Chapter 01: The Perfect Inhuman

"An AI that can replicate the human emotion." Shiko said, dwelling in his laboratory, filing up documents and sorting through his mail.

"I am an AI?" A boy with black glasses and silky hair that flowed and reached his shoulders. He was an ordinary boy who looked like anyone his age. There was nothing robotic about his speech, or his way of walking. He was a boy who knew what everything was, and there was nothing he didn't know.

"Yes, I created you." Shiko crossed his fingers and rested his chin. "You could say this is a World Shift."

"World Shift?" The boy asked, as Shiko stood up from his seat to use the coffee machine.

"Hmm, what should I call you?" Shiko thought about it for a while. "Maybe I will just give you a generic name. How about Kazura Kiyomi?"

"Kazura Kiyomi?" Kazura said, as his eyes lit up and the name was stored it in his mind automatically.

"This world is a different one than the previous world." Shiko said, filling his cup of coffee. "You could say, I used you to rewrite history."

"I don't get it. Am I that powerful?" Kazura asked as Shiko returned to his seat.

"You are not powerful by nature." Shiko explained, adding some sugar to his drink. "Neither are you stronger than the average human."

"Then how was I able to recreate this world?" Kazura asked, uncertain of his role.

"You are the key to what I call System." Shiko said in a sinister tone. "You are the link that connects reality and programming. An infinite possibility to open the doors of System is what makes you special."

"System? If I am the key, wouldn't that make me an admin? To use it for superpowers?" Kazura questioned more as Shiko sipped his coffee.

"Exactly. But to access System, you have to rely on someone else." Shiko said, placing down his cup on his saucer. "When you were first made, I entered a realm which I call the Code Stage. Inside of it was you, standing as a representative or a bridge between the world and System."

"I was in it...?" Kazura thought, feeling like a supreme being from another universe.

"A key cannot turn on its own." Shiko described, turning his chair towards the large window behind him. "But a key can link to the safe."

"Are we talking the same language here?" Kazura was confused by his analogies. "So how has this world changed from the previous one?"

"The old world was split into several countries." Shiko's back continued to face him as he spoke. "In a way, I made the world a little more divided to be able to control it easily. North, South, East, West and the in betweens."

Shiko swiveled his chair back, opening up a dusty book from under his drawer.

"Your AI is built upon various information worldwide, constantly compiling and conforming into one singularity. But a simple AI will not be able to link what is outside to the human world." Shiko throughly explained to Kazura his purpose. "What I was doing for the past 10 years, was programming emotions."

"Emotions?" Kazura was in awe yet creeped out by what the man before him could do.

"Yes. It would be impossible if this AI lacked emotion. To access System, is to create a robot with emotions." Shiko cried his heart out, as tears flowed from his eyes. "That is the connection between us and the hidden program of this world."

"So you used me to unlock System. Using your expertise in programming, you recreated this world from scratch." Kazura was wrapping his head around the whole concept. "That... is insane."

"Of course, there are still limitations to System." Shiko added, pointing his pen on one of the pages of the book. "But since you are the key to System, you can still borrow its power."

"Borrow?" Kazura thought, lifting up his palms in front of his face. "What kind of power do I possess?"

"In this world, you are the most powerful human." Shiko said. "As I said before, you alone are powerless." Shiko tossed a pen a few centimetres off his trajectory but Kazura caught it in an instant.

"What was that?" Kazura was astonished by his sudden reaction.

"Instinct." Shiko said, smiling deliberately knowing that he succeeded. "You have access to a library of unknowns and knowns. Every equation, every ability, skill, emotion and information."

"It is no surprise that you can do everything instinctively."

"That... that's crazy." Kazura thought. "So what is my next goal? What do you expect from me?"

"Live a normal life. Stay low, hidden from the surface." Shiko said in a serious tone. "There will definitely be people who will eventually find out about the existence of System."

"How do you know?" Kazura asked. "And if we are this powerful, can't we just create world peace? Remove all wrongs-"

"It is not as simple as you think it is." Shiko scratched his head, leaning down flat on the desk. "The codes used in System is far more complex than you would think. I was only able to reorganise the world but not its contents. The timeline did not change, but where everyone is now did."

"Because you as the key had been created, connections to System can be easily hacked into. In a way, this whole world has now become a huge program." Shiko continued his rant. "But as long as the key is not turned, System should be fine."

"Living a normal life... that is just... Why did you do all of this for?" Kazura doubted his own humanity.

"To become a saviour. To protect people who are hurt. That is your sole purpose, the reason I created you." Shiko smiled warmly, adjusting his glasses to switch his topic. "You are free to do what you want. You can make friends, you can give them access to a bit of your power. Whatever you do, I would not blame you."

"But I trust you, Kazura. To turn the world to a better place."

"Alright, I'll do my best." Kazura stood straight and pledged his allegiance.

Kazura started to head out into the world. As he stepped out of the lab, he noticed that the roads were scarce, and the houses were gloomy and dull. In the corner of his eye, he saw an elderly couple walking towards a hill.

"The North Hill." Kazura remembered what Shiko said before his depart. "You can do things freely, but I still want to track your record."

