I slowly opened my eyes, my vision blurry at first. As the world came into focus, I realized I was in a dimly lit room, the cold stone floor pressing against my body. My thoughts swirled, unfocused as I tried to remember what happened. Memories of the fight, the pain, and the gunshot that killed the assassin played in my mind.

  “Ugh... where am I?” I groaned, my voice barely above a whisper.

  My head throbbed, and my body felt weak and sore. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through my gut, reminding me of the cost of my nanite’s healing. I winced as I lied back down and stared at the ceiling.

  “Hey there. You’re finally awake.” Bark’s voice sounded hoarse.

  I turned my head and saw him lying on a bed in the same room as me, his body wrapped in bandages. That’s one friend still alive. But, poor Killa.

  “Bark, I’m glad to see you’re alright.” I looked around as my body felt a little less stiff. The room was completely carved out of stone and without any windows. The only way out was a set of metal bars that didn’t look like a door. There was only one bed and Bark was lying in it. The only light that even attempted to illuminate the room came from outside our little cell. Outside where I saw another shaylip sitting with his face pressed against a wooden table and a clay cup next to his head.

  Bark stirred and turned towards me, a weak smile forming on his lips. “Hey, Rina. Yeah, could you warn me when someone is coming to kill you next time?”

  I pushed myself to sit up against the wall across from Bark. “If I had only known he was going to catch up to me that quickly.” I stared at the floor. “You probably figured out I met him before.”

  Bark sat up in the bed. “Right. What happened between you two? Whatever it was, it seemed personal.”

  A wry smile crept across my lips. “It’s as personal as it gets.” There was an uncomfortable silence as I tried to find the words, but found that the simplest words were the best. “He killed me.”

  “Ah, that.” Bark turned his head as he reached a hand to scratch at one of the bandages. “That answers one question, but raises so many more.”

  I sighed. He’s probably understating that. But this time, this time I killed him. I’m not going to die again.

  “So, uh, if you don’t mind me asking…” Bark started talking, but paused as he grabbed the bed with all four hands. “What did you do to him? Why would someone follow you into the Soul Nexus to kill you a second time? And how did you come here after you died? You’re alive, aren’t you?”

  Hey Orange, can you tell me how I died but didn’t really die?

  Insufficient information.

  I rested my head against the stone wall behind me. The chill from the stone helped ease my headache a bit more. “I can’t answer some of your questions.” Bark deflated. “Not because I don’t want to, because I don’t have the answers myself. But what I can tell you is that he was out to kill me because apparently, my existence is a crime. I’m, from what I’ve been told, an artificial soul.”

  Bark grimaced. “That’s a new one. I’ve never heard of an artificial soul. Are you anything like a golem?”

  “You mean like Glimmer?” Bark nodded. I pulled my knees to my chest. “No idea. I have no idea what I am anymore and it scares me. These nanites changed me. I survived being shot so many times and right now there’s not a single mark. That’s something a human can’t possibly do.” I waved my arm towards Bark. “Look at you, you were shot, what five times? And you look like you’re in a tone of pain.”

  Do not fear the change.

  Easy for you to say. You’re not the one changing.

  Bark scratched at the bandages around his waist. “Yeah. No kidding.”

  My voice rose. “And here I am, no pain, no bandages. Just hungry. I mean did you see how much food I ate? That was an entire month of food for me before I came here, and I ate it like it was nothing. And now? I could possibly eat twice as much as that.” I buried my face in my hands. “There is no way I’m human anymore. And if I’m not a human, what am I?”

  As if to punctuate my point, my stomach growled loudly, making me wince.

  Bark chuckled. “Sounds like it.”

  “I know what you are,” a familiar voice called from outside. I turned to see Killa standing with her hands on her hips. There was a warm smile on her face. “You’re a friend and someone who sounds like they need to eat.”

  Standing next to the slime woman was another shaylip. But he looked familiar. Is that who I think it is? “Layith?”

  He smiled. “So you do remember me.”

  Killa pointed to the door. “Do you want to let her out, maybe? I’m sure she can finish the rest of the story and fill in some details you asked about.” She gave me a wink. “So, how hungry are you? Do you need a hand?”

  I groaned as she grabbed her wrist. That’s a terrible pun, yet there’s something endearing about it. It’s weird having all these people notice me. Is this what it’s like for everyone else?

