Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

After returning to the worn-down apartment he lived in, Cyanide carefully unlocked the electronic door via pass-code and gently entered. After flipping the light on and making sure none of the traps he set were set off, including a thin string right next to the door and a water bottle placed at the base of the frame, he locked the door and continued on to the rest of the house.

'Napkins, untouched… curtains, untouched… drawer, still open… everything seems in place.'

With a sigh, Cyanide took off his cloak and hung it on the hanger, then went to take a shower. After that was done, he came out and made some simple dinner for himself, before brushing his teeth and going to bed. He lived a very simplistic and humble life, despite nearly being a billionaire from all the assassinations he's done over the years.

"Cyanide…" Luna said once they were in the bedroom, voice slightly worried even though she was an AI being projected by a floating metal orb.

"Back there," Cyanide interrupted, staring at the slip of cardboard paper in his hand. "Were you able to run an analysis scan on that man?"

"… Yes, but the results are hazy," Luna replied after some hesitation.

"What do you mean?"

"While I am certain that was an intelligent living being, I cannot say for sure that he's a human. The energy readings and infrared thermographic scans all outputted non-sensible results. Sorry… Cyanide."

"It's not your fault," Cyanide said, inspecting the slip of paper again and again. "I didn't program you to be able to identify new lifeforms anyway."

After a short silence, Luna finally asked what was on her mind.

"Cyanide… are you going to accept his 'invitation'?"

"… Who knows?" Cyanide wondered aloud, lying down on his bed. "I haven't decided yet."

"You're actually considering it…?"

"I'd like to think that man was just some random weirdo as well, but you heard him too. He knew about my real name and my past, not to mention the fact that he was able to sneak up on me and escape my gunshot with such ease."

"But what he said about you being 'bored'… is that true?"

Cyanide made sure his pistol and dagger were both within reach, then turned off the lights with the slip of paper still in his hands.

"… Is it, I wonder?"

*****

- The Next Morning -

Cyanide woke up early at 6 AM and headed to the guild to pick up some more assassination requests as usual. There was no shortage of them in this cruel, harsh world, but to him, none of that mattered. Every kill he made was just money in his eyes.

But was it really?

Lately, he was starting to have his doubts. He was already practically a billionaire, with all the money had had saved up in his bank account over the years. He could easily quit being an assassin and spend the rest of his days living in luxury. And yet… he did not.

So was the reason for his assassinations really just 'to make a living'?

No… of course not. To Cyanide, killing was his art, his life. It was all he knew how to do; it was all he was ever trained to do. If he stopped now, he would essentially be abandoning his life's purpose, his life's meaning.

But the truth was, Elizabeth and that mysterious man last night were right. Cyanide knew it deep down as well — he was getting bored. Although he was always indifferent on the surface so it didn't really show, he was slowly getting sick and tired of doing the same thing over and over again.

All the assassination requests were so easy to him nowadays. He had so much experience and skill that they just weren't fulfilling to his purpose anymore. Tracking targets… eliminating them… claim the rewards… it was the same process in essence. After doing that for hundreds of times, one was bound to get bored — especially someone like Cyanide who doesn't care about money, fame, or power in the slightest.

He only cared about fulfilling himself and his purpose. And in order to do that, he needed something more than just assassinating corrupt businessmen and arrogant yakuza — something that could prove to be a challenge to even him. Then, and only then, will he find the spark of meaning in his life once again.

And that's why, after spending the day thinking things through, Cyanide returned to his apartment and pulled out his untraceable phone before dialing a certain number.

[(05) 144-261-5145]

Bringing the phone up to his ear, he didn't even hear a beep before someone else on the other end immediately picked up.

"Greetings, player. Would you like to participate in the Game?"

His voice was filtered and distorted, sounding exactly like the man from last night. Cyanide had no way to tell if it was truly him or one of his accomplices, but that didn't matter anyway.

"… I would like to see this 'new world' of yours," Cyanide said, also using a voice changer of his own. "I hope you don't disappoint."

"If you would like to participate, say your name and address."

"… My name is Cyanide. As for the other information… you should already have it, no?"

The voice on the other end fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke once again.

