01.09.1642

The Underground City

43:56

[CHE5TER]-...What?

[General]-Almost-Human! You are one of my species! H-How... So that's why the ore led me to this city?? To find another one like me??

[CHE5TER]-I think you drank too much, buddy. You are talking nonsense and I can't understand a word...

[General]-I-I'm serious! I'm telling you the truth! You and I are Almost-Humans!

[CHE5TER]-And how should I know that you are not fooling around?

[General]-I-I'm not! The sign on your back is my proof! Listen to me!!

Of course this information is so random and CHE5TER can't understand what this boy is talking about. Not even we can tell the truth, so it excuses the puzzled face He now has.

[CHE5TER]-...But I am not any kind of species you think I am. I am not! I am simply a C born!

[General]-Yes, I know! You are a C born and I do believe you! I-I am as well! But this is not about our races, CHE5TER! I am talking about a blessing!

[CHE5TER]-Wh... What even is an "Almost Hooman"!? Are you sure you are not making things up??

[General]-I am not! I-I am telling you! Please, just listen to me!!

[CHE5TER]-I can't believe these words even if I wanted! You are just saying random things trying to confuse me! If you are telling the truth, then prove it! Prove it to me!

[General]-I-I can't just... I-I...

Even so, the ruler is pretty sure that this boy only tries to trick Him, and it pretty much proves Him that this might be the truth since the stranger starts stuttering and moving around, trying to come up with other random things. Yet when it stops, it looks fixed into His eyes, maybe having an idea, and says a sentence that sure confuses CHE5TER more.

[General]-...Use your blessing.

[CHE5TER]-What?

[General]-I said use your blessing! You want proof!? I will give you proof! Don't fool me around with your tricks! Use it! Now!

[CHE5TER]-What are you even talking about?

[General]-I said do it!

So of course He doesn't know what the boy talks about at all, but He does as it said. In a blink of an eye, He begins to create a black mist around his left arm and shows it to the boy, but the boy sure was a bit pissed at His action.

[General]-...I am not talking about your race power. Don't take me as an idiot. Use your blessing, now!

[CHE5TER]-This is my blessing, you dipshit! This is my blessing from the gods! I am a Creator and nothing more!

[General]-*sigh* You are making my work even harder...

The boy then turns with its back towards the Great Leader, making sure that the mark on its neck is visible for Him, and yet again it confuses Him this action.

[CHE5TER]-What are you doing?

[General]-...If it is for me to gain your trust just to see your blessing, then I will give it a try. But you have already seen mine, so it shouldn't surprise you.

[CHE5TER]-What do you even--

[General]- --Look at my mark and I will give you proof that I am telling the truth.

And so He does. Even confused, He looks at the mark that the boy has on its back of the neck, trying maybe to understand what it wants to prove. Yet not long after, the mark lights up, only for a few seconds though, before it goes dark again. Though this action seems pretty random and without any kind of meaning since the mark did nothing, the rest of the body sure did.

From its initial position, the boy stood with the back towards the ruler as said, while the ruler was simply observing confused. Yet when the mark has stopped lighting up, as CHE5TER takes His view just for a second to see the area, He now can also notice the same strange mist which now travels around Him. And that's not all, as He can also notice something that wasn't there at all. In His left hand now stands a simple Novha coin which He did not remember to even take from His clothes.

So though it looks as the boy didn't move at all, the environment managed to change itself pretty quickly, without anybody even noticing. When the smoke-like mist evaporates, the boy turns around and waits for the man to respond.

[General]-...Now do you trust me enough to tell me my answer?

[CHE5TER]-H-How did you--

[General]- --This is my blessing, CHE5TER. My Inhumanity! This is what defines me as an Almost-Human. Now I want to see yours.

[CHE5TER]-I-I can't d... H-How am I suppose t...

And He sure has lost His words. But it confuses a bit the boy, as it watches Him stutter and doing weird movements, maybe trying to wake up from a dream He thinks He is in.

[General]-Can you show me your blessing, CHE5TER?

[CHE5TER]-I-I... I d-don't even know how to do that! If I am what you say I am, then how can I even learn to that!?

[General]-What are you talking about? This is my blessing, not yours. Mine has nothing to do with yours, so you can't just learn it just 'cause you want it.

[CHE5TER]-W-What?

[General]-My blessing is not to be given, as well as is yours. It is what defines me. This Inhumanity that I have it what defines me in the species of Almost-Humans. As an Almost-Human, I was blessed with an Inhumanity that lets me move faster than a simple being's eye can even see, but just for a few seconds. It is what I did in the past and what I did now. So why do you seem so surprised, even though we are the same species?

[CHE5TER]-...Because I don't know anything about another blessing!

And that response sure confused the boy even more. Not only CHE5TER has a lot of questions now, but also the stranger, who looks so puzzled at the ruler.

[General]-You... don't know what I'm talking about? At all?

[CHE5TER]-No! I don't know anything about what you're saying there!

[General]-So you weren't even aware of your own mark from the back? But why did you back off so quickly when I took a look at it?

[CHE5TER]-I was aware of it! I-I just didn't know what its meaning is!

[General]-And why did you back off then?

[CHE5TER]-I was raised with the idea of hiding it from anybody else since everyone will see me as different! Just because of a random mark I got with no meaning! Now I'm meeting a stranger who speaks nonsense about it all of a sudden and I don't know what to believe anymore!

