Luke Everhart
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Chapter 123 - The Choice At The End
🕑 Added 2024-12-11 11:31:01 +0000 UTCGad was jostled left and right.
It was a struggle to keep going, and she kept tripping on her own two damned feet.
Like the slow, clumsy shit that I am!
“Gad, are you okay? Maybe you should let me down!” Cen said.
“No! In this mess, they’re going to trample you!”
“But Gad…”
“I said no!”
She pressed her lips and scanned the faces and the back of the heads around her.
Where are they?
A weight suddenly crashed into her back, and Gad went down.
On instinct, she scooped Mul and Cen under her, and pushed out her meager aura to cover herself.
Legs, shins and feet kicked her without end.
“Gad!” Cen shouted. “You have to get up!”
Above her, people tripped and fell over her. If she moved, Mul and Cen would be crushed to death.
“Gad, please!” Cen begged, tears streaming down her face. “Get up!”
“I… Can’t,” she grunted. “This is… All I can do.”
Cen wept and hit her tiny fists against her strong stomach.
This is all I can do. Me. Slow, slow Gad.
Morsvar are slow people. Usually of both mind and body. Or so they always told her.
But they have thick skin, which meant they could do the dumb, dangerous jobs. Like sifting through the pile to handle the most toxic of aetherium bits, or push the trolley full of aetherium towards the burning hot, toxic fume filled melters.
Morsvars are strong and they are dumb.
Or so they had always told her.
They said many things.
Unclean was one of them as well.
And what did they know?
Gad was slow, but she was not dumb.
Not yet.
She had left before the work had managed to dumb her down. Like her father and mother. Like her brother and sister.
Push the trolley all shift long, back and forth through the darkness. Make small talk at the destination, the pile or the melter. Get told not to think. Get told not to worry. Even when the melter’s hinges look loose. Even when the smoke is too thick…
Keep going, push it forward, push it back. Don’t think. Thinking is not for you.
Strong, thick skinned, slow. But she was not dumb. She refused to be that. A pity her body could not match her quick wittedness and intelligence.
Crystal. I wish you’d given me some [Speed] or [Agility]. That way, I could’ve proved them all wrong.
“I’m sorry, I’m too slow and clumsy,” she breathed.
She felt Cen place a hand against her aura, and then, her own, much stronger aura, enveloped Gad’s.
“You are none of those things, Gad,” Cen said. “None of those. Now stand up!”
“I can’t…”
“Yes, you can! You’re our tank! This is nothing to you! Stand up!”
Gad grit her teeth and pushed her right knee forward.
She might have no [Speed] or [Agility] to speak off. They might have laughed at her for wanting to be a tank. But she had seen Tun. She had seen many other morsvars, tanks and DPS. And party leaders.
She had [Strength], she had [Constitution].
Her party had never called her slow nor dumb.
Why in the pile aren’t you moving then?
She would stand.
From somewhere behind her, a familiar, loud roar echoed.
What was that?
*********
The explosion of electricity blew dozens of them aside.
Tuk and Viy were amongst them, though thankfully, they were at the very edge of it.
Tuk, feeling the floor wobble underneath him, pushed himself upright, dragging Viy up by her arms.
Where’s the exit? Where’s… Ah!
The bright, blinding light was right there. Right within his reach.
But Viy was so heavy. So, so heavy.
She had been so heavy their whole Climb.
She had even almost gotten him killed.
To Tuk, these thoughts rolled right off his mind, falling off, finding no purchase whatsoever.
He hoisted her up, grabbing onto her more comfortably.
Should I try to get her on my back? Maybe my shoulder? Will that hurt her, though?
“T-Tuk…”
“Viy? Yes, it’s me! Hold on, we’ll be out of here soon!”
“I’m sorry, Tuk,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“What in the pile are you sorry for?" he asked.
He turned around, giving his back to the bright light of the exit, and dragged her towards it, walking backwards.
“I almost killed you…”
“And then you saved me. And you saved me again and again today! Don’t think I didn’t see it!”
“I was just repaying my debt.”
