96 Contract #96

Surveying the vacant Mobius Chair, Micah's lips curled into a satisfied smile. The chair wasn't just a mere object; it was the spoils of his strategic prowess and the hurdles he had overcome.

Its capabilities were nothing short of awe-inspiring—time and space manipulation at a mere thought, sophisticated holographic projections for tactical advantage, and an impenetrable force field capable of containing even the most formidable foes.

"As much as I hate to admit it, this chair is worth all the trouble... maybe this is what my future self wanted in the first place?" Micah mused, his fingers tracing the intricate design of the chair's armrest.

The thought of his future self-engineering such a convoluted plan to secure the chair wasn't lost on him. Yet, there lingered a nagging question—why involve Metron in the elaborate scheme? If future Micah was as powerful as Metron suggested, why not claim the chair directly?

"Fuck... just thinking about the chronology of events is giving me a headache... this is such a pain in the ass," Micah muttered, massaging his temples as he pondered the perplexities of temporal manipulation.

The intricacies of cause and effect were enough to make anyone's head spin. In the first place, was he the original Micah? Was he the past Micah? Was he the present Micah?

Is his future self also his past? Is it a loop or a straight line? None of these questions really mattered or had any relevance, and yet Micah couldn't help but sink into the rabbit hole, his headache intensifying with every stray thought.

After a fruitless attempt to unravel the tangled web of his future self's intentions, Micah surrendered to the futility of the endeavor with a resigned exhale.

"Looks like I'll just have to have a chat with my future self and figure out what the hell he was thinking..." he muttered, shaking his head at the convoluted mess before him. "And with this thing at my disposal, tracking him down shouldn't be too hard," he added, giving the backrest of the Mobius Chair an affirming pat.

As his hand connected with the chair, a lifelike hologram materialized from within the armrest, revealing none other than Micah himself. However, this version appeared at least two decades older, clad in attire reminiscent of a sci-fi protagonist. Yet, it was the unmistakable smirk of smug mischief that set him apart.

"Greetings, my less evolved, inferior past self... may you live long and prosper..." the hologram began, executing a Stark Trek greeting that sent Micah's irritation levels skyrocketing.

Without hesitation, Micah swung a fist at the hologram, only to watch it pass through without effect.

The hologram grinned in response. "Just so you know, I won't feel a thing—it's a hologram," it taunted, relishing in Micah's futile gesture.

"Fucking smug bastard... what's your game?" Micah snapped, his annoyance palpable. "And what the hell is--" he added, scowling at his future self's calculated antics, only to be interrupted.

"Ah, hold your horses, hotshot. This is a pre-recorded message, so save your colorful language for someone who cares," the hologram interrupted, its tone dripping with superiority. "In any case, let's cut to the chase. I've got some explanation to do, and you'd do well to listen," it continued as if the one who recorded the message knew exactly how Micah would react.

"Now, you might be wondering why Metron of all people would show up at your doorstep and try to turn you into a guinea pig, and the answer is simple..." The hologram began, adopting an air of grandiosity. "It's a prank, orchestrated by yours truly!" it declared, spreading its arms wide in a theatrical gesture.

"A bloody prank?" Micah muttered incredulously, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"That's right—a bloody prank, nothing more and nothing less!" the hologram replied, its grin growing smug.

"You mean to tell me that you dragged me into all this chaos just for a laugh?" Micah snapped, his frustration palpable.

The hologram nodded gleefully. "You see, after so many years, there's very little left for me to do in this world... I've already defeated every opponent worth defeating and accomplished everything there is to accomplish," it explained.

"I'm planning to bid farewell to this world and find new fun elsewhere, but before I go, I wanted to pull off the ultimate prank—on myself!" it continued, its expression now filled with childlike excitement.

Micah's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "So, you concocted this entire scheme just to prank yourself?" he asked, struggling to wrap his head around the absurdity of the situation.

The hologram's smirk widened. "Indeed! I squeezed my brain for many a night on how to execute such a prank, considering the obvious hurdle that one can't prank oneself since they're aware of their own plan," it explained, its smirk growing into a grin that threatened to split its face.

"I thought about setting a plan into motion and then wiping a portion of my memory, or even creating a clone to deceive myself, but my keen senses and formidable psyche rendered such methods ineffective... That's when inspiration struck!" it exclaimed, punctuating its words with a hearty laugh.

"Instead of pranking myself, I'd prank a past version of myself, one with weaker senses, and here we are!" The hologram stated grandly. "A prank that transcends time and space! Spectacular, isn't it?" it added.

Micah couldn't help but palm his face for a moment before sighing. "Well, now that you put it this way... it does sound kinda cool," he admitted with a reluctant nod.

The hologram's smile widened at those words. "As expected of you, or should I say me? I knew you'd come around!" it said proudly.

Micah gave the hologram a skeptical look.

"Are you sure this is a prerecorded message?" he asked, suspicion creeping into his tone.

The hologram shrugged. "Yup, this is 100% a recorded message. I am, after all, you, so it's not hard for me to predict how you'd react," it replied confidently.

Micah let out an annoyed groan. "Whatever, I guess..." he muttered under his breath, trailing off at the end of his sentence. "Now spill it, other than this being a cosmic prank, what other purpose did you have?" he demanded.

The hologram nodded in satisfaction. "As expected of me! I knew I'd notice!" it said proudly, seemingly oblivious to Micah's annoyance.

"Other than pulling this prank simply for the sake of it, there are two reasons..." It stated, raising two fingers dramatically. "The first reason is the Mobius chair!" It continued.

Micah furrowed his brow at those words. "If you wanted the Mobius Chair so badly, why didn't you just take it?" he questioned, scratching his head in confusion. "Metron himself said he was no match for you..." he added.

The hologram put on a sheepish expression. "It's not that I didn't have the power to beat up Metron and take the chair... it's just that I wasn't able to," It confessed.

"You see, I made the mistake of messing with the one guy you shouldn't mess with in this world, and ended up signing the equivalent of a cosmic contract that restricts my actions..." It explained, its tone tinged with regret.

"The Presence, huh?" Micah said with a judgmental look. "Why mess with that guy of all people?" He asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm and gloating.

The hologram flashed a grin full of teeth. "Well, you know who likes to go around playing bartender from time to time?" It said, a chuckle escaping its lips. "Well, I figured it'd be a bright idea to raid his drink cabin... as it turns out, it wasn't..." it stated matter-of-factly.

Micah looked at the hologram blankly for a moment, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Do I really have to turn into this idiot in the future?" He muttered, quickly shaking away the stray thoughts after a brief pause. "And? What kind of terms did this contract of yours have?" He asked, his curiosity piqued.