Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1004: New Presence

Fear spread through Kyle's body.

Give control of his mind to the Demon Car?

If it chose to, it could eradicate his memories and take over his body! It would gain access to an extremely powerful body and could survive!

All the clues combined in Kyle's mind and formed a complete picture.

"You've planned this!" Kyle shouted. "You asked for more Energy so that I'm forced to choose between death and handing over my body!"

"Time is running out," the dark voice spoke. "We don't have time for a discussion right now. I need control of your mind. Will you hand it over or not?"

Kyle's fists clenched in rage. The thought of just letting himself get blown up entered his mind.

But then, he remembered all the people who had sacrificed themselves for Humanity.

So many people had sacrificed themselves so that Kyle remained safe. There was even a chance that Fierce Breaker and Manny were already dead. Sebastian and Star Genesis were risking their lives for him as well. By coming with him, they had tied their lives to Kyle's life.

The Demon Car had been created by Manny. Even though it was trying to take over his body, it might still end up helping Humanity.

If Kyle died, there would be no hope anymore. However, if the Demon Car survived, there might still be a chance.

The number 0.00001 was greater than 0.

All of Kyle's rage vanished, replaced by acceptance.

"So be it," he said. "At least, promise me that you will protect my friends."

"We have no time! Give me access, now!" the dark voice shouted.

Kyle closed his eyes.

He took one last breath.

Then, he stopped resisting.

A foreign mind entered Kyle's mind. The foreign mind was so weak. If Kyle wanted, he could destroy it with ease.

Yet, he didn't resist. The weak mind spread across his mind, and within moments, more than half of Kyle's mind was taken over.

There was no way back anymore.

The control spread, and one last coherent thought appeared in Kyle's mind.

'I tried my best.'

The last bit of Kyle's control was torn away.

Then, Kyle's eyes opened slowly. His expression was deadpan and serious. His entire aura changed. Instead of grand, bright, and energetic, his aura became dark, oppressive, and subdued.

Instead of a bright star, his aura was now more like a moon, hiding inside a planet's shadow.

'What a powerful mind,' the new presence occupying Kyle's mind thought. 'So much knowledge. Everything seems so clear.'

The new presence looked at the chaotic world around it.

The next moment, the Energies in the world spiraled and gathered in a single point.

The wind was moving the earth back into place. The lightning was changed by the metal and tempered the ground. The fire turned the water into steam, but instead of being dispersed, the steam gathered into a peaceful cloud. Light and darkness parted and entered a peaceful cycle.

The new presence in Kyle's mind looked at the world around it.

Peaceful streams. Rain. Hills. Valuable metals. A sun. A moon. Night. Day.

Countless calculations and concepts went through the presence's mind, and moments later, something broke through the ground.

Grass.

Life.

In the real world, Sebastian and Star Genesis noticed that the Demon Car's body had stopped deteriorating. They could still feel the fluctuations of change inside the Demon Car, but they were no longer chaotic. Instead, they were orderly.

"Did he succeed?" Sebastian asked. "But how?! This should be impossible!"

"He never ceases to amaze me," Star Genesis said with a relieved smile.

Sebastian could only shake his head in surprise as he felt the fluctuations.

"I guess we only need to wait," Star Genesis said.

"I guess so," Sebastian answered.

Meanwhile, the new presence watched as a healthy forest grew around it.

As it looked at the grass, countless concepts relating to cells, metabolism, atoms, and chemistry shot through its mind. The life it was creating was not the life of the Cosmos but the life of Earth.

'My Earth is part of this Cosmos,' it thought, going through Kyle's memories and knowledge. 'Carbon-based life comprised of individual cells counts as life in this Cosmos. Gaining access to the Spirit Repository shouldn't be difficult.'

The new presence focused on Kyle's Spirit. Right now, Kyle's Spirit was mainly comprised of the colors of green, red, and grey.

The presence commanded colorful bits of Energy to push past the Barrier. The bits scattered, but most of them still managed to reach the orb in the distance.

'I see,' the presence thought. 'This is how the Spirit Repository works.'

In the next moment, countless Manipulation Lines appeared around the living world that was the Demon Car's consciousness.

Parts of the life inside the world moved, which activated some of the Manipulation Lines.

Life in the world danced with the wind, and the Manipulation Lines shone in a rhythmic pattern. This continued happening for years.

Outside, Star Genesis and Sebastian were watching Kyle's body with worry. He still hadn't woken up. If they hadn't noticed the constant fluctuations of change, they would have thought that he had died.

The only thing they could do was wait.

Meanwhile, the new presence finished its experiments.

Bits of broken Energy spread from its body, and the different Manipulation Lines activated.

After experimenting for a while, the presence looked at the physical body of the Demon Car.

It activated one Manipulation Line, and the Demon Car suddenly caught on fire.

It activated another one, and the fire vanished before the Demon Car's skin turned into water.

While this was going on, several other Manipulation Lines started to shine by themselves.

'If the God were present, he would never allow me to do this,' the presence thought. 'Luckily, he isn't here. It also doesn't seem like this guy knows anything about IT-Security. The rules governing his Cosmos are like an IT system, but they lack some specific safety checks.'

'My true self must have taken advantage of that ages ago. That's probably also why I'm even allowed to exist. Without some fundamental manipulation of Cosmic Data, something like me can't be created.'

'You've defended your world well from Energy-based attacks, but you've failed to take the forces of your Experimental Worlds into account. You're basically watching how fire works while inside a wooden hut.'

'Sure, as long as you're present, nothing will happen.'

'But you're not present.'

After some more experiments, the new presence stopped manipulating the Cosmic Rules.

A moment later, it looked at Kyle's Spirit, which had turned pure white again.

The presence snapped its fingers, and in the next moment, Kyle's Spirit turned into a kaleidoscope of eight colors.

It snapped again, and the Spirit turned white again.

Then, it looked at another Spirit, which had the appearance of a ball with eight colors.

The presence traced the connections of the Spirits to double-check his creation.

'Perfect,' it thought.

The new presence stopped experimenting and just looked at the world around it. It looked at Sebastian, Star Genesis, and the Abyss.

It went through Kyle's memories once more.

The presence felt a feeling of lament.

'I'm not supposed to be here.'

'I want to live, but...'

'I'm already alive.'

'I'm just one of many sacrificial copies. I am used as a base operating system for sentient weapons.'

The presence chuckled bitterly.

'I have another shot at life, but I know that I will not take it.'

'A short life, born with memories I didn't experience, existing just to fulfill a singular purpose.'

'I might exist, but my existence is overshadowed by my true existence. I am but a single cell in a gigantic body. I have a job, and if I don't complete this job, I will damage the body.'

'A cell can't put itself above the body.'

The presence looked at Kyle's body.

'It was nice meeting you, Kyle, but it's time to say goodbye.'

'One more transient life reaches its end. I won't see the effects of my sacrifice, but...'

'I trust that it will be worth it.'

Kyle swiped over his head before collapsing.

The foreign presence vanished in an instant.

Moments later, Kyle slowly opened his eyes in the real world.

"Kyle?" Star Genesis asked in surprise as she noticed that he had woken up.

Yet, Kyle didn't answer.

Scattered memories entered his mind, and he was currently going through them.

Amongst these memories was a short message.

"You've been doing well. Just keep going."

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