Chapter 3: Ethical Field Tester

After the rather 'disastrous' test. Octa was ordered to continue conduct the 'tests'. Dismissing the suspicion on her body's mysterious repair ability for now. Her destination is the Storage Zone.

Walking along the vast corridors of the space station. She could hear all kinds of murmurs and talks surrounding the place, filled with scientist roaming around. Discussing their jobs and tasks while also praising the "Great Madam Herta."

She once thought getting reincarnated into the world of his favourite video game would be fun, considering Star Rail's story is quite chill, but she would never expect to get reincarnated in the body of a doll, unable to feel anything physical.

She looked at the thin multi-purpose tablet within her possession. It was given to her by Herta. It was made with the toughest materials known in the universe and said to withstand almost all kinds of brutal physical damages.

'I miss being able to touch things...' She tightened her fingers on the tablet. Hoping she would reach the Storage Zone quicker in order to avoid certain someone who had been bothering her for the past few days—

"Oh hey! It's the station's most enigmatic test subject—err... Assistant! Busy as always?" An energetic voice came into her sensor as she approached an intersection.

Speak of the devil...

//FIRST PERSON VIEW//

The one person I've been trying to avoid all these time. Unlike any other researcher, this 'kid' or supposed to be one of the youngest level 2 researcher in the whole station. Had been regularly approaching me. While other researchers simply avoided me.

(She's the one who avoids social interactions)

"..."

This kid, Adler. Always found a way to sneak around me and then start engaging in a conversation that I mostly brushed off, since I find no merits to connect with anyone... Yet.. I think? Why am I hesitating? I don't know...

"Hey?" He called me again. I simply ignored him. Please go away. My day is already ruined enough from the tests, don't make it worse with your presence.

"Not going to answer huh?" He sounds dejected. Nope not gonna work. You're not guilt tripping me to talk with that sad looking expre—

"Testing..." ᗜ˰ᗜ

Despite my flat response. Rather than being discouraged, he made the biggest grin I've ever seen from him. He soon falls into step beside mine. Following my rhythmic taps across the metallic floor.

"Testing, testing, always testing. You ever take a break? Or is your idea of fun cataloging potentially dangerous objects until something finally breaks you?"

Not wanting to hear anymore of his little ramblings. I slightly quickened my pace. I just want to get these tests done and move on. The thought of unfinished task haunts me. Procrastinating is a bad habbit that I should avoid in this productive environment.

"So, that's a 'yes'?" He paused a bit, before continuing, "You know, people are talking about that last test of yours—the Unbearable Weight. Some say you should’ve been totaled after that."

Just ignore him Octa, just ignore him. I quickened my pace once again.

"But look at you! Not even a scratch. Either you’re built better than we thought, or you’ve got some kind of... hmm, how do I put this... Cosmic warranty plan?"

Did he found out? "Irrelevant," I shook my head as I kept increasing my speed.

"Oh-ho, very relevant, actually. But fine, keep your secrets." He teased. I looked back and noticed his figure slowly getting smaller.

"Just try not to, you know, dissolve into space or something during your next test. Madam Herta might actually be annoyed if she has to replace you." Adler waved off in the distance.

"..." I didn't respond and simply continuing my journey to the space elevator.

Inside the space elevator. Things have calmed down a bit. No annoying brat casually interrupting me everytime we made a contact. No annoying glances from the other scientists. Alone, truly alone.

Again...

Is this...

Going to be how I would spend my entire life? Sometimes I asked a question to myself. What had happened for me to receive this...

Life?

Everything is familiar yet alien at the same time. I knew these people and I knew what would occur to them. And yet...

It all felt very distant. As if my subconsciousness telling me to not interfere with the course of actions the future might held. Let them go as it's once destined.

But the very moment my existence came to be in this world. New branches of possibilities have sprouted. There's no way I will not disturb the original course of time.

I held a hand to my chest. No heartbeat, just cold and smooth surface covered with thin sheaths of clothing. I'm alive, thinking, moving, and yet... I also don't feel like a human.

