Chapter 73 - First Creation
Walking up from sleeping, Jin opened his eyes. Yawning quietly, he was trying to get up while feeling restrictive. Looking down, he saw why. Supressing a loud grunt of annoyance, he closed his eyes.
'...she did...damn it...' he thought opening his eyes.
Looking around for a way to get out without disturbing her, he tried to carefully remove her hands. Though he was somewhat successful, Ami shifted herself a little. In doing so, she changed her grip and interlaced her fingers in his hands. Remaining still, he waited till she was calm again. Oddly, he felt a strange sense that she was at ease.
'Whatever,' he thought internally shaking his head.
Looking up at his nightstand from the floor, the digital clock could be read. Seeing that it was around the time he would normally wake up, it surprised him that he slept without waking up once during night. Focusing at what was gripping him, he tried getting out of Selbith's hold again. Successful, he carefully got up. Walking toward the room door, he quietly opened and closed it to go to the bathroom.
Taking an overall glance of the house from the second floor, nothing appeared to be different. Given that the sun has not risen yet, a majority of the house was in mild darkness. Reaching the restroom and entering, he felt somewhat normal going without someone staring at him. Finished and cleaning himself, he headed back to his room. Stopping at the closed door, a part of him felt something foreboding.
Having a suspicion that someone was standing behind the door, he just gave a quiet sigh. Pressing his lips together firmly, he opened the door. Having bed hair and a look of agitation, Ami was standing on the other side.
"...where...did...you...go...?" she asked in an angry tone of voice.
"..." Jin answered giving her a deadpan stare. "Can't go to the bathroom without your permission princess?"
"Shut up," Selbith reacted and took a couple steps forward. Stopping to be nose to nose with him, she grabbed his wrists.
"You are going to have to get use to going to the bathroom by yourself," he remarked not intimidated by her approach.
"I don't trust the environment...do I have to repeat this to you each time?"
"You are being irrational."
"You are being an idiot."
"..." the sophomore commented with a frown.
Wanting to unleash a verbal assault, his mouth stayed still and closed. Closing his eyes and sighing through his nose, he tried removing her hands from his wrists. All she did was either re-grip him or possessively hold onto him. Stopping, he opened his eyes and glared at her. An equal expression was staring back at him.
"Why are you not letting go of me?" he asked in a low and controlled voice.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight. Sleeping puts me in a defenseless state," she answered with equal tone and control.
"Anyone that sleeps is defenseless," the male teen corrected. "Even demons rest and sleep too."
"I do not need to hear that from you," Ami stated narrowing her eyes.
'HOW IMPOSSIBLE ARE YOU!?' Jin shouted in his mind. Blinking and thinking of a different aspect, he focused on the female teen. Still having his wrists held, something popped in his head.
"...do you need to use the bathroom?"
"..." Ami responded with narrowed eyes.
Walking out of the room and passed him, she was heading in the direction of the restroom. About to sigh in relief, one arm was pulled alone with her. Recovering from nearly eating the 2nd flooring on his face, he followed. Entering the restroom he was just in, she opened the door. Yanking on his arm to get inside, she slowly closed the door.
Back in the bathroom, Ami slowly let go of his hands. Turning toward him, he stood near the door and looked back at her. After staring each other down, she blinked then turned around. Going to the toilet, she heard movement behind her. Quickly glancing, Jin had turned around to face the door. He then put fingers in his ears.
'...repulsive...am I...' she thought gritting her teeth.
About to stomp back to him, she stopped from hearing something behind her. Blinking and slowly turning around, she observed. There was nothing around in the room. Walking a little bit forward, the sound occurred again. Curious, she went all the way to where the shower was.
Peering through the curtains, there was no one inside the space. Looking up at the fanned out metal cone attached to a small pipe, it was going through the wall. Hearing the certain sound again, it was louder and emitted at the shower head. Backing up, she reasoned that it was not a threat. Going back to the toilet, she recalled previous instruction about relieving the tension.
