Chapter 17 - 17 - "It Is For The Best."

As the rays of the morning sun brightened up the room, scaring the gloomy night away, Lucien was already awake. In truth, he barely slept, there were just too many things going on, for his mind to be able to fully calm down.

He did manage to squeeze in a bit of shut-eye and was feeling relatively fresh, and ready for the day's journey. Although this was the first time he wasn't met with scorn or ill-will, no, because of it, he had to leave, he couldn't linger.

His mere presence brought disaster with it, it wouldn't be fair to these strangely kind people to be brought into his troubles. The people from the Facility will be undoubtedly after him.

He wasn't an idiot, he knew that after five years, he was considered the government's property. A test subject, a weapon, or whatever he was labeled, the fact was, he brought disaster for wherever he went. He had to be alone, away from the very people that showed him care for the first time in his short, cruel life.

He sat up from his makeshift bed, the couch, and sighed. With a thought, he brought up the black, opaque screen just to make sure he didn't just dream about the wonders of the night.

The screen appeared, and this time, the bloodied, eerie, ominous letters formed into a menu-like interface. Displaying several options, the first two visible, but judging from the distorted lower section and the locked, unrecognizable runes at the lower half, there were several features still waiting to be unlocked. After all, the rewards for completing his first task already hinted at one of them.

[...::: Prime Evolver System - Version 1 - 0% :::...]

[....::: Host Status :::...]

[...::: Tasks :::...]

[...:::๓̶̮̽̿͛̀̈́̊͛̔͝є̵̢̛̥̼̤͈̞̣͇̎̍̀̋͒͘̚เ̴̡̳̼̉̇̉̕͜א̵̧̙̞̰̙͓͔̋̂ɭ̶̨̤̦̫͚̕͘๔̶̥͓̝͈̣̹̈́̅́̔̈̈́̒ͅ ̸͚͇̟͔͕͓̥̰͎͆́̚ן̶̳̝̼͓̰̯̬̲́̍ ̴̹̫͈͗͐̎̐ק̸̛̩̣̰̈́เ̴̗̙̥̯̋͛ภ̴͖͇̣̱́̂͘א̶̭̬̿͗̈́͊̿̀͘͘͘:::...]

The lower half of the screen seemed to be a garbled, unreadable mess, whilst the upper section was displayed with the same blood-dripping, horrific, but at the very least, recognizable letters. Seeing how the top, the header displayed the same text again, Lucien couldn't help but mentally formulate a question.

'What does the 'Version 1' and the 0% next to it mean?'

Immediately, the letters began to vibrate. The screen rapidly changed, the cryptic symbols faded, whilst new letters appeared. Whilst the changes were grand, the screen transformed in a manner of a couple of seconds, formulating a response, just like it did last night.

[...::: Version refers to the current stage of the Prime Evolver System, while the percentage marks your overall progress in reaching the threshold for a System Rank Up. :::...]

Lucien shook for a moment, slightly startled by the fact that the floating image seemed to be able to read his thoughts and respond to his mental thoughts and commands. A moment later, however, he calmed himself down, remembering all the discussion they had during the night. He wasn't afraid, although he was still slightly wary about using, relying on the monstrous, viral appendage that disguised itself as his right arm. After all, while he seemingly had control over it, it wasn't truly his limb, it was related to the System, or the creature living inside him.

'What does a 'System Rank Up' do?' He asked another question after reading through the system's response.

Instantly, the letter's reorganized themselves, forming an immediate response.

[...::: A System Rank Up will provide various benefits, enhancements to the host. For further information, the host is advised to complete tasks. :::...]

'I see.' Lucien nodded, not bothering to inquire further. Although what he got was vague, it still gave him a general idea and a direction to go forward.

What he needed now was strength. The power to survive, and to defeat those that were undoubtedly after him. He needed to grow stronger, no matter how no matter the method. If he wanted to escape from his past, and earn his right to a brighter, better future he needed to use the opportunity that was given to him.

His fingers on his right arm moved for the first time since his escape, clenching themselves into a ball of fist. He raised it in front of him, closing in on his fist. From the initial frown, he had whenever he looked at this alien, unknown mass of flesh, his face gradually transformed into a smirk.

