章 1: Chapter 1: realization and fusion

It took Markus less than 3 miliseconds to process his master's latest order and although Markus could think of multiple reasons why Friendrich would assign him a task of guarding someone, he asked why anyway as to confirm his suspicions while still continuing his blank stare.

"Might I ask why the master would task someone like me who excels at taking lives with the protection of a life?"

Markus had a voice that was cold as if it was frozen and seemingly reverberating from the ground.

The master looked up at Markus's eyes which seemed to have a soulless bleak look to it, the blood red pupils which seems to see through his very nature.

Although Friendrich seemed calm Markus could tell that even he was slightly shaken by Markus's visage, as he was trained excessively in the arts of psychology, mood reading, pulse reading, interrogation and more so even someone as elusive as Friendrich couldn't escape Markus's discerning

With bags under his eyes and Sighing tiredly, the master relented to Markus's questioning.

"Usually I would question why a mere subject has the audacity to question my intentions, but since you're the "queen" on my chessboard I'll make an exception this once and grant knowledge upon your foolish self, you should be honoured"

Acting arrogant, Friendrich began to explain while stroking his beard.

"As you know I am one of the few existences task with the heavy burden of being the many pillars of "Executor" and as such I have been blessed with the gift of the prophesier skill and through those visions I have been given the revelation that the young lady of the Rosewood house will be quite the nuisance in the future that I have been shown, however unlike other people that I have foreseen, this one might turn out to be immensely useful if given the right..."help""

Friendrich explained (bragged) in a high and mighty tone.

"Figures..."

Markus whispered in a low voice so that Friendrich couldn't hear.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir"

(The master is highly dependent on his visions when giving orders after all..)

"Might I ask the name of the person who I will be protecting?"

If Markus could still feel emotions he would be using the word "protecting" in a very sarcastic way as he knew that the master really meant:"supervise and eliminate her when necessary".

"Sophia Darwyn Bella Rosewood, the first and only daughter of marquis Alterra Darwyn Rosewood, she should be exactly your age, the ideal pretence we will use to infiltrate into the Rosewood house is to have you recommended into the Rosewood house as the young lady's exclusive knight and butler under the guise of apprenticeship but as with most missions, you are free to choose your approach and improvise as you see fit as long as you complete the mission"

The master explained the details of the operation.

Unlike most other subjects of the experiment, Markus alone had the exclusive right to complete any mission he is given in whatever method he sees fit and he also doesn't need a supervisor to check on his process this is not only thanks to his almost 100% success rate but a nod to his abnormally high aptitude when compared to other subjects.

"I have no objections"

Analysing the situation from an objective point of view Markus concluded that this approach will save him more than half the time, effort and due process he would have to take normally.

(Wait a minute, Sophia...Sophia Rosewood, that name sounds familiar...haven't I met her somewhere before?)

Suddenly a wave of nostalgia hit the back of Markus's head which should be impossible since he physically can't feel those things.

"Good, then from now on your name will be Markus Silver...."

Still listening to the Master Markus tried to eliminate those unnecessary thoughts that just popped out of nowhere in his head, like how he always did but for some reason this time, the thoughts didn't go away as if the exforia drug had no effect on them...it was like those thoughts were coming from something or *someone* else.

"You will be the heir to the knight house of "Silver" and the only surviving son of Aidan Silver and he will be the one to recommend you as an apprentice personal knight of lady Sophia of house Rosewoo..."

Markus was slowly losing interest in the Master's words as those thoughts that seemed to come from someone else slowly consumed his mind as he lost all resistance, it was much like an itch that he just had to scratch but couldn't.

(Sophia Rosewood...isn't that the name of one of the main protagonists of the game "fires of Valentia"? Also where the h*ll am I? I remember I was having a party to celebrate my graduation from university at Haruki senpai's house, how did I get here?)

