The chanical eye stared at Brand. Its huge red lens was pulsating with eerie light, as if calculating and making judgnt.
"Why?" A rhythmic voice erged from the chanical eye.
"I’ve been telling you for hours!!" Brand was chained in the air, struggling for breath. Yet, the chanical eye in front of him asked the sa question repeatedly.
His limbs were pierced and chained to the chamber floor. Each chain sent a shivering pain through him, holding him in place, fixed in the center of the room.
On his left, a small spherical robot hovered, scanning him up and down repeatedly.
At first, he counted each ti it made a complete loop over his body. After a hundred, he lost track. It was hypnotizing, and he felt his mind drifting into sleep.
The worst part was that his consciousness remained open. The pain kept him awake, and his mind was breaking. The only thing that kept his sanity was his family.
He swore to return to his family, mories of his mother and sister flashing through his mind.
"Why are you able to enter this chamber?" The chanical eye asked once more.
Brand looked at the giant chanical eye in front of him. He could feel his mind being torn apart by its gaze.
It was so oppressive that it felt as if he was no longer in this world. The sight made Brand wonder if even looking at it was a sin.
"My answer will still be the sa." Brand’s voice was firm as he replied. "I stumbled in here by accident while on a field trip, researching ancient ruins."
The tiny robot rolled up to him and scanned him again. Now, anger boiled within him.
’Even the tiny robot made fun of ...’
’Is this all illusion?’
"Enough!" he spat at the tiny robot, rage boiling in his voice.
He could only express his anger at the tiny robot, as the presence of the chanical eye was too suffocating. Even looking at it felt like his soul would be dragged out.
The chanical eye lingered on him before the sound of unlocking chains echoed around him.
Without warning, he was dropped hard to the ground, his left hand twisting at grotesque angles.
He tried to scream, but his blood oozed out at the sa ti, stifling his scream. At this point, he was stripped even of his voice.
The tiny robots kept rotating around him. He could no longer keep it in and snapped. He slapped the little robot, but it was silent. He had grown too weak. He felt like he was monts from death.
His limbs were all tattered with blood and scars. His lungs felt like they were burning with every breath he took. The pain that radiated through his body was indescribable. Yet, he clung to consciousness.
The chanical eye stared at him long before shifting its gaze onto the tiny robot. The little robot vibrated as if it had picked up so signal and rolled back to the giant chanical eye.
Brand slowly stood up, his limbs bent at impossible angles, yet faced the chanical eye with determination.
He stared at the chanical eye, despite the imnse pressure. Blood seeped from his eyes, but he did not care.
Anger.
This was all he felt. This emotion was what supported him, keeping him alive.
"Brand Smith. Male. Age 24. Programr at FromSoft."
He could hear the chanical eye’s voice reciting his information as if reading a resu. Would it continue with his hotown, education, and personal relationships?
However, what ca next was unexpected.
"This chamber has a force field installed." The chanical eye began explaining so alien sci-fi stuff. "It rejects all living organisms, even bacteria."
Brand remained silent as he listened. His heart pounded as he struggled to comprehend the absurdity of it all. It would be believable to him that there would be an alien invasion.
"What you’re speaking of now is at a microscopic level!" He shouted out of frustration.
"Exactly, human."
"Does this make any sense at all?" He asked, dissatisfied with the chanical eye’s reply.
"That’s what I’ve been wondering as well." The chanical eye replied.
Brand found that there was a shift in tone from the chanical eye. Earlier, it was as if it were an interrogation, but now, it sounds... humane?
However, Brand’s eyes soon widened as he processed its words. Then he let out a desperate scream.
"Do you an I’m not a living organism?!" His voice cracked with anger and pain.
’I suffered through all that pain, and it had been just tests?’
"This chamber was not ant to be found by any living organisms," the chanical eye stated bluntly. "Only those with ethereal form could enter."
Brand was caught off guard as the iris of the chanical eye suddenly enlarged. "This ans you can bypass the rules set by this chamber!"
The chanical eye then let out a high-pitched laugh that went on for what felt like an eternity. And when it stopped, Brand’s body started to float in the air.
He tried to resist, but it was hopeless. He desperately put force into his broken limbs.
He needed to move. Even if it was just a slight movent, he needed to move!
Because the sight in front of him was hell incarnate.
Countless tubes radiated from its core and slowly approached him.
Did this bastard want to torture him until the end?
"You will lose consciousness and wake up in a foreign world." The chanical eye spoke to him solemnly, as if bidding farewell. "Don’t fret, little Sera will be coming with you as a guide."
The tiny spherical robot earlier was wiggling, as if greeting him with enthusiasm, as if it were a little puppy.
This was so uncomfortable; so weird spherical robot was acting adorable. It should be a real puppy or angel if it wanted to be cute!
The tiny robot wiggled once again as if nodding.
’Can it read my thoughts?’
But his thoughts no longer stayed with the tiny robot. They were fixated on the giant chanical eye. To be precise, he was looking at tubes that were extending toward his body.
Unable to escape, he watched the tubes pierce his body and let out a voiceless scream. He couldn’t even hear his voice at this point.
But weirdly, he could hear a voice in his head.
[Body reconstruction begins.]
’What does it an by body reconstruction...?’
A strange heat coursed through his veins, followed by an imnse pain as the chanical eye injected sothing into his blood.
Steam began to escape from his skin, and his skin color turned from white to silver. He could hear his broken bones rattling underneath his skin, the fractured fragnts nded back together.
The bizarre events spiraled around him, leaving a haunting sensation.
Before he lost consciousness, he heard one more voice in his mind.
[Installing GHOST on the host.]
A rift opened before him, and he was shoved into it with the chanical eye’s tentacle-looking tubes.
Reviews
All reviews (0)