“There’s no debt between us, you hear! None!” he told her. Then, he flashed her a grin. “We’re family, remember?”
Viy sobbed silently.
Around them, Climbers dodged and ran, their faces contorted by all sorts of emotions.
Fear. Pain. Sadness. Relief. Selfishness. Jealousy. Guilt. Sorrow.
However, sheer panic was the most prevalent.
It was wrong. It was all so wrong. This should have been their moment of victory. Of celebration! Not of this… This cowardly attack! They had killed the Raid Boss and the gates were open, so why were they still suffering like that?
“Tuk…”
“Yes?”
“Leave me behind. Run.”
Tuk scoffed. “If you’re going to say shit, then stay quiet. You’re still hurt.”
“I mean it, Tuk. I don’t deserve to get out.”
Tuk looked behind him. Why was that damned Gate so far away?
“And why is that?”
Viy pressed her lips shut, and tears streaked down the sides of her face.
Tuk groaned and kept pulling her.
“Tuk, leave! Go!”
“Shut up!” he grunted at her. “I’m not leaving you behind!”
“Tuk…”
He checked the exit again. Still so far. And where were the others? He could only hope that they had already made it out safely.
The last of the Climbers were running past them now, giving them more space.
His heart beat faster.
What if they closed the Gates again? Would they? Surely they wouldn't, right? They had won!
But what if those spider things started aiming at them.
Enough of that, man. Just keep walking. Just keep walking.
“Tuk?”
“Yes?”
“What do I do?” Viy whispered.
“You stick with us and you find out,” Tuk said, eyeing the exit again.
He had no idea what was happening with the spear woman and he didn’t have time to figure it out.
“Tuk?”
“Yes?”
“I think the Raid Boss is moving again.”
“What?”
*********
Things were quiet around them.
He was sure they were the very last ones left behind.
Kur’s fist shook.
He couldn’t get up.
Rel’s weight pressed on him, but he didn’t dare to roll over, lest he damage her.
Not like he could move anyway.
His HP was at zero.
All he remembered was a blinding blue and a searing pain right after.
They had been hit.
Around them, lay the corpses of the unworthy. That was probably the way the Crystal looked down on them.
Come on, Kur. Get up! Get up! Screamed a voice in his head.
But he didn’t move.
Maybe if he undid the clothes that held Rel to him, he could roll over and get up. Then he could drag her to the exit. Towards the others, anxiously waiting for them at the gate.
They must be so worried…
It occurred to him that he should have set out a signal for them. Something they could use in the party view to tell everyone that they were outside, safe and sound. In that bright light.
Kur craned his neck, twisting it as far as it went, so that he could catch a glimpse of that light out of the corner of his right eye.
So bright… Let me just catch my breath. I’ll be there soon.
He closed his eyes.
Did I make a difference?
The faces of his dad, mom, and the workers under them flashed behind his eyelids.
They smiled at him. Waved and beckoned him over. He had been practically raised by them. One big, happy family, full of aunts and uncles and cousins.
He was their pride and joy, his parents' successor.
Imagine their bitter surprise when he told them he was going to Climb.
Imagine their hatred at his betrayal.
I couldn’t stay. There was nothing I could’ve done for you, Kur told them. Nothing I ever did would ever make a difference.
No matter how much he studied up on worker safety. No matter how much he tried to make their lives better, or their workload that little bit lighter, nothing worked. Nothing was allowed. Nothing was ever permitted.
Only the quota mattered in the cubeplant.
The workers smiled and thanked him for trying. But he couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t bear to see it, and not suffer alongside them, like a hypocrite.
He couldn’t stomach it anymore.
His dad didn’t understand.
He almost beat him.
His mom had barely managed to stop him. Kur was under the protection of the Crystal now. They couldn’t do anything.
He was kicked out of home. The workers spat and cursed at him.
He walked alone, in silence, all the way to where the parties were being formed. He allowed himself to cry, on that lonely, dark journey, but as he approached the lights gathered by the door to the outside, he had wiped his tears away. He had no need for them anymore.
