Breaking The Simulation

Simulation Trial

Cale was trapped—captured. After calming down, he quickly realized his situation.

Although slightly panicked, Cale forced himself to remain calm, convincing himself that his very survival depended on maintaining composure.

“Huu, Huu, Huu!”

“Breathe, Cale, breathe. You can do this; there’s no need to panic.”

Cale focused on controlling his breathing, and with each intake and release of air, he gradually calmed down. Finally, feeling sufficiently composed, he opened his eyes and began to observe his surroundings once again.

The room was just as he remembered. Bright lights shone insistently, chasing away any shadows. The padded walls and flooring felt soft under his bare feet, with his toes sinking comfortably into the padding.

“There’s nothing distinctive in the room, and there are no windows to see what the outside is like,” Cale noted as he surveyed the area. He checked his clothes and found he was wearing a plain white overall, typical of what a hospital patient might wear.

From his observations, Cale concluded very little. He could only infer, based on the facility and his attire, that he was locked in some kind of cell and was likely being treated as a patient by his captors.

“It seems I’m…”

A thought began to creep into Cale’s mind about his possible situation, but he quickly shoved it aside, refusing to acknowledge it just yet.

“No, don’t think about that. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

Trying to avoid any anxious thoughts, Cale turned his attention toward the only patch of darkness before him. It was an expansive void of blackness occupying a significant area in front of him.

When he had first awakened, he had bolted toward the darkness, trying to escape without understanding his situation. In hindsight, that was foolish; without knowing what lay within the darkness, who could say what horrors awaited him?

The unknown was frightening, but it also held opportunities. Whether his freedom lay in the darkness or if something far worse awaited him, Cale had no way of knowing, and he might not discover the truth anytime soon.

“There’s only one way to find out. I’ll have to get close if I want to learn more.”

Cautiously, Cale walked forward until he reached the boundary between light and darkness. He tentatively extended a hand and felt a strange tactile sensation, as if he were touching a screen of water with his palm.

“What is this? Some kind of barrier?”

Indeed, it must be a barrier of some sort, Cale judged, to be capable of sending flying back when he had previously attempted to escape the room. The barrier wasn’t very solid. It was like a layer of air was gathered together to form a thin film that separated Cale from the darkness outside.

Cale pressed hard against the barrier, feeling it stretch like an elastic band with a tensility like horse tendons. Initially, the barrier seemed fairly weak in strength, but like trying to beat a drum, the more force he applied, the stronger the counterforce became until it eventually overwhelmed Cale once he exceeded a certain threshold.

“What’s the principle behind this? It looks very advanced. I doubt it would be easy to find something like this in ordinary places. Does this mean whoever captured me is likely well-connected and influential?”

Cale pondered this with increasing despair. Finally, after testing the barrier some more, he concluded, “Indeed, there’s no way I’m breaking through here. I’ll have to find another way.”

Understanding why he had been thrown back before, Cale felt lost. He had no idea what to do next. But he was sure about one thing, he definitely didn’t want to stay here for much longer.

So far his captors have yet to show their faces so he was still clueless about who they were and why he was being imprisoned—though a faint inkling lingered in his mind like a twisted dark thought born from despair.

Cale tried not to think about this focusing instead on thoughts of escaping. He didn’t know if his captors were aware he regained consciousness or not. They could be watching him this very moment for all he knew. But it didn’t stop him from contemplating escape.

Yet clearly, there was no way to escape right now, but simply staying still without making any attempts to do so was not an option. In that case, there was only one thing left to do.

“It seems I’ll have to rely on my awakened power if I'm going to have any hope of escaping from here,” Cale mumbled to himself.

“Let’s hope that whatever power I awakened will help me out of this predicament.”

Cale was filled with anticipation, not just at the prospect of awakening but because he was very eager to discover what his awakened power was.

But just as he closed his eyes to sense his abilities, a sudden voice broke the silence in the cell, speaking in a monotone, chilling tone.

“Simulation initializing… start!”

Shocked, Cale tried to determine the source of the voice, but before he could react, he was suddenly plunged into darkness, robbing him of all his senses.

…

Selene waited until a stoic bespectacled man approached her with brisk steps and handed her a device.

Taking the device from him, a small virtual screen appeared, displaying the report she had been awaiting.

With a quick glance, Selene read through the entire report, furrowing her brows in contemplation.

Shortly after, she turned to the man beside her and asked, “Is everything in here accurate?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

“You mean to tell me that after so many hours of testing, we not only couldn't recognize his awakening factor but also the specific powers and abilities he has gained?” Selene asked again.

The bespectacled man responded succinctly, “Indeed. All tests conducted, from genetic and neural analysis to mana and soul force assessments, failed to identify the subject’s awakening factor. It is something that has not been recorded in our database—a completely new and unique phenomenon that appears almost alien in his composition.”

Hearing this, Selene nodded in acceptance. She had half expected a result like this; only such an outcome would make her personal involvement worthwhile.

“A new type of power that has never been seen before, huh?” Selene thought to herself.

“Now this is becoming very interesting.”

A glimmer of excitement crossed Selene’s serious face as a chilling thought crept into her mind.

She turned to the bespectacled man and said, “Since we cannot determine anything from the tests using conventional methods, we must proceed to the next step.”

Turning to everyone in the room, Selene declared, “It’s time. Begin phase one of the simulation trials immediately.”