"We didn't finish him off, because you have a task to complete."
Jax just heard the ignorant man say these few words when he was about to look up and ask the more buoyant man something.
At first, he was so engrossed in taking in everything that happened for the past few minutes, with that still half awake mind of his, that he couldn't comprehend the exact meaning behind the words of the mysterious guy number two.
However, just as his words sink into his brain, came back several questions that almost made his already fuzzy mind even more confused.
How did they even know about it?
If they knew about the task, then didn't that mean they also knew about the system?
"How did you know about that task? Do you guys also know about that system?" Jax immediately asked the questions that came to his mind first.
Yet, before any of the two contradicting specimens could answer him, Jax felt a subtle yet noticeable mental jolt to his subconscious, which was followed by a familiar series of static noises.
It was familiar, because he heard something in the likes of it just a few days back.
However, he didn't feel any confusion like the first time it happened. Contrary to everything, he felt anxious as he didn't want it to be what he was thinking of.
On the other hand, dashing all his hopes to a new low and making his fears come true, the static sounds soon transformed into a coherent voice as it began announcing the reason behind the fuss.
/// SYSTEM REACTIVATION IS SUCCESSFUL ///
/// REBOOTING STARTS IN THREE SECONDS ///
Saying this, the non distinct robotic voice started counting backward from three.
As soon as the word 'one' echoed in his mind, Jax heard Nexus's high pitched voice with a hint of accusatory tone to it.
[YOU INSOLENT HOST! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO YOURSELF? WHAT IF YOU DIED IN THE PROCESS? DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW DANGEROUS IT IS TO ELECTROCUTE ONE'S CENTRAL SYSTEM?]
Nexus started shouting and screaming in its sickly and annoying voice so loudly immediately after it was 'woken up'.
Meanwhile, the subject of its auditory assault was not able to respond to any one of its concerns as he was still busy cursing his sh*t luck for f*cking him up at every chance it got.
He even forgot that he was in the middle of questioning the two fighting machines who just rammed one of the guards of this prison until he was struggling to even breath properly.
On the other hand, the two men in the question stood in front of him silently, as if they were patiently waiting for the young man to deal with whatever that was occupying his mind now.
[Are you even listening to me?]
Nexus finally asked the youth, when it didn't get any response even after ranting like an annoyed old woman for two full minutes.
If it were a human, it would be twisting Jax's ear like a grumpy granny would twist her grandkids' ears whenever they behaved insolently.
However, like the ignorant host he was, Jax didn't respond to it at all as he chose to ignore it altogether.
For him, talking to the two 'deranged humans' clad in the formal suits, seemed much more peaceful and meaningful than bickering with this stupid system about killing people.
[Speaking about the quests, the allocated time of three days is almost up. Do you want to die so badly? Why couldn't you just kill him off?]
Still no response...
[Why are you so stubborn? Isn't it just killing one more person?]
Mental silence...
Jax was preparing to continue his 'chat' with the two deranged humans when the system dropped a bomb that left Jax literally feeling the ground beneath his feet shook for a moment.
[It is not like you are doing it for the first time either. You have killed before, so why not do it again to preserve your own life?]
Nexus said it so casually that Jax couldn't help but question back.
'What do you mean by 'it is not my first time?' And when did I ever kill a person?'
[I meant it in the literal sense. And, my answer is 'yes' to your other question.]
Nexus declared with a hint of righteousness to its trademark kid on high sugar voice.
'I don't believe you. If you are trying to make me follow your lead like a headless chicken, then you can kiss goodbye to those hopes. I'm not falling for them.'
Jax wouldn't back down either. Everything that this system ever spouted was nonsense, so he strongly believed that it was just playing yet another trick of it.
[When did I ever lie to you? You are always accusing me. I only do things with your best interests as my priority.]
Nexus started complaining, like a kid who were being wronged.
'If you are saying the truth, do you have any proofs that could support your claims?'
Finally, Jax could only relent as he chose to play along with it. Moreover, he knew that he wasn't a killer.
On the other hand, Nexus fell silent after Jax asked for the evidences.
However, before Jax could brush it off for its unreliable credibility, it spoke again.
[I don't have any evidences at hand, but I can show you something from the depths of your memories. It might be pain inducing, so bear with me for a moment.]
Saying this, Nexus turned silent again but in the next second, Jax felt a piercing pain in his head that left his entire being reeling back before crouching down on the ground while clutching his head with both hands tightly.
It only lasted for about two seconds, but then a set of blurry yet foreign images flashed in his mind.
He saw one to few corpses, mutilated in gory ways with fresh blood gushing out of them profusely, in each and every single one of the images. The people in those died really gruesome deaths.
But, did he really kill them all?