Chapter 169 - 168 - Voice In My Head(Part 2)

"Come on, don't be such a wet blanket...does it really matter what name I go by?" 

"No, I don't really care what you call yourself, but no stupid parody of my name," I responded with a huff. 

"Oh, please, you're just jealous that Murderzachs sounds way more intense and cool than Kilzachs does," He countered smugly. 

"That is absolutely not the case, it's just so overly edgy that it makes me cringe!" I snapped in reply. 

"Hmph, sounds like an excuse, if you ask me. But fine, I'll think of something else," He sighed, before seeming to mull it over and adding after a while, "Okay, I came up with a few options, take your pick! Slayzachs, Homicidezachs, Massacrezachs, Assassinatezachs, Slaughterzachs-." 

"I'm going to stop you right there and veto...all of those. They're all the same thing!" I exclaimed in exasperation. 

"I mean...so is Kilzachs," He shrugged in response. 

"No, it's not! Maybe if there were two Ls, but there's only one!" 

"Eh, that's just a technicality, the way it sounds is more relevant than the way it's spelt."

"Okay, that's it, I'm just gonna pick something off the top of my head and that's what we're calling you, no arguments," I declared, having had enough. 

"Whaaaat? That's no fun, you're probably gonna choose something boring just to spite me," He protested indignantly. 

"How about that, guess you know me pretty well, uh...got it, let's go with Inverse," I decided. 

"No way, that's-...huh, actually, not bad. Hm, but it's lacking something. Ohh, I know, Inversezachs!" 

"...no."

"Yeah, well, you're not the boss of me! Also, I want it spelt I-N-V-E-R-S-E, followed by a dash, and the Z-A-X instead of Z-A-C-H-S. Inverse-Zax, yeah...I like the sound of that!" He exclaimed with a grin. 

"Fuck it, whatever," I sighed, relenting, "But I'm just going to call you Inverse."

"Fine, works for me."

"Now that we've got that nonsense out of the way, I need to talk to you."

"Wha-...nonsense!?" He protested indignantly. 

"I want to know everything, when and how did you come into existence, anyway?" I inquired, getting straight to the point. 

"Hm? I told you last time, didnt I? It was when you you underwent the Awakening Procedure," He replied. 

"Okay, let me rephrase that...when and how did you become like this, self-aware and whatnot?" I asked him. 

"Oh, pretty recently, I think...around the time you started trying to trigger Unleash Anomaly, to be specific. You see, the spot between your shoulder blades is where the core is. By core, I'm referring to the source of your XFE, which only manifests after the Awakening Procedure. By channeling and concentrating your XFE into that spot, you push the limits of your restraints."

"What do you mean by 'restraints'?" I responded curiously. 

"Well, your Anomaly powers, or Prodigy manifestations. They're restrained in custom formats, the Prodigies' Primary and Secondary Manifestations and the unlockable Anomaly powers. The reason why they're restrained like that is so that your body wouldn't get overwhelmed. But by channeling XFE into that spot on your back, the limits of those restraints are pushed, and result in the unlocking of those stronger forms," He explained. 

"Oh, I see, I think I get that part now. But what does that have to do you with you gaining self-awareness?" 

"I'm not sure. All I know is that after you started channeling your XFE into that spot, I slowly but surely became more and more self-aware with every attempt you made. It's not like I understand the specifics, after all," He informed me. 

"Uh-huh. So, are you able to take over my body or mind or whatever?" I inquired warily.

"Nope. That was the first thing I tried, but all that happened was that you got a mild headache," He sighed in response. 

"I'm sorry, what?" 

"H-hey, now, try to see it from my perspective! Wouldn't you try to do the same in my position!? I-I mean, I did inherit your tastes and preferences, as well as some of your mindset, when I became self-aware. So it's only natural that I'd try to replace you! B-but since that's impossible, you have nothing to worry about!" He insisted nervously. 

"Tch, what a nuisance. Too bad I can't just-...huh, or maybe I can, it's not impossible," I muttered to myself, before shifting my gaze back towards him and narrowing my eyes as I chanted, "<Activate Anomaly, Tier Three: Cut>."

Oh...it worked. 

