Chapter 484: Understanding Thyself

Odd. The world was odd. Jake hadn't noticed it much - at least not to begin with - but as he grew up, it became more and more apparent. It was as if someone was watching him. Not all the time, mind you, but this observer appeared at important events. That feeling of a gaze and a feeling of wrongness. It was also only in those moments he felt observed he truly felt this oddness of the world.

It was no security camera, no satellite locking in on his position... it was as if the observer didn't truly exist, yet could observe him. Jake chose to ignore it for the most part as his instincts told him he could do nothing about it, and so far, this observer had no impact on his life.

Perhaps it was a guardian angel given to him after his parents died? Or was it a god? Some extraterrestrial being? A creature existing in a world separate from his own? Many theories dominated his mind, especially as the gaze felt so familiar. Familiar, yet different.

As time passed and he grew older, this silent observer seemed more and more familiar. He even began wondering if it was his unborn brother's ghost. It would make sense if his brother would have been like Jake, right? That he would have the same abilities and be born with the same innate talents?

Sitting in a chair within the extravagant hotel room, he stared at where he faintly felt this apparition was. He shook his head and spoke out loud into the room, expecting nothing in response.

"I do wonder who or what you are, oh silent observer," Jake muttered randomly.

And surprisingly enough... it felt like this apparition had heard and understood him.

Jake stared at his simulacrum for a moment as he felt the other familiar yet foreign man stare back.

"Wait... did he just talk to me? Nah, it shouldn't work like that," Jake said as he shook his head.

"You understand me?" sim-Jake asked, equally confused.

Two Jakes stared at each other. Both were in utter disbelief. The real Jake because his simulacrum, an apparition of the system or the Seat or the Seat of the Exalted Prima, was suddenly aware of him. Sim-Jake for talking to what he probably assumed to be a mere delusion giving him the sense it understood his words.

"What or who are you?" sim-Jake asked as he stood up and went over to where Jake was standing. He moved his hand, and it passed straight through Jake. Yet when it was around his heart, his hand stopped for a second as he frowned.

Jake also felt it. A recognition or resonance of sorts. Sim-Jake removed his hand and backed away as his frown only grew deeper. "You're like me?" he asked almost with a look of realization. He then smiled before he started laughing.

"I fucking knew it. I now know why this all feels so damn wrong. I'm not meant to be here, right? What the hell happened? Did I get thrown into a separate dimension or universe or some shit? Am I even human? Are you?" sim-Jake asked, with a lot of excitement.

The real Jake stared as he considered the questions and decided to answer despite the other version not being able to hear him.

"Eh, I guess I am not meant to be you? But there was no accident, just a different choice. And yeah, you are human. We both are. Just more human than anyone else, perhaps," Jake said. Inside he was asking just as many questions as sim-Jake.

Firstly... how the fuck was this possible?

This was a simulation. The system was clear on that. Which just raised even more questions. This other version of himself had everything Jake had, including his Bloodline. He was Jake in every sense of the word, even to the level of being aware he was being observed by an outside force he should in no reasonable way be aware of.

Jake knew that the system itself made this simulation - it had to - and that it could be considered a real world for everyone in it. Maybe the system did just go above and beyond, and straight-up create a parallel universe to simulate what would have happened.

Then again, would that even be going above and beyond? For an omnipotent force, was there truly a difference between creating a speck of dust and a universe? Omnipotence was omnipotence, after all. A one or a trillion was equally insignificant before something infinite.

So... if it had just made a new world to simulate that one choice, why not do it perfectly? And a perfect Jake would know he was in a simulated world if he was. Well, he wouldn't know-know, but he would be aware something was off and that he was being observed.

Villy had mentioned before that the system did not create Bloodlines, but never that it couldn't. Just that it didn't. Actually, that wasn't even entirely true, as if the system controlled everything, wasn't it also the system "creating" new Bloodlines when two people with Bloodlines had a child and their Bloodlines fused, making a new one? Or at least it allowed it to happen.

Jake shook his head as he considered all these questions he would perhaps never get a straight answer to. Even Villy made it clear he didn't know. All he knew was that the system didn't create new Bloodlines outright but recycled old ones for some system events, so for it to copy a Bloodline temporarily for such an event was not overly surprising.

What was a bit surprising was that this Bloodline in question allowed the other copy to recognize the event itself.

Recognize the "real" version of itself speaking to it.

"I'm... wrong?" the copy asked after Jake answered that they were humans and that he was meant to be there. The ambiguousness of the answer still seemed to confuse the simulacrum. Especially considering he didn't actually hear any answer but had to go by pure intuition.

"No, not entirely," sim-Jake concluded. "Alright, yes and no questions. Hm... how to confirm answers."

