My name is Tokita Ryuma. I'm a nineteen-year-old college student studying computer engineering. My hobbies include watching movies, playing games, eating snacks, staring at my screen, and beating my meat. But as of today, that's all going to change. I have a dream now, and I'm going to work towards that dream.
Four years ago, an unseen species of monsters broke loose in the world, threatening the existence of mankind. These monsters are now known as Nephilim. They possess distinct traits from one another, with varying colors and physiology. Despite their differences in appearance, they share one trait: an intense desire to destroy humanity.
I leaned against the car, processing the flood of information entering my mind. It was B-three's doing. Since we share one body, we also share one mind.
The information was still incomplete; it wasn't enough. B-three didn't know much about his own people, and that's because, among them, he is the incomplete one. He was born prematurely and needed a host to survive. By some stroke of luck, he found me—barely alive.
"Human, I would appreciate it if you stopped peering into my memories," B-three said.
Two eyes and a mouth popped out from my hand. I was surprised but remained calm.
"So, you talk?" I asked, looking into the eyes. It took my appearance, adopting my tired, dark eyes, though its mouth was oddly large.
"I've always been capable of speech, as far as I can remember," it said in a voice that sounded like a child's.
"Then why didn't you say anything when you were working on my head?"
"I tried having a conversation with you, but apparently, you couldn't understand me, just as I couldn't understand you. But after successfully merging our brain cells, we're now able to communicate in both words and thoughts."
I glanced at it, feeling a mix of anger and gratitude.
"Your aim was to take over my body and kill me, right?"
"I thought we agreed not to pry into each other's memories?"
"I asked you a question."
It stayed quiet for a moment before replying.
"Indeed. I needed full control of the body, so killing you was part of the plan."
"But you couldn't."
"I hate to admit it, but your consciousness was the hardest part to deal with. Even after taking everything, I couldn't take your mind. So, I stopped and focused on coexisting with you. If we can coexist, maybe one day I'll have full control over your consciousness."
I didn't say anything and just looked at the wasteland around me.
I've changed. Yes, I have. I just had a conversation with something—and the best part was, I was the superior in that conversation. My transformation had begun, for good.
I moved away from the car and staggered forward, taking a few steps before finally finding my footing. My destination was unknown, but one thing was certain: I needed a long bath. I smelled like a corpse.
"Fuck!" I shouted after catching a whiff of my breath. Decayed.
"Entertain me, B-three," I said, but received no response.
"B-three?!"
"I'm certain you know I don't go by that name," it spoke up.
"Huh? Then what's your name?" I asked, but there was no answer. I looked at the two eyes in my hand, and they stared back at me.
"You don't have one, right? So why not just answer to B-three? Does the name sound weird?"
"It's not that it sounds weird. My kind name ourselves based on class. As I belong to no particular class, I have no name. So yes, as you said, it is odd to be called by a name."
"Then there's nothing wrong with it. From now on, just answer when I call you."
"I will try to meet your demands."
"Nice. So, entertain me."
"I'm afraid I have no means of providing what you call entertainment. I don't recall what the term means. Perhaps if you allowed me to access your memories, I could—"
"Don't!"
What the hell is wrong with B-three? Does he want to see me stroking my meat to porn or what?
"Stroking your meat? I don't seem to understand why you won't allow me to view the action of stroking flesh," it said.
"You—"
"What is it?"
"Never mind," I sighed.
After walking for over twenty minutes through the barren wasteland, I stood in front of a store with a house on top of it. The building looked old, on the verge of collapse, with plants growing from every corner. Cracks ran through it, and it leaned to one side.
I pushed the door open, and an alarm bell rang.
"Oh, there's still electricity," I muttered.
I approached the counter and looked ahead at the display case, which held expired food, cakes, buns, and some drinks. Everything looked fermented, but my stomach growled loudly. I climbed over the counter, opened the glass, and stuffed my mouth with the fermented cakes. Then, I noticed something very, very bad.
"B-three?"
"Yes?"
"I can't taste this food."
"Indeed. I didn't think it necessary to repair your taste organs. I only fixed the essential ones."
"My tongue isn't essential? Is that what you're saying? Oh, fuck! Fix my tongue right now."
"I can't do that."
"What? Why?"
"It would take at least six months to perform such a task. I am not like the others of my kind, who are more efficient in that field."
"Oh, fuck! So your plan is to make me live without a tongue?"
"But you do have a tongue."
"A useless one."
"But you can speak with it."
"Oh my fucking... enough!"
I swallowed the tasteless cakes and filled my stomach before heading up the broken stairs to the house above.
The place was a mess, everything scattered, with cobwebs everywhere. I made my way to the bathroom and turned on the hot shower. Thankfully, it was still working. I removed my ragged clothes, and as I looked down, I saw my body.
A massive scar ran across my chest like a spider web. Another circled my waist, and the last one ran around my head. The one on my head wasn't visible due to my hair. I looked at my face, beard under my mouth and above it, then it occured to me that i wasn't nineteen anymore. I was twenty-three
"Shit"
Without wasting time, I washed myself and moved to the wardrobe to pick out new clothes. They were dusty, but I didn't mind. After changing, I went on to inspect the house. I planned to make it my base.
The house was a two-bedroom flat with a living room and one bathroom. It was clear the family had been a small one.
I walked into one of the bedrooms. There was a gaming PC, much like mine, and posters of nightlife scenes from around the world covered the walls. On the desk was a family photo and a stash of comic books. In the photo, there was a man, a woman, and a little girl. I assumed the girl had been the owner of the room.
"It's good to have companions," I muttered.
That's what I had always missed in my life. I was always alone. Even in the midst of a crowd, I felt lonely.
"You should get ready," B-three suddenly spoke.
"Why? I want to stay here for a while."
"You can stay if you see this through."
"See what through? What are you talking about?"
"One of my kind is onto us. I'm not sure why I didn't notice it before, but if you don't get ready, we're both going to die here."