Everyone thought that things would be the same after entering the fifth level. Since it was the last level, Dean couldn't help but feel saddened. Tyler would probably die here, and he would have to wait for God knows how many years to meet this guy again.
With these thoughts in mind, he entered the mirror. But just as he went to the other side, he was stunned after seeing the scene before his eyes.
There were a dozen mirrors in front of him, and Tyler was standing frozen at the spot as if he was in a daze. The first mirror showed a scene of Dean's and Tyler's first world. Some even the things that Tyler faced in the previous worlds. And like that, many scenes were currently on the display as if they were pieces from a painting gallery.
But what Tyler was watching in a trance wasn't any of that. His eyes were glued to a little five-year-old kid with silver hair who was pleasantly enjoying a homemade cookie, and beside him, a seven-year-old boy had been sitting and laughing, gazing at this little brother with a hint of interest in his eyes.
Even the clothes they wore were a bit weird—nothing like the modern world. The little kid didn't seem to be wearing anything but a tight silver colored underwear. And the bigger kid had a full sleeves black colored turtleneck shirt. His black hair was scattered all over his face, but he didn't seem to care. He was too enchanted by this little kid.
Dean's pupils shrank after seeing this.
This…
This was the pic from their real world! The higher-ups clearly said that Tyler's memories shouldn't be stimulated. And if that happened, things would probably turn worse!
Dean remembered this pic because he was the bigger kid in that photo, and the younger one eating the cookie was none other than Tyler! And this pic was the first time he had ever met Tyler in the real world!
Dean's heart raced after seeing this familiar pic. He had it framed in his home, but he didn't think he would get to see this here in this world!
Earlier, that song seemed to have stimulated Tyler a little bit, but this pic had made the latter so shocked that he was frozen on the spot.
Just then, a sharp error noise made Dean feel even more irritated. It was his system! He frantically opened his system only to find that there were many notifications on the panel. He opened one, and his face went pale instantly.
[Error...error…
User306 is on standby
User306 is on standby
User306 is on standby...]
Dean didn't have to think twice about who this User306 was! Wasn't that Tyler?!
A string of errors was displayed on his notification, giving him a fright. He instantly opened the message and saw that the higher-ups had sent him a message.
[Respected @#&()vdj,
We urgently request you to abolish this world instantly. Otherwise, you won't be able to see Mr. Tyler's face again. He has received a great threat from this stimulation, and we have no choice but to temporarily remove the rest of his memories to make things easier for him.
Please understand, this is the only way to save him. We urgently request you to be ready for the next world. We would disrupt this world immediately.
PS: Please make sure nothing else stimulates him in the next world. It's an urgent request.
Yours faithfully,
User568]
For the first time in his life, Dean felt the pain of losing someone. He had always felt that he had everything, and nothing could make him feel sad. And he worked hard to achieve his goals.
But this world had stimulated Tyler against his wishes so much so that the latter's memories were going to be blocked again!
Dean couldn't help but feel a tinge of helplessness in his heart. He wanted to save this person, but when fate went against it, he didn't know what else he could do!
It was almost like a deadlock!
No! He couldn't think like that. He had vowed to save that man even at the cost of his life. So he instantly opened the chatbox and typed a reply.
The system went through an upgrade recently, and there was a chatbox at the bottom, which wasn't present before. But this facility was only available for Dean. Tyler was still using an older version.
Dean: "Tell me, what's the probability of saving Tyler after this stimulation?"
The reply came instantly.
Higher Ups: "10%."
Dean glared at the chatbox and typed.
"Wasn't it 50% before?"
Higher Ups: "The risk of being subjected to the memories was so high that the system was about to shut down, but we worked overtime to save Mr. Tyler. But if next time something like this happens, we can't guarantee his safety."
Dean gritted his teeth and took a few deep breaths to control his emotions that were spiraling out of his body. His face was dark, and if there were something in his hand, he would've gripped it so tightly that it would've broken into pieces.
He was both frustrated and anxious. He didn't know what to do!
"Okay, what should I do now?"
Higher Ups: "Please continue to find all the powers Mr. Tyler possessed. We will try to select the worlds that wouldn't have any stimulation or illusory factors like the 'World of mirrors.' Please rest assured that we will continue to take care of the situation here. It was only because he was able to gain 15% of his powers back that we could save him this time.
"But there's a situation we have noticed. Mr. Tyler's memories are sealed temporarily. If he were to gain 50% of his powers, he would regain the memories of the worlds he had been to in this system. But before that, you would have to work hard to keep him away from stimulation."
This time, Dean didn't reply. He looked at the system with dull eyes as a bitter smile formed on his lips.
Tyler, this person had given him both good and bad memories. After returning, he would have to do a hell of a lot of things to make it up to him!
***
Somewhere far away from Dean, Tyler's body rested on the top of the grass. Birds continued to chirp like before, and there was even a sound of river flowing in the background.
But Tyler wasn't awake. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was even as if this person was in a deep sleep.
But after half an hour, he opened his eyes and frowned.
Above him seemed to be...sky?
This place was so peaceful that he could rest here for hours. But if it weren't for his headache, he would've enjoyed this place.
Where was he? What was he doing? And the main question…
Who was he?
Before he could ponder over this, a transparent box appeared, and a word flashed in his mind.
'System.'
So this box was called a system? Tyler frowned and tried to lift his hand only to find his body paralyzed. His brows furrowed even further.
The system seemed to perceive his discomfort. So it automatically turned on and started reading out a message in a robotic tone.
[Respected User306,
We regretfully inform you that your previous memories were locked because of an accident, and you won't be remembering anything.
If you ever try to find out about your memories, your situation would get even worse, and you might die for real. So let us explain to you everything that has happened to you first.]
Then the message explained how Tyler had been transmigrating from one world to another, almost stuck in a loop due to an accident, but someone was sent here to save him.
[Still, despite doing everything, another accident happened all over again, due to which your situation worsened. And that person couldn't save you on time. Due to this, we had to reluctantly lock your memories keep you away from stimulation.]
Stimulation? Memories?
Tyler felt that things were about serious, and he curbed the curiosity in his heart.
[We're warning you, please don't try to go after your memories. After that person has fulfilled his duties in this transmigration system, you will eventually remember everything. But until then, please trust him and don't remember anything.
Your roles in these worlds will be of a villain, but it's not critical to follow the character settings. You just have to remember to make sure that the arcs go forward smoothly. Otherwise, another accident might occur to make things even more difficult.
We really hope you will understand.
Yours faithfully,
User568]
Despite not having memories, Tyler still had basic knowledge saved in his subconscious mind. For example, he could understand English quickly and knew how the world was supposed to work.
It was just that he was skeptical.
Should he trust these words or not?
It seemed that the person who came to save him wasn't able to save him on time. Tyler clearly didn't want to doubt him, but he still couldn't help but wonder about something.
How did that accident occur? Was that person involved?
If yes, he might have to stay away from that person.
But if he stayed away from that person, would he still be able to find out what exactly happened to him?
Tyler, who had become as naive as a little kid, still could deduce things. He knew he shouldn't trust anyone just because someone said so. But he shouldn't not trust anyone because of his prejudices.
So he decided to follow the system. He was paralyzed anyway. So it was better to see what had happened, and then he would plan his future.
So the actions of the person who had come to save him would determine his future.
After thinking of that, his shoulders relaxed, and he closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.