I looked at a nearby panel of glass—the elevator's door—carefully observing my body. No damage, no cracks—as if the previous tests never happened.

The power to fix and heal things, something definitely related to an Aeon. I knew I've reard it somewhere in the game. But that was really long ago, back at the times when things were much simple...

I still need more time to remember things or perhaps I could search things using the internet...

I closed my eyes briefly, pushing those nagging thoughts away. "It doesn't matter... Just finish the test... Will do... Later"

The elevator doors opened. Revealing the busy activity within the storage zone. However, I kept my gaze on the tablet. Scrolling through vast amounts of information and data until I found the last one.

||——————————————————||

Profile Number: 3147

Curio Designation: Dark Matches

— [NAME OMITTED], Department of Galactic Geography

Remarks:

Do not ignite the matches within enclosed or brightly lit spaces unless supervised by a certified researcher. The aerosol emitted under bright light has unknown properties but has been confirmed to be non-toxic in limited exposure. Researchers should exercise caution when handling this Curio, as its effects on surrounding light and sensory perception are disorienting.

Curio Profile:

When ignited, instead of producing light, they extinguish all surrounding light within a limited radius, creating an unnatural and impenetrable darkness. The darkness is accompanied by the release of faint green, odorless aerosols, detectable only under bright light. The properties of these aerosols suggest a unique interaction with photonic energy, disrupting visible wavelengths without measurable physical interference.

The matches were recovered during an IPC salvage mission from the ruins of a derelict station near the ███████ system. Initial testing revealed that the Legion's Voidranger react aggressively to the effects of the matches, displaying an unusual affinity for the resulting darkness.

While their potential utility remains under review, their unsettling properties and potential ties to the Legion warrant strict containment and limited testing within designated lab spaces.

Related Studies:

1. Sara, Department of Insight Lv. 4 Researcher — The Photonic Void: On the Mechanisms of Light Extinction in Anomalous objects

2. ???, Department of ??? — lemme try

3. Silver Wolf, Department of ??? — New entry logged: Lmao

Researcher Notes:

The matches’ effects are eerie, but they’re fascinating nonetheless.

— Thaler, Department of Implement Arts

I don’t know what’s more unsettling: that these matches extinguish light so completely or that the Voidranger seem to thrive in it. Someone joked the other day, “Good thing we don’t have to worry about them showing up here.” Ha. Not funny!!!

— Mare, Department of Insight

If these matches are somehow tied to the Antimatter Legion, we should probably keep them under stricter security.

— Wen Shiling, Department of Implement Arts

Hold on—Silver Wolf? Did someone really log her name as a contributor to the research database? Either we have a potential breach, or someone’s pulling a very reckless joke. If it’s the former… we need to recheck every system on the station. If it’s the latter, they’re getting reported to @Lead Researcher Asta.

— Edmond, Security Department

||——————————————————||

So it's basically anti-thesis to normal matches. Instead of lighting up the surrounding. It took away the nearest source of light and will possibly plunge everything into total darkness.

How do people come up with these stuff? Not that I really care, but I'm just being curious.

Anyways, pondering about these things would reach nowhere. I dismissed the thought and continued walking forward, arriving on yet another sleek corridor. Approaching an intersection, there are two options, left and right. Either way both heads straight to Herta's collection room, but my destination is on the left, where most of the quirky curios are stored in.

"Two more... Curios left..." I almost forgotten about the 'Energy Black Hole'—a heater that does not produce any heat and somehow related to the "Landau." A name that sounds familiar, I'll probably have to dig upon that later.

The room filled with mysterious items encased within the glows of a rectangle displays, that stretches between the floor and the ceiling entered my view. A place where chaos could ensue at any given moment.

Expect the unexpected because at the end of the day. This will be the place where I spend most of my time with.

With the exception of seclusion zone.

"Small... Critters..." I imagined Ruan Mei's critters welcoming me as usual each time I visited the place. They were my only friends in this desolate machinery, filled with brains and intellectuals. I honestly don't see myself fitting in. Just like how some of Ruan Mei's critters don't see themselves worthy of her acknowledgement.