  That was a great question, but right now, there was something more urgent on my mind—I was starving. My stomach made sure to remind me with a comically loud groan. My enhanced regeneration must have taken a toll on my energy reserves. There must be a way for me to see how much energy I have and how quickly I’m using it up.

  Heads Up Display upgrade available: :

  Cost: 20,000 shards

  Error…

  Synthetic Eyes Level 1 upgrade Required.

  Cost: 14,000 Shards.

  Total: 34,000 shards.

  Purchase?

  The blue box hovered in the center of my vision.

  A HUD? Isn’t that convenient? I looked at my shards and saw I had over thirty-four thousand. Uh, that dude was worth a lot. But this is new. My system, it’s suggested an upgrade based on something I want. Hey Orange, can you hear me or read my thoughts?

  Yes. And yes we can suggest augments to the host.

  Good. Because I saw that list and that was way too long to read through them all. Wait, did they just predict what my second question was going to be? I don’t know if that’s good or terrifying since it was correct.

  Purchase?

  The blue boxes flickered again. Right. Uh, yeah, let’s do that display thing and the eyes. That should help in the long run, right?

  My vision flickered momentarily, and I felt a sharp pain behind my eyes.

  “What’s happening?” I clutched my head. The pain only grew more intense as it felt like the back of my eyes was on fire.

  The augmenting process has started. Please be patient as it will take some time.

  But the pain—why the pain?

  I closed my eyes, trying to focus on breathing, but it felt like something was happening inside my skull. The pain intensified, and I gasped as I dropped to my knees. It felt as if my eyes were being pulled from their sockets.

  “No... no!” I screamed. “Why?”

  The synthetic eyes augment replaces your current eyes. The old material must be removed to make room for the new material.

  Something started pushing against my eyelids from inside. My old eyes popped out of their sockets and landed on the ground in front of me. It was like a massive pressure finally popped and most of the pain dissipated into a dull ache. But once I tried to open my eyes, a stinging pain forced them closed. Even through the pain, I noticed that I couldn’t see anything.

  “What have I done?” I stammered. The words were directed more to myself, but the only answer I received was silence.

  But then a whirring sound buzzed in my head. I could feel something happening in my eye sockets, and I could only imagine the nanites were still working. Something pressed against the back of my eyelids as the blackness lightened somewhat until it wasn’t black but dark brown. Then the buzzing stopped. I cautiously opened my eyes, bracing for pain. The pain never came. Instead, I could see and I wish I hadn’t seen my eyes on the floor in front of me.

  Augmenting process complete.

  I stared at them in shock and horror, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. There was only one logical reaction to seeing your severed eyes lying on the ground staring back at you. I screamed. I screamed and I scrambled away from them, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

  Killa slipped between the bars and ran towards me while Bark and Layith stared with their mouths wide open. My back hit the wall and I still tried to push through it, hoping that I could get farther away from my eyes. My eyes? It finally clicked and I stopped screaming. How can I see my eyes? Oh no. What did I do? The question ran through my head repeatedly as I froze. Killa dove and wrapped me in her arms.

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  “Rina.” Killa’s voice tried to hide her panic as she tried to sound calm. But when I didn’t answer, she shook me. “Rina.” She shook me harder. “Rina! What happened? Are you okay? Talk to me.”

  I slowly turned my head to her. “I purchased an upgrade.” The words were flat, as I barely could feel anything outside of my pounding chest. It was like everything was so far away from me. Killa’s hug didn’t feel slimy or cool like the last time I felt her.

  “Rina, you’re in shock right now.” Killa held both sides of my head in her hands.

  “Okay.” I kept staring at her.

  Installing Heads Up Display…

  The blue box covered Killa’s eyes.

  “Just breathe. Concentrate on breathing.” Killa mimicked the motions for breathing. Does she even breathe? She’s talking, so… maybe?

  “How come you can talk?” The question just fell out of my mouth. The blue box floated in my vision even though I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge it.

  Killa gave me a worried look. “Okay, um, well I studied enough vocal cords to imitate one. And after practicing for a few years, I sort of settled on a voice people liked hearing. But I can manipulate it to sound like anyone if I practice.” She seemed to swallow. “Look, I can even sound like you.” I smiled as she mimicked my voice perfectly. “Bark’s voice too,” she said in Bark’s voice.

  “Oh, that’s a cool trick.” I placed my hand on the side of her face.

