0003: The All Sufficient System

Kendrew couldn't sleep. Despite his exhaustion, he had to follow Kendall's instructions. 

He slipped out of the Hughes mansion and made his way to Coston Bay Road. It was already past eight, and the darkness was thick and unsettling.

When he reached the end of the road, a desolate spot near the cliffs, he pulled out the card and dialed the number. His hands shook as he brought the phone to his ear.

"I have a package for you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

A few minutes later, a car's headlights pierced the darkness, and a sleek vehicle pulled up beside him. A man stepped out, his silhouette tall and imposing against the night sky.

"I'm Barry Lincoln," the man introduced himself, extending a hand. He looked to be about thirty-six, just a few years older than Kendrew.

Kendrew handed him the envelope without a word, the sense of unease growing in his chest. 

As he turned to leave, three expensive cars roared up the road, their headlights blinding. He shielded his eyes as the cars screeched to a halt.

Out stepped the Hughes family — his father, Kane, Kendall, and a few other relatives. They moved with an air of authority, their expressions severe.

"Kendrew!" Kane's voice was a venomous hiss. "What do you think you're doing?"

Before Kendrew could respond, Kendall pointed an accusatory finger at him. "He's handing over our family's highest secret planning project to Barry Lincoln, our enemy!"

The accusation hit Kendrew like a physical blow. "What? No! I didn't know—"

"Save it!" his father barked, his face contorted with rage. "I trusted you to be a good son, and you betrayed me with my enemy's son?!"

Kendrew looked to Barry, who stood silently, his expression unreadable. "I swear, I didn't know—"

Kane stepped forward, his eyes blazing. "Do you think we're fools? You've been plotting against us all along!"

The realization of his situation dawned on Kendrew with crushing clarity. He had been framed. This was a setup, orchestrated to make him look like a traitor. 

"Please, believe me," he pleaded, looking desperately from one family member to another. "I had no idea what was in the envelope. Kendall just told me to deliver it."

But their eyes were filled with nothing but contempt and betrayal.

"Don't lie against my sweet son, Kendall. You're no longer a Hughes," his father spat. "Get out of our sight, and don't ever come back."

Kendrew's heart shattered. He stood there, paralyzed, as his family were turning their backs on him just like that.

No! 

Kendrew fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Please, give me a chance, Father. I didn't know. I swear, I didn't know."

His father stood over him, eyes cold and calculating. For a moment, there was silence, then his father pulled a gun from his coat and handed it to Kendrew.

"If you want to redeem yourself, there's only one way," his father said, his voice eerily calm. "Kill Barry Lincoln. Prove your loyalty to this family."

Kendrew's hands shook as his gaze fell on the gun. In that moment, he felt a deep regret for ever being born. "But... I'm your son," he whispered, his voice trembling.

His father's face twisted into a sneer. "Son? You're not my son. You're nothing but an adopted orphan from the slums, a charity case my late wife Elisa insisted on bringing into our home. Everyone in Coston City knows it except you."

The truth hit Kendrew like a sledgehammer. He stared at his father, shock and devastation coursing through him. 

"No wonder," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "No wonder everyone treats me like a thief."

"Now you understand," his father said, his tone dripping with contempt. "You're nothing. You've always been nothing. The only reason you had a roof over your head was because of Elisa's pity. If you want to stay in this family, you'll do as I say."

Kendrew looked at the gun in his father's hand. All his life he'd never held one before. He could literally feel the weight of his father's command of taking the gun. 

His heart ached with a mixture of betrayal, sorrow, and anger. The family he had tried so hard to serve and please had never seen him as one of their own.

"Do it," his father demanded. "Kill Barry Lincoln and prove you're worth something."

Kendrew's mind raced. Could he really take a life to prove himself to a family that had never truly accepted him? The thought was unbearable. He looked up, his eyes meeting his father's.

