"Again!"A naked boy with black hair sat in a lotus position. With strange symbols seeping and crawling into his skin, peculiar sounds and rhythms were heard from within the boy"s body. With sharp noises ringing painfully in his ears, his expression paled. No matter how he gritted his teeth and cursed at fate, the ringing and grating in his ears continued unabated. Abruptly the symbols were flung out of his skin and blood seeped out momentarily. Red blood ran rivers over his hand and pooled at the tips.
Three drops of blood fell into the void world and disappeared.
"Another failure..." Casting his gaze down into the deep dark, he heaved a heavy sigh. "Why can I got get past this stage‽ Hibari pa.s.sed this when he was merely 5 years old, and here I am, over 3 times his age!"
With a fierce look, the boy rose and commanded the symbols to merge into him again. "Merge, merge, merge! Become a part of me; I am you, and you are me... merge!" He shouted, which prompted the symbols to pierce into him.
"In this life, we are together. Tethered from birth, everything I am is because of you... everything you are is because of me. You are my thoughts, my thoughts are you. My actions created you, and my actions created who I am." Chanting this, the symbols dug deeper into his body. Tearing through tendons and bones, the symbols nearly reached his heart. Sharp noises grated against his bones and ears. A woozy feeling surged from within himself, seeking to overtake control. With hatred and desire in his eyes, he tensed his body and shouted one final time.
"MERGE!" With a loud sound, the symbols touched and pierced his heart.
Darkness overtook his mind. All anger, joy, hope, everything was gone in that instant. The fire in his eyes was but a mere ember as the darkness sought to extinguish even that. Yet the darkness couldn"t invade anymore. The last ember struggled to hold on as the symbols in the boy"s heart merged into his flesh.
"I am not you. Your worth is enough… for now." A single voice drifted from the void, yet Rey was unable to hear it.
When his mind was about to give up on his last wishes, his final commands, the symbols in his heart melted and surged within him, reinvigorating himself. The last ember was stoked, and the fire was set ablaze once more. The boy"s black eyes reflected a deeper look, creating connectivity between his mind, body, and soul.
Thud.
He collapsed onto the ground, struggling to support himself. Blood seeped from his heart and fell into the black abyss underneath him. But as his blood flowed into the abyss near his legs, a pure white fluid flowed opposite and drew to Rey. As his blood oozed through the abyss, the white fluid seeped into his heart and replaced his blood. Slowly his heart and skin st.i.tched itself back together and he stood up. The fire turned blue and grew even brighter than before. His heart thumped and thumped, pushing the white fluid throughout his body.
"Success? I succeeded?" The boy opened his eyes and said with a tone of relief in his voice. "I broke through... but why? I felt that I was close to reaching the bottleneck but I hadn"t even approached it... how did I succeed?" Feeling perturbed, the boy thought for a moment longer but only came up with theories.
"That white substance... I felt the soul law in it, pouring into my heart and coursing through my veins. It feels so foreign, however." Combing his hand through his black hair, the boy relented, "I need to research this more at Sanctuary... who knows if this is a good thing or bad thing..."
Clearing his mind, he walked out away from a complex portal and into the void. A soft humming approached his ears as he found it harder to walk with each step. As he walked, metal bars appeared in front of him. With all his strength, he sought to grab ahold of them. As his fingers got closer though, pressure formed around him and pushed him back. With all of his force, he tried to grab ahold of the bars, just to touch it at least. His power surged, and he touched the metal bar. As soon as his fingers fell on the metal bar, he felt a cold surge through his body and grating noises suffocated his will. His grasp immediately softened as he was thrown backward onto the ground.
"So powerful still..." He laid there motionlessly, his body aching and bruised. "What a comical thing," The boy laughed hysterically, "I have no physical body anymore yet I can still bleed in this soul of mine... and even when I succeeded it"s still not enough!" He got up and slammed his fist into the ground, "Until we meet again Soma..." With fiercer gaze than before, he rose to his feet; the embers were stoked once more. Walking up to the portal leading to Sanctuary and thinking about his duties, the boy relented and calmed down.
He walked through the portal, his vision distorting with each step until he saw the familiar luxurious rooms. Warmth and comfort eased his heart as he ran out of the room and through the bustling halls. Within a few not steps, however, he came to a halt. There was a group of people dressed in fine red robes as everyone made way for them. He committed their faces to memory as he also stopped. Rey was careful not to disturb the powerful ones.
With his face down looking at the ground, he allowed the group to go ahead of him. Without sparing a glance, most of them walked past gracefully past everyone else. Glancing up Rey caught the attention of one of them.
"Interesting..." A middle-aged man with the group stopped and muttered as his gaze fell on Rey. Showing a slight smile, he continued walking again and said nothing more.
Beads of sweat formed as Rey stood there motionlessly. Struck by fear, he dared not to even fart. It wasn"t until they left and other people started moving that he even breathed.
