Chapter 124: Voiceless Cry(End of the Arc) (1/2)

Far away from the path the king and his group took, Jake was well on his way to the Dark Forest.

He didn't know he was very lucky, as he chose a channel not close to the palace, inadvertently stopping any chance of him meeting the escaping group.

While holding a [Light Crystal] in his hand, Jake navigated his channel as he continued hearing tremors from above ground.

This further ascertained that he had made the right decision to leave the kingdom on time.

If he had stayed, he would have been caught in the crossfire and his fate would not be in his hand.

It was easy for him to abandon Aztec.

Quite frankly, it took nothing for him to leave.

Jake was born special. He had no idea of who his parent was, or who he actually was, but at least he understood himself a bit.

Unlike what most people usually thought when they see him, Jake had emotions, just that it was hard to invoke them.

If he didn't have them, he would be too rational and Jake was far from being rational when it came to his behavior.

So, he was able to possess little feelings for things he interacted with.

It wasn't a big deal to him. It was akin to a blessing.

People that possess emotion are usually bound to the target of their emotion, whether it be negative or positive.

It was not bad per se, but it also wasn't good. It sometimes demanded one's freedom and goals for the sake of the target of the emotion.

Sacrificing their lives for the survival of their loved ones.....

This was something Jake could not do. His goal was perfection, and he would rather die in his pursuit than die protecting someone that would still die in the future.

”Hmmm….” Jake stopped in his tracks.

He could hear a footstep getting closer to him.

Wanting to know who it was, he waited, but he didn't hide his [Light Crystal]. There was no need for that.

The tunnel was dark and the only source of light was on his hand. Hence, the stranger would have seen it a long time ago.

After the stranger came into his point of sight, Jake saw his full appearance.

It was a man with a bandaged arm, which screamed danger at him. The man had blood all around him, and Jake could tell that he was gravely injured.

The two of them looked at each other and a decisive mental battle ensued.

They seemed to possess like minds as they both thought of whether to kill the person in front of them.

Ultimately, they decided not to as they had no reason for that.

The man was the first to break the silence, ”Oh, a fellow Aztec citizen. It's nice to meet you. You can call me Talon ”

The man portrayed himself as a gentle soul, but Jake wasn't buying it.

'His clothes...the blood...and most of all, his bandaged arm,' analyzed Jake.

He could sense a familiar presence hidden in the bandaged arm. This could be discarded as a guess, but when he saw a stream of black blood trailing down the bandage, he understood the identity of the stranger called Talon.

'A zombie hybrid!' surmised Jake.

This was definitely not looking good for him, especially when he sensed a rich [Realm-3] cultivation base coming from the man.

This would mean that Talon is part of the mysterious organization.

Seeing him here, in the underground system, which the masked men were looking for, everything connected!

Talon was probably responsible for the chaos happening above, and his plans involved something buried underground.

Judging from his physical status, it was either his plans were thwarted or he had come out victoriously but sustained heavy injuries.

Either way, Jake could not defeat the man in front of him, despite the injuries.

He introduced himself briefly, ”The name's Jake.”

A conversation ensued afterward.

Talon responded, ”Oh, can you tell me what you are doing here?”

”Escaping, same as you,” Jake hinted.

He wanted no more, so he had made Talon think he was successfully fooled.

”Oh, why did you not stay and fight?” questioned Talon.

”Aztec is bound to lose,” replied Jake.

His reply gained the curiosity of Talon, and the man tried to recruit Jake, ”Tell you what, I'm going to a safe place. You can follow me.”

Not liking where the conversation was going, Jake distanced himself, ”I already have a destination in mind.”

”Oh, why do you reject? You will be safe where I'm going,” Talon offered again.

However, Jake did not like the notion.

He knew where Talon was heading to, probably the headquarter of the organization. Sure, it would be safe, but it would also not be safe.

He gave hints to Talon, ”I want nothing to do with both sides.”

Despite Aztec losing, it didn't mean that the organization was the final victor.

Listening to Jake, Talon smiled as he realized his identity had been deduced.

It also made him understand Jake's moral alignment. A complete neutral, who only acts when it concerns him.

It was a person like that that he wanted!

Understanding that the cards were up, Talon re-introduced himself, ”Haha, let start again. I'm Talon, the Second Evil, sub-head of the organization, Necro.”

He then got to the point, ”I invite you to our organization.”

”No,” replied Jake with his cold tone.

”No? Why? We, Necro, are on the winning side everywhere. You clearly know that you will have to pick a side, whether you want to or not. Isn't it better to pick a winning side? Plus, we can offer you a new source of power,” Reasoned Talon.

'Hmmmm. What he says is right, however, it's not finalized. Though, he implied that they were operating everywhere. So, I can imagine that this invasion is happening globally,' analyzed Jake.

He had not yet understood the full picture, so, he couldn't act.

Jake confessed the true reason he declined the invite, using ambiguous words, ”I seek perfection, and you are not perfect. You are unstable. Even though you are stable, you are unstable.”