Number 7

"So basically, you're a complete idiot."

"Wha!? Did you even listen to my story!? Don't you feel any pity!? I was deceived and used by that man! He killed my own father after threatening him in order to take control of his business and assets, and I was left without anything!!!"

"You couldn't handle living without your luxuries, and as a result you made a poor decision to accept a loan while throwing aside the consequences for later. I see nothing redeemable about you."

"You're horrible, you know that!? How can you even say something like that after I took all the effort to tell you my story!?"

Melissa shouted out at Sylvia, who stood with her arms crossed, throwing insults in the direction of the woman without any sense of sympathy in her expression.

"As for your father, he was a fool - but even he was far more redeemable than you are. At the very least, he did what he did for his employees - though he was still too foolish to realize that there is no clean method in dealing with those types of people."

"Well... I guess we can agree on that... my father was a fool, after all."

"So? What is it you want? Revenge on that man, who brought you into this place? Or perhaps on the man who owns the hotel that you've been forced to work at for who knows how long?"

"I..."

Pursing her lips, Melissa became quiet at the question that Sylvia posed.

"I... suppose both."

And the instant she admitted this, Melissa was met with a sinister grin.

"Well, you're in luck."

Looking to the skies, the woman thinned her eyes with a wicked smile, lightly laughing to herself as she spoke.

"We happen to have a specialist in such matters."

----

Everything was white.

'What happened?'

Valerie looked around her, instantly taking a combative stance as her surroundings changed within an instant - to this world of nothingness.

Clearly there was a ground below her to stand upon, however when she looked around or down she saw no defined features - only white.

It was as if this was a world of nothingness - yet...

"All mathematics and logic rely upon an initial set of premises."

Suddenly, from who knows where, a voice spoke out.

Turning around as she tried to locate the source of the voice, Valerie found herself unable to do so.

"Where are you?", she spat.

"Where am I... such an interesting question. The answer is quite complicated. Because I am NOWHERE."

"What do you mean?"

For whatever reason, her weapon was still at her side. Noticing this, the woman grabbed the uzi as she turned around once more, desperately trying to locate the person who she spoke with.

However no matter how many turns she made, the world of white was the only thing that greeted her.

As she changed her direction, the woman soon began to lose sense of what was up or down, and the floor beneath her didn't seem to remain as stable as she had assumed.

'What... is happening?', she wondered.

"We take basic assumptions for granted. Simple truths that we never question for even a moment - for they seem so blatantly obvious that questioning them would appear to be nothing more than the ramblings of a madman. The concept of space is one of these assumptions."

The voice continued to speak.

It was the man who she had been fighting before - the one that she had brutally fired upon with her automatic weapon over and over.

Even as she did so, he had refused to die - his undead body and strange regeneration clearly a cause of this.

'But... he couldn't kill me either. So he's brought me to this strange place instead?'

"I've spoken with many people who call themselves relativists - people who believe that there is no such thing as truth. That truth is based upon our own perception of things, and that there is no objective reality. That we are free to define everything as we please, and that nobody can tell us that our own truth is false."

With a chuckle, the man laughed as he said this.

"What a load of bullshit."

While she could not see him, Valerie was certain that the man was smirking uncontrollably as he spoke.

"In mathematics, one is free to define a coordinate system. One is free to choose where their origin is, and the coordinates of every object will change depending upon this definition. However this doesn't mean for a moment that one may define every coordinate independent of one another."

With a hint of melancholy in his voice, the man continued his rant.

"There is a logic which follows based upon an initial definition. Two objects will not change their positions relative to one another, regardless of where a coordinate plane is defined. There is an undeniable logic which follows from an initial premise. Thus... only these initial premises may be redefined."

"So what did you do? You redefined the space around us?"

"Precisely - yet not exactly. For if I had redefined the space itself, then we would have been set at a different position in this world. Yet right now... we are nowhere."

As the man explained, the eyes of Valerie widened as she came to realize the situation she had been placed within.

