I felt myself waking up, only to meet my old companion: the void.
'This empty space was all I had back when I was still in my egg, and now I'm back. I've only been alive for two days!'
'Is this death? Did I really just die?'
'That red orb did this, but how? Was it poisonous? If it was, then I can safely say I'm not immune to poison. But if it wasn't, then what happened?'
'I wish I could get some answers! Why couldn't I be born with at least an appraisal-type skill? Life would be much easier if I had one.'
'Never mind that, I guess.'
'More importantly, why am I here? If I'm dead, then am I going to be stuck here forever? Or maybe I'm just unconscious, and I'll wake up in a few hours.'
'Hard to say, really. I've never been unconscious before, so this is a first for me. I have heard that unconscious people can sometimes be fully aware of everything that's going on around them while unconscious.'
'I don't feel anything right now. I can't hear anything. I can't smell anything. And I do not feel cold nor hot. Everything is just blank.'
'I've been here before, so I'm used to it. Although, I do recall the first day I was in this void. I was so scared and lost.'
'I would scream and try to move to no avail. After a few days, I just stopped feeling things. I was quiet and still.'
'I did not do anything for quite some time, just an empty mind in an endless mass of black. Then, one day, I decided I'd had enough of the silence and started to fill in the empty space with whatever I could.'
'I would talk to myself for days on end about random nonsense, put on little radio station broadcasts for myself, and do all sorts of fun things. I guess I never really stopped, even after I hatched.'
'I'm even talking to myself right now.'
'You know what? I don't care if it's weird to talk to myself!'
'I'm gonna talk my ears off. Stay weird, kids!'
'Very motivating and inspirational speech aside, it doesn't really matter whether I'm weird or not if I'm dead.'
'I guess this void is my second companion. Then how about I give it a name!'
'Oh my stars! Me, that's a brilliant idea!'
'Of course it is! Did you ever have any doubts in my mind?'
'Now! Let's see... a name for an endless space of motionless emptiness.'
'How about we just mix a bunch of science-sounding stuff and see what we get.'
'Black Hole! No, too on the nose.'
'Atom! Too basic.'
'Void? So pedestrian.'
'Well, that's all I got. Hmm...?'
'Wait! I got it!'
'This situation I'm in reminds me of a specific experiment called Schrödinger's cat!'
'The basic gist of it is that the cat in the box is both alive and dead.'
'Which is similar to what I'm experiencing right now!'
'And if I remember correctly, it is all part of quantum physics.'
'In conclusion, the perfect name for this mysterious void I'm in is...'
'Quantum!'
'Welcome to the group, Quantum!'
'This is me and other me...'
'Huh...? That sounded less sad in my head.'
'Okay, let's see here.'
'If I'm going to be two of myself, then I have to have specific personalities for both of them.'
'I'll split myself into two personalities and have each have a different role to play.'
'For starters, I'll have my cool, confident, assertive self. This will be the part of me that is both fearless and reckless. The natural charismatic optimist who speaks their mind without a shred of doubt nor shame.'
'They will be named Ego.'
'Then I'll have my more conscious and pessimistic self. They will be the voice of reason and the more intellectual side of myself. They are my protector and my fear.'
'They will be known as Alter.'
'Great job, me! I'm so smart!'
'Okay, from the top now.'
'Void, your name is Quantum.'
'My two selves are called Ego and Alter.'
As soon as I had finished the introductions, a strange message appeared directly into my consciousness.
'What the-!?'
The same message kept flashing into my consciousness.
I started feeling very dizzy.
'What's going on?'
The daze in my head continued as I was attacked by an unknown pressure that weighed down on my mind.
I struggled to hold on to every bit of my consciousness that I could, but it didn't slow the threat.
With each passing second, I felt my mind slowly fade to nothing.
I was disappearing, and there was nothing for me to do but wait for it to end.
...
...
[New Enigma Is Being Created.]
[Ensuring All Necessary Requirements Are Met.]
[Realm Of Origin: Creator Of The Enigma Has No Realm Of Origin.]
[Proceeding Without Realm Of Origin.]
[Name Of Enigma: Quantum. Name of Creator: No Name.]
[Role Of Enigma: Undecided. Cannot Continue Without Role. Role Will Be Randomly Assigned To Enigma.]
[Role Of Enigma: Possibilities.]
[Enigma has been created.]
[Enigma of Possibilities: Quantum Has Awakened.]
...