After finishing and flushing, she looked at Jin. He was still facing the door and plugging his ears with his fingers. Walking toward the sink, he unplugged his ears. Getting to the counter and turning on the water, he turned around. Washing her hands, she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes.
"Feel better?" the sophomore asked impassively.
"Tell me," she asked. Looking back at the sink, she rubbed her hands under the running water.
"Am I repulsive to look at?"
"...what brought this on all the sudden?" he questioned carefully.
"I had...a dream where I saw...what my human form was in the other realm," Ami stated turning off the faucet.
"...you mean...with red eyes, whitish short hair, and dressed with other types of clothing?" the male teen mentioned watching her dry her hands on a towel.
"Yes...I never knew that is what I looked like."
"...I see...what did you think when you saw your human form?"
"It seems to be a reflection of my desires...I suppose," Selbith stated turning to him. Walking toward him and stopping in front of him, he didn't move.
"Hmm...you want to look like that?" Jin asked finding the topic less dangerous to talk about. Ami blinked then looked down in thought.
"...I don't know..." she began then turned to the mirror. Placing a hand on her face, the other one went toward her neck.
"But in comparison...my other realm's human form looked full, strong, and true while this...rail form is repulsive."
"I can imagine the conflict," the sophomore began. "That might be a good motivator to look better and recover."
"...are you saying I can change to my other self?" she asked turning back to him. He nodded.
"Yes. It will take a lot of time and work, but it is doable," he suggested. "The hair color and eye color is changeable too...to an extent as well."
"...I see...very well. You will aid me to reach that form," Ami stated with a nod.
"..." Jin responded with a lone eyebrow raised.
Hearing her state a goal made the care taker job seem less agonizing. However, he wanted to make sure what she was wanting to reach. Opening the bathroom door, both walked out. Going back to his room and closing the door, it felt cold. Heading toward the blankets on the floor, he picked them up and placed them on the bed. Laying them out, he pulled the covers out and got inside.
"Just clarifying...you want to look like your previous self. Is this for just in the other realm or in both worlds?" he asked turning his head toward her. Flinching a little, she climbed into the bed as well. Getting under the covers and blankets, she laid beside him.
"Since my Grim Reaper form is no longer a part of me, my previous human form is what I look like. I should look the same if I travel back to the other realm, yes?"
"If creating a character, then yes."
"...this...creation of a being...is someone you control?"
"Pretty much. It will be someone that you use to move about in E.D.E. If wearing the head gear, it just feels like you are moving around instead of controlling someone else."
"...sounds more of possessing or invading for control..."
"...in a way...you kind of are and aren't," he began than looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Not like you are foreign in that department."
"Quiet," Selbith retorted. "It is more comfortable here than the floor."
"True."
"Why did you initially sleep on the floor?"
"Just trying to be considerate and give you the bed."
"...being considerate of being shot at..." she stated with a mild growl.
"I was being sarcastic and joking."
"I'm sure you were."
"Let me put it this way...the more you recover and get physically stronger and less sickly, we will have to be sleep separately."
"...why...I do not follow."
"Think like a mortal instead of a demon for a second."
"I have no concept of how to think like a mortal nor do I care to know how."
"..." Jin reacted with a groan of irritation. "...kay...let's just say I won't be able to control myself."
"...?" Selbith responded with a look of confusion. Thinking about men not controlling themselves, a narrow selection of plausible answers came.
"Really...you are going to rape me?"
"...!?" the sophomore reacted and darted his head at her. Getting in her face, he whispered his yelling.
"NO! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR!?"
"A male mortal with no control near a female mortal usually ends up with forced fornication," she explained veering back a little from his immediate reaction.
"That's not what I meant."
"Really? All males have the inherit desire to take women."
"...that...maybe...true..." he agreed reluctantly. "I take it that is your perspective and observation of male demons in hell."
"Both hell and the mortal realm."
"Not all males act that way," the sophomore stated to defend himself and others.
