Lower Level

“Those that are weak will be abandoned. Those whose mind becomes corrupt are evil. That is why you all are the best of the best. You, whose mind has been shaped by us, have been carefully poisoned. You all are cursed, bound by your past and ideals. That is what allows you to perform at this level.”

***

I will destroy those that prevent growth.

Humanity is adaptability. Humanity is change. Humanity is growth.

Those that do not grow, stagnate. They’re weak and selfish, unwilling to compromise their view, and living in their head where everything they do is perfect. They’re nothing but children.

Humanity is change. Those that go against change go against time. It's futile and arrogant. Those that don’t change, are outdated.

Humanity is adaptability. The world continues without a care for you or your insecurities and trauma. Find a way to live, your way to live, and change it accordingly. Those that can’t adapt will be left behind. They’re stagnant, nothing but wasted potential.

Yet everyone has the opportunity to develop, to grow beyond their current self, and become a better person.

That is why I will utterly destroy those that take away the opportunity for growth.

All they need is to reach a breaking point. One where they have to face their regrets, fears, and trauma. Their mind might not be able to handle it, but they won’t die. Eventually, they’ll recover and will once more have the opportunity.

The lower levels are filled with stagnant people. They make life worse for everyone living there, halting the process of development. But in that sense, the upper levels are much worse. Comparing the two, this level is much more fun.

It’s a bit similar to how I was raised. Contaminated by desires which brought forth self-expression.

And that contamination is telling me to spread its poison. It's quite fascinating how much one can change when they get a taste of living life for themselves, not for others.

Those that can’t handle it, have my empathy. Not all can be unbound from the chains of their regrets and feel good about it. That’s why I tend to avoid people who will break.

Those that grow beyond, like Mana, have all but my respect. Those people are the best, they’re magnificent. And once someone undergoes a growth spurt past their circumstances, they can grow beyond anyone and anything on the condition they don’t stagnate.

I wonder how you will grow... This situation will only push you closer to it. And if it won’t, I don’t mind giving you a little push. I have confidence that you’ll be my greatest masterpiece, Erity…

What is evil? Everything that stems from weakness.

So, I will force out the weakness in your heart. That way, you can be a hero, just like me.

I opened a silver suitcase in a dark alleyway. Grabbing the shining jewelry inside, I placed it in a pouch and attached it to the collar of my cat Thomas. I grabbed another pouch that had some weight and placed it inside the suitcase carefully, locking it up, and making sure they wouldn’t trigger.

“Good job, Thomas,” I said as I patted the cat’s head.

“And you wonder why I like Erity better than you,” the cat said.

“What are you talking about?”

“That grin on your face. I find it unpleasant.”

“Not my fault. That’s how I show my emotions. Blame my genetics.”

“For someone who dislikes killing…”

“Death is the end at which everyone arrives. Giving someone an early death means taking away their potential for development. I won’t kill anyone unless someone else’s life is threatened.”

“What if your own life is being threatened?”

“Then that’s the end,” I said as I stood up and walked out of the alleyway.

Thomas didn’t follow me but instead climbed on top of the buildings.

The buildings were cramped together, and the streets were somewhat narrow. A few people walked here and there, but most were seated at the various restaurants.

Spotlights colored the ordinary white houses into something akin to a canvas splashed with all kinds of colors. Blue, red, yellow, pink, purple.

I could hear everyone laughing, a pleasant sound. Some were drinking, others eating. Some were playing card games like poker, others were just conversing loudly.

I picked up on some peculiar conversations and decided to listen to the crowd for a bit.

“Did you hear about CLEAR?”

“A black expansion suit, right?”

“CLEAR supporters are annoying as a splinter!”

“VOID is the most powerful after all!”

“The government is planning something–”

“There goes the conspiracy theorist!”

“Hahaha, when will you grow out of it Lucas?”

“I’m serious! The government is undermining the corporations!”

“VOID is the best corporation”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

“Long live Hikaru the Dim Star!”

