⌜
Year: 2043, Month: October, Day: 11
??? Realm
⌟
⁎⁎⁎
[Activation - Launched]
⋈Warning: Fatal Error⋈
⋈An Unexpected Fatal Error has Occurred⋈
[Dectected: Collateral Damage]
[Records of 'Azathoth' have been severely impacted]
⋈Warning: Grave Error⋈
⋈Records of 'Lumin Blavatsky' have been gravely impacted.⋈
[The Damage between Collateral 'Azathoth' and Target 'Lumin Blavatsky' have been identified as similar in nature]
[Unification of Records between Collateral 'Azathoth' and Target 'Lumin Blavatsky' is possible]
⋈Alert: Due to the severity of the error, Record Unification will be considered Compensation.⋈
⋈Alert: Due to the Severity of Error, 'Azathoth' and 'Lumin Blavatsky' the access to the Interface will be considered Compensation⋈
⋈Initiating: Record Unification⋈
⋈Preparing: Interface⋈
⁎⁎⁎
"Urgh!"
﹝{What happened?}﹞
He wakes, finding himself in a white haze, his body limp as it feels heavy, lifeless. As his senses return, he finds himself in his bathroom, his eyes open and a faint fog covering his field of view.
Feeling only a faint trace of the agony from before, he gets up from the floor. His eyesight is poor, though his sight begins to clear as he blinks at the mirror.
"AAH!"
﹝What the hell!﹞
{Where am I!?}
Hearing another voice in his head, he screams even louder.
"AAH!"
﹝What am I!?﹞
{What is this?!}
Blinking once more, he sees his original body through a mirror. Diffrienting between broken and fixed. Until he blinks once more and sees another. Thinking that this is a dream. Though reality seems to differ for them.
﹝Did I get two bodies?﹞
{What is happening to me?!}
After blinking a few more times and switching perspectives, their eyesight cleared.
﹝Did I get schizophrenic? Why do I see a demon in my reflection? Did I transmigrate?﹞
Lumin questions his sanity, thinking that perhaps he is imagining things. Then he thinks it over, and once again the idea occurs to him that he has been dreaming, or that his eyes have been deceiving him in some subtle manner. before Azathoth questions his own.
{Did I overexert myself?!}
Though Lumin quickly realizes this is not a dream, he begins questioning the voice inside his head as to whether it could be the result of some delusion.
﹝Who are you? Foreign voice in my head?﹞
As Lumin begins questioning the other voice in his head, Azathoth follows along.
{What the! Who are you?!}
Azathoth questions Lumin with tension as if his very life depended on his reply.
﹝I asked first, though my name is Lumin.﹞
{And what are you!?}
﹝Once again, I asked first, though I am human.﹞
Lumin is annoyed that his questions are ignored as Azathoth screeches.
"Human!"
﹝I thought that was pretty obvious, though I presume you are a demon?﹞
Lumin makes a caustic remark to Azathoth's assertion. He stares at the otherworldly creature through the broken mirror with a blank expression and an empty stare. His gaze is dulled by his reflection.
Suddenly, Lumin blinks and sees his bathroom before turning around and heading toward his bedroom, dropping face-first on the bed.
﹝Let us talk when we can see only one perspective. It seems to cause you panic, which will not get us anywhere.﹞
"And who are you to make decisions?!"
Azathoth states aloud before Lumin continues.
﹝Just, take a deep breath.﹞
Azathoth takes a deep breath before Lumin continues.
﹝Now let us talk. For some reason, we can see through each other's eyes and communicate mentally. Am I correct? ﹞
{...yes.}
﹝Do you remember what happened before? ﹞
Azathoth takes a moment, one slow and decadent second of leisure before thinking.
{I was in the bathroom looking at my reflection before I was hit with a world of pain.}
Now it is Lumin's turn to take a moment before thinking.
﹝Somthing similar happened to me, but I had a terrible feeling in my head and had a strange reaction befor-﹞
As Lumin thinks, they are interrupted by a ping in their heads.
