บท 100: To know all that know thee
I just watched Cyberpunk Edgerunners.
I felt a part of myself die after finishing it.
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Huff! Huff! Huff!
The sound of shallow breaths tore through the thick overcoat of humidness of the morning. A rhythmic tap of feet accompanied the sound as a man ran down a long strip of road.
The road was broken in random places. Various holes marred the surface of the asphalt and metallic monolithic jut out of the ground.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
The man continued to run beyond the road, his legs paining beyond anything he had experienced. His muscles felt as if they were on fire, his lungs pained like they would rip themselves apart and his heart continued to beat like it would jump out of his chest.
His vision was blurry, yet he continued to run.
And then, as he reached the point where the asphalt merged into dirt and the road ended, leaving only barren soil to tread upon, he stopped.
Huff! Huff!
His shallow breaths turned deeper, his muscles greedily sucking in the oxygen.
And then, a single tear fell from his eye.
He fell upon his knees and crouched over, slamming his balled fist into the ground.
Huff! Huff!
Still, he laid huffing.
And then, a God appeared before him.
Shaaaaaaaaaaa!
A brilliant light. One that blinded the eye.
His eyes wanted to close. Yet he refused to do so.
Looking upon the Almighty God, a pained groan escaped his lips.
"Why? God?" He asked.
The God stared at him without a word.
"Why did she have to die?" He asked again.
The God continued with his silence.
"Why not me? Why her?" Again, he inquired.
The God met his gaze, the slit on his head widening to display a blue eye.
The staff in his hand pointed upwards.
"If you wish to find the answer, go up." He said. "Everything in the world is up there. Anything you desire can be attained."
The man stopped.
His thoughts were a mystery. But then, he shook his head.
"No." He said. "I won't climb the tower."
And so, the God gave him a disappointed nod and disappeared in a burst of light.
~~~
Man... that was quite an old memory. Theolis thought as he got off the bed.
He brushed his hand through his hair which had turned half red at this point.
He looked at the circular clock that hung on one of the walls and sighed.
It was another day.
And along would come more problems for him to face.
The white dwarf beside him had gotten increasingly stranger after the encounter with the machine god. It was the closest Theolis had been to dying... Well, not closest, but seeing hundreds of kilometers being reduced to scorched earth of lava and flames was pretty shaking to say the least.
But after that incident, the White Dwarf's behaviour was... odd.
He seemed on edge. As if a deep rooted paranoia was gnawing at him from the inside. There would be instances where he would simply be looking into the air without speaking for hours. When asked about it, he only replied with a short, 'Fate is being tampered with.'
It was certainly ominous, but it was also something he was secretly happy for. Maybe he would actually get a rest from the machinations of the suicidal maniac.
All things considered, Theolis was not sure what he brought to the table when they were trying to pursue such a strong character. Winston Heath was a monster in all but name. He wasn't someone the likes of him could face.
Even with his now frightening abilities, he could only comfortably take on C ranked regulars. Fighting a ranker, much less someone ranked in the top 400 of the tower was nothing short of a day-dream.
He sighed and stared at himself in the mirror. Unlike the other mornings, he was naked from the waist up. His now chiseled physique appeared all the more prominent with the soft sunlight filtering through the windows.
Around his neck was a golden chain which extended up to his heart and held a small orb at the bottom.
It was something that was always hidden under his clothes, unknown to anyone.
His eyes held a hint of melancholy before he shook his head and opened up the messages in his pocket out of habit.
However, his eyes quickly widened in surprise as he saw a message from his friend white dwarf.
Samuel Helmons: I'll be going away for today. Do whatever you want, I don't really care.
Theolis stood still for a moment before a small smirk bloomed on his face.
"Hell Yeah!" He screamed out.
"Well aren't you cheerful." Just then, a voice came from behind me. One that chilled him to the bone.
He froze, not out of fear or shock, but because he was forced to.
The pressure on his body was unlike anything he had ever felt. He could not move. He could barely even breathe.
No, pressure wasn't the right word. It was something internal. His body itself refused to listen to his commands as if it were frozen in time.
Through shallow breaths, he managed to squeeze out a few words.
"W-who... are you?"
"Aw. That breaks my heart. You don't recognize the person you've been trying to hunt down all this time?"
A tremor of terror rang through his spine and his eyes shrunk into needles.
Fear. And more than that, dread began to creep into his veins.
What the hell is he doing here? How did he even find me?
"Finding you wasn't the hard part really. It was getting aware of your existence." The voice said with a chuckle. Theolis stayed quiet, now, even his mind entering a state of inertness.
The figure behind him laughed heartily and said, "Now now, no need to be so wary. I wasn't even in the knowhow of there being a group targeted to hunting me down. Even if the sole members of that group are 2 regulars."
Theolis stood still for a moment. Not that he could move anyway.
"What have you done to me?" He said, feeling his jaw lighten up.
"Nothing much." The voice said, not caring to elaborate.
"Will you kill me?"
"Nah." The response was quick, but it made Theolis feel at ease. "I've already seen through all of the happenings in your life. Quite a pathetic existence you are." For a moment, Theolis felt as if the future behind him was truly feeling sorry for him. The words and tone he had used conveyed such transcendent feelings of pity that he himself was left baffled.
"Don't feel too bad about it." He said with conviction. And as he felt the limits on his movements recede, he clenched the orb that hung at his heart and turned around.
"I'll be sure to bring them back when I get to the top."
As he turned, he met the eyes of a young looking man. Though it was anyone's guess what his real age was. One couldn't tell on the tower.