  “You…” Bark stood up and pointed to me. “You… your eyes just popped out. I’m not an expert on humans, but I’m pretty sure that no one, no species normally does that. Wha-what was that?” He stumbled on his feet as much as he stumbled on his words. I was kind of trying to forget that.

  Installation complete.

  Several bars filled my peripheral vision. One bar that was nearly empty was labeled: energy. Another blue bar was labeled mana and completely filled. Then there was a third bar labeled heart rate. It was more than three-quarters filled and blinking red. That might be bad. My heart was beating so fast it was impossible to count the beats. And still in the bottom corner was my total shard amount which after the upgrade had plummeted down to a paltry seven hundred and fifty-five. Above that it said “Unassigned points: ten.”

  Those bullets hurt. I should put more points into my toughness. Eventually, it won’t hurt anymore, right?

  Once the host’s toughness is greater than the power of any attack, they won’t feel pain, unless the host finds a way to turn off all pain in their brain or removes their nervous system.

  Orange’s suggestions sounded far too unrealistic, even with the current situation. So I thought about my status and saw the sheet appear in front of me. I concentrated on assigning my points and put all ten into toughness.

  Seeing my character sheet was an odd feeling. Oh, I gained a level? Can my entire existence be summed up in this collection of numbers? And Synthetic Eyes Level One? What does that do?

  Synthetic Eyes Level 1:

  The host’s natural eyes have been replaced with advanced metallic replicas. These synthetic eyes are equipped with unique state-of-the-art sensors and optics. They will provide the host with heightened visual acuity and clarity. Additionally, these synthetic eyes offer improved night vision.

  Stat bonus: +5 Quickness.

  Synthetic Eyes Level 2 upgrade available:

  Cost: 28,000 Shards

  Insufficient Funds.

  HUD (Heads-up Display):

  The host’s vision will be supplemented with useful and relevant information such as energy levels, mana levels, and other information the host desires at any given moment. The bars reflect the host’s natural limits and can be exceeded.

  Stat bonus: +5 Arcane.

  No upgrade available.

  Wow. It’s nice to see what these augments do in detail. Can you show me what an augment is going to do before I choose it?

  No. Some augments have secondary choices and we can’t display all possible choices. We can answer the host’s questions within the given restrictions.

  And those restrictions are?

  We can’t tell you.

  Why not?

  We can’t tell you.

  “Rina?” Bark waved his hand behind the blue boxes. “Are you there, Rina?”

  I shook my head and focused on removing all the messages from Orange. “Right. Sorry. Uh, what was the question?”

  “That!” Bark pointed back at my eyes. “What was that? And what’s up with your eyes? They look different.”

  I blinked and looked back at my natural eyes which were still lying on the ground halfway across the room. The details were surprisingly crisp, considering the distance and the dim lighting. I could see the intricate patterns of my brown irises and even the faint reflections of Bark pointing at them on the surface of them. The unnerving sight sent a chill down my spine.

  I slammed my eyes shut and turned my head towards Killa.

  “Rina, what upgrade?” Killa asked softly. “Can you tell us?”

  I kept my eyes shut but the heads-up display continued to show and now there was a red outline around my energy bar. “Listen, I’ll tell you, but I really need to eat. Like, now.”

  I opened my eyes to see Killa pull off her hand and offer it to me as she regrew another one. My stomach growled as I grimaced at the thought. “Is there anything else close? I’m sorry, Killa, but eating a piece of you just doesn’t sit well with me.”

  Everyone turned to Layith. He threw up his arms. “There’s nothing to eat here. And the closest food vendor is about four blocks down.”

  I chewed the inside of my cheek as I grabbed the hand. “Just pick up enough food for, uh, I don’t know, six people for now.” I ripped off a finger and handed the rest of her hand back. “I’ll pay you back after you get back. And Killa, I’ll just take this just to keep myself from passing out, okay?”

  The look of disappointment on Killa’s face left a pit in my stomach. “I don’t see the problem. If I needed to eat a piece of you, I’d do it without hesitating. You’d regenerate it. What’s wrong with eating a piece of me?”

  I stared at the finger. “It looks just so human. Where I’m from, eating humans is wrong and people can get sick from it. It’s a sign of true desperation. A part of me doesn’t ever want to believe that I’m in that situation.”

  Layith had left the area and it also looked like the other stranger went with him.

