Chapter 88

　　The oppressive silence of space weighed down on Merit as he entered the battlefield. The creaking of the Mech while it walked and the hum on its reactor was a comforting presence as they were the only things to alleviate the quiet.

　　The Scout Mech weighed little as he hopped across the barren shard of ground that had once been connected to a planet. Grey rock, pockmarked from collisions with debris, passed beneath his feet as he drifted forward, his Lasgun raised, and sensors strained to their limits to find his opponent.

　　Unnoticed by Merit, a sheet of sweat was covering his face in the real world, and his left hand clenched into a fist.

　　"Thermal energy signature detected." The mechanical voice spoke out in his cockpit, and a spot pinged` on his HUD. Adjusting his jump, he turned slightly to look, focusing on it as his vision zoomed.

　　The Angel glided swiftly through the void, with two streaks of white vapour streaming behind it. Its railgun was raised and ready, its sensors locked onto Merit`s Scout at the same time as his own.

　　In the top right corner of his vision, a distance gauge displayed their proximately, glowing red to indicate it was still out of range of his improved Heavy Lasgun.

　　"Looks like they found each other. We`re seconds away from the start of the show!" The announcer shouted, and the crowd responded, the noise surging as they screamed. Throughout the stadium, banners fluttered in the wind.

　　In this atmosphere of festivity, a wave of fear, loathing, disgust and bloodlust crashed down upon him, striking him without warning.

　　"You`re a disappointment, Kalen." A voice whispered in the silent cockpit. Kal`s fist spasmed painfully, digging into the soft gel cushion of his Pilot chair. Time ground to a halt, the Angel`s movements in the distance stopped and the silence of space pressed down on his mind.

　　"You`re not real." Merit growled through clenched teeth. He tried to ignore the laughter that erupted from his statement. He panted, struggling to catch his breath. Panic gripped him, and it felt like his heart was stopping.

　　"Aren`t I, Kalen? Perhaps you aren`t the one who is real?" Merit spun his head to confront the voice, and suddenly he was somewhere else.

　　He stood in a vast storage room on Caledon, the stone walls bare and cold. Towering above him was Atlas, its green eyes glowing with light as it stared down at his diminutive figure. He could feel the connection between them, the Neural Link throbbing like a heartbeat in his mind.

　　"You`re not alive," Kal whispered. He wished he didn`t sound as if he were trying to convince himself of the truth. "Amelia explained to me that what I experienced resulted from genetic memory. You don`t have a mind of your own."

　　Atlas stared at him in silence, and Kal shivered at its gaze. He seemed to be drawn into those glowing green orbs.

　　"You`re right. I don`t have a mind." The voice whispered, seeming to come from every direction at once. "But I do have a soul!" The Titan screamed, throwing its head back and howling. Its mouth opened, revealing a black void and rows of jagged teeth.

　　The room shook with the noise, and Kal fell to his knees. He covered his ears with his hands, desperately trying to block the sound. His voice added to the roar, and he screamed as his vision darkened. The Atlas, mouth agape, swallowed him whole.

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　　"Who do you think is going to win?" Cid asked as she dug into a tray of snacks placed delicately on her lap. Next to her, Mare was wearing a black shirt and hat, both bearing Merit`s name and likeness.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

　　Something had changed in the young woman since the day before. She seemed relieved of a burden, more accessible and outgoing. Everyone in their group noticed it, but only Cid knew the true source of the change.

　　"Kal, of course." She replied with confidence. She reached out and plucked a handful of popcorn from Cid`s bucket, popping it into her mouth and enjoying the buttery taste. Even diluted by the VR system, it was good.

　　"Kal?" Cid asked slyly, smiling at her friend.

　　"What?" Mare asked, turning away from the arena and looking at her friend. Cid leaned close to her, placing her head on Mare`s shoulder and blinking cutely at her companion.

　　"I didn`t know you were so close! Calling him Kal, going on dates&When`s the wedding?" Cid teased, and Mare flushed red at the question.

