Alex's eyes blinked open, a warm hand holding his own. "Please, just wake up." It was Amanda sitting next to him in a chair with her head bowed.
He felt like shit, the faint voice of Fate echoing in his mind. So this is what a cracked soul feels like? It was like he was at war with himself. Different "Alex's" were vying for control and he had to forcefully shut all of them out.
He could still feel the turmoil his body was in. It was like he had been permanently set off balance and his thoughts were jumbled, but at least the pain had subsided. He no longer felt like someone was taking a knife to every single one of his nerves.
He had no idea how to even go about fixing a cracked soul, and that was ignoring the mind boggling discovery that the concept of a soul was a real and tangible force somewhere inside of a human's body. Great job Alex, you really screwed yourself this time.
Alex finally let his sister know he was awake by lightly squeezing her hand. Her quiet sobbing immediately stopped and her head picked up, hazel brown eyes stared right into his.
"Hey sis. Didn't think you'd get rid of me that easily did you?" His voice was soft and scratchy, but even in the condition he was in he couldn't help himself from cracking a joke.
Leana was immediately on the other side of the bed, checking vitals and monitoring the machines that had kept Alex breathing while he was unconscious. "Incredible…" She muttered, her brows furrowed in thought. "A full recovery from an unknown ailment. Please, excuse me. I must report this development." With that, she stepped away and walked out of the room, leaving Amanda and Alex alone.
"Hey sis, I-" He was cut off by Amanda just standing up and wrapping her arms around him. It was a slightly awkward position due to how he had been laying, but he returned the gesture and hugged her close.
He had come so close to losing her. He had come so close to failing her. She was the only family he had left and without her there was nothing worth getting stronger for.
"I tried so hard, Alex. I tried so hard to be strong, but I couldn't." Her shoulders shook as Amanda started to let go of all the emotions she had been holding on to.
Alex didn't know what to say or how best to comfort her. This was the first time they had been close like this since they were kids, and lots of things had changed.
So he did the only thing that a brother could do for a crying sister. He just hugged her.
***
"Director. He's awake. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. He's completely healthy and shows no signs of any internal damage." The holo-communicator screen showed Leana standing in her own office, reading off of all the notes she had taken.
"Good. Have Captain Ryker catch them both up to speed on our situation. Don't give them access or answer any questions they don't have the clearance for, but make sure to press upon them the direness of what's going on."
"Yes sir. Of course, sir." The screen went dark and the Director of Argus just closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. Time was running out.
***
Roughly forty-five minutes later Alex and Amanda were sitting at a circular table inside of a rather plain looking room. TV monitors hung on one end of the room and glass walls were on the other, showcasing the depths of the ocean floor.
Amanda had explained what she knew about what was going on to Alex and filled him in with what she had learned, but clearly their presence being requested here meant that there was more that was going on that she hadn't learned.
It came as no surprise to Alex that a corporation that's existence directly coincided with his own rebirth had shady secrets and knowledge that no one else should have access to.
While they were waiting Alex had opened up his system's menu and was surprised to find a new line of text that hadn't existed before.
[Soul: F-Rank (Cracked)]
Alongside that came a quest directly linked to his damaged soul.
[Hidden Quest unlocked!]
[Repairing the Soul: The core of your soul has sustained damage and become cracked. Should further damages occur you will become unstable and unable to grow. Travel to the realm of Mediya and begin the journey to heal your soul. [Rewards: A stronger Soul Core.]
The system offered no explanation for what a Soul Core was, or how his soul directly influenced him, but he gathered that if he didn't get this quest done sooner rather than later he would suffer for it.
How could someone even make their soul stronger if they didn't know it existed? As much as he was grateful for the system, it often baffled and infuriated him with its mysterious ways.
The rest of his menus remained unchanged, something he was grateful for. Alex didn't think he could handle any more curveballs being thrown his way. He shifted uncomfortably in the leather chair, how much longer are they intending to make us wait?
As if summoned by his thoughts, the door to the room slid open and in walked three people, the first of which Alex recognized by her silvery-gray hair.
Leana the nurse was followed by a stocky, well built man with tanned skin. Unlike the gray suits everyone else was wearing, he wore a navy-blue suit, decorated with various symbols.
His dark brown hair was done in a military buzz cut style, while his facial features were sharp and prominent. His nose looked slightly crooked, likely a sign that it had been broken before. Piercing dark-green eyes gazed over Amanda and Alex, taking them in and getting the measure of their characters.
The last person into the room was perhaps the most shocking to Alex. A skinny boy, looking to be around sixteen or seventeen years old, followed behind the man in the navy blue suit. The boy's young face was bright and cheery, despite the more serious looks on the other two.
Wild and untamed ginger colored hair sat atop his round head, leading down to a face full of freckles and a wide smile. His eyes, blue as they were, held a certain depth of intelligence to them and though Alex was older, he felt this boy was far smarter than he could ever hope to be.
The three of them occupied the seats opposite Alex and Amanda and fixed them both with stares. "Right. I believe you've already met her, but this is our head doctor and primary care physician, Leana Orstos." The man in the navy blue suit spoke in a deep, gentle voice that seemed to belie his stocky nature. Leana bowed her head as she was called out.
