Chapter 203 (2/2)

A weapon.

Randidly came back to himself, breathing heavily. Shaking, he sat down, hating the weakness, but in that moment, he abruptly felt it, the difference between them. Eons of time, power, and knowledge. This creature… he had known that it was indeed far beyond him, but it was impossible to understand the breadth of that difference until you were brought face to face with it.

The creature laughed softly, but said nothing. Randidly swore to himself that someday, he too would hold that level of power. For the moment, however, he simply got himself up and looked at the creature.

“I don’t trust you.”

It shrugged. “You are a small flower, freshly bloomed, and still far from being fully grown. Is it  any surprise that you do not trust a gardener? That you do not understand the use of a spade? I have guided you to this point, why do you now lose your nerve?”

“What you say seems impossible,” Randidly began slowly, but she smoothly interjected.

“Did not all of what you have experienced since the System arrived seem impossible before?”

“That’s not the point-”

“The point is you don’t have a choice.” The creature said coolly.

Randidly ground his teeth, but said nothing. He withdrew slightly, considering. It was foolish to talk overmuch with this strange thing to begin with, especially when it had such power and was inside of his soul already. It was practically coexisting with his thoughts.

Her power was clearly beyond him, perhaps even at the level to accomplish what she promised. Creating a space where humanity could exist, outside of the System, hiding in plain sight. Was that not something that he desired? To be freed from the mandate of the system? To not have the threat of monsters hanging over their head constantly? For Donnyton to return to being a normal town, with normal people and normal places…

I hated it.

Randidly’s hand tightened to fists and he bit his lip. That unbidden thought that rose to the surface was true. His life before… he was a bland person, sleepwalking more than living. He was extremely socially awkward, and was able to coast through life on societal expectations and imitation, never filling his lungs with a true breath of fresh air. And every second was as though he was living in a fog, and he felt powerless and bitter. Even his friends… They were…

Ace…. Sydney….

Strangely, in that moment, their faces sprung to his consciousness, clear and fresh. Ace with his hair shaven, kept short, his body tall and comprised of lean muscle. His eyes were grey and his easy smile was constant. Sydney her eyeshadow thick and vivid, short hair to her chin, the roots dyed black, the rest of the hair a vivid teal. Never shocked, never phased, just looking at him with her unearthly yellow eyes.

There would be no way of ever knowing for sure, but Randidly felt that they had died in the aftermath of the System’s arrival. Sure, the System had forced him out of himself, growing to feel like a real person, but it had done so at the cost of death. At the cost of Ace and Sydney.

He would trade his growth for the presence of his friends… wouldn’t he…?

And even if he didn’t, it was on the scale of an entire population, it wasn’t just his friends that he would be saving. If it was possible, he had a responsibility-

Strangely, Shal’s voice echoed in his head, unbidden. ‘You are yet weak, don’t overcomplicate things. If you have spare time to think of extra things, we perhaps need more training such as this.’

It had been said to him by Shal, as he attempted to expand his Inevitable Phantom Arrives even further, adding more power. It had been a reminder that even the best and most talented spear user, or the most common man, can only be one thing at a time. Steps were only a single foot’s length apart, but they could eventually devour impossible distances.

People had died sure, but hiding now wouldn’t change anything. It would simply be running away. And based on what the creature had said, there was a being even more monstrous at the center of the Nexus, and hiding would just allow its influence to spread further. If it ever found them… if, as Randidly expected, this creature was one of the things the being was looking for...

But really, the unwillingness in Randidly’s chest came from two very simple facts: He didn’t trust the creature, and he didn’t negotiate with terrorists.

He would refuse to deal with those who wouldn’t treat him with respect.