Chapter 34: The Last Song in the Simulation

[POV Celes]

Celes materialized floating in the air high above a metropolitan city within the simulation, still clad in her combat mode. Her helmet resembled a half-diamond, her face concealed behind a mask so that she appeared featureless, her eyes glowing red, and her black body partially covered in silver biological armor. Sharp purple crystals jutted from her elbows, knees, and shoulders, with round crystals embedded on her forehead, chest, and abdomen, while her extremely long white hair draped over her body like a cape.

She turned her head to scan her surroundings. Below her laid countless machine zombies, the buildings dead silent, cars abandoned in the middle of the roads and piled along the curbs; the metropolitan city that was once bustling and full of life now resembled a dead, deserted wasteland. Celes let out a breath of relief, knowing she had succeeded.

"Sigh... from Craig’s brain... I managed to enter the simulation... now... I have to find Craig... according to his remaining memories, his last recollection was in the basement of his house," Celes said in her head.

Celes hovered through the city, deliberately flying low to slice through every machine zombie she passed, freeing their consciousnesses so they could return to their bodies in the farm pods. She kept soaring in loops through the streets and alleys, ducking in and out of buildings and parks, guided by the few fragments of memory Craig had left. After circling the massive city—from the business district and town square to the slums, Celes finally arrived at a residential neighborhood on the edge of town, hovering above a house.

"Here... this is Craig’s house," Celes said in her head.

Without delay, she drifted inside, "blam," crashing through the door as she hovered, before touching down in the living room. She looked around; Craig’s life appeared so real here, but she noticed two photographs on a table with a flower placed in front of them. Celes approached the table; it turned out that inside the simulation, Craig lived alone in his house, his parents having already passed away. The other photos scattered around the house mostly showed Craig going fishing, standing beside a beautiful blonde girl, and a group photo of the two of them with two other friends.

Celes could see Craig’s true, handsome face, he had blonde hair styled in a military buzz cut and wore an earring, looking radiant and smiling so wide his straight, white teeth showed neatly in his mouth.

"Craig... you really were happy... ah right... I can’t linger here... my energy is almost depleted and...I’m hungry," Celes said in her head.

Celes ran toward the stairs leading down to the basement, located right next to the door to the garage. As she descended, she glanced down upon hearing a sound, "groooo," gasping as she spotted four machine zombies below: one was the girl whose photo was everywhere, and another was Craig, wandering directionlessly around the basement while groaning, the source of the sound.

Slowly, Celes crept down the stairs. She looked over to see one female machine zombie entangled in a mass of cables, her head severed from her body yet still alive, while a male zombie beside Craig seemed to be attempting to free her. The sight before her touched Celes’s heart, but she shook her head and stepped forward.

"Slash,"

With a single strike of her hand, she instantly slashed through the machine zombie girl whose photo was always with Craig, sending the zombie collapsing onto the ground, motionless. Then, with swift movements, she slashed the young male zombie who was trying to free her and impaled the severed, entangled head of the zombie girl until the red light from her eye lenses went dark.

She then turned around to see the zombie Craig wandering around with a gruesome face. Celes walked up to him, blocking his path from the front, and deactivated her combat mode, revealing her true, beautiful form with long silver hair and a stunning silhouette, smiling as she looked at Craig.

"Groooo,"

Celes wrapped her arms around the zombie Craig before her. "I know you’re suffering... you’ll be free soon... Brother Clyde, Casca, and Corie are waiting for you... remember them... I will awaken your memories," Celes said.

"Na... na... na,"

Zombie Craig, who had initially been unfocused, suddenly turned his head toward Celes, his stiff, open mouth beginning to move,

"Big... Sis... Celes,"

"Stab,"

Celes drove her hand straight through Craig’s chest until it pierced through his back, "cough," black blood like used oil spouting from Craig’s mouth and soaking Celes’s shoulder as she continued to hum her melody. Suddenly,

[Subject serial number : C – 2419 – Yeti activated and joined frame network confirmed.]

