Chapter 366 Will to live
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"..."
'A thousand years ago… If that's the case… Then could that be the reason why the Tutorial zone was so destroyed?'
'It wasn't emulating a possible ruined city but the real thing… If so… Is that what the entirety of Paxus looks like?'
'No… The whole Continent of Zenith?'
'But then what happened? That can't be right…'
'The original storyline of Zenith ended with the death of the Ascended, an ancient Juran, one of the Architects of the ancient times… The 'final Boss' of the original Main storyline.'
'The Juran were an ancient species, they are clad in mystery and I don't know much about them, although I'm sure there's something on them on my computer's database.'
'As for the Ascended one, he was an Architect, a high-ranking member of the Juranian civilization, he managed to preserve his body and reawaken thousands of years after even the last ruin of his people vanished in the waves of time.'
'He aimed for a grandiose scheme, making use of an Ancient artifact to try and ascend past his limits and enter the realm of the Gods so he could use his newfound power to revert casualty and push back the world to the time of his people so he could revitalize their civilization and preserve them as a God to guide them through their hardships.'
'The Juran had no Gods to worship, maybe that was one of the reasons why they fell before the "Age of the Gods" David told me about, since before, we just called it the Ancient times, but after cross-referencing with what I learned so far, I'm pretty sure that was the Age of the Gods.'
'Anyhow, his plan was a grand and honorable act… For his species…'
'His actions as a whole would condemn all of modern life, but from his perspective, all of us were nothing but puppets, insignificant beings forever trapped within our own bodies…'
'There was much discussion into why he thought like that, but the reason is likely due to the presence of the Gates that limit all living beings… The Juran were a species from before the Age of the Gods, creations that existed before they descended.'
'If it's true that they did not possess any limitations… Then it is understandable they saw all of us as rats trapped in cages, unable to see past its bars.'
'Anyhow, this is just to show that regardless of what happened, the Heroes of the past should've been able to deal with whatever threatened the Continent!'
'Even if a God descended, the players saved the world and raised many Heroes with them following the storyline, the Continent shouldn't have fallen that easily!'
'Albeit… There are many problems with that assumption…'
'First, how long is the gap between the death of the Ascended one and the end of Zenith?'
'Decades? Centuries? Millenia?'
'If the story I know is even further back than what Qrubin knows, then that would be enough time for generations to pass and for Heroes to die…'
'Peace breeds recklessness and overconfidence, a new blight emerged, but no Heroes descended and the world fell to ruin…'
'Whatever it was, then these Devils and Demons are likely tied to it.'
'... And then, there's the question of continuity…'
'There were dozens to hundreds of servers in Zenith, which of them represents reality?'
'Was it the server that led to the birth of the Second Generations of Adapters? Which "storyline" is the correct one?'
'Maybe it was none of them… Zenith, the game was naught but a simulation to see how things could've played out.'
'But one thing's for certain, Azimuth isn't that… Especially since there's only one server.'
'Whatever happens here remains, this is the rule. There is no try and error, only result.'
"Zenith…"
/Tug.../
"Dale? Are you okay? You've been in a daze for a while." David asked as he noticed his silence, trying to move slightly and awaken Dale from his deep thinking
"I agree. Was it my words? You got quite the reaction towards what I previously said."
"Hm? I… Was just surprised to find out Zenith was in such a state, I had the impression it was just another continent like ours." Dale replied as he awkwardly touched the back of his head
"It is like ours, or was... While we're somewhat in peace, theirs has already ended."
"Although I said the expeditions from the Naval division resulted in no contact with natives, it's a bit much to assume all are dead."
"Somewhere out there, it's likely a few still live…"
/They all nodded/
"Anyhow, back to the matter at hand…" Qrubin said as he focused on the artifact in Dale's hand
"I've reactivated the engine, it now just needs to be installed, however, you'll need the appropriate ports and… You already know everything don't you?" Qrubin asked with a slight frown as he looked at Dale
"I… Yes…"
As expected, Qrubin realized Dale had already shown this to him in the future, he was just here to have him unlock and reactivate the engine for him.
He was pretty much being used as free labor.
"Humph, you got me… It won't happen again." Qrubin said with a snort... It looked like one at least
"Just prepare as you did before, I'll do the rest from my end… What I can…"
"I imagine you have several Mages underneath you? Have some of them work on the Clocktower systems, they should know what to do."
"Of course... Though they're not underneath me..."
"It's all the same thing at the end of the day. Good… That should be all, is there anything else you're willing to share before you return?"
