Imposter System

Matt's rest didn't last very long. He found himself hovering inside the black and white world of his astral body. The hints he received from the system descriptions made him understand this place a little better. However, he still wasn't completely certain of the origin and purpose of the dark world. What caught his eye, however, were large shimmering projections appearing in several places in the dark world. The nearest ones were adjacent to his point of origin.

Matt floated around to investigate, but the projections seemed to turn with him. Therefore, he determined that they were likely not a phenomenon of the dark world, but related to his abilities. The last thing Matt remembered was a strange notification about an unknown energy. Deducing the timing, it was likely the 'soul' that Sundering Strike had referred to. The concept of a soul was strange and questionable, but the evidence was laid bare to him.

Although there was a possibility that whatever Matt took from Westley wasn't a soul, but some other mysterious energy, calling it a soul was the best fit at the time. He turned his attention to the projections near him. Matt chose to blend in with the other participants that were knocked unconscious by the hypnotics. This would serve as a plausible alibi even if it wasn't a believable one. Since Westley and the two soldiers were sent in here by the political forces on the ship, Matt's actions would be the least of their worries.

As far as anyone would be concerned, Westley came in utilizing high level esper technology. He encountered two soldiers that were sent to take him out, and stabbed one of them, while traumatizing the other. Matt wasn't completely certain how many devices Westley had on him, but there was surely enough evidence to incriminate him. Matt was more focused on what the response would be from the captain and Willard.

Before he had the chance to investigate the dream projections, he was pulled back into his body and woke up on a medical bed. The ceiling was white and the lights were excessively strong. Alexis noticed he woke up and came to his side. She had been quite worried when the event was ended abruptly due to an 'accident.'

Matt was still wearing his clothes and only had an IV line to give him fluids. He pulled the needle out and sat up holding his head. The side effects of Sundering Strike were still present. He realized there were five other beds in this room with all the other people that were drugged. They were still asleep since they didn't have any sort of resistances like Matt.

"What happened?" Matt asked while checking his pockets to make sure no one discovered the jamming device or the two syringes. Seeing that the buttoned pocket was undisturbed, he was inwardly relieved. It was likely not that long since they were moved here, and since they weren't in any critical condition, just asleep, they didn't need excessive treatment.

"About two hours ago the event was cancelled and a group of bridge security members came to sort out an accident. You and the other five were brought here to rest and be monitored."

Matt was feeling uncomfortable in the medical room and decided to leave right away. The nurse outside saw him leaving and offered to do a quick checkup, but he refused since he felt fine. Along the way, Matt ran into one of the people in the spectator area during the event. She was the partner of one of the five people that were drugged.

When she saw Matt exiting, she asked him how they were doing and if he knew what happened. Using hypnosis, Matt was able to get a lot of information out of her. Although the event ended abruptly, it was still very successful. The monitors in the spectator room were on a cycle that showed the various locations. The locations that were affected by the jamming device were removed from the slideshow as an error.

All of a sudden, the scenes that were being jammed showed up. This was likely due to the power running out and the cameras no longer being disabled in that area. When the captain saw people unconscious, he quickly canceled the feed and sent everyone to another venue. No one really cared since the event was almost over. Alpha team easily won due to an ambush. Although Matt plotted to use the power against them, Alexis was able to turn it around and secure near-victory. Unfortunately, the event ended early.

Matt was happy for Alexis. A month ago, she struggled to lead her team in the skirmish. However, due to the effect of the parasite, her body and mind became enhanced. Although Matt technically lost, the roles weren't revealed in the end, so he could pretend to be on the winning team. The only one who knew was Alexis, and she had planned to brag about it later if not for the women telling him.

"Alright, quit sulking. I already admitted you won." Matt said with a sigh.

"I'm not sulking." She said with her arms crossed, looking forward without turning her head. She was obviously sulking.

"We'll be married in fourteen hours. Isn't it just a silly game to celebrate?"

Matt could have solved the situation if he applied pressure with the connection between them, but that would harm her ego. After leveling his Psionics to the limit and absorbing that strange soul energy, he was a lot more sensitive to that force that lied between mental energy and life force. Although it was just a theory, Matt sensed that utilizing his bond with Alexis through the parasite to control her would slowly wash away her free will.

When he first implanted her with the parasite, he was extremely worried. The main thing he wished wouldn't happen was for her mind to be overridden with his consciousness. Fortunately, the worst didn't happen. The sub-body was a blank slate that he hadn't impressed on yet. Instead, her soul energy was slowly merging with the sub-body. Once the process was finished, her consciousness would be retained even if she took a mortal wound and was transplanted to another body.

Thinking of soul energy, Matt had attempted to sense his own. However, the headache from the side effects of Sundering Strike became worse. He thought back to the philosophers and psychologists from his time and couldn't help but remember some of their literature. It turned out that they may have been correct. It is impossible to view your own consciousness. No mirror can reflect your true self.

'Well, I'm just not strong enough.' Matt thought.

The two had been walking for a while since he mentioned their marriage, and Alexis's mood eventually flipped back. She was completely self-aware of the fluctuations in her emotions, but lacked the ability to control it. Simply put, she was too weak. However, she eyed her status and was confident in her future gains.

There was something she didn't tell Matt that made her very scared. She had actually come across the soldiers and Westley before the event was closed. She was going to report it, but the blood triggered an intense desire in her. She couldn't help but cut off a piece of her uniform and draw up some of the pooled blood. The craving she had toward it was unlike anything else she experienced. When she stuffed the cloth in her mouth, she realized what she was doing.

Just as she was about to spit it out in disgust, her parasite body shuddered and sent waves of strength through her cells. Her evolution points increased by six and she directly evolved her DNA absorption to level seven without thinking. Matt hadn't said anything yet, so he likely didn't bother checking her status. However, she knew he could see it and she felt incredibly guilty about it. Fortunately, she was aware enough not to leave any evidence behind and fled the scene. The sudden burst of energy from the first time taking in blood from someone other than Matt changed her perception.

Originally, she was still very hesitant about things like cannibalism. However, she started thinking that it was fine as long as she didn't kill anyone. Matt had been watching her this whole time and noticed how deep in thought she was. He wondered if this was how he looked when he was thinking about a problem. He unconsciously checked her status and noticed her DNA absorption had gone up.

Whatever she was deeply thinking about was likely related to that. There wasn't a need to bring it up until she mentioned it first.

While the two walked together silently, they had already reached their quarters. However, Matt was alerted to the two-armed guards outside of their room. They carefully approached ready for a fight, but instead, the two didn't make a single move. The door opened when they got close to it, and they saw the captain and the first officer sitting in their living room waiting.

"Dr. O'Connely, you're here." The captain said with a neutral tone.

"What can I do for you captain?" He was not sure the situation but there was no evading this.