"I have begun the process of redefinition of space, yet I have not yet completed it."

The man continued to speak, his heartless words filled with a cold logic without a single shred of humanity tainting them.

"For in order to redefine anything... one must first make that very thing undefined."

And as he laid this revelation upon her, fear overcame her - for perhaps the first time since she had realized her own ability in this world.

"That... is where we are."

No... perhaps even beyond that.

Just how long had it been since Valerie had truly felt any fear?

Even she could not remember.

"A world which has not yet been defined... by any premises."

----

"I do not know your ability. Yet you said before that I cannot kill you. Is that not correct?"

"Hmph. That's right. You can try as much as you want. You can attack me, but your attacks will never land. The same for Melissa. Of course, her ability is different from mine - but regardless, you won't be able to touch either of us."

"I had assumed as much - which is exactly why I have brought you to this place. It is as if I am sitting in front of a computer program with a set of parameters waiting to be typed in. Yet right now, I am typing nothing. I am doing nothing. And I will not type anything - for doing so would immediately define something."

"So we're both going to sit here in this world of nothing, waiting for everything else to play out?"

"Precisely."

"And did you do the same for the other two?"

"Why would I give you that information so easily? I'll let your imagination run wild as far as they are concerned."

Marcus and Valerie had come to a standstill.

He had used his ability to take both of them out of the puzzle, pieces which became stagnant and unusable.

Until the entire picture was completed, only then would they appear.

"How will you know when to release this world? If we just sit here without any information, we won't have any idea what's happening outside-"

"You've assumed that I don't have any method to obtain information. Which is where I am superior to you. However... that is not something you need to understand. Just know that I WILL know the moment that man has been defeated."

As soon as Marcus said this, Valerie tensed up.

"How can you be so certain of your victory? What will you do if you lose? Will you run away?"

"I am unkillable - as you should be well aware. No matter how many bullets you fill my body with, you cannot slaughter me. Poison, lava, electricity, drowning, none of these methods would ever kill my body. No... perhaps it is exactly because my body is already dead that nothing of the like would work. And for that reason, even should I lose, I would have no issue running or surviving."

"And you don't care even if your comrades die? Or are they all unkillable as well?"

"You only obtained your ability recently, did you not? Would you be so privy as to tell me how it works? Is it similar to the one of Reckless where attacks do not reach you - thus making you unkillable? Or is it similar to my own condition where you do not die even if your organs are shredded to pieces?"

"You just ignored my question... but the former. I can't even be attacked, much less killed."

"Then you would not understand. But perhaps someday, years in the future after you have lived so long that you no longer wish to remain on this planet, you will see."

Lowering his tone, the man became strangely gentle for just a moment as he spoke.

"Just what a curse it is to be unkillable."

"I don't have any intention of understanding that. I intend to use this unkillable nature to my benefit. This is a gift, and I'm going to take full advantage of it."

"Valerie."

"What do you want?"

"Tell me your story. While the others are outside fighting, it would benefit me to know more about you. I don't intend to kill you off, after all."

"What are you talking about? I just said I'm unkillable, so-"

"If I really wanted to, I could find a way to kill you. That, I am certain. There are conditions associated with your impervious nature, no? If I were to find out those conditions, then you would become easily killable."

"And that is exactly why I won't tell you about myself so easily. Even if I don't tell you my ability, you might be able to glance a hint just by knowing about me."

"How acute of you. Then, I'll just ask straight. Please tell me your ability and how it works."

This man was completely unreasonable.

Valerie could do nothing more than reel in shock as he bluntly asked her to do something so obviously detrimental to her own health and well being.

"Why... would I do that?"

"I intend to take control of everything."

And with this magnanimous response, the man's voice lowered as he spoke with confidence.

"First, this hotel. Then... the other branches. I will expand my world, further and further until its boundaries reach the very ends of this world. And I will rule... over this wasteland of a world. Truly... I will redefine it."