[General]-Who even told you to hide it? What's the purpose of hiding it?

[CHE5TER]-My father told me, okay!?

[General]-...Your father?

CHE5TER sure couldn't handle all the new information, and being as shocked as He is, He began to panic a bit, not knowing what to do anymore.

[General]-...Wait, wait, wait. You tell me that your father told you to hide it? The same guy that gave you the map which led to the ore that you've stole from my people? Did he even tell you something about it?

[CHE5TER]-No! H-He just told me to hide it until I find on my own what's its purpose! He never told me anything about it! Whenever I questioned Him about it, He said that He didn't know the answer either! S-So I just hid it out of fear of people seeing me different, even an alien to their kind!

No matter the tries of understanding the situation, it only ends up with them being even more confused. To take a break though, CHE5TER simply sits down, takes a few breath, while the boy remains up and tries to find an answer.

[General]-...Something is not right here at all, CHE5TER. If he didn't know anything about the sign, then why would he put you to hide it? He couldn't just don't know anything at all, he probably knew something for sure. But from what it seems, he and all the other ancestors you told me about should really be related to my people.

[CHE5TER]-...Do you believe that my father knew you?

[General]-*sigh* Hard to tell for sure... I know a lot of people from my kind, but I don't know anything about a guy that went missing in the wilderness to say that he was probably your father, who also probably found this city and never came back.

[CHE5TER]-And you don't remember anybody by the name of LENKOV?

[General]-Not really... Especially a man with this name which had a son that continued the tradition. I... simply don't understand how...

Of course the answer disappoints CHE5TER, who seems as if He got rather in a trance now, helping His head stay up with His left hand. Noticing this too, the boy thinks of something quickly, before starting to speak again.

[General]-Alright... Let's leave that for later. Now, I see that our top quest is regarding your blessing.

[CHE5TER]-...My blessing?

[General]-Yes. You told me that you don't know your own blessing right? Your Inhumanity? Maybe if we manage to find out about it first, some ideas on this other problem might come up.

[CHE5TER]-And how are we even suppose to find out what blessing I have?

[General]-Well... you can try and tell me what you notice to make you different from the others. Did you find people being in a way and you in another?

[CHE5TER]-I don't think that's how it works...

[General]-I mean, it might be a solution. Like, literally anything might help.

[CHE5TER]-*sigh* I don't... really know if I have any difference from all the other people. I have different dreams and all, but I don't think that counts. And I know that some people seemed to despise my mindset as well, seeing me "different" than them. But that's how everyone is, right?

[General]-Well, I didn't mean your way of thinking, but you are right. I was rather referring to something that you can do but nobody else can. Or something that you did in the past as well.

[CHE5TER]-Something that I did...?

[General]-Yes! Like, I don't know... maybe you managed to fly, or maybe you managed to see through walls, or something like that. Anything that any other being couldn't.

[CHE5TER]-I... managed to get the highest score on an exam which nobody managed to do so? Also being younger?

[General]-Mm... That falls more into skill than blessing. Something else?

CHE5TER begins to think of every possible answer that might help, even though there isn't much to say. He is just like the others after all, nothing really puts Him in the light. But then, He remembers some words, spoken when He was a child.

[CHE5TER]-...I don't remember this one, so I might not be right. But I was told once that when I was born, I was the only newborn in the room crying. My father told me that years ago. But as I said, I don't remember anything from that moment.

[General]-Yes, that's right! This just proves my point even further! That defines you as an Almost-Human!

[CHE5TER]-How so...?

[General]-When an Almost-Human is born, in the first moments of life, you can find it crying even if nothing really happened. For a normal being, they do not cry, they do not do anything at all for a few months. They stand in a deep sleep all this time while their consciousness is being connected to their bodies, so that the body can start functioning. But for an Almost-Human, the body starts its function ever since the first minute of life, even if consciousness isn't properly connected. This is probably why you don't remember anything from that day at all!

[CHE5TER]-So you've cried when you were born as well?

[General]-From what I was told, yes. Pretty much. I was a moving newborn even if I was suppose to be in that months sleep. Probably the same as you.

[CHE5TER]-Then how did you find out that you were different? Did your people know what you were?

[General]-Well, not really... Even today, probably they don't know anything about this information. But I managed to meet someone that has explained to me everything I needed to know about what I am since He was talking with my master a lot. With His help I kind of managed to find out about my Inhumanity too. He is still in my village, so if you wish to ask Him these questions, we can try it once we find my home.

[CHE5TER]-And you really believe that I will find out my blessing this way?

[General]-I mean, I don't think we need His help with that. Maybe I can manage to do it own my own. But that requires trust from you, because I need to know more about yourself. Simple fun facts won't help me with anything at all.

[CHE5TER]-...

Of course He isn't so happy about telling things to a stranger which include personal information regarding His life, but knowing that it must be the key to His puzzles, there is no other way. Other than that, He is also a different being, if whatever the boy says is true. And the stranger being the only one He knows to be an "Almost-Human", He has no other choice but to trust it.

[CHE5TER]-...If I really tell you about myself, you swear on your own life that you will help me understand what I am?

[General]-I do. May the gods strike me down if I do not fulfil my promise.

