Chapter 91: A Grave Realization

  Seeing one-hundred and ten felt surreal.

  As far as I understood—or at least hoped I understood—the Dark Hunters’ level was just the Déjà vu System using my COG to compare the level of threat to things I could understand. So while, obviously, Erebus’ agents weren't running on the same system architecture as Solvane’s entire infrastructure, I had a way of gauging the incoming danger.

  Now, I wasn’t sure if I was wrong all this time, or if the Dark Predators were simply stronger and more advanced than anything that we had in Solvane. Much stronger, and much more advanced.

  I mean, the highest a COG could go was 70—that was what we knew about the Obsidian Crows, at least.

  The Déjà vu System flashed a new quest.

  [Quest Available: Face the Darkness #2]

  [Kill the Dark Predators]

  [Reward: 2 Level Upgrade per kill]

  I could barely kill one dog—even that was thanks to Zee—and now another one for these things?!

  Trent came back for me.

  “Viktor, what’s wrong?!” he asked nervously, crouching beside me.

  Truthfully, it wasn’t just the sharp whistle from before. It was the sheer number of crystals I’d burned through in far too short a timeframe.

  I felt light-headed. My vision blurred.

  But I knew I couldn’t afford to rest. Not with those new abominations scaling the walls toward us.

  I summoned a Cryora from the Inventory, but I was so dazed, I dropped it on the floor.

  As I reached for it, another hand grabbed it first.

  Alice.

  Already seeing the approaching Dark Predators, she slammed the crystal into her COG. Then, she conjured giant icicles and crashed them down through the narrow stairwell in a relentless barrage.

  “Get him up!” she ordered Trent. “They’re slicing right through it! We need to get out of here!”

  “Slicing right through it?” Trent echoed as he leaned over the edge.

  His eyes widened, but, surprisingly, he held himself better this time. Just a single, “Holy fuck, the end of the world is here,” before he ducked under my arm and helped me up.

  “Let’s go!” he shouted to Alice as we staggered onto the roof.

  Alice followed close behind, slamming the door shut and reinforcing it with thick layers of ice.

  The rooftop was a small garden. It had enough greenery to put even Chronos’ endless grass field to shame. Flowers in different colors bloomed along the edges, while a large gazebo stood at the center, sheltering several wooden benches and tables.

  There were no one else here. They’d likely evacuated earlier—back when Theo Vorrick tried to drop an airship onto this street. You know…when things weren’t quite this nerve-wracking.

  Even in such a tense situation, I couldn’t help but think about how even though we were all citizens of Solvane, our lives couldn’t have been more different. One group has to breathe smoke and steam all the time, while the other enjoys constant sunlight and gardens such as this.

  Across the garden, on the other side of the roof, stretched a narrow stone bridge, bordered by tall metallic railings.

  We ran for it, Trent still supporting my weight while Alice stayed behind us, creating more ice barriers in preparation for when the Dark Predators inevitably reached the roof.

  “How are you holding up, Vik?” Trent muttered nervously. His gaze suddenly flicked to Zee. “If you’re hurt, maybe your invisible hound can carry you?”

  “No,” I said instantly, reminding myself what Zee was. Who Zee was. A human.

  I already felt horrible for using the crystals, I didn't want to feel even worse.

  “He’s far too small,” I lied. “He’d break.”

  “Vik, are you sure – “

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  “Yes! I’m sure. I’m fine!” I snapped, forcing myself to keep moving. I gently pushed away from him, trying to show him that he didn’t need to worry about me. That was a lie, of course, as my head still spun.

  Down on the ground, I’d acted so confidently. I genuinely thought that not only would I be able to evade Erebus, I would also manage to keep Trent and Alice safe and unmarked.

  And look at me now.

  If not for them, I’d already be dead and marked. And with that, our entire world would've been doomed.

  These thoughts battered me until we reached the bridge. Then, they twisted into something worse.

  I glanced over the railing.

  From this height…would jumping guarantee death?

  My mind quickly shoved that thought away.

  The rooftop access behind us suddenly blew up, exploding outward as ice and stone burst into the air.

  Let’s see if I can copy Vorrick.

  Switching to Umbrium, I released a cloud of decay into the open air, aiming it upward, hoping it would at least disintegrate some of the falling debris before it reached us.

  It wasn’t as effective as Vorrick’s, but it did the job. The number of falling objects dropped sharply, blocks of stone dissolving into small rocks before crashing mostly harmlessly around us.

  Then my head spun even harder.

  I staggered and grabbed the bridge railing just in time to keep from collapsing. My hearing suddenly warped next—sounds stretching or missing.

  On the other side, the four Dark Predators burst through the shattered rooftop access.

  Alice reached us, her eyes snapping to me.

  “What’s…him?” I could barely make out her words.

  Trent shrugged helplessly. “…don’t know. Maybe…his head or something.”

  Alice turned to me and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to focus.