His voice becoming that of a whisper, a shiver was sent down the spine of the woman as if a demon had overtaken the man.

"Do you not wish to be a part of this new world I will create?"

"The world... it's already destroyed."

"And that is exactly why I will reconstruct it - to something greater."

Taking a breath which Valerie could audibly hear, the man spoke with vision in his words.

"Political realms have been shattered. The shackles of the old world have been removed. And the powerful will inevitably take control of this broken world. So let me ask you, Valerie."

As if he were grasping her heart, the woman felt her chest tighten at the temptations that the man spoke.

"Are you going to become one of those powerful - or are you going to die unable to make a difference?"

She couldn't speak.

She couldn't respond.

It was as if she were speaking to another person entirely.

Just why did this man seem to be so bipolar in the way he spoke?

"I do not wish to save the world - but rather to mold it. To mold it from the rotten mold that it has been cast upon. To take the premises and assumptions that all humans have held from the moment of their birth, and flip them on their heads. And in doing so... I will destroy all those wretched men and women who wish to spread death and destruction in their path - including THAT MAN."

With a chuckle, the words of the man tickled the ear of Valerie - and at that moment she was unsure whether he was lost in his own madness or infatuated in his own genius.

"And I wish to bring about a day where all humans hate only one thing - myself."

At that instant, Valerie felt something.

A hand.

It wrapped around her throat, causing her to gulp as she looked down - however she saw nothing.

An illusion?

A hallucination?

"Therefore... you WILL assist me in bringing about such a world - whether you like it or not."

And the next statement of the man made Valerie's eyes widen in horror.

"After all... you require someone to RELY upon - do you not?"

----

"How... how do you know-"

"I have more methods than you could possibly imagine. There is no need to explain such things. You cannot be killed so long as the person you rely upon remains alive. However if that person is to be killed, then you yourself will find yourself killable - unless another such person comes about."

As the man revealed her own ability to her, Valerie was at a loss.

How could he have possibly gained such information?

"What if I were to tell you that this person has already died - and that you must now find another to rely upon?"

And suddenly, Valerie froze as this bombshell was placed upon her.

'How...'

"I will offer you a hand... but only once."

Yet the man didn't allow her to process such a thing.

"Choose now, Rely."

He spoke to her, calling her not by her name - but rather by her ability, as if he saw nothing else within her.

She was nothing more than an ability to him.

"If you do not wish to rely upon me, then I will allow you to join Gerard Stirling in the land of the dead."

"There's... no way that he's dead."

However, as soon as Valerie uttered these words, her confidence returned to her.

"There's no way that anyone could have defeated Yakov. Nothing can get around him. Nobody can hide anything from him. Nobody can outwit him. No matter how powerful you may be, or what strange powers you may have, there's no way he could have been defeated. And if he wasn't defeated... then there's no chance that he would have allowed Gerard to die."

Spreading her arms with a smile, Valerie began to laugh to herself - as if mocking herself for entertaining such a possibility.

"And if Gerard isn't dead... then there's no way that you can kill me either."

"Isn't it pathetic to rely on others for so much like that?"

Yet despite her confidence, the man didn't seem phased in the least.

"I don't care how pathetic it is. I have my own skills, my own abilities. This is one of them. If it means I have to rely on someone else, so be it - but I'm not just a useless pawn without it. And what about yourself?"

With a snicker, the woman looked to the sky, though she didn't know whether she was actually facing the man or not.

"You claim that you want to take over this world, but you can't even win this battle on your own. Your use has been reduced to nothing more than a placeholder. You've temporarily stopped me from stepping foot on the battlefield, but that means you're nothing more than a side character whose only purpose is to prepare the stage for the real fight."

With brutal logic, Valerie cut into the man with her words, certain of her victory in this regard.

"Let me ask you this then."

However, the man did not yield.

Just as he had refused to die - so too his words refused to halt, as he continued to bend logic in his own manner.

