Chapter 88 - Unknown Power
After taking the call from the person he hired, Adam felt unsettled. Even though he agreed to the method the mercenary suggested, the aspect of shooting a person was hard to swallow. A minor at that. Wondering if he would get a call back before boarding his flight, the attendant at the counter started calling for seating. Following people to the plane and sitting in his aisle seat, no phone call was received. About to call the person for confirmation, he stopped himself.
'...no...I don't want to know what he did to that gamer,' the programmer thought shaking his head. 'He will let me know when the kid is at the local Gamco building...he did it before so I have confidence he'll do it again.'
When the plane started moving, anxiety was starting to eat at him. Assuring himself again that things will go to the plan, his worries waned a little. As the plane took off and leveled out after reaching a certain altitude, he got out his computer. Opening it up and pulling up files he created earlier, he reviewed them. Changing how the initial plan was to what has occurred, the scenario of what he thought did not change.
"...?" Adam said feeling his cell phone vibrate. Pulling it out and seeing it was from his lead programmer back at HQ, he answered it.
"Adam speaking."
[Hi Adam. Rodger here. How did the negotiations go?]
"Not well."
[I see...that is too bad] the programmer stated though seemed he had something else pressing. [I just wanted to report to you that something odd has happened]
"Odd?" Adam repeated with interest.
[One of the monitors detected a new player being created for E.D.E...but it was created at, quote unquote, random]
"...okay...and?"
[This creation was done within one second...and the stats for the avatar are all question marks]
"...that sounds like someone using codes/cheats to mask and max out the character they created. That isn't too much of a big deal unless the gamer is using it for tournaments and such."
[Yes...but...the character created was a hybrid Grim Reaper...with the signature of a demonic parasite character inside of it] Rodger stated in disbelief.
"...!?" Adam flinched with surprised. Shaking his head, he repeated what he heard in his head.
"...a hybrid Grim Reaper...with a demonic parasite character inside of it...did I hear you right?"
[...hold on...I'll send you a screenshot...you should get it through email...I just sent it to you]
"Okay," he said.
Opening up his email, he didn't see the sent message. Refreshing it and waiting a couple of moments, the email from the programmer came through. Double clicking on it, a window popped up. Selecting the image file attached to it, a character menu with a still image of an avatar appeared. Just from the first glance, Adam felt his arm hairs rise a little.
"...what...the hell...is this?" he whispered staring at the image.
At first glance, it looked like a the skeleton demon in a black cloak. However the more he stared at it, there seemed to be an double outline of two individuals in one body. Even the still image of the character produced an optical illusion. One was that of a vile looking reaper. The other was of a pale looking person with crimson colored eyes.
[We don't know at the moment what or who this is. So far, the team has labeled this as an anomaly due to what the demon viruses are doing]
"...I see...that is not good. In terms of containment, what have you guys accomplished against the viruses?"
[...so far...we have repelled the one virus that invaded our system...or it just stopped and went off to something else] Rodger stated then began typing something on his computer. [Overall...we are still working on finding a way to open the realms up]
"...okay...I'm on the flight back to HQ. It will be a couple of hours till I get there. Continue with trying to find a way to open those spaces up."
[Copy that]
"Anything else I should know before we end this call?"
[...yeah...the virus known as Eve...killed Adam the 1st]
"God damn it," Adam muttered then covered his face with his hand.
[Is the...other Adam getting killed a bad thing?] the programmer asked curious.
"...in the schemes of things...he has the power to control all NPCs and AIs in the entire E.D.E. world...so he would have been an asset against the demons. But now that he is dead, we can't use that."
[...so he was a god?]
"No. He would labeled as a creator with a "Command All" skill. He also would have direct access to Heaven and have god's favor in fighting against the viruses."
[Ouch...that is a severe loss then]
"In terms of battling, just a severe loss in battle power."
[Got it...okay...I will keep you updated with any developments. Do you want one of the monitors to track the new character that was created?]
"..." Adam replied with thinking hard about it. Despite the unknown uniqueness and power the avatar would be, it wasn't the Breaker character. Even though he confirmed with himself of his answer, a part of him wanted to the opposite answer.
"Only set up notifications if the person is in a new location. We will leave the person be for now. For all we know, it is just a cheater either having fun or wanting to cause mischief."
