Chapter 340 Ticking Clock
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/Step step.../
"... Hm... You're here."
"Is it done?" Roger asked as he got up from his seat, adjusting his shirt as he looked at Dale, his eyes focused and serene
"I guess so, the Tablet went silent and I don't feel as weird anymore, but I can still feel it stir..."
"Then that means there are more mysteries left for you to uncover, once the time is right, we can come back here and see what the Tablet has to say." Roger replied with a nod, expecting this to happen
"If you're not satisfied with what you learned today, we could still visit the other Crucibles, see what they have to say as well. It will be a tad complicated to enter them, but it's not something out of my jurisdiction to do."
"The others? Wouldn't things just end the same way?"
'I am curious about them, but if their functions are the same, won't I just learn the same things again?'
"Not quite, the Crucibles may work in similar ways, but just like people, each has its own perspective and methods of sharing what they know and wish to convey."
"Of course, you'll likely see the same story, but different perspectives on it, which may greatly enhance your understanding of it."
"However, let's leave that for later, are you up to sharing what you experienced?"
Dale touched the back of his head, not trying to hide his confusion and awkwardness.
"... I'm still a bit confused about it... The Tablet showed me the creation of one of my items, but I don't quite understand why."
"I expected it to show me more about the world and what is happening, for it to brand me under an Oath, but nothing of that happened." He said plainly as he crossed his arms, scoffing audibly as he did so
"..."
Roger looked at the sides to see if anyone was listening before saying:
"This is my mistake, I should've told you this before... But from now on be careful what you share with others."
"The contents of one's pledge and what they witnessed should be kept relatively safe, it is unlikely sharing it may lead to bad outcomes, but you never know where your journey will lead."
"There were cases where the Tablet displayed sights of grand treasures, prompting the chosen one to seek them out... Only for him to leak it and... Well, Human history repeats itself."
"I'll keep yours safe of course, if you wish to share."
"As for what you asked before..."
Roger sat on the bench again, prompting Dale to follow suit.
After a little while, Roger continued:
"Normally, the same story is shown to all that first access the Tablet:"
"A story of a world in flames, and another one rising from its ashes. The end of an Era and the start of a new one,?to make people understand now was a time of change and that they needed to prepare."
"The way such story was shown varied to suit each of its viewers' perspectives and needs, but it was usually the same."
"That somewhere in the world there were 'chosen' individuals, that they should follow these people and seek to grow stronger with them."
"At the same time, some were also given the means to grow stronger themselves, though that is another thing entirely..."
"It is not uncommon for that to not be what they first see. Depending on their conviction, needs, desires, and other unknown factors, from the will of the Tablet or merely luck, the story may change."
"Around 70% see this same scene of chaos and destruction, it's one of the things that make most of our community work together, as we all fear such a scenario... To some degree..."
"As for the rest, it's varied. Although there are also some other... 'Scripted' stories."
"Scripted?"
"Scripted as in the way they're shown to masses of people all at once, like a video recording instead of a carefully made story for an individual, like yours."
"Though there is a chance others saw something similar as you at a certain point in time, and as I've said before even this scripted story varied greatly in content depending on who watched it."
"For example, back in the early 20th century, people that approached the Crucibles were shown signs of a War of massive proportions and the death tool that it pilled up."
"You can imagine what a German saw compared to what a Jew was shown..."
"..."
"That is how it went for most, some may see old empires falling and rising, happiness and prosperity."
"Of futures they and others had yet to live, of parallel lives they could not live, possible consequences for actions they took long ago... Taunting them with their failures or praising them for their achievements."
"Some may leave the Tablet with a great desire to join said change, becoming like the others you saw at the Golden City, working tirelessly towards a goal we do not quite understand."
"A few disappear never to be seen again..."
"People tried to classify themselves based on what they saw, but that is nothing to worry about, just a bunch of arrogant pricks trying to act superior to others on something highly subjective."
"It is unknown if the Crucible can trully predict the future, or if it's showing us a different scene, maybe that of parallel realities, of possible futures it inferred based on calculations..."