He was going to go somewhere where he could make a difference.
But did I?
He had brought his party there, to the very end.
Did that count?
Was that enough?
Was that worthy of dying for?
He hoped so.
A loud roar forced him to open his eyes again.
Above him, dark blue electricity sparked and boomed.
The bulk of the Raid Boss filled his sight, its shadow falling across him.
I hope it was enough…
*********
“Nar, stop!” Jul shouted, at the top of her lungs.
“What?”
“You’re not listening to me! None of them are signaling back! We need to go back and find them!”
“They’re probably outside, waiting for us!”
“If they were, they would be signaling us! Stop!”
She pulled him back with all her [Strength], for she had quite a bit of it, and Nar was almost lifted off his feet.
“What are you doing?” he yelled at her.
She flinched from the anger in his voice. “We can’t leave them…”
“We're not! Everyone will be outside!” Nar shouted.
“Nar... They’re family.”
And then, something snapped within him.
Rel was dead or dying.
The others were probably either dead or outside by now, as the Crystal’s final cruelty continued to bombard them.
And here was Jul, telling him to go back. Back into death, and despair, and the end of all of his dreams.
Nar pointed back to the beginning of the bridge, and then beyond it, to the B-Nex itself. To the infinite, twisting corridors they had crossed to get where they stood, all the way from their cubeplant.
“My family is back there,” he shouted, his expression twisted with hatred. “My family who sacrificed for me! Who fought and killed to ensure I survived! You weren’t there. You were all outside, calling us Unclean and shouting for our deaths!”
“We are not them!” Jul shouted, her big eyes shining. “We care about you! And your dad! We all care about each other!”
“And I care about magic! And power! So that I can go back and save my dad! So that I can…”
She held his face in her hands.
“This isn’t you, Nar. My older brother. This is fear. And grief, and despair.”
“I…”
“Fight it, Nar. Stay strong,” she pleaded. “You have held on for us all this way. We are your family. You would never abandon us.”
He blinked at her.
Within his mind, a battle raged.
Fear, grief and despair, exactly as she had called it. Those three mighty forces were dominating the battle.
Fear of death raining down upon them.
Grief for his powerlessness in saving Rel.
And despair, for he knew he was losing himself, and yet, he could not find the strength anymore to hold himself steady and upright.
“This is not the end, Nar,” she told him, and her eyes pulled him into hers. “We can still do it all. Damn the Crystal, and damn everything else... All we need is each other.”
And then she hugged him. Tightly. Fiercely. A hug of caring. Of love. A hug that told him he was not alone, and that he would never be, as long as she lived. As long as they all lived.
Nar inhaled deeply, but gently.
The darkness within him that had threatened to drown him was blown away by a quiet, but unyielding rush of swirling gray.
“Will my dad think I abandoned him?” Nar whispered. “If I don’t go back to him?”
“No, he won’t. Your dad will always believe in you. Just like I do,” Jul whispered, against his chest. “Don’t be afraid of what you might lose, Nar. Protect what you’ve gained instead. What we all gained.”
The laughter. The pain. The joy and despair. All shared. All carried together.
From strangers, to friends, to party members, to family.
An Unclean no more, but someone who was accepted. Cared for. Cherished.
A tear fell down his face.
He looked up from her hair, to all the Climbers running past them
Fear was plastered all over their faces. Their eyes saw only the bright light ahead of them. They crashed into each other, and trampled over one another in their despair to get out.
Did his face look like theirs? Like the face of those who ran, abandoning friends and leaving family behind?
It shouldn’t have been like this.
They had fought. They had won. They had sacrificed enough for it. They should’ve been allowed to walk out, together, in celebration. Not panicked like that, with deadly magic coming down on their heads. The very same magic they had been promised and completely denied on their Climb.
I will not give You the satisfaction anymore.
He grabbed Jul’s shoulders and pulled her away from him, gently.
“Let’s go back to look for them.”
“I know they’re back there… I-I can feel it. I don’t know how. But I know they’re not beyond that gate.”
“I trust you,” Nar said.