The real Jake got an idea for this as he began moving back and forth while keeping an eye on sim-Jake. He, of course, noticed and picked up on it instantly. Jake knew he would. They were both Jake, were they not?

"I understand. To confirm, can you move to the left? My left."

Jake did so.

"And right?"

Jake did so too.

"Alright, method of communication with a creature from a separate dimension established," sim-Jake joked. Real Jake knew he would have made that exact same joke. Sim-Jake then followed up as the real "conversation" began.

"A step to my left is no; to the right is yes, alright?"

Jake stepped to the right to confirm.

"Okay. First of all, are you human?"

Once more, Jake confirmed that, yep, they were both humans.

"And so am I?"

Yep.

"Hm. But we are different, aren't we?"

Confirmed.

"Odd. Very odd. Are there others with abilities like mine?" sim-Jake asked.

Jake thought for a second. Well, there were others with Bloodlines, but not others with his Bloodline. So... yes, but also not really? Not knowing what to say, Jake just stood unmoving as his simulation waited for him to decide.

After a good five seconds, the simulacrum frowned and asked. "You don't know?"

Jake chose to say yes to that one.

"So you do know?"

Yep once more.

"But yet you will not say there are others like me. Us. Hm..."

The next few minutes passed with sim-Jake asking questions and Jake trying to answer as best he could. It was damn weird having a conversation with himself, but it was also way smoother than it should be. Jake naturally understood his own logic, and even with how differently they had lived and grown up, he understood his simulacrum. Perhaps that was telling of how much the Bloodline truly had worked on forming him... or it was an argument that nature mattered more than nurture.

Either way, he ended up properly communicating that while there were others who were special, there were only those two who were Jake-special. It was also a bit awkward when sim-Jake asked if they were related somehow. Jake had chosen just to stand still and give a "maybe" to that one, as he wasn't sure people would consider what they were as related. He knew he would not, so of course, his simulacrum wouldn't either.

The questions eventually turned away from the question of"who" and moved on to the question of "why."

After a few preliminary questions where Jake confirmed he was unable to actually interact and influence the world outside of the communication they were currently having, his simulacrum began to understand.

"So you are here to observe me?"

Big yes to that one. It was all he could do.

"But you are only around at certain times... do you choose when?"

An equally big no there.

"Is someone else dictating what you are allowed to see?"

Eh, a no to that one. It wasn't someone, and his simulacrum quickly picked up on his answer.

"A set of rules then?"

Yes.

"Hm... okay, so you are here to observe me according to a set of rules. Which means you are here to see something specific about me. Considering that you mainly appear in or before combat situations or at other major events... is the reason related to our shared special ability?"

Maybe for that one. Yes and no. Jake was there to observe everything he was, and his Bloodline was certainly part of that.

"So partly, I guess. Is it related to combat?"

Also, a maybe, as that too was only partially right.

"Not combat either? At least not fully? Is it related to my targets somehow?"

Nah, it wasn't. Jake didn't really care who he killed, only how he did it.

"So it is only related to me?"

Big yeppers.

They went on a bit further as they narrowed it down. Dozens of questions later and a conclusion had been reached that Jake could confidently answer yes to.

"You are here to observe me passively to learn, not necessarily from me, but about me. Who I am, why I do as I do, and pretty much just see my life and how I develop and who I become?" he asked clarifyingly, to which Jake said yes.

"I think I kind of get it now. Okay, not really. But you do say this will be beneficial to me?"

Jake confirmed that. They were the same person, after all. Help me, help you, which is actually me. It made sense.

"I don't get the feeling that is a lie either... alright. Let's go from here, then. You want to learn about and from me about who I am? Well, let me teach you without holding anything back. You have seen everything anyway, so the more information, the better, right?"

Which was once more confirmed by Jake. His simulacrum was about to open his mouth and say more as the scene then skipped forward, much to the frustration of Jake. The next scene was of sim-Jake in a dark forest-like area with lights in the distance leading up to a remotely located mansion.

The moment he appeared, sim-Jake noticed and smiled.

"Been a week since last. I was beginning to wonder if you were done," sim-Jake said. He was in a camouflage outfit, and his mouth was covered as he spoke incredibly softly. During their questionnaire, they had already confirmed that sim-Jake could speak in the lowest of whispers and real-Jake could still hear it. Not due to simulation stuff, but just because Perception was the best stat.

His simulacrum then began to speak. Almost rantingly.

"You know, I never really liked humans and found it a bit disappointing when you said I was one. I felt like I could never relate to other people. Not truly. They were all so different from me from the get-go. They were stupid, made moronic decisions, and their instincts were so pathetic it disgusted me on a fundamental level. I was superior to every one of them. Granted, I am not the smartest when it comes to books, but hey, you don't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, and you don't judge an apex killer by his ability to discuss philosophy. Besides, all that shit is just needlessly complicated, you know? I always manage with the same plan:

"Make things simple... and take the complications as they come."

