《NO STRINGS ATTACHED》CH. 77
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Wurm: Explain yourself. You're telling us our lives are fake?
???: No, no, no~ You are living. Your lives belong to another though. That's about it. You are his puppets like I am. We just have been built with different purposes. Yours is to collect divens for him until you die and mine is to deal with the memories of those who bring back the dead ones~
Taïna: So that man too?
???: Codename White dragon? Yes. He is a prime too. But he was going to die. So, we brought him back to take the divens he collected throughout his life. The Master gives you a life and in exchange, you repay him before your death. Sometimes you are given little quests like these too but you never remember them. I already met you a few times each to be honest. Saddening how you never remember...But I do. Like the others in this tower.Anyways, what kind of memories would you like?
Wurm: I don't want any other.
???: Too bad then. If you don't decide, I will do it for you~
The first one to speak was the Archbishop:
Archbishop Ash: I believe then that all those times I went on a crusade after hearing my God were fake? I went here, right? And you're the one who gave me those crusading memories?
???: Bingo~ You always figure it out~ Do you want me to do the same again?
Archbishop Ash: ...Please do. Without my beliefs-
???: I have nothing. Right. I know. Ok. Don't worry, I never disappoint~ And you guys?
Wurm: ...Just take away the parts you must.
???: Well~ Okay~ Sure~
Taïna laughed. This was so absurd. This whole thing was...so...absurd... Tears streamed down her face.
Taïna: Can you give me a beautiful dream?
The being nodded with a serious and warm smile.
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???: I will, dear, don't worry.
Then, he moved his hands in an arc and the trio passed out. Now, he would erase their memories and forge them new ones. This was his reason of existence. He was the doctor for puppet's mind.
...
Da On Kai's fate was far different though. As one who decided to kill a puppet, he was considered a criminal by them. The armored beings led him down, far under the ground-level of the planet. While he screamed and ranted all the way, he wasn't answered even once.
After some time, they reached a jail of some kind. He could see dozens of different beings chained to walls, silent and the eyes staring blankly forwards. It was eerie.
Then, they stopped in front of an empty cell, opened it and put him inside. He asked:
Da On Kai: What now?
And for the frist time, one of the being answered him:
???: We plug you in and you will forever experience hell to atone for your sins and for the Master's pleasure. Have fun, sinner.
As the words finished, Da On Kai felt something piercing through his neck by behind. It was a small black tendril. Then, just like the other inmates, his gaze turned blank.
He woke up chained somewhere else surrounded by fire... He couldn't feel anything but pain.
...
The caped being took Shen to the pit. As they both looked down, they could see millions of random body parts and hear thousands of sorrowfull voices screaming in agony. This was the most horrible sight ever to Shen.
Shen: ...What is this?
???: The pit. Where we disposed of the failed puppets. Like you.
Shen: What?
The caped being took Shen a little bit away from the pit then snapped his hands. A red string appeared with one extremity in his heart. As a puppeteer, he felt shame at not even being aware of this one.
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???: This is the real pupeteer chain. And you are a puppet who failed. You were supposed to die. Your duty achieved, you are now going to be disposed of as garbage.
Shen could only laugh at the sheer stupidity of this situation. He stopped laughing as the being took out one of his sword and slashes through the red string, severing it for good. At the same time, all fake memories in Shen's mind disappeared.
The many lives, the hometown, the home world, the childhood, the years of research, the lovers...Only the time lived by 'Shen' himself had been real. At the same time, he remembered this world, he had been there once, as one who brought a failure instead of the failure. He remembered this knight-like being. He remembered the puppet doctor too. He remebered all the truth.
And his laughter erupted filled with sadness, pain and true despair.
Shen: ... It was all fake. All of it.
???: No. Your live was not. It ends here though.
The armored one then proceeded to pierce the heart of Shen and retrieved a shard from it. Divens. Energy from world seeds. The armored being weighed them and nodded.
???: 1342 Divens. Not bad. Far from good but not that bad considering your sector of activity.
Shen remained silent, stunned into internal despair.
Then, the armore being placed both hands on Shen's eyes and gouged them out.
???: Blue eyed White dragon's eyes. Too bad you lost the arms but it can't be helped. Alright. Now, you can go for your last voyage.
As he said so, the man kicked Shen's remaining body into the pit. Shen's body fell and hit the 'ground' which was nothing more than a heap of body parts. He was now blind, limbless and without his Divens. He was stuck inside a pit full of body parts that had been left to rot.
In the end, he who lived thinking of himself as a God. As a Pupeteer. As a being beyond the others. He had been nothing more than the puppet all along. The sad truth hit him harder than anything else before.
He was a puppet.
He was nothing but garbage now. Yet, as he was inside that pile of smelly remains, the despair turned to rage. His teeth began to morph into those of a High vampire Lord. This was a modification he did himself, not one he had been provided with upon building. As such, they weren't aware of it.
It wasn't much but from this he could slowly meditate and absorb Magic.
He had been reduced to nothing but garbage but finally, to himself, he no longer had no strings attached.
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