“I hear someone recently stole some research from VOID”

“I heard that too, a blonde-haired woman right?”

I felt a smile on my mouth and decided if I stayed anymore, people would notice me.

Everyone was different. Their fashion style was nothing alike the upper levels, where people usually wore their corporate uniform or at least formal clothing.

I notices some people were flexing their cybernetic limbs. One even thought it was a good idea to show how powerful it was by chopping the wooden table in half. The crowd cheered, while the bar’s employees were out of it.

I heard more cheering from the other side of the street. A different type of cheering. People were chanting “SPEAR, SPEAR, SPEAR” repeatedly. I walked closer to the crowd and peeked through a small opening. A television was playing an advertisement for people who want to work for SPEAR saying it had the best salaries, best safety measures, most benefits, and best co-workers.

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. Despite this being a lower level, this one was by far the most hopeful. Level 3, the eternal level of Risus. Level 2 was nicknamed Yakuza’s playground.

I continued walking and stumbled upon a station. I saw the train coming from a distance and was a bit surprised by what I saw. The trains in the upper levels are electromagnetic. This way they can achieve a max speed of just below the speed of sound. This train, however, could not even be compared to a snail. It had a reasonable speed, but comparing it to the trains I was used to, would need a metaphor even slower than a snail.

I crossed the outdated railway and moved on. A bit further ahead is where my goal awaited me. The edge of the world. And the only thing stopping you from jumping over the edge was a metal fence that was a bit taller than me.

I grabbed the fence and looked downward. I saw a part of the 2nd and 1st levels expanding below me. Even further beyond that, I saw darkness. A few white dots filled that black space, but nothing more. In one particular area, the dots seemed a bit more like odd lines. And in the center of all the weird lines, pure darkness. No light could be seen.

I looked up and saw the roof of the 3rd level. The lights on the roof gradually darkened. It was normal for this time of day. It was nighttime after all.

Beyond the roof, I saw another form of pure black darkness. Yet this one was more interesting. The outer edge of this darkness could be seen, as some bright white light illuminated its sides. That form was humanity’s previous living place. Earth.

In that bright light that illuminated the Earth’s sides, I could see black stripes. Towers. Ones that extended further into space than this ark, this city of ours called Senshin Tokyo.

“Those that have fallen from grace…” A man said as he stood beside me.

“Have been given the chance to rise once more,” I responded.

“You must be the contact from CLEAR then,” the man said with an odd smile.

“I am. You may call me Yajirushi,” I said to the man.

“Then thou shall calleth me Xeno…” the man said, grabbing his sides and snorting. “Sorry, sorry. I just love meeting people from the upper levels. They feel so elegant and proper, you know?”

I took a good look at the man. His jeans were long and ripped everywhere. He wore a red tanktop and smelled of alcohol. His hair was a mess, short brown colored, and its tips were stained with something dark.

“I see you’re quite prepared,” Xeno said as he studied my appearance, “Your jogging pants get a pass, but you should’ve stained the shirt a little. Or maybe wrinkle it. Also, the way that you’re covering up that right metal arm of yours is terrible. People show those things off every chance they get. Then again, you upper levels can place artificial skin over it, similar to how you can dye your hair but we can’t. Makes me jealous of you…”

“Where do you want to do this?” I said as I lifted the silver suitcase.

“...Follow me,” Xeno said.

I listened and followed from a distance, but he turned around and waited for me to catch up. We walked together through the streets. Entering a back alleyway, the stench of rotting food grew stronger. The alleyway was filled with trash bags and puddles of water.

“Sorry about this… should I call you Sir Yajirushi?” the man said grinning.

“Are you sure you’re not just an alcoholic?”

“I am, never denied it. Is that displeasing to your superior feelings?”

We turned left, right, right, left, right, left, on, and on and on through this maze of back alleyways. The further we got in, the more the stench changed from rotten food to alcohol and cigarettes.

We adventured through the maze of alleyways when the buildings cleared up and formed a little courtyard. It was filled with market stands and people.

