Now I've done it.

I've killed so many people today.

And if there are anyone that is still alive…

They'll die soon too, crushed under the pressure of the arctic sea and the trillion metric tons that is the Panchaea.

So many deaths…

Nanoceramic blade, high caliber bullets, turret defense system, flechettes, UR-DED, Typhoon Explosive System….a friggin' Gatling.

What a rotten way to die.

And they aren't some of your average human either. Scientist, gifted writers, brilliant student and engineers…all have come from around the world to the literal ass-end of the planet just to hear a presentation from the genius Hugh Darrow.

What a shame.

And me too, the most advanced subject of mechanical augmentation, which holds the genetic key to the cyber utopia.

Where there will be no starvation, since everyone doesn't need to eat, just a battery recharge.

No caste, since everyone is equally capable to destroying a building with their bare hands.

There will be no sickness. And no concern for overpopulation and birth defect, since children will be born from test tube, already fully augmented, mature, and independent.

Now that I think about it, it's kind of horrible, isn't it?

But it wouldn't matter, since I will die soon.

Drowned, just like the fate everyone else, just like my master, David Sarif, and the Leader of his 'Anti-aug' opposition, Bill Taggart.

They all will drown with me, under the cold arctic sea.

There's a thousands of people that will die with me.

Yet it feels strangely lonely.

…

I've never asked for this.

This is…Is this fate?

Is this how my story supposed to end from the beginning?

Am I a hero?

Hercules killed thousands of people. And then some. And he's a hero.

The tiny David from the bible, killed thousands of people. And he's a hero.

Achilles killed thousands of people. And he's a hero.

Luke Skywalker probably also killed millions of people.

Even though they are mostly clones…

And he's also a hero.

I'm not a saint, but in some way, I am a 'hero'.

Hero dies a lonely death, I've once heard…

Being a hero sucks.

Another explosion from below…

Without the constant calculation of The Hyron mainframe, the foundation of this giant facility won't be able to cope with the ever changing waves of the deep ocean.

…

Maybe I can take some nap before I die.

Ugh…

The floor is warm, probably because of what is left from the facilities geothermal reactor.

Fwip!

I'm turning on my head-up display, which from the outside would looks like an ordinary sunglasses. (Albeit nailed directly into my skull, which is not so ordinary)

It shows various stats, mainly useful for combat. But I can also adjust the tint, blocking the light from outside. (Normally it works like a one way mirror, very good for interrogation.)

Now…I think I can finally sleep.

Another great use of having sunglasses implanted directly into your skull, in exchange of making you looks like a total douchebag.

Pip!

Come on, can't let a dying man sleep?

An E-mail, from Eliza Cassan.

She's just a computer program.

Just like me, with my cybernetic brain.

I open the mail using an app installed inside my cranium. Chuckle at the concept that this might be my last act on the internet.

Now that I think about it, the internet is full of dead E-mail account. I wonder if the user was dead too?

…

The E-mail contains nothing but a single mp3 file.

…My last song.

Hope this is good.

I play the file with the app installed in my cochlear implant.

I can't quite make out the genre, but it's quite good.

A glaring neon glow illuminates this street
Breathe in these human vapors, sweat and heavy heat
Hi-tech cathedrals rise and fall in great ravines
Colossal steeples to the gods in the machines

Hmm…it sounds to be some tribute of some sort…or maybe a ballad.

I continue to listen, ignoring all the explosions and the cries of strained metals around me.

Your secret science conquers nature's cruel laws
But inside your wires lie a million mortal flaws
Electric sleep I dream inside my honeycomb
I stay alive inside my hive of skin and chrome

I'm going to die.

Wonder if they'll put me in hell.

I went to a Sunday school once.

They said a dying man can't repent.

Broken body built anew
Spirit lingers, torn in two

The song is in an upbeat tone, but somehow…it's making me sleepy. Maybe it's because the lively notes are getting mixed up with the concept of death lurking just inches above from my face.

…

Ping!

Another E-mail from Eliza.

