#080
How should I respond?
“Of course... I do. You’re the legendary hero, the Savior of Order itself.”
And the main character of a game I spent over 200 hours playing.
It’s impossible not to feel a special connection.
How should I respond?
“Of course... I do. You’re the legendary hero, the Savior of Order itself.”
And the main character of a game I spent over 200 hours playing.
It’s impossible not to feel a special connection.
...This bastard?
Why is this guy acting like a cliche villain, monologuing in front of the OP protagonist just to get his a*s kicked?
Now would be the perfect opportunity to show him my true nature and teach him a lesson in humility…
The ‘quiet place’ Athanas took me to turned out to be a prayer room.
I wondered if it was okay to have casual conversations in a sacred space like this, but as soon as I stepped inside, those thoughts vanished.
“Why is there a bed in the prayer room...” I asked, staring at the huge, comfy-looking bed taking up half the room. This wasn’t some little cot for power naps - two people could easily sprawl out on this thing.
No matter how many times I flipped the paper over, those words were the only thing written.
I couldn’t believe it.
This is a real as*hole move, isn’t it?
“...From the moment you found this secret space, you started considering the possibility that I have [Retrograde].”
Like some cliché evil mid-boss villain, Athanas launched into a monologue without being asked.
“There seems to be some kind of note inside.” Athanas fearlessly reached into the coffin and pulled out a piece of paper.
Wait, [Retrograde] isn’t in there?
Before I could even wrap my head around the situation, Athanas examined the note, his brow furrowed in concentration. “...There’s some strange information scribbled on it.”
I never expected that reaction from him.
…But I guess it makes sense, considering how harshly I had rejected him every single time before.
Trying to play it cool, I quickly added, “Don’t worry about it if you have other plans.”
I tossed and turned all night, my mind racing with worries and concerns. The realization that the Church of Order was utterly useless had hit me hard and sleep eluded me.
It doesn’t just end with us never meeting again...
To think that Fabio was actually going to erase all memories of their time together.
…I had hoped confessing my love would make him let his guard down, even just a little.
“Deserves to crumble...”
“The blame doesn’t lie with the person who buckled under the crushing pressure, but with those who foolishly dumped that weight on someone so unsuited for it. If a sage flees from the overwhelming burden of an entire village, is the chaos that follows really his fault? No, of course not!
“I have [Retrograde]. I was hiding it because you seemed afraid of me, but...”
Fabio’s jaw dropped in shock.
Then he suddenly smacked his forehead and let out a scream-like groan.
“Aaargh! F*ck!”
“Fabio?”
“Retrograde! You had Retrograde all along! No wonder you were so calm!”
“Fabio, right now...”
“I knew I wasn’t going crazy! F*ck! I almost fell for your gaslighting!”
“Time is...”
“Wow, you crazy bastard!”
“...You think I’m crazy?”
“Of course you’re crazy! F*ck! Getting stabbed but enduring the pain just to get more information instead of turning back time - if that’s not crazy, then what is? Doesn’t it hurt like hell? Is it really worth suffering through this?”
Athanas couldn’t understand it.
Even if the world were to crumble around him, he claimed he would do nothing.
Of course, those words could have been a mere ruse, said to dissuade Athanas, possessor of [Retrograde], from taking action.