"Go up to the North Hill, and across the roads it will lead you to the city." Shiko depicted from the world he rebuilt. "I want you to spend an hour or two to breathe the air in there. If there are any people that requires assistance, your first mission is to help them with your powers."

"But wouldn't I get caught? I barely know how my powers work." Kazura grew concerned over his capabilities.

"Don't worry, your powers are just a link to System." Shiko explained. "Feel for it. It is an instinct."

As Kazura ended his flashbacks, he was at the top of North Hill. From above, you were able to see a large city filled with people. The trains moved rapidly from one mall to another, and the technology differed so much from where he just came. It was phenomenal as Kazura took a deep breath.

He decided to get some food, but realised he had no cash.

"Is this the first test?" Kazura thought, with his hands in his pockets.

Even though he was an AI, he knew what money was in this world. He knew he could make himself rich with System somehow. So he tried thinking about money, and looking up in the skies.

But nothing happened.

He tried several calls, like magic spells or physical gestures and poses. Nothing worked except for awkward glances from the public.

He made his way to the mall, as the sliding doors greeted his arrival. He went in and noticed how cold it was. The sudden change in temperature was something he wasn't expecting.

As he took ventures around the place, he noticed a warm air current flowing in circles. It was surrounding him, keeping him warm.

"An instinct Shiko said." Kazura thought, as the heat embraced him. "System reacted to what I was lacking, not what I asked for."

He decided to do more tests with his abilities, but did not want to risk it. Even though he was an AI, death is not 100% preventable. With no cash, he grew hungrier by the smell of food in nearby restaurants.

A middle aged lady ran past her, who seemed to be in a rush for work. She was in a rather formal attire, and carried a red handbag.

Kazura was minding his own business but a sudden beep was heard from his right ear.

A scrawny man was seen behind him, walking past that woman and reaching out his hand to steal her bag. It was a common occurence seen in many stories that Kazura knew in the back of his mind, but to think it actually happened in front of him was mind blowing.

He took it and ran off with ease as the lady screamed at her culprit. Kazura intersected but the scrawny man was weaponized with a knife obscured in his back pocket.

"I have to approach this carefully." Kazura thought as the man swung his knife at him gingerly. "Should I copy the moves of karate? Some self defense mechanisms... For some reason, I can't remember anything of that sort."

The man slashed Kazura's arm, as he kicked himself back. The lady was in shock, running in the direction of the security guards.

"Move out of the way, boy!" The man yelled with saliva spitting all over the polished floor. "If you don't want to be cut, I suggest you roll over and let me go!"

"Is this society Shiko is talking about?" Kazura thought, feeling rather disgusted.

"Instinct." Kazura began to close his eyes as he mentally took a deep breath.

"What are you doing? Get out of the damn way!" The man swung his knife as Kazura opened his eyes. He sweeped his foot back, his body avoided the incoming swing. His feet suddenly shook the ground, and the tiles began to lose form. It seemed to have lost its hardness, as the man spun his blade towards Kazura's neck.

It was hard, like it had been made of stone. The man could not slice through Kazura's skin, as he wobbled from under his feet.

"Am I drunk? What the hell is happening here?" The man was trying to keep his balance, as Kazura realised what was going on.

"But since you are the key to System, you can still borrow its power." Shiko's words flashed inside his mind. He was transferring the properties of objects, and applying it to his own. His own knowledge of everything, was utilised in this fashion. This made him way confident than he was before. 

"You are making this so difficult." The man cried in distraught, running backwards and scurrying for his life. "I am not going to entertain you any further-" 

"This ability... seem to react to the negative energy of others and myself." Kazura thought, as he felt the aura around him increase dramatically. "Is this what heroes call power?" 

He skidded across the floors, transferring the friction to his hands. The man turned his back in a hurry, reacting with his knife and held it at Kazura's direction. 

"Don't come any closer! You'll get slash-" 

Kazura strike the knife with the side of his hand. The kinetic friction of Kazura's hand shattered it, as a large shock wave sent the man flying back. The floor returned to normal, and Kazura halted to a stop. 

"That guy... was a monster." The man tumbled towards the exit door, as the hand bag fell along the path he took. The security guard finally arrived, but Kazura knew he could not be seen and ran off. 

"That show was too flashy. Shiko told me not to get caught." Kazura hid behind one of the walls and finally felt his exhaustion. He sat down with his arms around his knees, gasping for air. 

"This strength is dangerous... I only made it out alive because I was lucky." Kazura took a look at his sleeves, and the cut he sustained from that fight. It was not too deep, but caused him great pain. It was his first time participating in a brawl, as his stomach grumbled. 

"So that's where you were hiding." A voice of someone he heard previously, and the red heels she was wearing at the corner of his eye. It was that woman that he saved, standing right beside him. "Are you okay? You seem to be bleeding from your wrists." 

She asked in concern, and sat down right next to him. "I am Miyasoto Kazashi. I'm a senior assistant in the medical apartment just upstairs. I can help you treat your wounds." 

As this woman who he just met so kindly offered her assistance, made him feel that there was still hope in the world. 

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