A loud roar boomed over them.
Dark blue electricity rose in the distance, all the way almost to the ceiling.
“The Raid Boss… It's moving again!” Jul whispered, covering her mouth. “How? Why?”
I will not give You the satisfaction of watching me run anymore, Nar spoke, watching the Raid Boss rise once again.
The last of the Climbers filtered past them. Only the wounded, the weak, and those helping others were left.
Amongst them, Nar spotted his party.
Gad with Mul and Cen.
Tuk with Viy.
And Kur downed with Rel.
Not one of them had abandoned the others.
Like he had almost done.
The shame was more than what he could bear.
“Thank you, Jul,” Nar whispered in a strangled voice. “For not letting me run.”
She shook her head. “We look out for each other. Before, now and forever. I will always be there for you.”
“And I for you.”
Nar took a deep breath.
The Raid Boss, the big spiders firing from the sides, and an army of spiders climbing up all around them.
I gave You chance after chance, after chance. I waited and hoped for Your forgiveness. Your mercy. Your magic. But I have nothing more to give You. So keep Your magic. I’m sticking to my own aura.
And he smiled.
The decision was made.
Yes, he would never get to go outside, and gain all the information that was denied him. He would never be able to make an informed decision between magic and aura, but here, and now, at the end of the Climb, and with his injured party needing him, the decision couldn’t be any easier, or any clearer.
This was his party.
This was his aura.
His place would be with them.
Always.
“Stay behind me,” Nar said, still smiling. “Time to see what this aura can really do.”
He stepped forward.
And everything vanished.
The party, the Raid Boss, Jul, the spiders, everything.
Nar floated in darkness.
It was warm. It was comfortable.
It reminded him of the place where his aura rested within him.
However, here, he was not alone.
He could feel the presence all around him.
“NAR293457741235645XAV,” a voice said. “I HAVE BEEN WATCHING.”
Crystal?
“IN THE BEGINNING, YOU MADE A REQUEST. IT WAS A REQUEST I HEARD, BUT WHICH I DEEMED TOO HEAVY AND TOO HARSH TO FULFILL, AND MADE FOR AN UNSELFISH REASON.”
Nar couldn’t even muster the words to speak.
The Crystal? The Crystal Almighty Itself was speaking to him? After he had spat in Its face? After he had rejected It for good?
“LATER, I OFFERED YOU A WAY OUT.”
The class change at the end of the first bridge?
“YES. BUT YOU CHOSE NOT TO TAKE IT.”
It was not really a choice he could’ve made. He would’ve been more than happy to take the DPS path. To avoid the damage, and to stay behind Gad. But it wasn’t a real choice. His dad needed him, and he needed that hybrid tank/DPS path.
“I OFFER YOU THE CHOICE AGAIN, ONE FINAL TIME. TURN BACK FROM THIS PATH. LEAVE THROUGH THE GATE. ACCEPT YOUR FORGIVENESS, AND I WILL GRANT YOU A DIFFERENT PATH. A MIGHTY PATH. ONE SUITABLE FOR YOUR COURAGE AND SACRIFICE.”
Nar shook his head.
No… I can’t.
“CAN’T OR WON’T, NAR?”
Nar wept.
He would not abandon them.
He would see his dad again, in the Eternal Dark if it had to be. Both of his dads and mother, and grandparents, and friends and other loved ones, and they would be proud of him.
I don’t accept your offer.
A dot of light appeared. Gray, hazy light.
“THEN, YOU HAVE EARNED YOUR REQUEST… BUT REMEMBER THIS, NAR, IN THE THINGS YET TO COME. THIS IS NOT A REWARD, AND YOU WERE THE ONE WHO MADE THIS CHOICE.”
The dot of light exploded and aura engulfed him.
A gray window appeared before him. Aura swirled across it, but the bright white letters were perfectly legible.
-[ Executing subroutine 0C00H0000A.
All conditions met!
Damaged dealt exceeds threshold.
Damage received exceeds threshold.
Personality results exceed the threshold.
Choices results exceed the threshold.
