— Sigh.
In front of a pile of black garbage bags, a young man, far too thin for his age, with pale skin and deep dark circles, exhaled frustration as he threw out the trash. His arms, thin as cables, barely held the bag's weight, and the cheap fast-food uniform hung on him like it was two sizes too big. — What a load of crap… I used to be a Chemist, on the verge of a breakthrough, and now I'm here… tossing out garbage.
My name is Alex, and it's been a year since I arrived on this parallel "Earth." The story here takes different paths; the elements don't work like in my reality, but humanity remains the same: petty, exploitative… good old capitalism.
With a frail, worn-out body and an empty wallet from when I first arrived. Thinking back to my arrival, the memory flooded in.
— Flashback —
In a bathroom, a young man lay on the floor, head bleeding. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
"What happened? Where am I? Why does my head hurt so much? And… where's my burger?" — Panic surged through his chest as he thought.
I looked around. "What is this place? A bathroom." — I quickly checked my abdomen, finding no marks.
"No cuts… thank God. Both kidneys are still there."
I got up, turned off the shower, and searched for clothes. Only then did I notice the mirror — and my heart raced.
What I saw wasn't quite me. Something was different. Examining the body, I noticed scars I never had and missing ones that should've been there. A chill ran down my spine as I dressed, confused and apprehensive.
Suddenly, a crushing headache hit, overwhelming my mind. Memories flooded in — 25 years of them, all at once.
My nose and eyes bled, and my consciousness began to fade.
In the confusion, something emerged — I don't know what it was — but my mind instinctively activated it.
As soon as it activated, my mind, which felt like it was breaking, suddenly cleared, and all my pain vanished.
"What kind of magic is this?" — I stared at my shirt, frozen in midair as it should've been falling… everything had stopped moving.
"Did I stop time? A sense of clarity and control washed over me." — In this state, I searched the memories for answers, and what nearly killed me before was easily resolved.
That's when I realized the truth: this body wasn't mine. It belonged to another me, from a different reality. Both orphans, but while I was adopted and had a chance to study, he was rejected and forced to work young. Two Alexes, distinct lives, now sharing one body.
He slipped in the shower and hit his head… that's why I appeared here, in his place.
"The other Alex must've died, and I replaced him, but I was just eating my burger, not in an accident or hit by a truck. So why did I transmigrate?" — As I asked, whatever was sustaining this state tried to respond.
Then it kicked in. A shiver ran through me. In the mirror, my once-respectable belly began to shrink. I realized: 'it' was consuming me.
"Shit… stop! Cancel!" — I tried every command, but nothing worked. In my panic, an idea hit: what if it didn't work because there was no interface?
So, I created a mental interface for it, and it responded.
[Name: Alex Benjamin
[Anti-Entropy ([Ordo])]: Consumes energy to reduce informational chaos, turning chaos into knowledge.
[Zen Mode]: With Ordo's aid, enters a low-chaos mental state, maintaining focus and clarity at a constant energy cost.
[Edit]: With Ordo's aid, enables modification of Alex Benjamin.]
I edited my consciousness, named it, created an interface with controls, and built a system around it, calling it [Anti-Entropy], or Ordo for short.
"Cancel." — It worked, but the damage was done. In the mirror, my once-healthy body now looked like someone who hadn't eaten in days.
I saw the problem: my body was in shambles. "In Zen Mode, my mind is clear, and time practically stops. I don't know how long I can sustain this… better call for help before it runs out."
I tried to move to get help, but nothing responded. My vision stayed fixed; my body didn't budge. I was frozen…
"Only one solution: turn off Zen Mode and call for help."
"Will I make it?" — I looked at my frail body, head bleeding, limbs like twigs.
"I have to exit Zen Mode and call emergency services fast. From the other Alex's memories, the phone's in the pants." — I took a deep mental breath and turned off Zen Mode.
When it stopped, I felt hell: a hangover ten thousand times worse than any before, paired with the worst headache, though it didn't outdo the hunger and pain spreading through my body.
With sheer willpower, I moved. Despite every muscle protesting, I turned, reached the phone, and pressed the emergency button. Then… I blacked out.
— Sigh.
I woke up in the hospital. Two months of hospitalization and rehab followed. They said if the ambulance had been two minutes later, I wouldn't have survived.
Looking at my fragile, broken body and negative bank account, I felt the full weight of the disaster. Two months without work, hospital and rehab bills — now both my body and finances were wrecked.
— Sigh.
"Alex!" — The manager's harsh voice snapped me out of my thoughts. — "What are you doing standing there, daydreaming? Go fry the meat; it's a busy day!"