Chapter 319

Roar of a King (II)

Cain sat on a ledge of a cliff overlooking the ruination his battle had caused, a confused look on his face. He was all but certain that he had Awakened the second time… but something was off. It was as though he’d gotten a new hard drive, but that hard drive was locked behind a password--and he didn’t have that password. As such, he could stare at it and view it and admire it, but couldn’t access it no matter how hard he tried.

It was frustrating, almost like an itch at the back of the throat that he couldn’t scratch, but there was nothing to be done with it. Trying to pull back the curtain with Mana yielded nothing, even making the itch slightly worse at that.

He sighed, taking out a bottle of water and drinking some of it, frustrations mounting. He was excited, deep down, to Awaken so quickly. He expected at the very least years to pass before he’d reach the level, not to mention quite a few extra challenges like the one he faced today. And yet, he succeeded. Well, succeeded.

I’ll have to ask Quinn to elaborate. Speaking of which, he looked around, trying to locate anyone else nearby, but only the ruined landscape replied. Though he could simply fly up and easily find others, he decided to settle down for a few days and rest, as he didn’t want to go through the last of his Mana potions in case a fight broke out.

“Need some help with that?” he paused just short of finishing his tent setup, looking toward the source of the voice and noticing a woman with a playful grin standing there. Though he’d never seen her clearly, he did see her silhouette, and it was unmistakable.

“I needed it a few hours ago,” he said. “Where were you when I fought and nearly died?”

“Oh, please,” she rolled her eyes, sauntering forward and pulling out a chair from the void before sitting down. “You were as close to dying as I was. Pretty nifty battle, though. I felt like I was staring back into my distant past.”

“Did you have to add ‘distant’?”

“Yup.”

“Of course you did.”

“You got anything to eat?” she quizzed.

“Patience,” he replied, sitting down. “First--I feel like I’ve Awakened once again. What’s the deal?”

“Oh, yeah. You gotta go back to a system within the Tower’s reach so that you can be properly calibrated.”

“...”

“Hey, don’t look at me like that--ain’t my idea.”

“Haah, it’s all all kinds of fucked. So, what are you doing here? Though I’m flattered to have a stalker, it’s really getting creepy.”

“What can I say? I’m truly a creep. Once I find something that tickles my fancy, I simply cannot let go.”

“I implore you to let go.”

“I admit, though, you are not the main reason for me being here,” she said suddenly. “I hope that didn’t bruise your ego.”

“... it still stings, though,” Cain chuckled. “So, what’s the main reason?”

“Not yet,” she wagged her finger. “But in due time. I still did want to come by and chat for a bit. This is the first time we can meet face to face. Well, kind of.”

“Do I even want to ask?”

“It’s nothing that complex,” she said. “Us Divines are forbidden from leaving our realm. With our true bodies, at least.”

“That’s a loophole, no?”

“Pretty much. A fun one, needs to be said. So, how about you make us one of your fabled meals?”

“Was planning to,” he said, taking out all the tools and slowly beginning the preparations. “You know, most everyone would keel and weep and beg to just get a minute with a Divine. And yet, I’ll have a meal with one. Don’t you think the universe might just implode unto itself?”

“You’re fun,” she said. “And I like hanging around fun people, Divine or otherwise. Life’s all about relationships you build; not necessarily human ones, but any kind--like you and that lovely kitten of yours. What an unlikely friendship, eh?”

“Te’gha? Yeah, quite unlikely,” he said. “The cat can’t be honest to save his life.”

“Eh, there’s some charm to the defensive sort,” she said. “I knew a man like that once. Quite a chap.”

“What happened?”

“I wound up beheading him,” she said casually. “We entered a same dungeon unknowingly that pitted us against one another. He heroically declared his love in the last moment and told me that he was fine with being the one to die. So, I killed him.”

“Wow. I would feel bad if I could feel anything from your voice.”

“The dude held a dagger in his hand, waiting for an opportunity,” she scoffed. “The lil’ bitch thought he could manipulate me. Shit. I only regret killing him so quickly. He had such a tiny pecker I wish I coulda tormented him for hours for it. Cutting here and poking there and--”

“Dude, dude, dude. Shut the fuck up about doing the unspeakable things to a pecker!” Cain quickly burst out.

