C129: Dreaming of a forgotten past

He looked around the dark, suffocating space, his brows knitting together as unease crept into his mind.

‘Where is this place?’

There was nothing here, only a murky glow of dark red light barely illuminating the surroundings. It felt more like something leaking through cracks in reality, staining the void.

Beneath his feet was something soft, yielding slightly with each shift of his weight, as if he stood upon flesh or liquid rather than solid ground.

He scanned the emptiness. There was nothing here, just an endless void.

“Isa…?”

He narrowed his eyes.

Isa? Who was that?

The name felt unfamiliar.

He began to walk through this empty space.

*Tok… tok…*

Each step sent ripples outward beneath his boots. The “ground” responded like disturbed water, forming subtle waves that spread and faded into the darkness. It was as though he walked atop a black, liquid surface that refused to reflect anything back. An infinite sea of black water.

He kept walking, his pace quickening.

Irritation slowly built within him, it gnawed at his patience.

Gradually, the world began to change.

The dark void peeled away, replaced by a familiar scene.

“...”

Three years ago.

A ruined city.

A shattered skyline stretched in every direction. Buildings lay scattered, their bare skeletons exposed amidst the thick, smoky air.

Fires burned in scattered patches, their flames rising, creating dense columns of black smoke that suffocated the sky.

Debris, twisted metal, and shattered machinery littered the streets; severed cables hung like dead veins across the ruins.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke. Dark clouds swirled across the sky, obscuring the sun.

He stood atop the ruins of a collapsed building, towering above the devastation. Flashes of orange flame curled around him, licking at the blackened concrete.

“[Grrr… ggrrr]”

He tried to speak, but only a distorted, incomprehensible noise erupted from his throat, a sound of grinding metal.

He looked down at his arms.

‘?’

They weren’t human. Not entirely.

Metal and flesh intertwined grotesquely. Tubes with purple liquid embedded in his arms.

Various metal ports were attached into his shoulders. Wires protruded from his suit like blood vessels, carrying fluid that flowed steadily into his body.

When he moved, mechanical clicking sounds echoed in his ears.

‘Who am I?’

He lowered his gaze further, examining himself.

A tight-fitting black suit, tattered in a few places but still recognizable. Around his neck was an immaculate purple tie.

There was no trace of gray hair.

'Gray?'

What was he thinking? His hair was certainly not gray.

‘...’

A flicker of confusion passed through him as he raised a hand to his face.

It was hard, like metal.

The shape felt familiar, like a mask he had worn for so long it had become his true face.

“[---]! Wake up!”

A familiar voice screaming through the roar of the fires.

He lifted his head, toward the darken sky.

Above him, figures hovered. People clad in various uniforms and armor, their weapons drawn, forming a loose circle around him.

Their silhouettes flickered through smoke and fire.

“Calm down, [---]! Don’t let it control you!”

“Stop this madness, [---]!”

“We will repeat the last time, [---]! If you don’t stop the device, we have no choice but to put you down for good!”

*Thump. Thump. Thump.*

His chest tightened. The sound of gears clanging echoed. His heart pounded in his chest. A violent, mechanical thud reverberated.

Pain surged through him. Like a hundred needles piercing his heart.

“[Agh… agh…]”

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Remorse. Revenge. Regret.

‘Right, this is it.’

A hollow clarity settled over him.

A hungry void opened up inside his soul.

He remembered now.

‘Destroy.’

That was all that remained.

Destroy this place.

Destroy this city.

Destroy everything that had taken her away.

“You crazy bastard! The Central will never forgive you!”

“To attempt the ritual in the middle of the city… Have you ever considered how many innocent souls would be hurt because of your pettiness?”

“Stop it, don’t provoke him any further! It’s okay, calm down, [---]. Let’s stop this and find a solution together, okay?”

‘Innocent?’

[“Petty. Selfish. Innocent.”]

The hollow and meaningless words echoed.