Jake's eyes opened a bit wide at that sentence. The sentiment. It was something he often thought to himself and was almost a motto of his, once more making it clear they were indeed the one and the same person.

"Anyway, this all makes me dislike other humans more. I hate working with them and being around them. They want plans or strategies, and if something - anything - goes wrong, they fucking panic and do nothing useful. Even if they are trained and don't panic, they still don't adapt. Not properly. Not like we do. I guess another way of looking at it is that I feel like I am a wolf living amongst sheep," sim-Jake rambled on.

"None of them are aware of me or other dangerous entities around them. Perhaps I envy their ignorance as they can die with a simple shot to the head or a knife in the neck before they even notice. Perhaps I envy that they can belong somewhere and not always be the odd one out. It may sound narcissistic of me, but I do think I am better than everyone else. Not at everything, but at what I am and what I do. Overall, this does make me superior. Makes me more than human. Perhaps the next step in evolution or simply the apex of what humanity can reach. It isn't even a guess anymore. I know I am objectively superior from the core of my being. Even when I try not to feel superior, I feel disdain towards those weaker than myself... which is everyone. It is worse with those who don't even try."

Jake listened on. His simulacrum whispered beneath his breath as he snuck forward and passed over a fence. Security cameras were covering most spots, but sim-Jake picked up a small stone and, with a piece of cloth, launched it towards the one covering his entrance point, breaking it instantly. He then quickly ran over and tossed a dead bird at the base of the mansion as he ran across the side of the large building.

"Don't get me wrong, I also like to laze around once in a while and do nothing, but how can you live a life doing that? How can you not improve yourself? More than anything, how can you live with yourself standing in a crowd, knowing the majority there could end your life if they so desired? Would that realization not make you strive for power more? I know, I know, this doesn't apply to them. They don't feel the inherent danger others can pose. They just embrace their feeble safety given by others. Maybe that is why I like what I do."

Guards reacted to the broken camera as they made their way to investigate. Sim-Jake easily took advantage of this and scaled the building on another side as he reached an already open window. Clearly, the one living there feared little. It was located in a remote forest with Jake counting more than forty guards total and a top-of-the-line security system. Not expecting someone to climb four stories in less than half a minute with absolute ease was also reasonable.

"A lot of the "powerful" in this world is just the opposite. They are weak. Feeble old men are elected leaders of countries, institutions, and large, influential companies. Even leaders of cartels and criminal enterprises tend to be on the older side. They are viewed as the brains of the operation, or maybe they are just leveraging who they used to be and their reputation. Logically I understand. You want the one in charge to know what he is doing... but does he really need to be at the top? Why is he at the top when a simple reality is clear."

Sim-Jake had small breaks in between whispering as he hid from guards who patrolled. They found the broken security camera and noticed the dead bird, perhaps concluding that it had flown into the camera and destroyed it. In the midst of night with low visibility and with nothing else going on, this was an easy and frankly lazy conclusion.

Jake's alternate version finally made it to a door guarded by two men. Thinking quickly, sim-Jake retreated a bit and quickly dispatched one of the patrolling guards. Once the man was silently eliminated, sim-Jake took on his clothes, which included a nice pair of night-vision goggles perfect for hiding your face.

"They like to hide away. Use others as shields. They live in a reality that simply isn't true, and they hold a worldview I love to shatter. They think they are the superior ones. I feel it. They genuinely believe they are better than everyone else. That they are apex humans, who are untouchable."

Sim-Jake walked casually towards the two guards who lazily stood there, not really commenting on the approaching disguised figure. It was only when sim-Jake was within striking distance one of them noticed something was off, and by then, it was too late. A knife was thrown, and another man was stabbed in the neck as they both fell to the ground, unable to even resist.

Inside the room was only a single man sitting at a desk with a computer. He looked up as the door opened and saw the bloody sim-Jake who had already taken the mask and night goggles off as he smiled, his clothes splattered with blood.

He spoke the last part out loud to both Jake and the man who stared at the approaching sim-Jake.

"Even with all their wealth. All their influence and their grand reputation... they are still weak, feeble humans."

The man behind the desk finally reacted as he pulled out a gun and aimed. Sim-Jake just smiled as the man shot, but he had already dodged the bullet before it was even released from the chamber.

"Weak, feeble humans that, despite everything they have-" sim-Jake said as he dodged the final bullet of the chamber and now stood before the scared shitless old man. He tried to speak, but a single fist hit the side of his head as he fell, his eyes glazed over.

"-still die by my hand. Because that is true power."