Xeno and I walked through the market, giving me a chance to look at what they were selling. Cheap toys, old clothing, fish, chicken, eggs, vegetables, and many more household items. I could hear a kid begging their parents to buy a damaged stuffed animal.

Xeno stopped at a certain market stand where they sold some roasted chicken wings. It smelled good, though it seemed a little bland without any seasoning.

After kindly asking the rugged apron-wearing man for a few, Xeno handed some money over and then proceeded to hand me some cheap toilet paper and placed the chicken wing on it.

We continued walking while I took a bite. It was interesting… Not as good as the chicken available above, but the taste was rather peculiar. It didn’t quite taste like chicken that I remember.

“Genetically manipulated. That's why it doesn't taste like the naturally bred top-level chickens up above. Tell me, what do you think about the lower levels?” Xeno asked me.

“The people here are fun. You have more culture than we do,” I said.

“Of course we have. People here are closer to one another than up above. All that interaction with people leads to traditions and preconceptions. I’m surprised you would willingly admit that Level 3 isn’t all that bad. Maybe we will get along.”

“What was that market? Why don’t they hold it somewhere less hidden?”

“If they did, they risk getting robbed by a gang. Besides, their customers are poor people who could use second-hand items for cheap, not people who can afford to go out and drink at a bar. We’re almost there,” Xeno said.

We turned at a few corners and arrived at an abandoned building placed narrowly next to some flats. I finished my chicken wing and wiped my mouth and hands using the cheap toilet paper.

We walked inside and headed up the stairs. Xeno stood still in front of an intact door and knocked two times. It was silent for a while. I spotted a camera from the corner of my eye but didn’t look at it all that well.

Eventually, the door opened. Xeno walked inside and I followed. The door was closed behind me and I was told to sit on a perfectly fine couch. Besides me and Xeno, there was one other person in the room.

His black hair had mostly turned a light grey, yet some places were still pitch black. His face was dirty and rough and his clothes were stained.

“You can call him Orak. He’s the one that gathered all the information we have available for you. Poor thing had to sneak and infiltrate so many enemy bases, I’m sure you can understand and give him some extra…” Xeno said with a grin.

“Unfortunately your payment isn’t going to be money.”

“You must have some money on you or an extra piece of jewelry.”

“What information do you have?”

“You’re no fun…” Xeno said as he grabbed a tablet from Orak and sat down on a couch opposite me.

“Let’s see… the attackers' identities, why they attacked, when they’ll attack again, where you might find them–”

“What do you mean when they’ll attack again?” I asked, my eyes glaring at him.

“Oh yeah, they’ll definitely attack again. It seems like… in four days.”

“Four days…” I said softly.

“Their reason for attacking the first time around, the time you failed to stop them, was nothing more than to test CLEAR’s defensive capabilities and options. You’ve used Cybers and traps against them so my advice would be to come up with something new.”

“Then why was Albus kidnapped? Was that just a test as well?”

“Yes and no. Albus seems to have been dealing in some corrupt business. Deleting evidence, sharing confidential intel about the government, and participating in underground activities. He just happened to be there and so he was taken.”

“What do you know about the black Expansion Suit?”

“Not too much. There is something interesting that can be said… Do you remember four years ago when an intruder that was a high-ranking manager took control of the Cybers and traps to steal data from the server room?”

“Of course, I remember. When new orphans want to work in security, they have to face the old guards. If they win, they take over, if they lose, they get sent down the lower levels.”

“Precisely… which is what unfortunately happened to me, but let’s leave that aside, shall we? The intruder took advantage of that situation and told all Cybers to attack. During that time he managed to steal some data. Parts of it were incomplete documents of still ongoing research, like project S_Heart. What’s curious is the fact that he stole data for a model of an Expansion Suit titled Silhouette.”

“Do you know what’s special about this Silhouette?”

“Not really no. When he stole the data, he also purged it. Besides, model Silhouette was a failure. Besides that, I know it was meant for stealth and infiltration.”

