“What it will not grant you, is reality. It is a game, just a game,” the Predecessor murmured, half to himself. “Yes, a game. A simulation, a slice of reality so strangely warped that it simply cannot be real. This is not real. It is a game. Do you hear me? I am not lost. This is a game and you have not won. IT IS A GAME. DO YOU HEAR ME? I AM NOT LOST. I KNOW THE MASKS YOU WEAR. THIS IS A GAME AND YOU HAVE NOT WON!”

The Lord of the Abyss furiously roared aloud in a rage as if it had forgotten Alan was there. It raised the purple crystal Alan had given it then began squeezing the crystal until it shattered into thousands of glittering pieces, unleashing a brilliant purple wave of energy that knocked Alan down.

The unknown AI silently formed a connection to Alan.

Abnormalities Detected. Abort Mission.

Hurriedly, Alan activated hypercognition mode while ending the connection to the unknown AI. It tried to reconnect to his mind, but he firmly blocked it. Alan leapt up and envisioned one of the knives. It emerged into his hand with a slight cutting sensation. Alan gripped it firmly, quickly reading the message that popped up as he rapidly approached the Lord of the Abyss.

Damn, looks like I’ll only be able to wield each knife for about four minutes… then it’ll have a cooldown of… years!?

You may absorb Predecessor blood to refresh the cooldown.

Oh, so you’re back now?

I was worried my presence would influence the Predecessor, given information and past interactions it would have reacted poorly had I made my presence known. Now concentrate.

A familiar outline appeared showing Alan what his next move should be. It appeared in his mind’s eye rather than in reality, creating an image that somehow overlapped with his vision but wasn’t as crude as the shadow projections Eve normally showed. Instead, this image was somehow more real, as if it could be something Alan actually thought. Alan was slightly distracted by this addition, but Eve simply commanded him:

Stop. Concentrate. This is a unique side effect of the bionic eye.

Easy for you to say, you’re not the one seeing this. See?

…

Alan's mouth slowly turned into a smile as he carefully brought the knife in an upwards slash to cut the Predecessor’s throat. It simply watched the knife come, eyes agleam. The knife began to pierce its throat right below the collar it wore, and with little resistance Alan cut all the way across. The Predecessor’s HP bar appeared, slowly draining at about 2% a second.

“Yes! Do you see me, brethren? Do you remember? I have not forgotten. I am here and coming for you! This simple game shall not stop me. Nothing will. I am coming, and I shall be your end!” A brilliant white arc of lightning emerged from its collar, coursing through the Predecessor’s body.