THE ILLUSION

Denial

"No! You can't do that, Professor!" Without losing any respect, Olivia looked quietly at Prof. Takeda. The senior lecturer put both hands on his waist, he turned his face away. Couldn't believe that his suggestion was met with resistance.

   

Eldric's footsteps paused for a moment the tension in the base. Upon seeing Eldric's arrival, Prof. Takeda rushed over to him, then throwing one punch at his flagship junior.

Olivia was startled, while Jasper and Loey swiftly restrained Prof. Takeda.

   

The corner of Eldric's lips twitched. It hurts to beat him. Still, Eldric was trying to understand the situation. He realized he couldn't live up to his senior's expectations. But to be honest, he didn't want to build his project to anyone's expectations. It made him sick. Eldric had absolutely no regrets for his actions today.

   

Prof. Takeda still looked smoldering. Even the petals almost form a perfect circle like his glasses.

   

"Stupid! Why did you meet her?" snapped Prof. Takeda. Eldric looked away, avoiding his senior's emotional spike as much as possible.

   

"You've broken Eldric's rules, if news reaches—"

   

"No, sir. I met her in disguise," argued Eldric, "that's not what matters now."

   

Prof. Takeda took a deep breath. His hands were tucked into his coat, nodding his head quickly. As if he knew better. "Ah right, our system was even hacked. Stupid! Ridiculous!"

   

Eldric turned to Loey, demanding a clearer explanation.

"There are many intruder characters in our system," said Loey.

   

"What?" Once again, Eldric's tone dropped. "Jasper, how come?"

   

"They planted a trojan virus in our system and infiltrated holographic characters," said Jasper.

   

Eldric scooped up his hair, squeezing it hard. "They have one goal: destroy the project. Whether it's by taking data or killing Merin."

   

"Fortunately, the data has not been penetrated. We are just a little late to turn off the system, it's over," said Loey. Anxiety is still reflected in the movements of Prof. Takeda. He kept pacing back and forth still with his hands tied around his waist.

   

"In my opinion, there is only one solution. Seeing what happened today, it seemed like they were only developing human characters. So, we have to reset all human characters."

   

Olivia moved to Eldric's side, glaring at Prof. Takeda.

   

"Sorry to interrupt, Professor. However, I have already said that I do not agree."

   

Worry overtook Eldric. Staring at Olivia who was trying to hint that all the characters were her creations. Hers. She has every right to act like a mother to them. Protect their existence from disappearing. What's more, for Iron and Scarlett.

   

Olivia turned around, returning Eldric's gaze with trembling eyes. "You promised."

   

Olivia's words carried Eldric across a memory. About how that quirky girl joined his team.

Easter night six years ago was noisier than usual. After enjoying euphoria at the Sydney Royal Easter Show with his friends, Eldric struggled to overcome his feelings of influence. In the middle of the alley, he repeatedly stomped his head and rubbed his eyes.

   

"Argh! I think I drank too much," he mumbled, "but if I don't, I'll probably go bald from thinking about the project."

   

Eldric continued to stagger. Until he almost fell because he hit two tall, tattooed men. One of them who was chubby suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder.

   

Eldric narrowed his eyes. Detecting that he met a thug, Eldic shrugged his shoulders. He wanted to glare, but his eyes were too heavy.

   

"Wow, he has a lot of energy," said the fat thug.

   

"That's the time to let go! Quick, hold him again. Let me search!" exclaimed his friend.

   

"Woo… wo… don't you dare... oh, no." Eldric staggered back. Installing a horse that is not sturdy and tickles the two thugs. One more step, the hands of the fat thug will pounce on the handsome horse in front of him.

   

"Stop! I won't let you touch it," shouted a blonde with two braids. An image of a skull in a sleeveless shirt covered by a pile of books.

   

"But, Miss—"

   

"Father and I have agreed not to attack women, the elderly, and drunken people. You know the consequences, right?" Hearing warnings from their superiors, the two thugs immediately decided to leave.

   

The girl chuckled, approaching Eldric while blowing her bangs.

   

"My name is Olivia Barlie," she said.

   

"I'm Eldric . . . and, yes, thank you," Eldric mumbled.

   

"They are my father's guy. As an apology, I'll make you some anti-corrosion soup."

   

The sound of sighs full of relief was heard that night. Olivia was quite happy to see Eldric for a long time. Her gums were showing, as the man enjoyed his meal. Olivia's sigh made a small smoke escape from her mouth.