[Part 1 of Compensation: Complete]
[Unification of Records between Collateral 'Azathoth' and Target 'Lumin Blavatsky' has been completed]
"What!"
Now it is Lumin's turn to panic as Azathoth questions.
{Did you hear that? What is the Unification of Records?}
Contemplating for a few moments, Lumin thinks.
﹝... So Azathoth is your name, demon. I think we have our reason for what happen-﹞
As Lumin thinks, they are interrupted by another ping in their heads.
[Part 2 of Compensation: Complete]
[Activated: Interface]
﹝Interface?﹞
Before either of the two understood the second message in their heads, Lumin is greeted by a digital panel in front of his face.
⌜
Identity: Lumin Blavatsky
Incarnation: Human
Realm: Material
Titles: Psionic Dreamer, Intertwined
Rank: 1
Status: Normal
---- Stat ---
Health: 10/10
Mana: 5/5
Psionic Energy: 10/10
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 5
Agility: 5
Constitution: 7
Stamina: 6
Intelligence: 19
---- Skills ---
[Passive Skills]
Unidentified Barrier Lv.?
[Active Skills]
[N/A]
⌟
﹝Interesting, it is similar to a gam-﹞
{What is Interface?}
As Lumin thinks, he is interrupted once more by Azathoth and his endless questions. Oblivious to the fact that Lumin is also questioning everything, including his life choices.
Due to Azathoth thinking about the Interface, a digital panel appears before Azathoth, shocking him once more.
⌜
Identity: Azathoth
Incarnation: Demon
Realm: Demonic
Titles: Intertwined
Rank: 1
Status: Injured
---- Stat ---
Health: 16/20
Demonic Energy: 2/20
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 10
Agility: 10
Constitution: 12
Stamina: 17
Intelligence: 8
---- Skills ---
[Passive Skills]
Tenacity Lv. 1
[Active Skills]
[N/A]
⌟
"W-w-what is this sorcery?!"
Azathoth thinks out loud as Lumin sees a tab in the panel with Azathoth's name. He presses on it, and it switches the panel information to Azathoth's. Lumin then goes on to explain.
﹝For starters, this is a digital panel reflecting you. Simple. Right?﹞
Azathoth does not say anything as Lumin continues.
﹝Now, the 'Identity' seems to be our name. While 'Incarnation' is related to our race, or in baby mode, what you are.﹞
Azathoth continues to remain silent even with Lumin's unpleasant remarks, giving Lumin an easier time than before. While doing so, Azathoth takes the opportunity to exit his bathroom and sit on his bed. Listening to Lumin's explanations.
﹝Now I am not sure how 'Titles' work, but relating to lore from history, they are connected to a feat or accomplishment. So it seems that we have 'Intertwined' in common. 'Rank' looks like it is related to a hierarchy, but I am unsure. Now-﹞
Lumin silences himself as he sees his status as 'Injured.' Looking around the panel, he sees a virtual replica of the demon and the light red marks on the body. Thinking to himself that those marks are where his injuries are and the severity.
﹝Status seems self-explanatory. The 'Stat' column seems to be variables representing ourselves in different categories. Health, energy, strength, dexterity, agility, constitution, stamina, and intelligence. Finally, the skills. If they work similarly to games, they are skills we can utilize. It should be easy.﹞
As Lumin finishes explaining, he realizes Azathoth had not spoken as he began explaining the Interface through educated guesses. Lumin, thinking while forgetting that Azathoth can hear.
﹝It is nice seeing a demon invoke the fifth. Quite pleasant I sa-﹞
{What is the fifth?}
﹝Huh? Oh, nothing important. Look at your Interface while I look at mine. Close your eyes if you do not want to accidentally see through my eyes.﹞
⁎⁎⁎
⌜
Material Realm
⌟
A few minutes later.
"Intriguing"
Lumin says quietly out loud before reaching out to the demon.
﹝Are you done looking at your Interface?﹞
{... Yes.}
﹝Have you tried looking at mine?﹞
{Yes.}
﹝Good, now we need to figure out how to stop looking through each other's eyes.﹞
Experimenting as Lumin takes his head off the bed as adjusts himself to sit on it instead, blinking through his own vision and Azathoth's, thinking of a way to stabilize their perspective.
