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A heavy silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of the hat hitting the ground. Jin's hand froze mid-air, while Michael clung to the edge of the coat, as if time itself had stopped at that moment.
The image etched in their minds of Arthur was that of a "desperate survivor"—a frail boy covered in bruises, his eyes reflecting a perpetual sense of brokenness as he fought the world for his sister.
But the figure standing before them now… was something entirely different.
It wasn't just a change in appearance. His once-pale skin had become as clear as carved ivory, and his jawline sharpened with the severity of a king's. But the most startling change was in his eyes—they were no longer the fearful eyes they remembered, but molten pools of gold, holding a gaze as sharp as a blade's edge, the look of someone who had long been the hunter, not the prey.
"A-Arthur?" Karen stammered, her voice trembling as she took a step back—not out of shyness, but fear. "Is… is that really you?"
The lizard laughed deep within Arthur's mind, its tone laced with sarcasm:
(Wow, look at them. They're not staring at you in admiration—they're terrified. This is your first taste of it, partner. Excessive beauty paired with power breeds fear in the weak.)
Arthur ignored his creature's whispers, a pang of guilt piercing him. He realized the distance between himself and his "humanity" had grown wider. He tried to lighten the mood, scratching the back of his head with a forced smile:
"I know, the change is drastic… Training with my master was… more like a complete reconstruction."
He wasn't entirely lying, but he wasn't telling the whole truth either. (Remember Roselyn torturing him in the name of training)
The specialist stepped forward, his gaze not carrying the superficial awe Jin had shown, but a sharp, analytical, and suspicious look. He slowly adjusted his glasses and spoke in a calm voice heavy with experience:
"Mana alters the body, that's true. But what I see isn't just training…" He fixed his eyes on Arthur's, as if trying to read his soul. "This looks like a lineage evolution. As if something inside you has awakened and rewritten your very DNA."
Tension hung in the air. "Has he discovered something?"
(This man is dangerous…)
(Author: Only? Man, at least say why he's dangerous.)
Arthur wanted to ask more about his creature's vague words, but Michael interrupted his thoughts with a firm slap on his shoulder, despite feeling the steel-like hardness of the muscles beneath his hand:
"It doesn't matter if it's magic, training, or a miracle. The important thing is you're back—strong. The old Arthur was trampled because he was weak, but this version… I don't think anyone would dare breathe in his presence."
Arthur smiled, this time genuinely. Acceptance… that was what he needed.
Karen broke the moment, her voice suddenly serious: "Speaking of your return… there's something you need to know. Layla… she woke up."
Arthur froze. The air stopped in his lungs. Since his system had shut down, he had lived in an information void. Could it be true? Mana corruption consumed the mind before the body—how was this possible?
"My sister… woke up? Really?"
"Yes, miraculously," the specialist continued. "Her condition is stable. We moved her to the private wing thanks to the funds you sent."
Arthur's expression shifted from cold authority to the urgency of a lost child. "I want to see her. Now."
The specialist nodded. "Of course. Jin, take him to Room 402." As Arthur turned to leave, the doctor added, "After you see her, I need you in my office… It's about your sister."
Arthur simply nodded, not speaking, his mind consumed by only one thought: seeing his sister.
---
(Author: Do you think it's an exaggeration to make Arthur love his sister this much, or is it normal? And by this I mean brotherly love and nothing inappropriate.)
---
The corridor leading to Room 402 felt like the longest path Arthur had ever walked. The lizard, usually never silent, kept a sacred quiet, as if sensing the storm gathering on the horizon of Arthur's mind.
Jin stopped at the door: "She's inside. Remember, Arthur—she might not recognize you right away… You've changed."
Arthur opened the door.
The scent of disinfectant mixed with the lavender flowers Layla loved filled his nose. On the bed, amidst a pile of white sheets, lay a small girl. She looked fragile, like a shattered perfume bottle.
(She is approximately 14 years old.)
She was gazing out the window, but at the sound of the door, she turned slowly.
Her pale golden eyes widened. The book she held slipped from her trembling hand.
A moment of silence passed as she studied his new, unfamiliar, imposing face.
Arthur feared she wouldn't recognize him. That she would scream for help at this stranger.
But her trembling lips formed a single word, not from sight, but from the soul:
"B-Brother?..."
(Author: Really, how did you know?)
That word… was like a hammer shattering a massive dam inside Arthur's mind.
In that second, Arthur was no longer the "transmigrator" from another world. In that second, emotions intertwined—a torrent of love, a searing pain, and memories not his own began to flood in like a deluge. Memories of the original Arthur feeding her, shielding her from the rain, promising he would return.
"Ughhh!"
Arthur suddenly dropped to his knees, clutching his head as if his skull were splitting in two. It wasn't a headache… it was war.
"Arthur!" Jin shouted, rushing toward him.
"Brother!" Layla tried to crawl from her bed, ignoring her weak body.
Arthur felt something hot streaming from his left eye. It wasn't tears. It was blood. The world was tinted in a deep, violent red, and a terrifying screech like grinding metal filled his ears.
System screens flashed, but they weren't the usual calm blue. They were red, distorted, screaming existential warnings.
[Critical Warning!]
[Detected extreme emotional stimulation!]
[The host's original soul (Arthur) is responding to the trigger!]
Arthur felt another presence fighting for control in his body. Someone screaming, crying, and trying to push "current Arthur" aside to embrace his sister.
(This is my body! This is my sister! Let me go to her!)Arthur heard the voice in his head—not as a thought, but as the real cry of a drowning man.
[Synchronization rate collapsing: 61%... 55%... 49%]
[Original consciousness attempting forced reclamation!]
"Stay away from me!" Arthur roared in a terrifying dual voice—half human, half beast—shoving Jin back with an uncontrolled surge of mana that sent the nurse crashing into the wall.
Blood poured heavily from his left eye, its color shifting from gold to glowing purple, while his right remained golden. His body was a battlefield between two souls.
[Ding!]
[Emergency analysis function restored.]
[Analysis: The remaining consciousness of the original host poses a threat to the "player's" survival. Continued conflict will result in brain destruction.]
Time froze.
Jin's scream hung in the air. Layla's outstretched hand, tears in her eyes, was motionless. Dust settled in the air.
Only Arthur remained, gasping, blood covering half his face, with a pulsing red screen before him posing the cruelest question of his life.
[Proposed solution for survival:]
[Permanently erase the remaining consciousness of "Arthur Gray."]
[Note: Erasure will result in losing all feelings toward "Target: Layla," reducing her to a stranger in your memory.]
[ Do you agree? ]
[ Yes ] --- [ No ]
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Sorry for this short chapter