"If I am able to manipulate my pawns to flow as I need them to, and create a situation in which my victory is certain - is it not my own victory?"

"You may say that, but if you're not the strongest, they'll betray you eventually. Particularly so if you consider them as nothing more than mere pawns."

"Is the strongest warrior always the one to sit upon the throne?"

Clicking his tongue, the man seemed to be disappointed in Valerie.

"Wrong."

And lowering his tone, the man once more whispered into the ear of Valerie within that land of nothing.

"It is the one who can come up with a foolproof strategy that is able to look down upon the board of this world, moving the pieces as he pleases."

----

"Let's say that Gerard truly has died. Why are we still here in this undefined world? Why haven't you released me? You could kill me at any moment."

"I wish to speak with you. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"How did he die? What kind of insane ability did his killer have that allowed him to surpass Yakov?"

"That's confidential. I'm sure those two wouldn't want me spilling any information on their abilities. My own ability is one thing to blabber about, but someone else's? Ask them when you meet them."

"Fair enough. But even so, what makes you think that I'll rely upon you as my new leader?"

"The fact that you'll die if you don't."

"But that's the issue. I don't know if Gerard is actually dead or alive. And if he does happen to still be alive, then I can't disobey-"

"Why can't you disobey his command?"

"That... that's because..."

"Too scared to say? This is a world which has not been defined. Gerard is dead, but even if he were alive, an act of disobedience towards him would never be registered."

Widening her eyes once more, Valerie was continuously surprised at just how much this man knew.

"So you knew... that we can't disobey him?"

"That much was obvious, no? But I take it from this that his ability forces obedience... to put it simply... he has the ability to REIGN."

"WHA!? YOU DIDN'T ACTUALLY KNOW!?!? Did I just spill it to you!?"

"Haha... of course I didn't know. Why do you think I kept probing you? He isn't dead... yet. But now that I've confirmed his ability, he will be soon. Ah, just to let you know, it was actually your partner who spilled your ability. I believe her name was Melissa?"

"How... Melissa wouldn't have said anything like that. What did you do to threaten her!?"

"My partner defeated her. Not only did she defeat her, but she was able to convince her that our victory was to her benefit. Is that so strange?"

"But... no, I guess betraying me and spilling my information wouldn't go against Reign. Tsk... so all of this was your plan to gain information?"

"Precisely. Now that you've betrayed your leader, though unintentionally, you're in quite the bind - wouldn't you agree? If we lose, you're in just as much trouble as we are. So why don't you go and spill Yakov's ability while you're at it?"

"I don't know Yakov's ability - or if he even has one."

While the man pressed her even further, Valerie spoke in a humbled tone, frustrated at having been duped to this extent.

Yet even so...

'If I could somehow escape Reign's control... then...'

"Well, I suppose that must be the truth. The only reason you knew of Reign was because you were under its control."

"Aren't you going to ask how exactly the ability works?", Valerie spat.

"No, I already know how it works. A good friend of mine used to hold the ability, after all. However he was far too timid to use it on other people. Quite the predicament, don't you think?"

"Wha... a friend of yours used to... what does that even mean!?"

"Ah... I let that slip. Ahem. I'll be going now. You'll be speaking with Marcus from this point on. I've interfered enough."

"Wha... Marcus!? What... who... what is going on!?!?"

"Ahem... excuse me for the delay. I do apologize for the confusion, but he just wouldn't shut up. He wanted to speak to you, and I do think it was quite amusing - at the very least. At any rate... thank you for the information. We will certainly use it to our advantage."

The same man - the same voice.

Yet he acted as if he were a completely different person.

Just what was going on?

"I'm sure you're quite confused... but what you were told before was the truth."

Who was the man that she was speaking with?

"I intend to take control... and reign over this very world."

Who was the man that she was speaking with before?

Were they one person? Or two?

Were they one and the same?

Valerie did not know.

"Therefore... that ability will prove to be quite useful."

----