บท 3: Chapter 3: Black Spark
Another life.
These words suddenly appeared in Aleph's mind. He was about to 'recall' things when an invisible barrier prevented him from doing so. His chest tightened at the thought of those 'memories'.
It was evident. His subconscious was preventing him from recalling these memories. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized this revelation completely.
All of his attention was placed on the sensation flooding his brain.
"...Ah."
Aleph felt as if he had traveled through time. It was the same sensation as when he first woke up. He doesn't feel any kind of pain at all.
In the midst of darkness, a black spark emerged.
Under Aleph's curious eyes, he grasped it…
[Cursed Technique: Ratio]
…and awakened a dormant power.
*****
Everything happened in an instant. Nothing changed in reality. The Chariot-class Honkai Beast remained staring at the 'annoying person' that ran away from it. The boy was extremely strange. He is an 'ordinary human', yet he wielded the power of honkai energy.
The honkai beast merely followed its instincts to exterminate all 'humans'.
It was about to execute the boy when it saw him stand. The boy's eyes didn't contain any light. It remained dull—a sight that somehow penetrated the beast.
It was as if it was facing something other than a human.
His bottomed-out honkai energy was 'refilled' by something as he regained his usual clarity. The wounds on his back were seemingly healed by the negative energy he possessed.
Nevertheless, the beast no longer gave him another chance. It charged straight at the boy, fully intent on destroying his body to pieces.
Just then…
'I… see.'
A line with ten sections appeared in his eyes. A load of information entered his mind. As long as he strikes it at the ratio of seven-to-three…
Aleph no longer hesitated. He dashed straight in front of the charging honkai beast. He no longer held any fear towards it.
A ten-sectioned line appeared on its legs vertically. Aleph eyed the seventh division as he finally knew his target.
Clang-!
Pssshk-!
Before the Chariot could strike at him, its lower torso was cut horizontally. The baseball bat made a dull sound as it struck the seventh division, which evolved into its torso being shredded through by the bat.
It could not completely sever it from the beast, but there was only a few centimeters of muscle connecting the cut portion from the rest of its torso.
Aleph held on and saw it losing balance after he slipped under its torso. He spun his body and struck the remaining connection, striking it the same way as he did earlier.
Clang-!
Psshk-!
The sound of flesh being torn resounded in this street. The Chariot-class Honkai Beast lost its entire lower torso.
As it fell, a long line appeared on its torso. Aleph was positioned in a way that it'll be right in front of him the moment it falls to the ground.
'The end..!'
Bam-!
The moment its torso reached the ground, Aleph jumped towards it. He swung his baseball bat downwards. Its force was the strongest he had gathered up until this moment.
Clang-!
Pssshk-!
The dull sound, akin to a death toll, marked the ending of the play.
[Achievement Unlocked: Cha…]
Thud-!
All the strength disappeared in Aleph's body. He could no longer control his landing spot after he jumped three meters high as he slipped to the ground.
At that moment, he could no longer stand.
"Ugh…"
His consciousness was wiped away like a candle's light.
*****
Aleph Ainsworth.
A student hailing from Chiba Academy. Just like Kevin, he hailed from Europe, and for some reason, decided to enroll in the Far East.
He was unsociable, to say the least. He spent most of his time reading various books, to the point the librarian allowed him to freely borrow any book he likes. His specialization lies farther than simple highschool or even college-level knowledge.
He was someone who studied in the field of robotics.
This was how he was known to his 'friends'.
What they didn't know, however, was the life he lived when he was in Europe. All they knew was him being orphaned years ago.
'I was made an offer… one of humanity's protectors, or so they say. But, from what I could see, their ending didn't seem so optimistic.'
Aleph had a dream. He was writing 'something' in his notebook. It contained some detailed depictions of 'exoskeletons' and 'bipedal mechanized robots'. It was something that he received from the man who offered him a job after attending his second summit.
'Was it the same as my world? No, it might be different. Their alliance is emboldened by external threats, unlike ours…''
He could hear his own voices echo from him. Aleph's memories were blurry at that time, but as he continued fighting these silicon-type beasts, a strange sense of deja vu crept up on him.
It was as if he knew about these beasts himself.
Unfortunately, before he could remember things, the same force that prevented him from recalling his memories acted upon once more.
He was on the verge of recovering his memories when they disappeared into thin air, leaving this one dreamy 'moment' behind.
"This time, it is not against steel, but silicon…''
Aleph's voice was cut off as he woke up from his dream. What greeted his eyes was an unfamiliar white ceiling.
"An unfamiliar ceiling… Strange, did I experience this already?"
When he moved his head, he saw several medical apparatuses beside his bed. An IV solution was placed on his right hand.
All Aleph felt was the lightness of his body. He didn't feel the same thing as the people who got hospitalized. He could feel his body being filled with energy.
Just then, lines of words popped in his mind.
[Cursed Energy (Converted): 120]
[Cursed Technique: Ratio]
Two lines of text appeared in his vision. It was the projection of the thoughts that appeared on his mind.
'A man. Those voices. The disrupted lines… That… my own words.''
Each time he recalled those memories, he felt a chill to his spine. It was as if he was 'remembering' things yet he couldn't. It was the same feeling as recalling your dreams before completely forgetting them.
'My world… Why did I say that? Those memories are not peaceful too…'
He closed his eyes as he thought of the 'semblances' he saw during his fight against the huge beast. It was as if he was fighting against a huge robot. Apart from that, he could not recall anything else.
'Trauma… Did I have that? It might explain my wording…'
Aleph was no longer ignorant of things. In his memories, there was a concept known as "cliches". These are the familiar scenarios used in storytelling.
'It's either I lived a double identity… or I came from another world.'
The sound of the door opening cut off his thoughts. What greeted him was a man in black coat.
"I hope you find yourself in a good state, Doctor Ainsworth."
"Hey… I am a doctor now?"
"Yes. You provided a huge help when it comes to several robotics projects. You might not remember it now, but your actions benefited humanity as a whole."
Aleph had an intuition that he would proceed to another matter altogether.
"We are currently in a hospital on the Mu Continent. Your injuries were grievous enough, but we were not able to deal with your amnesia."
"I flew several continents?"
He was left wondering:
'Just what the hell happened to me?!'
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