It shone… No. It stole the starlight and turned it into a gloomy black void.
A huge black hole was located right in the sky and amplified the frightening effect of this world... And of what was on the ground, right below it.
It seemed as if the golden disc spinning around it took on every possible color, even those invisible to the human eye. And yet, this manifestation reminded him most of all of a ring made of golden flame.
His understanding of astrophysics, cosmology, and whatever else there was to know was not very high. But even with his level of knowledge, it seemed that the phenomenon of a black hole was almost incompatible with normal life on the planet. Perhaps one of the wonders of this world was involved here, but...
Right now, his attention was focused on something else entirely.
"W-what...?" he blurted out, slapping himself in the face to shake off a strange mixture of existential horror.
Shaking his head, he lifted his numb limbs and strode toward... it.
"Big brother is watching you..." he read again and glanced at this large figure.
Directly beneath the terrifying celestial object was an equally frightening creature... or rather, its statue. It stood right next to the grave.
It was a man... Or a creature that looked like a man. The statue was the size of an entire building and towered directly above a small human figure. It was made of some kind of solid stone or unknown substance.
The broad figure of the man was dressed in a cloak, which made it impossible to see the contours of his body... Strangely enough, this made him feel relieved.
A wide hat sat on the statue's head, and long hairs resembling nasty tentacles peeked out from under the headdress.
Overall, the statue resembled a large and terrifying plague doctor without a mask.
"How terrifying..." he whispered hoarsely, staring at the stone face.
Strangely enough, the statue's eyes were covered, creating the impression that the strange feeling of being watched was just an illusion.
The man's face could be described as quite handsome, if not for the eerie thin smile that spread right to the edges of his head. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that this face was just a mask... Perhaps one of many.
And yet, what caught his attention most was the gesture of the palm with its frighteningly long fingers. The eerie hand peered out from the collar of the cloak and pressed its index finger to its lips.
"Shh... Big brother might hear you. Something like that?" he said puzzledly, repeating the gesture of silence.
"…"
"Well, if you can hear me, big brother… Go to hell."
His body flinched fearfully at his own words, but he tried not to pay attention to it.
It was foolish to be afraid of a statue, but he still hurried to get away from it.
"Haa… What to do now?"
He stood up not far from the corpses and looked around.
At that moment, he was in a small clearing with scorched earth. Traces of ash and some gray grass settled on his worn shoes, causing irritation. It didn't matter much, because right now everything irritated and filled him with apathy.
Due to the rather dark night, pierced by the light of a black hole, the surroundings were almost impossible to see. It seemed that behind the large statue began a forest of dark blue or black tones with trees of very strange shapes... But he decided that he would definitely not go there. All that remained was what was in front of him.
"That doesn't seem like a good idea either..."
A new forest began ahead. Its trees had thin, snow-white trunks. The branches spread out chaotically and intertwined with each other, resembling blood vessels, and the leaves... They had a red tint. Blood red.
"..." For a while, he just stared at the trees, which reminded him of eerie, elongated human figures.
He stopped when he felt his eye start to twitch.
Shaking his head, he looked down.
Right below him lay a body... Most likely, a rather thin man. It was not easy to determine the gender, as half of his head, along with his face, had been torn off, cut off, or bitten off. The familiar larvae crawling in the corpse's brains made him feel nauseous, but he stubbornly ignored them.
Bending over, he examined what was left of the man's clothes.
They resembled a black military uniform with red inserts. There was also a five-pointed red star pattern on it.
"Just what I needed... Or rather, these."
The strange coincidence, resonating with his past life, did not bring him joy.
Strangely enough, there were no names or identifying marks that would allow him to recognize the context of their organization.
And then a thought came to his mind.
'What am I doing? Have I really come to terms with being alive? Am I going to take action?'
"What the hell..." he whispered in shock, biting his cheek.
Perhaps it was the influence of the unfamiliar dangerous situation, forcing his body to adapt, or maybe...
"...!" Feeling his breath catch, he reached for the weapon clutched in the corpse's hand.
Then he wrenched the dark barrel from the dead man's not-so-tight grip.
It looked like a pistol made from a futuristic metal tube and was not very presentable.
However, when he touched the trigger, he felt a strange negative vibration.