﹝Let's see. Spam blink gives epilepsy. Hard blinking makes my eyes sore. Aha! Got it. You just need to think about your own perspective when you blink. That seems to set your visuals to the body you think about.﹞
Lumin explains to Azathoth as he takes in the knowledge recently scored by him. Azathoth tries it, quickly grasping the ability to set visuals. Relieving them both of the burdens of changing perspectives.
Ding!
[The unique Skill 'Perspective' has been acquired for the Users. Please refer to the Skill details in the Interface.]
Immediately, Azathoth and Lumin rush to check their Interface as they see a new skill.
⌜
Skill: Perspective Lv. 1
Active Skill
Free of cost.
Through the Title 'Intertwined,' users can change senses between incarnations. Currently, only sight and hearing have been unlocked.
⌟
﹝Alright, this should keep us sane. I am going out, and we can talk while I walk.﹞
{Sure.}
Lumin stands after settling with Azathoth. He makes his way out of his room and sees his mother in the kitchen. Azathoth remains on the bed with his eyes closed, keeping his viewpoint alongside Lumin.
She looks at him as he enters. "Oh, hello. Where have you been?"
"I was out."
"Out where?"
Lumin attempts to respond to his mother's inquiry, his mind calculating the most efficient response. Something that makes his story vague while being reasonably plausible.
"Jus-"
Just as Lumin is responding, his mother interrupts with haste, asking in great urgency. There is an odd look on her face that is slightly perplexed.
"Well, what did you do? Do you know the weather is bad today, so you might catch a cold!"
﹝Why is there urgency in her voice? Was the weather not good today?﹞
"I went out to get food."
His mother's face lights up for a second, and then she realizes he is lying as her expression becomes stiff again. Unnoticeable by Lumin as his own expression remains neutral as his oblivion of time causes suspicion in Helena.
"Why would you go out during this weather? Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened, Mother. Nothing happens to me. Besides, I am quite capable of navigating, and the food was good."
﹝You know I will be alright. You do not have to care. It wastes both our time.﹞
As Lumin thinks, Azathoth reads his surface thoughts and feels bitter. Knowing that Lumin has a mother yet is distant from her. Yet Helena is not finished with Lumin, as she knows something is up.
"Where were you yesterday?"
﹝Yesterday? Wait, how long was I out for? I need to check. Must be at least a day.﹞
"I was out. Sorry if I did not answer the phone."
Answering his mother in a vague tone as she knows his phone tends to be on vibrate and neglects incoming calls. So she moves on and asks.
"Whatever, so you were out to get some food?"
﹝Well, I did get food. I am not sure if it was today though.﹞
"Yes, I wanted to try out the food from a small cafe nearby."
Once she gets her answer, Helena replies indifferently, somewhat satisfied by her son's answer.
"Whatever, I made some soup. Feel free to eat it."
"Thank you, Mother. Did you stock the fridge?"
"Oh, yes, I did. So you do not have to go out."
﹝Good, Now I will not have to go and spend as much money. Though I need to talk to Azathoth without the presence of others.﹞
"Thanks, I will."
As Lumin leaves, he hears his mother call behind him as he checks his phone for the date.
"Come back safe, boy. I don't need you getting hurt or anything."
﹝I will not guarantee that it won't be eventful, but thanks anyway. Oh dear, it had been around two days.﹞
With that, he walks towards the apartment's entrance, puts on a dark raincoat, takes a large umbrella, and goes out into the rain.
﹝If I was out for two days, then Azathoth was as well. I should tell him.﹞
⁎⁎⁎
Splash!
Rain pours down on the streets of Vienna. The only sounds heard are the fall of the rain hitting the ground and an umbrella as it descends, with an occasional car passing by. It rains hard, and there is almost nobody out in the streets. The sun is hidden behind heavy clouds, hiding its light. Giving the city a gloomy look.
{So, that woman is your mother?}
﹝Yes.﹞
Azathoth regains the bitter attitude from earlier as he declares.
