Chapter 798 (1/2)
With deliberate steps, Randidly ascended the long staircase toward the surface of the ship. The return trip went much more quickly than the descent. Without any of the confusion and uncertainty, the stairwell was a smooth ride.
“Like all the stories of my generation, it is a story of love.” The Oracle had whispered. “We were demigods, descended upon Tellus. Chosen by the System to represent two sides. The side that sought to help Tellus ascend. And the side that sought to allow Tellus to descend into chaos.”
“...You were the Champions and the Nemesai,” Randidly had said slowly as recognition dawned in his eyes. He licked his lips in shock. “You ARE one of those two beings, even now. That’s why you are so old. And why you feel so… different.”
The Oracle’s crystalline eyes flashed. “Heh, you are smarter than you look. You know the old words. That will make things easier. Yes, we were the Chosen, descending from higher Cohorts to assist with Tellus. This… influence I now have is a remnant of that. I am bound, descending to a lower cohort. But what you feel is part of my true power bleeding through the bonds of the System… it truly has been so long…Even the System ages, boy. The bonds grow weaker. Time will claim us all...”
After trailing off for several seconds, the Oracle looked up sharply. “Now, Mr. Ghosthound, can you answer me this: why do the Chosen choose to descend to a lower Cohort?”
Randidly opened his mouth to guess but then frowned. Based on the way the System operated… the grandest manipulator of them all. It would threaten first and then offer a carrot while treating it as a favor.
As he reached the deck of the ship, Randidly passed the stump of the burnt out candle to the old man, who took it stiffly. “I trust the discussions below went well, Mr. Ghosthound.”
“We disagree on methods. There isn’t anything more to talk about.” Randidly said with a sharp look. He walked to the edge of the deck and dropped onto his waiting longboat below.
As he landed, the many ship captains hopped from boat to boat to see what had happened. All knew of the Oracle, and they were delighted to find out that the Oracle herself came out to support their expedition. Randidly could see in their expressions that it filled them with hope. That they were energized the presence.
Yet Randidly now felt plagued by questions.
“Understandable. That you would mistake that the System steals us based on aptitude. Your mistake is because you are missing a very obvious assumption about those that are Chosen.” The child-Oracle had stood and performed a little curtsy. “We Chosen… we all come from worlds that failed the third Calamity. The System has deemed our worlds to have no further use. Capable, but that isn’t enough for the System any longer. The very planet we live on rots beneath our feet. Coming to a lower Cohort and fighting is not for our own sake, but for the sake of our entire world.
“It is the only way we can obtain life energy for our world.”
“So what next?” Platton finally asked. The group of captains had gathered around Randidly and waited impatiently as he contemplated.
“What do you mean?” Randidly asked lightly. He turned and looked up at the looming ship above them. “We continue on toward the Death School.”
“So what happened?” Randidly had asked.
“There is a task before the First Calamity. You are forced to… name the world. Ha, to think the System still insists that the sharing of information be taboo. Well, it is more complicated than that, but for our purposes, it doesn’t matter. We had eight Champions and eight Nemesai. Fighting to control… the factors necessary to complete this first task.
“You must also understand that our worlds were well aware of what was coming. A hundred years prior to descending to the lower cohorts, we had been found wanting by the third Calamity. Even I don’t know the details, but each world was broken in a way… Life slowly died. Dungeons were inert. Monsters disappeared. Crops slowly failed…
“Then a notification appears, offering a Path to salvation: in twenty years time, the System will require a Chosen. Should they succeed in their task, the world will be granted a measure of respite for their world. Not the thick and rich life energy of when the world was being tested, but… enough.
“So each chosen was carefully picked and trained. At least in my world, it was a bloody business. We might have been traditionally peace-loving and nature-focused people, but… one hundred years of watching your world die changes you. I killed thousands to seize my spot, and I was proud. Oh so proud…”
Randidly had suppressed his impatience as the Oracle’s explanation wandered, even as he wondered if this story could be believed. But it sounded like how the System operated. So he had waited while the Oracle gathered her thoughts.