Chapter 52

Sierra of Dreams (V)

Cain stood flabbergasted, while the other three chatted next to him excitedly about leaving the burning inferno. The two-day trek had seen them fighting almost non-stop, yet with each only leveling up once, bringing Cain to Level 36, Diya to Level 22, Emma to Level 24, and Jamal to Level 24. They fancied themselves a rest, which was the reason why they were acting excited.

On the other hand, Cain was confused -- there was supposed to be a three-headed dog of nightmares on top of the ‘fiery mountain’, guarding the entrance to the mountain’s summit and, in extension, to the Graveyard of Swords. Yet... there was no dog. There wasn’t even a single-headed dog. Not even a corpse. Nothing. Just a clear path to the top.

Did... did I make that dog up or something? He scratched his head in confusion, frowning and looking around, expecting perhaps for the dog to attack from stealth. But, seeing as they’ve been standing here for nearly fifteen minutes, and no attack came, it was safe to say that... there was no dog. Did he realize I was the ‘Time Thief’ and ran off?

“What’s wrong?” Emma asked him suddenly, pulling him out of his stupor.

“Aah, nothing,” he sighed. “Did you guys rest enough?”

"No, we were gonna have lunch," she said, dragging him to Jamal and Diya who had already sat down on top of a non-burning boulder. At the moment, they found themselves at a slight incline with grayish stones, rocks, and boulders dominating the view, their surroundings pulled back into another wooded area doused in a thick mist. “As will you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he chuckled, sitting down as well and grabbing a sandwich from the pile, biting into it.

"No way!! You graduated high school when you were thirteen?!” Jamal stared at Diya with an incredulous, disbelieving expression. “Is... is that even allowed? Like... like by law?”

“There are some exceptions to the law,” Cain chimed in. “Like, if you are super rich or super smart, sometimes it doesn’t apply to you.”

“I know, but still... damn,” Jamal said, glancing at Diya with newly-discovered respect. “I thought you were just ‘smart’, y’know? But you’re like, smart smart.”

“It’s... it’s not that,” Diya shook her head, a faint flush on her cheeks. “I... I had a lot of free time...”

“All kids have lots of free time,” Jamal said. “You don’t see ‘em fuckers graduating high school at thirteen or something.”

“Be proud of your accomplishments,” Emma chimed in, still chewing. “Just look at Cain. He once got an A in history, and I saw him bragging to Lana when she was six months old about it. If he can be that proud about it, you sure as well can be about yours.”

“Hey, don’t diminish my success,” Cain said. “Only Jared and I got an A that semester, and that dude went to some Ivy-league university. You could say that, for a semester, at least within one subject, I was comparable to a guy who earned his ticket into a super-university.”

“To this day, I remain firm in my belief that you cheated the living shit out of each exam.”

“And I firmly reject your belief,” Cain replied with a smile. “I got that A through sheer, brutal, bloodletting struggle.”

“... I was at your goddamn house the night before the final, and you played Assassin’s Creed till like half-past three. No way you didn't cheat."

"No, no, you don't get it," Cain chuckled. "Two of the questions on the exams were about Renaissance during the 15th century. The exact time period that game was set in.”

“You just got an answer for everything, don’t you?” she looked at him oddly for a moment before focusing back on her meal.

“I can’t believe you had a girl in your room in high school and played games instead...” Jamal said, looking at him strangely.

“I can’t believe you think having a girl in your room in high school is an accomplishment.” Cain fired back.

“Dude... that stung. Like, fo’ real stung. And you know that’s not true.”

“Don’t dish if you can’t take.”

Not wanting to tarry for too long, everyone finished their meals up relatively quickly and continued the climb down the clearly marked path, moving through the sea of boulders and, eventually, a short trek through a forest.

When they emerged, everyone except Cain gasped in shock as they looked around wide-eyed. They found themselves inside a pit-like, hollowed out part of the mountain, with nearly a mile tall streaks of rock rising around them almost like a fence, looming over them.

The clearing was flat and dirt-paved, beyond massive, making each of them feel almost like a tiny dot on a canvas. Diya even became dizzy for a moment, stumbling forward and nearly running into Emma.

“... sweet Christ,” Jamal mumbled. “It’s like being inside the Grand Canyon... if the Grand Canyon was ten times taller...”

“Ah, I didn’t know you were so good at prose, man.” Cain probed.

“You want me to go into ‘oh, yes, I just happen to found myself on top of this thing purely through accident’ or what?”