“[Hoe, he, hehehe, heoheohueee]”

He laughed.

The broken and distorted sound tore through his throat. It hurt his stomach to do so, but he couldn't help it. The irony.

“To think you hid this from us all this time! To think you hid your conspiracy under the Central Authority’s nose this whole time! You must be eliminated!”

“The zombified humans! How dare you raise them from their rest?! Turn them back now!”

Weapons lifted.

Gunfire erupted. A barrage of bullets came.

Projectiles, grappling hooks, and reinforced ropes surged toward him. Lasers cut through the smoke. Brilliant and searing Magicium beams converged.

He waved his hand dismissively. A single gesture.

Behind him, responding to his gesture, a mass of mechanical appendages, wing-like structures unfolded with a metallic scream.

One curled around his body, forming a shield that deflected the barrage.

One surged forward, reshaping into blades.

It sliced through restraints, severing ropes and tearing apart anything that came too close.

He moved his hands, and they lashed outward. Feather-like blades launched toward the attackers, a flurry of razor-sharp steel.

A bunch of low-level fixers, trying to impress the masses.

Blood splattered. Screams followed.

“AGHH!!”

“This… this is insane! Where is the Unbound, the high-stage fixer?!”

He rose into the air, ascending above the chaos, soaring up into the smog.

From above, he could see it clearly.

The streets were crawling with humans.

Or what used to be humans.

Dead humans, their faces haggard and eyes vacant. They rose from the rubble, staggered through the streets. They gathered, drawn toward the living like a tide of decay.

This entire city was corrupt to the core.

This was their salvation.

This was their sin.

The ritual’s preparation was finally completed.

“Mental Breakdown! Beware of Mental Breakdown Stage Five!”

A trumpet flared.

‘<What do you desire?>’

“[---]! Steel yourself! Don’t let it control you!” A familiar voice rang in his ears, desperate and pleading. But he did not register who it was.

“[Con…trol?]”

Who dared to control him?

He was extremely awakened.

Five years.

He had spent five years tracking them down through the filth of the underworld.

Years spent under the control of Co.Nest.

Under their lie, their deception.

Now, he was extremely free.

Free from their control. Free from their corruption.

‘<They lied to you. I. They lied. All of them lie.>’

Somewhere, he could hear a whisper. His own voice, it crept into his mind.

“[Liar...]”

His voice was hoarse and cracking.

No, did he even have a vocal cord in the first place?

He pushed his hand against his neck. It was hard and rough, unlike any human skin.

“[LIE, LIAR!!]”

He screamed, the sound echoing.

He flew up higher, toward the black vortex in the clouds. Figures pursued him, streaks of color trailing behind as they closed the distance.

“Stop that monster!”

The annoying fixers. They yelled. They said something about the apostles. They assaulted him with everything they had.

He ignored them.

“Destroy that statue!”

He raised his hand. In his palm was a statue.

It had a strange shape. A hand-shaped statue, carved from a material that emitted a thick, dark light.

Its form twisted unnaturally, difficult to comprehend. He could not discern its shape properly.

But he didn’t need to understand it.

He knew.

This would grant his wish.

“Don’t let him open the gate!”

“[I, I will… I will revert it.]”

The statue stirred. Its fingers slowly opened.

Behind him, space tore apart.

“[I promise, I will bring you back.]”

A massive black hand emerged from the rupture, pushing through reality.

It was coming. The Voice.

“[I promise, I won’t lie to you again.]”

That was what The Voice had told him.

That was what The Voice had promised.

“[Please, come back to me, —]”

—--------

“!”

Izzy jolted awake abruptly, her form snapping upright in the velvet seat.

Her heart beat frantically, the phantom sensation of a machine’s rhythmic thumping still echoing in her chest. A thin layer of cold sweat formed across her forehead and temples.

For a moment, she didn’t move. She simply sat there, breathing, letting the frantic rhythm of her pulse settle as her senses slowly returned.

