Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

Nothing better than cooling my head with a nice shower after thinking too much. I think I should go for a walk to cool myself off.

Sinclair is still on my mind... I really don't like her at all... but she is me, so do I hate myself?

The answer is no, Sinclair may be me but not exactly. The overbearing, pushy attitude is still there. The way she dragged me around for her own, is just like me.

But there was a difference between us, she is bright. Not just in the literal sense with her burning hair and eyes, but also her personality. She was happy despite what I saw when I touched her.

How can someone be so happy when their world is a mountain of corpses... and how do I create my own world like hers?

It's called a Mental Palace, or World of I~ seems like Sinclair made herself a world made of corpses and dead bodies. Not sure why but that's her taste~!

My own world huh. How do I construct one?

It's kinda impossible for you at the moment~ your soul is still in a million pieces. So the first order of business~! Reassemble your soul!

And how do I do that?

Easy~ with Hope! Do you know their primary power?

Yes... I know it well.

Miracle, the power to create Miracles. It sounds amazing, but just like all the other Akashics, Hope carries two sides of the concept. Hope brings humanity to a better day for it would be their salvation and happiness. But to reach Hope, they need to go through suffering and despair, only by knowing what the "darkness" feels like you can appreciate the warm "light".

I have been using Hope only as a healing device. Never did I actually use the primary function.

Why? Because it's very sinister just like everything I do.

"Let's test this on me.", because I am pretty sure nobody would want to be my test subject. Even if I influence them with Euphoria, it wears off after some time and that could reveal my whole operation with how much of a demand I give.

But I don't want to go through the normal process, that's too complicated. Instead, I'm going to use my Anima Pactum.

Here goes nothing...

"I am Charlotte Silvi, Light of Humanity."

The golden dew of Hope seeps out of my body, then they turn into particles floating around me.

"The Light at the end of The Tunnel, where all shall find Salvation"

A cloak of gold draped over me, covering my entire body in shadow. My azure eyes dilated to a golden color, filled with mystery and positivity.

"Warmth and Comfort of the End."

The tip of my hair became gold, contrasting but mixed nicely with my original silver color. Heha~ this is pretty...

"The Despair that Leads to Euphoria."

A golden lantern appears on my left hand, containing a dim golden light. And on my right, a golden pocket watch...

"Anima Pactum - Hope."

Now, now~ what should I do? To piece my soul back together?

Hope, the more tragedy was given, the more it rewards.

I have nothing in mind. And Hope is scary when I don't give it something to work with...

What is the reasoning for my soul being shattered... right, that whole Project Darwin operation...

"Trauma.", I waved my lantern, letting it shine blindly...

"For a trial from my traumas, I request that my soul be back in one piece."

The world around me changes... no, it did not. I am still in the bathroom, fully naked under my golden cloak.

Hm~ interesting. I have a bad feeling about this.

I clicked the pocket watch once. The Rule of this Game came to my mind.

"The Rule: I can only witness."

I clicked it again. And the Win Condition appeared.

"Win Condition: Get over it."

Still, very vague. I clicked it again...

"Twist: Your worst nightmare."

Oh no...

The door to the bathroom swung open, destroying the lock in the process. And came in... burning scarlet eyes, short silver hair with streaks of red and yellow...

Sinclair?

"Why are you here?", I asked her, taking a step back. My worst nightmare isn't the future version of me—

"Let's stop it right there, Charlotte.", she points at me with a smile, "I don't want the Hounds of Tindalos to come over so soon."

She intruded in like she owned the place, at least she didn't wear shoes going in or I would've gone for her throat.

...

I turned the shower head over to her, and blast her with water... it just evaporates when the water touches her.

"I saw Miss Arco's copy, so I slapped it away.", she shrugged, "Ah, you want your soul to be back in one piece, correct?"

I nodded.

"Oh, this would be pretty easy~", she pushed me back with a light tap—

Then she slammed her hand on the wall behind me with her gaze staring down... is this what people called kabedon? I don't like it.

I hate it.

I tried to push her away, but it was like I'm touch a stone wall... she was not budging at all!

"You are so cute...", she glaze over me, "I want to gobble you all up, Charlotte."

"This is pedophilia.", I stated, raising my lantern towards her, "I will beat you up."

"Hmm~ is that a challenge?", she grinned wickedly.

!!!

She pinned me to the wall, her right hand grabbed my wrist, and her left hand on my throat. She put her knee on my crotch, pushing up to lock my legs.

"You know, right? We are turned on by challenges. It compels us to go further... haha..."

Her grip... it's getting stronger.

"This is your current weakness, Charlotte. You don't think hard enough. You always get by through your own power, because nobody is better than you, so you keep on repeating mistakes. You always sabotage yourself."

No...

"You never take things seriously, until it is too late. Stubborn idiot...", she... seems like she was about to cry... did something happen...?

"Your name is Charlotte Silvi!", she chokes me harder, "The Silver Princess of Humanity, Owner of the Akashic Records!! You are the Will of Humanity itself! Nothing is impossible for you, nothing binds you in your place!!"

Ku... I let go of the golden pocket watch... then I punched her in the face... nothing, she didn't even flinch.

"That's good.", she smiles warmly, "But not enough."

Her grip loosen a bit...

"Delusion."

I teleported out of her grip—

But she instantly took hold of me by my throat again. I don't like this at all...

"I might not be the same as you, Charlotte. But I know us well enough to know how you would act.", she lifted me up, "I like you, you are fun."

She punched me in the stomach— a shock vibrated throughout my body. Being on the receiving end of my shenanigans... I hate it.

"The Hounds of Tindalos is close by, just a few hours before they get here.", she taps her fingers on my stomach, "Let me take you to a... fun place."

I don't like the sound of that, at all... and what would happen if a Game of Hope was interrupted?

"If you are wondering what will happen to this game, it will be canceled.", she dropped me down...

It's true... nothing changed when I flash my lantern. So she canceled the game before it even began...

I'm surprised that I wasn't surprised at all. This is the thing I would do...

But isn't she too violent?

"Instead, I replaced it with another Game~", she snapped her finger.

A white box encased us... I feel reality shifting... just like what Romulus did. But where she put me to is not a grand throne room decorated with grandeur in mind...

"Welcome~ to my game show!"

She took me to a live studio, like Jeopardy. Having Sinclair standing on a podium with a mic in her hand, while wearing a red formal suit... wait, I am also wearing one, but white.

"Now, I've hijacked Hope's Game~ because I can.", she winked at me.

...

This woman is shameless. One moment she barged into my shower, sexually assaulted me, and now dragged me into a game show... I can't begin to comprehend what she's thinking.

She snapped her finger again, making the screen on the set turn on. Four columns with two questions each.

"Today, we have our lovely and adorable guest, Charlotte Silvi!", only she clapped, which look pretty pathetic.

"As you can see, today we have four sets of questions!", she waved her hand over to the screen, "We have here, 'Insanity of Silver', 'Depth of Azure', 'Lesson of Infinity', and 'Dance of the Void'. These categories are deeply related to Charlotte's private life!"

"You are being intrusive.", I kill the mood she was having... but why does she find this amusing?

"Well, that's what we do best! Being nosy and all~", she winked, "Now, let us start this fun game!"