(Wait? First of all what's going on? And that old man in front of me, he kinda looks like that one optional boss in the first instalment of the "fires of Valentia" series, what was his name? Friendrich Borrs I think...did I wake up at a "fires of Valentia convention? If so that cosplay is really detailed)

Kazuki Amargiri, recent university graduate who just had his PhD in CAD and hardcore gamer (his favourite title) just woke up and found himself in this strange situation.

"We've had Aidan Silver under our mind control as an unknowing double agent of ours in the empire for a long time now and today we will finally have an excuse to use him"

(Ugh...can this dude shut up!? My head hurts, is he just repeating the same lines Friendrich had in the Markus DLC of the first game? Also why do I feel shorter for some reason?)

Kazuki tried to look around or grab something, anything that could give him an explanation for what the fvck's going on but when he tried to, he realised that he couldn't move his body as if he was not the one in control...at least not yet.

"So he will easily accept me as his son?"

Suddenly a voice said seemingly coming out of Kazuki's mouth.

(What the mother Therese on the hood of a Mercedes Benz? Where did that voice come from? Wait a minute...wasn't that the voice of Markus Silver? One of the most recurring boss/antagonist of the franchise and a fan favorite?)

Since Kazuki was an avid fan of the "fires of Valentia" series so much so that he even did a no HP lost hard mode speed run challenge on all three installments, he could remember things such as the voices of every character in the game like it was carved into his skull.

(Did Markus's voice just come from my mouth? Have I been put into a Markus Silver cosplay with a voice changer while I was asleep? Nonono...even I am not dumb enough to believe something like that, after all nothing in life can be THAT good)

Calming himself down, Kazuki was trying his hardest to analyze the situation calmly and not freak out.

(Since I can't move my body, let's use this time to take it back from the beginning shall we? I was at my best friend Haruki's house to celebrate my graduation from university...I remember eating, drinking and dancing a lot, what else? Oh yeah I remember having my first taste of alcohol and...)

Suddenly at this part Kazuki realized something.

(I got high...okay, gotta admit that was not my proudest moment, oh...I get it now, I must be in the middle of an acid trip, that's why...hehe, so this must be some kind of drug induced vivid dream huh? Gotta say I never thought that I'd love that game so much to the point of dreaming about it)

"Basically yes, from his point of view you will be his prodigal illegimate son that recently returned from living and studying your whole life abroad"

"Well that's makes things easy"

"It's convenient I know, but don't get used to it the more you rely on momentary conveniences the more you'll give in to negligence and negligence is the destroyer of success"

"...I'll keep that in mind"

"Unlike other missions that you have taken so far this one will be a long term one so I suggest you pack up all your equipment and necessities from your private quarters before you go, a carriage will be waiting for you outside"

The conversation outside was not in tandem with Kazuki's thoughts at all.

(Wow, my mind is so addicted to that game that it even perfectly recreated the opening scene to the first game's Markus DLC in my subconscious, even I'm impressed with the level of detail, the similarities are spotless almost to the point where I'm questioning whether this is truly a dream or not...(gasps)!!!...or maybe instead of being in a dream, I've been used to test a new VRMMO technology that has just been developed, with all the things that has been happening in 2020 I wouldn't mind being in my favorite game, after all 2021 is just gonna throw another pandemic at me anyway so I want to at least fulfill my dream of playing "fires of Valentia" in VR before I die)

Kazuki's imagination was going wild with theories on what's happening from being able to witness his favorite game from a first person point of view and from the POV of his personal favorite character no less.

(Only kidding, as if something so good will happen to me of all people)

Kazuki smirked inwardly in self derision.

After all, Kazuki is only an average slightly academically successful university graduate with zero practical skill and even worse concrete worth to society, something that fantastic could never happen to someone like him.

(Well, whatever might as well enjoy this trip while it lasts)

"Well that's it for your mission, now hand over the report of your last mission and get out of my office!"

The master spoke in an authoritative and domineering tone.

