On a cold concrete floor, moonlight managed to feather and filter its way through the ceiling and illuminate small sections of the area. A few pebbles here, wooden splinters there. One of the split rays hit a shoulder with a rather large hole taking a chunk out of several muscles. The injury was gruesome, but somehow it appeared to have been closed up through some sort of unnatural means. The owner of the injury must've been really lucky, or else that would be one unpleasant way to go and die somewhere, bleeding out in the middle of a concrete box.
The bearer of the macabre wound gritted their teeth, taking a few moments to herself to writhe in pain. Now that she wasn't in immediate danger, she could finally take a breather without worrying about all too much, especially now that she was out of that simulated hell and deposited to wherever close to the terminal, however the terminal defined close.
[Transport complete. Closing simulation. Enjoy Harmony, Electrogen]
The same red holographic panel that had been popping up appeared in her vision once more despite her otherwise shut off eyes. Was it under her eyelids? Unlikely, she still saw the rush of red strings from the sides form into the panel. However the virus still managed to broadcast its information to her senses that were supposed to be temporarily disengaged was beyond her, but she could foresee it becoming rather helpful in the near future. Unmoving, she willed back the same storage menu she had been acquainted with since the delectable fruits. Two pictures appeared on the menu next to their corresponding names
[Armaments:]
[Bountiful Basket]
[Pompous Portrait]
Huh, what an ordeal. I guess I'm an Electrogen now. That's… great.
She had already spent enough time writhing on the ground. For all she knew, she could've been nowhere near close to anything she was familiar with. Just because she was finally out of the simulation did not mean that she was safe, if anything far from it. The image of the three that greeted her outside of her work popped back into her mind. The real world was definitely more dangerous and dreadful. AI could only generate something only half as devious and malevolent as any one real person could be.
With her one good arm, she pushed herself off the cold concrete flooring and took in her new situation. Crumbling stone walls boxed her in on all sides, revealing packed rocks and dirt behind it. The ceiling was just a few impacts away from fully collapsing on itself, even some rocks fell from the hole above her. It sounded like it was raining softly outside, luckily none made it through the hole filled covering. Paired with the light shower were the muted voices trailing into the basement level room, probably from some people near? Why were they walking through the rain or this abandoned area?
"Yeah, we almost had our hands on her, but some tier four woman showed up and took her away. We were so close to payday man."
"Really? Did you at least infect her?"
"Pok did. She's probably in there about now, so we have a few days before we gotta get to work again."
"Fucking great. Look on the bright side man, that means we got tonight off! How about lets say, fuck our rounds and go for drinks?"
"You read my mind. Drayno's?"
"Where else?"
Solid clacking steps faded into the distance, eventually drowned out by the downpour, allowing her to finally let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Wherever she was, it was multitudes more dangerous than being in the simulacrum. Were they talking about her? Her timeline matched up perfectly with their account of what happened, but she was saved? What did tier four mean and who was it? Only one thing came to mind, her boss with that same aloof expression.
"I ran them off."
Much to her dismay, it really sounded like they were talking about her, if only they knew how close to them she was transported to. If they were there a couple minutes earlier, would they have found her, or would she have found them? Wasn't the AI supposed to have found a safe location for her arrival, or did it even consider that these people would be hostile? Too many questions, and she was getting used to not having a single answer.
They made it pretty clear that she was truly the one they were targeting, not just any random poor soul. That probably meant that they weren't just run of the mill thugs, something more sinister was going on that somehow involved her and her becoming a victim of the ALFA virus. The two partners likely have or are part of an entire group, all trained to do similar things just like the paralysis, and they were all after her for some reason that remained unknown to her. She was just an average girl stuck in the slums with a tragic but not the most uncommon circumstances, what worth did she have over any of the other young women in New Bangkok?