He had dark black hair and similarly dark eyes. His face was what one could describe to be handsome. Yet his gaze carried a dangerous edge.
He wore a standard gentlemanly suit with a tailcoat and a half top hat. In his left hand, he held a wooden cane with a silver laid handle and on his right, he held what looked to be a suspendium pocket watch.
The man, Winston Heath in all his glory opened the pocket watch and with his compassion filled eyes, he again looked at him.
"You are aware that there is logically no way to get to the very top correct? The Jahad Empire permits entry only upto the 134th floor. The door to enter beyond is opened by a key lost to time." He said.
Theolis stood his ground and met his eyes. Although everything about him seemed non threatening and prompted him to be relaxed, it only made him feel more nervous.
Is it a spell?
"Hardly." Winston replied. "Spells, as they are, are hard to master. They do come from the incomplete side of the world." He smiled. "As such, having a spell that had such a simple effect as making me appear non threatening would be a waste of resources."
Theolis again went into overdrive, clearing his mind of all thoughts so that nothing would escape from him.
Winston snickered at his attempts.
"Now now, I won't harm you. I already have most of the information I needed." Winston said simply. He shrugged his shoulders and spoke, "Your head could split open right now and I wouldn't bat an eye. You have nothing to do with what the White Dwarf has done or wants to do. In fact, you seem almost pitiful."
Theolis nodded.
"But. That doesn't mean you have no use at all." Winston smirked. He extended his hand to Theolis' face and said, "You'll make an excellent double agent." And then, he snapped his fingers.
~~~
Huff!
Theolis woke up, feeling an icy sensation at the back of his neck alongside a slight sense of deja vu.
Looking around a bit, he opened up his pocket out of habit, seeing an unread message from the White Dwarf.
"So he's away for today huh... How should I make the most of this?"
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A candlelight stayed between them both and they ate in the glistening light of the setting sun.
"This is quite romantic." Tiara said, eating the plethora of dishes that had appeared seemingly out of thin air.
They were still on the rooftop of the hotel. No one came to bother them, because Winston didn't want them to. There was, of course, the possibility of a fight breaking out at any point. And while he was confident he could seal the space, or steal her thoughts, or turn her into a marionette, or steal her abilities, or freeze her with shinsu or spells, or a lot of other things before she even had the thought to move, it never hurt to be safe.
"I hoped so." Winston said.
Tiara snickered.
"You've gotten more expressive after gaining humanity."
"And how can you compare?"
"I have gained in depth knowledge about you. I can know all that know me." Winston replied, casually revealing one of the broken abilities of the Visionary. Though, to be honest, he cared very little. Spreading more knowledge about the Visionary, regardless of what it was, or Winston in general would in turn make him more aware of the possessor of the knowledge.
Tiara's eyes widened in surprise before they returned.
"That's... overpowered."
"I know right?" Winston said, patting his chest with a smile. When it came to humility, Winston didn't make the list. He was quite a vain person, to be truthful.
The silence again filled the area.
After a couple of heartbeats, Winston broke the silence.
"Princess." He called out.
"Hmm?"
"May I ask, what is it that you desire?" He raised an eyebrow.
"What I desire?" Tiara held her chin in thought.
"Yes. I mean like, what is your dream? Your aspiration?" He asked.
Tiara narrowed her eyes for a moment.
Then, she met his eyes.
"If I had to say... I suppose I wish to see the top of the tower."
"The top of the tower? You mean the stars?"
"Not only that." Tiara smiled and shook her head. "I mean to say the entirety of it. What is it that lies at the top? Surrounded by stars and celestial bodies. The cosmos has always been a subject of speculation. I would love nothing more than to find out such a mystery."
Winston nodded knowingly.
It was not her writing that compelled such a wish. Although it had a small role in it. Gustang, as he had come to find out, was also someone that yearned for the stars. And that was reflected in his writing too.
But this wish wasn't the by product of that.
This was a genuine desire of the woman in front of him.
Winston smiled. Tiara was evolving. Not long after humanity had been given to her, she was already starting to have her own thoughts and dreams, ones that were dictated solely by her writing.
"Well, cheers to that." Winston raised the wine glass in his hand, and she too did so.
Cling!
The soft chime of the glasses touching rang in the air.
And at that time, the door to the top floor opened up.
"Hey, Winsto-" Zarhan spoke. But then stopped.
He stood in silence for a few moments, his eyes alternating between Winston and Tiara.
"Oh. I didn't know you found yourself a girlfriend too!" He gave him a thumbs up.
"Good luck! And enjoy your date!"
With that, he disappeared back through the door.
Tiara, contrary to Winston's expectations laughed cheerfully.
"Well, don't you have some loud friends." Her laugh was genuine. If it was her before she was given humanity, she would have no doubt been angered by such a claim.
"The best." Winston returned her smile.
And so, they continued to eat amid the setting sun.
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A/N: I got bored so I wrote this anyway. I wasn't going to upload as per the announcement, but one of my bros told me to, so here ya go.
Anyways, WE REACHED CHAPTER 100 BOYS!!! LETS GOOOOO!!!!
This is the first time any of my stories has gotten to chapter 100, so thanks to everyone that has stuck with the story until now. It wasn't a long journey, but it takes trust in a story to stick with it until chapter 100.
In celebration, I implore you to write a review. Or you know, wait until the end of volume 2. I hold absolute confidence that most of you will write a review after reading the ending chapter.
Throw some stones.
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