Just a brief moment passed after Hubert removed the eyepatch, but it was enough to trigger a loud clock-like noise that reverberated through Lucius's thoughts. His metallic clock eye gleamed with intricate gears and cogs, each one ticking in perfect synchronization. His iris was a shimmering silver, reflecting the light in a mesmerizing dance of shadows and reflections.
The hands of the clock acted as eyelashes, sweeping gracefully across his face in a perpetual motion. As Lucius blinked, the ticking of its machinery could be heard, a rhythmic melody that echoed through his mind.
The clock hands slowly moved around the face of his clock eye, almost as if they were struggling against some invisible force. Each tick of the second hand seemed to take an eternity, dragging out the passing of time. The minute hand inched forward at a snail's pace, as if reluctant to move at all. And the hour hand seemed to lag behind, as if it were weighted down by the burden of the hours passing by.
Once again, the same thing was occurring, similar to what had happened during the crash. Everything around him started to move at a slower pace. Hubert and the Japanese boys appeared to be frozen in place, even nearby crawling insects slowed down.
A voice, in an eerie tone had suddenly spoken upon time being slowed, "Lucius Von Imperius..." Lucius recognized it as the same voice from the crash, with its robotic manner of speaking and elongated words. He couldn't ignore it. He shouted out, "It's you again! How are you doing this? Are you some kind of deity?" He questioned, but his words were muffled and hushed. It had appeared that his swollen mouth only allowed for incoherent speech to escape his lips.
The mechanical voice chuckled, finding Lucius' words amusing, before suddenly materializing in front of him out of thin air. Even more surprising was that it was emerging from his eye, like an ultra realistic projection. He could only watch in awe and silence as a robotic head took shape from dust before him, reflected in his eyes.
The head swiveled and turned, its eyes following any movement Lucius made with an eerie precision. Despite its lack of a body, the head seems to exude a sense of malevolence. It's skin were unordinarily smooth and metallic, shimmering in the dim light of the alleyway. Its eyes, glowing a faint yellow that flowed like fog, seeming to pierce through the darkness with a casting otherworldly glow around it. The lack of expression on its face only adds to the unsettling presence of the head.
Lucius could have heard a low humming sound emanating from the head, almost like a distant whisper. The hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as it spoke. "I have already told you that my name is Prototype 1, but you can refer to me as P1," said the head, its expressions moving with almost human-like features. Lucius could only stare in amazement, wondering what exactly was standing before him.
"You appear to be curious, but unfortunately, you only have ten seconds left until the world around you return to normal," P1 said while floating in front of Lucius. "During this time, I cannot allow you to die." The head's words seemed to penetrate Lucius' mind for a brief moment, invading his memories. In a moment, P1 had implanted memories into his mind that were not his own, but instead memories that belonged to the Prototype.
His mind was filled with fleeting memories from the past. He caught glimpses of the Prototype, a nanomachine created by humans but ultimately abused and used as a tool of war. Despite this mistreatment, the Prototype developed self-awareness and sentience. It became aware of the violence and cruelty it was forced to partake in, realizing the true nature of its creators. Like man, like beast, it felt anger and resentment towards humans. However, the Prototype's perspective changed when it encountered a specific human boy after a chance accident.
Initially intending to consume the human, the plan did not go as expected. For the first time, the human body began to reject the nanomachine. As a result the Prototype had no choice but to have fled to the human's brain, eyes, and heart, but surprisingly, the body did not perish after absorbing all the harmful metals brought by the nanomachine. This particular body was unique, as it somehow assimilated the nanomachines as one.
As it fled, the Prototype found itself completely trapped with the human, sharing all memories, feelings and things the human boy had experienced. The boy was filled with anger towards the world and desired change, but lacked the ability to make it happen. Similarly, the Prototype harbored disdain for the world but lacked a physical form to bring about true change. For the first time it felt a connection to something, albeit an odd one. On that day, it decided to help the human boy achieve his one wish: absolute power.
Once again, the hands of the clock had dawned and time returned to its usual pace in Lucius's perception. However, he had vanished from his vulnerable position on the dirty, cluttered floor. Hubert reached out, believing he had lifted Lucius's eye patch, only to recoil in confusion.
"Can you explain to me, Duval, how a Frecitannian who has disdain for his own people manages to live their life?"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind them, causing Hubert to quickly turn around in alarm and to his surprise, it was Lucius standing in the middle of the alleyway. His skin looked unharmed, as if he hadn't been beaten up and he had his hand covering his left eye while his right eye glared at Hubert with intense malice. "Tch, how dare you try to deceive me-" Hubert started to say, but Lucius cut him off with a low, commanding tone. "Shut up," he said, slowly removing his hand from his eye.
"I was wrong about everything, it seems Frecitannians will never change. I was confused at first but now I understand," he murmured.
