The world seemed to return to silence as my head became foggy. Even when I opened my eyes, I could see nothing. No sound reached my ears no matter how long I waited.


    My entire body felt numb, as if it were asleep.


    [## ####!]


    Huh? What was that? Some kind of transmission?


    [## ####!]


    Who was it from?


    [## ####! ## ####! ## ####!]


    It kept repeating, I wondered why? Still, the silence was quitefortable. It''s been a while since I could think like this in peace. I''ve met so many people, but it was always so noisy.


    Huh?


    Who did I meet?


    Why couldn''t I remember?


    What was I even doing?


    [M# ##R#!]


    Damn it. My memory was fucked up! What was I trying to do?


    Oh, right, I had to understand this strange transmission.


    Whatnguage was it? It doesn''t look Asian. I should ask ### she knows Japanese, right? You know, being a ninja and all.


    Huh? I knew a ninja?


    Well, yeah. I even know a Viking.


    Really? When did I meet her? How did I even meet her?


    It was when ##### was thrown away. We saved them and asked them to help us.


    Did we?


    [M# L#R#! W##E U#! I#S #E! A#R#!]


    Let us ask the sisters from Europe, they were smart.


    Huh? I knew someone from Europe? But I never left Arizona? Yeah, who was it?


    [#Y LO#D! #AK# #P! #T# M#! #I#A! ]


    Huh? I think some parts of that message got through. It seemed to be aboutputers, I should call... who should I call? I knew someone who was good withputers, right?


    No you didn''t


    But I didn''t know anyone like that. Myst memory was when I went to some kind of concert.


    No it wasn''t


    A woman with blue hair greeted us, right?


    Did she? Why can''t I remember anything?


    Thest memory I remembered was dying on the sidewalk. Ah, right. I already died.


    This must be the afterlife. No wonder it is so peaceful. It is nice and quiet. Maybe I should just sleep here.


    [MY LORD! WAKE UP! ITS ME! AIRA!]


    Aira? Aira. My AI in Hellsgate. I remember now, I died and joined the reapers. Lilly weed me. I met Be, who was good withputers.


    Then Jo and Jasmine, the sisters from Europe.


    Robyn was thrown out and when we rescued her I met Liv, a viking and Aki, a ninja. After that I met a lot of people. Right. I wasn''t dead yet. My second life had just begun.


    I was Limitless, a death seeker on the North American battle front. Where was I then?


    [MY LORD! PLEASE WAKE UP!]


    "Aira?"


    [MY LORD! YOU''RE OKAY!]


    "What''s going on, Aira?"


    [Ah! My Lord, please brace your face for impact!]


    "My what?"


    Then the world shook so much that the darkness began to crack. The next moment, the cracks grew and shattered, bathing my vision in blinding light.


    Then I felt my body m into something. A powerful jolt knocked the air out of my lungs. A painful burning sensation then engulfed my right cheek. In a reflex action, I grabbed my injured face and moaned.


    "Ouch, that fucking hurt."


    "You fucking asshole! Can''t a day go by without you screwing everything up? As if the chaos with Production was not enough, you even dare to have a soul copse here? Fucking bastard!"


    With my vision blurred, I tried to find the source of the voice. Eventually, I saw an angry gangster in a sloppy suit, who seemed to be furious as he shouted curses at me.


    "Have youe to your senses, you deranged fucker? I got enough on my te as it is!"


    Zachary Lynch, the nightmare, held out his soul-covered fist. Was he the one who beat the shit out of me?


    [My Lord, wee back. You briefly experienced a soul copse. It is a phenomenon that urs when a reaper is so overwhelmed by negative emotions that he begins to summon a demon.]


    "It seems like I almost died," I murmured as I gently caressed my swollen face.


    [Yes, my lord. Returning after being assimted by a demon is exceedingly rare. Luckily, I got a hold of you and allowed the nightmare to separate you from the demon.]


    I didn''t quite get it, but I understood that Zach had saved me. I stood up and straightened my suit before reaching out to him.


    "Thanks." I said with great difficulty.


    My words were slurred by the deformation of my swollen cheeks.


    Zach took my hand, then sent another powerful fist to my left cheek. I flew like a ragdoll in a video game and mmed backwards into an adjacent wall.


    "O!"


    "I collected payment. Now we are even." Zach exined as he turned and walked away.


    As I tried to get up, I saw the pitiful state of the meeting room. Philip was leaning against a nearby wall, his right arm bent the wrong way, while there were three holes the size of ping pong balls in his right shoulder.


    "{Regen}. {Draw} Medbag."


    I tried to heal my injuries so I could speak again. I was about to give Phillip a {Heal} tablet, but he refused.


    He then ced an expensive cigar in his mouth and lit it with a Zippo lighter. A green glow enveloped his body as his injuries began to heal.


    "This cigar is a Soulgear?"


    Nodding, Phillip blew out some smoke as he would with a regr cigar.


    "This is a mid-level healing soulgear consumable {Mend}."


    Within seconds of smoking {Mend} Phillips'' wounds began to heal. He twisted his right arm against a wall, and I heard the sound of bones fusing together.


    "Ahhh! This never gets easier," hemented with a frown.


    "I''m sorry about what happened Phillip, I didn''t know what came over me."


    "You mean this is the first time this has happened?" he asked as he calmly blew smoke.


    "Yes."


    "Well, I guess that is to be expected, you are under a lot of stress anyway."


    Phillip bit into his cigar as he tested his newly repaired arm. After swinging it a few times, he stood up and returned to our previous topic as if nothing had happened.