"Ten minutes, huh?" Ezekiel muttered with a sigh as he conjured a rocking chair for him and Artemis since that is how long it would take for the system to complete the command.
"Yup, so what's the plan, Master?" Artemis asked with interest as he sat down across from him.
"Live to see tomorrow or at least die trying," He replied with a smile before sighing as a frown graced his face, "For if I die everything else dies with me and that is something, I can't let happen anytime soon or else Elizabeth wins and that means the end of civilization as we know it. Considering while the races of the Cosmos won't be dead, what's the point of living if everything you think, say, and do is controlled by someone?"
"Is that honestly a bad outcome, Master; for what does it mean to be a sheep, if all your needs are taken care of by a benevolent yet jealous God?" Artemis asked with a hoarse voice as there was a price to pay to initiate such a command.
Which resulted in his situation worsening following the drastic reduction in his reserves. That has fallen to a measle 0.5 after using 3.5ths to conduct Ezekiel's order.
"So, she's got to you too, huh?" He asked with a sigh of disappointment but then again to some, it's better to be a slave than a freeman, especially for a race that functions based on calculations rather than emotions like humans.
"No, but sometimes... I wonder if this is the best option for us, Ezekiel."
"It is Artemis, for why would I allow my sister to become a Quasi Supreme Sovereign at the cost of everyone's free will?!" He replied before shaking his head in disbelief at how things turned out in the end, "Overall, sometimes it's better to be a fool than a wise man, Artemis."
"Maybe, but still why go through all this when we could have prevented all this from happening?" Artemis had to ask before he never got the chance to as the timer slowly approached zero.
"… sadly, our reunion has been cut short, my friend. So watch over Rin for me and don't allow him to make the same mistakes as I, my dear-" Ezekiel said with a smile as his soul shattered and turned into particles that were absorbed by Artemis.
"Will do, sir! But still, why go through all this trouble in the first place, when you had the chance back then to eliminate the threat before it could bud?" Artemis wondered just as he remembered something the first warden of Cell Zero used to say, 'Don't you know the saying to kill a problem, you must first eliminate all its roots before new fruits sprout and more trouble heads your way?!'
Before everything went black...
***
Simultaneously as Artemis went offline, one system notification after another went off...
[Command Override - XLV10 - Code: [Reconfigure/Assimilate/Reboot] Initiated}
[System Reconfiguration Initiated! - 0%...25%...50%...75%...100% - Complete!]
[System Assimilation of Unknown Specimen Initiated! - 0%...25%...50%...75%...100% - Complete!]
[System Reboot Initiated! - 0%...25%...50%...75%...100% - Complete!]
[System Wipe Commencing! - 0%...25%...50%...75%...100% - Complete!]
[Old System Deleted Due to Error!]
[New System Installation Commencing! - 0%...20%...40%...60%...80%...100% - Complete!]
[How may I be of assistance Master Rin? Also, you may refer to me as Artemis, or Genesis for short.]
'Umm... okay, now this is unexpected, but anywho Artemis do you know how I can get out of this situation and retain my previous cultivation?' Rin asked as with how things were looking, he feared that he might die before he could even get a sip of water.
[Yes, however, it might be a bit painful, Master Rin so please do not lose consciousness later. Oh, and shall I eliminate all current threats to your safety before I begin the procedure to repair your soul and meridian, Master Rin?]
Artemis asked upon gaining back control of the system and using it to scan Rin's vicinity, however, before Rin could respond Noctis beat him to the punch.
"Morpheus while I respect you don't push my buttons for what does my existent or nonexistent relationship with Rin have to do with you? When you already asked everything, you wanted to know also are you unaware of the saying, 'that you shouldn't bite off more than you can chew'?" Noctis shouted as he stood up and glared at Morpheus with unconcealed rage and hostility causing Charlie to shake his head as he signed at the fight about to occur.
Following Morpheus's urge to seek death, nevertheless while concerning, Shadow's health was more important than trying to calm his Master down.
"Relax, Shadow everything's going to be alright just think happy thoughts and breathe as this will all be soon over," Charlie muttered as he petted Shadow while watching his Master and the Dream King argue back and forth like kids.
"Come on guys there's no reason to get so rowdy, so why don't we sit down and-" Dime said as this was starting to get out of hand.
"Shut up!" Both Morpheus and Noctis replied as they glanced at Dime.
"While true I think my strength could allow me to take a few more bites, plus who's to say you don't have a connection to Rin? Since the way you were acting earlier, I would think you knew something about him that we didn't Noctis."
"Tsk, at the end of the day, those are just speculations, Morpheus. So unless you have concrete evidence to prove my association, I think we're about done here, right Rin?" Noctis smirked.
"Yup," I replied unconsciously even though my mind was elsewhere, 'Hey, Artemis what would happen, if I agreed to you eliminating all current threats?'
[Nothing seriously just the destruction of Dreamworld, Master Rin.]
"What?!" I shouted with shock as surely what Artemis said couldn't be true.
[Relax Master Rin as while possible sadly you have yet to upgrade the system or achieve 100 merits to make such an option feasible. However, considering our predicament it would be in your best interest to take such an option than escaping with Simon to ensure your safety.]
'Whose Simon?'
[Sigh, there is still much you do not know, Rin... welp, for now, I cannot tell you. However, if we manage to survive whatever questions you may have, I will try my best to answer them without garnishing the attention of my brothers and sisters.]
'Hmm, well then Artemis, I'll hold you to that; for something tells me, I won't be dying anytime soon, so get ready to spill some tea, pal.'