Eye of the Storm Part-2

Aiden notices our reaction and quickly steps forward, sensing the tension in the air.

"The man you see before you is David, the owner of this base."

"What?"

Me and Edward had the same response, looking at Aiden for more explanation.

"This base originally belonged to him; he is the resident of this universe, and he is the same as us, a universe drifter, so he is also a part of our team now."

David, the man who tried to kill me, or, should I say, the man who looks like the man who tried to kill me, stood silently without interjecting in our conversation. I am still suspicious of this, of course, but I can't just make them remove him from the group. There could be a possibility that the one who tried to kill me is David from a different universe.

"How can you know someone is a drifter if he never died once?"

I pointed that out; he couldn't be a drifter if he had this base and was a denizen of this universe.

"Their aura," Aiden answered, "is different from normal humans; a drifter's aura is more chaotic, resembling a storm. Perhaps this is the reason why Limbo can't sense us.

I was about to ask how they can see the aura of another person, but then my gaze fell on the left arm of David, who had his own QS-Band. If there could be a universe-jumping device, then there could easily be something to see a human's aura.

Edward's voice trembles as he tries to find words to express his disbelief.

"Aiden, you don’t understand. In the previous universes, we encountered a man who looked exactly like David, but he tried to kill us."

Aiden’s expression softens, empathy shining in his eyes.

"I know it’s difficult to comprehend, but David is not the same person you encountered. He may bear a striking resemblance, but his mind is clean, with no other memories clashing together."

Upon hearing Aiden's last words, Edward's expression calmed. It is true that the David who tried to kill us died quite a few times, in fact. The first was in the alleyway, and the second was in a car accident when he was chasing us. Well, we can't say for sure that he died during that car accident, but I'm sure as hell that he died in that alleyway.

Edward’s voice carries a mix of caution and curiosity.

"Are you saying it’s merely a coincidence? That this David is not the same man who sought our lives?"

Aiden pauses for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"Coincidences can be deceptive, but perhaps this is just that, a coincidence."

The one word that came to mind while watching Aiden was suspicious." Aiden was the most mysterious of them all, or perhaps I haven't interacted with all of them enough to know it well since I spent most of my time with Edward, but why is he so accepting of David here?

Yes, the absence of foreign memories could be a good argument, but I can't understand Aiden's motives; he always gives me the vibe of someone who has planned everything; it's as if he is merely making sure that everything goes the way he wants.

How do I know this? I'm not sure; it's similar to the sensation of deja-vu I had when I tried to save that girl from an accident.

It's possible that Aiden is just an altruist, but I doubt someone who has traveled the multiverse, survived the chase against a superpowered psychopath, and managed to stay sane all this time would be one.

It's suspicious how he managed to find Noah, Edward, and Damien and assembled this team in hopes of fixing the glitch.

I didn't question this before because I was lost within the multiverse of questions and Aiden, and this team, to be exact, had been my only source of survival.

My skepticism lingers, and the lines between friend and foe seem more blurry than I thought.

Well, it's too soon to chalk Aiden up as an enemy. Just like that girl from the accident, I had a similar connection with Aiden, something that told me to trust him. Well, I am an extremely rational person, but last time I tried being rational, I let a girl walk towards her death—well, two girls to be exact.

Within my inner monologue, I came to a conclusion: To take a leap of faith and trust Aiden for now, while my gaze was fixed on David, who had been silent till now.

After the tension in the room eased David steps forward, ready to address mine and Edward’s concerns, but before he could speak a sudden glitch in his body disrupts the air around him. His form flickers with unsettling distortion, causing his features to warp and twist, contorting into a grotesque visage of horror. All of us recoil in shock, our eyes widening in disbelief and trepidation.

Within an instant, David’s expression shifts, morphing into one of agony and torment. Blood seeps from his widened eyes, staining his cheeks crimson, as if the weight of some unspeakable horror bears down upon his very soul. The sight is chilling, a disturbing revelation that something sinister has taken hold of him.

In that fleeting moment of terror, David’s movements become erratic, a frenzied whirlwind of unleashed fury. He suddenly lunges towards us with uncanny speed and uncaged aggression, his once familiar features twisted into a maddened mask of violence.

