Chapter 16

The Changing World (I)

Cain quickly charged some Water and washed Emma and himself, using Wind to dry them both quickly before sitting down flat onto the floor and taking out a pack of cigarettes, quickly lighting one up. Right before he was about to put them back, Rick reached over, grabbed one, and lit it up as well, sitting down next to him, the old man’s expression hardened as he stared at the incomparably massive corpse in front of him.

“... can I ask you a question?” Rick asked, taking a puff of the cigarette.

“Yes,” Cain nodded, taking one himself. “That performance adequately describes the size of my balls and my cock.”

"..." Rick chuckled faintly for a moment, deliberating on something before taking a deep breath and asking. "You... that was... impossible," he said. "I understand talent, I understand the experience, I understand the combination of a thousand factors that go into making someone who they are... but none, none, describe what... I just saw. These things... they’ve been around, what? A few days?”

“Almost a week.” Cain nodded, realizing he had to start telling at least half-truths, at least to those close to him.

“Almost a week...” Rick mumbled. “You don’t fight like someone who’s been at it for a week. All of us... froze. We were useless. We may as well have stayed outside and sucked our own thumbs while waiting for you.”

“That’s not true,” Cain interrupted briefly. “Whatever else may be, that isn’t, Rick.”

“Either way, it’s true that we froze at the first sign of trouble,” Rick continued. “And... I believe that’s normal, Cain. It’s normal to feel your guts punch your soul when reality strikes you that... this isn’t a game. I think... on some level, we all believed this was make-believe, at least to some extent. It all seemed so surreal that our brains simply weren’t able to process it... until it hurt. Then, the bastards were like ‘holy crap, this thing can actually kill me -- fuck off dude, what the hell are you doing, fighting that thing?!’. All of us... all... except for you.”

“...” Cain met Rick’s apologetic gaze. The old man knew he was prying, yet he also needed answers, Cain knew. He sighed and smiled, knowing full well that it would have been impossible to keep his secret entirely contained if he wanted to succeed. At least, for some reason, he trusted the old man. A piece would be enough for now...

“Look,” Rick said, taking a deep breath. “I honestly don’t need to know. I don’t care. Though we’ve known each other only for three months, I know you’re a good guy, Cain. Barring your overtly flamboyant personality, beneath that exterior is a good person. I just... I only need to know one thing. Will you endanger us?”

“No,” Cain replied without hesitation. “Think about it, Ricky. I didn’t need to bring any of you in here. I could have played the fool. If I had any ill intentions, I’d have never done it.”

“...”

“I may not be the good guy you see,” he added. “But I also ain’t evil. I’m... I’m just someone looking to make a change.”

“... does Emma know?”

“On some level, I think,” Cain replied with a smile. “She’s just fooling herself into believing I merely changed for good. It soothes her.”

“... how good are you?” Rick asked.

“Not that good, actually,” Cain chuckled bitterly. “Better than others right now, I suppose. But... these things... will change the world, Ricky. People will be desperate for answers, as you are now... but... honestly, I don’t have them. At the end of the day, if we boil down to percentiles, if you guys know one percent, I know perhaps three. You’ll catch up soon enough.”

“... I’ll protect you,” Rick suddenly said, grabbing Cain’s shoulder. “In here, I didn’t do much. And I will strive to do more in the future. But, until then... I’ll protect you, Cain. On the outside. Governments, corporations, armies, gods for all I care... I won’t let any one of them touch you. Just promise me... you’ll keep bringing me in here.”

“... felt good to stretch the old bones, eh?” Cain asked with a smile.

“It’s... indescribable, honestly,” Rick replied, laughing lowly and curling his fingers into fists. “I haven’t felt like this... ever. You know, I’ve always taken care of my body. Worked out, ate healthily, even had surgeries and all that spiel. Yet... right now... I feel like I could crush a boulder with my fists...”

“You probably could...” Cain shrugged, inhaling a puff of the cigarette. “It’s addicting, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t let it get to your head,” he elaborated. “What if you didn’t freeze today and instead decided to stupidly jump in there ‘cause of some idiotic bravado?”

“... I’d only gotten this now. I’ve literally no intention of letting it go until the day I die.”

“...” I’m afraid that’s gonna take a while, old man...

“What will you tell the others?”

“The same thing I told you,” Cain shrugged. “That I know some things.”