"I am Nathaniel Ryker, but you may just call me Captain Ryker." He spoke very matter-of-factly, like this was an extremely formal greeting. "I was the man that led the strike team that rescued you, and I tend to oversee most of our militaristic operations."
There was no smile on his face as he introduced himself or a warmth in his eyes. Alex felt like this guy had to be ex-military, he was way too serious.
"And last but not least, this is Damian Erikson, lead scientist and the forefront of all of our technological advances." He gestured to the freckle faced boy who just waved at Amanda and Alex without a care in the world, giving them the cheeriest smile he could.
"Now, with introductions out of the way, let's get down to business."
***
"So, we're screwed? Because from what you're saying, it sounds like we're screwed." Captain Ryker had dropped the biggest bombshell of all bombshells on top of Alex and Amanda as if it was tea-time Tuesday and they were talking about which sports team was their favorite.
Earth was slowly gaining untraceable levels of mana and would eventually reach a threshold. Once that threshold was crossed and mana was as common as breathable air, Earth would be drawn into the war of the realms and could be invaded by any force that sought to claim more resources.
The only upside to this was that humanity would evolve to absorb the mana and be able to wield magic artifacts and spells, similar to how things were in WotR:O. Just without all the game aspects and character creation.
Alex had known the war was a real thing taking place across distant realms out in the universe, but he had never considered that Earth itself could get drawn into it. It would be a cataclysm like no other. Quite literally the end of the world.
Of course that wasn't all, as if a steaming pile of crap wasn't enough. Like the cherry on top, Captain Ryker explained that if Earth didn't have a specific amount of mana to meet a certain set of requirements, it would merge itself with another realm that was in a similar condition so it could combine the amount of mana available.
"Not necessarily. Erikson here has estimated that we have about a year before that happens, and though we aren't sure about the specifics, we do know that the merging can be avoided if enough mana is drawn to Earth." Alex looked at the captain with incredulity. So there was a normal doomsday clock and a super doomsday clock. Fucking great.
"Great, well how do we avoid having Earth merge with some other realm?" Alex felt like he was the only reasonable one freaking out in the room. Amanda was calm and collected, deep in her own thoughts. Leana was just studying them both and Damian was nothing but smiles. The Captain, surprisingly, seemed to match Alex's level of seriousness.
"That's the part that we needed you for." The fiery haired lead scientist spoke up finally, still a smile on his face. "Though the instructions were unclear, the one thing we do know is that you're the key to this. The stronger and more powerful you get, the more mana you attract. We were kind of hoping to use you like some sort of… Mana magnet."
At that Amanda slammed her hands down on the table, voice rising in anger. "Oh hell no! You're not gonna use my brother like some experiment. He just went through hell to rescue me. I won't lose him to your wild theories."
"We were prepared for this inevitable outburst and have taken precautions. Both you and your brother have Full-Dive pods specifically suited for you, and though your brother is a special case, you will be able to accompany him on his journey in the game if you wish." Ryker intervened before the situation got more volatile, trying to calm Amanda down.
The last thing Alex wanted was for his sister to get involved in all of this, but she was her own woman. They weren't little anymore. If she wanted to come along and be a part of his journey, he couldn't deny her that. At least then he knew she'd be somewhat safe with him.
Amanda huffed but relented and sat back in her seat. "Fine, but if I feel like any part of this is fishy Alex is done. Understood?"
Despite Amanda being new to everything, her fierce tone and piercing stares burned into each one of the Argus members. They all nodded their heads, understanding that they should not trifle with the power of a sister who had just gotten her dead brother back.
***
Alex slumped into the somewhat comfy bed of the room Argus had provided for him. After Amanda's outburst the meeting ended abruptly, each of the Argus members claiming to have somewhere else to be.
Alex chuckled to himself. He was supposed to be the strong one in this situation, but here they were, Amanda still being the stronger of the two.
His thoughts went to how quickly the situation had devolved. Just five days ago he had been reborn, dealt with a sarcastic system, thrown into a video game with his real body, DIED again, and now he was somewhere at the bottom of the ocean in a super secret compound for Argus.
They also somehow had insight into the war that even he wasn't allowed to know about because he didn't have high enough clearance. It was just one big headache that he didn't want to deal with.
There were still so many unknowns and questions that needed answers, but he was too tired to contemplate anything.
Tomorrow, he and Amanda would enter the pods Argus had built for them and enter the game the right way. Though he could technically go to Vorcast at any time he wished, Alex felt it was probably best to keep the secret abilities he had to himself.
He didn't fully trust Argus, even if they had rescued him and Amanda from Anton Valdenci. There was something they were hiding, he was sure of it. But that was a problem for tomorrow. Right now, all he wanted to do was snuggle up under the blankets and enjoy the comfort of a bed.
Despite the turmoil in his soul, and the misgivings he had about Argus as a whole, Alex managed to drift off into a comfortable sleep for the first time since he had been reborn.