"What the..."

Aiden appeared surprised.

Me and Edward who had experienced combat reacted swiftly, our instincts propelling us into a desperate struggle for survival. We dodged David’s continuous frenetic attacks, each movement calculated and precise.

While I was fending off David’s relentless assault, manages to break free for a brief respite. I locked eyes with the tormented figure before me, my voice filled with urgency and anguish.

"David, what has happened to you? Why have you turned against us?"

I didn't trust him from the start but I couldn't just ignore him if he really was not the one who tried to kill us, besides I had to make sure what happened to him, not that I really expected a normal response from him.

"His memories have been merged with a drifter"

It was Edward who answered. Edward just finished escorting Aiden-who had no fighting experience-out from this room.

Meanwhile the only answers we got from David was the hagrid breathing and undead like roar, it was just a moment ago that he was normal now he truly fits the profile of a zombie. David’s distorted voice echoes with eerie resonance, a blend of pain and something far more sinister.

"It seems he have been consumed by his memories"

My mind races, grappling with the haunting revelation that David has been consumed by his excessive memories. It seems this other drifter that merged with David had died way too many times, and now have taken David with them.

Summoning all of my strength, I launched myself back into the fray, engaging in a desperate struggle to subdue David. The clash of bodies, the sharp crack of blows exchanged, fills the air with a symphony of conflict.

I tried to subdue David, but he bit me on the arm to free himself. David suddenly felt stronger or he probably always has been like this. Both me and Edward tried to subdue him but to no avail.

David’s attacks intensify, fueled by an otherworldly power that defies reason. He roars, his voice layered with the torment of a thousand shattered illusions. Upon having no choice we increased the intensity of our own attacks.

I took the left side while Edward on the right, constantly beating and tanking David's attacks. We had a silent coordination yet that was ineffective against someone like David. We planned to knock him out but he didn't seem to give in no matter how much we beat him.

As desperation grips the air, Edward swiftly retrieves a syringe, similar to the one he gave me to calm my mind due to the clash of memories, hoping it will temporarily quell the maddened frenzy consuming David’s being. With a steady hand, Edward approached David cautiously, while I was keeping David busy by taking the aggro.

I watched anxiously as Edward delicately injected the syringe into the nape of David’s neck. A moment of tense anticipation hangs in the air, as the solution courses through David’s veins, seeking to pacify the storm raging within his tortured soul.

In the midst of the tumultuous battle, a flicker of recognition briefly illuminates David’s tormented eyes. His onslaught momentarily subsides, seeing this we both momentarily stopped as well. A glimmer of hope igniting within our weary hearts. Perhaps, just perhaps, we have found a way to bring David back from the brink. But David soon lunged forward biting my neck.

"Motherfucker"

I threw David with all of strength, he fell with a maniacal smile over his face stained with blood.

As David’s rampage intensifies, leaving destruction in its wake, my desperation mounts, pushing me to the edge of reason.

His psychopathic smile infuriated me, and in instinct I kicked him in the abdomen, to which he didn't react in pain but grabbed my other leg instead trying to bite it as well.

Anticipating what he was going to do I used my other leg to stomp on one of his arms, breaking it. I freed my other leg and broke one of his legs by stomping on it, making him unable to move for a moment.

With a surge of primal instinct, I launched myself towards David, my fist connecting with bone-shattering force. The sickening crack of David’s skull reverberates through the chamber. A moment of stunned silence hangs heavy, the weight of irreversible action casting a pall over the room.

But before I could strike again, Edward intervenes, his voice laced with a mix of horror and compassion.

"Stop! We can’t lose ourselves in this mess of memories as well"

My breaths come in ragged gasps, my knuckles trembling with the weight of what I almost did. In that instant, I realized the precipice upon which we all teeters, one step away from becoming the very monster we sought to defeat.

Gently, Edward let's go of my fist, our eyes locking in a profound moment of shared understanding. We all face the consequences of our choices, grappling with the blurred lines between justice and vengeance. We are reminded that our fight is not only against external threats, but also against the memories that threaten to consume their own souls.