  “Viktor, do you hear me?” she practically shouted.

  I blinked, struggling to lock onto her face.

  “Do...have…Umbrium?” She exaggerated her mouth movements, enunciating carefully. “U-M-B-R-I-U-M.”

  I nodded and summoned the crystal. If she reacted to the fact I’d pulled it from thin air, I didn’t see it—my vision was far too unsteady.

  The next thing I’d seen was her slamming it into her COG.

  “…him and...moving!” she ordered Trent.

  Was she going to stay behind?

  No, no, no. That wasn’t acceptable. She couldn’t stay behind. She couldn’t get marked.

  I glanced over the railing again, considering ending it all. But once more, something inside me recoiled from the thought and forced me into my senses.

  Trent hauled me forward, Zee keeping close as we crossed the bridge and reached the adjacent building’s roof—another garden.

  Meanwhile, Alice followed, her arms spread wide as she released a roiling cloud of decay and left it behind her. It tore into the bridge, metal and stone shattering and dissolving as the corruption spread.

  Her use of Umbrium was far more effective than mine.

  So was her Cryora. The icy barriers she left behind actually slowed the Dark Predators—unlike mine, which the Dark Hunters had sliced through with relative ease. This suggested her COG didn’t just look high-level with its gold coating, it was high-level—upgraded extensively.

  She didn’t seem to carry crystals, though…

  I knew I needed to invest my next COG upgrade points into Quality and max it out.

  By the time the Dark Predators reached the rooftop bridge, it had already disintegrated completely by Alice’s decay—the remains rained down the alley below—leaving a wide gap between the buildings.

  Of course, we weren’t stupid enough to stop and see whether they could jump over it and keep the chase alive. We kept retreating toward the next bridge—toward the next building’s rooftop, getting closer to the looming Airship Terminal ahead.

  We didn’t expect what happened next.

  At least twenty Dark Hunters burst through the rooftop access of the building we were on, cutting off our escape and trapping us from the other side.

  “This is it,” Trent muttered beside me, his voice trembling.

  “No!” Alice shouted. “I can still stop them! We just need to hold on until help arrives!”

  She turned toward the approaching Dark Hunters, arms raised as massive ice pikes began forming around us, aimed outward.

  Then she collapsed.

  Did she overdo it too?

  Looks like even a highly-upgraded COG had its limits in this regard. It made sense to me. Higher Quality function probably required even harder mental effort.

  You had to be an Obsidian Crow, or just someone really trained in the use of mana crystals, to handle them without any setbacks. Seems like neither of us were.

  Her constructs began melting almost instantly.

  “W-What’s happening?” she whispered, panting, down on one knee. Then, she muttered something I couldn't quite hear.

  Trent rushed to her side.

  I realized there was only one thing left to do.

  The one thing I had been dreading. The one thought my mind had constantly recoiled from. The one choice I had judged Vorrick for making.

  Despite my initial intent. Despite my will to live—my determination to fight through every loop—I finally understood my mistake.

  A grave, grave mistake.

  The oligarchs were just mortal humans.

  Valdemar, despite resurrecting from crystal form, was still just a human.

  Erebus was not.

  He was a god.

  We didn’t believe in gods in Solvane. All religions had been reduced to simple stories, almost completely forgotten. Even religious holidays had faded into obscurity centuries ago. And so, my understanding of divinity had been shaped entirely by my relationship with Chronos, and well…Dolos too.

  The problem was that both of them behaved so much like humans that I failed to look past that and see them for who they really are.

  I failed to grasp that if they wished it and were unrestrained, they could erase Solvane from existence in an instant.

  Erebus, on the other hand, had no such restraints and really, really wished it.

  Having no memories didn’t help either.

  Was I in a similar situation in any of my previous loops? Déjà vu or any of the other skills didn’t trigger so it was unlikely. But if I had encountered the Dark Hunters before—and could remember them—I would’ve probably taken Vorick’s offer before he even suggested it.

  Now it was painfully clear to me: you don’t fight a god. You don’t outrun a god.

  Vorrick had been right.

  This needed to end now—before Trent and Alice were marked. Jumping from the building won’t cut it. It would take too long and would be too risky—I might actually survive the fall for like an extra five seconds. An extra five seconds that would give just enough time for Erebus’ dogs to mark them.

  No...I needed to be quicker.

  I placed a hand on Zee and sent him to the Inventory. Then, I summoned an Ironwatch handgun into my working hand.

  But my hand simply refused to move.

  I was still unwilling to kill myself.

  Switching to Kinetra, I used my broken arm to grab my right hand and the gun and bring them to my head—until the barrel pressed against my temple.

  Still, my index finger refused to budge.

  “Viktor, what are you doing?!” Trent shouted, only now noticing me.

  Seeing his fear, and the rushing horde of Dark Hunters closing in behind him and Alice, was enough for me to finish the job.

  With Kinetra still burning through my body, I forced myself to pull the trigger, ending this run.