Somewhere…
In a vast expanse of darkness, a small red light keeps blinking.
For who knows how long, the red light kept on going. One time, three times, a million times.
After a while, clouds of smoke began to rise up on the black ground. The blinking red light turned solid as it continuously remained red.
The clouds that were slow forming suddenly turned into a neon blue light that lighted up the space. Shiny silver glinted into the long horizon of the space. The new neon blue lights suddenly sunk to the ground, dyeing the ground in its emission.
From the red light, the blue neon liked streaked in a straight line. After it reached a certain distance, the line split, moving in three directions. Soon the forked lines began to fork and spread again until the ground looked like a neon tree.
Then, the stretch stopped. At the endpoints of the neon lights were green. Some were flashing, some were simply lit, and some were erratic as if turned off and on at random.
Oddly enough, one of the lights that were actually farther away from the red light turned white.
The red light that was on the root of the neon tree suddenly turned yellow.
Shiny black cylindrical objects began to sprout from the ground. Some were formed multiple in a row, some were solo, some were big, some were smaller than the other. The only similarity was that each of the objects directly sprouted from the blue neon light. The neon tree in a silver background now looks like a silver circuit board.
Subsequently, thin curved lines formed an arc with a varying radius with the neon light as the center point. Like a hologram, a wireframe of a tree form.
Then from the root, the yellow light turned green.
The silver world began to shake.
From the ground, the neon light suddenly rose up. The flat branches now turned in varying degrees, making it look like an actual neon tree. Each of the transistor-looking objects became irregular in shape as if they were the fruit of the tree.
The neon light where it was the thickest suddenly formed a dome around the green light on the root. That was when the green light turned blue.
Out of nowhere, from the dark skies, began to rain red liquid. It had the same odor as iron.
Blue neon lights formed a random string of zeros and ones. Then the numbers turned into English characters.
["Weird, how did I know that…"]
After a second, it faded.
The supposedly shapeless light suddenly squirmed. Two tiny tendrils came out on top as it slowly molded itself into the shape of a human head. Then from the neck below, a humanoid body gradually formed. The formed body remained suspended in the air in a 't-pose.'
The red liquid that was similar to blood… No, it was blood. Blood ran the course of the neon tree.
As the blood was being assimilated by the tree, the featureless humanoid body made of light suddenly began to morph. It was as if someone was sculpting a 3D model in ZBrush.
The face, the body, the height, and every single detail turned into someone familiar. It was the dead man who swallowed the crystal.
From the head, the blue light suddenly turned solid and gained the texture of tanned skin. The two tendrils of light that were in the head suddenly shifted downwards and swallowed the ears. Then the tendrils folded upon themselves and assumed the same form as a human ear.
The entire body followed suit. Every single detail had been so similar to the dead man, whether it was the length of the pinky toenail nor the parts of the skin that were slightly darker or lighter.
Besides the weird-looking ears, it looked like the man.
The stiff-looking pose suddenly turned natural. Slowly, the man came down.
Metallic cubes of varying size and rotation extruded from the ground. The cubes fused with each other and actually formed a throne. The descending man slowly landed on the throne in a natural seating position.
[First boot POST successful.]
[Boot drive found… Trex OS.]
[…]
["01110100 01110010 01100101 01111000"]
[…]
["Trex…"]
"I…"
A sound coming from the mouth of the newly formed man reverberated in the empty cold metal world.
"My name…" he paused. Seemingly thinking about the mysteries of the world.
"My name is Trex," Trex opened his eyes as he spoke.
——
The forest.
The man that is now Trex remained on the ground.
Both of his ears were on the ground, rotting as blue tendrils of light replaced it.
"My name is Trex!" he shouted as he opened his eyes. However, the bright light of the sky flashed in his abruptly opened his causing him to groan in pain.
When he tried to move his hand to block the blinding light of the sun, he heard his own voice in his head.
[Battery??? Low???. Going to sleep in 60 seconds.]
[Reorganizing data…]
[Reorganization successful. Tired. Passing out in 58 seconds.]
Right there and then, sensations he has never felt before assaulted his head, nausea, exhaustion, hunger, pain, even backache. It didn't even take Trex a minute and passed out immediately.
——
[Database has been reorganized. Currently detected that the smart mind has given birth to an actual consciousness and is now a living person integrated with the smart mind.]
[Vital signs shows that differences between human of the universe behind the black hole and humans of this world are different. Gather more data.]
[Another point is that ourselves isn't entirely of this world's human either (Referring to the supposed ears). Gather more data.]
Sitting on the throne made of cubes under the neon tree, Trex read up every single bit of text floating around him.
Ever since he passed out, he had been staying in this metallic world that Trex and Trex OS (who Trex simply refers to as OS) simply dubbed as the Metal World.
Afterward, they had begun to research and analyze what had been happening.
Eighty-nine hours had passed, and they had used what was left of Jonathan's memories that were carried into the virtual world before he died.
First of all, the neon tree where his cubic throne lies is now called Vygdrasil. A portmanteau of the word veins where metals like iron can be mined and Yggdrasil, also known as the world tree in fantasy and mythology.
The injection of mana into the smart mind where Jonathan's virtual world resides created a demi universe that exists like a virtual world for Trex and OS, but everything in this world seems to be real. They added this in a new list they formed as 'For further testing.'
Due to the vicious backlash of the mana crystal ingested, not a single memory was left from the man. And while Trex looks the same way in the metal world and the other world, they were actually separate entities. For now, all of his belongings remain in the world they are. This means that due to him still completely out cold in the other world, Trex has no idea who his supposed person is.
Lastly, ever since the smart mind went into hibernation, 276 years had passed. By the year 132, the smart mind was introduced to foreign energy and began its unceasing upgrade. By the year 275, the smart mind reached its software limits and slowly developed a consciousness that is now Trex, which was based on Trex OS and Jonathan's remnants.
"I'm ready," Trex stated.
[" This would be painful, even here in metal world. Are you sure?"] OS asked coolly, like the heartless computer it actually is.
"Yes, even if it changes my personality," Trex answered with determination.
[…]
[Copying Jonathan Stefri - Persona]
The white light that is now on the highest point of the tree started to glow. Streaks of white light suddenly flowed in the neon trunk of the Vygdrasil. Trex, who was sitting on the throne of cubes, had his skin transform from material skin into the blue light. Trex and OS found out that this was actually Trex's true form.
Like a thumb drive, Trex connected himself to the throne. The white streaks of light at once flowed inside him.
From afar, the entire circumstance has been really quiet.
Yet, inwardly for Trex, a pain far worse than the man whose face he's taken experienced coursed through him.