"Seems it's over?"

Aiden's voice broke me from my thoughts, he looked towards the unconscious David.

"You did quite a number on him"

Aiden was pretty calm about this situation, or maybe I'm just being paranoid.

"You know it's common to lose control after dying so many times, just don't get yourself killed again"

As if sensing what I was thinking Aiden gave me a sophisticated answer while he examined the unconscious body of David.

"Why didn't he stop even after I injected the medicine?"

It was Edward who asked the next question, and it was something that plagued my mind as well. When I lost control due to the clash of memories I seem to have recovered after a single dose but David didn't.

"He have experienced simply far too many deaths, the accumulated memories is not something that can be repressed by a simple medicine"

"What's gonna happen to him then?"

"I would have to repair his brain by expunging the unwanted memories and stabilizing it, luckily we still have his brain map from the previous data when he scanned for his memories to check if he is drifter or not, it would also repair the wound, you gave him Freddy"

Aiden was basically talking about reconstructing the entire brain, it was impossible in my previous world but I guess Aiden's world was simply far too advanced to be compared to mine.

With reverence, Aiden carefully lifts the unconscious form of David and carries him to a nearby machine, purpose-built for the intricate task at hand. The machine hums with a subtle energy, its intricate array of wires and pulsating lights poised to embark on a delicate journey of restoration.

I watched intently, my eyes scanning the intricate mechanisms that will attempt to mend the shattered fragments of David’s mind. I approached Aiden, my voice laced with a mix of curiosity.

"Aiden, what is this machine?"

Aiden’s gaze settles upon the machine, a solemn reflection mirroring the weight of his responsibilities.

"It employs advanced neural restoration techniques, designed to mend the broken pathways within David’s brain, reconnecting fractured thoughts and memories, and stabilizing the chaos within his brain."

"And what are the chances of success?"

"The odds are uncertain"

As Aiden initiates the machine, a soft glow envelops David’s body, tendrils of energy delicately weaving their way into his unconscious form.

Within the confines of the machine, unseen processes unfold. A symphony of complex algorithms and intricate nanostructures work in unison, seeking to repair the damage inflicted upon David’s mind. Time seems to stretch as minutes morph into hours, the room shrouded in an air of anticipatory stillness.

We left the room to let David recover quietly, three hours had passed but David's brain was still being repaired, meanwhile Edward was briefing Noah in a different room.

I went to find Aiden, for the remaining of my answers as my thoughts drifted to the holographic whales I witnessed earlier. I turned to Aiden, my voice tinged with curiosity and awe.

"Aiden, those holographic whales floating in the sky... what are they?"

Aiden’s gaze shifts momentarily from the machine,

"They are merely echoes of a different universe. Due to the storm the barriers between universes have been weakened, allowing glimpses into other universes, other worlds. The holographic whales are beings of another plane, lost and suspended in our sky"

As the machine nears completion, an air of expectancy permeates the room. The soft glow intensifies, its ethereal radiance casting a warm luminescence upon David’s still form. Aiden’s voice carries a mix of apprehension and hope.

"We’ve done all we can. Now, we wait."

As the hum of the healing machine fills the room, my thoughts turn to the enigmatic storm that has been ravaging the world outside. I approached Aiden once again, my curiosity piqued, and my voice carries a mix of curiosity and concern.

"Aiden, tell me more about this storm. What is its origin, and how does it connect to the multiverse?"

Aiden’s gaze meets mine, the weight of knowledge reflecting in his eyes. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts before responding.

"The storm, Freddy, is a manifestation of the chaotic forces that arise when two universes teeter on the precipice of collision. It exists beyond the confines of our four-dimensional world, extending into realms we can only begin to comprehend."

My eyes widen, my mind grappling with the enormity of Aiden’s revelation.

"So, the storm exists outside of our universe? How does it relate to the multiverse?"

Aiden nods, his expression a mixture of awe and trepidation.

"Indeed, Freddy. The storm is a conduit, a swirling maelstrom of energy that transcends the boundaries of individual universes. It serves as a gateway, a passage through which we traverse the vast expanse of the multiverse. Every timeline, every parallel reality, is connected through this ever-present storm."