I want to meet them again so bad. But alas, I have work to do...

Eventually I arrived in front of a case that holds the Energy Black Hole. Can't say I was a bit disappointed? The curio has nothing to do with black hole except the fact that it absorbs something. Wait, does black hole absorb matters or they just distorts the soace surrounding them? Another question down the 'don't bother to look' bin.

The curio in question is shaped like a compact disk with a metallic outer shell, adorned with intricate golden circuits that spiraled on it's surface and a clockwork mechanism at it's center? Not exactly a clock but kinda shaped like one. There's also a handle on top—or sides, depending on how you would look at this object. Now that I looked at it again. This thing rather looks like an ominous stove...

I'm not going to make it out alive, am I?

"Begin... The Test."

//SKIP DIALOGUE BUTTON//

A lot of tiny, floating robots are currently present in the curio room. Scrapping ice off the surfaces, walls, and floors. The Black Hole Energy test initially goes well, until...

Octa triggered an undocumented mechanism, carefully hidden beneath the clockwork like pattern. A small, yet catastrophic button.

It was quite faint at first. But soon, without a warning. The curio began to absorb tremendous amount of heat from the room. Followed by the transfer. The room's temperature suddenly began to drop at an alarming rate. Ice crystals forming around the device and Octa found herself to be stiffer than usual.

She tried reaching the object with her hand and yet it froze before it could reach it. Almost 40 seconds passed and almost the entire room is engulfed in ice. Seeing no choice left. She decided to use the Hammer—a powerful weapon inherited or rather, installed within each Herta units.

She gestured her only working hand left. Initiating the combat protocol. A huge hammer showed up within her grasp. And with a quick swift. She hammered down the curio.

A powerful blast ensued within the room... And that's. What basically caught her in her current predicament. While the small robots are cleaning the room. She took a closer look at her tablet. A bit cracked on the screen, but still functional nonetheless.

"Sent... successfully..." She stared at the blank empty screen with green checkmark for a while. Until she noticed a faint green glow emanating from her 'unfunctional' arm it was the same as before. But only this time. She gets to see it in action.

It was so mysterious. How can a non-organic matter to fix itself, seamlessly without even having a loss of quantity. Unlike human skin that keeps developing and eventually replacing the old skins. Robots can't reproduce what was lost from damages.

It's just unexplainable, at least for now. She averted her gaze back to her tablet.

[Report accepted]
P.S: you are free to go until the next test

A message of confirmation from Herta pops up. Seeing no more purpose within the room. She walked away from this forsaken room. Heading straight to the seclusion zone...

Inside the seclusion zone...

Octa's spotless body slumped down on a chair. She lazily looked around her, a moderate sized room, located within the seclusion zone. The room was filled with monitors and desk filled with buttons. In the middle of it all, an empty tube stood up from thr ground to the ceiling.

She felt a nudge on her leg, or to be precise, she detected a minor movements on her leg joints.

She raised her back, fixing the witch hat while doing so. She looked down to notice two of Ruan Mei's critters. These creatures have been accompanying her inside this isolated space. As far as she could remember, the reason this place is secluded from the rest of the space station was because it's filled with top tier secret projects.

Octa was in a daze for a while, thinking of every reasons that she could remember. Until, one of the critters nudged her leg again. It bounces with anticipation, as if asking her to follow them. Seeing no room for words. Octa rose up from the chair and followed them to the door...

[OCTA'S PRESPECTIVE]

I followed the critters, we wandered through the halls of seclusion zone. While I don't really have any physical restraints, but mentally speaking, I do get tired from thinking all the time. But, for these little guys. I'll do anything for them.

After all they're cute, and soft... Perfect comfort buddies on this floor, devoid of social activities.

"Where... Are we going?..." I spoke, breaking the silence. But the critters oddly enough, didn't respond like they would usually do.