I'm in much more danger than I thought. Did Morgan know about this, know about them? Why wouldn't he tell me? I just wanted to live a peaceful life…
Kanashima absolutely had to get out of this abandoned region and to some safety, who knew how many people they had scouring the place for her. Maybe she would be able to retreat to her sub-basement apartment and hide out there for a little bit, the tattered surroundings likely meant she was much closer to her slums than the cafe. That, and she wasn't even sure if she could get very far with a left arm rendered useless by a set of lacerated muscles and a huge hole. Her blood levels were dangerously low just as the virus said, any more and she'd likely be unconscious. The other cuts and wounds across her body were covered and getting better, but were still visible. She had no clothes to speak of anymore after the fiasco in the spider den either, it would be preferable if she didn't get arrested for something as dumb as public indecency.
Climbing up the staircase on the other side of the basement level, she finally was able to discern more about her otherwise mysterious location. Relieved that it still looked like New Bangkok, but the concrete jungle around her was unrecognizable beyond the actual city. What used to be restaurants, shops, and parlors was now in ruins, housing giant rats and other vagrants such as herself.
The building she found herself in appeared to be a boutique, or at least what was left of one. Signs of scavenging and ransacking littered the floor and walls, broken racks, clothing racks, hangers and other random auxiliary items. Hopefully there'd be something to cover up with, if it hadn't been taken already by some other desperate people. It was one of the lowest priority problems, but it was still something she had to deal with if she didn't want to get picked up off the street instantly by the police.
Digging through the piles of wooden splinters, busted up metal alloy rods, and rubble from the ruined building itself was proving to be quite the hassle not worth a dime. A lot of this specific boutique had been picked clean before she got there unfortunately. She was just about to give up on her search before her eye picked up a small corner of an off white canvas material. Shifting battered false wood planks off of it, she managed to pull a canvas bag out from under it.
The front of the bag had a brand name she never even heard before in her life. Completely ignoring the auxiliary items it came with, Kanashima took out the fresh pieces of clothing from the shrink wrap. Before long, she was done up in enough fabric to protect her entire body from the cool nighttime air. Any type of clothing would've been much better than braving the environment with just skin, but she would happily take this win in the rain washed surroundings.
Now, time for my escape.
The weakened girl only made it a few meters out with her slow pace before she froze in her tracks. Those same voices from before were getting louder and louder by the second. If they were truly after her, and she really thought they were, then her situation only became more perilous. There weren't any openings in the buildings around that she could dip in and hide. She didn't even know what her intrinsic ability was yet, or even how to use it. She couldn't even fight back with both of her arms.
"Be advised, Lady Kanashima. You're being watched. Six o' clock."
The Void? What is that voice doing here?
Whirling around, the two taller men were already standing in the middle of the walkway. The same circular tattoo with the slash appearing on both of their pale skin necks. The left one she had never seen before, but the right one was instantly recognizable. How could she forget any of their chilling faces or those deviously jet black eyes?
The unfamiliar one took the hanging cigarette out of his mouth, blowing the smoke towards her. The sensation flooding into her nose was enough to make her dizzy.
"Heyy… isn't that the same girl?"
"I can't believe our luck, it fuckin' is. Shall we finish what we started that night, girlie?"
The other, taller man approached her, closing the gap in just a few more steps. He pressed two of his fingers forward, just slightly out of arms reach.
"Nobody's here to save you this time, so be a doll and come with us girlie."
They intended to capture her? It made sense why they just incapacitated her instead of killing her outright in that alley, but for what purpose? She was just a below average, weak girl who couldn't do a thing without being told. She had no impressive features, no outstanding accomplishments, and not a single mote of worth to her name.
"Why do you guys want me so much? Who even are you?"
"Sweet sweet girlie, we are The Nihility, and you are his last living child."
Last living child? Were they after Morgan too? Did they get him?
"What did you do with Morgan?"
The last thing she wanted to do was lose her control, lose herself to the emotions in the moment. If he was an enemy of Morgan, then it all made sense. Why her brother told her to be safe, why he introduced her to Serafin. Morgan was already a strong person, and yet he couldn't even resist them. They said that they were the ones to have spread the trojan to her, they probably did the same to Morgan all those years back.