I open it. It's a voice mail.

Thank you, for everything…

Is everything going to be alright with the world after I left? unlikely.

But it doesn't matter.

I did all that I could.

I did my part.

And with that understanding in mind, I finally able to fall asleep.

Search my electric soul for the hidden man within…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quoted from The Gensokyo Chronicles, Ninth Edition.

Heading further along the Road of Reconsideration, one would reach Muenzuka, where the road ends.

Although it's a small area enclosed by trees, this is the most dangerous place for both the humans and youkai of Gensokyo.

Although this place is a graveyard for those without relatives, many of those were from the outside world, but became lost and ended up here, and the growing inclination towards the outside world has begun to gradually loosen the magic barrier.

Also, as it is something similar to a graveyard, and also easily connected to the Netherworld, it's a place where no one knows what might happen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"! #$%^&*((#$%^&*()$^&*"

I heard something.

! #$%^&*( #$%^&*( #$%^&#$%^

It's the voice of two girls, talking to each other.

I can't understand the language.

It sounds like Japanese.

But it's a very old form of Nihon-go, from a long forgotten age.

I don't think my translation program is equipped to comprehend such language.

Then, I realize that I can't see.

Maybe because I don't have any eyes?

I then realize that I can't stand.

Because I don't have any legs.

I can't speak, for I have no mouth.

Can't hear, for my ears are broken.

So, I can't do anything but go back to sleep.

Maybe this nightmare will be over when I wake up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reactor online.

Hm?

Weapons online.

I'm awake.

I can move.

But it's dark.

I can't see.

But my Eye-Know retinal implants are working.

Fwip!

Systems nominal.

The eye implant is capable of projecting digital information directly on to the retina through Optoelectronic Retinal Heads-Up Display, but it's giving me a migraine. So I mostly just used the traditional 'sunglasses mode'.

The thermographic and t-wave features installed in the Eye-Know Vision Enhancement Package provide limited-range image penetration of low-density objects and cover obstacles immediately, enabling users to see what hides behind them. Basically, x-ray vision. But it can also be used to use as a makeshift night vision system.

Now you know why I wear sunglasses at night.

And talking about 'low –density' object, my Wayfinder radar system tells me that I'm currently sleeping inside a room at a large building that is mostly made from woods and paper.

A traditional Japanese mansion? Maybe…let me look it up.

Connection failed.

Weird…I can't connect to Wikipedia.

I check, and it seems that I have no internet connection whatsoever. An almost impossible condition in 21st century society.

I check my surrounding, and found myself lying naked on top of what seems like an operating table.

A crude, wooden operating table.

Naked on top of a table. This scene feels familiar.

I see a desk full of scalpels, and a lamp. And various standard surgery utilities scattered around various drawers that encircle my 'bed'.

And then I saw that I'm not alone in this room.

I see a person, standing still at the corner of this dark room. Almost like a statue. A very graceful statue.

That person wears a formal jacket, white pleated skirt, and she has a rabbit ears sprouting from the side of her head, all the way up and passing the top of her skull, just like a real rabbit.

It's also white and fluffy.

Is the rabbit ears real or ornamental? It doesn't matter.

Because the only thing that I can think of right now is the fact that the person with the rabbit ears is a girl, and I'm naked.

In my life, I've never feel the need of a pants as much I do now.

"Uh…"

The girl just stands there, unmoving.

My legs were only prosthetic from slightly above the knee. So I still have 'that'. (Quite adequate too, if I should say so myself.)

And I'm pretty sure that the girl can see it clearly despite the darkness.

Fwip!

I turn off my HUD and climb out from the table, and then trapped in a dilemma whether to show her my 'asset' or my butt. Both are equally embarrassing.

"If you're looking for your clothes, I have a set right here."

The girl finally spoke, pointing at a cloth rucksack near her feet.

That voice…it's…it's like a kitten trying to impersonates a lion. She tries to sound menacing, but ends up laughably cute.