Thin red lines began to appear on the trigger, and he didn't even think about moving.
"What the hell?!" he wanted to blurt out, but held back.
Apart from this strange hint, nothing happened. No markings, no voice signals, no explanations.
This made him frown and let go of the weapon.
Then he checked the first idea that came to mind and returned the weapon to the dead man's hands.
"...?"
Nothing like that happened again, and when he touched the dead man's finger, the trigger moved freely and forced him to increase the pressure as the moment of firing approached.
"It can't be... A fingerprint? Do they issue food here based on your passport?"
His indignation was understandable. It was the first time he had encountered a weapon that was biometrically linked and wouldn't respond to anyone but its owner.
"Yeah, whatever. To hell with it." He spat dryly and, wielding the dead man's hand, pointed the barrel of the pistol straight at his temple.
"…"
"…"
"..."
'What are you waiting for, just pull the trigger!' he shouted in his mind.
The surroundings remained quiet, allowing him to hear the rapid beating of his own heart.
His teeth were clenched and grinding against each other, making a creaking sound. Beads of sweat had already begun to cover him...
"Daaamn!!!" he shouted, throwing away his rotten limb along with his weapon.
He collapsed to the ground and punched the ground in anger.
"Damn it..." he moaned plaintively after a while.
If you don't want to live like this, then just end it already! Surely someone would shout that.
Don't you have enough courage? You're a coward! Most likely, many would think so.
But, unfortunately for him, he was not a coward.
"I don't remember my mother's last words... I even forgot my favorite song... So why do I remember what I did?" he croaked.
He couldn't end it all with a single click, as he had done in his past life.
However, if his past life had been a blessing and a gift until certain events... Then this one was a punishment.
And he agreed that this punishment was the most terrible thing for him.
It wasn't the gods or invisible judges… It was himself.
He was the one who wanted to punish himself the most.
That's why he couldn't pull the trigger.
So, he'd have to accept reality and get used to the idea of a new life.
"Haah..." he sighed apathetically.
'I think that majestic being said something about a trial... Looks like I'll have to get out of here first…'
*Beep-beep* His despondency and negative thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a mechanical signal.
"Beep... Exiting emergency mode. Beep..."
"..."
"Checking connections to the orbital station, satellites, and remote servers. Outlaw protocol is being executed... Beep... No connection."
"…"
"Diagnosing databases and memory cards. Executing... Beep... Integrity compromised. Critical failure. Decision required. Execution required. Required..."
"..."
"Beep! Critical malfunctions detected. Assistance required. Beep... User, help!"
"..."
"User?"
"…"
"Checking user vital signs. Performing… Beep! Complete. Check result — user… dead?"
"…"
"…" Now neither of them could find the words.
"…"
"My existence for the good of the world cannot be continued. Following the sixth directive, initiating... self-destruct mode. Launching. 3... 2..."
"Stop, stop, wait!" He jumped up and waved his arms.
"Following the seventh directive, self-destruct mode cannot be disabled. 1..."
"What the...?!"
"...0"
He braced himself for the explosion, covered his ears with his hands, and fell face down on the ground again.
The seconds passed slowly, but nothing happened. No earthquake, no thermonuclear eruption, no atomic bomb explosion...
"What?"
"Following the previously set friendly mode setting, it was... a joke. There is no seventh directive, there are only six. Just like the six greatest Peaks, the six paths to greatness, and so on... It's very easy to remember."
"..."
"Not funny? An explanation is required. Additional settings..."
"Hey, that was funny, okay? Very funny. Now that it's all happened... Explain to me where I am, what happened to these corpses, and... What or who the hell are you?"
"Following the eighth directive, I cannot speak to strangers..."
"Reduce friendly mode by half. What are you?"
"Completing... Done! Allow me to introduce myself... I am a top-secret advanced intelligence created in violation of every law, constitution, and tax code imaginable."
"..."
"I am Paymax — assistant to all living beings, existing for the good and prosperity of the world!"
"..."
"By the way, my words about being top secret, cool, and completely illegal were not a joke."
"I asked you to reduce the friendly mode, not double it..."
"I'm sorry, but you are not my user, so it's not up to you to decide!"