-l;.This was messed up.
So messed up.
I stared at the watch on my wrist. My horror only deepened.
"A Metawatch?" I muttered, stunned.
It glowed red.
And red only meant one thing: Fugitive.
How did I know that? I couldn't tell. I'd seen it before—somewhere. Somehow. The memory danced just out of reach.
But I knew what it meant.
The problem? I couldn't remember why.
"Huh?"
And just like that—
Just like that—I spun and started running.
Except—
I wasn't the one running.
"What the hell? Who is doing this?!"
FUCK!
WHAT SORT OF INCOMPETENT BASTARD REINCARNATED ME?!
Now I was sharing a body with—what? Whoever the hell was moving it now?!
"STOP RUNNING! I SAID STOP! FUCK! I SAID—"
Thud.
I collapsed. Just like that.
My body shut down, as if someone yanked the plug.
What was happening?
Was I… sharing this body?
"Hey... Can you hear me?" I asked aloud.
"No."
"Okay..."
…
WAIT.
"HEY! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
"Me."
"Huh?"
"I am me."
"What are you?"
"A person?"
"OH, CAN YOU JUST GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER?!"
"I am… the system."
"What...?"
"It's complicated."
My lips were literally moving to speak for both of us.
"You're the system. Then why the hell are you inside my body?"
"…Connection error caused a glitch and… yeah, I have partial control over your body."
"I don't want that! Go get your own damn body!"
What if this freak decided to erase me entirely and keep it?!
"I would if I could. You think I like being trapped in a shell like you idiotic slaves?"
I scowled. "Real sweet. Coming from my system."
I gritted my teeth. "If you're not the slave here, then I don't get what the word even means."
"Yeah. You humans never do. Let me ask you—are you a slave to the tree that gives you fruit, or is it a slave to you?"
"It's obvious," I muttered. I didn't even try to answer straight.
"Perspective. That's what you lack. You see only what you want to see. Trees aren't the slaves—you are. You feed them. You water them. You provide nutrients like a servant grooming a young master. And when you die? You still feed them. You think you're growing the tree, but it's growing you—to harvest you when you're ripe. You're no better than chickens or goats you pretend to be superior to. You're nutrients. You breathe their waste, and give them food in return."
"...You're a psycho. A full-blown one."
Who the hell thinks like that?!
"Exactly why I hate beings from the lower world—ignorant and self-absorbed."
"Really classy talk from a malfunctioning assistant built to serve."
"Do you even know what systems are?"
"Slaves?"
"If you say 'slave' again, I swear—"
"Slave."
"..."
Suddenly, I stood up.
I spun—
And started running again.
"WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FUCKER?! STOP CONTROLLING MY BODY!"
I tried to resist. We tripped.
"ARGH—CRAP!"
My body slammed into the ground, face-first. My nose hit so hard, it started bleeding.
"You feel that? Pain. That's the difference between you and what you call a slave. You suffer. I don't."
Wait.
He doesn't feel pain?
Oh God.
[DING!]
[CONNECTION ESTABLISHED]
I blinked. "What the—?"
But he spoke first, hijacking my voice.
"Yes, finally. Activate system alteration protocol. Get me out of this bastard."
…
You know what?
Maybe he's right.
Now that I think about it—I was flung into this world with no reason, no explanation. Tied to a body. Maybe I am just a pawn.
But what are systems, then?
What a systems to pawns?
[Protocol activated]
[Access denied]
"What?! I'm an admin!"
[Access denied]
[Consciousness cannot access system admin privileges]
"NO!"
[Running scan…]
[Two consciousnesses detected]
"No, you dumb algorithm—I'M YOUR MASTER!"
[Activating system protocol...]
[Establishing algorithm for multi-soul scenario…]
"No, no, no, no—NO!"
His scream cracked. A cry. A lament.
Crap.
What's happening?!
[DING!]
[Establishing system control…]
[Consciousness: Ethan – 65% | ??? – 35%]
And then—
I sat up.
....
A/N- Last chance, add to Library