[Alright. We'll just mark the character for future review]
"Good. Continue with coding and fixing as much as you can."
[Will do. See you when you get here]
"See you then. Bye," Adam stated ending the call. Sighing to himself, his mind hurt.
[You have reached the voicemail box of-]
'...so he isn't answer his phone...' Renee thought ending the call. Looking at her phone, she opened up text messaging. Sending him a quick statement on the off chance he would respond, she didn't think he would.
'Has he been kidnapped again?' she thought sitting down on her bed. Thinking about, the aspect that there was a shoot out and two people down at the house seemed odd.
'...if assuming the two gunmen were the kidnappers before...then they wouldn't be shooting at each other unless they were in a real heated argument.'
"Wait a minute," the junior said out loud to no one. "At the diner, Jin was the one that first caught on to that stalker who was targeting Selbith...knowing him and the experience he has gone through, he would be more than paranoid."
"I need to map this out," she stated then stood up. Going to her school bag, she got out a binder and a blank piece of paper. Getting a pen, she moved back to her bed and sat down. Thinking about where to start, she began when the sophomore was kidnapped the first time. Going through all the events up to the point of where he is now missing, she went through it.
"...okay...kidnapped when trapped in the game...recovered...Selbith discovery...caretaker position...diner with families...stalker discovery...go home...based on his mom's statements, he was left home alone...gunmen aka kidnappers visit again...one dead, the other knocked out...Jin goes missing," she muttered to herself. Circling the last event, she felt pretty sure that kidnapping was not what happened to the male teen.
'If was a scenario in E.D.E...he would have been the one that killed one and knock the other.'
'But why flee?' Renee thought to herself. 'Where would he go to escape?'
'His mother gave the impression that he doesn't just leave...she also doesn't know where he would go.'
'Which means he either has a hiding spot that no one knows about,' she began writing that down next to the missing event she circled. 'Or went somewhere to do something.'
'Given that he isn't a hiding personality...that would lead to going somewhere to do something.'
'Where would he go to...' Renee thought then trailed off. Blinking and turning her head, she looked at her closet.
"...he wouldn't..." she said out loud staring hard at the sliding doors.
'It is a walking death trap if he puts one on. Especially with all the demons after him and invading.'
'...if he didn't take the one that was Ami's...that would mean he went to get his at the local Gamco building.'
"...no way..." the junior commented while shaking her head. "He wouldn't be that stupid. How would he pull it off with all those people there? He would never get in. That Adam guy would get a notification if Jin tried something that idiotic."
"There is no disguise that he could use unless he dressed up...as one of...the..." Renee trailed off then blinked a couple of times. Picking up her phone, she dialed Mrs. Ainsley's number.
'Just say I am wrong...just say I am wrong...just say I am wrong...' she repeated in her head feeling her insides tense up. After the second ring, the connection was made.
[Hello?] a woman spoke on the other line.
"H-Hi Mrs. Ainsley. It's Renee again...question for you," she started then began to play with a strain of hair. "Is one of the shooters...missing clothes per chance?"
[...you know...when I looked at them, one of them seemed to be only dressed in underclothes. The other was fully dressed...yes officer...yes...]
"...!?" the female teen reacted with suppressing a surprised gasp. "The police are there already?"
[Yes...they are cleaning up what is left. There was another car that was outside the house as well...it was the waiter stalker from this morning]
"...what?...he visited the house as well!?"
[If he did, the police found him out cold in the backseat of his car...a bit on the bizarre and unnerving side]
"I can imagine it is."
[...but, how did you know that one of the men was missing clothes?]
"...I think I know where Jin went to..."
[You do!? Tell me!] Samantha said surprised and relieved. [Anything would help]
"...okay..."
"I must insist I go back to Jin's house mother," Ami stated walking to the front door. Her siblings and parent were walking with her trying to calm her down.
"Dear...there is a crime scene at his place...you won't be able to go inside until it is cleared," Heather tried to reason. However, her oldest daughter reached the front door and opened it with defiance.
"By the time we reach there, the authorities should be gone with the bodies that are there," Selbith stated walking on the stone pathway.
"Sister...how are you so sure that going there will save him?" Rebecca asked curious at her behavior.
