Chapter 1403 (2/2)

Some part of Randidly felt sorry he hadn’t tried harder to help his former friend, but Sydney’s words rang true. You were a weaker man than I thought, Ace.

Randidly sighed.

Although some part of Randidly knew it was very dumb, and a waste of mental energy, he raised his right hand and brought the rope bracelet on his wrist to his lips. The Dreamcatcher of the Long Night unfolded itself, creating a complex three-dimensional amalgamation of geometric shapes that floated in the air in front of him. Then Randidly flowed into the Dreamcatcher and touched on a memory from long, long ago.

His perspective flickered. Colors around him melted and spun like he was falling into a surrealist painting. And suddenly he was standing on pavement, the sun sinking behind low clouds and dyeing the surrounding sky pink above him. He raised his hands and caught the basketball thrown at him.

Yet despite everything else, what made Randidly the most uncomfortable was the fact that he was wearing sneakers.

Ace grinned over at Randidly and put his hands on his hips. “Tied at 8, first to 12 wins. Are you ready to know what’s riding on this game?”

Randidly smiled back, but something must have shown in his expression. After seeing blood flowing out of the broken helmet, suddenly seeing this version of Ace was too much for Randidly to stand.

Instantly, Ace shed his cocky demeanor and looked at Randidly with a look of genuine concern. His face was unlined. He looked so young. His hands had never been stained with blood. “Hey, you alright? Look, it’s not a big deal… I’m not gonna ask you for money or anything… there is just a question I want to have answered. Answered honestly.”

“...how about this,” Randidly said with a shake of his head. While dribbling the ball with his left hand, he reached up and pressed the tips of his pointer finger and thumb against his eyes. When he pulled them away, he took away any gathering moisture in his eyes. His gaze was clear and focused, even though his lack of mental energy made him slightly dizzy. “Let’s agree the bet is to answer a question. When we get ten points… we can ask that question. First to get twelve gets the answer he’s been waiting for. An honest answer.”

In the original memory, Randidly had been slightly afraid of what they were betting, so he had told Ace to wait until they found out who was the winner. Ace and Randidly had been best friends for almost a year at this point. Ace and Sydney had started dating already, and the fact that Randidly and Sydney knew each other from childhood was a subject that they had often danced around.

Because recently, Sydney had been acting strangely. As her disease aggressively spread, she needed to head to the hospital for more treatments. Randidly had only recently learned of it at this time, but Ace had already known something was up. There were still seven months remaining until the System arrived.

In this situation all those years ago, Randidly had lost the bet to Ace; Randidly was never very good at basketball. And when Ace had asked Randidly his question… Randidly had lied. Although Ace hadn’t said anything at that time, on the old basketball court behind the dorm… the beginnings of the stress on their friendship could be traced back to that lie.

But now, reliving the moment, Randidly smiled at the young and pure Ace in front of him. Then he stepped forward and shot the ball immediately. He missed, purposefully, and Ace hopped up to grab the rebound. Laughing, Ace dribbled around to half-court and then turned back toward the basket. “Trying to catch me unawares, huh? You always were shit at three-pointers. But now I’m wondering what question you have for me…”

Randidly didn’t bother to answer. He just tilted his head at Ace and beckoned for his now-best friend to come at him. Snorting, Ace raced forward. In their current bodies, Ace was an inch taller than Randidly and probably had thirty pounds of muscle on him. So he charged forward aggressively, trying to use his size to push Randidly back.

Of course, the current Randidly’s abilities had come from the present into the memory. So he had to be exceptionally careful to not touch Ace, lest he inflict serious injuries on him. Which was one more damned drain on his mental energy that he didn’t need. But he also didn’t want Ace to think he was letting him win; in the original memory, Randidly had struggled to stop him from scoring, out of fear of what he would ask.

The further Randidly deviated from the original memory, the more mental energy he would expend. And in Randidly’s current state, every bit of mental energy counted. Already, he could feel himself running out of gas to stay in the Fatepiece.

Yet… what do I want to ask Ace…? Randidly wondered. He had come into the Dreamcatcher… well, because he didn’t know what to say to his former best friend. He felt so distant to him, now. And after seeing the way that people like Decklan Hyde had been tortured and twisted by their emotions… Randidly wanted to be able to say something that could reach Ace. So he came here, to look.

But what question would give him that insight?

As Randidly had intended, Ace scored and got his chance to ask the question in his heart first. “Did you love Sydney?”

The past-Randidly had been frozen by this question. It was phrased in the past tense, but he had heard the phantom of the present tense lurking in the question. So at the time, he had lied. He had said no.