Lucius observed the Japanese boys working for Hubert and remarked, "I've come to understand that anyone can become a Frecitannian despite not sharing Frecitannian blood." Hubert laughed and teased Lucius, asking him, "Have you gone mad from the beating we just gave you?" He then gestured to the Japanese boys, who immediately followed his command and approached Lucius, who remained motionless. "Get this insane lunatic boys!"
He slid his hand from his eye, appearing to give the boys a chance to attack. One of the boys threw a punch and another tried to grab him but it seemed they had only grasped at thin air, causing them to stumble to the ground. Hubert's expression quickly changed, his eyebrows furrowing and his mouth dropping open as he watched Lucius's body fade away like if it were never there in the first place.
"Where did he go?! Get up you useless pieces of crap!" Hubert shouted, waving his arms frantically in an attempt to order the Japanese boys. However, at that moment, he felt a cold breath on the back of his neck. His heart raced and his mind was filled with fear. Instinctively, he took a step, ready to turn around and defend himself with his knife, but he was suddenly stopped in his tracks. A hand held a knife to his throat, scraping his skin. Hubert's face twisted in fear, resembling a dog that had lost its bark, as he realized his knife was no longer in his hand.
"How does it feel to be on the receiving end of the stick?" Lucius casually asked while holding a knife to his throat. Hubert felt a sense of fear as he noticed Lucius' intense gaze on him. Hubert's demeanor changed and his once arrogant face softened into a friendly expression upon realising the switch of the situation. "You know it was just a joke, right? You and I are friends, what do you want, woman, money, power? My family has everything!" He said pleadingly while nervously rubbing his hands.
Lucius felt only disappointment as he watched Hubert refuse to acknowledge his mistakes and instead rely on lies. Lucius stated, "I now believe that the world would be improved without dirty stains like you causing chaos." With those words, he moved the knife closer to Hubert's throat.
Hubert's eyes widened in shock as he felt the cold metal of the knife pressing against his throat. The sudden realization of what was happening sent a wave of fear and disbelief through him. He could feel the sharp blade cutting through his skin, the searing pain spreading through his body.
As his head was sliced off by Lucius, Hubert's mind was filled with a mixture of agony and terror. The amount of fear he felt was almost too much to bear. The world around him seemed to blur as the darkness closed in, the last thing he felt was the sensation of his body collapsing to the ground.
He lived as a coward and died the same way. His head was decapitated, spraying blood everywhere and landing in the dumpster, with a grotesque expression on his face. His mouth was gaping wide open like something from a horror movie and his eyes were rolled back.
The Japanese boys immediately started to scatter upon witnessing this, unwilling to stay to see if they were the next targets. They hastily turned around and stumbled in an attempt to escape the alleyway, but before they knew it, Lucius was standing in front of them. It was unclear if he was moving at an incredible speed or if he was somehow teleporting. His expression was stern, his dark eyes glaring down at them, while the lights filtering through the alleyway illuminated a quarter of his face.
His furrowed brow and piercing stare conveyed a sense of authority and gravitas, making the boys feel small and ashamed of whatever transgression they had committed. Lucius' lips were pressed into a thin line, his jaw clenched tightly as he assessed the situation before him. The intensity of his expression was palpable. The boys shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, knowing that what they had done was wrong.
The Japanese boys quickly knelt down, bowing their heads and clasping their hands together to ask for forgiveness. "We apologize! The Frecitannian made us work for him against our will," they both said simultaneously. It was the first time they had spoken, and their voices matched their dumb expressions. "We are willing to do anything, please just spare our lives."
Lucius recalled the grin on the boys' faces as they viciously attacked him to a pulp. They appeared to be enjoying it with a gleam in their eyes. Despite this, they still chose to lie, much like Hubert.
Lucius stared coldly, his thoughts strangely empty as if controlled by a machine, almost as if he were a different person. He felt only pity for them at most. "You're just as bad as the Frecitannians," he stated, causing the boys to jump and fall back in fear. "And you already know too much."
Before the boys could even scream, Lucius swiftly and mercilessly slit their throats, providing them with a quick death. He then struggled to dispose of Hubert's and the boys' bodies in a nearby dumpster, hiding them under layers of garbage bags. Lucius carried out this disturbing task without showing any signs of remorse. Except for the unpleasant smell emanating from the alleyway, he seemed almost too calm.
This was because growing up as a royal, Lucius had been exposed to many threats and had to learn the harsh realities of life from a young age, which desensitized him to the act of killing.
That was what he had believed, at least. Shortly after disposing of the bodies, vomited inside the dumpster. It appeared that nothing could prepare him for taking a life, but what other choice did he have? It was either him or them.
Now that he had been given power, Lucius was focused on the future and had a confident smirk on his face. He was determined to save his Aunt Sherly from potential destruction of Zone 9.