Kendrew took the gun, feeling its cold weight in his hand. The pain of Betrayal and the hopelessness of the situation overwhelmed him. He could save a life or his own. 

Determined he walked hurriedly toward Barry who began to back away with each step Kendrew took, until Barry was at the edge of the cliff.

With a steely resolve, Kendrew leaned in and whispered something to Barry's hearing. Before Barry could react, Kendrick pushed him off the cliff into the water below 

“N…help!” Barry's scream of help was lost in the night as he fell into the dark waves.

“What did you do?! You were supposed to kill him." Kane yelled, his voice filled with shock and anger.

Kendrew turned to face his brother and his other family members, a calm expression on his face. 

“I saved a life,” he said, his voice steady. without another word he raised the gun to his own head.

“No! Kendrew, don't…” Kane started, but was too late to finish.

Kendrew pulled the trigger, the sound of the gunshot echoing in the night. His body went limp and fell backward, tumbling off the cliff and into the water, joining Barry in the cold dark depth below. 

For a moment, there was silence. The Hughes family stood frozen, stunned by the time of events. 

The darkness of the night swallowed Kendrew, leaving behind only the memory of his final act of sacrifice for them to hold on to.

[A suitable Host for All Sufficient System found]

[ACTION: Taking Over The Host Completely]

[Loading…..]

[NOTIFICATION: Action Failed!]

[SUB-ACTION: Inhibiting The Host Partly]

[Loading…..]

[NOTIFICATION: Sub-action Successful And Completed!]

[Congratulations! All Sufficient!]

Kendrew's eyes fluttered open, a new clarity washing over him. 

He was no longer at the edge of the cliff, and the darkness of the night seemed distant. Instead, he found himself standing in a surreal landscape, a vast expanse of light and energy. 

His mind buzzed with a strange awareness, as if he was connected to something far greater than himself.

A voice resonated within him, smooth and mechanical. [Welcome, Host] 

[You have been selected as the vessel for the All Sufficient System]

[Your previous limitations and struggles are now inconsequential]

[Prepare to harness the full potential of the system]

Kendrew blinked, trying to comprehend what was happening. "What... what is this? Where am I?"

[You are within the initialization phase of the All Sufficient System] the voice replied. 

[Your existence has been altered to facilitate the integration]

[Your previous life was deemed insufficient, and thus, intervention was necessary]

Memories of the cliff, Barry, and the gunshot flashed in his mind. "I... I died, didn't I?"

[Negative]

[You were intercepted before the final termination of your consciousness] 

[The system has inhibited your previous host limitations]

[You are now All Sufficient and All Sufficient is you]

A wave of information surged through Kendrew, knowledge and abilities he had never possessed before. He felt something awesome coursing through him, a sense of invincibility and purpose.

"What do I do now?" he asked, his voice steadier. “Oh, and is All Sufficient supposed to be a title or a person?”

[All Sufficient is You, You are All Sufficient, We, together Is All Sufficient and We, together is You]

Kendrew: “....”

[You are to fulfill the primary directive: achieve and maintain a state of All Sufficiency]

[Utilize your enhanced capabilities to rectify imbalances, overcome adversities, and establish a paradigm of self-sufficiency]

Kendrew nodded slowly, the weight of his new reality settling in. The despair and betrayal of his past were still fresh wounds, but now he had a new purpose, a chance to redefine himself.

"Very well," he said, determination hardening his voice. "Let's begin."

With that, the landscape around him shifted, and Kendrew found himself back at the cliff's edge. But this time, he was not the same, and neither were his surroundings.

He was transformed, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead with the power of the All Sufficient System at his command. But he was also in a strange place. The air felt different, and the scenery was unfamiliar. "All Sufficient... err... what's going on? Where is here? And why is everywhere so different?"

[You are in Yukodives, a land of indigenous and greatest] 

[This is the very history of Coston City, years before the war of the Dives Sons]

"So, you are saying we are in..."

[Wrong! 1601]