"Huh? What the-...!? My arm!" He exclaimed in surprise and horror, as his right arm suddenly vanished, "Fine, two can play at that game, I'll take your arm! <Activate Anomaly, Tier Three: Cut>...oh, crap."

Nothing happened...I was starting to get kinda nervous there for a sec...

"Well, now, that was a clear attempt to murder me. I think I'm going to cut you up into little pieces...," I remarked icily. 

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, let's not be too hasty! If you get rid of me, there'll be nothing to regulate your powers and XFE, control will become way harder and your powers will be unstable as hell! You're all about control, right? Delete me and you'll lose control over your own powers!" He exclaimed in alarm. 

"Hm...yeah, that'd be problematic, I suppose. Fine, I'll spare you this time, but try to pull something like that again and I won't hesitate to erase you. If my powers become unstable as a result, so be it," I responded coldly. 

"Y-you don't have to worry, I won't try anything like that ever again! So, uh...could I maybe have my arm back? It doesn't hurt or anything, but I feel...incomplete without it."

"I don't want to, but I have nothing to gain by holding onto it, so fine...<Activate Anomaly, Tier Three: Paste>," I chanted, returning his arm.

"Much better...so, uh, any more questions? I'm more than happy to answer anything you wanna know!" 

Okay, him sucking up to me is kinda annoying, but it's better than him trying to rebel and take over or whatever, I suppose. A thought then occurred to me... 

"Hey, does this mean that anyone who channels their XFE into the spots between their shoulder blades will have something like you inside them?" I asked with a sense of intrigue. 

"No clue. But it's certainly possible. There's no guarantee that they'll reveal themselves though, I kept myself hidden for quite a while, after all," He pointed out. 

"I see, guess I should warn some people, huh. By the way, during that day where I experimented with Tier One and ended up causing a bunch of shitty events...when I killed all those Mutants but barely remember it, did you have something to do with that?" I recalled. 

"Well, kinda...I noticed that you'd stopped thinking rationally, so I tried to guide you."

"What do you mean?" I replied curiously. 

"Remember earlier, when you were trying to come in here and you felt yourself being promted to channel your XFE a certain way?" 

"Oh, so that's what that was."

"Yup. Right before you wiped out those Mutants back then, I simply guided your emotions to get the ideal balance and blend, and then guided your XFE to help you trigger an incomplete version of Unleash Anomaly. After that, I just sort of guided your instincts and intuition and boom, flawless massacre. It was risky for me since, at the time, I was concealing my existence. But I didn't want to die, so I just hoped that you'd assume that you blanked out due to rage or something," He shrugged in response. 

"Why do I barely remember any of it?" I inquired with a frown. 

"It's sort of like you just gave into it...like, everything I was guiding went perfectly smoothly, there was no resistance at all. It was kinda like you went into autopilot mode, it's not that I was controlling you, more like you were letting me control you," He explained, though didn't seem too certain about his explanation, "To be honest, it's hard to put into words."

"Fine, I'll accept that, let's set it aside, for now anyway. Tell me, can you unlock my remaining Tiers?" I asked hopefully.

"Sorry, but no. Even I don't know the activation conditions. I do know what the powers of the two remaining Tiers are though, want me to tell you?" He offered in response. 

"Tempting, but I'll pass. There's no point in knowing that if I have no idea how to unlock them. Especially if they're really useful powers, I'll just get impatient and restless while hoping to unlock them as soon as possible," I sighed wistfully. 

"Makes sense, I guess."

"Oh, one more question, and we're done. I want to ask some others about this anyway, so let's wrap this up."

"Yeah, sure, that's fine by me. What do you want to know?" 

"Simple, really. It's about how I enter my subconscious...the way you guided my XFE, yeah, it worked and all, I found myself in here within a couple of seconds of following your guiding, but...is channeling my XFE into my crotch the only way to get in here!? How does that even make sense!? Why not my head, or my heart or something!? The hell does my dick have to do with my subconscious!?" I exclaimed in bewilderment. 

"Huh? I don't see what the big deal it, you're overreacting. And just so you know, I have no idea why it works like that. So, yeah."

Seriously? Whatever, I'm done here... 

"Ugh...this exhausted me, I'm leaving now."

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