"Sun Empire... What was that all about? Do they know I"m not human? Or maybe that my body is possessed?" Rey tried to rationalize that man"s piercing gaze towards him but failed to understand why he looked that him.
Rey steadied his mind and pushed yet another question to the side. Without sufficient information, it was impossible to understand that man"s gaze.
"One day I"ll join and get strong enough. Only then can I go get help and return to my parents and Lorea." Tightening his fist, Rey continued on his way to work. Within a few moments, he arrived outside his work without any more unexpected appearances.
"Rey, come on, your shift is starting soon." Standing outside the building, a burly and tall green woman called to Rey through the window. Her eyes, just like with her giant muscles and sharp nails, were haunting to Rey.
"Yes, ma"am!" Rey creased his forehead and quickly replied. "I can"t cut it so close next time or else manager Tyra will kill me!" Rey gulped at the possibility. Normally one can"t be killed in a world of consciousness, but there are special methods. Not that Tyra would actually resort to that, however.
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The building was in the shape of an "L", made out of dark brown wood with grey symbols etched into it. Transparent windows lined the building, creating an open and comfortable atmosphere. Looking at the place he"s spent so much time at, he gradually calmed down. "At least my job is easy…"
Walking into the building, a big grey "W" sign came into Rey"s sight. copper-colored carpet and red paint covered the interior. With tables and a large counter, the place was complete.
"Greetings, Rey!" A young girl with a chipper voice greeted him as he approached, giving him a slight bow with one arm over her heart.
"h.e.l.lo, Fiore." Rey mimicked her and also bowed, placing his right arm over his heart for a moment. "Ready for another day?" He said with a smile.
"Of course, I have to give it my all. Our clients can tell when you"re faking your smile you know? Like right now with you." Fiore grinned and patted Rey"s back. "Now get in there champ! You have important duties to do! You are the part of the face of this branch after all. Get in uniform already, our clients will be here soon!"
Giving her a thumbs up, Rey walked past the counter and into another smaller room. The walls were lined with lockers, the floor with two tables, and just past that room was more equipment; there was little s.p.a.ce for Rey to move around in the cramped room. Not wasting a second, Rey walked over to a locker with his name on it and slid it open from the top.
Within the locker were five shelves that contained a folded up uniform, a badge with Rey"s face and a logo on it, A small broom and cleaning materials, and a blue pen. After looking around and ensuring no one was around, Rey quickly tapped on his solar plexus three times and his clothes vanished. Then, tapping three times on his uniform, it moved and covered his body tightly. Stretching slightly, Rey adjusted to the form-fitting clothing and material so he was not as uncomfortable.
"These materials and designs, if it wasn"t all simulated in Sanctuary, it would probably cost the world"s wealth just to make Sanctuary in the physical world..." pulling on the uniform around his neck, he let out a heavy sigh and slid his locker downward.
"I forgot to ask... Where do you live, Rey?" A soft voice called for Rey, causing him to instinctively jump back.
"I didn"t see you there, Fiore." Inhaling deeply, Rey wore a look of embarra.s.sment. "I... actually don"t know where I live to be honest... I-I mean in reference to Sanctuary. Well, not in reference to Sanctuary because it"s not physical but-"
"I understand what you mean." Fiore stopped Rey and let out a giggle. "You can use my map later if you want. Your shift just started though..." She tilted her head and looked at Rey.
"..." Rey stood there blank for a moment blinking his eyes. "Not again!!" He quickly ran out of the room and into the main area where he saw Tyra waiting and looking at him.
"You"re late, Rey." She said with a sigh. "I"m only hard on you because I don"t want to see you go... Be ready for your clients next time or I will be forced to take actions." Patting his head, she continued. "Our community and staff here are niched, you are a part of us. Each client you work with reflects back on us. We are just separate parts of the same body, Rey. We need each other to be working properly to effectively help others. The work and goal we are given helps the entire Sanctuary to be prosperous. Your clients make up the backbone of every business around, and working under such a complex corporation is very important."
"I know you say that manager Tyra but... is our work here even important?"
"Of course! Without our industry, Sanctuary would be a very boring place! Most of its revenue comes from the mult.i.tude of our buildings and branches. Just do your best, and know that your work is very important here." Tyra grinned, "Your clients are important people and need 100% of your effort, Rey."
"Okay, I"m ready for them!" Rey, feeling pumped up with enthusiasm, said with a bright smile on his face. Walking towards the main counter, he touched his ID to the slot as his first client of the day approached.
"h.e.l.lo, valued client. Welcome to WcDonnalds!"
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h.e.l.lo Everyone! Sorry for the break once again @ - @. I plan to write about 300 words or so per day now (so expect, or if you"ve been following for a while maybe don"t expect, a chapter in a week or so). Also, I found that there were numerous bot sites that copy-pasted my novel, so here are the actual links that are on Webnovel and Royal road only.