Chapter 1275 A Game of Worlds
Chapter 1275 A Game of Worlds
Dawn the next day. Arthur rose from their bed. Diana was still sleeping beside him, letting out soft sounds as she moved in her sleep. Arthur longed to see her sleeping face, but alas, it was no longer possible. Their conversation last night was still on his mind. He had never considered visiting his family in Sourna, or whatever was left of them. His father was messed up in the head, so what if they were the same? Arthur rose from the bed, got dressed, and left the inn. Sleep was no longer a necessity to his body, which had reached the limit of a Deme-Ranker. These ranks could no longer estimate his power, and Arthur could take down Empyreans with his current strength. He always considered that to be a result of his all-rounded stats, but this was different. The door creaked open as Arthur left the inn and entered the desolate, sleeping streets of Sourna. The sand covered most of them, shrouding the city in mystery. Arthur roamed the streets, his footsteps ringing as his thoughts wandered. What was he doing here in Sourna, other than on a mission to find Rain's mentor? Why had he involved himself with these people? At some point, heroism becomes tiring. Arthur tried to give more than once, only to be met with hate and dread. He did not deny the friends he made, or how some people admired him. But it seemed meaningless if it repeated itself. This was the human condition, a loop of suffering and mistakes. Arthur did not act against the Wisemen because he wanted to know the consequences, for a simple reason: He no longer wished to bear responsibility for the lives of others. Arthur longed for the feeling of being free, only aiming to grow stronger, to survive, and to reunite. More than anything, he longed for a purpose other than to destroy the hierarchy of the world. His thoughts and steps took him to the peripheries of Sourna, to a small bridge that crossed a creek of flowing water. Arthur sensed someone ahead. On the bridge sat a figure, lonesome and isolated. It was none other than the historian, Alaric, throwing pebbles at the water. He did not seem to notice him, but Arthur could recognize his existence. "It seems we are both entrapped by our own thoughts," muttered Arthur from behind the historian/pirate. Alaric froze and turned toward him, his eyes piercing through the darkness. "What are you doing here?" "I cannot sleep, so I have to wait for life to resume." "You don't need to be here any longer. You are no longer indebted to me for your life, Alaric," explained Arthur, unable to understand the man's presence. "But for some reason, you are still here." "The reason is simple," answered Alaric with a clear voice as he grinned at Arthur. "I want to witness your struggle, Arthur Netherborne." "My struggle?" muttered Arthur with confusion. "I no longer struggle with anything." "If that is the case, you wouldn't have wandered the sleeping streets like a ghost," rebuked Alaric as he looked at the water. "You are just like me." "In what way?" asked Arthur with amusement as he walked to sit beside him on the bridge. "How are we similar?" "We long for adventures," Alaric answered as he threw a pebble at the waters. "But everything is so damn boring." "I don't feel that everything is boring," muttered Arthur as he listened to the flowing water. "I just started becoming happy with Diana at my side." "I don't mean to disrespect her, but you have to be happy with someone like her loving you," said Alaric with a laugh. "You are everything she talks about." Arthur felt warm inside, and a thin smile appeared on his face. Diana was indeed the woman of his dreams. She was powerful, honest, beautiful, and kind. But more than anything, she loved him the most. "But I don't mean that, Arthur Netherborne," added Alaric, drawing his attention. "I mean that you are bored of this world and its struggles. The repetition of the same mistakes. Sourna is just another Ilios." "How do you know about Ilios?" asked Arthur with a raised brow. "The world tried to keep what happened there a secret." "Secrets are fun, so of course, I seek them," answered Alaric. "Our meeting is not a coincidence, Arthur. I don't need you like others do, but you need me to break free from this world." "You talk about this world as if you aren't a part of it," said Arthur as he turned toward the pirate. "Diana mentioned how she could feel that you don't belong in this place." "You have a smart girlfriend," said Alaric with a smile. "She is right. I'm not from this world. This is just a vacation to me." "A vacation?" Arthur was surprised. "What do you mean?" "My original world is one higher than this, closer to Devaheim. I can spend a lifetime in this world but in my world, it would be no more than a day." "I experienced something similar." "With the Red Tower, right?" "How…?" "You don't need to ask me how because I know more about this world than anyone else. I spent countless lifetimes in this world, some of them as people you already met and helped." "Who are you?" asked Arthur, his instincts kicking in. He began to feel threatened by the entity before him. Although he found Alaric interesting at first, he might have been overconfident. "That's the natural reaction that humans give to anything that looks human but is not," laughed Alaric as he rose. "As I said, I'm a Worlds-Traveler." "A Worlds-Traveler?" "I began my journey a few months ago. But during those few months, almost seven thousand years passed in your world. I found it by accident, in an old book mentioning its resonance number. I entered the world just for fun, but I was mesmerized." "You are talking about thousands of our history as if it's nothing but a story," muttered Arthur with rage. "How do you think that would make anyone in this world feel?" "You are right, I apologize. But it's the truth," said Alaric with a shrug. "Do you wish to know what was in this world before the Age of Yore and its guardians?" "Enlighten me," answered Arthur, although not fully convinced. The Age of Yore referred to the time before the Split when the guardians existed alongside calamities. "A thriving civilization," answered Alaric with a grin. "I became a king in one of its biggest nations. I was proud of the change I brought to this world. But then, someone else arrived." "Someone else?" "Another World-Traveler, but he came here not for fun, but on a mission to destroy everything in his path. He was a member of the people you hate, Devaheim." "A god?" "He was a human, but he was indeed God-Level," answered Alaric with a sudden change in his tone. He was almost... angry. "He destroyed everything in the world. Humans barely survived, and I was among them." "How am I supposed to believe you?" asked Arthur with a frown. "You could be just a pirate who knows a few things." "But you already believe me," answered Alaric. "Because deep down you already know that this world is no longer enough for you. It feels meaningless." "What does that mean? Is that an invitation to leave?" "Why else would I be telling you these things?" asked Alaric as he crouched. "The moment I heard about you, I learned that you are this world's selected ascender: a human capable of ascending to higher worlds and still beating the game." "What game? What ascender?" "It can be confusing, doesn't it?" muttered Alaric as he rose while scratching his head. "For someone from a lower world, survival is everything they think about. That makes it impossible to think of this as a game, but it is." "A game..." muttered Arthur with a frown. "A Game of Worlds," continued Alaric. "The game is the reason that monsters spawn, and there are stats. Why do skills exist? Why do runes manifest as abilities in people?" "But that's how the world is, always has been, and will be," answered Arthur as he tried to make sense of what this man was saying. "Long ago, it was not. The world did not have magic or monsters. But then, someone started the game, and it changed everything. Monsters appeared, and so did the need for those who defeat them." "Who is that someone?" "I'm just a low-tiered player, so how would I know?" asked Alaric with a grin. "But the world suddenly makes sense if you think about it as a game. And this is all there is to it, just a game." Arthur could not answer him, nor could he even think of an answer. Just moments ago, he thought that he had understood the world. But now, everything had changed, but somehow, it made sense. Everything was too much like a damned game. "How do you stop it?" asked Arthur as he turned toward Alaric. "How do you stop the game?" "No one knows for sure, but the general consensus is that you have to beat it," answered Alaric. "It sounds fun, doesn't it?"