Chapter 175: Winds of Silence

Winds of Silence

Cain looked up, the open, blue sky of L.A. spreading into infinity, a golden circlet shining high up. The buzz around continued, people going in and out of the Tower without a stop, the race of the world neverending. His group remained silent and low, shuffling themselves free swiftly and moving to the Rick's compound that had spread even further and had grown even more boisterous in terms of its defensive prowess.

Rather than going through the front, Cain snuck them in; none were in the mood for anything other than withdrawing into their apartments and taking long showers and naps.

"Come by our place tonight, for a dinner," Cain said. "And we'll figure everything else out. Rest."

"Yeah." Kramer, Sigmund, Daniel, and Jamal went their separate ways while Emma, Senna, and Cain entered together and went up.

Luckily, Lana wasn't in the apartment, as Cain had already confirmed she was with Emma's sister and her kids, playing. While Senna quickly went to her room, Emma sat on a couch and turned on the TV while Cain poured both a glass of whiskey, sitting next to her. The droning of the TV was good to kill the heavy silence, at least until Emma broke it anyway.

"What now?"

"Hm?"

"Well, I mean, you're level 1," she said. "You're gonna need a boost, man!"

"Ha ha ha, come on, relax. I can easily catch up."

"Nuh-uh," she said. "I wanna come. Just the two of us, you know? No party, no responsibilities. Just... you and me. It can be like our second honeymoon."

"Oh? Your idea of a honeymoon is spending days and nights killing creatures inside the new phenomenon that shook the world?"

"Yup."

"Fuck, you're sick."

"Aah, tell me about it," she sighed, snuggling up to him. "I... I wanna catch up on everything, C'. And, well, this would be a perfect opportunity."

"Senna's been eavesdropping this whole time," Cain said as a startled yelp reached them. "You think she's gonna let us go?"

"Ah, I'm sure she will," Emma said, glancing back. "Won't you, sweetie?"

"W-whatever, I don't care. Do whatever you want, geez. Who's the kid around here, eh?"

"... wanna bet," Cain chuckled as Senna stormed away. "In about ten years, her entire body will undergo repulsive gagging whenever she remembers moments like these?"

"Ten years? Sheesh, give her some credit. I say... hmm... eight."

"Oh, wow. Mighty bold of you."

"Eh, she's our kid; if we ain't gonna have faith in her, who will?"

"Amen to that," Cain chuckled as they clanked their glasses together, turning silent for a moment. "We're startin' to grow a real big family."

"Yeah."

"We should make it official. Again, I mean."

"Cain Gregory," Emma chuckled, looking up at him. "Are you asking me to re-marry you?"

"Emma Mathews -- I most certainly am."

"... can't believe it's still more romantic than the first time you did it, ha ha."

"Ouch," Cain shuddered. "Don't remind me."

"Yeah..."

"... I love you, Emma," Cain broke the silence after a few moments, taking Emma's glass and putting it down onto the table, grabbing her hand and holding it gently after. "And if I'm gonna spend my life being an overbearing, overprotective jackass, I may as well do it as your husband rather than this weird combo of quasi-boyfriend/ex-husband thingy we got goin' on now. And, y'know, despite how we flamed out toward the end... we had a good few years in there, at least until I became the full-on jackass version of me."

"Aah, we had more than just a few years," she said, standing up and stretching. "And yes, I will marry you. But!! This time, we gotta have an actual wedding. You're a rich man now, you can afford it."

"Hey, I'mma do my cliche fiance thing -- give you the reins and let you fly, baby. Oh, and a blank cheque, of course."

"Yeah, right. As if anyone uses a fucking cheque anymore. Anyway, I'm gonna take a shower. I'd ask you to join me, but I just really wanna actually shower and then just fall asleep. I give you the permission to wank off though. Here," she lifted her top for a moment and grinned at him. "A little push."

"Aww, that's sweet. Thanks."

He watched her back as she vanished into the hallway, sporting the same strut that had most of the boys in high school turning their heads. He chuckled and turned back toward the TV, hollowly staring through it. For the first time since his return... he felt pressure.

