these detestable recordings was made, was this lone stairwell down.
' Fuck ... ' Steeling his nerves, he attempted to prepare himself for whatever he might find downstairs, no matter how futile such an effort might be.
He scratched his head with the side of his liberty, grunting before reluctantly taking a step down the stairs into the abyss of the sick.
....
White tarps layed sprawled across every surface, stapled to the ground as a bad was lit up by lights, a camera tripod standing infront of the bed itself.
The theatre was sectioned off with black tarps, with the tarps drawn to show the interior to the exterior of the room.
The same bed from the trailer, the same light... the same tarp. It ... Cain didn't dare even attempt to visualise the visceral memory that refused to abate.
Cages limed the backwards of the room, and as he stepped into the main basement area, He felt his heart sink to his heels as he spotted the contents of the cages.
Children... women and men lined the cages, eyes sunken, withdrawn, like they had already given up, like they knew their fates were to die here in these snuff dens.
He approach wasn't acknowledged, they didn't even turn to look at him as he crouched infront of the cage doors.
" Hey ... " The small blonde girl in the cage, no older than that of twelve by the looks of here, simply stated at the other side of the cage, curled up, clutching her stomach.
In fear or resignation, she didn't reply, just blinked slowly..and the frothing rage that bubbled just below the surface reared it's searing head once again.
" I'm going to get you out of here ... " But first, his eyes became distant, sensing the changes in the electromagnetic spectrum, hearing the approach of another coming from the backdoor entrance to the basement.
" To deal with him" Teeth grit, threatening to crack under the pressure at which his jaw clenched. He turned to the tarp that fluttered open, a man in scrubs stepping into the theatre.
" Hey who're " A man, of south-eastern chinese descent, was silenced as Cain reached out to him with hus right hand despite the distance between the, the Omega deck reaching into and ripping the information from the man's neural network and datastorage of his cyberware.
As the process was completed the man stumbled back, blood beginning to run freely down his nose from his scrambled brain, which was now overheated and actively dying ... but he wouldn't be allowed to just ... die.... not yet.
" You're the producer aren't you ... and one of the actors, I'm a huge fan of your work "Despite what he had thought he may feel, a cold wrath overcame his senses, as his hands became clasped behind his back, a harsh glare twisting his usually soft features.
" Then.... then why did you do ...that" Kang uttered in his thick accent, hunching over to stem the bleeding, wincing as heat permeated his head.
" It was rhetorical " Cain bit, nose flaring as his finger danced apon the trigger of his liberty. " By the looks of it ... you'll die within the next two minutes "
The blood flow slowly increased, as blood began to pool and leak from his ears, eyes becoming bloodshot as veins burst.
" But that's more than enough... time for what I want to do" Cain slipped the liberty into the back of his pants, walking a leisure stride towards Kang as the man's body locked up, not even his eyes could move as Cain approached. The freezing terrified him, as the world before his optics began to shift and twist as if they were beginning to experience hallucinations.
" Do you know what drives man... compelling good man to turn into murders, drove humanity through their history into the stars themselves. Do you know what it was " Cold hands clasped at the man's head, reaching around to clasp the back of his scalp, the Nebulae in his eyes shifting with esoteric light as foreign power not meant for optics to hold surged from the Ouroborus core.
" Wrath ... it was wrath that brought man to where today ... humanity is a hateful species... whose anger knows no bounds... but they can he beautiful.. usually that is ... but you. You can't be called that... you're nothing but a vile beast ... who deserves nothing but eternal damnation" Kang breathing picked up as the kneeling fingers twisting through his brain returned. " And I ... I know a God exists ... but I doubt he truly cares for such things... so I will act in his stead "
The red glow within Cain's pupils intensified as a mirrored reflection of the red glow appeared within Kangs own eyes.
[ Bridge established, copying neural matrix. Creating archive- designation- punishment. Subject consciousness ... copied, original subject can be removed]
" You can see it can't you, you can feel it. Your consciousness in two places right now. Experiencing dual perspectives. I can tell you right now, that second one ... you are going to spend ... a very... very long time in.... welcome to hell ... one ive tailored just for you" With that, Cain snapped Kangs neck, turning his head completely around 180 degrees, before finally inching clear through the back of his head in a visceral explosion of blood and brain matter.
[ Subject status ... functioning. Neural matrix transmigration complete... engaging punishment procedures]
Denied the very chance to pass on to the afterlife, Cain took pleasure in the fact Kangs consciousness would forever be tormented within the Ouroborus core.
The body collapsed, with blood spewing from Kangs lips, before tumbling over nothing but an empty vessel, it's occupant confined.
" I hope you suffer as much as you made them suffer ... " He stared down at the corpse, kicking it in the head, grunting and turning away.
' Now for ...' He turned to the cages, and found every single person, who could, was stating at him with wide eyes, both hope and fear shining in their eyes at the same time.
" I'm going to let you out of the cages, please wait " He lowered himself over Kangs body. Pulling out a access card that slid into locks on each of the cages.
" I'll take you upstairs, but you'll have to wait around until the the badges and trauma team arrive to assist you ... " He knelt down to the first cage he had seen, none responded, but he could see that they understood, and one by one, the cages slid open with a creak as their locks disengaged.
....
They waited inside as he stepped out of the factory, pondering on how to proceed, before a brown haired teen of Latino descent.
The teen seemed to be simply walking by, hands stuffed in his pockets while grumbling to himself under his breath.
" Hey ... " Cain didn't hesitate, simply waved the teen down with a beckoning hand "What's your name "
" Errr.... David .... David Martinez " The youthful boy, froze at the gore covering Cain. " Erm... sorry I must've taken a wrong turn "
" No you're fine kiddo ... just ... I need you to call the badges ... and ... the hospital ... can you do that for me kid " The yellow blazer the kid wore shuffled as he shrugged.
" Yea sure man ... one moment" David turned away for a moment, calling In the NCPD. " Hey they're asking for details "
Hearing nothing, David turned back only to find the strange man completely missing the steps covered on blood, and only then did David notice the corpses of the Maelstrom plastered over the side of the steps.
Chatter in his ear drew David's attention from the bodies.
" Yea ... yea Uh... dead ... lots of them , North Watson... Uh... David Martinez... at the end of Knoll and Ross Street .... yea sure I'll wait around " The call ended, The youth slumping slightly, this was supposed to be his weekend, and now he was stuck here, because some kook decided to lump a crime scene on him. " Fuck "
Only later, when the men, women and children were escorted out under the flashes of new drones and paparazzi did David discover what he had been lumped into.
They had asked who had killed the maelstrom, but even the cameras surrounding the factory couldn't see the man before during or after leaving, like he was a ghost that couldn't be picked up. And David certainly didn't have any of the answers, leaving the badges stumped about the identity of the man.
.... CHAPTER COMPLETE ...
hey guys, leave a comment on what you think about this chapter OR any ideas and thoughts, I want to hear anyone's feedback, you support is always appreciated