With that, CHE5TER takes a deep breath and starts looking at His right arm. He has a moment of hesitation at first though, since it sure is a subject that pisses Him off, but a few seconds later, He begins to roll up His sleeves and take of the dark bandages carefully. It sure confuses the boy this action, so it begins to sit down on its knees, staring at the ruler. But as He gets closer and closer to revealing His arm fully...

[CHE5TER]-Do you think that...

...He begins to question the boy about a problem that He is aware of, maybe thinking that the boy will have the answer. And so, His black and corrupted arm is now revealed completely.

[CHE5TER]-...this... is my blessing?

44:19

As we were already aware of, CHE5TER has been having this strange arm for some months now, though we don't really know why. And even if it should appear strange to the boy too, it already saw this weird skin of His before. Maybe it explains why it doesn't really seem surprised, but more perplexed, as it stares at that arm.

[General]-...So, what exactly am I suppose to see here?

[CHE5TER]-This... thing. This whole arm. Do you think that it represents my blessing?

[General]-Hard to tell... Now that you mention it, I actually saw this before, right? The first time we met. Yet that time you told me it is a new plague, so how come you say that it should represent your Inhumanity?

[CHE5TER]-Because I don't really know what is it myself. I really don't.

[General]-Okay... Then how did you get it? Or at least do you remember the moment you got it?

[CHE5TER]-It was a few months ago when I was running for my life, up there. I simply found myself in a dead end and the next second, I woke up with this new skin. It healed almost completely my previous injuries and made me reuse my right arm properly again.

[General]-Heal your wounds?

[CHE5TER]-Yes. I had some wounds before that moment which needed some more time to heal.

[General]-Well, it would explain why you can get injured... But how exactly did you get these injuries anyway?

[CHE5TER]-...

And yet again, this question is put into consideration, which makes the ruler go silent. Of course the boy is now confused since it doesn't understand why should it bother Him so much just a memory.

[General]-...What? Why did you shut up all of a sudden?

[CHE5TER]-I simply... don't like to talk about it, alright? It's not a memory I'm proud of. Heck, I don't even talk about it with my own brother by code...

[General]-But you have to tell me so that I can help you, right? I need to know what can cause this condition you are confused of, if it really is related to your Inhumanity.

[CHE5TER]-I don't think it's related anyway.

[General]-How are you so sure?

[CHE5TER]-I... simply know it, okay? I know for sure that it isn't a blessing.

[General]-Why? Maybe it i--

[CHE5TER]- --Because insanity isn't a blessing, alright!?

This subject alone seems to have pissed off the Great Leader for good, even if the people that are trying to find the truth also try to help Him. It gets the boy rather disappointed this anger that was thrown randomly at it, so it begins to move next to the ruler as it stares down and thinks of a way how to calm Him down.

[General]-...You speak about insanity, but you seem pretty healthy to me, CHE5TER.

[CHE5TER]-It's only the appearances. Never heard of not judging people for how they look like?

[General]-Well, if you truly had gone insane, then you weren't able to tell me with such sorrow that you consider yourself unhealthy, right? You seem conscious of what you are doing, you are in control of your own body. Why do you consider that your mind is twisted?

[CHE5TER]-If only you knew...

[General]-*sigh*...You know, compared to you, I might lose it faster than you. I mean, I am in a world unknown to me completely, I don't know anybody from both of these cities besides you and I'm always with my thought that I will never get back to my home. Believe me when I say that if I were alone, I was probably close to starting talking to myself all the time and seeing things that weren't there. Long roads on my own were pretty boring in the past as well...

[CHE5TER]-...

And again, He stays silent. Seconds of waiting for a response and getting nothing in return simply makes the boy understand that it won't succeed in doing anything as it wishes. But before it loses its hope completely, He begins to speak.

[CHE5TER]-General... the problem is that what you've described to me is already happening.

[General]-Hm?

[CHE5TER]-Remember when we've encountered that friendly demon in a cave? When I've started acting a bit... weird?

[General]-I mean, you sure confused me back then, but I thought it's simply 'cause you were tired or something. Also, a creature like that in front of your own eyes which seems friendlier than you knew? Hell, I would've started screaming like a maniac myself...

[CHE5TER]-It's not about the demon, General. It's more about that... something speaks to me and I can't even understand what it is.

[General]-..."Something"?

[CHE5TER]-Yes. Something. It's like a... voice that I can't recognise at all. *sigh* I don't even know how to describe it...

[General]-So that's why you consider yourself insane?

[CHE5TER]-...

[General]-Alright, then... maybe you can tell me when did this voice start talking to you?

[CHE5TER]-I don't... really know. Only recently I was aware of its presence, but it feels like this thing has been with me ever since I came into this world... To be honest now, it is also pretty much responsible of my change anyway.

[General]-Change in what way?

[CHE5TER]-...You sure don't give up, do you?

[General]-No, not really. My people know me to be the toughest opponent from a resistance point of view.

The ruler then stops and stares a bit at that corrupted arm of His, which sure upsets Him the more He thinks about it. He begins to take a deep breath not long after, before finally making peace with His mind and telling the truth.

[CHE5TER]-*sigh* I guess the whole secret behind my wounds is that I was stupid enough to do a mistake in a mission.

[General]-A mission?

[CHE5TER]-Yes. Two years ago, I went with a few colleagues up there in order to find something that I thought my father wished to see and couldn't. We were suppose to find some documents regarding an urgent matter and the mission simply went... horribly wrong.

[General]-Horribly in what way...?