   

"I wish I had a handsome brother," she wished. Eldric stopped sipping and glanced at the girl who was propping her cheek.

   

"You're an only child?" asked Eldric.

   

Olivia nodded lazily. "Not single anymore, maybe I'm super single. I only had one family, my father—a soft-hearted thug. If it weren't for him, I'd be dead lonely."

Eldric's gaze turned to a pile of drawing technique books. "You like drawing?"

Olivia glanced at the book as well, then nodded again—more quickly this time. She pulled out one of the books and turned the page.

   

A paper with a picture of a boy and a girl was tucked inside.

   

"I named them Iron and Scarlett. Why? Take it from the name of the superhero. It's crazy indeed, I often wish if they lived and became my siblings, hahaha."

   

Eldric took the paper. He was amazed by the emotions that were depicted in each carving.

   

"I can keep them alive."

Olivia's eyelids widened when she heard Eldric's words.

   

"If you join me, I promise I will."

   

In reality, life will always change. Whether in seconds, minutes, hours, or days. Time is always limited, some even have to sink before sailing. Fate is always on the side of the future. Unfortunately, we will only realize the truth when it has happened.

   

"Can we talk for a minute, Professor?" Eldric suggested to Prof. Takeda.

   

The senior professor snorted as Eldric ushered him slightly away from them.

   

"I'll think of a way other than getting rid of all the characters, please—"

   

"No, Eldric," interrupted Prof. Takeda, "You don't have that time. The testing period is very short and the ministry cannot tolerate anything. I've spoken to Mr. Robert—"

   

Eldric pressed his forehead. "You talked about this matter to an outsider?" he sighed in annoyance.

   

"Mr. Robert agrees with the idea ​​of resetting all human characters and recruiting guides to patch the time leak. In fact, he was willing to send a guide. That way, security will be guaranteed."

   

Eldric's jaw hardened. He knew this was not the time to curse the circumstances. However, he wished there was a better way to ward off his senior's idea. Again, hope is just hope. Everything Prof. said. Takeda is a smacking reality.

   

Eldric slowed his pace. Doubt came over to Olivia, but she had to do it. The girl had a stinging glare. Her shoulders instantly went limp when Eldric held him.

   

Eldric's eyes filled with tears, and a heavy sigh sounded for the umpteenth time.

   

"What is proposed by Prof. Takeda is the best choice," he said hoarsely. Olivia kept shaking her head. Deny Eldric's decision. Drop by drop tears rolled down her cheeks. The girl threw both of Eldric's hands, then gritted her teeth.

   

For a moment she chuckled. "Don't apologize. Because I will leave the team."

   

In that instant, Olivia left them.

   

"No, don't ..." Jasper moaned, Loey almost caught up with the girl. However, Eldric held his shoulders, then shook his head. Asking Loey to be patient, is the same as it seems. Just for now. When everything recovered, Eldric would fetch Olivia back. No matter how.

   

Eldric forced himself to straighten his back.

   

"Everyone, back to work. We must restore the situation and carry out the mission again," he said. Loey and Jasper immediately returned to their respective tables.

   

Deftly, Eldric resets part of the fantasia program human character. Then, back and forth moved from Loey to Jasper.

   

"Loey, once the system is turned on, do blocking and instusion. Make sure every traffic in and out of the network is inspected," he ordered, Loey's fingers dancing on the keyboard.

   

"Jasper, detect traffic anomaly monitors, then protect them with hardware security module. You can do it, right?"

   

"Of course, Boss." Eldric pursed his lips, resting for a moment if only for a second. Prof. Takeda patted him on the shoulder, causing Eldric to immediately turn his head and lower his gaze.

   

"Sorry about the hit," he said.

   

Eldric retracted his faint smile. "It's okay, I understand it."

   

"Your good job of disguise worked, but I still won't let you see her again. No one guarantees how the public will respond," explained Prof. Takeda.

   

There was no rebuttal whatever from Eldric. It felt like it was getting worse.

   

"Don't worry, I've already called the ministry. Mr. Robert has a solution to keep Merin's whereabouts. Tomorrow, he will be here."

   

He should be relieved, all he has to do is take care of the system. That's the real place. Behind the computer, not in front of the girl. However, Eldric felt something strange.

   

There is a feeling of sadness buried in the corner of his little heart. Seems like Eldric became reluctant to accept.