Death… And Me

Chapter 3644: Exit?

”Alright, you guys decide what you want to do. Everyone, let’s go,” Royer said, being told by Roan to do so. They began to walk away with no real objective in mind. ”If anyone decides to come with us, feel free to do so. Staying still will definitely bring us nowhere.”

Grititi was taken aback. ”Does that mean I don’t need to follow you?”

Royer, surprisingly, nodded. ”You can leave if you want. It doesn’t look like a bait will be of any use in this place anyway.”

’What about the Soul Power Bomb?’ Grititi asked through Divine Sense this time.

’Oh? That?’ Royer faintly smiled at him. ’Well, you can pray I’m in a good mood or that I will forget someday. Hahaha!’

”So is that it?!” Lindiho complained. ”Aren’t we breaking apart too easily? Even if we separate from each other, our chances of finding an exit would still be the same individually.”

Lindiho was right. On a personal level, whatever direction you choose will still give you the same chances of finding the right path. It would be meaningless if someone else found the exit, but you didn’t.

Werkel agreed with him. ”Indeed. Royer, I’m sticking with you guys.”

”Suit yourself,” Royer didn’t mind.

Cafantrie pondered a bit, looking at the darkness around. She could use her own power to illuminate a little, but she wouldn’t be as good as Rean and his Light Laws and Element. Also, she has been feeling more and more uncomfortable as time passes. ”Whatever. I’m also sticking with you guys.”

In the end, everyone still decided to travel together. The only difference was that they weren’t following Cafantrie’s treasure direction anymore.

”Tch...” Grititi gave up and decided to follow them as well. Wasn’t that just a provocation from Royer, telling him to leave so then he could kill him? Grititi definitely felt like it. Besides... he looked at the darkness that was kept away thanks to Rean’s Sphere of Light, and it gave him a chill he couldn’t understand.

Rean noticed something. ”By the way, I don’t want you to think I want you guys to leave. There is safety in numbers, after all. However... what if this region is actually about being alone? Could it be none of us found an exit exactly because we are together?”

”This...” Everyone was taken aback. Could he be right?

Roan glanced at Rean. He could tell Rean’s real intentions. He was testing them. ’So you noticed.’

Rean confirmed. ’And so did you.’

Werkel thought about it for a moment but quickly gave up. ”It might be right, but it might be wrong. I’ll stick around for the next few months. If we still don’t find anything, I will leave alone.”

That seemed feasible. A few months on top of what they already spent here wouldn’t make that big of a difference. Yes, they would be losing more of the opening time of the Golden Palace, and they didn’t like it, but they were that lost anyway.

Werkel’s words made everyone decide to stay together once again. Or perhaps they simply couldn’t see themselves walking away alone in the Darkness. The only question was how long that would last.

’Hey,’ Kentucky talked to Rean and Roan, ’What if Rean is right?’

Roan didn’t care that much. ’You, Celis, the Idiot and I are connected. We can feel each other’s location. If we really need to be alone, it won’t be much of a problem. We can go in separate directions, and if one of us finds an exit, he can tell us, and the others can simply follow him.’

’Ah!’ Kentucky had almost forgotten that, feeling fed up with this place. ’Then why are we even sticking around? I can simply bring Rifindio with me, and then we can go in four different directions. You guys bring Royer, Elsie, and maybe this Grititi guy if you feel like it. Our chances of finding an exit would be much higher.’

Roan shook his head. ’I don’t think this region is about finding an exit.’

Rean agreed with Roan. ’He is probably right. To be honest, I don’t think this region is that big to start with.’

’Eh?’ Kentucky and even Celis, who had just heard so far, got confused. ’What do you mean?’

’Everyone is starting to lose their calm,’ Roan partially explained.

Truth be told, this group shouldn’t have stayed this calm for this long. It was thanks to Rean’s Light Element and Laws that countered the surrounding Laws of Darkness, and that gave them some assurance.

When you get stuck in a place where everything is pitch black for such a long time and just can’t find an exit, you would sooner or later begin to feel the mental burden. However, everyone here is old to a fault and has a lot of experience, so they definitely wouldn’t lose their minds that easily. But, from what Roan can feel, the Laws of Darkness and the Darkness itself aren’t the only challenges.

’There is something else, something that makes those present in this place destabilize,’ Roan continued. ’Look at yourselves and tell me. Aren’t you feeling restless for a while already?’

’This...’ Kentucky and Celis had no choice but to agree. Yes, Roan was right. They were feeling like that. ’Is this a mental test then?’

’Perhaps,’ Roan didn’t confirm. ’But that is not the key point. The key point is what will happen once a threshold arrives. If I were the one who built this place, that would be the time I would bring out the real challenge.’

Kentucky and Celis looked at each other. ’And what will be this challenge?’

’Who knows?’ Roan couldn’t possibly know everything. ’First of all, this is all a theory. I might be 100% wrong.’

’Oh, great... very reassuring...’ Kentucky sighed.

’It is never too late to separate into four groups and look for an exit.’ Rean felt fine with that. ’Don’t forget. Even though there are things we want very much in this Golden Palace, the main objective is still to simply complete the system’s quest. We are exploring, aren’t we? We didn’t give up, so we should receive the rewards from the quest even if we get stuck here. What do you think, Sister Orb?’

[Probably?] Sister Orb wasn’t sure, obviously. [I don’t control the system, so you might be wrong, too. But I do think you are right about that.]

Following that, Rean told the same thing to Royer, Elsie, and Rifindio through Divine Sense. As one could expect, those three didn’t like it very much, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it. Of course, they noticed that they were indeed being mentally affected and were now trying to keep their feelings in check. It was obvious once Rean pointed it out. The darkness of this place had some kind of effect on the mind.

For the next four months, the situation continued the same, and as Roan predicted, everyone was at their wits ends. Even Royer, Elsie, and Rifindio, who knew this was a thing, couldn’t help but feel pressured.

”Enough!” Lindiho was the first one to give up. ”I’m leaving!” And so he did, walking away.

Cafantrie, Werkel, and Grititi didn’t take long to do the same. It had been too long; they were growing crazy already, so they might as well try to find an exit on their own.

Yet, no more than a few minutes passed before they all returned. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to go away, but they were forced to return... by themselves.

There was no barrier, there were no enemies, there was nothing, just darkness. That was the problem. When they walked away from Rean’s Light Sphere range, terror overcame them for some reason, and they ran back as fast as they could. They even felt like they would be swallowed by that darkness, which seemed ridiculous. There is nothing in this place that can really attack them physically.

Roan glanced at Rean, nodding.

Rean sighed and did what no one there wanted. He stopped using his Light Sphere, retracting his Major Laws of Light.

”What?!”

Sure enough, they all panicked. ”Turn it back on! Turn it back on!!!”

They used their own powers to try to generate some light, but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as Rean’s power. Tension escalated. They quickly turned in Rean’s direction. ”What the hell are you doing! Use your ability again!”

Rean shook his head, ’visibly’ tired. ”I... I can’t. I’m too tired. I’m simply empty. I need a few hours to recover my reserves.”

”Fuck!” Everyone felt tormented. That actually included Rifindio, Royer, and Elsie, who knew this was going to happen. Those three just weren’t feeling as bad as the rest.

Celis and Kentucky had the connection with the twins, and that connection served as a reassurance for them, so it was easier.

Yet, just as some were about to lose their heads...

”Here it comes,” Roan murmured. He could feel it. A shift was about to happen.