"But trying to make sense of such a strange Artifact will lead us nowhere. As you can see, there are no researchers around or strange machinery surrounding it, this is because long ago people gave up trying to study it and instead chose to observe its effects from afar as they studied its environment, trying to gather intel little by little as time passes by."
"That is why... What told me before... Are you sure that is the case?... That you had no pledge?"
"The pledge is usually followed by great discomfort in their body and a sense of uneasiness as if you're being watched."
"This feeling vanishes after a while, but I imagine you feel little of that as well."
/Nod/
Dale nodded quietly, causing Roger to narrow his eyes considerably.
"I see... Either way, we can easily check that." He said as he reached for his chest pocket
"How?"
"Upon taking a pledge, although it may vary from person to person, it'll always leave a mark on its user."
"It can be easily recognized." He said as he pulled something from his pocket
It was a finger-sized, metallic cylindrical object.
"Remain still, this won't take long at all."
"... May I inquire what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to flash a very strong flashlight right into your left pupil." Roger said as he grabbed Dale's face with his left hand
"..."
'At least he's honest...'
/FLASH!/
As he said, a very strong white light soon overtook his vision, causing Dale to unconsciously close his eyes... But they did not close.
Something was preventing him from closing them, causing him great agony as he felt as if his world was in flames...
"Hm... This is trully odd." Roger mumbled to himself as he turned off the flashlight
"Huff... Why were you carrying a flashlight with you?"
'Will this cause permanent damage?'
"Oh? Well, you never know when something like this will be needed, besides, I already knew where we were going." He replied with a smile as he stored the flashlight back in his chest pocket
"In any case, it's as you said, there's no mark on your eye... But just to be sure..."
"Oh no..."
/FLASH!/
...
"Urg..."
"No marks in either eye... We'll have to check the rest of your body later, just as a precaution..."
"I... I can do that on my own..."
"Very well, I was planning on leaving it to Mei, but since you insist..."
"Ahem, maybe we can reach an understanding..." Dale said with a light smile as he looked at Roger
"Hahaha! As if boy! At least you said it with pride!"
"Cough... Look, let's keep what we just found to ourselves." Roger said in a low tone, extremely serious
"Not possessing a Mark is more than just a slight degree of freedom... It's a passive threat to all that do possess it."
"Others are forced to contain themselves and wait for the promised time to break the world order... But you don't."
"You can walk under daylight and fear nothing, but if others do the same they may risk their pledges bursting into flames."
"At any moment you could instigate the start of the end, tilt this careful balance people have been treading across for so very long."
"Be wary Dale, there is no way to know how others may interpret your situation, nor if there are others out there that completely understand your situation, there may also be others like you out there."
"They may use your uniqueness as a weakness instead, the more people know about you, the worse it'll be for your safety."
"It could be anything, from a sign to something else greater, or merely a coincidence, whatever it may be, you cannot control what others will think of yourself."
"..."
"Hum ... We should leave this place for now, there'll definitely be enough time to discuss the rest on the way back." Roger said as he checked his special phone
"... It's been long enough already, I didn't expect you would make me wait half an hour."
"... What?"
"You heard me, you stood there looking at the Tablet for over half an hour, just look at the others, they're all in a trance just like you were."
"It may have been but a few seconds or minutes under the Tablet's influence, but to us outside of it... Hours pass."
"This means... Urg... We don't have much time left." Dale said out loud as he touched his head in frustration
'I wanted this entire operation to end in less than four hours, because that alone is already half a day at Resko.'
'I went to sleep as soon as I could, pretty much the moment the sun went down.'
'Four hours would already be over the limit since I usually wake up very early to train... If I skipped one day of training the others may worry and go to my room, especially if I take longer.'
'And if they find me there... There will be problems.'
"... We sure don't have much time on our hands, so get up and let's move."
"If we're fast enough we can stop somewhere else, this place is much more than just a big Tablet in a large park... But I'll leave the decision to you."
Without saying anything else, Roger got up from the bench, making his way to the stairs as he stretched his back and neck.
Dale didn't idle for long either, following him with long strides.
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Notes
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