  Killa’s eyes widened. “So, if it didn’t look like a finger, you’d eat it?” She also shoved her hand into her arm and it seamlessly melded into her arm as if it never existed.

  “It’d help, probably,” I said hesitantly.

  “What do you want then?” Killa’s smile widened inhumanly wide.

  My mind sputtered to a halt. The first food item that came to my mind was, “Snickerdoodle.” Killa and Bark tilted their heads. Ah wait, no. This is like eating meat. I usually like eating meat. So, what would work better, a hotdog? They probably don’t have those here and I’d have to explain it. I snapped my finger. “Oh, I know. A sausage.”

  Killa giggled as she reached for the finger. “That’s easy.” She pulled both ends of the finger and it ballooned out and into a perfect replica of a sausage—a green jello sausage. “Now, eat up.”

  It doesn’t look like a finger now. But a jello sausage just still kind of looks wrong on some level. But, I’m supposed to go insane. Just let it go, Rina. In the end, green eggs and ham were good, right? Green sausage should be fine. I closed my eyes and popped the whole thing in. Hoping to speed things up.

  I nearly gagged, but I forced myself to swallow the entire thing whole. It slid down the back of my throat as easily as the first time. There wasn’t even a hint of me choking on it. Either I have no gag reflex anymore, or my throat muscles are stronger. I can’t tell which, and I’m not really in the mood to find out.

  I shuddered as the last of the taste left my mouth. And as I felt a tingling sensation in my stomach I watched as my energy bar filled to a quarter and stopped blinking. Well, That’s frightening. Her guess of the whole hand was accurate. Let’s not tell her that bit of information.

  Killa stood up and offered me a hand. “Better?” I nodded as I took her hand. “Do I really taste that bad?”

  Bark nudged her side. “I told you, you’re an acquired taste. Give her a few days and she’ll come around. Remember, it took me two weeks to tolerate the taste.”

  Killa elbowed him in the gut. “That’s because you don’t like the taste of anything since everything is bland to you unless it tastes bad.”

  Bark grunted and sat back down on the bed. “It’s not my fault I don’t have many taste buds left and I lost my sense of smell.”

  A smile crept on my lips. These two are close friends. It’s like I’m seeing a lover’s quarrel constantly. Killa then turned and gave me a hard glare. “Now, no more dodging. What is an upgrade?”

  I licked my lips. “Uh, the nanites in my body told me that I can purchase upgrades to my body with shards. And I wanted to see if I needed to eat and how much energy they have to heal me.”

  Bark nodded his head. “That’s a smart decision. But, how do you use shards to buy upgrades?”

  I stepped away from Killa. “It’s a part of my system. I don’t know how it works, but as you can see, it does.”

  Bark shot to his feet and grabbed my shoulders with all of his arms. “Your system? Didn’t you get the same system the rest of us got?”

  I tried to squirm out of his grip, but I couldn’t. “I don’t think so. Glimmer didn’t give me one. It was…”

  Do not tell them about Mr. Black. Keep his existence a secret.

  The sudden message from Orange took me by surprise. I didn’t have time to question them, so I went along with it. There had to be a good reason for it. I’ll just ask about it later. “It happened when I was fighting a wererat when the nanites entered my body. Please, I don’t understand it either.”

  We appreciate the host’s discretion. However, we can’t answer why we had to tell you that. It was an irrefusable protocol that was called the moment you could’ve said he was the source of your system.It is possible he doesn’t want you to share that information.

  Okay. But given Killa and Bark’s reactions to it, there must be a good reason for it.

  His hands dropped to his sides. “This’ll complicate things. How can one human be so strange?”

  I stumbled to the wall and drooped my head. I’m the last person to answer that question. There’s something deeper going on. Mr. Black sent me to the Soul Nexus and told me I couldn’t back out after he gave me the nanites and my system. Something tells me Mr. Black has a history with the Soul Nexus.

  I really wish I knew what to do here. Marc was the one who played the video games. He’d know exactly what to do here. Let's just think about this one step at a time. Something about all of this reminds me of one of his favorite genre called RPGs or something. There was a stat bonus for buying the upgrades, and stats make me stronger, faster, and harder to hurt. So maybe if I want to get stronger and survive, maybe I should buy more when I can. But now that I know they change my body, will I want to? Will I still be human? Can I afford to be?

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