A virus app?
Alistair stared at the strange app for a moment, still choosing not to touch it. After all, if he tapped it and a pop-up asked him, 'Do you want to understand the meaning of life?', that would be absurd. While highly unlikely, it was better to be cautious.
So, Alistair ignored it, opened his messages, and planned to send a few texts. He then noticed a letter from his grandfather in his inbox, or rather, a reply?
But he hadn't sent a message, had he? Wait, he might have. He seemed to have asked why his grandfather was returning to the countryside for a while. Ugh, this hazy, confused feeling is really unpleasant.
Alistair rubbed his temples, thinking through the headache.
Never mind, let's see what Grandpa said first.
Alistair continued reading his grandfather's reply. It wasn't very long. Besides succinctly stating some purposes, there was nothing else. But what surprised Alistair was that his grandfather inquired about Alistair's situation at the end of the message, specifically asking about his 'progress.' This indicated that Alistair's grandfather was clearly aware of Alistair's 'evolution.'
Alistair's expression turned subtly complicated. Although his grandfather might not have known from the start—he initially mentioned that only one or a few ancestors had experienced this—he might have learned later by consulting ancient texts.
But dwelling on it was pointless; it was in the past. Now that his grandfather was asking, he might have a way to help Alistair advance his 'progress.' Since their family was influential, his grandfather might possess some strange artifacts. So, Alistair drafted another message, describing his current situation, and sent it back to his grandfather.
Strange, am I forgetting something?
After sending the message, Alistair felt uneasy. He felt like he had forgotten something, and it felt important.
Wait, who is Niina Tsubakiwara? Do I know this person? She seemed to be a girl. To be in his contacts, she was probably very pretty; otherwise, he wouldn't have added her. But where did he add her?
Alistair looked at the name blankly, trying to retrieve any related memories, but his mind felt blank.
Beep!
"Hello, Naoto Koyasu?"
A message arrived. The sender was 'Niina Tsubakiwara.'
"Yes."
Alistair answered simply. He didn't know what else to say, as he had never seriously chatted with a girl before.
"Where did we meet? Thinking face emoji"
'Niina Tsubakiwara' sent a message.
"I don't recall. My phone only has your Line ID and name saved. Nothing else."
Alistair typed while recalling, confirming he had no impression of her before sending the message.
"I understand. Maybe I exchanged contacts with you by chance before, but I don't remember it. Sorry to bother you."
'Niina Tsubakiwara' paused for a moment, seemingly thinking and recalling, then replied.
"It's fine."
Alistair replied, saw the 'Read' notification in the bottom-left corner, waited a while for a response that didn't come, and then exited the chat.
Who exactly is this 'Niina Tsubakiwara'? I have absolutely no memory of her, it's as if the related memories were erased...
Wait a minute, memory erasure?
Alistair abruptly sat up. After resting for a while, his enhanced body had recovered significantly, at least enough to move.
Alistair had a rough guess, though he didn't want to believe it: his memory had been partially erased by someone or something else. This was why his mind felt so weak and tired. It was like a piece had been dug out of his mind. Initially, he didn't feel anything wrong, just a slight oddness. Now that his mental energy had recovered somewhat, he noticed it.
This was only possible because his 'soul' was far stronger than an ordinary person's. If his 'soul' strength were average, he probably wouldn't have noticed any anomaly. He wondered if 'Niina Tsubakiwara' had noticed, or if she was just puzzled why she had an extra 'Naoto Koyasu' in her Line contacts.
At least from the conversation, Alistair could see that 'Niina Tsubakiwara' came up with a reasonable explanation for 'Naoto Koyasu' being in her Line contacts. He didn't know if she would delve deeper later.
Alistair swayed as he sat on the edge of the bed, put on his shoes, and planned to go downstairs to find something to eat. He was starting to feel hungry.
Thump!
Alistair took two steps but felt something strange about his body. The control felt very... weird?
Alistair felt his mind was somewhat blurred, coupled with a peculiar sensation. It was as if he was controlling two bodies, and multiple senses were mixed together in a very chaotic way, giving him a deeply fragmented feeling.
He consciously wanted to step out with his left foot, but the left foot of the 'second body' stepped out instead. Next, Alistair subconsciously tried to step with his right foot, and his own right foot stepped out, but his center of gravity shifted accordingly. However, when Alistair tried to step with his left foot again, he ended up controlling the 'second body,' causing his own center of gravity to become unstable, and he fell straight down. The 'second body' didn't seem to have a concept of center of gravity and was semi-floating, so it didn't fall.
Then, the feeling of pain reached his brain, seemingly disrupting Alistair's control over the 'second body,' allowing his fragmented senses to recover, although he still felt dizzy. Alistair realized that controlling a body involved not just the limbs but also the five senses like sight and hearing. In other words, Alistair felt like he was simultaneously seeing two places, which was why he felt extremely dizzy.
What the hell was that thing?
Alistair lay on the floor and recovered for a while before he could alleviate the 'dual-display' situation. Although surprised, he didn't find it completely unreasonable. This world was already highly illogical, with idealistic superpowers coexisting with materialistic science, which was strange enough.
Moreover, superpowers are a manifestation of 'mystery.' It wasn't entirely surprising that Alistair, having 'evolved' somewhat, could awaken a superpower, especially since he was previously an ability-less person. Awakening a superpower with an increase in 'mystery' was relatively normal. Alistair's main confusion was, what is this ability?
From the perspective of the 'second body,' the viewing angle was only slightly higher than his own body. Due to the dizziness, he didn't notice any other details. It felt somewhat like astral projection, but also subtly different. If it were truly astral projection, why would his original body still have sensation?
Alistair stood up again, dusted off his clothes, and then a feeling suddenly emerged in his mind—very inexplicably, he could sense that there was a 'person' behind him, and that person was almost within arm's reach.