"Then what does your lack of control statement refer to?" Ami asked looking at him with a questioning gaze.
"..." Jin replied then turned to his right side. "Sleeping with someone is suppose to have...a special meaning I guess."
"Demons slept near each other to keep each other warm and company. Mortals have done the same thing in the past."
"Well...this is a different reality okay. That mindset does not fly well here...only if you are camping and its very cold."
"...yes...I can see where in this realm, that aspect has been replaced."
"Did demons really sleep near each other?" Jin asked curious turning back to look at her. "I assumed that if they were different types, they were at odds with each other."
"If in the same class, then there was no issues. It is a hierarchy system. Those who associate with others that do not belong, were usually corrected and/or punished."
"Sounds like a very cheerful place."
"Depending on which perspective, it can be."
"Very few people would agree with you on that one."
"That is because the souls that come down from above were damned. We demons serve their punishment."
"Or just go to the surface and kill any person that crosses your path."
"We Grim Reapers have that special privilege given to us be the King of the Underworld."
"Mmm-hmm," Jin commented then yawned. He received a jab in his left side of his ribs.
"You mocking me?" Selbith asked in a threatening tone.
"...sorry...I guess I am still tired," he responded sounding sleepy.
"..." she reacted with turning on her side to face him.
Watching his face, his eye lids got heavier and heavier. When they closed, his breathing slowed down. Waiting for another couple of minutes, she slide closer to him. Touching his arm, he didn't respond. Poking his face, he muttered. Pinching his nose to close the openings, his face cringed. Thinking this would wake him up, his eyes opened up slowly.
"...what are you doing?" the sophomore asked in a nasally irritated tone.
"You fell asleep while I was talking."
"...and...?" he spoke then removed her fingers pinching his nose.
"You don't normally go back to sleep."
"...is that a crime?" the male teen asked trying to keep his composure.
"Is something wrong?"
"..." Jin replied with taking deep breaths. Staring at her made him very agitated. Instead of lying on the bed, he sat up. Getting out of the bed, movement behind him was heard. Turning around, Ami got off the bed and walked around to be in front of him.
"Something is wrong," she stated staring at him.
'...I'm...going to...MuRdEr...you,' he thought while pinching the bridge of his nose. '...calm down...just calm down...'
"...Jin...what are you hiding?" the female teen asked. Stepping closer, she was within a foot away from him. It made him get angry.
'Think damn it!' Jin shouted in his mind. 'There has to be some god damn thing that would preoccupy this beyond stalker A.I...wait a minute...'
"I was just thinking...didn't you want to see the other realm again?" the sophomore began. Moving his hand away, he forced himself to not veer back from her being in his face. It got her attention.
"Seeing it through the eyes of your creation...that will hold the image of your human form."
"...yes...I did say that...why?" she asked cautiously a little.
"We can do that now if you'd want. I can show you how," the male teen continued using a normal tone of voice.
"..." Selbith responded blinking and looking down at his chest. After a couple moments passed, she looked up and nodded.
"Very well."
'YES...okay...phase 1 completed,' Jin thought with relief.
Walking around Ami toward his night stand, he turned on the light. Reaching under his bed, he pulled out boxes. Selbith walked over to him and crouched down to observe. Opening the boxes and searching, he found the one that had Entrenchment: Darkened Eve on it. Closing the other boxes, he slid them under the bed. Glancing to his left, she was staring with a mixture of emotions.
"...what...is that?"
"This? Just a game box," he explained then opened it from the top.
Thinking she would ask another question, she didn't. Turning the open side down, things started sliding out. Putting his hand at the opening, he caught the items. A majority of them were papers, while one was a small disc in a paper pouch. Putting the rest back in the container, the male teen closed it.
"Okay. Now we need the plug in cable," he stated and grabbed a flexible cord on the ground. He traced it back to an outlet, he pulled the plug out. Standing up and turning toward Ami, she slowly stood up with a look of ambivalence.
"...what...are those?"