The storm seemed like a big thing, but it was way too complex of an explanation for me, thus I just mimicked Edward.

"In Layman's terms...?"

Aiden sighed, and he quickly began explaining it in a way I would understand.

"In simple terms, the Glitch is pulling the multiverse towards its center, that we call the root. The pulling towards the root brought the universes to near collision, and the forces that held the universe in its place clashed bringing forth a surge of chaotic energy that we call The Storm. It affects the multiverse in a way because it's something that shouldn't exist in the fourth dimension. Let's take an ocean for example, we can see an entire ocean but we can't see the individual droplets that make the whole ocean, but a significantly smaller creature will be able to differentiate the droplets but for him the ocean will be an infinite thing."

"Similarly the droplets are universes and timelines, and the entire ocean is the multiverse, and the temporal nexus. A being who resides above the fourth dimension will be able to see the entire ocean, in this case the multiverse. The Storm is a chaotic energy exist outside of the fourth dimension, thus using that we are able to travel to different universes, since we are smaller being who are capable of pinpointing the droplets''

My expression trembles with a mixture of fascination and apprehension. It was a lot to take in, I felt silent for a moment, unable to ask further questions. While Aiden continued his explanation.

Aiden’s next response carries a weight of caution, his words laced with an understanding of the storm’s immense power.

"The storm is both a force of creation and destruction. It shapes the fabric of reality, weaving together the tapestry of existence. But its power is volatile, untamed. It can rend worlds apart, unleash chaos and devastation. It is a constant reminder of the fragile equilibrium upon which our existence teeters."

I was shocked to say the least upon this revelation, but me being shocked with every new thing about this glitch has become just another Tuesday now. I had no more questions but before I could even thank him for the information the alarm within the building rang.

As the piercing alarm reverberated through the base, My heart skipped a beat. Aiden quickly rushed towards the medical room where David was kept and I followed behind, meanwhile Noah and Edward ran towards the main gate, to check if an undead had invaded them.

"My God..."

Aiden's remarks confirmed who the main culprit of this sudden alarm was, the only problem is that the culprit is missing.

The machine made to repair David's brain was broken, and David was nowhere to be found.

"Jack"

Aiden's first course of action to ask Jack, the A.I. who manages all digital tasks.

[It seems the flash drive has been removed from the 3-D printer]

"Flash drive?"

I got curious why a flash drive triggered an alarm, but Aiden quickly quenched my curiosity.

"It had the blueprint for the machine that will be used to fix the Glitch"

Aiden didn't take much longer to think as he ran straight towards the room where the 3-D printer is kept. I on the other hand quietly stood near the medical room, the figure of David holding that chainsaw resurfaced in my mind.

My instincts kick into overdrive, propelling me towards the weapon room in a desperate race against time.

Pushing open the heavy metal door, I stepped into the weapon room, my eyes scanning the array of deadly tools that line the walls. And there, amidst the gleaming arsenal, stands David, playing with the stolen flash drive in one hand and gripping a menacing chainsaw in the other.

This time however David didn't lunge towards me, our eyes just locked while I broke the ice with a question. My voice carries a mix of anger and desperation.

"Ready to talk?"

David’s lips curl into a wicked smile, his voice laced with a chilling certainty.

"I guess I should, since you all helped me recover"

So he actually recovered, which means we could get some information from him, but his demeanor had changed. He doesn't seem like the David we met earlier today.

My first course of action is to quietly tap the SOS button on my QS-Band while I could keep him busy with a conversation. It was the oldest trick in the book but I was willing to use anything right now.

"Recover? Then what happened to you?"

"Aiden's assumption was right, I had inherited someone's memories and was consumed by it. That someone had very twisted ideals you see...well they became twisted because of the clashing of memories until he became insane, now you helped me recover. In a way I am that same insane twisted guy who turned sane thanks to you all"

David’s laughter fills the room, a twisted symphony of madness, but that laughter was short lived

*BANG*

"On your knees motherfucker"

As soon as Edward entered the room he shot David on his leg, he staggered and fell but he quickly took a shot of comet and recovered.

