Chapter 1509 Unworthy of Concern
Gunfire echoed everywhere, punctuated by the thunderous boom of artillery shells. The air hung heavy with smoke and dust.
Mario made a sudden dash toward the heart of the explosions, flames spreading in his wake. He moved like a man who never intended to return.
Raymond set Selena safely aside and strode forward in powerful steps, grabbing Mario's shoulder with a firm grip. "I don't care if you die, but I won't let Christopher die!" he growled.
Mario slapped Raymond's hand away and attempted to kick him in the stomach, but Raymond's reflexes were too sharp—he dodged with practiced ease.
Mario's chest heaved violently, his fingertips trembling. "Raymond, do you know what memories I have in here?"
He tapped his temple, his eyes bloodshot. "Besides Christopher's memories, I have yours! You climbing trees at five, earning commendations in the military at fifteen, your arguments with Christopher, and fragments of Christopher's suffering. The more traumatic memories have been subconsciously blocked—I only received this much. Christopher always claimed I was a personality catalyzed by those researchers at the facility. I never believed him. I always felt I had a name of my own. I searched and searched, and how laughable—the memories I recalled were from your perspective!"
"What are you saying?" Raymond's voice was tense.
"Isn't it obvious? Someone copied a fragment of your memories and implanted them in Christopher's mind. I'm not Mario, I'm not Christopher, and I'm certainly not you. So who am I? Can someone please tell me who the hell I am?" His voice cracked with desperation. "I'm nobody—worse, I don't even know why I exist. While you're alive, I'm nothing but a counterfeit—not even that! I've wanted to kill you and Selena, but Christopher's memories make me soft toward you both. The most ridiculous part? I can't distinguish whether my feelings for Selena stem from Christopher or from you, Raymond. I'm nobody, so why should I bear such complicated emotions? You should all just die!"
After his outburst, Mario's chest continued to rise and fall rapidly, his gaze drifting to Selena leaning against the car in the distance. An inexplicable pain seized his heart—a humiliating pain.
He was nobody. Less than a tool. Not even entitled to feel concern.
During his moments of confusion, Selena's words had echoed repeatedly in his mind: "You really think you're Raymond?"
Of course. He merely possessed a fragment of memory. How pathetic he was, always pursuing the truth, only to find himself in such a humiliating position when he finally grasped it.
Could anyone be more pitiful than him? What purpose did his existence serve?
Christopher was supposed to return, but he had vanished, absent for what felt like an eternity.
Raymond stood silently. He had always believed Mario was simply a personality triggered by the research facility—those scientists wanting this personality to replace the disobedient Christopher for their own purposes.
He had never imagined they would copy a piece of his own memory. Was it really possible to duplicate something like that?
Apparently, those experiments involved transplanting one person's memories into another—trying to awaken them in a different body. The result: the subject could access both sets of memories, gaining the strengths of both people.
Raymond remembered being ambushed and left for dead in the wilderness, right after his military commendation. Mario's memories only spanned from age five to fifteen—probably the period when his memories were harvested.
Triggering alternate personalities wasn't the truly frightening part. What was truly terrifying was using copied memories to erase and replace someone entirely.
Christopher had been the only successful experimental subject years ago. Had there been others since then? Nobody knew.
Mario no longer wished to continue this pointless conversation. To him, his existence was a blemish—unwanted wherever he went. He was rootless, adrift, a hollow shadow of a person.
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