The Untitled (BL)

Chapter Eight

"Explain," he demanded.

His tone of voice hardened and brooked no nonsense.

The child tore her eyes away from Rei, the quiver hard to miss as she faced the man at her side. It was surprising she hadn't fallen over in a bout of weakness.

She muttered, "His mind is encrypted."

Rei was utterly confused. Nothing he'd heard so far made sense to him. He stared at the small childs faintly trembling appearance to Ari's frightening smile. Neither were very appealing right now nor gave him comfort.

"How do we undo it?" Ari asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

The child almost shook her head but received a biting cold glare that changed her natural course of direction. A sour expression appeared on her puffy face and after thinking a bit, she slowly uttered a reply.

"There is a way but-"

"What is it?"

The child stared at Rei. He hadn't spoken since he'd entered. His entire presence was no different than a ghosts.

His mind was encrypted?

The term sounded familiar but no matter how far Rei dug into his own head for an answer, he came up with nothing.

"Someone from the outside world must decode it."

Rei glanced at Ari who'd fallen deathly silent. Not even a single trace of emotion could be seen on his peerless face. It was as if those few words had destroyed every feeling he once possessed.

The child continued looking at Rei. She took a deep breath and started to clear some of the webs collecting inside his head.

"If you are here, then you must've noticed something strange with your...surroundings."

Ari didn't stop her from speaking. He was already in a place one couldn't begin to fathom.

Rei's silence was answer enough. It was true. He was here because he'd noticed something wrong with his surroundings, though he couldn't clearly make out what was so strange. It was a conundrum that "frustrated" him very much.

The child grew heated the more she spoke.

"This world we thought we knew so well; what if I told you none of it was real?"

Rei frowned but he didn't interrupt the child's speech. She was clearly entranced by her own words.

"We die but we resurrect. We are wounded but we are quick to heal. Everything we do is according to their commands, restrictions and will."

Even though a part of Rei wanted to believe he had been in control all this time, he suddenly remembered his time throughout imprisonment.

Whenever it had started, however it had started, his awareness had truly awoken at that place and time. From meeting the Faery and accepting her pleas of help to joining hands with Ari and becoming his companion. Even those little balls of lights and the "Halos" that surrounded certain people - his mind processed all of these changes.

It was as the child had said. He'd never thought it could have been so complicated....for what purpose did he exist?

Something seemed to free itself inside his mind. It made him feel clear headed and much lighter. The invisible chains had drifted away, replaced by a growing light thirsting for answers.

"Who?"

The child smiled, though it was filled with helplessness.

"They're called, Developer's. They're the ones who placed an encryption inside your mind. For what reasons, it's clearly not to restrict your movement."

She went on to say, "From my understanding, it was placed there to hide something we aren't supposed to access. If you want to decode it, you'll need to find someone from the outside world..but that's an impossible feat. We are an error...we cannot exist. They won't allow it. They could be on their way already..."

Her rambling grew more and more unsteady. Rei had to raise his voice to get his next question through.

"The Outside world?"

The child didn't have time to answer before a chilly voice entered Rei's ears.

When Rei glanced over, he was a little surprised to see Ari had returned to his usual appearance. A smile lit up his face and his Azure eyes held a trace of defiance.

"You will learn more about them in time. Alys is right. With your disappearance, someone should be tracking us right now, so we cannot waste anymore time here."

Ari returned his gaze to the child. "I want you to remove the restrictions on his body. I suspect he cannot fully control his movements if he were to be challenged."

The child nodded in agreement. She walked over to Rei's side and lightly grasped his hand, the tremble slowly being transferred through their warm contact.

The child whispered, "You must allow me inside if you want to be free."

"Do not resist," murmured Ari.

Rei loosened his tight grip and nodded. He couldn't understand why but he trusted Ari's words.

Something immediately slithered into his head. It started off cool and unobtrusive, then it expanded until it felt like something was peeling his skin off, layer by layer.

Rei wanted to tug his hand back and force the "intruder" out because of the sudden the "pain" but he remembered Ari's words. He'd already accepted it, so he should see it to the end. This wasn't him. He was not a coward.

Rei doesn't know how long this torture had lasted nor when it had ended. He eventually succumbed to the darkness without being aware of any of it. For a long time he was floating in a sea of black. His body was incorporal, as if it ceased to exist. The only thing that continued to exist in this space was his thoughts...

He had many thoughts. Most were questioning his own existence. Over and over and over again.

When Rei recovered his conscience again, it was the start of a new day.