Her eyes swept across her surroundings.

It was still the crimson theatre, the familiar sanctuary of her mindscape. The red curtains hung heavy and still, red glow cast long shadows across the stage.

Izzy frowned, pressing a hand to her temple.

‘A dream?’

She stroked her head, a throbbing headache assaulting her. It felt as if her brain had been scrubbed with wire wool.

‘What did I just dream about? Something about the past…?’ The moment she grasped the images, Izzy shook her head, trying to erase them from her memory.

'No.'

She could not remember it. She could not remember it. She could not remember it.

This was her new life. In the new world.

He had died. She was Izzy. she was not him.

He had no reason to haunt her anymore. In this new life.

‘Strange. Why did I suddenly dream?’ Izzy tapped her chin, wondering.

Since awakening in this world, she hadn't once dreamed. Sleep to her had always been a state of stillness.

‘Let’s see…’ She forced herself to retrace her memories. ‘I drank that foul alcohol from the Tear Drop… and then I returned to the mansion to rest a bit.’

Izzy paused.

‘Is this… a hangover?’

The thought felt ridiculous, yet oddly fitting.

‘What about Isa?’

She extended her mind, reaching out to connect with her younger half.

The girl was still sleeping soundly in the middle of the colorful amusement park within their mindscape. It remained bright and whimsical, in stark contrast to the theatre Izzy occupied.

Izzy extended her Field Vision into the real world.

‘It’s midnight.’

The mansion was silent. Outside, darkness had fully settled, the forest swallowed by shadow.

The wind rattled the windowpanes of the attic.

Erin was already sleeping in her quarters.

“...”

In the mindscape, Izzy flew up from her seat. She hovered for a moment, adjusted her dress, and flew toward the amusement park. The transition between the two areas was seamless, yet the contrast was stark: gloom and order giving way to chaotic color and childish design.

She descended beside Isa.

“Isa.”

She tugged at her young mind’s shoulder.

Isa stirred, her body shifting lazily. A thin trail of drool clung to the corner of her lips, her expression still hazy with sleep.

“I… Izzy?”

Suddenly, her eyes widened. Moisture gathered almost instantly, her pupils trembling.

“IZZY!”

Izzy barely had time to react before Isa launched herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Izzy’s waist.

Izzy jolted, letting out a small ‘oof’. “What are you doing?” She asked, startled by the sudden movement.

“I just had a bad dream…” Isa murmured, her voice shaky. She sobbed, buried her face into Izzy’s bosom. Her small hands gripped the fabric of Izzy's gown as if afraid she might disappear.

“?”

Izzy tilted her head, a flicker of unease crossing her features.

She raised a hand and gently stroked Isa’s head, her fingers brushing through the girl’s hair.

“What did you dream about?”

‘Don’t tell me…?’ The thought chilled her. ‘Did we share the same dream?’

She hoped not.

It wasn’t something she wanted Isa to see. Not like that. Her past. No. That man’s past.

“Something sad, hic,” Isa whispered, her voice trembling as she sniffled. “Izzy wasn’t there.”

“Not there?”

“She’s not with us.”

“Us?”

‘Who are “us”?’ Izzy’s eyes narrowed.

What was the young mind talking about? Was there another presence in Isa’s dreams, or was she referring to the vessels? The way Isa phrased it didn’t make sense.

“!” Isa jolted suddenly. She separated from Izzy, her tears vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.

“Ah, the plan! Izzy, let’s go! We’re late, we’re late!”

“...”

Izzy narrowed her eyes, watching the abrupt shift in Isa’s behavior.

She had suspicions. She had an idea of what was going on.

But Izzy didn’t press her.

Everyone has things they want to keep hidden. Hidden from the people they love.

Even if it was just trivia. Even if it was just a white lie.

Even if it would hurt the one they love.

“...”

Izzy shook her head. She smoothed her dress and followed the young mind to the real world.

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