“... grandest apologies, Mr. Taylor.”

“E-eh? Is... is that a person, there?” Diya said suddenly, dragging everyone’s attention to the front and the distance as they followed her finger. Eh? It really is... Cain charged Body into his eyes and, immediately upon sharpening the features... shuddered. Ah, of course she’s here.

It wasn’t only her, however. Due to the sheen covering the center of the clearing, the others were unable to see almost eighty Tower natives lounging around lazily, coming in all the shapes and sizes. If anything, that girl stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Who is it?” Emma asked him.

“That crazy chick we met after leaving the ravine.” Cain said.

“Eh? Our very own, personal serendipity?”

“You hated that movie, though.” Cain said.

“Yeah, ‘cause it’s dumb.”

“Is this really a place to discuss movies, guys?” Jamal asked with a bitter smile.

“She’s coming to us...” Diya said, drawing everyone’s attention to the front once again.

Though her approach was speedy, it was also cautious, Cain noted. There were some traces of who she would become in the future, namely the seemingly dead eyes, but, besides that, she really was almost nothing like the crazed maniac Cain knew. Just what happened to her to make her that nuts?

The four of them remained rooted in place, waiting for her to arrive. She stopped roughly ten feet in front of them, scrutinizing them with a frown.

“Hello,” Emma greeted her with a smile. “We meet once again.”

“Are you people following me?” the girl asked.

“Uh... no?” Emma replied.

“What does that mean, uh, no? Are you trying to lie, or are you confused?”

“Listen here you little--” before Jamal could go off again, Cain slapped him gently and stepped in front of Emma, looking at the girl curiously for a moment.

“How old are you?” he asked suddenly.

“Huh? What’s that got to do with anything?” the girl replied, her frown deepening. “I asked you if you guys are following me.”

"We're not," Cain replied quickly. "No reason. You just seem barely older than my kid." Emma, Diya, and Jamal looked at him oddly, but remained silent, realizing he was playing an angle -- it was just that they didn't know which one. "You said it yourself -- this place is full of deranged maniacs. So, why are you here?"

“... how did you know about my weapons?” the girl asked instead of replying to his question. “After creating my own... I became much stronger.”

“What weapons?”

“Huh? You told me about it -- when we first met. Asked my why I’m using the given weapons.”

“No I didn’t.”

“What? Yes, yes you did!”

“I’m fairly certain I’d remember if I did something like that.”

“Are you fucking with me?”

“No, that would be illegal.”

“...”

"But, I am messing with you." Cain grinned and could swear he saw the girl's lips twitch slightly, though she held her expression frigid still. "We need the fifth one, and you need an extra four. It's like we're made for each other. What's your name?"

“H-huh? It’s Senna--wait, what do you mean?”

“Senna? Ah, what a lovely name,” Cain nodded. “Well, Senna, welcome to the party.”

“What? No, I never said I’ll join you!”

“But you did.”

“No, no I didn’t! Stop messing with me!”

“I’m not,” Cain shook his head. “I’m confusing you.” it was his turn to get slapped as Emma stepped forward and pushed him back, smiling apologetically at the girl.

“Sorry, he’s a bit of a jackass, as you can see,” she said. “But he means well. Why don’t you join us? We’re pretty strong, you know?”

“... I know,” Senna said after a brief silence, glancing at Cain with a strange look in her eyes. “But you are also really annoying.”

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it, kiddo.” Cain hollered from the back.

“Shut up!!” Emma growled at him. “Do you want her to join or not?!”

“What? I’m just being honest,” Cain said. “Laying it all upfront so she doesn’t get shocked like our dear Diya here.”

“H-huh? W-what? I’m not... shocked...”

“Would it kill you not to pull people randomly into your stupidity?” Jamal asked.

“Yes.” Cain said seriously. “It’s a terminal condition, I’m afraid. Unless I do it... I’ll... I’ll blow my nose so hard my brain will melt.”

“Fuck, like you have a brain to begin with!”

“Good point.”

“... pfft-khm, khm,” Senna forcibly coughed to cover up the short burst, restoring her serious expression. “Fine, I’ll join you -- for now.”

“Great!”

“But I don’t want to talk with anyone.”

“... great.” Cain smiled inwardly, looking at the young girl. If we manage to at least curb that killing hunger... won’t I have one of the ten strongest Conquerors in the world on my side? Holy shit, who can stop me then? Ha ha ha, damn, who knew I was this awesome? Ha ha ha...