Chapter 27: Sorry, Zenakris

Chapter 27: Sorry, Zenakris

His vision had been clouded by red, an overwhelming desire for retaliation seeping out of his body with every exhale.

Haah haah., Tom huffed, his eyes still wide, his body shivering and his psyche teetering on the verge of madness.

A second later, remorse took hold of him but Tom refuted the urge to break out into tears Zenakris Renain had done nothing except defend the sovereignty of his own mind and his reaction had been way overboard in the heat of the moment. He was just grateful, thankful even, to know that he hadnt stolen his memories, merely copied them.

He knew that his journey would be a tumultuous one in the best of times and down the path, he might be forced to defend himself against more than mindless beasts. But to steal someones memories was condemning them to a far worst fate, atleast in his eyes. He wasnt sure if he could bring himself to use such a twisted power and even if he did, the toll it would take upon his mind no.

Dont think about that.

Perhaps the reason why he felt so terrible was because Zenakris was so unexpectedly human. His thoughts, his desires and his dreams were so relatable so normal that after having experienced the affection he felt for Valeria and the loyalty he had for his comrades, the respect their group showed for guards whose status they dwarfed and the honor they carried themselves with Tom wasnt sure if he could bring himself to harm the man even if they were locked into a confrontation.

Perhaps that was the consequence of prying into someones mind, experiencing their memories as they were ones own.

That, however, wasnt the greatest malady that plagued him.

A thought had taken root in his mind and he wasnt sure how to placate it.

Was this the real world? Or was he still trapped in Maya?

As someone who had experienced what it was like to die twice, he found Maya far more terrifying to live in someones shoes for a day was one thing, but what if it had been a week? A month? A year? Would the person that came out still be him? What if he was currently in Maya?

What even was real? What was illusory?

No wait. Calm down.

There was one thing.

Tom still vividly remembered how he felt in Zenakris footsteps. There was a cadence to his movements, a self-assuredness that he projected as he walked through the forest Tom recalled how refined Zenakris or well, his movements had been when hed noticed the shadowy silhouette poking out from behind cover. With a fluid flourish of his hands, hed stripped and reformed the shadows into a ball as if he was the undisputed monarch of the darkness, [The Umbra] truly displaying how much an upgrade it was from just the [Common] rarity to the [Uncommon] rarity.

The ability to manipulate shadows, as fascinating as that was the system only deemed it to be of the [Uncommon] rarity.

The entire time he had experienced Maya, he distinctly remembered being tethered to [The Umbra] card as if it were a natural extension of his self, not once doubting the assertion that it was his [Soul Card]. It was as if [The Fool] had never existed.

With quivering hands, Tom reached out inside his chest and a card responded. It was not the inky, chilling blackness of [The Umbra] that welcomed him, but instead it was a card that had a Jester sketched upon its surface. This time, it was not his visage sketched onto the cards face, but instead Zenakris Renains Tom was inches away from freaking out when he recalled the [Divine Systems] words.

.....Active Shroud has copied the appearance of Zenakris Renain. Both effects shall last for the next twenty four hours.

Taking comfort in the feeling of mystery and intrigue that [The Fool] card somehow exuded, Tom decided that it would be his cornerstone, the arbitrator between reality and illusion, illusion and reality. If he had to trust something, it had to be the one card that had allowed him to outfox the bearded old man, even if unintentionally.

Most of all, he needed it for his own sanity.

Taking a deep breath, Tom placed his hands over his face, cupping it gently. The skin was a little too rugged, the cheekbones a little too high. As his right hand inched towards his scalp, he did not find the tuft of unkempt hair that he was expecting, instead finding close-cropped, prickly hair that didnt even possess an inchs worth of length hair that most decidedly did not belong to him and skin that felt foriegn to the touch.

Allowing himself to focus harder on the sensation, Tom realized that he could perceive a thin. layer of something akin to an additional layer of membrane that ensconced the entirety of his body. He could feel the undulations in the membrane as he moved his head from left to right, as it shifted to accommodate his shocked expression.

Halt there, laddy! One of the guards shouted out, the same one that had spoken to Valeria earlier. He gave him an appraising look, his expression a little strange, before he spoke, Ah thought yer were here to look fer a summon. Wheres tha rest of yer mates?

It took Tom a few seconds to parse through the guards thick accent in a language he hadnt known how to speak up until an hour ago. He compared the guards inflection to what Zenakris had construed earlier, and with a little guesswork the question roughly boiled down to what he had expected.

Tom averted his gaze away a little, letting out a forceful exhale before answering, Zenthum arreknalak ze rhhum no doria el kari-filnsari

Those people dont deserve my companionship, He replied, letting a little noble arrogance seep into his voice or atleast, his best impression of arrogance. It wasnt exactly his strong suit.

Yerall seemed pretty chummy earlier. Wait., The guard exchanged a quick glance with his fellow guardsman and both let out a light chortle.

This was an unexpected turn.

Tom suppressed the churning anxiety in his gut, wondering if hed made a mistake in his mannerisms or communication. But he didnt do anything untoward, determined to maintain his act until the last moment.

Kid, yer asked the little missy out, didntcha? the guard asked.

Tom blinked.

It was written all over yer face, lad, The guard replied with a guffaw.

Tom let out an angry grunt, a light blush forming on his face even when he wasnt the subject of their ribbing. Perhaps there were still some residual memories and emotions left from stepping into Maya, or it was his awkwardness choosing the wrong moment to act. Either way, it only deepened his act.

Can I go now, he near-snapped, still choosing to maintain a modicum of respect.

Are the rest of yer friends alright? The guard asked, his question asked now in the capacity of a representative of the [Divine System] even if it was at the lowest rung.

Valeria is too powerful for anything in the menagerie to scratch her. I asked them to let me go on ahead first, Tom replied with a sullen expression on his face. He still didnt know how he felt about his nightmare being a. Menagerie for academy students to capture pets. It was both infuriating and gratifying, because ultimately it might have been the sole reason he had survived.

Thankfully, the guard nodded at his words.

While Zenakris alone was terrifying enough, he seemed to have a deep rooted inferiority complex that he tried to bury whenever he looked at Valeria. She had to be the real monster in the group, which only redoubled his motivation to get far away from this place.

Alright, lad. Just so yer know, the [Dungeon] is scheduled to reset in about half an hour. Not that it should be a problem for yer but you can wait fer yererm, friends, if yer want to.

FUCK.

Tom tried to hide his shock at those words but he couldnt hesitate now. There was no reason for Zenakris to be afraid of the [Nether Devils] buthe wasnt Zenakris. But if he chose to wait or ran back to the forest, theyd know something was wrong, very wrong.

Half an hour if he sprinted.

No problem, Tom replied, and the guards stepped aside.

As he descended into the cavern, only the guards muffled laughter was his companionment.

Sorry, Zenakris.