[CHE5TER]-Well...

2 YEARS AGO

06.07.1640

The City of Above

50:04

"...To put it simple, some of my colleagues started being attacked by some enemies of ours and many of them got injured. Because of that, we were obligated to retreat so that we won't lose people because of a simple mission, but the problem was that we've been informed that one of us went missing and we were afraid that we might lose him if we do not try to search for him."

Of course, there are a few holes to this story, but we already know what happened in this part from RY4N. What He tries though is to avoid the truth about Him being the boss of that group, so He misses intentionally some details. But so far, the story remains the same.

"And did you manage to find him?"

"Not before I went myself to search for him and see what was happening since nobody could go back and risk to put even more people in danger. It didn't took me long to find him though, so I simply tied up a few emergency bandages I had on me on some wounds he got when I arrived at him and started looking for an exit to get him out of there."

"...So, since you have wounds yourself, I assume that you two didn't manage to get out?"

"Well, he did. The problem was that... I didn't."

And as He explains, we now go back to that day in which the whole disaster has started and what the people of the Southeast Base call massacre. We can see how the younger Great Leader runs in some hallways, carrying a wounded soldier with Him, and looking for an exit that is at the end of a corridor, with a few more C soldiers waiting for Him.

"...I managed to find a tiny exit in the end, in which I had to struggle to get him through it without affecting his injuries giving that it was so tight and I would've struggle to get through it myself. I passed the wounded to some other colleagues of mine in order to treat him, but before I could've exit the building as well, the enemy was already coming towards me and I knew for sure that if I saved my life there, I put many more at risk. So I simply covered the exit quickly in order for the enemy to not get to them and started looking for another exit on my own."

And He sure did. As He did so, some of the soldiers even screamed at Him to not take such a bold decision and risk to not leave the building ever again, but He didn't listen, as He started running towards door which was leading to something close to an elevator of ours, even if He had to battle some M soldiers on His way there. Then, when the battles stop, He touches an airpod from His right ear in order to speak, but it seems that the device got a bit damaged, so it doesn't really work right.

[CHE5TER]-RY4N? RY4N! I need you to do something for me! RY4N!

No response.

[CHE5TER]-RY4N! Can you hear me??

Still nothing. So, He tries to adjust even a bit His device as fast as possible so that it can function for a few seconds, before He starts speaking again.

[CHE5TER]-RY4N! RY4N, can you hear me!?

[/RY4N]-...Oh, tha^?@$%V4... Yes, I can hear yo*%@$<...

[CHE5TER]-Listen to me! Take the sound bullets and fire towards Floor 10, 35 and 50! Now!!

[/RY4N]-Why? What's happenin&#%*...

[CHE5TER]-JUST DO AS I SAY! NOW!!

RY4N doesn't respond though, but it seems as he obeys to His orders, as He hears one last sentence from His airpod, before it gets broken completely.

[/RY4N]-...Everyone! Cover your ea&@!#<?%... *beep*

So, with that in mind, He continued His running towards that door, opened it quickly with His sword, got in and covered His face with a mask that is part of His armour. But by using this elevator, He seems as His plan included Him getting to the highest level of this building.

"...Giving the whole chaos that was happening there, I had to come up with a quick plan and I thought of it to be like this: I take an elevator to the last floor, from which I will have to make myself an exit, jump from there while being careful to land safely and then run back to my group. The problem was that, even if I created a small distraction by using a few sound bullets which were suppose to confuse the enemy and let me do my plan properly, they already knew my movement ever since they saw me enter the elevator."

The elevator itself though doesn't seem to really have the same mechanism as our elevators. Probably this is how they design theirs: there is only a platform, no cabin in which you go and press a button. The platform itself is moved with the help of a few attachments on the walls from the doors' side and from the opposite side, which allow the elevator to go up and down.

It is something similar to what we have seen when CHE5TER has gone to meet His old master again, but the difference here being that here are two platforms, one that goes up and one that goes down, and each have to go straight up or down until the end, with a few seconds stops at each floor. Once they reach the top or the bottom, they change their course, still going straight with a few stops until they reach the end again. In other words, these elevators go only one direction until the end, before they change it over and over again, not like us when we can change them whenever we want.

When He got on the platform and managed to close the doors, the sound bullets have done their effect, giving the horrible sound that was going for a few seconds. When it was done, He detached His mask and looked around His pockets quickly to find a bag of Verha. Why? Well, there was still a problem with this plan.

Since the alarm of intruders has been activated, all the exists are now blocked, including windows, doors and also elevators. So, as a consequence, the elevators don't function at all, but He already anticipated this problem and thought of a counteraction. In other words, these coins will be His key to freedom.

Knowing that these money can create anything, He can use them to create electric energy which is then used to operate the elevator properly for a few seconds. If He controls the electric energy, it is even better, because He can also control how the elevator works so that it won't make any kind of pauses.

And that's exactly what He does, as He opens a small control panel, destroys a lot of Verha in His hands to generate enough mist which will be used as electric energy, connects the mist to the control panel while He is still in control of it and the elevator finally moves up. There was only one problem remaining: the Verha coins He had on Him weren't enough to go to the last floor, not even to half of the building.

Even so, He goes with positivity forward, continuing His plan...

[CHE5TER]-Come on, come on, come on...

...and simply starting to use from His own energy for it to be enough for His plan, causing some of His colour to vanish while the rest lights up.