He knew that his actions won't come without consequences, and despite his external bravado, he was worried. He didn't know the depths of the Keeper's background, just the general surface and rumors he'd picked up the last go-around. Still, he was just worried -- hardly mortified.

Even still, the change was evident; were this his past life, he would have never done something so rash and dangerous. Rather, he would have swallowed the fact that he had been played and likely either completely moved on or, if he had a sensible potential for revenge, bode his time until then.

Of all the changes, though, this one was one he didn't mind; he hardly liked who he was for most of the twenty-five years the last time around. If anything, toward the end, he loathed the very essence of his being. Shrugging and sipping the last of his whiskey, he went to the balcony and sat down, gazing at the behemoth piercing the sky. It was hardly a fresh start, but it was an opportunity still; he knew that he needed to tighten-up. There was little room now for spontaneity and going off-course frequently. His goal was to reach the Second Awakening as swiftly as possible -- and for that to happen... he had to reach 30th Floor.

Realistically, even if he spent every waking day in the Tower and never stopped climbing, it would still likely take at least 6-7 years, even with all his knowledge, to get there. For the floors where the point was simply to level up enough and get the best gear possible before facing the Floor Guardian it wasn't such a big deal, but a lot of floors were like the 2nd -- either there was a specific requirement for the number of Conquerors, or the clearing of the floor was time-gated behind a convoluted set of storylines, quests, and battles.

He knew it wasn't a sprint, but even a marathon could be optimized; at some points, it was wise to conserve the stamina, but, from time to time, it was better to let loose and run. If he wanted to, he knew he could clear the 2nd floor within a few months -- the battle against the Sun King was open now, and even with just the remaining party members, it was feasible since he wasn't a Phantom Boss.

Climbing up the stratas, too, would be a joke for him; though he wanted others to experience a bit more of that place, there was no point to it now as he suspected they wanted to get out of it as much as he did. I can just flip the world too, he mused, though somewhat disliked the last part; after all, if he did it, he would likely set humans back a good few months in dealing with the reality.

"Hey," Senna interrupted his thoughts as she joined him, sitting besides on the chair.

"Oh? You recovered pretty quickly."

"Shut up."

"Ha ha ha..."

"... you seriously dropped back to Level 1?" she scoffed. "That's kinda lame."

"Yea, tell me about it. Wanna bet I could still kick your ass, though?"

"... why play the losing bet?" though she laughed, Cain noted it was hardly an encouraging one. She'd lost it, at least partly -- the confidence, the brimming will that she oozed with every single one of her movements.

"Look at me," Cain called out, drawing her eyes over and smiling gently at her. "You're too beautiful to be dragging yourself through that filth, kiddo."

"..."

"Ain't nobody in that party been weak," he added, taking out a cigarette and lighting it up. "You all were strong. Likely the strongest in the world."

"But if you were there, things would have gone differently."

"Not 'cause of my strength, though," Cain said. "But literally one variable you can't compete on with me -- knowledge of the future. I have a cheat, kiddo, and that cheat has allowed me to keep up with the ilk whose footsteps I desperately wanted to follow all my life... but couldn't. It's unfair--unfair to you, to Emma, to everyone else, that you've got this wrapped image of me inside your heads. Even you. If there was a tournament tomorrow, and every single Conqueror in the world was invited... you, or Emma, or Daniel, or Jamal... or even Diya and Lukas... you lot would take those first spots without even an ounce of competition. So, against millions of others... why in the fuck do you choose to compare to me? You say I saved you... but if it was anyone else there, there'd be no one to save, Senna. You all held on. And, whatever you may think, that's a fuckin' miracle, kiddo. You held on against a Phantom Boss for hours. Do you know that superstar-level 'heroes' died like fuckin' ants in front of Phantom Bosses?

"Not to mention, for all intents and purposes, you are still kids in that place. All of you. It's been... what? Nine months since the Tower fell? Including the timeline mumbo-jumbo of the Underworld? Fuck, do you know where humanity was the last time? Nowhere. Literally. We had shit. Strongest Conquerors switched day after day since everyone kept dying. And now... we have peeps who actually survived against a Phantom Boss."

