The Core: The Dark Enemy

14. Month one: That one clone

Hey everyone!

I just finished another semester's Finals and will have two weeks of break time. As I get further in working towards my Bachelor's, things get more complex and require more time to work on. I am sorry for the lack of new chapters! Thank you for being patient! I will do what I can!

Sincerely,

Ken

Magus the 17th, corrupted clone, has been unexpectedly disconnected from the System. Remote tracing and viewing terminated.

A low hiss could be heard as a lone Tela clone, still using a Haoolla Defender avatar, considered the abrupt message on his screen.

Magus the Last, formerly known as Magus the 2nd before the lowly 15th had sought and taken his place, sat back in his chair as he considered his plans once again. A hacked clone, the prior 18th before he took his place and bumped him up to the 17th place, was disconnected and gone, seemingly killed by Kevin.

"It seems that I, or rather, he failed," He muttered as he watched the remote feeds still broadcasting the existence of Earth and its citizens. The plan had been to test the waters, to strongarm the human into submission. Failing that, to do as much damage to the human's home and to destroy everything he held dear.

Turning him into a wounded beast.

Wounded beasts were always the easiest to take advantage of, they made mistakes left and right.

Sometimes they even just gave up.

But that hadn't happened. No... something else had occurred and given Magus pause. The human had done something entirely unexpected.

Again!

Magus had even tried to set off the bombs remotely when things started to go sideways, but even that hadn't done anything that he had expected, only killing a scant few humans.

"What are you?" he muttered as he studied the feed showing the entire planet becoming engulfed in darkness. His long-extended fingers caressing the inky darkness of the display, turning even blacker than the residual starlit space around it.

Next to the dark feed was a looping recording of the sudden burst of light that had occurred before Kevin had arrived at Earth's Arbiter and sprung the trap that had been set for him.

"So many unknowns with this human..."

Magus glanced at his other feeds, checking to see if anything had changed regarding his search for his Prime. For whatever reason his Prime still hadn't shown himself. No clone pings of integrity, an occasional random occurrence that forced all of the clones to create an info dump as to their current status, and no public appearances... nothing.

It was almost as worrisome as this new development with this human. Either his Prime was onto him, or he had gained something of value from the former Magus the 15th and the destruction of his Core. That had to be it... the something that had sent him into seclusion.

The only thing that his Prime, the "Great General", had ever been interested in was new weapons and thus his absence was worrisome. Magus couldn't have his Prime go and ruin his carefully laid plans after he had done so much and spent everything he had to get here.

Magus sighed and sat back in his odd throne letting his long arms dangle down over the armrests. The sound of his long fingers drumming against the sides, almost all the way to the floor, was the only noise inside his rented personal bubble at a local data cafe. His mind was a blur as he tried to plan his next move. Too many unknowns kept popping up in his way.

All because of that human.

Everything had been going so swimmingly. He had worked countless millennia to set himself up with his very own Core, invited wealthy Citizens to migrate there, and then slowly worked at causing those of low value to become his indentured slaves via debt and bogus crimes.