#BLUR VIII

8In the hushed glow of the room. A nameless entity, its fur dipped in an ambiguous hue of white or maybe black, settled Blur into his bed. Am I a Cat, Mr. Cat—maybe?Number 000—doubtful. At the same time, I might be—someone. A stream of thoughts meandered, and an eerie silence lingered as I pondered the absence of a name—a single word to define my enigmatic existence.Despite performing the duties entrusted to me, a stream of thoughts meanders through my feline consciousness. Why does a cat not bear a name, a single word to its existence?All I could recall was a girl, a figure radiating hatred towards another. The girl from a past that intertwined with emotions I struggled to conceal. She—rather I played the part of indifference, masking my internal turmoil with jealousy and suppressed longing.Yet, as I settled Blur into bed, a disconcerting realization clawed at my consciousness. Scent, just like hers. His face mirrored that of the girl I once knew—a connection that sent ripples of uncertainty through my conflicted soul. The universe, it seemed, was playing a jest on me.Saving a boy with the same existence as the girl I despised was ironic. As strange as it may sound, it was not his time to die.But something felt awry—lingering memories persisted within Blur. Memories of a time I thought I had wiped clean, a time when he turned to charcoal in the aftermath of a blast."—000."After reaching out to the orb in the library, a voice crackled through the comms."Huh!? Who's on the line?""Number 000."Clearly, it was the creator, the professor."Prof?""Surely, I need not say it for you to understand? Or do you need me to remind you it's time for your regular reports?""Sorry, Professor. Reporting has been challenging due to subject 101; he's quite a handful.""It seems you've grown attached to 101.""That's not true, Prof. It's just an act to get closer to him.""Okay, just ensure your act doesn't interfere with the project. How's number 101? Any signs of his concept manifesting?""It's difficult to say at the moment. His eyes show signs of ether, but his concept seems dormant. Nothing is happening.""I see, same as before. How about the system program? Did it work?""That's another issue. His adaptation to the system is extreme, causing more backlash than expected. He reached the system core briefly, but I had to pull him back to prevent potential bugs.""Seems like we'll have to halt the system program.""Hmm... Prof, is there any use in keeping 101? He seems of no value to the project. Should I erase him?""No, there's no need for that. Subject 101 is unique as the only male. Losing him would be a setback, so we'll use him to our advantage.""Okay.""Other subjects had already manifested their concept. By tomorrow we'll initiate the second trial for 101, so be vigilant.""But, Prof, isn't the second trial ahead of schedule?""No need to worry; if it fails, we can try again. There's no harm in that.""Understood, prof." I saw through the charade. Now, there was no reason for me to keep up with the farce any longer. The illogical dance of concepts, and the boy with the face of the one I hate
—I wonder how you'll get out of this Blur.