[Elsword] - Formulated Hearts

Act 26 - Circuits

...

Exotic. She had a disbelief that Eve was fated to utilize no emotion; it was irrational. Why would the true 'Queen' of Nasods remain devoid of such feelings? Where was the affection for her race? For her future lover? Why would the Formulated Hearts exist for Eve? Rena was not one to make mistakes. Despite not having any herself, it bothered the Nemesis. It was... odd. To her, someone as feminine and royal as the Empress was, having servants and everything, it would only be correct for such a figure to be 'human'-like.

For events that spark her interest to occur, she was going to have to create the opportunities herself. If Eve was emotionless, then it was her job to force them into her system. For the sake of 'entertainment'; Exotic had no life anyway.

She was a wild daredevil that was prepared for consequences. She was ready for the action, and of course, the destruction. It was part of her title.

Fortunately enough, Chung and Add went along with her plan, it was running quite smoothly. Having them meet up together was one of the many pieces to sew together. However, she was now in a rush to head over to the Empress' residence.

Exotic's existence was forever unknown to Eve, she had no intention of befriending her other self. Because of that, she had to work undercover in secret.

~

Her graceful steps lead her to the destination fairly quickly. She cloaked herself upon reaching the vicinity, scanning inside the building to see what Eve was up to. The Nasod Queen was peacefully sipping a cup of tea served by Ophelia, she didn't seem occupied with any other activity. It was a perfect chance to do what was needed.

Approaching the front door, she carefully leaned against it. She phased through the wall, leaving behind a plasma dummy that lasted for several seconds before vanishing into photon dust.

"Cloaking. Photon Flash."

Her footsteps were dead silent as she approached the flight of stairs, after entering the locality. She glided diagonally, ascending the stairway without the use of stepping. As she arrived on the top surface, she glanced around. Eve had left her tea on the table momentarily, as her eyes were glued to the screen in front of her. It appeared to be a brand new television, though Exotic failed to notice the device from outside. She was watching a romantic show of some sort, which bewildered the Nemesis.

She deadpanned in her mind. 'The other me... is intrigued by such things? I do not understand. Does not compute...'

After pulling out a vial filled with a bubbling substance, Exotic slunk over to the Queen, vigilantly popping open its lid. She poured its contents into her tea (though it wasn't much), as it slightly formed a small reaction before sinking into the contents of the beverage. Luckily, the result was too tiny to be noticed; the drink appeared to be exactly the same as it was before as well.

She tiptoed away, observing Eve's movements as she took a sip. The matter inside the petite flask was meant for the user to feel drowsy and extremely sleepy for a while, so that Code: Nemesis could deal with her 'sister' in serenity.

Code: Empress yawned. The substance was certainly taking effect instantly, which fulfilled one of the requirements of Exotic's quest.

"O-Ophelia. Eve would like to rest earlier today. You are dismissed, along with Oberon and Ferdinand. Thank you for your work." she said in somnolence.

With a nod, Ophelia had disappeared into the air, as the Empress made her way to her bedroom, with her stalker trailing after her. As soon as she flopped down onto her cozy bed, she was out like a light. Fortunately for Exotic, she was rolled over onto her side, which made the operation easier.

The Nemesis summoned several tools from her arsenal of paraphernalia, screwing around with Eve's circuit compartments.

'According to my database, she should have something related to emotions here... Ah? But there is nothing. Not even a single trace... Were they forcefully removed in the past? Is that why... Hmph! This may be harder than I anticipated.'

She spent a while fiddling around, attempting to think of a solution.

'Rena had given me a basic emotional circuit during my creation, though it was incompatible with my nature. My model was never meant to have such things, though I did end up keeping it in my inventory. I was planning to sell it, but I never had the time to. I suppose it shall be put into good use. The system of Eve should be identical to mine.'

Summoning up said circuit, she began to tinker and tamper with the core so that the new device would fit into the array of machinery parts. It was a difficult task to complete, however, she refused to face failure. Exotic was very intent on completing it.

~

Hours passed, as nighttime was lurking and the stars were shining. She was just about done when... a message materialized.

...

[Error: Circuit could not be awakened.]

<Circuit: Match. | State: Unusable. | Solution: 'Emotion' must be evoked by a certain event.>

...

There was nothing that could be done; Exotic had done all that she could. Although the outcome wasn't the one she was reaching for, it was enough. She closed the error window as she shut the compartments, leaving Eve to reboot until the next morning.

Stealthily, the Queen of Destruction glided out and into the night, suppressed into the shadows as the cloaking wore off.

...