Aeon Nether & Idol Effigy

Chapter 82- Anti-Climatic End

Near the end of the month Trina did abbreviate her stay here.

She moved up a few dorms through ranks bought by paying people to make one of those voting systems that would add 'fake' votes. It was something that was meant to be checked by Rain, but technically the votes weren't fake, just discreetly paid for without much evidence left after the transaction. However, that has its limits that are showing up now as she barely ranked up much as the days went on. Not surprising since Idol Effigy is a commonly watched show across the world with a higher viewer rating that other shows can't come close to competing with it. Trina didn't have the type of money to pay as many people as they needed to vote for herself, nor did the Dafiin's.

She found herself being hated by more and more people with those passing days too. Eventually people had enough and somehow knocked her unconscious in a makeshift fire pit before coming to me in order to not end up with blood on their hands. In a way it was a show of false humanity on their parts. But I allowed my hand to be borrowed and bloodied. Trina had long since become an unsuitable variable and a part of my past life that I was trying to move on from.

So I lit the fire pit.

While she burnt alive she was silent. I found it to be a just and ironic silence. Maybe I would have liked it more if I knew something to say to make Trina feel worse or even acutely close to what Emma and I felt within Emma's memories of her death.

Yes, it was like Emma's end had occurred, but all of us knew that Trina was still unconscious compared to Emma who was fully conscious whilst burning alive. I just watched Trina burn this time, near an open window in a hall full of open doors and windows that circulated air in the decrepit building that the campus was going to tear down to update the campus. I didn't wait long until I understood that I hadn't taken her seriously at all, but saw her as an annoyance. Trina's MO wasn't with me. She was just someone who was part of the trial period. I needed to kill her to progress in this life and find out what's next. Simple.

Nonetheless, I still felt uncomfortable. I was now aware of how aberrant I was during my new life as Trina was getting closer to completely dying in this world I'm progressing through. Only now was the time that I remember that I barely remembered the banned light novel with the descriptions and events that made me hate Trina so much. Alarming as I found it, I tried not to dwell on it.

All in all it was an anti-climatic end to someone who's character had been read by myself for over a thousand chapters. Even if I didn't remember most of the key details in it at this point and was vaguely aware of the indirect directing of my increasingly paranoid focus.

If anything, the smell of burned human was somewhat pleasant in the face of the anti-climatic end. It was another test or type of control to see how I felt at that moment. And luckily for me, I did feel.

Trina was no more and in her last moments the screen rewarded me.

[Congratulations for removing the thorn in your side!

For reasons unknown to yourself you have been given the reward:

Ability- Energy MEMORY, trait PAST, passive OBJECT OF IMPORTANCE, active TOUCH, rank G (upgradable)

Ability- Energy MEMORY, trait PHYSICAL, passive RETAIN PHYSICAL MEMORY OF PRIME, active TRAINING, rank G (upgradable)]

After the screen came up with my reward effectively usurping Trina's ability. I looked around quickly and called into the air, "Emma?", without receiving any answer.

Normally she'd appear in some way known to me or my screen would say something, but it seems that her remaining existence was completely wiped clean as soon as I was rewarded. It was strange. I felt like I was finding a new balance in my emotions now. A mix between unfeeling and empathy was being born. I wondered if it might cause backlash after I remember all of the killing I've done and wonder if I cared. Or maybe, just maybe, I'll forever be unaware of how my complete activity aberration worked. I was now aware that it was there. But it was still very ambiguous with no understanding of when it started. I was just aware that a period of unnatural behaviour ended, or maybe that was Emma's influence on me, but I doubt that Emma was the cause of my unnatural behaviour.

My hand raised up to click on my screen's profile and checked my rewards, disregarding further thoughts. Surprisingly, I lost my skills list. Maybe it was some sort of setting for this world where a certain amount of abilities caused the listing of skills to be visually redundant? I wasn't quite sure, but hoped that it would be explained in dungeon service like all things were said to be.

The profile screen list revealed the main abilities of Trina and Emma, but at a lower rank than I thought should be possible. I can't remember. It made me regretful that I couldn't ask Trina questions about the original novel version that she read. That and remembering the novel details that I read. But I didn't mind much. She wouldn't have told me the truth even if I asked.

I clicked on Emma's ability mentally seeking more information.

[To summarise extra information on Energy MEMORY, trait Past ability:

- This ability allows the user to look into the past and at times may allow the user to look into important memories of the past. The current ability only works on objects that have been in a certain place for a while. The random memory gained is limited to ten seconds and will only look into the memory of said object in the time it has remained in its current position. Random memories can only have one chance of finding the memory from a specific object that hasn't had an ability used on it.

- The ability will only meld better to the user after Rank F is gained.

- The passive will randomly appear and has a chance of not appearing at all within the user's lifetime.

- The active TOUCH power within the ability may not increase the rank of the skill efficiently for gateway ranks, e.g. Rank G into Rank F. However, it is still possible to rank up this way.

To summarise extra information on Energy MEMORY, trait PHYSICAL ability:

- This ability will lessen users nausea caused by travelling and currently has many limitations due to rank. The best physical condition of the user will be remembered through this ability, as well as receiving vague hints about abnormal body conditions. Currently the body is more proficient in telling you what you lack through vague food cravings.

- The ability will only meld better to the user after Rank F is gained.

- User will passively remember the user's own best physical condition. This currently means that your body is less likely to heal strangely. For example, broken bones mend better into their best remembered or most correct form every time they break.

- The active TRAINING allows the user to gain vague hints on bodies abnormal conditions. Abnormal conditions falling under the category of the body not being in its best condition. You will get vague food craving hints at current rank.]

I skimmed through the information to find out that they aren't currently as useful as I thought they could be. It seems that it's hard to raise both of the ranks to rank F without luck. Emma's ability needs me to get a notification or some kind of alert through my passive, but I'm still unsure whether my passive is passively used when my active skill is on or whether my passive is always on to alert me of certain objects. Trina's skill was also tricky, but it seemed that I needed to find out how active training is used. It did make me sad that I'm no longer in need of healing myself constantly. It might have helped upgrade Trina's ability in some way.

Either way, neither skill seems like things that will automatically become useful. However, I could see the potential and help they could offer me. Therefore, I'm going to have to remember to try a couple of things consistently in order to try and rank up my abilities from now on.

At the very least all four abilities were on my profile screen now. Even though the extra information implied that the abilities would require me to upgrade to rank F from their current rank G to truly be mine.