Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/Two Months of extreme training and busy daily schedules later.../

/Beep…/

/In the Modern World…/

/Boop…/

In the middle of an unimpressive white room, a large futuristic pod stood amidst a few strange machines and thick cables, filled with a slightly greenish translucent solution that bubbled from time to time.

Floating inside was a man wearing a skin-tight, black rubbery suit covering every inch of his body, and a helmet to provide him with oxygen.

His body was suspended by a metallic black arm connected to a switch on his back, preventing him from floating around and hitting the thick glass of the tube.

On his back and in other parts of his body, gray tubes connected with special ports on his suit, though it would be best to forget what they meant for...

[User has disconnected, initiating log-out procedures]

The Pod suddenly flared with light as the sounds of gears turning and machines initiating echoed in the room.

/Bloop…/

/Twitch…/

/Flash…/

/Beep Boop…/

Dozens of lights flashed in sequence as thousands of protocols were read and executed, a script followed dozens of times in perfect harmony…

[Quick System Check: All systems normal, considerable degradation of Neuryne Solution due to expected use, it is recommended to switch the solution to avoid clogs in the drainage system]

[Current body condition: Within expected recalibrated parameters]

[No anomalies detected since last routine scan]

[Last routine scan: 6h 35m ago]

[It's safe to continue]

/Bloop! Blub.../

/Twitch…/

/Open…/

/Inhale… Exhale…/

Inside the translucent black helmet, Dale's eyes slowly opened as he drew in a calm and collected breath…

He checked his surroundings, the world beyond the greenish solution, slightly distorted as bubbles rose from the ground, slipping by his helmet's visor and his fingers. .

"Huff…"

/Glup glup…/

As he looked around, the solution level slowly went down as the pressure on his skin vanished, leaving behind only a strange hollow felling on his skin.

/Tssss... Shuaaa.../

The glass in front of him slowly parted open as the mechanical arm lowered him down, causing a torrent of cold air to enter his chamber as it was depressurized.

The cold air could be felt from his suit, it used to cause him to shiver a little, but not anymore.

It's lukewarm at most.

[Welcome back Dale, breathe slowly and…]

Meanwhile, the Pod's virtual intelligence began directing him in executing breathing and muscle exercises to help with the recovery of his bodily motions.

However, that was unnecessary, as by the moment he opened his eyes, Dale's body had already reached its peak performance.

/Flash…/

[Good morning Dale, it's currently 8:49 Am]

As always, Dale was welcomed by the smooth and gentle voice of his house's Virtual intelligence, always there to help him and shed some light into the mist in his mind caused by logging in and out of Azimuth.

/~Music~/

At the same time, the Virtual Intelligence began playing a faint melodic song in the background to help him relax.

Although a bit quirky, it did help him a little... At the very least it made the process of waiting for the machine to free him from his bindings less unbearable.

Since trying to force his way out would only risk breaking something.

"... Just in time…"

[You have a scheduled event for today, would you like to read it?]

"No... No need… I already know what it is." Dale replied calmly as he passed his hand through the visor of his helmet, cleaning it of some lingering solution

"Fuuuu…"

'It's today… Arg... I think I need a stretch. How long has it been since I exercised?'

'This body I mean...'

/Clunk... Clack!/

/Breathe.../

After a few seconds of waiting, the Synching period came to an end and Dale took his helmet off with a clocking sound, taking in a deep mouthful of air.

"Haaa... Fresh air."

"Ahem... I imagine my parents are…"

[They have already left for work, they'll be back around 5 Pm as per usual]

[Your brother is still in school]

"Great." Dale replied as he cracked his neck

'It's better this way, trying to give them an excuse for what I'm about to do wouldn't cut.'

'Although I do have one in case I need to explain myself.'

"Phew… I need some water…" Dale mumbled to himself as he stretched his arms

[I'll prepare a cup for you, pass by the kitchen when you're ready]

"Hupp!... Thanks."

[My pleasure to help]

With that done, after taking his suit off and drying himself, Dale passed by the kitchen and carefully placed it inside the washing machine for some cleaning.

It was important to keep his clothes clean, especially one he used for 22 out of the 24 hours that consisted a day...

And with how expensive one of these was, it would be quite bad if he was forced to change it every once in a while, mostly since they are made via customer requests and size.

It's more about the time rather than the money…

He also drank some water and ate a simple meal consisting of ham, cheese, cream cheese, and some eggs, which helped clear his mind even further.