"Tonight, 1 AM. Front of your apartment."

With this brisk message, the other end hung up, and Cyanide lowered the phone. Luna, who had watched the conversation unfold, furrowed her brows in worry.

"Cyanide… are you really going to do it?"

"This world… it's become dull for me," Cyanide said calmly, staring at the ceiling. "There isn't anything here that can interest me anymore. A new world… the paranormal… it intrigues me. I want to see it with my own eyes."

"…" Luna fell silent, struck with emotion incomprehensible for an AI. Cyanide, noticing this, closed his eyes.

"Relax. Even though they definitely won't let me take you along, I'm not just abandoning you. This is just a side adventure, something to make my life more exciting and meaningful. Once this adventure is over, I'll come back."

"… Okay."

"Wake me up at 12:45 AM. That's all."

"Understood."

Cyanide turned off the lights and slipped the blankets over him, keeping his weapons within reach. The spherical device displaying Luna's holographic figure laid down on the bed as well, emitting a faint blue light.

*****

- 12:45 AM -

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Cyanide, time to wake up," Luna said, hovering over her creator's sleeping figure.

Cyanide slowly shifted his body and got up, standing up from the bed and heading to the washroom. There, he washed his face and changed into his large black cloak and slim pants, then prepared to head out. Luna slipped into his pocket.

After arriving in front of the apartment building, Cyanide stopped and checked his watch. It read 12:55. After some thought, he breathed out in the chilly night air and spoke.

"Luna. Upload all your programming to my contact lenses so I can memorize it."

"… Huh?"

"Do as told."

"Right… understood."

Luna immediately went to work, transmitting all of her code into Cyanide's contacts. The lines of programming appeared before his eyes in the lenses of the contacts, and he memorized all of them as they scrolled.

He'd always had extremely good memory on genius-levels; this was more than possible for him. Since he had coded Luna himself as well, he was familiar with the code anyway — he was just memorizing all this to ensure not missing out on any details.

After a couple of minutes, the process was complete, and the lines of code came to a stop.

"It's finished, Cyanide," Luna said quietly.

"… I see."

"I don't understand though… what was the point of that?"

"… Who knows."

As he said this, a van skidded to a stop before him, on the street. Cyanide calmly began walking towards it as the doors on the vehicle slid open, revealing two other people on the back row, unconscious.

Cyanide narrowed his eyes. 'Unconscious… did they just fall asleep on the ride? No… those aren't natural sleeping positions…'

Right before stepping onto the car, the driver turned around. He was the same masked man Cyanide had met last night… or at least, dressed the same.

"Leave the AI," he said in an emotionless tone, almost on par with Cyanide's.

Cyanide paused getting on the vehicle, then sighed and pulled out the mobile host of Luna from his pocket.

"… Go back to the house, Luna."

"Cyanide…" Luna murmured, voice quivering.

"You're an AI — nothing more. Don't make this emotional."

"… Understood."

Luna flew away, dejected and sorrowful. Cyanide had programmed emotions into her, but that was only to make her seem more like a real companion instead of a rigid robot.

After watching her disappear, Cyanide boarded the van and got comfortable in his seat while the door closed. He noticed the heater was on, emitting hot gas to make the interior of the van nice and warm.

But was it really just warm gas?

Cyanide, being a professional assassin, was able to recognize all kinds of chemicals and substances by smelling them, even if they were nearly completely odorless. Although quite dissolved, he could still smell the faint scent of chloroform in the air being emitted. If he inhaled that, he would fall unconscious just like the other two passengers.

Luckily, he had already noticed this before getting on the van, so he was prepared. He collapsed on the second row of seats and pretended to have fallen unconscious, but in reality, he was using his cloak's large collar to block his nose.

The masked man, after checking on Cyanide via the rear-view mirror and thinking that he had fallen unconscious, shut off the warm air. Too much chloroform would kill, after all. Then, he stepped on the gas pedal, driving away into the night.

Cyanide assumed this man was not the same one as last night, since anyone would expect a professional assassin to be able to sense toxic chemicals. This driver didn't know about his identity; he was just a low-level worker who followed orders.

And so, Cyanide… opened his eyes.