“... will you tell them how?”

“If they ask.”

“And if I ask?”

“Just the same.”

“... I won’t ask.” Rick replied. “I’ll wait until you trust me enough to tell me.”

“I do trust you enough,” Cain replied. “Sounds to me like you’re too scared to find out.”

“... yeah, pretty much,” Rick laughed, tossing the butt of the cigarette. “Is that so wrong? I’d just witnessed you cleave a fucking monstrosity’s neck with an attack that looked stronger than a fucking missile. Is it that wrong to be terrified of that?”

“... no,” Cain shook his head, sighing. “That’s normal, actually. Did you level up, by the way?”

“Yes,” Rick nodded. “Level 8 now.”

“Not bad.”

“What now?” the old man asked.

“Now... we leave this place,” Cain replied. “Lana should have arrived by now, and I want to see her.”

“E-eh?”

"Don't 'eh' me," Cain looked at him oddly. "What? Do you think these things will just disappear? Pace yourself out man. Enjoy life. There will always be more monsters to fight... but you never know just how many years or even days you've got. Don't waste them."

“... I suppose I can settle things in order,” Rick said. “A lot of the properties that I bought will soon be eyed by everyone and their mother. God... I’ll make a killing on the rent.”

“I have a proposal for you.”

“What proposal?”

“Don’t charge them money,” Cain explained. “But things from the Towers.”

“... that’s what they’re called, huh? Towers?”

“Don’t they look like Towers?”

"I suppose..." Rick nodded after brief thought. "What do you mean, things?”

“Items, fruits, creatures’ corpses... anything they find in here. It will be worth way more than just taking their money.”

“... alright,” Rick nodded. “But taking just one is too little. You start big until people realize the importance, and slowly lower the price.”

“... eh, you’re the businessman, not me.” Cain shrugged with a chuckle. “Looks like the others are waking up.”

“Hm...” Rick nodded, also turning his head back and listening to the grunts as everyone slowly started getting up at the same time as though they’d planned it out.

It took them some moments to reconcile where they were, and they nearly passed out once again seeing the dead creature in front of them. Everyone’s eyes quickly darted over to Cain, quizzical in appearance, but nobody asked anything. Emma’s were the firmest, part confused, part angered, part terrified. Cain sighed, standing up and stretching.

“Take everyone to that small opening at the end of the hall,” he spoke to Rick in a soft murmur, pointing at the far end of the hall. “There should be some items there. Bring me the one that looks like a feather on fire, and you can distribute the rest as you see fit.”

“...” Rick nodded knowingly, understanding that besides that, he should also talk to them about Cain -- reassure them in a sense.

Everyone left except Emma, who remained standing firmly. Though she had noticed the changes well before today, they were subtle enough that she managed to fool herself into believing it was normal. Today’s events, however... made that impossible. She could no longer fool herself. He was different, completely different. Almost... like another person.

“... you don’t think this is some Body Snatchers type of shit, right?” he asked with a faint grin, taking out another cigarette, nervousness striking him.

“... no,” Emma smiled back, shaking his head. “At the heart of it... you are still you. Playful, charming, wilful. Rather... the exact same guy that I fell in love with, the man that I said ‘Yes’ to marrying.”

“... you make it sound like a bad thing.”

“Is it?”

“... no,” Cain shook his head, taking a puff of the cigarette. “I was... an idiot, Em’. No. That’s an understatement. I wasted the best thing that happened in my life because I was afraid, incompetent, and complacent. Truth is... it took living through all this once before for me to open my eyes to that hole in me.”

“...” Emma’s eyes widened into the saucers, her body shaking momentarily, lips gaping. “Is... are you telling... the truth?” she asked in a quivering tone.

"..." Cain said nothing, merely smiling. If there was one person in the whole world he could tell the entire truth, it was her. Even if she was to be tossed into the fire or boiled alive... he knew her lips would never utter a word of him. That’s what always made you the star in my eyes, Em’...

“... holy shit, you’re telling the truth...” she appeared more shook than when she reached into the gorged body of the beast to drag him out, plummeting onto the ground and sitting, her breathing quickening. “You’re telling the truth...”

“...” Cain took a deep breath, crouching down in front of her. “You’ve always been quick to believe me.”

