Chapter 3: Something’s Wrong
Before Su Yi woke up, Jun left her mind space and returned back to the room in the Space Between Mirrors. Once he was there he flung open the door and exited out into the hallway. Ignoring the other systems as he hurried through it.
Seeing the dark aura that seeped out of his body, they could tell that it was best to stay far away from him until he had calmed down. Him being one of the leaders of the systems was an even bigger reason as to why they shouldn't approach him.
Ignoring their gazes, Jun continued down the hallway, until he reached the Lord System's space. As a leader, he had access to places that other Systems didn't, so he was able to get into space easily, without authorisation from the Lord.
Countless wires filled the room, trailing along the floor and creeping up the walls, all leading to one point, the large container in the middle; a dark green liquid swished about inside. Years ago the Lord System, who resembled a large human brain, stayed in the container, ruling over everything, but now it remained empty.
Over the side, hidden behind some of the larger wires, a system sat ramrod straight in a chair, with some of the wires attached to his head. They burrowed deep into his skull, and with his own power, he controlled the entirety of the worlds.
Doing it this way took a toll on the systems temporary bodies, and wasn't comparable to the Lord's powers, but they didn't have any other ways to keep everything running smoothly. If they slacked off for even a moment, the worlds would collapse and everything that the Lord System worked so hard to create and maintain would be gone in an instant.
Jun hesitated when he saw the haggard appearance of his colleague. Was it alright to disturb him? He knew that the answer was no, it wasn't good to distract the system while he was working. Any disturbance to the system while he was attached to the motherboard, would not only have adverse effects on the worlds, it would also damage his mind, and would be hard for him to keep his body intact.
Systems were beings who were basically just data in a human shell. It took a lot of energy to keep their human forms, and even the slightest of bumps could make them revert back to their coded selves.
In the next moment, it was like a saviour had swooped down to save him when the door opened behind him and a system walked in. She looked surprised to see Jun, but her expression soon changed to one of happiness when she recognised him.
"You're back?" She gleefully skipped over to him and tugged on his hand. "We heard that you were given a new Charge, and wouldn't be back for a while."
Jun suppressed the uncomfortable feelings welling up inside of him at the touch of her hand against his, and he swiftly shook her off. He stiffly replied, "I'm only back for a short while, there's something I need to discuss with 023. Do you know when his shift ends? I don't want to disturb him while he's attached to the motherboard."
The female system hmmed, and said, "it seems you're in luck. I'm here to replace him." She looked up with doe eyes and seemed to deflate when she saw no reaction coming from Jun.
She went over to 023 and lightly tapped on a button on the board before them. The wires slowly detached themselves from his head and slinked away. Then the male system opened his eyes, stretched his limbs and got to his feet. He exchanged some words with the girl, then turned towards Jun.
A smile stretched on his lips and he warmly greeted the older male. "Jun, you're here. What can I help you with?" Jun motioned for the younger to follow him, then exited the room.
They moved down the hallway and finally arrived at the lounge. Inside was a comfy sofa situated against the back wall, a tv, vending machine and other amenities that would help the systems to relax. Over the years it hadn't been used much and dust-covered every surface. Both systems grimaced and cleaned up a space for them to sit and talk comfortably.
"So what do you need?" 023 held his chin in his hand, and with the other, he tapped lightly on the table. "Whatever it is, don't hesitate to ask. I'll do the best I can to help you."
Jun smiled briefly, and when he thought about certain matters his face fell - a grimace now darkened his features. "It's about my Charge. There seems to be a problem with the world she was sent to."
"A problem?" 023 sat up straighter, his expression was now more serious. "That can't be possible. Over the history of the worlds, there have never been any problems. You know that the worlds hosts are sent to are totally random. Also, their safety is 100% guaranteed; they are removed from the world as soon as their life is in danger. What problems could there possibly be?"
It was understandable that 023 would think this way. The tasks were tailored around the hosts and would make it so there would be no threats to their lives. They would be removed from the worlds once it was determined that they're close to dying. So it was inconceivable to the little system that something had gone wrong to this particular host.
"I don't know how to explain it." Jun lowered his gaze and studied the surface of the table. "As you know my Charge is Su Yi..."
"Yes." 023 nodded his head. "Did anyone find out about that?"
"No." Jun's tone turned grim, and he continued to say, "before she completed the task of the first world, something happened and her mood started to fluctuate wildly. I was worried that she might do something irreversible and harm herself in a way that would endanger her life, so I forcefully removed her from the world. In the process, something went wrong and she lost her memories."
"As you know, hosts have their memories removed of their original worlds, so they can have a smoother transition to the new worlds. So I was worried that losing them once again would be detrimental to her health, or damage her soul, but thankfully nothing happened." Jun took a breath and clenched his fists. "The problem is to do with the world she is in right now. The world resembles our original one, and the events that are going to take place are ones that happened to her before she was made a host..."
"And you're worried that she'll remember everything, and hate you, right?" 023's eyes showed concern as he looked at his friend.
Jun nodded and said, "why... why did the motherboard choose to send her there? If she remembers everything that happened... wouldn't it have a huge impact on her state of mind? I don't want her to live through all of that again."
023 sighed and said, "but what if she remembers and it doesn't? I know you want to protect her, and want her to live the rest of her life not knowing what happened. But..."
"Ugh." A groan left Jun's mouth interrupting 023's words and he said, "what's done is done. I can't go against the motherboard's wishes and remove her from the world when nothing has happened yet. We can only take this one day at a time, and if I can change the events in some way, then I will."
"You can't!" 023 raised his voice and warned his friend, "if you change anything the resulting consequences will be dire and the world will collapse." His words seemed to rebound off Jun's retreating back.
Of course, he knew what would happen if he attempted to alter anything in the world that the host was in. However, he didn't care: all he cared about was Su Yi, and if destroying everything meant keeping her safe and happy, he would do it again and again.
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