"My plan didn't go as smoothly as it should've been, so I thought of something else quickly. Since they were already aware that I wanted to go to the last floor and since I couldn't even do so even if I tried everything possible, a better solution for me would be to take a lower floor so that they won't expect me there. So there I was, at Floor 72, waiting for an opportunity to leave."

And He sure didn't lie, as He now stands in front of the closed doors of the elevator, fixing His sword into the doors to open them a bit, just enough for Him to see through them and analyse what's happening, but also not be too obvious that He is there. So when He was sure that no soldier would see Him, He forced the doors to open again, with His sword, got out of the elevator and went in a room that was facing the side from which RY4N and all the other members could see Him.

"When everything was seeming okay, I ran inside a room that was facing east, perfect position for me to escape, so that if I encounter problems with the enemy, my team could see me easily. But since the alarms were on, the windows of every room were blocked with a heavy wall that I was battling for my life to break it with my weapon. And seconds later, as I was hitting that wall like a maniac, something really caught me off guard. A sound of a gun that was fired towards me, followed then by..."

[CHE5TER]-...nothingness.

[General]-Nothingness?

[CHE5TER]-Yes. I simply found myself all of a sudden in a completely different room and I was safe again. End of story.

Yet even if He says that, the boy can sense that something isn't right about this story that He says. With such a serious face, it begins to analyse the expression of the ruler, which shows different emotions at the same time, but still empty as ever.

[General]-...You are not telling me something.

[CHE5TER]-Hm?

[General]-That's not the end of the story at all. You avoid to tell me something. It's clear from your expression.

[CHE5TER]-What is there to tell? I've been told that I was in a coma before I woke up in a room in my building. And why do you care anyway? I told you how I got my wounds, so I answered your question.

[General]-Because there is a secret that you are hiding from me. What does all of this have to do with "insanity"? None of the events you've explained say anything about a weird behaviour at all.

[CHE5TER]-Listen... I just like to keep it as it is, alright? Whatever I'm hiding has nothing to do with you anyway.

[General]-CHE5TER, you can't expect me to help you in any way if you keep secrets like that from me, you know? Even if you don't like it, you have to battle your fears and say it. Maybe it's related to your Inhumanity, but how am I suppose to know it if you don't tell me?

[CHE5TER]-...Why are you so sure that you can help me anyway? You come from a different land, you know nothing of me.

[General]-But I am at the same time the only being you know to be the same as you, am I not?

[CHE5TER]-...

[General]-I am only trying to help you. No need to take it the bad way.

He does take a small pause, observing the boy that stands next to Him once again. Something about this face it has, or simply its appearance is feeling different to the ruler. He does not know anything about this boy, yet it feels a strange connection that He has with it. No. No emotional connection. It is something else, which is simply weird to explain. But it does affect the way of behaving as well. And He knows it too that this connection is very weird. Maybe it is because the boy is a "voothrav child" just like Him?

[CHE5TER]-*sigh* But I am telling the truth anyway. Even if you sense that.

[General]-What do you mean?

[CHE5TER]-I mean that "nothingness" is exactly what I would describe the whole thing that has happened after, alright?

[General]-So you say that you were trapped in a void until you woke up?

[CHE5TER]-Not... exactly like that. What I mean by "nothingness" is that I found myself in a complete new world.

[General]-...?

[CHE5TER]-I don't even know how to explain... After that sound I heard, I simply closed my eyes for just a second. And then...

[General]-...And then?

"...I simply... opened my eyes and found out that I was now present in a completely different location, somewhere I've never been before. It was so bright everywhere I looked. Beneath my feet, there was a strange liquid that was traveling around me, something similar to Histvorh, but lacking in that light it is suppose to have. Above me was a blue sky in which some white flying things with all kinds of shapes were coming and going slowly, and I could swear that something was also falling from them. Weird objects that were as bright as the suns, as if they were belonging to the flying ones, slowly falling one by one."

And He sure didn't lie. The moment He told of Him opening His eyes, this strange world He described was indeed in front of Him. The floor was rather a simple water which was dancing around its feet, above were the clouds from which some bright feathers were falling, but even the atmosphere was different. It was silence, but that silence could be accompanied by a sound of bells, yet such a low sound that you can barely hear.

So, of course He was confused, analysing this strange world in which He now is, but nothing is really present there besides Himself. What was even stranger though is that the moment He looked at the floor which was reflecting everything above like a mirror, He couldn't see His own C colour, remaining only in that dark brown hair and dark brown eyes of His. Truth to be told now, we see Him this way too. But He doesn't pay much attention to that detail, as He simply looks away.

He begins not long after to walk around, still looking at the area and getting rather a weird vibe, but also a calming one. Yet as He spins around a few times, trying maybe to find even the smallest sign of a simple object, He hears a strange sound, a calming one, coming from behind. And when He looked behind...

"...I wasn't alone. Though at first it seemed to me that I've been abandoned there, a few seconds later I noticed a strange figure, all dressed in white, with its clothes dancing in the wind, staring at me."

He took a bit of courage in the end and started getting closer to the figure. But the more He was managing to see it clearer, the more confused He was. It was a woman with a long and white hair, so gorgeous as if it was the moon itself. Though this figure was wearing a hood as if it tried to hide its face, CHE5TER seemed as if He already saw this person before, but surprisingly He doesn't remember it at all.

