A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 262: Chapter 211: Ogis’s Adventure_1

How long has it been since that moment?

Ogis opened her eyes, beholding the night sky before her – it was so magical here. Despite the stalactites visible atop the subterranean caves, the entire dome was shrouded by a sparkling starry sky. At first glance, it seemed as if the whole city was draped in a veil of darkness.

Her master was still yet to return.

Ogis thought of this and gently shook her head. She had considered asking Duanmu Huai about his current location, but she ultimately did not reach out to him. After all, she knew better than to hurry these matters. No matter where her master was, Ogis believed strongly that he would come to fetch her.

Therefore, all she could do right now was to explore this place, hoping to provide as much information as possible for her master.

However, when Ogis arrived at this city, completely shrouded in the dark curtain of the night, she was slightly astonished.

What exactly was this place?

Ogis strolled along the streets, gazing both ways. She saw ornate yet elegant towering buildings on either side of the road and street lamps emitting faint lights, but there wasn’t a soul in the city. It appeared as if the whole place had died, void of any vitality.

“Glug!”

However, as Ogis approached the first intersection, suddenly, a shadow descended from the sky, landing right before her – it was a weird, metallic fluid object. It writhed non-stop like a silver rice ball. Ogis observed the ‘rice ball’ cautiously as she slowly backed away, raising her right hand at the same time to maintain her vigilance.

Following this, under Ogis’ watch, the metallic sphere began to expand, twist, and deform, stretching out like a liquefied substance. It gradually transformed into a different shape.

It was a girl dressed in a black dress with silver twin-tails – it was an exact replica of Ogis.

“?”

Upon witnessing this, Ogis was visibly surprised, while the replica just stared at her before slowly speaking.

“Why are you here?”

“………..”

Ogis remained silent. Even though this ‘Ogis’ possessed the same voice as her, it didn’t indicate that she was Ogis; not to mention Ogis had just witnessed her transforming. Naturally, Ogis speculated that this creature perhaps had the ability to mimic others.

However, the doppelgänger didn’t seem to care about what Ogis was thinking and kept talking on her own.

“You are separated from your master, so you arrived here. So, what is it that you wish to obtain? Why did you come here?”

“………..”

“Quite simply, your master has abandoned you.”

“———————Wham!!”

As soon as the doppelgänger finished speaking, Ogis narrowed her eyes. Simultaneously, she flicked her right hand. The glistening thread swiftly sliced the doppelgänger into pieces. However, this strike seemed to have no effect. Soon enough, the dissected body began to merge again, restoring its former state.

“Why would you attack me?”

“Because, I am very angry.”

“Angry?”

Upon hearing Ogis’ response, the duplicate tilted her head in confusion.

“Why would you, a puppet, have such an unnecessary emotion?”

“…………”

This time, Ogis hesitated for a moment and did not reply.

“You are just a puppet, just like me.”

The doppelgänger pointed towards Ogis, and then herself.

“Puppets do not have emotions, and they do not need souls. We exist only for our masters. If the master needs us, we fight for him. If the master doesn’t need us, then we are just discarded objects. Objects do not need self-awareness, let alone autonomy. You should’ve been quietly waiting; why would you make this action that seems so pointless?”

“I… I am not like that!”

Grinding her teeth, Ogis felt somewhat unsettled by the other’s words. She was clearly aware of a puppet’s duty, but on the other hand…

“Father created me to imbue me with a soul, to gift me a spirit!”

“So, are you still acting like a puppet, following the orders of your creator?”

“Huh?”

Upon hearing this, Ogis was seemingly taken aback. Following this, a strange emotion that sent chills down her spine inexplicably emerged from the depths of her heart.

“No, I am not… this isn’t Father’s order. These are Father’s expectations…”

“Expectations, hopes, desires. Ultimately, what they all amount to is wanting someone to act according to their words. Isn’t this the value of being ordered?”

“That’s not it! I also long to understand human emotions! I also have a soul!”

Unable to control herself any longer, Ogis shouted aloud. That unfamiliar emotion seemed to have shackled her heart, finally bursting forth like an uncontrolled flood – even Ogis herself got startled after her outburst, having no prior awareness that she could yell that loudly.

“Understanding human emotion? What’s the point in that?”

However, the “Ogis” across her just tilted her head, staring at her in puzzlement.

“After all, you can’t become a human, can you?”