“What’s their goal for attacking this time? What specific data?”

“That we don’t know. They might steal data on project S_Heart again since it's now close to completion. Maybe new data on Expansion Suits… or maybe data about the orphans…”

“...What are the attacker’s identities?”

“I’ve been letting you know a bit too much. Not that verbal information is anything trustworthy. Show me the payment and I’ll give you the tablet with everything on it,” he said as he shook it around.

I grabbed the silver suitcase and placed it on a table between me and Xeno. I opened it up revealing a pouch inside. Xeno grabbed it and pulled something round out of it…

“A grenade…?” he said, studying its appearance carefully, “a stun grenade? You don’t mean this is our payment? Its just three stun grenades? Do you value our information that little!?”

“I value it a lot. I might be the person that most values this information ever.”

“Don’t mess with me! If you don’t take it seriously then we might help these attackers and sell the data we can get our hands on.”

“And with that, your betrayal is set in stone…” I said, slightly chuckling.

Xeno punched the table and glared at me intensely. The person named Orak started to sweat and back away.

I pulled out a thin crystal block, my phone, and showed that it was recording. About an hour-long… since before my conversation with Xeno started.

“Listen up you filth,” I said calmly, “If you so much as leave this room, those stun grenades will blow up. You know how they work right? They completely disable someone’s artificial limbs and organs, similar to an EMP gun on Complete Shutdown.”

“Are you crazy!?” Xeno asked, “don’t you have artificial limbs yourself!?”

“It’s just an arm… Sit down Xeno, Orak.”

“Do you think I’ll listen to you?! I’m a criminal! What makes you think I’ll bow down to you and listen like a good little puppy?”

“It's quite curious, isn’t it? You two were old CLEAR orphans who tried to take a job in security but failed miserably… How does it feel knowing that you have a killswitch built in your organs?”

Xeno punched the table once more. His knuckles seemed to be bleeding. All Orak did was gasp softly. They both slowly sat down on the couch in front of me, their stares focused on me alone.

“What are the identities of the attackers?”

“They… since they were off the grid… we don’t know their true names. We do know that they belong to an organization named MINX,” Xeno said.

“Was that so hard to tell me?”

Xeno showed his teeth like a wild animal at that remark. What he hates the most is someone acting above him. This conversation and the one we had whilst walking here all support that claim.

Orak on the other hand seemed to be crumbling a little. He was fidgeting and sweating. All these two need is a little extra push…

“Do you have anything else to tell me, you stray dogs?”

Xeno lunged at me, throwing his fists toward my face. I dodged to the side, grabbed his face, and smacked his mouth forcibly into the hard backside of the couch.

Xeno recoiled, falling back on the table, knocking the silver suitcase and the pouch with grenades onto the floor. Orak ducked behind the couch.

Xeno tried to spit out some words, but blood filled his mouth. All he managed to do was turn a bit and cough blood.

“People like you can’t even be called human. If you just waited for a time I had turned my back, maybe then you would have succeeded. Instead, you’re a worthless existence who can’t even be called an animal.”

Xeno tried to stand back up. He held his mouth whilst sweat and a tear poured down his face. I’m sure he wasn’t consciously crying, but it made his tough attitude seem nothing more than a farce.

“I will m–murder… you…” he said slowly and softly.

“Don’t you have something to protect?” I said, grabbing his collar and lifting him with my metal arm. “You’ve been here for quite a while. Don’t you have someone you love? Someone you think is more important than you?”

“D–Don’t… you… dare…” he managed to say forcibly.

“If you don’t want them to suffer, then man up. Your aggressiveness, your arrogance, and your attitude, it's all a burden and an annoyance. Do you seriously think you can protect someone by making enemies and punching people when your opponent has the upper hand? Worthless…” I said.

I grabbed the man with my other hand as well and slammed him into the table, shattering it like glass. I let the animal go and saw blood dirtying the floor and wooden pieces. He had stopped moving.