"Calling it 'surviving' is a whole lot of stretching," Senna scoffed. "And you ask why we compare ourselves to you... isn't it simple? We wanna be the best. And... you... you are the best. Scarily so. Say what you will, excuse it all with borrowed powers and cheats and whatever... if that tournament was indeed held, you could take on the whole world by yourself and wipe our asses so hard we'd be counting stars for months after from our beds."

"... I've asked Em' to marry me." Cain abruptly changed the topic, surprising Senna.

"W-what?"

"She said yes," he added with a grin. "I've won my second chance. The actual one. To me... the Tower, right now, is just an afterthought. I wanna do it, grow strong, learn what's behind the curtain. But if the shit ever takes too much... I'm giving up, Senna. In a heartbeat. I don't care if I'm the strongest, or if I have the cheat, or any of that shit. My life... isn't in there. It's out here. All of our lives are out here. I keep sayin' it... but I don't think any of you ever truly got what I meant."

"... yea, well, that's 'cause you suck at explaining."

"Alright, I'll give you that. So, let me be as straightforward as I can," Cain said, taking a deep breath. "If you hit a wall tomorrow--if you met a boss you physically can't see yourself ever defeating... there are two choices you can make. Give up... or keep going. Every single person, including Emma... would take the second one. 'cause you think that there's an answer out there, a magical solution. I would give up. Just like that."

"... just... like that?"

"Just like that," he nodded. "I'd walk out that place, head held up high, and flip it off. It broke my heart... when I saw you lot lying around like that. And the uncertainty of who was alive, if anyone... had me reeling. The fuck would I want to spend my life for in there if that's how I was gonna spend it? Worrying, rattling inside my head, every fucking day. And that's how weak I am, kiddo. As I've said countless times before, I am quite a bit of a pussy. Every battle I fought, I fought because I had a fairly good idea on the outcome. And the first rash decision I made, to kill that shithead that sent you away, has me fuckin' terrified," he exaggerated a bit for the point. "And... I'll push it, Senna. I'll push myself as far as I can go. How far that is... I can't say. All I ask is that you realize... you all are much better than me. You're braver, less stained, and far more fucking talented than I'll ever be. While the sky's the limit for me, there ain't one for you. If you try to half-ass the measure of yourself against me now, you're missing the point. Think of twenty years into the future. Think of the time when my cheat is no longer here to carry my weak ass.

"At that time... I'll be the cheerleader waving his fuckin' pom-pons out and about while the rest of you go out and kick some ass. You'll shoot so far past me it's gonna be like lyrics in one of those shitty, motivational songs. You know, 'when you feel the lowest that's when you take a shotgun and aim the highest', nonsense like that."

"Well, that was nonsense..." Senna chuckled, shaking her head.

"I already told you... without a cheat... you... you were so far beyond me I didn't even have the right to stand in the same room as you."

"You should have," she said suddenly. "Maybe if you were... I wouldn't have become a bitch, apparently."

"... you're gonna be just fine, kiddo," Cain chuckled, ruffling her hair gently as she lowered her head, curling her fingers together. "And, some day in the future, I'll be that annoying, embarrassing dad goin' 'that's my kid out there, fuckers! That's my kid! Look at 'er, whooping some ass!' And I'll be the proudest fucker this universe has ever seen. You belong among the stars, Senna. Don't sell yourself short, ever again. And... I'm just your chaperon. My job is to take you from here to there, and then watch you as you shine your light upon the whole universe. 'cause that's what dads do. They start off better, but all they want is for the day to dawn... when their kids become better, greater, far more successful."

"... r-really?" she stuttered as her voice cracked.

"Yeah," Cain said, smiling encouragingly and lifting her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. Hers were tear-glazed, yet cheerful. "All I want... is for the opportunity for my throat to burn from all the cheering. So, I need you to fly, kiddo. I'll give you the wings... and you... you just need to take flight, is all."

She sat silently for a moment before heaving her arms around him and tossing her had into his chest, crying. It was the first time Cain had heard her cry; it was an outburst, a freeing, calming outburst of tears that she likely held in for years. He merely hugged her back and watched the horizon light up with the colors of fire, the world alight at twilight, and the winds of silence carrying the calming grace before the eve and night fell.