"It is not a matter of saving...it is knowing where he will be and meeting him there."
"Does that mean you and Jin are soulmates?" Nicole asked seemingly enthralled with the idea. "You always know where each other are? Even when far far away from each other?"
"...possibly..." Ami stated firmly.
The four reached the steps that lead to the elongated driveway. Sitting at a nearby bench was Derek who happened to be just gazing at the simple garden and landscape. Hearing many heels clicking, he turned his head. Looking at who approached him with a demanding look, it was his eldest daughter. It gave him a flashback of an event long before the accident.
"Father...I beseech you to take me to the Ainsley household," Selbith stated with a controlled and firm tone.
"...oh...and pray tell why our family day should come to an end in the afternoon?"
"Honey...there has been a shooting at Alex's place," Heather stated with a concern tone. It made her husband blink in surprise.
"A shooting?"
"Yes. Two gunmen entered the household when Jin was alone. One of them was killed and the other was knocked out. When Samantha arrived home, she found them, but her son was nowhere to be found."
"How troubling...has she tried calling him?" he asked standing up.
"She has but there is no answer."
"Hmmm," Derek replied. Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked contemplative. Someone took a step closer to him and looked up. It was Ami.
"Father...the longer we wait, the harder it will be for me to find him."
"...how do you know where he is my daughter?"
"That is because she and Jin are soulmates papa!" Nicole stated excited. It made him stare at his youngest child then started to chuckle.
"What should we do dear?" Mrs. Felmort asked still worried. Before he could answer, their rail thin daughter took another step forward. She was now toe to toe with him.
"Father...I propose a deal with you...in exchange for taking me to the Ainsley household," she offered looking antsy.
"A deal?"
"Yes father," she continued then turned around. Looking at her mother and sisters, she gave a tense expression.
"It is an offer...that will be favorable to the...family."
In the grass fields with the two cloning facilities in the distance, a rift opened up in the air. Being the size of a car, one individual came out of it. Landing on the ground hard, the portal closed up as quickly as if appeared. Standing up and using the scythe as a hiking stick, Jin surveyed his surroundings. Seeing only grass in front of him, he turned around to find what he was looking for.
'...heeeeee...seeking the...explicit services...?' his double hissed in his ears.
"..." he grunted with annoyance. Instead of answering, he started walking toward the facilities.
'...tell me...what use will they be...to damnation?' it asked with a curious tone.
'They are not to be used...they are the source of Eve's power and energy,' the sophomore mentioned in his head. 'Destroying the lab that morphed demons into Eve clones put a stop to her being immortal.'
'...that is...only short lived...'
'...if that is true...then being here is meaningless,' Jin thought as he continued. 'Where would be a place that allows power generators to be obtain?'
'...to obtain power for their purpose...only in the realm beneath the morals...'
'...that is what I was afraid of...'
[Jin is where!?] Samantha asked startled.
"...I know it sounds odd...and going back to that place does not sound like what he would do..." Renee began to say feeling her insides tense up.
[...it doesn't...why would he go back there when he shut down that employee that visited earlier? He even stated he had no desire or want to participate in playing again]
"...I know...I was there when he did state that earlier today."
[...is Jin...hiding something?...as in...he has secrets that he has told you...and not me?] Mrs. Ainsley wondered with the sound of stress in her voice.
'I have to calm her down...so far this conversation has only opened a can of worms!' the junior thought clenching her teeth.
"...no...he isn't hiding secrets. If he is, he hasn't told me anything."
[...then...why would he just...run off? That isn't like him]
"...I would only run away if there was too much stress and things I could do nothing about," the female teen mentioned carefully.
[...] Jin's mother stated with a long pause.
"...Mrs. Ainsley?"
[...sorry...I was just...thinking]
"If it helps any...it was only me guessing at where he could be. I honestly do not know where he would go to."
[...I understand...I'm just...a bit edgy from kind of having a repeat] Samantha stated in a defeated tone. [...well...the police are about done here...if you hear anything, let me know as soon as you can. Please?]
"Of course," Renee answered firmly.
[Thanks sweetie...I'll talk to you soon. Bye]
"Bye Mrs. Ainsley," she parted and ended the phone call. Looking at her phone, she shook her head.