Something is happening? The more I look around the more I realized that slowly. Their numbers went up, what started as two now has become a large group, gathered around me.

These little guys... They're escorting me somewhere?

Eventually we arrived at our destination, judging from the fact that we're slowing down. We're inside the plantation. It was the first place where I gazed into the stars and witnessing space for the first time. The sight of Blue—the planet where this station orbits, has never left my memories.

A critter nudged at my leg, it was the green paste one, seeking for my attention. From the other side of the room. Another critter, one that looks like a dumpling, pushed a chair and placed it beside me.

"Do I... Sit here?"

"Meow" green paste meowed and bounced its jiggly body with excitement.

I sat on the chair provided by the critters and watched the window. The planet is still beautiful as always.

"If only... I could walk... Out there... Exploring... Stuff..." I missed the smell of freshly cut grass. The sound of birds chirping from the trees, and basking under the warmth of morning sun. I reach out my arm towards the planet, trying to grasp it...

"What now..." Feeling like something was supposed to happen while there's none. I asked the critters, they are silent, until two prominent figure among the critters, Lambda's friend and Wisteria Cake. Both are modeled after Ruan Mei and Herta, in that order. And was believed to have the same amount of intellect capabilities as the real ones, well according to the other critters.

They all saw both as the leader of the whole pack. Especially the one modeled after Ruan Mei.

"Meow meow, meow meow... Meow!" It said with anticipation. While I couldn't really understand what they all say. It seems like they're all waiting for something huge.

Until I saw something. Between the curve of the planet and the station's edge, Ice and dust drifted silently. Caught in some kind of weird gravitational force. Tiny crystalline fragments suspended like the stars in the void.

Each particle twirled and danced in lazy spirals, painting a path across the vast empty space. An alien view, something new again. Not even simulations from back when I was still human could render it this alive.

The critters, all of them hummed and meowed as the brilliant spectacle played before us.

"Beautiful... And peaceful..." I whispered.

Perhaps... this new life of mine... isn't really that bad. If it means I could see spectacle like this more and doesn't have to be stuck working from 9 to 5. Then maybe I could accept it. I instinctively grabbed one of the nearby critters and put it on my lap.

"Thank you... Everyone..."

[THE HERTA - 3RD PERSON]

"Seems like someone's having fun," From the upper level of seclusion zone, Herta observed silently. Arms crossed and expressions unreadable as usual. She watched the puppet—no, Octa. Eyes fixated through the glass, silently watching the spectacle of ice and dust.

Octa didn't move, not even when Ruan Mei's bouncy little bio projects clambered up onto her shoulders and head like she was part of their habitat. The critters usually avoids everyone, except Ruan Mei, and yet here they are...

Nuzzling her and purring. Octa didn't react. No objections, no command to remove them. She even puts one on her lap.

Octa just sits there.

Looking.

The kind of gaze you'd assigned to someone witnessing, not processing. Not recording data. Not simulating interest...

But...

Feeling.

Herta rolled her eyes, "that's not programming."

Octa's parameters was designed to mimic autonomy, but of course. This was too smooth. Too organic. Ruan Mei's critters didn't cuddle with code and expressions like that didn't come from a neural routine.

Herta switched her gaze. This time also looking at the ice and dust formation. Rare but not unexpected. She had observed similar phenomenon before. Catalogued. Filed. Forgotten.

But this time. There was something riding its path. Her eyes narrowed.

"So they've arrived early. How... punctual."

A shape, sharp and old fashioned. Polished steel. Curved plating. Brass rails glowing like starlight. And dust of colorful particles splashed and flowing from the wheels.

The Astral Express.

A projection flickered beside her, showing trajectory, estimated arrivals, proximity breach protocols. All routine. But none of it mattered.

She already knew what this meant.

Her gaze drifted downward. Towards the plantation where Octa sits. Herta tilted her head.

"Let's see what you become," she murnured, eyes flicking from Octa back to the Express.

"After all... The biggest problem is having no problems at all."

Finally said the thing.

"Huh?"