Chapter 16: Ch56. Comatose - 3 (The system)
"But... Aren’t the systems in webnovels supposed to help the MC evolve into a stronger being?" The younger Kurt innocently asked.
The older Kurt looked at him with pity.
He felt like he was going to cry just by seeing the fifteen year old version of himself in front of him.
’So little difference in age between me and him... And yet... So much time has passed... What could I ever do to change it and just come back to that naivety...?’
"Are you okay, hum... Kurt...?" The younger Kurt approached his older version with sadness in his eyes. "Why do I feel sad all of a sudden?"
"It’ll pass, Kurt... That much I can promise you. But as for your question, don’t be fooled by the stories you read before the accident. We’re not the main characters in a fantasy novel..." The older Kurt gave it a grim pause, rested his chin on his hands, and looked like he had fallen into deep thought, but after a while, he was back on his trail of thought. "Since Octavius gave you the fragment of the disaster, you’re now just one more person, unlucky enough to get entangled with the world of the Wielders, Nests, and the true form and purpose of the Calamity."
The older Kurt sighed, looking almost desperate.
"And as if it weren’t enough, this system is completely different from what you read in the novels, because it has a mind of its own, and even though I haven’t yet figured out what it wants, I can assure you that if you don’t tame the first fragment you have acquired, you’ll only fall to it... Like I did."
"Tame? A system?" It was as if younger Kurt had countless question marks glowing in neon above his head.
"It may look like a system, but it’s something completely different, and it feels like it feeds on its previous hosts. So it’s more like a parasite than a tool for a person’s growth."
Younger Kurt looked at his older version with a confusing mix of feelings in his heart.
And when their eyes met, the same idea crossed their minds.
When younger Kurt raised his hand, the older did the same. The younger Kurt lowered his hand and the older Kurt did the very same at the same time.
And they kept like that for a few moments, raising hands, lowering them, shaking like they were dancing, letting weird noises out of their throats, moving in funny ways.
And when they stopped, both of them couldn’t help but laugh wholeheartedly.
Suddenly, though, their laughter turned into sad, desperate tears.
When they were at that little game of theirs, younger Kurt was able to connect with some parts of his older version’s memories, and they felt so sad, so dark and bitter.
"We... Couldn’t... Save them?"
"No... I couldn’t. But maybe you can... Even though I didn’t want you to have this..." He fondled young Kurt’s dark hair. "I did my best to learn about this system and try to hack into it somehow. Because I knew that the time would come, when another version of me would come to take my place as the rogue I couldn’t become."
"Okay... But if you told me is right, and the system isn’t good, how can I tame it?"
Older Kurt looked and the younger one with sadness.
"By becoming stronger than me." He scoffed. "Which isn’t actually hard, since I wasn’t smart enough to use it in my favor and ended up screwing it all up. Quote majestically, I might say." They both laughed halfheartedly. "But I saw your life until the accident, and I know you can become much stronger than me. Even than Orkas, the Dark Hero."
Younger Kurt’s eyes went wide.
"Orkas? Isn’t he just a myth from the age of Calamity?"
Older Kurt smiled.
"Oh, he’s everything BUT a myth. Unfortunately, though, he’s become a part of this system too. But you’ll meet him, if you do well enough."
Younger Kurt smiled wide, being a fan of the stories from the age of Calamity, and having Orkas as his personal hero.
Knowing that he wasn’t just a myth, and finding a chance to actually meeting him... Younger Kurt beamed with a childish happiness.
"Yeah, that’s right." Older Kurt answered.
"But how do I do it? How can I get stronger?"
Older Kurt looked at his younger self, breathed in deeply, and answered.
"The fragment of Disaster is preparing your body to wake up on the outside world, so we don’t have much time. And you have read enough novels and played enough games to learn how to move, so..." He paused for a moment, summoning one of the [MIDNIGHT SISTERS] and getting into a fighting pose. "We’ll fight until you’ve learned enough of how to move and defend yourself."
***
"What other news do we have, doctor?" The voice on the other side of the dark screen asked, with a voice that sent chills to Dr. Lee’s spine.
The doctor thought for a few seconds, considering whether or not to answer the person’s question on the other side of the screen.
Doctor Lee took a deep breath, regretful, knowing that there was nothing to do but hand over the information she had about Kurt Blake, even if it was still just speculation.
"Kurt Blake is an exceptional young man." She said. "I even thought, for a moment, that he might be suffering from a rare disease, which only a very peculiar and rare type of awakened can suffer from. However, he had not yet awakened, and was not showing signs of going through the process of Awakening, so I can be sure of that..." Doctor Lee paused briefly. "Actually, I think he’s awakening, even though he’s in a coma."
"This means...?" The voice on the other end asked, icy and emotionless.
"That we can be before the one you seek so much... Master..."
"Hum... Interesting." The voice said.
And the way the voice sounded when pronouncing each syllable sent shivers to Dr. Lee’s spine.