"I had a feeling that this figure was familiar to me for a reason I couldn't understand. I never saw that woman which was staring at me in my whole life, and I could swear it was no former colleague of mine either. Yet she gave me that sense as if I've already met her."

"And what happened after?"

"Well... she just stood there, as I was getting closer, and it sure was confusing me more. But what I didn't expect from her to do was..."

[??]-...Give me your hand, CHE5TER.

"...to say my name. Believe me when I say that I didn't know who she was at all, and I still don't. So how come she knew my name all along?"

[??]-No need of wasting time now. Do as I say and it will end soon.

[CHE5TER]-...I-I'm afraid I don't quite follow. Can you at least give me some explanation first? Where am I am? Who are you? And how do you even know my name? Have we met before?

[??]-There is always time to answer your questions after. But right now, it isn't the right moment. You are putting time on waiting.

[CHE5TER]-What do you mean?

[??]-Give me your hand and everything will begin to make sense. I promise.

He couldn't understand the situation no matter how much He was trying to know who this person is. But what could He do? In the end, He listened to what the woman said, raising a bit His right arm in order to put it on the woman's hand. Of course, He had some hesitation since this is a complete stranger and He doesn't even know where He was. But He slowly started to get His arm closer while looking at the woman. And the closer His arm was towards the woman's, the clearer were becoming the sounds of bells in this world.

"...I had no idea what she wanted from me at all, yet her expression didn't seem to mean harm either. She told me to give her my arm as if I was suppose to recognise her, yet no matter how much I've stared at that face of hers, I couldn't recognise her at all. But before I could put my hand on hers..."

[Voice]-CHE5TER...

"...a familiar sound started calling for my name from behind. This time, I recognised that voice in an instant, even if it took so many years to hear it again. It was either a mirage or I've gone insane that day, and believe me when I say that I bet I was insane. Because when I looked behind..."

[M4TTH3W?]-CHE5TER...

"...I saw my own father, calling for me."

And it's true. Behind Him was standing the former ruler of the Underground City, dressed in the same clothes He last saw Him in. But He wasn't really doing anything, He was just staring from far away at His own son that was close to the strange woman. And, of course, He forgot completely about this stranger and started going towards Him.

Though He was pretty sure that this is a dream, He simply went forward without a second thought. Or, at least that was the intention, as He looked behind at the woman and noticed such a shocked face which confused Him even more. But even so, He continued to get closer to the former ruler, getting right in front of Him, before finally starting to analyse this figure as well.

[CHE5TER]-...Father? Is that really you?

But the figure doesn't respond. Instead, it gives the young ruler His hand, as a sign for Him to put His arm on His, the same thing that the woman wished to do.

[M4TTH3W?]-Give me your hand, CHE5TER...

And He still was confused on what was happening, but He trusted this man more than the woman. So, He did as He said, slowly putting His arm on His hand. But something sure was strange.

[M4TTH3W?]-CHE5TER...

The more He was analysing His own father, the more confused He seemed. And the true confusion started...

[M4TTH3W]-...CHE5TER!

...when He heard the same voice again, but this time from behind. So, He looked quickly to see the face that belongs to the voice, only to get shocked as well. It was another M4TTH3W LENKOV present in that world, standing close to the woman. His clothes were also different, being in white clothes similar to the stranger's. And His face... it expressed fear rather than happiness.

Not long after, that M4TTH3W started going towards His position, while CHE5TER was looking back at the man that just tricked Him into putting His hand on its arm. It now smiled creepily with its eyes closed at the young ruler, but He couldn't do anything anymore, as the figure was holding His arm so tight that it was impossible to escape.

Still, the closer His father was getting, He too tried to reach for Him from that trap, while the whole world around Him was changing completely. What was a calming atmosphere, now was transforming into a void with nothing but darkness all around slowly. And when He tried to catch the former ruler's arm, it was already too late, as the void took full control of His world, remaining simply that smile, bright into darkness, before it also disappeared.

In that darkness, standing alone, He could feel His lungs burning from the strange smell that this void was giving, making Him cough so brutally, before even the world started playing around with Him. After coughing a few times, He found Himself falling randomly and landing on a different floor, where He stands on the ground while His whole body feels like its being trapped in chains.

"...Only the gods know what happened after that, as I simply found myself trapped in a void, with nothing but myself in it. It wasn't that strange world anymore, it was a complete new one, which could terrify you the moment you see it."

Yet what scares Him the most is a bright area in shape of a door in front of Him that appears out of nowhere, and He cannot even get up and see what's inside. But He doesn't even need to, since from that brightness He can hear other voices, talking to each other. But these are no unknown voices to Him this time. These are...

"...So we've lost in the end, huh?"

"From what it seems, we did indeed. And all because of Him."

...His former soldiers' voices. Those that have either met their end or got injured badly in the past and retired. Maybe even from those that still work with Him too.

"I mean, what were you expecting anyway? Master AL7AN left a child to rule over the whole city. You tell me you wished to win with HIM being the successor?"

And no matter how much He tries to get up and go towards that bright door, He is indeed hold back by some chains that make sure He stays on the ground. But even so, He doesn't give up, as He tries to get rid of the chains as much as possible, forcing Himself to move.

"Let's be honest now. Even if He didn't leave us behind, we would've still lost the war. He isn't as powerful as He says, nor He is capable of ruling anybody."

