Feeling that his questions were only increasing instead of decreasing with the explanation he received, Ellis still pressed on, determined to ask them one by one.
'So what does that make you exactly?' Ellis asked.
[A manager or a low-level administrator of the **** system.]
'Hmm, then what can you do exactly? And is there no damned voice function?'
As he asked his intended question, Ellis couldn't help but grumble. He felt like he was straining his small body by concentrating so hard on reading… especially after just a couple of days in this world.
[Other than answering some of your questions and directing some improvements when you can evolve the system, I can't do anything for the time being.]
[And unfortunately, there's no voice function currently. But due to the special circumstances that led to my creation, if you deem it appropriate, I could also evolve in the future, gaining a voice and much more authority.]
Ellis felt that this particular manager, low-level administrator, or whatever it was that he was talking to, was utterly useless upon reading its answer. Still, remembering the notifications he had first read about reconstructing abilities and the like, he wondered if he was judging too quickly. So, he decided to ask about the crux of the problem.
'Then, how can I evolve the system exactly?'
[By absorbing other shards of ****]
'Then where are the other gray shards?'
[I don't know. If I sense them, I will tell you immediately.]
'So you really are basically useless for now.'
[...]
Seeing how it didn't respond this time and recalling what it had said before, Ellis felt he might have been a little too harsh with his bluntness and decided to change the subject.
'Sorry, sorry. Maybe I was being a little inconsiderate.'
[...]
'As an apology, how about I give you a name? You don't have one anyway, right?'
[No, I don't.]
Getting confirmation, Ellis started thinking of a feminine name for it. He considered his choices carefully for a moment until he suddenly remembered the Twilight Codex.
Twilight… It marked the setting of the sun, the gradual descent into darkness; a symbol of an ending.
If twilight represented the end, then what came next?
'Then your name will be Aurora,' Ellis decided.
Aurora, the first light of dawn, breaking through the remnants of the night. A name that carried the promise of a new beginning, of change, of something yet to come. If twilight signified the conclusion of one chapter, then dawn marked the start of another. And for Ellis, standing at the threshold of an unfamiliar world, it felt fitting to name his companion after that very transition.
[The name 'Aurora' has been registered.]
Feeling quite satisfied with the name he had come up with, Ellis was a little smug in his mind before moving on to a more pressing concern; his fears.
'Okay, that aside. What about the new system? Does it have authority over me like the Twilight Codex System?'
[No. Due to the host merging with the shard of ****, it has become a part of you. However, since the system itself is a byproduct of that shard, while it technically belongs to you, you currently have no authority over it.]
'What kind of fucking sophistry is this?' Ellis grumbled. He really couldn't understand how something created from what was supposedly his still wasn't under his control.
'How the fuck does this work? Your answer means I have authority over the gray shard, but not over the system that came from it. How is that even possible?'
[If you were strong enough, things would be different. But right now, you're too weak. So, even though you have authority over the shard of ****, you can't even sense it, let alone control it.]
While he still felt a little irritated by the answer, Ellis had to admit that, this time, it actually made sense. So, while he still had plenty of doubts about the gray shard and the system as a whole, he decided to set them aside for now.
What mattered was that, aside from the help it had already given him, strengthening his abilities and the like, it could also prove useful in the future.
More importantly, rather than blaming Aurora or his current system, neither of which had shown any real downside so far and were, in fact, his greatest and only allies, he was far more concerned about the Twilight Codex System.
He still didn't understand much about it. Was he truly safe in this world? And what did it even mean for him to be "on a list" of something?
Hoping Aurora might have some answers, he asked, 'Well, the gray shard was able to absorb the remnants of the Twilight Codex System from me and create this new system. So, do you have any information about it?'
'Like… what exactly is it?'
[Twilight is the name of a powerful faction that gather worlds as part of its collection. The Twilight Codex is its core treasure, and the system is merely one of its functions, designed to control those who possess it and nurture them into soldiers for the faction.]
Ellis couldn't help but freeze as he read this reply.
He had already known that the Twilight Codex was more than just a system. But worlds as a collection? Then… could he really be safe in this world, even if it seems like their influence had yet to reach it?
His small head buzzed with a whirlpool of thoughts, struggling to process the implications. He didn't even know where to begin. But after some time passed, he finally asked the most pressing question.
'What do you know about this 'list' thing? And… am I safe here?'