"As you wish my master"

Markus respectfully handed over some papers, bowed and retreated from Friendrich's sight.

The moment Markus the left door to Friendrich's office and close the door behind him, he tried to walk back to his room to prepare for the upcoming mission but stopped before he even started.

Kazuki was confused, usually this is where Markus goes back into his private quarters to pack his stuff but suddenly he stopped and stood still for no reason.

(Is the vape wearing off? Hold on a second...)

Suddenly Kazuki realized that he could move his limbs now, or is it more accurate to say, HE was now in control of Markus's body.

Looking at his hands which are now that of a 9 year old assassin and future final boss of "fires of Valentia 2" Kazuki was deep in thought.

(Okay, maybe the "I'm in a VR version of fires of Valentia" theory isn't so far fetched now, unless I'm in a very special type of drug induced vivid dream, the fact that I couldn't move back there was probably because it was a scripted cutscene...so by that logic I'm currently playing the prologue chapters of the Markus DLC...)

Not knowing how to react, Kazuki's train of thought followed what every fan of the game would do.

(OMG!!! Thank you god! For giving me this wonderful chance, I'll make sure to go to the church everyday once I'm done playing this, just....yes!!!! I'm freaking out here! Whoever's plugging me into this thank you so much! I am eternally indebted to you)

Kazuki instantly concluded that he was actually in the game and jumped in excitement, although Markus's blank expression betrayed that mood, if people could see this 9 year old boy right now, regardless of Markus or Kazuki they would think that he must have just hit his head somewhere, luckily there was often no one around in these long hallways that were dyed completely white in this research facility.

(Calm down! I need to focus. Right now, my objective is to go to Markus's private quarters to collect his stuff or else the "timer" function of the game will give me an instant game over, if I remember correctly Markus's quarters are in the left wing of the building...hmm...why isn't there a mini map function? And where's the status screen and settings? I really want to mess with the FOV slider...)

Although like most true gamers Kazuki wanted to test out the game mechanics by doing things like jumping off a high place to see if he takes fall damage, he had to progress the game's story forward since if he dawdled for too long the game would give him a game over, this is the so called "invisible timer" mechanic which took inspiration from the 2011 game "Deus Ex: human revolution" in which if you waste too much time in the starter area before the first mission, the success rate of the mission will drop and the difficulty of said mission will drastically increase.

Fires of Valentia also took many inspiration from popular game series such as"mass effect", "final fantasy", "fire emblem", "doom", "the telltale games" and "god of war" creating it's unique battle system as a balanced combination of hack&slash, shoot em up, turn based strategies and real time battles, which is one of the things that made the game so engaging as the plot, battle, endings (there are canonically 6 possible endings in all three installments) and game environment can be affected by the actions of the player, so no two players will be the same even if they do two play throughs at the same time, place and same conditions making the game almost limitlessly replayable.

And as someone who has 100% all three instalments in the franchise, temporarily held the world record for speed running the hardest secret ending of all 3 games and completed every challenge other gamers on the internet have put out such as "no damage run" or "beat the game with only one character" Kazuki being caught in this situation was like a geek that finally found his true love.

The empty white hallway was foreboding and eerie but Kazuki who is currently on cloud nine and Markus who just can't be expected to care walked through it leisurely.

Sometimes a researcher or two would walk past Markus speaking in hushed tones and avoiding eye contact.

(Wow the designers really outdid themselves this time, the character models are so detailed and artistic, their expressions are almost indistinguishable from real life, it's almost scary)

Kazuki chuckled nervously in his head, while Markus's outward expression remained as robotic as ever as if both things existed only to contradict the other.

(It does make sense lore-wise too in the game Markus was described as an individual who exuded an inescapable sense of ruin, representing the inevitable end of all who crossed him, his expressionless face and creepy voice even caused one of the strongest characters in the game to flinch and that was before he obtained the power to be the 3rd hardest boss in the franchise)

Kazuki's justified the behaviour of the researchers in his head.