I placed my hand on his neck and confirmed he wasn’t dead. And since I didn’t hit his head, he should still remember my words. Though if he listens to them…

I grabbed a stun grenade that laid on the floor and walked towards where Orak was hiding. He was backing away from me, sweat rolling down his face. I pulled the pin from one of the grenades and dropped it on the ground.

Orak turned around and curled up, covering his head as if that would help. Many seconds passed before he finally turned around to see that the grenade didn’t go off. No matter how careful he was or how much he waited, it never went off.

“They were just some model grenades, not actual ones,” I said softly to Orak, who looked at me in disbelief. “Why didn’t you help your friend? Why didn’t you attack with him?”

“...” he remained silent, his face of disbelief still on. “I– I didn’t know…” he said.

“You didn’t know…? What does that matter?”

“Those grenades could have been loaded!... If you had pulled the pin I would have died…” he said.

“Did it ever occur to you that I could have pulled the pin while fighting Xeno? Did it ever occur to you that if Xeno managed to pin me down, I would have tried to grab a grenade and activate it? In that scenario, both of you would have died because you were afraid to take action!”

Orak remained silent. His gaze fixed on Xeno’s body and then to the floor, unable to make eye contact.

“Your cowardice will be the end of everyone you know…” I said to Orak as I grabbed his hair and forced him to look at me, “your fear will kill everyone you care about. Will you just lay down and accept that? Are you some kind of puppy that can’t even bark!? Doesn’t this feel embarrassing!? Doesn’t this feel frustrating to you?!”

Orak struggled against my hand and tried to free himself. Tears started rolling down his face.

“Will you just watch as everything gets taken from you? If so, you’re worse than trash. Your existence holds no meaning… Will you just accept that!”

Orak stopped struggling and sobbed.

“I… I don’t want to!” he managed to say through the tears and snot, “how can I protect anyone when I couldn’t even protect my friends back then?!”

“Find that out yourself…” I said as I threw Orak’s head away and distanced myself, “if you’re not strong physically, be strong mentally. If you’re not smart, then become wise. If you can’t fight on the frontlines, fight from the backlines…”

I grabbed the grenades scattered around and placed them back in the pouch. I grabbed the silver suitcase and closed it. Placing the pouch in my pocket, I lifted the suitcase, grabbed the tablet with the intel, and left.

Orak tried to say something behind me, but it was nothing more than the cries of someone who doesn’t know their way forward.

I left the abandoned building and walked back into the maze of alleyways. I grabbed my phone and pulled up a map. Navigating myself back to the lift I came from.

“Your methods of forcing growth are… less than elegant,” an elegant voice said from above.

Slightly above me, standing on someone’s balcony, I saw a white cat.

“Growth can only be achieved through forceful measures sometimes. The best opponent is someone who can attack your weaknesses the hardest.”

“I think a lot of people would classify that as the worst opponent,” the cat said as it jumped down.

I grabbed the pouch with grenades and attached them to Thomas’ collar, who would sneak them to level 8 for me. The pouch with jewelry I had attached before the encounter was gone.

I grabbed the tablet and told Thomas everything that I learned from the conversation. The identities, the Expansion Suit model, the purpose of attack, the data they might steal, and when they’ll come again.

“They know quite a lot. Could there be a traitor amongst them? I can’t quite believe that this Orak person would be able to gather this by himself,” I said to Thomas.

“You shouldn’t worry about that. It's not our issue to deal with, but it is theirs. We have our own mission,” Thomas responded. “How do you plan to use this information?”

“Hmmm… quite interesting… I’ll use this to force Erity’s growth. I can use Mana as well now that her hatred has dissipated.”

“Will you withhold some information?”

“I don’t know… yet, at least. But I could use this attack to complete all my duties… I’ll think about it…”

“Akihiro… that smile…”

“Am I doing it again?” I said as I forced the corners of my mouth down again, “Sorry, sorry, I’m just looking forward to seeing my greatest masterpiece…”