Chương 12: Chapter 11 - Old Geezer

To commemorate the bonds they had forged, the townsfolk had orchestrated a grand celebration, a heartfelt tribute to their saviors.

"Long Live Mia!! Long Live the Darkaria!!" Chanting the crowd, while Mia was at the center of it all.

She had won the hearts of them all, each tongue had her name on it, each ear had heard her name, and she had become a champion of people.

"Hell Yea!! Louder!! Even louder!! The entire world should hear the name of Darkaria!!"

Shouted Mia with passion, enjoying herself to the fullest, being as energized as ever, while Ava still taking care of Agha.

Skin was simply continuing as usual, as if nothing had happened. He was drinking and enjoying himself with a couple of ladies, who thought he was a cute young boy.

Laughter, music, and merriment filled the air, a stark contrast to the quietude that usually enveloped the town.

Yet amidst the jubilation, one figure remained a solitary enigma.

Magnus, as was his nature, sat alone in a dimly lit bar, a glass of milk his sole companion.

The only other presence in this silent corner of the world was the old bartender, a man whose life had etched stories into the lines of his weathered face.

"Why only milk warrior? Do other drinks not suit your tastes?" Said the old man wondering why a grown man was drinking milk on an occasion of celebration.

"Mind your business old man..."

An awkward silence hung between them, a fragile web that the bartender sought to break.

"I heard you all are from different worlds, is that true?" he ventured, his curiosity outweighing his nervousness.

Magnus, usually terse and guarded, found himself caught off guard by the question. "Yeah, so?" he replied gruffly, his demeanor defiant. "Ya got a problem...?"

The bartender's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, undeterred by Magnus's initial coldness.

"Ever since I heard about you guys, I was waiting for the day I'd meet you," he confessed.

"I'm really curious about your worlds, what was yours like?" He released an immense pressure in excitement as if the old man was a seasoned warrior, as opposed to his looks.

Magnus's response was swift and sharp, irritation lacing his words. "Huh? Why would I tell ya, ya old bat? and why is a bartender like ya, giving off such strong pressure??"

In response, the bartender sighed and conveyed his disappointment with a glance that was both forlorn and endearing.

"You can feel it right!! It's my passion!! My burning desire to explore!! but well, if you don't want to... it's okay."

The bartender's innocent and curious eyes tugged at Magnus's reluctance, a silent plea that chipped away at his resolve.

"Fine... I'll tell ya," Magnus reluctantly yielded to the bartender's persistent curiosity.

The old man's eyes gleamed with anticipation, and he leaned in, ready to soak in every word.

Magnus began to unveil the worlds of their enigmatic group.

"Well, I don't know much about others," he began, his tone thoughtful.

"But from what I've observed, from the way Agha reacted after seeing that monster, his world seems to have an absence of monsters"

"It didn't seem like he had any experience dealing with monsters... I'd care less about how his world looks but..."

Magnus continues, "From my guess, it just seems to be a victim... a victim of sins of mankind, like any other place... Of course, this is just an assumption, I could be wrong."

As for his character, "I'd rather kill that bastard than talk about it... He's annoying and I hate people like him... But I must admit he got a warrior's spirit..."

Magnus further delved into his deductions,

The bartender was at an all-time high.

"As for Ava," he continued, his voice betraying a hint of admiration.

"Her world seems to be coexisting with mythical beings of some sort, this thought crossed my mind, due to the weird energy she gives off, it's bubbly, bright,t and annoying...."

"Considering her demeanor, it doesn't seem like there's much trouble on her side, or she's just a pampered princess and her world is dangerous"

"Though I must admit she does have her beauty going for her... Probably the only good thing about her, aside from being a healer..."

He paused for effect, a sly grin touching his lips.

"Mia's world... well, it's simply obvious... she's a dragon, and abnormally strong for a woman, could be more to her, but again I don't know."

As for the elusive member of their group, Magnus couldn't help but express his frustration.

"As for that bastard Skin, I can't gather a single hint about him at all. He's such a sly fox... Don't even make me think about it..."

The bartender listened with rapt attention, his eyes reflecting awe. "Amazing... deducing all that just by looking at people,"

he whispered in reverence, an admirer of Magnus's keen insight.

Magnus, ever the enigma, dismissed the bartender's awe with a modest shrug. "It's nothing special, just some basics"

He offered, downplaying his remarkable ability to discern the nuances of different worlds.

But curiosity was a powerful force, and the bartender's yearning to unravel the mysteries of Magnus's world was too intense to ignore.

He pressed on, his interest piqued, "What was your world like?"

With a distant look in his eyes, Magnus ventured into the haunting memories of his forsaken realm.

"My world?" he began, his voice heavy with the weight of his past. "I don't even want to remember it..."

"Hell... Literally and simply hell... Honestly, if I had come here a few years earlier, I would consider this place heaven"

As he recounted the relentless chaos and horrors that had defined his world, Magnus painted a grim picture.

"My world was built on continuous chaos. Mindless creatures, taller than mountains, and mindless giants, as well as monstrous humans..."

"It was all a mess. Nothing made sense there. Different races struggled to survive. Instead of coexisting, they killed and killed and killed."

But then, a glint of disappointment flickered in his eyes as he continued.

"I wanted to fix my world. That was my life's purpose, which was impossible. But I did end up finding an answer."

The bartender leaned in, eager to learn the secret that had transformed Magnus. "I wonder what your answer was," he inquired with a serious tone.

The drumbeats of the ongoing festival, the raucous celebration outside the confines of the bar, reached their ears as the world outside reveled in bliss.

Magnus's countenance turned cold and unyielding. "I realized only in death are we all equal... No matter what you do you can't fix everything..."

He declared, his words cutting through the festive sounds with chilling clarity.

"So why should I bother changing anything? I should be the priority, because in me is the cosmos... And in cosmos only I am..."

"Without me there's nothing and with me there's everything"

The bartender's spine shivered at the profound and unsettling revelation of Magnus's ideology.

Here was a man who had shifted his worldview, who had learned to find peace amid his chaotic realm by just being himself.

Setting aside the needless worries of the world, he had evolved into a relentless force, undisturbed by the turmoil of his world.

Slashing down adversaries, whether they were physical or the demons within.

In his world, where chaos reigned, Magnus had unearthed the semblance of tranquility.

In that twisted peace, the bartender glimpsed the indomitable spirit that defined the enigmatic man before him.

The old man's philosophical insights resonated deeply with Magnus. "A man is what he sees himself as... His world is him... His pain is him... His joy is him..."

The bartender declared, a newfound wisdom gleaming in his eyes.

He continued, his voice taking on an almost mystical quality.

"The cosmos is one within you and you... You are the cosmos. It beats in you, breathes in you, lives in you, and dies in you. 'You' are nothing but an illusion."

As the bartender mumbled these enigmatic words, a strange light enveloped him, and Magnus got his guard up in shock, "What!? What is happening!! What are you doing old man!?"