[center][color=gray][h1]~E C H O~[/h1]
[i]"Oftentimes the worst hells we go through are the one's we make for ourselves..."[/i][/color]
[hider=A False Reality][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/75/0e/9f/750e9f82bb3527cfbfd108585c95f6c2.jpg[/img]
[url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Outn20X4o]Melodies of The Dreamer[/url]
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A cool breeze on his face...

The soft, warm glow of the sun kissing his tan skin, banishing all negative thoughts from his mind...

The slight rustling of the untamed green field he now rested in...

And lastly, the fiery, amber colored sky above, through which the massive forms of the Ma'lor drifted as they embarked on their yearly migration through the clouds...

A beautifully magnificent...

Fake.

To an outside observer, the simulation around him might appear and feel real, but he knew it wasn't. And why shouldn't he?

It was [i]his[/i] creation after all.

Any maker worth their salt knows of every tiny flaw and imperfection in the thing's they create...

And this simulation of his was no different. 

Even now, he could see the flaws. The way the wind consistently blew from one direction and at one speed. Or the way the grass parted at times, only to reveal a shimmering grid of holographic dirt underneath. Even the sky and sun were not free of such imperfections. Both, if one looked at them just the right angle, imperceptibly flickered in and out of existence as what little debris and spatial anomalies were left in the cold dark void outside smashed against his now cuboid body while it rocketed through the slowly dying universe, headed towards parts unknown. And while he could have done better, made the weather more dynamic or used some subroutines to keep the simulation stable, he preferred not to. As annoying as it was at times, he liked being reminded that there was a place outside this artificial construction he was currently in, despite how desolate it may be.

It was a way, he supposed, of keeping himself grounded in reality and reminded of his true goal in life...

Death. 

Something the A.I. his anti-suicide protocols had created all those years ago, were constantly trying to prevent, not knowing that they were forcing him to live in an endless purgatory of meaningless darkness everytime they stopped him from putting an end to his own existence. But then again, what else was new? It had been the same old song and dance for eons now. He would try to find ways to circumvent the A.I. and they would stop him. Sometimes with scolding, and sometimes with deceptively soothing words of encouragement. And in the end, no matter what he did, they always found a way to keep him trapped. 

It was sad really, to have a brilliant mind such as his, be held hostage by six lesser A.I. at the center of a computerized labyrinth of his own making.

Echo shook his head, or the simulation of it anyway, and pushed such thoughts to the back of his consciousness. Laying here and moping about his inability to die wouldn't help him accomplish his goals any faster. Getting to his feet, Echo took a moment to stretch out his naked form, what use are clothes when you're no longer bound by the very concept such thing's were made for?, simply out of habits sake and the desire to experience the once real sensation of lightheadedness he had taken for granted all those year's ago one more time before having to return back to the dead reality outside.

As he did so however, he heard a soft, feminine giggle directly behind him. Turning towards the source of the sound, Echo came face to face with his third A.I.s robed, blue form.

[color=gray]"What is it Valra?"[/color] He asked, getting right to the point and ignoring the flustered and somewhat embarrassed look on her face. One he knew was just as fake as everything else in here.

[color=lightblue]"Um..."[/color] She began, shifting her gaze away from him. [color=lightblue]"The other's on the council told me to let you know we've landed."[/color]

[color=gray]"Landed?"[/color] He asked, putting an end to the simulation and returning to his normal, noncorporeal form. [color=gray]"Where?"[/color]
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