Kanashima was his last hope. She had to live, had to become stronger than even him for his sake. He did so much for her, protecting her until his very last moments. She couldn't believe she was willing to let all of his works go to waste, willing to just lose the fight against the world wherever she was. What kind of ungrateful sister would she be?
"Figures. Well if you so insist."
The larger man reached to the side of his waist, but she never got to see what he was pulling out. Acting purely on instinct, her one good arm extended outwards towards her attacker. The distance put in between them didn't allow her to connect with her strike, her arms far shorter than the older man. A tingly, warm feeling built up in her core, swirling together, compacting more and more. Her nervous system felt like it was on fire, it was brimming with so much of this internal energy, and eventually her body just couldn't handle it anymore.
The surging electricity inside had to find an exit, had to stay in motion. Trailing along her muscles, more and more of the energy inside of her flowed to her palm and exploded outwards in a bright purple flash. Faster than anything she had ever seen before, the mystical bolt flew in a straight line and exploded with great force, closing the gap between her fingers and the kidnapper. She watched as the violet cylinder of pure light collided with the area in between his pitch black eyes, ripping the entire head away from the rest of the body. The energy itself burrowed through the skull and out the back of it, dropping the head a couple meters from where he once stood.
His body followed a few moments after, dropping on his knees first, then collapsing the other way. The smell of burnt hair and scorched flesh permeated the area, smoke rising from the gaping hole where his nose once was. Kanashima's hand itself was steaming, but somehow it didn't hurt, almost as if she was built to do whatever sort of special attack or ability she just did. Her wide gunmetal grey eyes stared down at her lowered cannon of an arm, searching for traces that weren't left from what she just managed to accomplish. Letting her shock wear off, she turned to his companion, her arm aimed at his head next. All there was left to do was to figure out how to replicate it, and she would be able to walk away from here for free.
"Holy shit girl, don't do it! Please!"
Not waiting for her response, he took off running the opposite way, his pants dripping a liquid trail in his wake. A small purple spark shone under his black shoes, the ground coming out from under him as he tried to turn the corner. Landing flat on his face, he used his position on all fours to scramble out of the girl's view. Kanashima watched him go, unmoving from her ready position until her tiny ears couldn't even pick up his footsteps anymore. Sighing, she bent down and inspected the body in front of her, placing her hand on his shoulder just under the black ink.
I killed somebody. I can't believe I actually just killed a person… with my own hands. Morgan, would you have done the same thing? Have you?
Her position held for a few more moments, grey eyes staring at the tear location on the neck of the body. Blood squirted out the top of the body until it was completely drained, leaving the already white skin more pale than before. The residual body heat dissipated considerably in the cooler post-rain atmosphere.
Moving her hand across the tattoo, the symbol was searing its pattern into her mind. She had definitely seen this before, but where? Was it one of the symbols in Serafin's cozy living room? Definitely not. The carvings of the coffee table were intricate and complex, it actually looked beautiful, so where had she seen this before?
Scarlet strings coalesced and expanded into a silver picture frame, spawning into the one functional hand. She held the frame corner up to the tattoo.
Perfect match… I can't believe this.
Whoever this Morgan lookalike guy in the picture was somehow connected to this Nihility group. Maybe this actually was Morgan then after all, and instead of dead he was captured and taken away? If that was true, then she could save him. No, if they had Morgan, then why would they say she was the last living child?
Wait, they said his last living child? My… father?
That's why he looked so familiar, and so much like Morgan. Kanashima herself had never seen any photos or visual recordings of their dad before, but that smile was unmistakably like Morgan's, but older. The blue eyes were the same, but more alive. The face didn't match exactly, it was more like some other visage she knew well, her own.
Did Morgan know? The Nihilty obviously knew, that's why they wanted me? Just who was my father? What did he do to our family, his family?