Sometimes, quenching one's basic needs was everything they needed to improve their mood.

…

/Chomp…/

"... It's taking quite some time today…"

'It's been getting slower and slower each time I log off…'

'Is the Green Box getting lazier? Tired?'

[Information transferring… Complete]

[Biological Core has been processed]

"Oh…"

'There it is.'

/Buzz…/

/Grunt…/

After waiting several minutes for the Green Box to process his Biological Core, or whatever that meant, Dale felt a light buzzing sensation across his body, causing him great discomfort.

But after a while, it slowly and silently vanished, leaving only a After waiting several minutes for the Green Box to process his Biological Core, or whatever that meant, Dale felt a light faint aftertaste that didn't really do much aside from giving him an unbearable desire to scratch himself.

"Fuck… I hate this."

'Urg… I don't know what I prefer, the otherworldly level pain or this desire to scratch myself.'

'I just… Need to hold it in… For a minute or two… So it can go away…' He thought deeply as his body trembled

This was a result of his daily training, a 'simple' itching sensation that covered every inch of his body.

It was a light version of the usual synchronization process, although it didn't mean it had changed at all, Dale still felt massive pain whenever he experienced considerable changes with his body back in Azimuth.

For this itch, the more he scratched his body the worse it got.

After learning of this Dale chose to endure very much how he did whenever pain took over, which proved to be the correct course of action.

It was hard at first, but after experiencing this three times per day, he got used to it to some extent.

"..."

19:31

Once the feeling vanished and he finished his food; With a full stomach, and his dishes cleaned, Dale took a shower and went to his bedroom where he calmly put on some clothes as he waited for…

/Din din din…/

A call.

…

"Sigh..."

'I'm tired…'

A few minutes later, Dale looked at himself in the mirror, awning lightly as he checked his appearance.

'My hair needs a cut… And a have a slight eye-bag.'

'But overall, I think I look rather good, not 100% but certainly over 90%.'

"Maybe I should put on some perfume? But which one to use... I never put these on..."

In preparation for his trip, Dale was wearing an elegant white Polo Shirt that caused his muscles to stick out, together with a pair of a pair of brown leggings with a neon-red stripe running across his right leg, leading to his simple black sneakers.

Back in the living room, he also had a black blazer waiting for him to put on, it also had these red neon stripes as it was a one-piece he bought together at the shop.

On his left wrist was an old-style clock, which was only a disguise for his cellphone. It was the current fashion…

Although it looked like a clock, at any moment he could bring forth a hologram screen for him to interact with, be it to type something or merely for a video call.

Of course, all of this together was rather expensive, although he didn't buy it himself, it was a gift from his "driver"…

"Hmm…"

Dale checked the Green Box, but after a little while, he closed it, shoving it aside so it wouldn't impede his vision.

After using it for so long Dale kind of grew used to it, and his actions of moving his hands around weren't seen as strange in today's world, as there were many things made to interact only with one individual, causing people to be isolated in their own crafted worlds…

Although rather dystopian, it worked better than it sounded.

'It's strange to think that my hair grew so fast despite only a month having passed…'

'But given I spent three months in Azimuth, it's somewhat understandable, it must be a result of the Assimilation.'

'As I grow stronger, the Green Box needs more time to process more parameters… Whatever those may be.'

'Despite how much I've trained and investigated, my understanding of this strange thing hasn't changed at all… Aside from its description of me…'

'It not only continues to annoy me… It has gotten worse.'

'One day I'll figure out who's writing these... And I'll give them a piece of my mind.'

His expression souring, Dale turned to the side and left the bathroom before putting on his blazer, grabbing his bag, and leaving his home.

"Oh, I almost forgot..."

He turned around and grabbed a long and thin black suitcase resting by the door.

It looked rather strong as it was reinforced with several thick metal rings while it also possessed a bio-lock which would only open to his unique signature.

It was around one and a half meters long, being quite unusually long, as if there was a riffle within... Maybe it had one...

In any case, once he checked everything and confirmed his documents, Dale left behind a message with the Virtual Intelligence before moving to the door, where he stopped for a moment before he closed the door.

He only looked at his home one last time before decisively "..."

Leaving.

He needed to leave so he could return and protect the peace he so dearly loved.

It was time, to figure out the truths the world hid from him, to try and collect a few puzzle pieces of this scattered game board.

To South America!

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Notes

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