Chapter 48. Collaborator and the One Who Burns (8)
At first, the strange words that appeared were blurry, but then they gradually became clear.
[Initiating Anápxia resonance with Character Doll.]
A sudden headache seized me, making my head feel both present and absent. My vision blurred, faded, then sharpened, only to tremble violently once more. It felt as if a curtain had dropped over my consciousness. No, it was as if I had only now noticed the curtain, and it was tearing slightly.
Anápxia... What was that again?
This was the second time such messages had appeared. The fragmented, oddly angled letters created a tension I couldn't quite shake. Additionally, my assimilation rate plummeted each time.
My current assimilation rate was 90.14%. The word "assimilation" was growing familiar, settling firmly into a corner of my consciousness.
Scenarios, tutorials, and assimilation...
A creeping suspicion slowly crawled up from my ankles, rising through me.
What happens if it drops below 90%?
Perhaps the change was already underway, slowly consuming me and the world. There was the world, unaware of assimilation, and my assimilation rate of 90.14%...
I couldn't quite put it into words, but the world felt different. Something was rising and seeping in, like a cold blade slicing into me and peeling away layers. It was knocking on the door of my consciousness.