　　"Shut it! We`re just friends." Mare retorted, shrugging her shoulder to dislodge the girl. Cid giggled loudly, causing Micah and the others to look over at the pair.

　　"Looks like they found each other. We`re seconds away from the start of the show!" The annoucer declared.

　　Mare turned away from her friends, observing the match as the Angel and Merit`s Scout Mech closed in on each other. Without warning, the Scout suddenly stopped moving, its boosters ceased firing, and it began to drift forward on its momentum alone, tumbling slowly through space.

　　Confused, Mare watched as the Scout seemed to power down, its motions stopped, and the lights from its Lasgun, sensors and attachments turned dark.

　　"What`s happening?" Cid asked, turning to Mare for an answer. The young woman shook her head, confused. Was Merit injured somehow, or was his Mech defective?

　　On the other side of the arena, Sylla and Kal`s other companions were equally confused, looking at Elric for an answer.

　　"There shouldn`t be anything wrong with his Scout. If this is the real world, I would say there may be a problem with the Link or its reactor, but this is artificial." Elirc replied.

　　"Could something be wrong with Kal?" Sylla asked. Tamara was already pulling out her communication holo, contacting the Imperial Guard to send someone to check on Kal. Samuel had granted her special privileges when it came to Kal, giving her a direct line to the Terran Guards.

　　"Folks, sit tight. We may be experiencing some kind of system fault. We`re going to pause the match temporarily to ensure the connection is fine and that both Pilots are ready to participate." The announcer stated while in the background, the organizers were frantically checking the connection, trying to find a possible source of the interruption.

　　"It`s not on our end. There`s something abnormal going on with Merit`s Neural Link." One of the technicians said from his computer terminal.

　　"We`re getting intense feedback from his Scout!" Another shouted as the Neural activity from Merit`s Mech spiked.

　　"Cut the connection!" Their supervisor ordered.

　　VR was as safe as they could make it, but there was always a risk in the Neural Link. Feedback could harm the user if it is severe enough. Better to cut the connection, reset and potentially delay the match than see harm to one of the participants.

　　"No good, it`s rejecting us!"

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　　"We`re experiencing technical difficulties. The match will resume shortly. Please be patient." The announcement came as the Merit`s scout drifted aimlessly. Hearing of the delay, Alma`s Angel ceased its movement, entering standby.

　　While the crowd murmured, Merit`s Scout began to move. With exaggerated slowness, it righted itself, the boosters on its legs and back giving it enough thrust to cease its tumbling and straighten.

　　"Hold on. It looks like the issue may have resolved itself. Give our technicians a moment to verify."

　　Mare settled back into her seat, comforted by the movement of Kal`s Mech. It may have been a delay or interruption from the server that was the problem. She was about to explain to Cid when the Scout suddenly shot forward at incredible speed.

　　Throwing its weapon away, its thrusters turned red hot from the intensity of the power they were exuding.

　　In a moment, Merit was streaking through the black void toward his opponent, who reacted immediately by firing its railgun. A streak of blue light flashed through the darkness toward the Scout Mech. Instantly adjusting its course, the tungsten round barely grazed the Scout before impacting into a large piece of floating debris, obliterating it into grey dust.

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　　In the cockpit, Kal screamed as the pressure from the Neural Link was overwhelming. The Scout`s Mech reactor was being pushed beyond its limit as its Pilot railed against the presence of the Green-Eyed Beast that was attacking his mind.

　　Kal was no longer in the game or facing Alma in their Angel Light Class. He was back in space above the abandoned mining outpost, in the cockpit of Atlas, as he fought for his life.

　　To an outside observer, it would seem Merit was calm, focused and in control, with a slight smirk on his face as he fought against the Angel. But inside, a portion of him was screaming, railing against the Neural Link and its connection to something inside him, something buried deep in his genetic memory that had been wrenched to the surface by Atlas.

　　"I`m not weak," Kal whispered, and the Scout`s reactor whined as he pushed it further. His normally blue eyes glowed green in the dim cockpit with an inner light.