Astaroth landed on a small hill that rose over a small plain. Down on the plain, Silent Light could see a small settlement.
But to his discouragement, red and black mist covered the small town, leaking out the side of it, leaving not an inch safe from it.
Silent Light turned his head to Astaroth after he had dropped him to his feet.
"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"
Sighing heavily, Astaroth nodded.
"As you can guess, this place is the third portal I know about. But it comes with one big problem. There are no monsters here. Only people."
Silent Light gazed at the village, but couldn't see people from the distance they were at.
"Where are they?"
"Right now? Huddled around the center of the town. I'm guessing the tear opened up in the village well, and they didn't realise it until it was too late. I can't sense a single person who isn't corrupted down there."
The teenager could guess what the issue was.
"You don't want to kill them, right?"
Astaroth sighed again.
Walking to a nearby protruding rock, he sat down on it, looking troubled.
"I do not. Those are people. Not mindless monsters."
Silent Light frowned a bit.
"I noticed you act this way often. You and Khalor, and sometimes Phoenix, too. You treat the NPCs like people. Aren't you taking the roleplay a bit too far?"
Astaroth chuckled at his question.
"This isn't just a question of roleplay anymore, kid. Take a seat. I'll explain, so you understand."
His tone seemed too serious to be just a poor joke, and Silent was confused whether he should listen to him, or just check him into an asylum. But he gave the man the benefit of the doubt and sat on the ground.
"Information has come up, through means that don't matter anymore, and the situation has changed. People playing New Eden shouldn't consider it a game anymore."
Interrupting him, Silent asked the question anyone would.
"What should we consider it, then?"
"Another world. The NPCs aren't coding. They are real people, in another world, we don't know how far from our own. Everything that we do impacts this world's future, and to an extent, our own, as well."
The frown on Silent's face deepened.
The words that came out of Astaroth's mouth were pure madness. He was tempted to stand up and leave right away.
Of course, he had been there when the officers had discussed that their world was changing, right before the update. But he thought it was the game affecting their reality like he had read so often in mangas.
Saying this was an actual world went beyond his fantasies.
"What are you trying to say, Astaroth? Spit it out."
"I'm saying you should consider every action you take in New Eden the same way you would on Earth. Because the repercussions will turn out to be the same in the long run."
Silent Light took a moment to take in the info, unwilling to commit to the idea just yet. He might be the biggest Chuuni the planet had ever known, but he was still a skeptic.
Astaroth opened his mouth again.
"Listen. I know this is a lot to consider. But killing all these people down there is no better in here than out in our world. I wanted you to know now before anything happens, so you can be mentally prepared to face the consequences."
Lifting his head and locking his eyes into Astaroth's, Silent Light's unease was visible.
"What consequences?"
"If we do end up killing them. If there is really no other way. Then we will be murderers. No amount of justification will change it, and we will have to live with this fact for the rest of our lives."
Astaroth's words hit the teen like a sledgehammer to the brain.
"But… This is just a game. They're data… Coding… They'll come back, no?"
"They won't. I know you don't want to believe it. But it's the truth. These are people."
But before Astaroth could keep talking, he noticed something.
Tears were streaming down Silent's face suddenly. His eyes had turned red in an instant, and he had begun crying silently.
"Are all the NPCs people? Real people?"
"I believe so. And so do Khalor and Phoenix. And we think they should be treated as such."
"But… That means…"
His crying intensified, and he curled on himself.
His reaction threw Astaroth off. He wasn't sure what would cause his sudden change in attitude.
But regardless, he stepped off his rock and walked next to Silent Light to comfort him.
"I know this is a task heavy to bear and I am ok with handling the villagers, and leaving you to only sealing the portal. I already have blood on my hands. There is no need to get yours dirty as well."
"…dy are…"
Silent Light said something that Astaroth didn't quite get through the muffled cries and Silent's crossed arms.
"What?"
Silent Light lifted his head, snot dripping from his nose, as the heavy tear-fall from his eyes kept going.
"They already are."
The words stunned Astaroth.
"What do you mean? When did it happen?"
Silent Light proceeded to retell an event of when he had started the game. About how he had saved a pontiff of the church he now worked for from a bandit attack back when he was still low level.
Silent had started in the priest class, yes, but he was a godless priest, as the natives called the priest players. Saving that pontiff had been how he gained more spells and better healing abilities.
But the fight against the bandits hadn't been a clean one, and he had needed to defend himself, killing some bandits with his own hands. At the time, he had thought he was being cool by saving people like a hero.
But with Astaroth's revelation, it hit him like a truck. His hands were covered in the blood of men.
For the next hour or so, Astaroth held Silent in his arms, consoling him, telling him he had saved a life, and that alone made him a hero. He tried easing the mental burden from the teenager's mind, as best he could, swearing to himself he wouldn't allow Silent to even lift a finger against those villagers.
'I'm not letting you get more blood on your hands.'
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