'She will be on pulled nerves for a while,' the female teen thought then heard movement. Seeing her bedroom door open a little, her mother stuck her head in.
"Mom?"
"Hey hon," Tiffany greeted and entered the room. "Overheard your phone call with Sammy...sorry."
"...well...what happened kind of hit close to home...especially from having breakfast together."
"Yeah...it's crazy," the woman agreed then sat next to her. "You okay?"
"...yeah...why?"
"..." Tiffany said with a raised eyebrow. "Your boyfriend probably popped one guy and KO'd the other then ran away without saying anything...and your are okay?"
"I am worried about what happened," Renee stated with a stern look. "I'm just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. If I thought in his shoes, where I would be and why would I go there."
"...and you have an idea of where he is?"
"...it is a guess...but that is about it."
"Sammy didn't seem to like what you said."
"...no...she didn't..." her daughter agreed then looked down at the floor. Feeling an arm go around her shoulders, she felt her mother put her head on hers.
"I'd say, do what you feel is right," Tiffany stated in a quiet volume. About to say something else, there was the sound of a door opening and closing in the background. It was followed by the characteristic act of dropping a heavy bag on the ground and a male talking loudly.
"I'm home!"
"The bear finally comes home," her mother stated. Standing up, she cracked her knuckles and clenched her hands into fists. Opening her door, she took one step out before turning toward her.
"Renee...do not call the cops...understand?"
"...!?" the junior replied with a blink in surprise. Staring for a couple of moments, she gave a quick nod.
"...good..." Tiffany commented. Leaving the room, she closed her bedroom door.
'...great...now I have to listen to them fight,' Renee thought grimacing.
Shaking her head, she tried to re-piece together everything. Coming with a conclusion, she got off the bed. Going to her closet, she opened it. Seeing where she put her head gear, the female teen removed all the clothing that was wrapped around it. Picking up, she headed back to her bed.
Sitting down on her mattress, she plugged in the power cord. Feeling a part of her become apprehensive of something lashing out at her, nothing happened for a minute. Deciding that it was now or never, she laid down. Grabbing the helmet and placing it front of her, she looked at the dull glow of the interior lights. Curling her lips inward, she bit down.
'I'll find you first...and make you tell me what is going on and why,' Renee thought while putting the VR set on. Adjusting it so that it was snug and comfortable, she stared at the blackness in front of her. After a few seconds, her eyes did a slow and heavy blink.
Reaching the parking lot of the two facilities, Jin scanned around. Everything looked the same the last time he was here. No cars on the black top. No one patrolling the exterior. Not even cameras on the buildings.
'...do I go in the same like last time...' he thought looking at the taller structure. Blinking, he looked at the smaller one.
'...or do I go in the place I never went into except underground?'
'...why enter...when you can phantom...the place under your feet...'
'I thought I had to be in a Grim Reaper form to do that,' the male teen countered.
'...what makes you think...you are the same...when you left...?'
"..." Jin replied with a small frown. Looking down at the ground, he thought about floating down. Feeling and seeing his feet and ankles sink into the earth without penetrating, a cold chill raged through his spine. So intense, he pulled his legs out and backed up a few feet.
"...what...the hell...was that?" he asked in a tense whisper. A look of apprehension came to his face as he shivered hard.
'...your human self...cannot comprehend...the depths of a reaper...in the world's elements...' his double cackled at him.
"...shut up..." the sophomore replied quietly.
Shaking his head to rid of lasting freeze sensation, he tightened up. Looking down at the ground and concentrating, he started to go through the earth. Battling the bone chilling intensity through his body, he turned to the second building. Gritting his teeth hard, he continued his slow descent through the ground. While traveling at a control pace, he wondered why he didn't feel this when Selbith dragged him through the ground in Pandora's Box.
Ignoring it and focusing solely on what he was doing, the coldness started to hurt. Feeling his fingers and toes start to go numb, he tried to speed up. After a few moments, he passed through something that took him out of the earth. Force breathing through clenched teeth, he slowly floated down to the metal floor. Shivering from the bitter chill he felt, he looked up to see around him.
