Chapter 886 Cost

"Here I am again." Eldrian mumbled with a sigh. "But it is strange that I always appear here, and not in the place where the other players wait to respawn. I wonder why."

There were a few times where Eldrian hadn't. But that was back when he lost consciousness along with his death. 'I wonder. Back then, what happened?'

Eldrian recalled his earlier deaths. Back then, he had always woken back on Earth first. 'I guess I've always been a bit reckless.'

Eldrian didn't expect to meet GAIA today. This death didn't warrant a meeting. Nor did he wish to talk with them. Knowing that they were planning to use him, he couldn't trust them.

'Perhaps that is a child's view...' Eldrian thought. Floating between the heavens, he pondered this question. 'Perhaps trust is overrated?'

Trust was certainly great, but you couldn't always believe in people doing the right thing. Eldrian certainly couldn't trust Levana and her kind on their word alone. It was why Fort Phoenix needed something like a contract barrier to protect everyone inside. He couldn't even trust them to not harm normal people.

That didn't mean it was impossible for them to find common ground. Nor was it impossible to understand what she might want from their relationship. But there was an inherent difference separating them from one another.

'Yes. Trust is precious, but it is too rare. And I've been blessed, but it isn't logical to rely on it.' Instead of wondering if he could trust them, he should rather assume he couldn't. And instead of hoping for trust, he should attempt to understand them.

'The AI I already understand. So I know why they would betray me. I can work with that. I'm fine being used as long as they don't cross the line. Perhaps that is the best I can hope for?'

Honestly, this was the exact deal Eldrian had with Skepsi. Realizing this, Eldrian felt he could work with this. He would use her as a test. To see if he could manage such a relationship. He certainly had a few choice words for her, but that had to wait.

With his concerns about the AI, specifically GAIA, dealt. Eldrian turned his thoughts to his condition.

Even his soul body was mangled. It reflected the state he was in before his death. His right arm was missing below the elbow. His body was dotted with missing flesh, as if shredded by shrapnel. Some shredding from the soul attack, other pieces consumed by wrath.

It was easy enough to distinguish what was lost due to what. What wrath consumed was burnt, whereas the other parts were cleanly severed from his form. 'Is the right arm supposed to portray Two's death?' Eldrian wondered.

When the time came to resurrect, Eldrian headed to the divine temple where players normally found themselves after dying. There, he received a system prompt, which he accepted. Dazzling white light enveloped him next, and when Eldrian opened his eyes, he was inside a temple in Kynigo.

[Inform Elizabeth that she can log back in.] Eldrian sent the message to Ilmadia, and also asked for an update on the retreat.

'I'm glad it is going well,' Eldrian thought with a smile, accepting the help from the clerics after they overcame their astonishment at his appearance.

They were long since used to the Chosen appearing inside the main hall of the temple, but this was certainly the first time they saw one arrive in such a condition. It was common knowledge that upon reviving, all damage was gone and a full healthy body would be returned to the Chosen.

"By Asteria! What happened?" The head priest asked, running into the hall, hastened by clerics.

"A rather nasty soul attack." Eldrian replied. Naturally, the clerics had immediately recognized Eldrian as the hero of Kynigo. Seeing his state, they had already moved to inform the relevant higher ups.

"I would offer my healing, but..." The head priest bowed in apology.

"It's fine. It's the cost I have to pay." Eldrian said, raising his left hand to stop the priest from bowing even further. "Can you organize a carriage for me?"

"Of course!"

Taking a seat, Eldrian took the offered refreshments. However, his smile could not erase the unease filling the temple. Due to Eldrian's achievements, and Pelaros using them to boost morale, seeing Eldrian so mangled was certain to create a heavy atmosphere.

'He'll have to deal with that. I have other things I need to work out.' Eldrian could sense it. His right arm would not return. Not without divine intervention. 'Is that why I didn't lose any levels? Or is something else at play'

—

Eldrian's first stop was his estate. Where he found Aspen hard at work. Tjan was working with Phoenix on the front lines, along with Brazen. Aspen, here in the city, was working on the logistics.

"Hey, Nikki." Eldrian greeted the girl working with Aspen to organize everything. Her job was to share information on the mission with the city in real time, and also figure out how to split the people once they arrived.

"Eldrian..." Her words caught in her throat when she saw Eldrian's state. How he wasn't bleeding out was a miracle. His clothes might hide the worst of his injuries, but he was clearly scarred all over.

"Aspen, do we have some of the black material in the estate?"

"There is some from your last experiment still in the basement." The wolfkin replied, "I will go fetch Solvi."

Eldrian smiled, happy that Aspen understood his intentions so quickly. "I'm near my limit. So we can leave it for tomorrow. Nikki, I wanted to update you before I retire."

As quick as he was able, Eldrian explained what he had done. Shared the important individuals he had killed, the lich had sadly avoided death, and shared the video he had taken of the entire event.

"I'm not good with editing. But I recorded the entire time. I'm sure you can use that well." Eldrian wasn't sure how the recording help up after the soul attack. Even if everything after was lost, it was still certain to light a fire under the players.

Eldrian wasn't hoping to force Miracle to do something. He already understood their viewpoint, and also that they couldn't be forced to do anything. Not without the governments around the entire world joining hands to pressure the company.

'And that's never happening. But it also isn't the plan.' Eldrian didn't want to fight Miracle on this. He understood that they couldn't bring about peace. If something like that was so easy, then the world would have had peace.

'Hah, never thought that freedom would be the thing that makes it impossible for Miracle.'

Seeing Eldrian's smirk, Nikki enquired what he was thinking. "Nothing much. I just realized how screwed we are if we want to go after Miracle with this."

"How so?"

Aspen was already out of the manor, so they could speak freely. The maid girls were generally smart enough to not interrupt any serious conversations.

Eldrian had already told them to leave the study alone. Getting them to not worry about his condition had been impossible, however.

"If we claim the NPCs are alive and deserve better. If we want to advocate for their rights, then we have to accept all rights."

"Of course."

"And we can't nitpick a select number of NPCs to advocate for." Eldrian continued, and Nikki's eyes grew wide.

"Yup, if we want to go for AI rights, then all the NPCs and even the gods must fall into the same category. Which means... we're screwed."

"Yeah. If we push, Miracle can simply say this is the outcome of giving them freedom." Nikki nodded.

AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter.