17 Book 3 Chapter 13 (1/2)

Everyone's eyes were on Jason as he suddenly faced the most difficult decision in his life. Although he imagined this scenario countless times before, now that the moment had finally arrived, conflicting emotions made his resolve waver. Hesitation, anxiety, nervousness, unease, hope, anticipation.

Jason was the only thing giving humanity a fighting chance. Because of that, any decision he made could cause things to spiral out of control. Everyday he had the same thought: were all his choices up to this point helpful? Or did it make things worse? Not knowing the answer was more stressful than even the death of his father.

Only social gatherings and training distracted him from the nightmares that plagued him at night. The weight of his burden was heavy, oh so heavy. Many times he almost divulged his secret, only to make excuses like the risk was too high or that he wasn't strong enough. But could he say the same even now?

No.

Now he had the strength to defend himself, and more importantly, people he trusted.

Shenlong, Zhen Hu, Ebba, Amara, Dubaku, Peter, Carly, Cheslov, Olivia, and Roy. Jason could confidently leave his back to them in battle. The chaotic emotions vanished, leaving only doubt behind. Would they trust him?

Jason glanced over his allies before locking eyes with Shenlong. Over the next several minutes, he summarized the last years of humanity, the final battle, and his 'reward'. At first he narrated everything like a bystander, but as he poured his heart out, one tear after the other fell.

Everyone besides Shenlong, Cheslov, Olivia, and Roy were doubtful. The only expressionless one was Shenlong, his thoughts unknown.

”...and that's why my alias Index and I know so much.” Jason finished as a feeling of tranquility filled his soul.

Jason's story was shocking, and yet everything was too elaborate to be fake. For a while no one responded, until finally Amara snorted. ”Nice prank.”

Jason turned to Amara and slowly said one word after the other. ”Rebirth. Of. The.-”

”STOP!” Amara interrupted. Horror, but more so shock, covered her face.

”Rebirth of the?” Peter glanced between Jason and Amara. ”What does that mean?”

”A skill.” Shenlong answered first. ”Most likely a deep secret of hers that only Jason would know if his words are true.”

Zhen Hu and Dubaku tensed and stared at Jason cautiously. Only when Dubaku remembered his private conversation with Index did he relax.

”Jason.” Shenlong narrowed his eyes. ”If you can say everything about a skill I've never revealed, then I'll believe you.”

”In front of everyone?” Jason raised an eyebrow, delighted and concerned at the same time.

Jason was relieved. If Shenlong was on his side, then he felt like everything would turn out alright. As such, he said. ”Absolute Domain, a custom passive skill awarded from the arena challenge. You intuitively know everything about your surroundings. Distance is based on level.”

Shenlong's face drained of color as he clutched his chest. Zhen Hu, seeing his master's abrupt change, rushed over. ”Are you alright? What's wrong?”

Shenlong took a moment to calm his heart before he glanced over everyone with a pained expression. ”How can I be the only one to feel this grief, this loss?” He laughed bitterly. ”How naive was I? To think I could reap the benefits the tower provided without consequence. What greed! What selfishness!”

”Master, you're too harsh on yourself.” Zhen Hu consoled, shocked that the person he respected so much looked so vulnerable.

Amara bit her lip. ”Shenlong, you actually believe him?”

”What if he is just using an unknown inspect skill?” Ebba asked.

”No.” Shenlong shook his head. ”He knew where I acquired it. Would an inspect skill know that?”

”Doubtful.” Peter remarked with folded arms.

Amara finally snapped. ”So what? We're all going to die? I refuse to accept that!”

”N-no, you're w-w-wrong.” Carly directly refuted Amara. ”H-he's only been in the tower for less than a year in this t-timeline right?”

Amara glared at Carly, causing her to hide behind Peter.

Peter coughed. ”I think what she's saying is, if Jason used his foreknowledge to reach our level in less than a year, what if he shared everything with us? Wouldn't our strength skyrocket as well?”

”She's right. How foolish of me to fall into despair so easily.” Shenlong was renewed with confidence as he turned to Jason. ”Will you take over as party leader?”

Jason grew solemn and looked over his companions. Only when he saw no objections did he nod. ”I understand what we must do.”

At that moment, Roy, Olivia, and Cheslov approached Jason with tense expressions. ”Uh, we're sorry.”