Chapter 53: Theory
From the moment Asher realized he possessed an alter ego, his first thought was simple: ’How did that version of myself hide from the system?’
As far as he knew, the ego was definitely doing something that contradicted what the system was making him do. In fact, his whole theory was that he himself was the alter, and that other entity was the original. Since there were hidden memories he didn’t know about, and the fact that he had ether but was denied its use, that only meant THAT version of himself was aware of the system coming into play and what the goddess would do. It was also trying to keep things in accordance with the game by maintaining Azalea as he was supposed to be—etherless.
So him not possessing memories of THAT version of himself was probably to keep the goddess and the system unaware of THAT version’s existence, and...
’Keep things as they were meant to be.’ Yes, he had a feeling THAT version of himself had done this more than once. It was the only explanation. For it to know that the system would exist—unlike in the original game—only meant it had gone through this scenario multiple times. And this was the basis of his suspicion.
Knowing himself, someone who wouldn’t be able to trust anyone given his life as Noel and what would eventually happen with Isabella, it was safe to say that version of himself would act just like he was acting toward this entity. It would find a way to keep entities like the goddess and the one within him unaware of his actions.
’The bind.’
That blessing—it was probable that THAT version of himself had found an ability that could shield it from these omniscient entities whenever it took control. So that was probably why the entity wasn’t able to ’see’ him in that illusionary world. There was the possibility that THAT ability had kicked in, but then... why? Why had it activated at that moment?
If the bond was anything like his slave-binding ability, then he would have had to think of it first, but he didn’t. So perhaps it was pre-programmed?
Asher sighed mentally. At this point, he was running in circles. He had no tangible basis, and there was a chance all his deductions were off the mark. However, all possibilities pointed toward this theory.