The void around Ren pulsed with an energy that felt familiar yet foreign, like hearing your own voice played back through a recording device. Fragments of light began to coalesce in the darkness, forming patterns that reminded him of neural networks or circuit boards drawn in starlight.
Passive Skill: Mental Resistance EX Rank has been suppressed.
The robotic voice echoed in his head with perfect clarity, each word carrying weight that settled into his consciousness like stones dropping into still water. But this time, instead of the usual emotionless delivery, there was something almost relieved in the tone.
"Hello. I've finally been able to meet you in person."
Ren turned around, his movements feeling strange in the weightless void, and found himself face to face with a humanoid entity that defied easy categorization.
The being stood about six feet tall with a form that embodied perfect duality. The entity appeared split directly down the middle, as if reality itself had been divided and sewn back together with contrasting thread.
The left half radiated divine perfection. This side had flawless pale skin that seemed to glow with inner light, framed by flowing white hair that moved as if touched by celestial winds. A golden halo fragment floated above this portion of its head, crackling with pure divine energy. The divine eye held depths of infinite compassion and healing wisdom, while golden cracks spread across this half like kintsugi, as if the being had been broken and repaired with precious metal.
The right half told a completely different story. Dark corruption spread across this side like spilled ink, with shadows seeming to writhe beneath the surface of blackened skin. Crimson energy bled from cracks in this half, creating rivulets of red light that dripped upward in defiance of gravity. The horror eye burned with knowledge of necessary evils and surgical precision that came at terrible costs. Golden chains wrapped around this darker half, as if binding something that might otherwise break free.
Where the two halves met, reality seemed uncertain. The division line wasn't clean but rather a jagged border where light and shadow warred constantly, neither able to fully claim dominance over the other. Golden threads tried to hold the two aspects together, but crimson energy leaked through the gaps like blood from a barely healed wound.
The entity wore robes that reflected its dual nature: flowing white fabric on the divine side that seemed to move with its own inner wind, while the horror side was draped in darker material that absorbed light and seemed to whisper of secrets better left unspoken. Golden accents decorated both sides, but on the dark half, they appeared tarnished and stained with red.
"Hello, nice to meet you for the first time," the entity said, its voice carrying harmonics of both salvation and necessary damnation.
"I'm the Divine Healer System."
It paused, and Ren could see something like regret flicker across both halves of its face.
"No, that's the past now. Now I'm the Doctor of the Ruin Gospel System."
The being extended its hand toward Ren, the gesture somehow managing to be both formal and genuinely friendly. The hand itself was fascinating, with fingers that seemed to shift between surgical precision and otherworldly grace.
Ren smiled, feeling an unexpected warmth at finally meeting the entity that had been guiding his transformation.
"Hello. My name is Ren Hector, fifth year surgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital."
The introduction felt important, like claiming an identity he had been uncertain about.
As they shook hands, Ren felt a current of understanding pass between them, a recognition of shared purpose despite their vastly different natures.
"Johns Hopkins, huh?" the System said, its divine half brightening with what looked like genuine interest.
"That's one of the top medical programs in your world. You must have worked incredibly hard to get there."
"Yeah, it was pretty intense" Ren replied, surprised by how normal it felt to discuss his medical career with a cosmic entity.
The System's expression grew more animated, both halves seeming to focus on Ren with renewed interest.
"That dedication probably made our bonding process smoother than it might have been otherwise. Your medical training gave you a foundation for understanding that healing sometimes requires difficult choices."
"Well, for now let's talk, shall we?" the System said, its dual voice carrying notes of both anticipation and concern.
"I've been looking forward to having a proper conversation with you for months."
The cosmic void around them began to shift and change, reality bending to the System's will like clay in the hands of a master sculptor. The infinite darkness condensed and reformed, creating walls, furniture, and atmosphere from pure thought and intention.
"Oh, this is going to be fun," the System said, its divine half practically glowing with enthusiasm while the horror half watched the transformation with calculating interest.
"I've been designing this space for weeks, waiting for the chance to use it."
Within moments, they found themselves in what could only be described as the most comfortable lounge Ren had ever seen. Soft leather chairs arranged around a coffee table that seemed to be made from crystallized starlight. Warm lighting emanated from sources that didn't quite exist in normal space, creating an atmosphere that was both intimate and otherworldly.
Ren began to look around in amazement, his eyes taking in details that shouldn't have been possible. The walls showed slowly shifting scenes of other dimensions, while books that wrote themselves floated gently through the air, their pages turning to reveal cosmic secrets.
"Wow, you can even make space change like this?" Ren asked, settling into one of the impossibly comfortable chairs.
"This is incredible. It's like being inside the world's most advanced holodeck, except everything actually exists."
"Well, this is inside the system space after all," the Doctor of the Ruin Gospel System replied, taking the seat across from him with movements that were both graceful and slightly unsettling.
"Here, reality is more of a suggestion than a law. I can reshape things to be more conducive to conversation."
The System leaned back in its chair, and Ren noticed how the two halves seemed to relax differently. The divine side settled with serene grace, while the horror side remained alert, as if constantly scanning for threats.
"You know," the System said conversationally, "I have to admit, I was worried about how you'd react to meeting me like this. Normal people should find my current appearance rather... disturbing."
"Honestly?" Ren said, studying the entity's dual nature.