Recognizing where he was, it was one of the three holding prison cell levels that had the Eve defects. In comparison to last time, the number of clones was heavily reduced. Instead of them looking at him, all of them actually backed away from him. Even the ones he made direct eye contact with shook upon his gaze. Their reactions seemed to make his reaper self pleased and grin cruelly.
'...make an entrance...to the ones below...' it suggested with malice.
'...whatever...' Jin thought and rolled his eyes.
Concentrating again, his lower half began to go through the metal flooring. Oddly, the icy sensation was not as strong as before. Pushing that aside, he felt his feet go through the ceiling of the next level. Continuing and hovering down the ground, the male teen slowly stood up. Looking up with a threatening gaze, he saw the 2nd level holding cell block.
Like last time, it was more Eve clones that engaged in more activities. Some were more explicit and intimate than others; however, all stopped to look at him. His materialization seemed to freeze all of them in place with a small sense of fear. A small number of them just held a defiant gaze, but did not step forward to approach closer. Blinking, all of the clones flinched and took a step back.
'...yyyyeeeessss...fear can be felt...in all living things...even when transformed, the primal instinct still lives...' his double stated with a demonic voice while hissing in the background.
'...you need a new hobby...' the male teen suggested to mask his apprehension.
His vision changed to be black, white, and red when he blinked. For some reason, the perception change accompanied a strong sense of fearlessness, destruction, and power. The feeling of his blood pumping through his veins encapsulated the primal sense of adrenaline and to massacre. Every fiber of his willpower was used to not react to the booming sensations. Hearing the reaper's airy chuckle made him concentrate even harder to not give in.
'...wWwWhHhHyYyY...yOuCaNnOt...ReSiSt...'
'...shut...up...I'm...not...you...' Jin thought starting to shake.
'ThIs MoRtAl FoRm Is uuuusssseeeelllleeessssssss.'
'I...SAID...SHUT...UP...' he angrily told in his mind.
'BrInG tHeM tO...D...A...M...N...A...T...I...O...N...'
"I AM GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR SPINE IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP!" Jin raged out loud.
At the same time, his facial features changed to match how he felt. Without a second thought, the scythe's blade of crimson veins started to leak out fluid. When a couple of drops fell off the blade and hit the floor, a blinding fast sphere of blackness from the impact imploded. Within a couple of seconds, everything in the room was engulfed in the darkness. Slowly, something started to come into view. A gray mist started to converge to the center from the unseen background. The Eve clones at the same time were getting out of their prison cells.
All of them looked around and seemed startled by the environment change. While some were weary of what was going on, others took the opportunity to confront and take over. Turning toward the Grim Reaper in the center of the sphere, they began to walk toward it. When a small number of clones raised their hands and their nails grew out into sharp claws, the crimson glowing eyes of the cloaked demon moved. Seeing the scythe morph itself into something that fitted in the reapers hand, it was in the shape of small gun.
About to mock the demon for using a human weapon, five Eve clones were shot at rapidly. Within a second, all five of them exploded violently. Splattering others near and far, the female demons felt an un-relentless sense of death. The ones that were confronting the monster started backing away. They suddenly stopped feeling a cold metal barrel making contact with the back of their head.
Unlike the first wave of clones that got shot at, the blast from barrels sounded louder and heavier. The upper half of the confronting clones blew off and fell to the floor covered with large holes and gore. Just as the lower halves tumbled to the ground while bleeding out fiercely, the remaining cowering Eve clones let out shouts of terror. Hearing the Grim Reaper giving its traditional hissing phrase, the weapon in its hand morphed back into the scythe. Seeing the cloaked demon reel the weapon back to swing, it did a quick 360 degree horizontal slash.
All clones blinked at the same time and felt lighter. Only able to look down with their eyes, they saw their bodies fall to the floor in slow motion. A trail of blood flowed from their neck to their head even when the rest of them splatted to the ground. The last amount of energy they had was to look up. Their eyes widen feeling absolute horror.
The Reaper's face instantly was nose to nose with them. Feeling overwhelmed and in shock, the glowing crimson eyes showed a half skeletal, half human face with a malicious grin. Hearing it cackle demonically at them, the world around them shook as they quickly went deaf. The last sensation felt was their faces being ripped inside out and the world going dark. As the black sphere that surrounded the room slowly faded away, the sound of someone breathing heavily and wheezing filled the space.