"This is a power cord. It is used to charge and give power to your helmet," he began. He held the item he was talking about a little higher than the other object. He then switched to the circular object.
"This is called a compact disc. It holds data, software, and programs that install E.D.E. into your head gear. That way, you don't need the disc afterwards."
"..." Selbith responded with confusion.
"Umm...let me put it in another way," the male teen began then held it in front of him. "This doesn't look like much, but think of it as a rune stone that carries massive magical energy. Putting this into your helmet gives it massive power and coordinates to the other realm. Follow so far?"
"I can follow and believe," she stated with a head nod.
"When this has fully completed its process, the head gear is ready. Once you put it on, it will activate. You'll be taken to the gray ambient space with all the floating icons. Remember?"
"...yes...I remember. Is that where you go first before entering the other realm?"
"Yes. Now, once you select the icon that looks like the box, you'll be seeing a lot of text. It is information that will lead you to your avatar creation. Once completed in making it look like your human form, it will be your vessel to roam in the E.D.E. world. Good so far?"
"...I...comprehend..." Ami stated looking bewildered still at the small disc. Blinking, she looked up at him.
"That odd battle helmet...is a portal creator to the other realm?"
"Sounds hard to believe I know. But, that is how me and Renee kept travelling to and from both worlds."
"And it all comes from this?" she asked pointing at the disc.
"Yes. It is one of many that people here can buy."
"...buy...you say...?" Selbith repeated leaning back. "...how many...portals are there?"
"If you are referring to games...I think a bit more than a hundred as of now."
"...!?" she reacted flabbergasted. "M-More than a hundred...different realms!?"
"Well...yeah. The E.D.E. world is only just one of them," Jin began then saw her expression. He put the disc and cord down on the bed. Walking toward her, he held her.
"Don't think too hard about. Okay?" he stated looking her in the eye. She wasn't shaking like yesterday, but still seemed blown away and apprehensive of the concept again.
"...this is...still difficult to...take in...you know that?" she spoke looking at him with steeled eyes.
"Mmm-hmm. The more you accept it, the easier it is for you to adapt," the male teen mentioned letting go. Turning around and grabbing the items on the bed, he got beside her.
"You want to rest a little before going into it?"
"...no...show me," Selbith stated after shaking her head. Giving her a nod, he led her out of the room. Closing the door behind him, they traveled down the stairs to the living room. Seeing no one, they walked across it to the guest room. Opening the door and entering, he closed the door.
"Go ahead and get the helmet. Come back to the bed when you have it."
"..." she responded nodding. Going to the closet and opening it, she retrieved the head gear. Coming back to the bed side that the sophomore was at, he had plugged the cord into the wall. Holding on to the disc that was still in its paper sleeve, he turned to her.
"Alright. Go ahead and connect the plug to...this port here," he instructed.
Placing the helmet on the bed, Ami plugged in the cord. The head gear lit up with small balled lights blinking. After a few seconds, only two lights remained on. Hearing something being pulled out, she turned her head. Seeing the disc in his hand, he pointed at something on the helmet.
"This will open the small compartment to put this in. Go ahead and press it."
"..." Selbith complied.
Moving her finger to the small button and pressing it, a small panel opened up slowly. Inside had small gears, a protrusion, and a circular mirror. Looking back at him, he handed her the small disc. Taking it and seeing the hole in the middle, she aligned it with the small cylinder that stood up. Hearing a small click, he motioned her to close it.
After doing so, the helmet's lights began to flicker again. A whirling sound began as small noises began to emit from it. Looking at him, he took the head gear and looked at her. Patting the bed, she blinked then got on the bed. Sitting on it, he told her to lie down. Doing so, Selbith saw him orient it for where its front aligned with where her face was facing.
"What is it doing?" she asked staring at the inside of the helmet. There was no openings to see out of and it dully glowed inside.
"It is just loading what is on the disc to the helmet...that way you don't need to load it again," he explained then kneeled on the floor. Getting beside her, he placed it on her chest.