[Aura] requirements exceed the threshold.
[???] requirements exceed the threshold.
[???] requirements exceed the threshold.
Bonus condition met!
Bonus condition met!
Bonus condition met!
Bonus condition met!
Bonus condition met!
Bonus condition met!
Bonus condition met!
Hidden Quest, Be Worthy of your Request, completed!
Class change available!
The Path of the Champion (Apprentice) unlocked!
You have proven yourself worthy of the path you seek.
Do you accept this burden?
Yes / No
This is not a reward. ]-
A burden… He read. Not a reward.
It was just like Rel’s class change.
Would that class bring him pain? Would it ask him to sacrifice his life and HP in exchange for power?
He smiled.
If by his sacrifice he could repay his debts, to his dad, and to his party who had carried him all the way there, to the very end, then so be it.
He would sacrifice everything.
Yes!
-[ Class change initiated.
Reward!
Emergency class change triggered.
Class change complete.
Rewards:
Use of the skill [Mantle of the Champion] (single use only).
Use of the skill [Strike of the Champion] (single use only).
When you strike, reach within, not without. ]-
His foot came down.
The bridge, the party, the enemy.
Everything was back again.
Dark blue electricity raged above them all, and its intent whispered darkly in his mind.
However, his aura drove the whispers away.
“Nar?” Jul asked.
“Stand back,” Nar said.
He stepped forward again. One step. Two steps. Three.
[Mantle of the Champion].
The Nexus went gray.
His aura flared out from him, encasing him, hugging him tightly in a 10-feet wide raging, swirling, curling mass of grays, black and whites.
Power coursed through him.
Real power.
Power that came from within him.
At last, he understood the truth.
He had no need for magic, and he would chase it no longer.
Everything was clear and sharp now, and he felt the tiredness of the battle melt from him.
He kicked the floor and flew towards his party.
*********
Beyond them, far, far away, the gate was closing.
Behind them, and all around them, the enemy was closing in.
“We can make it!” Cen shouted.
Gad knew they never would.
She hoped that at least some of them had made it.
Then, a gray light burst to life up ahead.
“What is that?” Cen asked. “It’s so much aura!”
The light dashed forward, passing them in a blink of an eye.
Nar?
*********
It’s not fair.
Viy had passed out again.
Tuk, his arms numb, continued to drag her towards the diminishing light.
He knew he would never make it.
Not unless he abandoned her.
And he never would.
In front of him, he noticed Kur, trying to get up from amidst the corpses.
Behind him, the Raid Boss turned.
Tuk fought back the tears and stopped where he was.
It’s not fair.
At the very least, he wouldn’t let the Crystal watch him cry as he died.
Then, a gray light dashed past him, heading straight towards the Raid Boss.
And within it, he could've sworn he saw Nar.
*********
Kur’s heart shattered when he finally marshaled enough willpower to get up to his elbows, and looked behind him.
Gad, Mul, Cen, Tuk, Viy, Nar and Jul.
His whole party was still there.
None of them had escaped.
He had made no difference in the end…
Tears welled up behind his eyes.
He wanted to shout at them to run. To leave, to keep going. At least Nar and Jul could still make it! They were fast enough to do it!
Please, go! he begged. At least some of us will survive!
Instead, Nar walked towards them, and aura exploded around him.
It was a bright, almost blinding light that reached down to touch his very core.
Kur felt tears fall as that light rushed towards him.
Oh, Nar. Till the very end… You’ve never let us down.
Comments
Lucas Onderwater
Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it!!
Felix Skinner
Chills. Fantastic writing and you really earned that payoff
Lucas Onderwater
If there ever was a moment to stand up and finally see things as they are, it was now, wasn't it? I'm glad you liked it! 🥰
Blorcyn
Here. We. Go. Good bait and switch. I really did think until we got to Nar that the choice wasn’t going to be what he got, and it wasn’t going to be the moment he casts away his lie and accepts the truth. I’m glad it was. I thought it was going to be what Tuk once told him about having to choose, one day, which of them would die. Hopefully that won’t be next chapter too.
