Just silence... and thought.
The words drifted through the void like a lazy sigh. They didn’t echo, because there was nothing for them to bounce off of. Just a meaningless, empty space, calm, cold, and quiet.
He couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear, nor could he even feel his own body. That was the downside of having your head blown off in his situation. No brain meant no senses to fall on. No way to move. No way to speak. All he had left was his thought clinging to the last spark of his existence.
Good news, however, was that he wasn’t in heaven or hell. He wasn’t floating through some spiritual realm. Rather, he was still inside himself.
The moment he lost his head, his consciousness transferred right into his heart.
"It is both a blessing and a curse to have eternity as the source of my ability...
It was part of what made him a Shinso Human. Given that each Shinso existent has a form of immortality, albeit with a flaw, some are better than others. In his case, his immortality was more on the downside.
This flaw can be good or bad. However, he likes to think of his immortality to be more on the bad side.
Because the best way to describe his immortality when compared to his other big sis was that he was a living, walking flash drive.
His body couldn’t die. It couldn’t age past his prime. It couldn’t get sick, rot, or decay. But it also couldn’t heal itself. That was his flaw, he lacked any form of passive regeneration. Once a part was gone, it stayed gone unless he fixed it manually.
He could use his powers... Negative Touch to steal life energy, and Positive Touch to convert it into healing. That part was great.
But only if he had a brain to use it.
And right now, his skull was empty.
"That noble vampire... bastard. He really took my head off like it was nothing... although I will admit, I never would have thought you could use Attributless Astrum like that, although I saw how he did it. I can now use that spell as well, perks of having the Gate of Magic."
His heart...the core of his being, was keeping him technically alive. Beating strongly as it was extremely resilient, to damage. But the rest of him was basically alive, but frozen. As a result, he was trapped in his own body.
It was like being stuck inside a suit of armor with no joints, no way to speak, or no way to scream.
But since he can’t heal himself, this means that he would remain in this dormant state forever unless someone strong enough with exceptional healing abilities comes along.
"Sigh, what the hell am I going now?"
Adam asked himself, he could take all kinds of punishment, from severe instances of bone shattering, organs crushed, even entire limbs being blown or straight up torn off, and he would still be kicking. But a destroyed brain... Yeah, although that doesn’t kill him, it was a weakness of his.
Without a brain, the whole system shuts down. As a last resort, his consciousness snapped back to his heart like a desperate backup drive, and just like that, he was reduced to this.
He didn’t even know how long he had been here. It could’ve been seconds. It could’ve been days, even years. Time didn’t mean anything in this biological virtual space that holds his consciousness.
So, unless someone helped him, he was basically waiting in an infinite, undetermined line for help; the universe could end, creation could cease, but his mind would remain eternally active in this dormant state.
But all hope was not lost just yet.
Adam sighed to himself.
"Guess it’s time to call in the cavalry."
There was only one person who could probably still hear him .
He pushed the thought out like a signal flare, imagining her purple hair and deep red eyes when she gets excited, along with that smug smirk she always wore when teasing him.
"Oi, Minnie. Your lil bro needs a hand here. Come on, don’t leave me hanging ."
Adam called out mentally for help, when all fails, pleading to his big sis was his ultimate weapon.
But at this moment, there was no reply.
His cries, for some reason, were met with silence.
"Minerva! I’m being serious here! I really am in a pinch right now."
But even now, there was no response.
"w-What the hell is going on here?"
Adam asked in horror, as that was when the panic started to creep in.
Because she always answered. Always, or that’s what she said.
"Minerva... please...
But no matter how many times he called her name, the imaginary void stayed silent.
But just as he was about to call upon the System, a voice finally called out to him.
Hearing it for the first time, it was smooth, elegant, and feminine, but also lazy.
"Oh... how precious."
Adam froze the moment he heard this mysterious voice.
The voice giggled softly and wickedly, like someone watching a kitten struggle to get out of a paper bag.
"Sniff... Sniff! Is that fear I smell, ohh darling, you really are adorable, you know that?"
The voice of the woman cooed in a delightful way.
"Just lying there in the dark, all helpless and confused... like a broken toy waiting for someone to wind it up again."
He didn’t recognize her voice, but he felt a weird connection to this woman. With a weird sense of longing, he wanted this woman to be his, no, he needed her, but he tried to fight this feeling, what was happening to him, he wondered.
It was as his soul recognized her presence, her voice, it was as if it was the only thing he ever needed in this world.
He said to himself, but he snapped out of it and reacted in the way he should have been reacting here.
She commanded, but in a gentle way.
"No need to get defensive. I am not here to hurt you."
Right after that command, a short pause was shared between them. One long enough for him to question everything.
Right after, the woman spoke once more.
"...Our meeting was one that should have been one that happened long ago, but I never had an interest in you... Until now, that is, so let’s keep things short and sweet, shall we, you want to escape this place, right, darling?"
Adam wasted no time in responding, but that still left another question.
"But who are you really? You just kind of came out of nowhere."
But what the voice said next truly shocked him.
"You know who I am, Adam. After all, I was the one who chose you to be the next heir of Typhon in hopes that you would one day reclaim the throne of Yin. I am Shinso Echidna, the first Gordon, and one of the first monsters to exist. I am sure you have heard much about me, darling."
"Wait... Wait... Wait.... Your ECHIDNA?!"
Adam asked in a shocked voice, and the woman giggled at his surprise.
"The one and only darling, although I must thank you for keeping my other darlings company, by the Divine Spirit of Yin, you have no idea how much they need a capable man in their life... an inactive cunt has made them rather agressive over the years, so your company has really changed them alot. You have no idea how much they hate the company of man."
"That’s a wild statement to say to a five-year-old child, but sure, no problem, I love all my big sisters, more than anything else in this world."
Said Adam but it didn’t change the fact that he was still confused about this whole situation, for years he was kept in the dark about Echidna’s existence, whenever he asked his other big sisters about her, they would always change the topic, or give a half assed answer... So suddenly getting to meet her was shocking, to say the least.
However, he had questions, and a lot of them, but before he could even ask any of them, Echidna began to speak, saying.
"Darling, I know you’re simply brimming with questions...but I’m afraid now isn’t the time for curiosity."
She said in a serious tone.
"A rather troublesome guest has trespassed into our domain. And while Minerva already has her little plan in motion, the Hellsing family is merely awaiting their cue. I’ve been expecting her...although keep that between me and you for now."
Adam already knew who the enemy was, but he played along and asked.
"And who might that be, big sis?"
"Her name is Yarquella. A Metahuman of considerable power, and she has come for something she mustn’t have...the core essence of the Ultima Matriarch."
"If she succeeds... If that power falls into her hands...
She exhales through her nose, like a disappointed teacher watching a favorite student fail.
"Our domain, everything we’ve built... everyone under our protection will burn."
"You see, the Matriarch’s power isn’t just formidable. In her perfected state, her Shinso Ability will allow her to become a sole being, something like you, but not fractured, as variants of you still exist in the countless possible worlds out there.
"... She has the potential to become a true solo being...a living cosmic fracture herself that could devour all into one. A Shinso Nekomata, this type of Shinso existence is special because she can combine all her counterpart variants into one single whole."
"As a result, all powers and aspects of a being that exist can combine into one as all others will disappear; that is the power of a Shinso Nekomata. So far, only one Nekomata has reached this level, but that one woman is dead; her unique Shinso ability, "Self Nexus," would allow her to achieve that. For that reason, you can’t let Yarquela take that power from her."
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