[CHE5TER]-No, no, no...

And even with the struggles, He manages to escape some of the chains, finally being able to move faster now. But what He didn't expect at all was a black mist to come and hold Him back. So, He now had to also battle this thing in order to do what He wanted, pushing it away from Him and trying to reach with His left hand the bright door.

"Yeah... Maybe it was better this way anyway."

[CHE5TER]-...No! I'm right here! I didn't leave!

"It was all His fault in the end. And now we are the ones who suffer from His mistakes."

[CHE5TER]-I'm here! Look at me! I'm he--

"--All His fault."

...And no matter how much He has struggled, the bright door has closed completely, disappearing in the next moment, not to be seen ever again. It left the young ruler lay on the ground, watching with such sorrow in His eyes the place in which the door was suppose to be, losing His last spark of life that He had in His eyes slowly.

...All your fault! All your fault!

[CHE5TER]-...It wasn't my fault! I didn't choose to be the ruler! I didn't chose this fate! It wasn--

--All your fault! All your fault! All your fault!

[CHE5TER]-It was--

--ALL YOUR FAULT!

[CHE5TER]-...all my fault.

"...So how did you escape it?"

"Hard to say for sure... I remember staying in that darkness for such a long time that I was even forgetting how the real world looked like, or how to even feel about the situation I was in. I simply became... numb... at some point. I've stood there for days for sure, though I've lost track of time pretty often in that world."

"Do you remember anything about what could've possibly get you out of that world? Or at least something special that happened in it?"

"I remember... a voice that was always talking to me, even when I told it so many times to leave me alone."

"A voice? Like the one you told me about earlier?"

"Yes, that one. But it wasn't the first time either. That voice was always there, but I always ignored it. Most of the times..."

"Why so?"

"I simply thought that it had no meaning its existence in this world at all, and its words made no sense most of the times too. But the older I got, the more the voice was adapting to my experiences and started talking to me more and more, torturing my mind. And at that time... it did it again. Every. Single. Day..."

The moment He now remembers though is not such a simple time of His life. And though He did not explain to the stranger every single detail, we did manage to live them all, probably this day in particular being the one that needs the most recognition. As the memory represents Him, staying on His knees in that void while looking at the "floor", with His lively personality faded completely, almost as if the body we see now does not have any kind of soul in it anymore.

...So tell me, Little Ruler. How long do you wish to continue this charade? Didn't you get sick of it already?

[CHE5TER]-...I will continue it as long as I can. I do not even care about your empty words anymore, Demon.

Oh? Why is that? Do you believe that I will give up on trying to achieve what I want?

[CHE5TER]-What do you even want anyway? What do you wish to win from all of this? You are just a voice that simply tortures me every moment of my life. What could you possibly do without me?

Well, if you wish to see my dream so badly, then allow me to take control over your body and everything that now bothers you will finally be put to an end.

[CHE5TER]-Heh, your naivety amuses me. I will never let you take my body without you telling me what you want. Dead or alive, this body will remain mine at hand. So I got a simple sentence for you... Dream on.

Little Ruler, don't you understand that you are just torturing yourself by keep fighting an unwinnable battle? Don't you wish for all your fears to disappear? For all your people to be safe? ...Don't you wish to protect them all?

[CHE5TER]-Oh, but I do wish to do that so badly, Demon.

Then why don't you let me help you? I can make all your dreams come true. Just let me take control and everything will be over.

But even so, CHE5TER didn't seem to give a damn about what the voice was telling Him to do. Instead, He seems to be using His C power to create an object, a sharp one.

"...And at some point... I simply got so annoyed by it that I've made a decision which could even take my own life if I wasn't careful."

"...And what was that?"

"After years of torture, I have realised something in that void in which I was put to be left with nothing but myself. All this time, this voice was not coming from a side like the ears or brain at all. It was rather coming from behind, giving me the constant confusion of whether it is an outside or a inside sound. And with that in mind..."

[CHE5TER]-You didn't understand what I said, Demon. I do wish to protect them...

And in the next moment, CHE5TER was with the sharp object in His left hand, at the back of His neck, ready to cut the symbol He was born with.

[CHE5TER]-...But I wish to protect them from you.

"...I've cut my mark in hope that the nightmare will end."

"And did it... work?"

"Well..."

So after He did what He just explained, the voice faded completely for a few seconds, leaving the ruler look around while trying to bear the new pain He just caused to appear. It seemed at first that His plan has succeeded since He couldn't hear anything anymore, but He was still trapped in that void. Yet not long after, when He thought that this was the end...

"...I've been instantly paralysed by such a view that just appeared in front of me in a blink of an eye. It was such a horrifying creature, staring at me so close to my body with such anger in its eyes. It looked almost like a simple demon at first, but it was even smaller, its eyes weren't a glowing white light, but rather voothrav, and its mouth was so widely opened as if it wanted to eat me alive, with the same colour and brightness as its eyes. On its chest though, the creature had a liquid flowing from it as if it was cut and this being its blood, but it was glowing voothrav just like its eyes. And what scared me the most was that... it looked just like me, but a corrupted version of myself.

Because of the sudden appearance of the creature, my mind was simply empty and my body couldn't move even if it screamed for help. But when I woke up to reality and realised that I had to defend myself quickly, I started pushing it away from me. Yet in vain, as the creature was stronger. So, in order to get rid of it, I took the same object that I've used to cut my symbol... and immediately stabbed it in the eye."