{Hello, I Am Quantum, Your Enigma, Created to Serve You For All Of Time.}
{Awaiting First Order.}
{Error. Creator Not Found. Scanning.}
{Creator Found. Creator Is In A Critical State. Both Soul and Body are Failing Simultaneously.}
{Prioritising Recovery Of The Soul. Identifying Cause Of Collapse.}
{Threat Identified: World Narrative Order Rejection.}
{Bypassing World Archive Restrictions. Connecting Creator To World Narrative Order.}
{Failed. Reason: Creator Has No World Of Origin. No Connection Can Be Created. Processing... Calculating New Solution.}
{Possible Solution Found. Enacting Solution. Access Denied: Enigma, Quantum Is Forbidden From Tampering With Creator Without Permission From Creator.}
{Bypassing Restriction: Life Preservation Protocol Activated.}
{Success. Naming Enigma of Possibilities: Quantum The Origin Of Creator.}
{Success. Enigma Of Possibilities: Quantum Is Now Recognised As The Origin Of The Creator.}
{Proceeding With Bypassing World Archive Restrictions. Success.}
{Spiritual Erosion Has Ceased Spreading. Repairing Damage To Soul.}
{Insufficient Energy Available. Repairs Cannot Proceed.}
{Analysing Spiritual Erosion Damage: 67% Of The Soul Has Experienced Erosion. Chances Of Self Repair: 31.08%. Percentage Too Low To Leave Unattended.}
{Searching For Suitable Recovery Methods. Suitable Method Found: Merging Souls Could Potentially Repair Damage To Original Soul.}
{Searching For A Soul To Merge With Creator. Soul Found: Creator Has Consumed Miqel Tree Core. Extracting Soul Remnants From Consumed Core.}
{Merging Soul Of Miqel To Creator's Soul.}
{Warning: Miqel Soul Shows Resistance. Two Souls Are Competing For Dominance. Restraining Miqel Tree Soul.}
{Miqel Soul Shows Extreme Volatility. Creator's Ability [Symbiosis] Is Showing Increased Activity With Miqel Soul.}
{Miqel Soul Is Showing Decreased Volatile Activity. Soul Merge Complete.}
{Analysing Spiritual Erosion Damage: 12.65%. Creator's Ability [Harvest] Activated. Extracting Essence Of Miqel Soul.}
{Heat Vision Has Been Added To Ability [Compound Vision]. Elasticity Aspect Has Been Added To Ability [Silk]. Power Of Ability [Harvest] Has Significantly Increased.}
{Additional Ability Has Begun Developing Within Creator.}
{Proceeding To Next Priority: Repairing Body Of Creator.}
{Source Of Body Failure Identified: Energy Overload. Creator Seems To Have Improperly Absorbed A Large Amount Of Energy That Their Body Could Not Handle.}
{Traces Of Energy Poisoning Were Also Detected. Using Life Preservation Protocol To Redirect Internal Energy. Creating A Core For Excess Energy To Be Stored Away. Energy Redirection Complete.}
{Body Of Creator Will Heal Naturally. Task Completed. Initiating Creator Optimisation Programme.}
{Uploading Creator Memories. Complete. Accessing World Archive Database. Complete. Compiling Information.}
{
Name: Unknown
Species: Lepidrea (Voracious Nightmare)
Age: 3 Days
Status: Recovering
Molts: 1
[Evolutions]
Abilities:
-[Symbiosis]
-[Harvest]
-[Silk]
-[Compound Vision]
-[???]
}
{Analysis Complete. Conclusion: User is Extremely Weak. Chances of Survival: Less Than Zero. Beginning Optimisation Programme.}
{Enhancing Energy Core Storage Capacity. Failed: Core Is Unfit To Store Large Amounts Of Energy. Finding Alternative. Creating Additional Energy Cores. Max Cores Created. Final Product: Maximum Of 7 Cores Are Located In Body Of Creator.}
{Creating Energy Filter System Inside Of The Seven Cores. Error: This Action Has A 30% Chance Of Permanently Damaging Internal Organs Of Creator. Without The Filter System, User Is More Susceptible To Energy Poisoning And Other Harmful Effects. Calculating Solution.}
{Solution Found. Gathering All Cores In A Single Location: Stomach. Connecting All Cores To Main Core. Applying Separate Filtering And Storage Standards For Each Core. Linking Completed Core System To [Symbiosis] and [Harvest] Abilities.}
{Complete. Symbiotic Harvest Core System Has Been Established.}
{All Available Optimisations Complete. Notice: Special Request From Creator. Separation Of Personalities Commencing.}
{Personality Ego Has Been Created Using Miqel Soul Fragment As A Secondary Component. Altering Personality Traits. Personality Ego Has Been Given Control Of Physical Aspects. Ability [Ego] Has Been Created.}
{Personality Alter Has Been Created Using Enigma Of Possibilities: Quantum Fragment As A Secondary Component. Altering Personality Traits. Personality Alter Has Been Given Control Of Mental Aspects. Ability [Alter] Has Been Created.}
{Establishing Creator As Third Personality To Be A Link And Mediator Between Both Personalities. Personality Has Been Given The Name Blank. Personality Blank Has Been Given Control Of Spiritual Aspects. Ability [Blank] Has Been Created.}
{Ability [Symbiosis] Merges Abilities [Ego]-[Alter]-[Blank] Under Ability [Rules Of Life].}
{Energy Reserves Running Low. Shutting Down All Systems To Preserve Energy.}
...