But still, it's embarrassing to be seen naked, even if you're mostly machine. How does RoboCop deal with this on a daily basis? Righ, because he has no…let's not talk about that.

The girl kicked the rucksack closer to me, saving me the embarrassment of walking even closer to her.

"I've designed that myself" said the girl. "Be thankful, human. Or whatever you are."

Inside the rucksack I found a pair of underwear made of soft material (not that I care), a pair of brown slacks, and a black, short sleeved dress shirt.

It is save to say that I've never put on any article of clothing as fast as I did that time.

The clothes fit snuggly, so maybe she did designed it just for me. I'm kind of flattered.

Okay, now that I'm fully clothed, I have a thousand questions to ask. Each is a variation of 'What the fuck just happened'.

But I have no chance to ask any of those.

Because right after I finished getting my head through the hole of my shirt, the girl with bunny ears immediately tries to kill me.

Fwoosh!

From out of nowhere, a foot is explosively extended towards my face.

I try to dodge. But my body feels like it was made of led. And not the advanced self-healing ceramic-fiberglass alloy it supposed to be.

All I manage to do is closed of my sub-dermal douche-glasses to at least protect my eyes.

Boom.

The girl's boot hits my face with the force of a shotgun.

Well, not really, the inner sensor in my head sensed that it was about 6000 Joule of force.

Quite a lower body strength, just like a real rabbit.

But strangely, my head is not exploded. In fact, I barely feel anything.

"Heh. You are not as fast as my master say." Mocks the girl, with her left foot still planted firmly on my face.

"That's because his new programming hasn't been activated."

I heard another voice just after the kung-fu playboy bunny lift her foot out of my face.

I look back, and see another girl standing right behind me, crossing her arm in a very smug manner.

I didn't see her coming in, but it's probably due to the hard soled boot planted on my face. But then I realize that my radar is operating at minimum capacity.

This new girl is short, seems no older than 15. She wears baby blue full-bodied jumpsuit with the zipper on top slightly open, exposing large breast very unsuited for her small frame. Well, at least she wears a bra. And a very nice, green hat.

And she has long wavy hair tied in twin long pigtails. Oh, and by the way, it's blue.

Blue hair. I must be in Japan.

"At least we now know that the new alloy can stand at least that much." Said the little girl. Her voice sound childish and cocky, If I have to describe it, it would be something like the voice of a very young puppy. I guess.

"Let's see if I can get you to work at optimal specification. Now…where's Eirin?"

And right at that moment, a door opened somewhere across the room, revealing an old woman in a nurse outfit.

Well, she would be old if one to be looking only at her silvery white hair, but even in this dim-lit room, I can see that her face has aged up nicely.

She's pretty.

But the thing that attracts my attention most about this old lady is the nurse outfit. It has a strange pattern of jig-sawed blue and red all the way to her hat.

Reminds me of Spiderman's costume.

"Ah, there you are Eirin." Call the little girl. "How's the Hakkero?"

"Let me do a quick check, and by the way, Udonge?"

Apparently, the bunny girl was 'Udonge'. And the nurse was 'Eirin'. I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore.

"You should call me when the patient has woken up. Not kicking him in the face." said the nurse in a scolding tone. Her voice reminds me of and angry hen scolding their chicks. Well, what I imagine a hen scolding sounds like, anyway.

"I..I'm sorry, master…it…it just that he…" stutters the bunny girl, suddenly being all timid.

"Don't worry, I can understand. After all, he's the proof of the outside world's might, yes?"

I don't really know what they are talking about, but I can't help but think that they are referring to the fact that I am the cultivation of two millennia worth of humanity's history trying to kill the shit out of each other. Quite an achievement, if I do say so myself.

"You are excused."

"Yes, master!"

The bunny girl quickly left the room.

"Now, please open your shirt." Says the nurse suddenly in a somewhat demanding tone.

"Excuse me?"

"Here, let me help you."

And she starting to unbuttons the top of my shirt.

I can see the bolts protruding from what left of my organic skin, dutifully securing the sub-dermal armor to my chest.