“...” she looked up, her beautiful, sapphire-blue eyes staring at him with uncertainty, yet partial understanding as well. Cain realized that this was the first time he’d properly looked at her face ever since coming back, that he’d looked directly into her eyes, and he’d found himself once again feeling the same way he felt when he was but a thirteen-year-old lad. Smitten. Wordless. “Did... did you... did you die... and come back?” she asked.

“... no, ha ha ha,” Cain shook his head, laughing freely for a moment. “No, I didn’t die. Don’t you know? The wicked always fall the last...”

“... no wonder...” she mumbled. “No wonder you... seemed different. No wonder...”

“... I’m not that different, Em’,” he said, tepidly reaching over and placing his hand on her cheek. She winced for a moment, looking back up at him, but didn’t pull back. “I’m still the same man I’ve always been -- you said it yourself. Only, now... I’m not blind. Or afraid.”

“...” staring into his eyes... Emma realized something -- she, as well as Lana... likely died. The look in his eyes was harrowing and full of melancholy, longing, happiness, and even maddened desperation. She bit her lower lip, nudging her head into his palm, feeling the warmth of his touch. “This... it isn’t a dream, C’? Or just a heap of lies to trick me?”

"... no," Cain replied, shaking his head. "Every word... is true, Em'. I... I've been in limbo these past few months myself. Wondering whether I was dreaming all this up, whether it was my brain tricking me into believing I had gone back in time."

“... what makes you say it isn’t?” she asked.

“... this,” he replied, pulling one of her hands up and pressing it against his chest. She felt his heartbeat immediately, beating wildly against her palm like a drum. “If I can’t trust this... then I can’t trust anything.”

"..." she stared into his eyes for a moment longer before tossing her arms around him and pulling him into a tight embrace. His hair spilled against her chin, prickling her, the same, blond-dyed abomination she had always hated... suddenly seemed sun-gilded. She didn't care, in the end. He was C' -- the man she knew better than she knew herself. "Welcome home, C'..." she mumbled softly, corners of her eyes growing teary.

“... I’m home, Em’...” he mumbled back, his voice cracking faintly. “I’m home...” she held him tighter, his arms reaching out and winding around her back, holding her tenderly.

Her mind flashed to their first date when they were just kids, awkward, soft-spoken, entirely ignorant of what they were doing. At the date's end, he was too terrified to go in for a kiss, so he awkwardly hugged her, his hands trembling.

She inadvertently chuckled, dropping her head against his back, wetting his shirt.

“You know,” she mumbled, pulling back and wiping her tears. “You were really cool while fighting. Really fucking cool.”

“I was, wasn’t I?” he chuckled, grinning after and puffing his chest out. “Got you all hot and bothered?”

“Well, you made the entire fucking hall hot and bothered with that fire-sword-thingy,” she grinned back at him. “Pretty impressive.”

“... oi, throw me a bone here, woman. Can’t you see the desperation in my eyes?!”

“Ha ha ha, sorry -- yes, you had me flooded. Happy?”

“Tsk, was that so hard?”

“... did you tell the others?” she asked, glancing at the distant hole in the wall that they’d entered.

“... I explained to Rick,” Cain replied. “The old man didn’t care for the whole truth, though. But he did promise to use the entire might of his financial empire to protect me, so, you know, that’s something.”

“... what now?” she asked, stealthily glancing down at her hand, her fingers intertwined with his.

“Now?” he looked at her, smiling. “We leave this place, grab Lana, and have a proper fucking family dinner.”

“... sounds good,” she smiled back. “What are we having?”

“Meat -- lots and lots of meat.”

“Ugh...” she rolled her eyes, grunting lowly. “You and your goddamn meat...”

"Ah, they're coming back," Cain said, yawning. "He he, I'll now show you why I decided to bring you guys here despite all of you being so incompetent and terrible it almost looked like we were making a movie parodying D'n'D parties..."

“... yeah, go fuck yourself.” she pulled her arm back angrily and flipped him off, standing up. “We’ll have meat for dinner. You will have beans and avocado.”

“............”

“Don’t look at me with those eyes,” she said, avoiding his pleading gaze desperately. She was too weak to it. “It won’t change a damn thing!”

“... please?”

“U-ugh, fuck, I hate that I’m this weak! Fine, fine, you’ll get meat as well! Happy? Fucking bastard...”

“... yeah,” Cain said, chuckling gently and standing up as well. “Really happy... really, really happy...”