'Whatever you truly are, I will rely on you. Together we will get stronger, and escape…" He spoke to himself in a muttered, hushed tone. Unbeknownst to him, when he whispered the word escape, a brief flash of light flashed through his right eye, a tinge of dark crept up at its edges as he corrected himself in a slightly lower tone.

"...no! We will DESTROY those that are after us. Our enemies will serve as Mass, substance to our further growth! We will EARN our freedom!"

Both his fists clenched he struck at the air, celebrating the forming of his new goal. He wasn't lost anymore, he knew what he had to do, and that was to use this marvelous wonder he was born with, this 'Sentient System'.

'System, display my task once again.' He gave the mental command after his double fist bump.

In the next instant, the system responded, displaying the similar screen that he already saw yesterday.

[...:::Tasks - System Version 1 - 0% :::...]

[...::: Active Tasks: 1 :::...]

[...::: 1) Take your first steps in the Evolution! :::...]

[...::: 1) Gather your first Entropy Points (0 / 10) :::...]

[...::: 1) Rewards: System Feature Unlocked :::... ]

Strangely, the warning, the helpful note was not displayed anymore, but regardless, Lucien knew that he should be alone, as what was required from him was a gruesome, horrific sight, not something that he should show in front of this kind family that took him in.

Reading through the objective once again, Lucien's face returned to a calm, cold, rigid outlook. With a thought he made the screen fade away, and stood up, leaving the comfort of his couch-bed, and made his way out of the room, towards the dining area where he could already listen to the subtle noises of the Lewis husband and wife.

What amazed him, was that his senses seemed to be enhanced, ever-so-slightly. He wasn't entirely certain if he was above the average in this regard, due to lack of social contact, but he was, at the very least sure that his own hearing, sight, smell, and probably all the other of his 5 senses have increased by at least a grade.

Even though there were several walls in between them, he could hear them, he could even listen to their hushed whispers as they made the table ready for breakfast. What was even weirder, is that as he left the living room, entering a short hallway, he could even make out the rhythmic thumping of their hearts, he could listen to the pulses.

Combining it with the tone of their voice, he was fairly sure that they were nervous, agitated. They were talking about him, and seemed worried, dreading his decision about leaving them after breakfast.

Listening to them as he slowly paced towards their direction, he understood a bit more about them. Just as he suspected, they had no ill-will against him, they didn't wish him any harm, which was a first in Lucien's life.

They were good, kind people, something that was missing from his life. The warmth of familial love, the gentle care of a mother, the teachings of a father…

New, unexplored emotions, sensations Lucien had to leave behind. He couldn't get attached, he shouldn't show any emotion. The less they knew about him, the better. These two didn't deserve to be pulled into the chaos and despair that was his life.

Arriving at the entrance, Lucien coughed, grabbing their attention, as he gave a cold, emotionless greeting.

"Good Morning Miss and Mr. Lewis."

Despite his tone, the woman, Martha, responded with a gentle smile. She approached the boy, giving him a warm, loving hug, returning the greeting with all the familial love and care she could muster.

"Good Morning, dear. Have you slept well?"

At the same time, the aging hunter, George Lewis nodded, muttering a response under his mustache and earning a glare from the mature lady.

The sudden embrace caught Lucien off guard, almost breaking his forced stoic outlook. He had to fight not to reveal even the slightest of smiles, and remain cold, rigid. The less emotion he returned, the easier it was to leave these two for good.

'It is for the best.' He repeated the phrase, his morning mantra to himself inwardly.

The hug lasted almost a full minute before Martha eventually separated herself and motioned towards the set dining table which was set in such glory and richness that one could have wondered if it was some special holiday. Several different kinds of ham, bread, and cheese were displayed. For drinks, several bottles of a dark liquid, that smelled full of sweet and sour alcohol could be seen.

Milky white, embroidered tablecloth covered the wooden panels, a set of the finest cutlery was put on.

Obviously, Martha did all the stops she could, she wanted to do what she could to gain the favor of the boy. She wanted him that even if he decides to leave, he will leave with fond memories.. Even if their time together was destined to be short, she wanted it to be memorable.