{You treat her like baggage. You are lucky to have a mother that cares enough about you to worry.}
﹝Weather or not she cares is none of my concern. As long as she gives me space, I am easy to handle.﹞
Lumin answers Azathoth with a nonchalant attitude as he wanders around the city.
﹝By the way, we were out for about two da-﹞
{I know.}
Lumin is slightly concerned before realizing Azathoth must have heard his surface thoughts.
⁎⁎⁎
Lumin finds a small cafe and decides to order some food. After eating, he strolls through the city and gazes at the buildings.
﹝This place is nice. Not too big, but it still has character.﹞
﹝If it wasn't for the rain, it would be a perfect day.﹞
Lumin walks along until he comes to a bridge. He steps close to the rails, looking toward the river that looks oddly enchanting with the rainy weather.
{Now let's talk. You said that you have an idea as to why we are like this. So start talking.}
﹝It is just an incomplete theory, but based on the messages in our heads, it may have to do with the compensation we recieved.﹞
{What about it?}
﹝It said that I was the target, and you were collateral. Meaning you are secondary, not intentional. Unlike me, the intentional target. So I deduce that I was the target of what happened when we were in our bathrooms, and you got involved as collateral damage.﹞
{You are saying that I was an accident!}
﹝Yes, any questions?﹞
{Why did I get affected? Could it have happened to someone else? Who caused it?}
Azathoth again begins to roar in anger as he asks more questions Lumin does not know for sure.
﹝I will go in order: No clue, most likely, probably someone or something with the plausibility to do it. Can I continue?﹞
{Yes.}
﹝Good, as I was mentioning the compensation. The Unification and Interface were compensation for us. Though as I have come to understand the world, nothing is free. The Unification was probably what we went through due to a mistake. So to keep us alive, we were... Intertwined. As for the Interface, it seems like it is there to help us get along and understand our capabilities to enhance our interactions.﹞
Azathoth's voice in their minds becomes lower as he assumes.
{So you're saying that we are stuck and must work together.}
﹝Yes, a good summary might I add.﹞
{...fuck.}
﹝Exactly.﹞
Ding!
[The Skill 'Core Shift' has been acquired for the user 'Lumin'. Please refer to the Skill details in the Interface.]
Lumin hears the ping and checks his Interface for the new skill.
⌜
Skill: Analysis Lv. 1
Active Skill
Psionic Energy required to activate: 2
Utilizes knowledge stored within Incarnations to provide an analysis.
⌟
﹝Now that looks useful.﹞
{What is?}
Lumin then explains the new skill he just got while stepping back from the railing and walking back. Causing Azathoth to get bitter about why Lumin got it and not himself.
﹝Well, the skill was received after I made an analysis of the Interface's capabilities and meaning. So I got rewarded for my analysis by getting 'Analysis'. Quite Ironic if I say so myself.﹞
{Why did I not get it?}
﹝Did you do anything to deserve it?﹞
{...}
As Lumin walks back, the rain strengthens, and Lumin steps into an alleyway, where the rain is less prominent. Retracting his umbrella.
"Hey, kid. Where're you going?" An unfamiliar voice sounds behind him.
Lumin turns around and sees a group of teenagers wearing black hoodies and sweatpants. They seem to be laughing at something.
"Greetings, who might you be?" Lumin replies in a calm voice.
﹝They are going to try and loot me. Damn, I cannot fight.﹞
{Ha, weakling. I will enjoy seeing your smug face break.}
The group of teens move closer to him and begin to approach.
One of them with a metal pipe speaks up. "You think you're pretty smart, don't cha? Scared little shit. You're gonna wish we didn't find ya."
Lumin rationally thinks to himself.
﹝What would be the best way to escape? If I go back, they will catch up to me. They seem to have a better physique than me.﹞
"Oh dear."
Lumin says quietly, thinking about how to get out of this crisis.
﹝Why did I not guarantee that it won't be uneventful? I hate being right sometimes.﹞
Lumin realizes that he has no choice and must take action as Azathoth mocks him.