"Go ahead and put it on. Once it is fully on, you'll be taken to the gray ambient mist chamber."
"Won't my limbs move here?"
"They won't because of how the helmet and the disc function," he stated.
"...hard to believe..." Ami remarked then grasped the helmet.
Feeling antsy from the last time this was on her head, she carefully put it on. Feeling it full seated, the dull glow occupied her surroundings. Slowly, it started fading away into darkness. Having sensations of blinking a couple of times, she wasn't sure she did or not. Hearing low vibrations, something started to emerge around her.
Standing still and waiting, the ambient environment that she remembered came to her. Feeling less antsy from being familiar with it, floating icons slowly came. Remembering in how to navigate, she became startled when the icons went away. Blinking in surprise, there was a parting in the gray mist in front of her. All the sudden, the E.D.E. title came in front of her.
'...what...is this...?' Selbith thought in wonder. Images from the world occurred showed many things: different stages, people, events, battles, and bosses. Once completed, the imagery went away and showed a screen of some kind. Without doing anything, it faded away until everything became all white. Thinking something foreboding was happening, she cringed from hearing a familiar voice.
[Welcome to Entrenchment: Darkened Eve] the she-devil's voice spoke from everywhere.
'...great...I get to listen to her bleed my ears to death...' Ami thought with a frown.
[This is your first time playing. A new game will be started] she continued. The screen faded out and faded back in. Five pillars rose from the ground ahead of her. Each one of them had titles above them.
[This is the character type selection. Please select which kind of player you would like to be.]
'So this is the creation that Jin was talking about...occupations seem only for battle,' she pondered. Looking at all of them, she started making decisions of which ones she wouldn't choose. About to select the magician type, there was an exclamation point on the gunslinger pillar. Staring at it, a pop up sign showed text.
[Given certain conditions regarding your profile, there is preset data in choosing this character type. By selecting this, you will inherit the essence of a previous gunslinger. This will only occur here once during character type selection. If any others are chosen, you will lose the preset data. If another character is created afterwards, this preset data will not be available.]
'...inherit the essence of a previous gunslinger...' Selbith repeated in her head. Thinking about it, her gut reaction was telling her to select it. Wondering if it was something that she would not like, she remembered that she could create another. Selecting the gunslinger type, Eve spoke again.
[You have selected gunslinger. Are you sure you want this character type?]
"Don't question my answer you wench," Ami retorted and selected the yes option.
[Okay. Gunslinger it is] she continued. The screen blackened out then whiteness came over again.
[This is the character customization where you can create an avatar to your liking. You can either do random, start from scratch, or let the game take your measurements to create an avatar of you.]
Blinking and looking at the selections again, the random and start from scratch sounded very god like. As much as she wanted to explore those options, her sole interest at the moment was to see what was happening inside her realm. Looking at the third option, there was another exclamation point. Staring at it, it stated about preset data and that it only happened once. Selecting it, she felt fuzzy for a few seconds.
Slowly, a silhouette appeared in front of her. The darkness around it faded away to reveal itself. Blinking in shock, the individual was what her human form was as a reaper. Wanting to look around it, the figure turned around as it moved slightly from breathing. The short white hair and crimson eyes were there along with the similar facial and bodily features.
Seeing it only in undergarments, she looked at the option of clothing. Going through the listings, she settled for everything in black: boots, form fitting pants, form fitting crop top, gloves, and a cloak. Satisfied, she selected the the "Done" caption at the bottom of the screen.
[Avatar character creation completed. Before saving and proceeding to the main world, name your character.]
'...Jin used his name for being the Breaker...then I should use the name I am know as...' she thought and entered her name. Selecting "Finished", the pop up sign went away followed by another smaller one.
[...saving...]
'...saving...?' Ami thought blinking in confusion. The she-devil's voice came back with a different tone than before. It sounded similar to the times that she spoke with Jin.
[Welcome Selbith...to Entrenchment: Darkened Eve]
'...disgusting...' she thought cringing her face.