Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

Alex has been a cautious person since way before the apocalypse.

It only worsened in the apocalypse, as right before it, he got the taste of betrayal—something he never thought he would have to face.

For someone like him, trusting someone was way harder than just killing them.

If he didn't feel like a person was trustworthy, just kill them and be done with them.

Alex didn't want to risk getting betrayed again.

So, just think about how he would've felt when he realized that the only one he somehow decided to trust seemed to have betrayed him as well.

His wounds from the last one were still fresh, so a new one would, of course, have hurt him a lot more.

But all of his suspicion and doubt evaporated the moment he saw the golden line, lightening the whole area with a golden hue.

At first, it was just a dim light, but as time passed and Alex's focus gathered on it, it started getting brighter.

The shine intensified.

*Badump**Badump*...

But it was not just the light; Alex's heart rate escalated as well.

It was as if he was being warned to stay away, and at the same time, he felt as if it was calling out to him.

Without him realizing it, Alex was already walking toward the light.

Yes, he was walking.

His eyes were closed, and he was supposed to see just darkness ahead of him, yet he saw a golden shine, and now he was even walking toward the light.

'What?'

Alex paused, his gaze moving down, inspecting his body.

The corporeal body he was supposed to have was nowhere to be seen; he couldn't even tell if the thing he was looking at could even be called a body.

All he saw was a cluster of light particles packed together to form a human-shaped body.

The particles of light seemed to be loosely packed, as they would drip like a water drop on the 'ground'.

The AI, which still sounded cheerful, explained what was going on, and the next second...

*Woosh*

With a flash, Alex's looks changed.

Alex nodded his head, quite fascinated by this ability.

Now, he looked just like he did in real life; the only difference was that he didn't have his dagger in there.

As the AI had said, Alex didn't imagine anything; he didn't even know that he could walk 'inside' of his body.

Was the human body so big?

Can a human make a house inside of their body?

He did have some questions about how he could even access this place, but recalling the events he had seen throughout the day, he decided to stay quiet.

If humans can use magic, monsters spawned out of nowhere, and now even gods seem to be real, then what was impossible?

*Shine*

But just as Alex was observing his body, the light on the long golden thread shone brighter than ever for an instant before it dimmed down.

It was as if it was trying to call out to Alex and tell him that it was still there.

The AI, on the other hand, just kept getting happier.

Why?

Because, as Alex walked toward the line, his emotions were slowly turning favorable for the AI.

Alex's moving closer to the line made him feel the connection as well, and it was so clear that he was surprised that he hadn't noticed it until now.

It was as if their connection was much deeper than he could even fathom.

The thoughts of the AI keeping something from him or that AI might actually not be what it made out to be were all long gone.

But then Alex realized something as well…

'Was this the reason I trusted the AI in the first place…?'

Just a fleeting thought that passed through his head, but it was something to think deeply on.

Was this connection thing responsible for whatever trust Alex had in the AI?

Many would think that it's nonsensical, but the one who was feeling it wouldn't say the same.

The connection was so deep that even the cautious and cold Alex was compelled to believe the same AI that he had doubted a second ago.

So, no one could tell what it really was.

Alex, on the other hand, ignored the elation he felt emanating from the AI as he walked closer to the golden line.

*Budump**Budump*...

He heard his heartbeat again, echoing throughout the area, but he didn't stop.

He walked closer and closer.

*Badump**Badump*...

The drumming sound just grew louder and louder, but just as Alex was 10 meters away from the golden line, he frowned.

*Badump**Badump*...

The thing he thought was nothing but a line or thread seemed more like a live vein.

*Badump**Badump*...

As he looked at the contraction and relaxation of that line, happening in a rhythm with his heartbeat, he realized something…

'It's not my heartbeat.'

*Badump**Badump*

The thing that he thought to be his heartbeat was the sound coming from the pulsation of this golden vein.

'Do you know what this is?'

Alex questioned the AI, hoping to get an answer.

He knew that it was something related to him and the AI, probably some information or something of the sort, but he didn't know how to access it or if it was safe to get closer to it.

He ignored the fact that he had walked around 100 meters 'inside' his mind.

The AI replied, returning to its neutral tone.

It realized that it had been able to feel the emotions that Alex always talked about, but it also realized a problem.

Human emotions are distracting and mind-clouding.

If the AI were to keep feeling emotions, its functioning quality would be reduced, and its ability to assess any situation in the shortest time possible would be gone.

Worse yet, those emotions could make the AI make some wrong decisions and even lie to the host just so that it could keep him safe—which was not something it should be doing.

So, for now, it decided to suppress those emotions.

It didn't trash them out; it just suppressed them.

The AI felt the emotions, and now it understood emotions and feelings, but that didn't mean that it would have to keep its emotions active as well.

'I see.'

Alex nodded his head, ignoring the change in the AI's tone since right now his focus was on the shining golden vein in front of him.

*Step*

Alex took a step forward…

*BADUMP*

The vein, as if sensing Alex's presence moving closer, pulsed louder than before, sending a light shockwave.

The air trembled along with the pulse, but Alex still stepped forward.

*Step*

*BADUMP*

The same thing happened, as if trying to stop him, but...

*Step*

*BADUMP*

He did it again…

*Step*

*BADUMP*

Again, and again, and again...

He kept walking forward, not minding the shockwave that tried to push him away; they were not that forceful.

All those shockwaves could do was mess up his hair.

*Step*

But just as he stepped right next to the vein, the shockwaves and the pulsation stopped.

It went quiet all of a sudden.

The silence, however, didn't sit well with Alex.

'Something's wrong…'

He muttered inwardly; his gut told him that this silence was more dangerous than the shockwaves, but he still raised his arm, trying to touch the golden vein.

No matter what your gut tells you, would you not be curious about something that is supposed to be 'inside' your body yet know nothing about it?

The AI, just like Alex, was curious as well.

None of them knew anything about this connection; they just knew that it was there, that's all.

So, as Alex's fingers inched closer to the vein, the AI focused as well.

But before Alex's arms could touch the vein…

*BOOM*

With a loud boom, everything went blank.

The area Alex was in got covered in white light—a light so bright that Alex couldn't see anything, but that was not all.

"Argh…"

Alex gripped his forehead, his body falling to the ground.

He felt like a nail was being hammered in his head, but he stood up, trying to gain balance.

The pain was bearable, at least for him. So, he was fine, but as he opened his eyes, he found himself in the real world and not the mental world.

'What was that-'

Alex's brows furrowed as he recalled the last moment.

Just when his fingers were some centimeters away from the vein, several images flashed inside of that vein, but nothing was clear.

His question, however, got stuck in his mind because of a sudden notification…

[A certain god is looking at you with interest.]

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