Second Genesis

Grey’s screams curdled blood. It was like a banshee was scraping across the bones of those who heard it, worming into their bodies and shredding them to pieces from the inside out.

Giyoto almost took a step back on instinct, thinking that it was some sort of Ability that Grey had activated. But realizing that it wasn’t a moment later, a solemness couldn’t help but creep onto his face.

What sort of horrible pain could Grey be experiencing that he would resort to such a thing?

That was when Giyoto realized why it was he felt like it might have been an Ability. Grey’s Neural Frame was expanding into a magnetic field around him as though trying to dissipate the pain he was experiencing, but that did nothing but make it all worse.

In fact, Giyoto was starting to feel a prickling at his skin as though Grey was likewise trying to pass off some of the pain toward him. Unfortunately for Grey, Giyoto was far too powerful for that to work.

Much the same way that Grey had failed to melt himself into Esmeralda, he couldn’t even begin to try and commandeer Giyoto’s Neural Frame for his own usage. However...

’How can the Neural Frame of a Proving Class Warrior possibly be so potent?’

Giyoto resisted Grey easily, but this still didn’t make any sense to him.

Grey was definitely a Resonant Type, no doubt about that. But the grade Grey would have to be at to not only be able to project his Neural Frame, but even attempt to snatch someone else’s...

If Grey could hear Giyoto’s thoughts, he would have understood that this was the real reason he had gained the Last Goblin Swordman’s abilities. There were any number of people who could have done the exact same thing he had, been revived, and gained nothing from it at all.

Grey’s Resonant Type was so powerful, though, that he went beyond just being able to extend his Neural Frame into the outside world. If he was faced with an enemy that was weak enough or weakened enough, he could take over their Neural Frames for himself.

Much the same way a flow of electricity formed a magnetic field, he could use his own flow to influence that of another.

’What a powerful child... Unfortunately...’

Grey’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. The foam that bubbled up at his mouth turned crimson and then black, a foul smell rolling down his pant leg as he completely crumbled.

The part that shocked Giyoto the most about this death was that Grey’s movement had long shredded his heart to pieces. And yet it was like something had forcefully kept him alive purely for the sake of forcing him to experience every single ounce of pain it had to offer.

Giyoto shook his head. "This is what happens when you make deals with the devil. In your next life, do not take it upon yourself to believe you are more clever or powerful. The Dark Kin do not take kindly to being betrayed."

The old man didn’t seem to have any idea of the real reason Grey died. As far as he was concerned, this was simply confirmation that Grey was in cahoots with the Dark Kin and that the young man had been lying to him.

And even more unfortunately for Grey... that would begin to influence the next loops as well.

**

A burst of fresh, hot blood rushed out from Grey’s nose as he collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

He curled himself up in a fetal position, his inner organs threatening to shut down.

Pools of sweat soaked his body through, his body trembling. No matter how hard he flexed, or how much he clutched at his legs wishing for it to stop, it seemed to refuse to.

He knew he was wasting time, he knew that he was running out of minutes to spare, but it just wouldn’t stop.

It wasn’t until almost half a dozen minutes had passed that there was the slightest bit of release, small shockwaves of electrical pulses arcing across his skin and even his eyes.

He released a shuddering breath and tried to stand up. But his body reacted as though he had just undergone a full workout, and how could it not? He had just been trapped in an all-out flex for the last several minutes. Even the best body builders had to take pauses on stage between their poses, and yet he had had every muscle fiber completely taut.

—

[Stamina: 1/34]

—

’Fuck.’

This was bad. Grey had a feeling that every loop would only get worse from here on out. He didn’t remember the Genesis System’s punishment being this bad the first time.

But maybe it made sense.

Even the Producers were restricted by what they could do because of the Genesis System, and Prometheus had appeared within the Game itself. Grey didn’t know the whole truth, but what he did guess was that Prometheus was probably under the umbrella of the Genesis Games in some way, shape, or form.

The fact the Fog of Chaos could restrict Prometheus was proof enough.

The first time Grey had broken the rules of the Genesis System, he had experienced the worst death he had ever had until this point—and that was despite the fact one of his deaths was quite literally being burned alive by electrical pulses.

This death was even worse than that one by a mile.

That was when a daunting realization had no choice but to set in.

If Prometheus could only be considered to be under the umbrella of the Genesis Games, it was no wonder the NPCs were receiving echoes of the past and acting differently based on waves of Dejavu they couldn’t quite recall.

From the very beginning, they were the creations, or at least the puppets of the Genesis System.

And that meant one more thing that made everything all the worse for Grey.

The Genesis System remembered.

It remembered that he had died already. It remembered that he had escaped its judgment before.

And it wasn’t happy about it.

If it could get its hands on him, it would make him suffer a death that was worse and worse every time.

And if things reached a point where it took him too long to recover...

’I’ll die endlessly until I decide I can’t handle it anymore.’

No, it was worse than that. It might reach a point where he wouldn’t even have the choice to avoid using the Cyber Core and just embrace death.

If he was stuck in a fetal position for long enough, there would come a point where he wouldn’t even be able to use the Cyber Core even if he wanted to.

Grey’s expression sank into darkness.