But the current Randidly just chuckled. It was fall in the memory and the wind rustled falling leaves on the ground. Huge piles had been raked up next to the basketball court, with the surface layer of leaves being steadily blown onto the concrete ground. His skin tingled with the chill of the night air. Overhead, the pinks darkened to maroons while half of the sky sank into the navy-blue of the deep night. “...at the time, I thought I did. But now I’m not sure anymore.”

That made Ace freeze as Randidly dribbled back up to midcourt. Even the act of not popping the basketball took a little bit of mental effort. Obviously, he hadn’t expected Randidly to answer immediately. Not until he scored again. His gaze on Randidly revealed the jealousy that he felt, even then, toward Sydney. But still, he forced himself to smile as Randidly walked forward with the ball. “What do you mean you aren’t sure? Love is love. It takes a lot of forms, but if you felt it at all, I just wanted to know.”

Randidly shot again from only a few steps beyond half court. But with his high Stats, the ball passed cleanly through the basket without any trouble. Swish.

Again, after watching the ball arc cleanly through the air and enter cleanly into the hoop, Ace froze. Then he shook his head in mock disgust as he jogged over to the ball that settled into one of the piles of leaves. “Well, even a blind squirrel can will score every once in a while. So what’s your question?”

Randidly’s mental energy was almost completely gone. Instead of asking a question, however, he spoke to Ace’s previous statement. “Love isn’t just love. Emotions are complex. Love… was a part of what I felt for Sydney. But it was also… obsession. And yearning. And a sense of loneliness I couldn't shake. I don’t think… the percentage of love in what I felt for her was very high. Especially compared… to what I feel now toward… Heh. Honestly, Ace, if it’s just any sort of love… toward you...”

Yet even now, knowing how all this ends... I'm dancing around the issue. Is it really so hard for me to just say I love someone...? Randidly let that thought trail off, but his mind shifted to Vualla. Of her determination and certainty. Of the way she rolled her eyes and the color of her hair. Her strength and her sad smile on the night that they met.

Ace looked at Randidly for a long time. “...thanks for being honest. I was worried… well, whatever. But what the hell is this?!? You have a crush and you haven’t told me? Is she in your psych elective? Damnit, what’s her name and when can I meet her?”

Randidly’s head was beginning to throb from freely using the pinch of mental energy he had been able to recover. The trembling had come back. Luckily, Ace’s sudden explosion of questions let Randidly walk up to defend him. And when Randidly didn’t reply, Ace laughed. “Hey, don’t be like this. I promise I won’t steal your crush this time.”

You always were such a dick… but you’d really do anything you could to help. Randidly thought as looked at Ace and truly saw him. You would just never stop yourself from hurting me.

Then Randidly took a single step forward, almost effortlessly taking the ball from Ace’s hands. This version of Ace was just a normal human being, with no System help. By the time Ace had spun around in horror, Randidly had already shot. Swish again.

“What’s your dream, Ace?” Randidly asked urgently. The whole world was trembling around him as his mental energy once more hit rock bottom. He needed something. “What do you want to be, more than anything else?”

“That’s your question?” Ace said in shock. Then he shrugged. A strange hesitation kept him silent for a second that felt agonizing to the strained Randidly, but he finally answered. “I don’t think I’ve ever said this out loud… but I kinda just want to be a dad. You know? One that just… is there. Ooo, and one that has a grill-”

Randidly left the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night. Back in the real world, he swayed and almost fainted. But after biting his tongue, he managed to stay on his feet. His hazy vision gradually settled on Ace.

Ace was still cackling. He was bleeding and his face was completely covered. His left arm… the muscle finally ripped and the limb plopped onto the ground. “As long as this egg hatches… all of you…. All of this… hehehehahaha!!”

The answer he had found in the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night did not give Randidly any epiphanies. In the end, it just made him sad. Sad for the reckless and proud young man that Ace had been. So instead of the current Ace in front of him, Randidly spoke to the Ace he never had the nerve to be honest with in the past.

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Randidly said to Ace with an honesty, he was embarrassed to admit, was impossible for him even in a conjured memory. “I loved Sydney, even then. You were right to be jealous.”

Congratulations! Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 64!

…

Congratulations! Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 71!

Sydney gave Randidly a long look that he didn’t return after he spoke. Ace continued to cackle and stumble forward, almost tripping over his own bloody forearm; it was like he didn’t even hear Randidly’s apology. But really, saying the truth out loud was all Randidly could do. He couldn’t force the other party to listen.

Sydney sighed and raised her hands. That flowing mammal raised its head and chirped. A bolt of lightning smote the air and impacted Ace’s chest. He twitched for fully two seconds, frost slowly condensing on his body. Then he collapsed forward and the blood infected images hovering around him dispersed. Without his energy aggravating it, the energy around the blood egg slowly calmed down. Those mouths closed unhappily.

Randidly shook his head.