"... Just one more thing." Dale said as he took another item from his inventory
It was a rather simple-looking apple…
[Enchanted Apple
Type: Consumable
Description: A simple red Apple that has been enchanted with a powerful Sleeping Curse, whoever takes a bite out of it will be forced into a deep slumber for all time until the Spell is broken.
While in deep Slumber, metabolic needs are halted and aging is slowed down.
]
One of the many items he got from the loot boxes back in Babylon, a consumable item with many uses... If you know them.
"Here."
"... Hm? An apple? You don't commonly see them in the South, brings back memories…"
But as Qrubin took a deeper look at it, he realized something was deeply wrong with it.
Maybe it was because of his extreme magical knowledge or maybe because he was a half-lich, but he felt a deep unsettling energy emanating from the Apple.
And it wasn't insignificant.
"... This apple, who cursed it? It's a good curse."
"No wonder I felt it disgusting." David said on the side as he cringed at the sight of the apple
"... So you noticed."
"Hard not to… But a curse… How long has it been since I've seen it? My current condition aside…"
"Curses aren't a favored magical practice… I didn't particularly dwell on them either. Never found them useful aside from some neat applications such as my current appearance, the result of what is essentially cursing myself with immortality."
"So no beating around the bush, what does this apple do for you to show it to me?"
"... The Apple has a sleeping curse. It'll halt metabolical needs and slow down aging in the process… I thought it could be useful for you."
"Ahh… I see where this is going now… Boy, give up on such notions, there's no way to save me, Lichfication will happen, regardless if we want it to or not." Qrubin said in a deep and low tone as he looked away
"... We can give you time…"
"... Maybe."
"Let's say you put me to sleep, how do you plan on dealing with emergencies while I'm away?"
"I can perhaps put my Human side to slumber and leave behind my Lich side to maintain the formations, but you would lose access to everything I have to offer, is that a worthwhile trade?"
"Then, even if you do find a solution within your lifetime, how do you plan on waking me? Assuming this curse is potent enough to affect me, it won't be easy to revert it."
"That leads to my original point. I'm currently cursed with the Lichdoom process, do you believe the Curse within the Apple can overwhelm it? One of the strongest Curses I've ever set my eyes on?"
"That's only wishful thinking… Don't waste it on me, you should keep it for emergencies."
"You're better off looking for a way to help me keep myself conscious after turning into a Lich then preventing it..."
"An apple like that can extend the life of someone dear to you, keep it close and use it when the time arrives."
"I won't ask where you got such a specimen, but it's good that you have it, there are many out there who may need it."
"..."
'He's pushing me away… Is it pride or helplessness? Acceptance of his fate?'
'It doesn't seem I can convince him now… But I can work towards it, make him fight for his life again.'
'But for that, I'll have to give him a motive to live. It's shameful and self-centered of me to try and force these old bums to work again, especially when they're far too tired and at death's door…'
'Yet Resko needs them… I'm sorry you all suffered so much for your ideals, but I can't have you all vanish like that.'
"Well… That's all I had to say." Dale said as he closed his eyes before he stored his items back in his inventory
/Shun.../
The portal opened behind him, connecting directly to one of the rooms of the Tower above them.
"... Oh, and one last thing… I thought you would wish to hear it, one way or another…" Dale said as he turned around, taking a step inside the portal
"Your daughter, she's still alive. We brought her back with the survivors from the forest."
"..."
"If you're interested, I can…"
"No, please no, I… Not now… I can't face her." Qrubin said deeply as his eye flashed with light
That was the first time he had ever shown confusion and hesitation.
"... I'm afraid you don't have much time to spare… It goes both ways." Dale said deeply as he looked directly at Qrubin
He was being forceful, but towards such a sensitive topic, he couldn't let Qrubin waste too much time.
Not when his daughter was about to pass away...
"... I can imagine… She must be so old… What… What about… No… I…"
"You can ask her directly when the chance comes… I'll leave for now, we can talk about the rest of it later."
"Do think about it though." Dale said as he stepped through the portal
/Close…/
"This boy... He's worse then... Sigh."
"... My daughter huh…"
'After a century of hardship, you still held on… You really do take after her.'
'... I wonder, what kind of family you built, did your mother ever grow past me?...'
'Sometimes I… Regret my choices.'
In the silent hall of the seals, Qrubin looked at the darkness alone.
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Notes
With this, most of this Arc is done, I think there'll be a skip to real life after a few more things before we begin doing major skips about what Dale is doing with his time.
Detailed skips, not a large jump in time.
I've also been hinting what the next Arc will be for a while, can you imagine what it'll be about?
Peace!
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