It was possible that there were a lot of insidious side effects in using this GodForge piece replacement. Something about it told him that having to turn yourself cold and half-dead couldnât be healthy in the long run.
Not only that, but those zombies were as lifeless and as brainless as fantasy depicted them to be. They werenât really
alive
in a sense; their bodies were just moving instinctively.
And somehow, being in this zombified state made their instincts try to savagely take other peopleâs hearts.
When the zombies were after him, their dead, grey, hazy eyes were intently focused on his chest, as if they had a fervid need for the source of power in his body.
Now, he didnât know if they wanted his heart specifically, or just any heart in general.
He was special, after all. He wasnât just a Maugnetic, he was a Natural one at that.
In any case, having those zombies run amok in the world would sow chaos and destruction anywhere they touched. It would be apocalyptic.
He didnât know how many people had this fake on their hearts. It could be that only the Faux-Stil company had it in their possession, or they were just one of many. There could be an entire black market surrounding this GodForge piece alternative that was rife all around the world.
It was a little bit concerning that he couldnât tell the difference between the real one or the fake one.
While they were alive, they showed no visible sign of having something fake in their hearts. They moved and acted like a normal Maugnetic, defying reality and all. Even his Droneâs Maugnetic Vision couldnât tell the difference.
Well, I guess I could tell...
He remembered that repulsive feeling he got just from glancing at Frick and his cohorts. Whenever they were in his presence, they triggered something feral within him, something that urged him to dispose of them as soon as possible.
As unscientific as it was, that feeling was his only guidance in trying to find more undercover zombies like Frick.
[The Software wasnât aware of the possibility of a fake,] ChatJK5 said decisively.
It seemed that she blamed herself for not realizing that something was wrong in the first place.
[Once I have fully studied the effects of this fake, I can change the coding on the Droneâs Vision to search for possible indications.]
It made sense why she was so enthusiastic in experimenting with the fake GodForge pieces.
Are you sure this is safe? Wonât the clones get affected by whatever is inside the fakes?
That self-destructing mechanism didnât seem natural. It felt purposeful. Because of that, there was good reason to believe that there were other hidden operations inside that could negatively affect the person who had it.
[We precisely want that to happen. The Unity Clones are entirely under your control. Yours and yours only. Any alterations that the fake GodForge piece would make inside the cloneâs body can be easily destroyed and countered with one simple thought of yours.]
Michael nodded, finally understanding ChatJK5âs confidence in the experiment.
After all, she was right. His Unity Clones were made out of, well, Unity. And Unity was made up of all the eight mana elements combined. And using his Supreme Talent, there was no mana in the world that wouldnât obey under his instructions.
If an insidious, virus-like side-effect corrupted the Unity Clone during the experiment, not only would it be immediately rendered inert, but it would also give ChatJK5 a chance to analyze it in its entirety, thereby giving way to the possibility that she could somehow figure out the fakeâs origins.
After thinking about it some more, Michael eventually relented.
He was originally a little bit skeptical, but ChatJK5 successfully convinced him.
He figured out that he should set aside his repulsive feelings about the fake, and instead treat it as a didactic carcass: something to dissect and study rather than something to stow away, rotting in his inventory.
Another reason was that he didnât want the fake to interact with the Mysterious Pearl. He had enough unwanted reactions for now.
So, he immediately recalled all five of his Unity Clones to his side.
They ascended from his split shadows, kneeling as they greeted him.
It was Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo.
"Alpha, come forward. Youâre going to have to be our test subject."
This was an easy decision. After all, she was the only one who was still a mortal amongst his Unity Clones.
Bravo was in the 1st stage, while the rest were in the 3rd stage.
In case something bad happened, which he was pretty sure it wonât, then heâd only lose one clone.
Despite his cold and calculating reason for this choice, Alpha obediently walked forward and offered her hands to him.
It was a little bit weird treating Alpha as an experiment, but he had to remind himself that she was a clone. He was basically experimenting on himself, which made the questionable moral ethics of the whole situation a little bit easier to swallow.
He opened his palm, summoning a rectangular shadow above it. Then, a black glass-like iceberg ascended from the depths of his shadow inventory.
Once presented with this strange curio, Alpha closed her eyes.
His Unity Clone opened herself up to ChatJK5âs control.
Immediately, a glowing split appeared from the bottom of her neck down to her torso.
Wind and an invisible pressure billowed out of her as Unity began to unleash its destructive capabilities.
Covering his face with his hands, he willed the black iceberg towards Alpha.
It floated forwards, fighting against the expulsive gravity of Unity.
This thing would have immediately flown backwards if it werenât for Michaelâs powers.
Because of his control, the fake GodForge piece entered into the glowing split in Alphaâs body, seamlessly disappearing into her body as it entered.
Once the entirety of the black iceberg embedded itself on Alphaâs Unity heart, the split mended itself back together, mending the solemn look on his cloneâs face.
But that didnât last long.