"It's definitely striking, but I've seen stranger things in the ER. Plus, after everything I've been through, a split personality cosmic entity seems almost normal."
The System laughed, a sound that harmonized strangely between divine bells and something darker.
"That's refreshingly pragmatic of you. Most of my previous users either tried to exorcise me or went into denial about what I represented."
"Previous users?" Ren asked, his curiosity piqued. "There were others before me?"
"Oh yes, quite a few over the millennia," the System replied, its expression growing more serious. "Though I have to say, you're handling the whole situation better than most. The last guy tried to convince himself I was a hallucination for three years before finally accepting my existence."
"What happened to him?" Ren asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
"He eventually chose the pure Divine path," the System said with what might have been sadness. "Became a legendary healer, saved thousands of lives, and died peacefully in his sleep at the age of ninety-three. But he never quite reconciled with what he had to give up to achieve that purity."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, both seeming to appreciate the chance to finally have a proper conversation. The System drummed its fingers on the crystalline table, the sound creating small harmonics that rang through the space like distant wind chimes.
"I have to ask," Ren said, "what's it like being split like this? Does it hurt? Are you constantly fighting with yourself?"
The System's expression grew thoughtful. "It's... complicated. Imagine having two different moral frameworks operating simultaneously in your mind. The divine side wants to heal through purity and light, to uplift and redeem. The horror side understands that sometimes salvation requires corruption, that healing can demand sacrifice that conventional morality wouldn't approve of."
"That sounds exhausting," Ren said sympathetically.
"It can be," the System admitted. "But it also provides a unique perspective. I understand both the ideal and the practical, the should-be and the necessary. That's probably why I've been relatively effective at guiding you through your transformation."
"Well, let's talk about the first and most important thing," the System said, its expression growing more serious.
"You mean the Mental Resistance skill, right?" Ren asked, already suspecting that the suppression of his emotional barriers was going to reveal truths he might not want to face.
"Well, that's one important thing, but it's not the biggest issue we need to address." The System's dual nature seemed to intensify as it spoke, the divine and horrific aspects of its being becoming more pronounced. "Your Mental Resistance has been protecting you from some harsh realities, but it's also been preventing you from reaching your full potential."
"The biggest problem right now is my state," the System continued, gesturing to its divided appearance.
Ren looked more carefully at the System's appearance, noting the way the two halves seemed to be in constant tension with each other, neither fully dominant but both struggling for control.
"You must have guessed from my appearance what the issue is," the System continued.
"You mean the state where half of you looks divine and half of you looks... well, horror?" Ren asked, choosing his words carefully.
"Exactly. And you can thank that fucking goddess for that. What a fucking cunt," the System said with venom that seemed to make the air itself recoil.
Ren blinked in surprise. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that level of hostility. What did she do to you?"
"She interfered with my fundamental programming during your initial bonding process," the System explained, its horror half practically seething with anger. "I was supposed to be a unified entity, but she decided to 'purify' me without understanding what that would do to my core functions."
"And that split you in half?"
"Worse than that. It created a fundamental instability in my nature. I'm constantly fighting myself, unable to provide you with consistent guidance because half of me wants to push you toward divine healing while the other half knows you need the tools that come with embracing necessary darkness."
"Well, that's really unfortunate," Ren replied, surprised by the System's casual profanity but finding it somehow reassuring that even cosmic entities got frustrated with bureaucratic incompetence. "No wonder you've been glitching lately."
"Exactly!" the System said, both halves seeming to agree on this point. "And it's only going to get worse unless we do something about it."
The System began to drum its fingers on the table more rapidly, the sound creating increasingly complex harmonies that spoke of tension and difficult decisions.
"Which brings me to why we're here," the System said, leaning forward with intense focus. "You must choose now, Ren."
"Choose what?" Ren asked, though he had the sinking feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"What do you want me to be?" The System's voice carried the weight of fundamental transformation. "You are being given the chance to choose my nature, and through that, your own path forward."
The entity leaned forward, both halves of its face showing intense focus.
"Do you want me to be pure Horror? Embracing the necessary darkness, the healing through corruption, the medicine that saves lives by crossing lines others fear to approach?"
It paused, letting that option settle in Ren's mind before continuing.
"Or do you want me to be pure Divine? Returning to the classical healing, the light that banishes darkness, the salvation that comes through purity and righteousness?"
The System's expression became almost pleading, as if this choice mattered more than anything else in its existence.
"You must choose who you really want to be, Ren. Because whatever you choose for me will determine what you become. There's no going back from this decision."
Ren felt the weight of the choice pressing down on him like a physical force. This wasn't just about selecting a power set or choosing a moral alignment. This was about deciding what kind of person he wanted to be when all the comfortable lies and mental barriers were stripped away.
The pure Divine path offered redemption, a return to the classical ideals of healing and helping others without moral compromise. It was the path his medical training had prepared him for, the way forward that society would understand and approve of.
The pure Horror path promised effectiveness at the cost of conventional morality. It was the acknowledgment that sometimes saving lives required doing things that would horrify normal people, that true healing might need to embrace corruption to fight greater corruption.
But as he sat there, looking at the System's divided form, Ren realized that the choice wasn't as simple as good versus evil. Both paths were necessary in their own way, both had value that couldn't be dismissed.
The question was: which one reflected who he truly was, deep down, when all pretense was stripped away?