“…………”

The other party’s words pierced through Ogis’s soul like a spear, causing her knees to buckle and fall to the ground. The ruthless speech, as if stripping the deepest secret from Ogis’ heart, made her feel totally powerless, as if everything was out of control and even the world in front of her began to darken —— Yes, this is fear.

However, despite these feelings, the words of the “Ogis” before her were clearly heard.

“You should understand, no matter how much you imitate others, in the end, you are just a puppet, you cannot feel warmth, and you cannot feel pain. When other girls snuggle up to their masters to feel warmth, what can you feel? To you, these are all meaningless expressions, aren’t they?”

“Shut up… ”@@novelbin@@

“We are puppets, not humans.”

“Ogis” removed her coat, revealing the body underneath——It’s made of wood, connected by joints, the body of a puppet.

“Nothing more than a tool assembled by mechanisms, not a living being.”

“Shut up…”

“A tool should act like a tool, pursuing soul and life, is a completely misguided act…”

“Shut up!!!”

Ogis leapt up with an angry roar, while the puppet strings in her hand began to interweave and twist to form weapons, sharp blades, and spears. Under Ogis’s manipulation, these weapons woven from puppet threads flashed and rushed towards the other ‘herself’ across. However, at the moment these weapons were about to penetrate the opponent’s body, they stopped—Until then, Ogis noticed that invisible wires were extending from all directions, restraining her weapons.

“You didn’t forget, I am you.”

The other “Ogis” lifted her head, her eyes devoid of emotion, but they made Ogis’s heart tense. She quickly jumped back. The next moment, an invisible blade swept across where Ogis had stood, breaking the solid ground into fragments.

“Do you remember Gavi? What’s the difference between you in this state and her? Swallowed by emotions, rage, and ultimately the end of a broken puppet, don’t you know?”

“I will not become like Gavi!”

Ogis once again manipulated the threads, forming a barrier all around her to block the opponent’s attack, at the same time clenched her teeth and growled in a low voice.

“Really? Look at you now, this way due to rage and fear, what’s the difference with Gavi? Once the master abandons you, you will turn into another Gavi.”

“It’s not like that… ”

Although Ogis wanted to retort, the words that emerged from her mouth were so weak.

If she experienced the same thing as Gavi, would she end up the same way?

After this doubt emerged from the depths of Ogis’s heart, it wouldn’t go away, like an invisible nightmare entwining her. This caused Ogis’s actions to slow down — when she came back to her senses, a strong attack came head-on, Ogis grunted, then was thrown backwards. Her petite body slid and fell into the ten thousand-cubit deep abyss —— at this critical juncture, Ogis instinctively extended her hand and grasped the stone chips before her.

Then, she saw the other ‘Ogis’ slowly walk to her, bow her head and stare at her.

“Take a look, this is the weakness of emotion, if you were just a combat machine, you would only need to think about how to beat me. But you haven’t, because of these unnecessary emotions, your judgment and reaction ability have been disturbed, so you have this outcome.”

“…………”

In the face of her other self, Ogis remained silent.

“Anything else to say?”

“I see, so this is…my thought.”

With these words, several glints of cold light flashed from “another Ogis”, and she was cut into pieces again. Then Ogis jumped up and stood firmly on the ground once more. Staring at the squirming, reamalgamating form of her other self.

“I once read in a book that people are often both the most familiar with and the most clueless about themselves. I didn’t understand the meaning of this sentence before, but thank you for teaching me.”

As she spoke, Ogis reached out and put her hand on her chest.

“I see. So when the hidden secret of my heart is revealed, there is such a pain and anger, this feeling of tearing my heart and lungs, is this sorrow and pain? Maybe, I can finally understand what Gavi was feeling.”

Saying this, Ogis looked at the other party.

“Thank you. I always wanted to talk to Gavi, but I felt that I didn’t understand Gavi’s feelings nor her true thoughts. Just as you said, tools don’t need emotions, even though I learned to have emotions, I still couldn’t understand why Gavi made that choice… until I felt all this.”

“………Can’t understand.”

At this moment, the other ‘her’ opposite Ogis restored her original state, staring at her.

“I can’t understand, why at this time, you can still be so calm?”

“It’s simple.”

As soon as her voice fell, the Ogis opposite was abruptly lifted into the air, her body hanging in the air, while Ogis extended her right hand, the threads extending from her fingertips tightly wound around the enemy’s body.

“Just as you said, even though I learned to have emotions, but … I am still a puppet.”

Ogis’s eyes at this moment became cold and dark.

“To a puppet, eliminating the enemy always comes first.”