"There's no use in fighting with me you know"

David said in a nonchalant tone, beaming with confidence as if he could defeat us all.

"And what makes you think you stand a chance against all of us" Noah said with a visible fury in his voice

"It's not like I am totally helpless, I am in a weapons room after all. However I will not fight you, not this time"

David held a sly smile when he said his last words

"What...are you planning?"

I could merely ask, unable to deduce his intentions any further.

"Death to us all, and I will bring forth such a revolution in this multiverse plagued with deathless drifters"

David proclaimed, his arms wide open as if he was proclaiming himself as some holy figure. His clothes were bloody while he had dried up blood on his face and a staggered leg, not to mention the chainsaw he held made this whole thing even more twisted.

David’s taunting words hang in the air, rendering everyone speechless for a moment. Swirling with a dark intensity. My eyes narrowed, I took a step closer, my voice firm but laced with an undercurrent of frustration.

"You think you’re some sort of harbinger of death, David? That you hold the power to decide who lives and who dies?"

David smirks, his eyes gleaming with a twisted pleasure as he revels in the chaos he’s sown.

"Oh, Freddy, you’re finally beginning to understand. Death is inevitable, an inescapable part of our existence. I am simply accelerating the journey for those who are too blind to see it."

"You’re no savior, You’re just a deranged soul, lost in your delusions."

Noah, the always quiet guy spat upon David's words.

David’s laughter fills the room, a chilling chorus that sends shivers down everyone’s spine.

"Life is nothing more than a fleeting illusion. A fragile existence that crumbles under the weight of its own insignificance. Death is the only truth, the great equalizer."

From multiverse traveling in a zombie apocalypse to a deranged psychopath talking about Nihilistic philosophical ideals, I can finally say I have witnessed every weird thing this world has to offer.

"It seems your twisted perception blinds you to the very essence of our humanity." Aiden made a calm observation, while Jack, well he wasn't present here with us since he had no fighting ability.

David’s eyes narrow, his voice dripping with venomous certainty.

"I am beyond such trivialities. I serve Death, and I am merely hastening its arrival. I'll kill you all as many times it takes to push you one step closer to death"

"You’re insane! You think killing us repeatedly is some twisted act of mercy? What you’re doing is pure madness!"

David’s expression twists into a malicious grin, his eyes gleaming with a dark determination.

"Madness? No, it’s liberation! You and the others have been cursed with immortality, trapped in a cycle of endless existence. I’m merely offering you the release you so desperately need."

Edward, who had been silently pointing his gun till now raised his voice in anger as he fired another shot towards David on the same spot he fired before.

David fell to his knees once again, but his laughter didn't cease.

"Release? You call this release? To be torn from one universe to another, to be stripped of everything that makes us who we are?"

David’s laughter fills the room, an eerie echo that reverberates through everyone's bones.

"I knew that ignorant masses will not embrace the freedom I offer. It is however within the realm of my expectations"

"Then I suppose being captured was also within your expectations"

Edward fired another shot to David's other leg, bringing his so-called holy figure on its knees, yet his arms remained extended as they were.

David's smile yet didn't vanish.

"I told you I will not fight you this time. It seems my time for conversation is up"

"What?" I blurted out in instinct

"Oh Freddy, you were not the only one who was buying time"

My head began spinning as he finished his sentence, I quickly grabbed a gun from the weapons room and aimed for his left arm, just below the shoulder.

David wasn't extending his arms to present himself as a holy figure of death, but it was his way of distracting us from the QS-Band held underneath his shirt.

He held his arms in a similar way from the start so we wouldn't notice the bulge in his clothes, while we were too distracted by his twisted ideals to even think that he was planning to escape.

His main goal was to buy time until the QS-Band could activate. He truly is an insane man that we brought to sanity.

With a small beep, David's teleportation device activates. A spatial tear opened around him consuming his entire being.

*BANG*

I fired the shot in hopes to destroy the QS-Band but the simply hit the wall

In a moment's notice David vanished from sight in a blinding flash of light. The room falls into a heavy silence, broken only by the echoes of our final exchange.