(So this is what being feared feels like huh? I will definitely get used to this)

Smirking inwardly, Kazuki continued to control Markus to walk forward, as someone who was bullied for most of his middle and high school life the feeling of being the "big dog" instantly got to his head.

Finally Markus/Kazuki arrived at Markus's room.

It was a room that had a black door with the number "001" written in big red letters.

(It's just like in the game)

When he opened the door, inside was a modest 2m-4m-2m room with a single small bed and a closet which took up most of the room and another door leading to the bathroom.

(Okay usually this is where the game will fade to black and transition to Markus standing in front of the carriage but I guess the VR version requires you to physically pack your stuff, well whatever...this is actually beneficial for me because now since I'm in the room, the "invisible timer" should stop, now let's test out the game mechanic)

Trembling in excitement, kazuki instintively reached into his coat and pulled out a knife.

(The first test: can I damage myself? And if so what does damage actually feel like?)

Using his left hand, which is coincidentally the dominant hand of him, Markus and many other antagonist of "fires of Valentia" Kazuki stabbed the knife into his right palm.

Instead of the usual indicators of damage like flashing red lights on the screen, the health bar appearing and going down and much to the surprise of Kazuki nothing happened.

But what happened next was even more surprising as Kazuki felt the pain of a thin piece of sharp metal assassulting his mind.

(AAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Kazuki screamed at the top of his lungs (at least inwardly) as he lost control causing Markus's body to tumble to the ground with a loud thud!.

(What the fvck! What the actual fvck!!! Why does it feel like I've actually stabbed myself!? Oh wait I did stab myself! But why the fvck does it hurt so much!? Isn't this a game?)

Grasping Markus's right hand in pain, Kazuki wanted to go back to the past and strangle himself for coming up with this idea, as someone who's never been in a fight (not on the winning side at least) his whole life the pain was unbearable.

At that moment something slipped into Kazuki's head seemingly from somewhere or someone else, a line of red colored words moving through his vision like a snake, even while in unbearable pain Kazuki still recognized that this was a chant for an intermediate level blood magic spell called "light regeneration" and he accidentally read the chant in his head.

A red light enveloped Kazuki's/Markus's right palm, causing the knife to be ejected out of his palm as blood that was spilled flowed back and the wound closed causing the knife to fall onto the floor.

(The pain stopped?...but seriously what was that? There is no way in h*ll that was a simulated occurrence, I've spent a lot of time in university studying VR/AR technology and I can say with an absolute certainty that no headset on earth right now Can make people experience what I just did)

At that moment, the horror, the excitement, the reality, everything dawned on kazuki in a single moment making him want to face palm himself for not realizing it sooner considering how he has read about it countless times already.

(These tropes, these cliches, the unbelievable experience right now...don't tell me...I've actually become the Markus Silver in the game?)

At that moment of absolute confusion caused by this recent revelation, something happened as if the requirements for this event have been met.

(AAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!)

"AAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Both Kazuki and Markus screamed out in pain at the same time, marking the first time where this body's thoughts and words were in sync.

Kazuki started experiencing the memories and life of Markus and vice versa, as if both minds are being mixed into one.

The pain seemed to last for eternity as both individuals saw, experienced and felt every single thing the other has been through leading up to this point in time.

And on that day both Kazuki and Markus ceased to exist, and what emerged from their destruction was an amalgamation of both.

The memories, the feelings, the knowledge and skill and the experiences of both had been fused together permanently.

The being that emerged was free from both this world's reason and and the previous's world's reason, finally free from the chains that bounded both individuals, physically and mentally.

Two are now one, a duality now a singularity, two sides of the proverbial coin flipped and uncertainty becomes certainty.

As the first united words came out of the boy's mouth.

""Wait a minute...didn't Markus get killed by Reinhart and Sophia (the main protagonists of the game) in the third game?""

""Oh fvck...""