The red and blue nurse then touches my chest, on top of where my heart supposed to be. And her hand starts glowing.

Wait, what?

And then, my chest starts glowing too.

Even more what?

And the light forms a yin-yang orb straight in the middle of my chest.

What. The fuck.

"I…"

"I know that this is very confusing, but please be calm just a little bit more, yes?"

Her voice, it's very calming, but I can feel myself start to panic.

"Where is this…?"

"This place is called Eientei. Now, stay calm for a bit, yes? Kawashiro, what do you think of this?"

The short blue haired girl moves forward to check on the glowing yin-yang orb on my chest.

"Very well done, Kourin really outdid himself this time. Now let's see if we can redirect all of these powers to all the subsystems. Overload code! Kawashiro One-Six-Fifty!"

And then, my chest exploded.

Not 'exploded', per se, but more like a quick burst of power that spreads from my chest, engulfed my torso, then moves on to posses all of my limbs.

By the time the power reaches my head, my HUD has gone haywire, my body feels like flying. My sense of balance is thrown out through the window and I immediately fell to my knees.

But then the pain subsides.

System optimal. Subsystems. All-green.

"How do ya feel?" asks Kawashiro.

Well, I feel like a pile of diarrhea fired from the augmented arse of a robotic cow with diabetes at the velocity of a baked hippie.

I think this is time I take over control of my own body.

I rise back to my feet, and stick my index and middle finger over my right earlobe.

"U…User command: commence full anatomy check."

Engaging Full-body scan. Please wait…

The result was…well, apparently, I have no heart, nor brain.

My brain has been completely replaced by cybernetic, and where my heart used to be, there's some sort of hexagonal metal object, that somehow produces enough energy to last me two millennia.

"I…am not human."

"Yes." Says the nurse. "Most of your organic parts have rotten away. I've managed to clone your outer appearance, but your insides are mostly…."

"The combination of the outside world science, the technology of the kappas, and some moon magic."

I'm not sad or anything sappy like that. I already getting over existential crisis ever since a robotic Israeli thrown me through a glass window and put a high caliber bullet through my skull.

But still, what are they talking about? Outside world? Kappas? Magic? Are all this augmentations finally driving me insane?

"Bu you are still you. Well maybe with some extra bits on your psychological profile and mental faculties, but inside you're still you."

Kawashiro said all that with a reassuring smile.

"How…?"

"your soul."

That was the nurse talking.

"W…what?"

"By the time of your death, you still hasn't think of your body as part of you."

True. I've been augmented for far too short of a time I haven't even used fifty percent of all my augmentations.

"You only considered your body as a tool. Do you know anything about 'haunting ghost'?"

Naturally, I answer with 'no'.

Then Kawashiro answered my unspoken question for me.

"When an owner got too attached to a tool, sometimes their soul is attached to said tool and they become a lingering ghost after death, residing in said tool."

"What we found buried in Muenzuka was simply your steel endoskeleton, with your soul sleeping dormant inside."

"So we revive you."

"W…why?"

"Because you are interesting, of course!" announce Kawashiro loudly an excitedly.

"Because you are the proof of the advancement of the outside world since the initial construction of The Great Hakurei Barrier." Claim Eirin in a more reserved manner.

I see. I'm a test subject.

"What am I to do? What is this Outside World you keep talking about? Where exactly am I?"

"We can talk about that later." said the red and blue nurse.

"For now…" she opens the door, letting in some orange light from the midday sun. "The mistress of the estate would want to see you."

I can do nothing for now.

I guess I'll just follow suit until I can make sense of the situation.

"Lead the way please."

Little did I know.

I'm in a place where the concept of 'sense' did not exist.

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A/N: so yeah. That was the first chapter. Basically just explaining the setting and concept. Feel free to tell whether I should be continuing this or not in the review section and any plot idea would be appreciated. Because I wasn't really thinking about any plot. Wrote this just for fun, you see. and please forgive any language based error. not a native speaker by far.