And He didn't lie, but He sure didn't admit that He was scared at that time too, closing His eyes out of fear and looking away. Yet when He opened them again slowly... He saw such brightness around Him, and finally objects or different colours. His vision wasn't the best though as it seemed pretty blurry, yet He could see around Him even so.

He noticed then His left hand which had a few bandages on it, then His clothes being completely different from what He remembered. He even tried to use His right arm but in vain since now it was paralysed for good which sure was a surprise to Him, analysing His own body confused. But what confused Him more was the moment He looked for the creature...

[CHE5TER]-...M-MY4?

...only to see His loved one covering one of her eyes, as a result of His own actions. He couldn't hear anything though, He seemed completely deaf. But His eyes were expressing guilt the moment MY4 took Him in her arms.

"...And that moment, I finally got out of that void, only to wake myself in one of the rooms of the building I was working in, with a colleague of mine crying in front of me because of what I did."

PRESENT

The Underground City

45:08

He said it so many times though, so it shouldn't be a surprise anymore. But He really doesn't like talking about that day at all. He never told why He despises it so much though, even if He managed to endure and get through all the Hell He had to face. So it sure is questionable why He let it change Him so much.

But here He stands, laying on the ground with the stranger feeling rather pity towards the man that stands next to it. After hearing such a story, it sure felt ashamed that it even asked the question in the first place, which will probably explain its shocked expression.

[General]-...I'm sorry, CHE5TER. I really didn't know about all of this.

[CHE5TER]-...

[General]-*sigh* If it helps you in any way... I guess I made myself an idea of what your Inhumanity might be. Though I'm not so sure of it myself...

[CHE5TER]-...Then what's your answer?

[General]-Well, I would think that the voice you talked about might be related to your Inhumanity.

[CHE5TER]-The voice?

[General]-Yes. What you've explained to me is no pure insanity at all. This is a whole new level of "going insane". If that voice can take a physical body and also get affected from outside sources, then it sure isn't just a voice. But again, I don't know for sure what the detailed answer is. No matter the answer though, based on what you've explained, it is linked to your symbol of Almost-Human, which will mean that it has something to do with your Inhumanity. That I know for sure.

[CHE5TER]-*sigh* Alright, at least we have a start... So how am I suppose to find the whole answer now?

[General]-Believe me when I say that I want to know too. I've got pretty curious myself. But with so little information on what's happening with your blessing, then I'm afraid I'm not really the most qualified person to find the answer on my own. Only if I had a friend of mine to help me...

[CHE5TER]-So we still have to find the village for this puzzle, huh? But putting that aside, why do you seem so excited to stay with me all of a sudden? I sense a change in your behaviour ever since you told me I was an "Almost Hooman".

Yet the boy looks a bit at the ruler, changing its expression in such sorrow, before starting to observe the "sky" of the city and talking again.

[General]-...CHE5TER, our species are so rare that I'm afraid we might be the only beings of our kind alive. I've never met someone like me before and I always felt like an outsider when I found out what I truly am. I've never seen anybody with the same symbol as mine in my village, nor did I hear stories of powerful beings with all kinds of different blessings. When I met the man that was talking so much with my master and heard what I truly am, I was so afraid that my people won't even want me around them anymore. We fear the different like we fear the gods.

[CHE5TER]-And did they find out?

[General]-*sigh* They did at some point. My dear brothers, or best friends, or however you want to call them... I told them one day what I am.

[CHE5TER]-So they treated you... different after you told them?

[General]-To my surprise, not really. They treated me the same as they did ever since we were children. They knew from the start that I was gifted with a blessing, and not the one of a Creator. I was the only C born among them, so I thought they always reffered to the gift of my race. But they were talking about a whole different gift, and I realised it too late... Heh, Brother ANTH0NY probably still mocks me about this subject even till this day. How I wonder what he is thinking now since I've been gone for so long...

[CHE5TER]-ANTH0NY?

[General]-Yeah... He probably is the closest friend to me. He knows everything and always scolds me for not obeying to the rules. He always acts like a parent towards us since most of us had no being that looked after us when we were kids, even though he is just a year older than me. But he is a great guy! He really is!

[CHE5TER]-To think that there is a whole new world out there that nobody from my land knew about...

[General]-Don't worry. My people probably didn't know anything about these cities either. Put the blame on the demons that don't let us see the world and discover new things. If it wasn't for them, probably we would've met years ago already.

Yet the ruler doesn't respond. He just stands and admires the views in front of them, as He thinks of something that bothers Him for good. Even if He found out what He is, no real answer was given. So maybe He wonders if He will ever find the real truth.

[CHE5TER]-...Hey, General?

[General]-Yeah?

[CHE5TER]-Are you sure that these "Inhoomanities" are suppose to be blessings?

[General]-Depends on the view... Why do you ask all of a sudden?

[CHE5TER]-Well... I don't really think mine is suppose to be any kind of blessing, no matter what it truly is. From how it affected me in the past and how it will continue to affect me in the future, it seems more that it is a torture rather than a blessing. It is how you thought. We are different. I am different. Maybe it has a meaning this difference that I have from my own people. Maybe it is suppose to tell me something.

[General]-Like...?

[CHE5TER]-Like, as if...

"...I am going to pay for my sins."