“Pfft, ha ha ha, my bad, my bad. Aah, feels refreshing. Been a while since someone told me to shut the fuck up so directly. Most of the time, they call upon their daddies to appease me.”

“... you’re a bit of a rebel up there, huh?” Cain quizzed.

“Rebel? Eh. Not really. An asshole might be a more apt description. A jackass poking bears and beehives for her own amusement. It’s a fun life.”

“I get it,” Cain nodded knowingly. “Knowledge that you have the power to anger anyone on a whim... it’s irreplaceable.”

“Right?!” she exclaimed as though she’d met a kindred spirit at last. “To see old geezers lose their shit... damn, I almost get wet.”

“... yeah, you need to get piped,” Cain said, starting the fire. “That has nothing to do with raising the hell.”

“Are you offering?” she chuckled.

“... so, what’s the world of the Divine like?” Cain asked, ignoring her question.

“Aww. Fine, fine. What’s it like? An extension of all things familiar, I’m afraid. You ain’t gonna find much of what you can’t find elsewhere. Maybe just amplified? I mean, things are definitely on the ‘grander’ scale, since, y’know, ego and all, but hey, orgies there still involve the exact same act... just among thousands instead of a couple dozen.”

“What about magic?” Cain asked.

“What about it?”

“Is that, too, bigger?”

“Bigger? Nah,” she shook her head. “Refined, perhaps. Every Divine gains the prime title, ‘Divinely Chosen’, which grants us infinite Mana.”

“Say what now?”

“So, when it comes to fighting, it’s not really about the scale since it can get easily countered,” she continued. “It’s about utilization. Kinda like you. Your strongest spells aren’t the ones that go boom-boom. But you still use ‘em ‘cause they’re fun. Well, when I’m not fighting for fun, it’s all about that one strike. One attack to bypass the defenses and harm the opponent enough that they immediately flee.”

“Does anybody even die up there?” Cain grunted.

“It’s a taboo,” she said after a moment of silence. “To kill. All disputes end with a beating, and taking it further than that will land your head onto a pike in front of the cosmos to see.”

“No matter what?”

“No matter what,” she added. “A few thousand years ago, a daughter of one of the Divines was kidnapped, tortured, and killed. As she wasn’t a Divine, no ‘rules’ were broken. He went nuts, naturally, and slaughtered four Divines. Gods, I got so wet watching him. It was like a flood--”

“--back on track, you mausoleum of horny.”

“Right. Anyway, after killing them, he flew over to the gallows and hung himself without anyone’s assistance. He was quite new, so he didn’t know that you’re supposed to hide your family like a dude hiding his marbles. Any time disputes occur, the first thing being done is trying to hunt down the other’s family and blackmail ‘em.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Any family?” he asked.

“Well, I consider you my lil’ bro--”

“--considering the treatment, please don’t.”

“Ha ha ha, no, I don’t have a family,” she said as Cain put on finishing touches on the meal. “I do have friends, though. Still, most know better than to piss me off.”

“I can imagine.”

“There is one spoiled cunt,” she grumbled. “He keeps going after one of my friends. I mean, she is gorgeous--almost on my level--but can’t stand the dude. He’s persistent as fuck. Nothing I do can drive the horndog away.”

“Pot and kettle and all that.”

“Yes, it would be if I jumped your bones right now and piped myself.”

“Khm...”

“His daddy, though, is quite strong. Even though I’m confident I could beat him, there’s still many who want to see my tits a-hanging, so I have to be careful.”

“Sounds tough. Here,” he handed her a plate. “What about those friends of yours?”

“Friends? I can’t drag ‘em into my shit,” she said. “I’m there to protect them, not the other way ‘round. So, I need you to keep getting stronger.”

“So that I can get dragged into your shit?”

“Precisely!”

“I’m hurt with how excitedly you said that,” he chuckled, biting away. “I... I still don’t know, though, why me. I’m sure there are people far stronger and more talented than me to support. Most-likely even those who raise hell far better than I do.”

“A combination of things, really,” she said. “Timing being prime among them. Continue growing stronger, Cain Gregory. There’s a war abrewin’, and you ain’t wanna be the shoe-licker when it drops,” she added, standing up, beginning to fade. “But a sword ablaze cutting through the fake veil of heavens.”