Celes released Craig and helped him lie down on the ground, then stroked his forehead and smiled,

"Once you wake up, you, Brother Clyde, Casca, and Corie come get me, okay? Tell Brother Clyde I’m waiting for him... thank you, Craig, goodbye," Celes said, stroking the forehead of Craig, who had gone completely still.

Suddenly, Celes’s body glowed, her feet dissolving into particles of light that continued to rise across her whole body. When only her head remained, tears trickled down her cheeks, but she kept smiling until her head finally dissolved into particles of light that flew through the roof and continued upward.

***

Meanwhile in the tunnel, Clyde, Casca, and Corie sat next to Craig, who was still in his combat mode and lying motionless, when suddenly, "psssssh," smoke billowed from Craig’s body as it was enveloped in a bright light. Expressions of relief washed over the faces of Clyde, Casca, and Corie; they stood up and watched as Craig’s body reverted to human form. Craig transformed into the person seen in the photo Celes had found in his memories, handsome with blonde hair in a buzz cut, thin yet still appearing muscular. Suddenly, a holographic screen expanded above his head, and naturally, Clyde, Casca, and Corie read its contents.

[Subject serial number : C – 2419 – Yeti.]

[Abilities : Survival instinct, Keen Smell, White Fur Camouflage.]

[Perk : Super strength, sturdy and hard body, imunne all poison and disease.]

[Skill installed : Peak Martial Arts Mastery, Avalanche Smash.]

[Hunger : [Progress bar 100%] Danger.]

[Stamina : [Progress bar 100%]]

[Regeneration : [Progress bar 0%] status : healthy.]

Seeing the word danger written in red on the holographic screen, Clyde, Casca, and Corie instantly turned to look at one another,

"We have to feed him before he wakes up... otherwise... he’ll go wild again," Casca said.

"Yeah... but where are we gonna find food?" Corie asked.

Clyde didn’t answer; he turned to look down the tunnel and spotted the two giant carcasses that, although mangled beyond recognition, were still quite conspicuous,

"Wait here and don’t go anywhere... oh... don’t transform back yet, stay in combat mode, just in case," Clyde said, breaking into a light jog toward the pile of giant remains.

"Oh... okay, Brother... sigh... don’t tell me you’re gonna feed Brother Craig those carcasses?" Casca asked.

"There’s no other choice," Clyde shouted back, already quite a distance away.

"Ugh... sorry, Brother Craig. Once you wake up, we’ll eat something nice," Corie said, looking at Craig, who had still not awakened.

While Clyde retrieved the carcasses, Casca and Corie remained standing beside Craig, never lowering their guard for a moment. Shortly after, Clyde returned hovering through the air, carrying four massive giant arms, descending to toss all four arms in front of Craig,

"Feed him quick, I’ll pry his mouth open and you guys stuff it in," Clyde said, landing and crouching beside Craig’s head.

Clyde immediately forced Craig’s mouth open and lifted his head slightly; Casca and Corie looked hesitant, but in the end, they tore away chunks of flesh from the arms and shoved them into Craig’s wide-open mouth, which Clyde then worked manually as if chewing food. Corie watched Craig’s Adam’s apple move as he swallowed the food,

"It worked, Brother!" Corie shouted, pointing at Craig’s Adam’s apple.

Clyde looked over at the screen above Craig’s head,

[Hunger : [Progress bar 82%] Danger.]

He then turned to look at his two younger sisters.

"More... it’s still not enough... hurry, don’t stall," Clyde said.

"Y... yes, Brother," Casca and Corie shouted, immediately busying themselves tearing the giant arms to pieces.

Engrossed in reducing Craig’s hunger, neither Clyde, Casca, nor Corie noticed a few tears welling in Craig’s closed eyes, streaming down his cheeks and falling below.