Chapter 621: Day 5,144 (2) – Restless Night

Chapter 621: Day 5,144 (2) – Restless Night

I sat on the bridge of the Crystal Vortex drinking from a large jug of fruit juice, as I looked out over the Forbidden City. That was a pretentious name, but it seemed like this place was just as pivotal as Purgatory, perhaps even more so. Perhaps how pretentious the name was, translated to how important the city was in terms of events.

There was movement behind me, but I wasnt worried. Jacob came around and looked slightly surprised to see me. Emperor Michael, he greeted me.

Working late? I asked.

That and doing final checks. Trying to think of anything else I can do, he said.

Well feel free to join me. We havent talked personally to each other. And if you are coming along I would like to know you better, I said.

Beyond being the Master Fleshcrafter? he asked.

And how you ended up in such a role? I asked.

I wanted to live. One didnt fight the Divine Empress and win until you did. She wanted cruelty and I was her dealer of choice. I saw people resist, there was nothing they could do, he said with a sigh.

And before? I asked and he gave me a confused look. Back on Earth?

Oh, I was a professor of biology, he said.

That makes sense. Were you really fooled by me when I robbed this city? I asked.

Yes. I was much more focused on the Divine Empress than gazing at her intensely. When you get more stats, physical features can be less clear if you are looking at energy. While hers was off, she had been gone for a while. Things were falling apart. I didnt think anyone would be so daring, he replied.

It was quite bold, I replied and drank from my jug of fruit juice.

If you dont me saying, you are much better than the Divine Empress. You dont want a screaming throne, Jacob said, and I snorted at that.

She was brutal, with no mercy to anyone. Motivating yourself, what a joke. Time off might as well ask for a permanent retirement. Sure, I got to do research, but it was research in hell. I wasnt so sure about you for a long time, but the fact you havent killed me yet, well thanks, Jacob rambled a bit.

You are useful. Anyone else in your situation wouldnt have lived, I said.

I know it. I am hoping that coming along will prove that I am not completely hopeless, he said.

It is do or die, but I appreciate it. More than you might think. It is us against this place. Just adding additional cruelty and suffering on top of all that, seems incredibly pointless, I explained.

This place was my home away from home. This might be the end. You ever wonder if there is anything after this? Jacob asked me.

One theory about this place, is that everyone is already dead and we are just waiting to enter hell, I replied. Jacob gave me a look and I rolled my eyes. Purgatory, where you are just waiting around to know your fate.

Oh, now that makes a lot of sense. I never really understood the name, he said. He was completely uneducated. I let out a small scoff at that statement.

It is a good name, better than Forbidden City, I countered.

The Divine Empress actually didnt like that name, but it caught on too much, and she didnt care enough to get people to change it, Jacob said.

Wait, really? I asked in surprise. I thought she had an iron grip over everything in her Dragon Empire when she had been alive.

She was let concerned about names and more about killing people in horrible ways who offended her. Experiments that stripped people of their humanity, he added.

The Envoy. He lost whatever intelligence he had long ago, even before you killed him. Vat grown humans linked like that, it is a bad idea, Jacob said. I nodded at that since I had read his research he had handed over. It wasnt really a second life. Just a lesser copy that was made of a person. While they had their skills, their stats were lost.

Now we have the sphere. The greatest enemy so far. Dont you think it is odd how it has matched my ability? I asked.

It could any number of things. Like it doesnt want to scale up to save energy. It wants to avoid detection by avoiding attacks or skills at a certain level. Or even the System is suppressing it somehow. If it gets too active, the System could intervene, Jacob speculated.

And it isnt something from the System, like a field boss? I asked, curious what he thought.

Doubtful. But who knows how an alien mind actually thinks. For all we know it could be an out of control chat program, Jacob said.

I would worry it would be listening in, but if it was, it should have prevented this crisis, I replied. I was feeling a lot less charitable towards the System at the moment. Thats why it had lost its Almighty title in my eyes.

Every other crisis was caused by human beings. I could accept those as humans making messes and the System expecting us to clean them up. The Ritualist was a problem I created. The Divine Empress was just plain evil and crazy. The Astrologer was a conniving bastard. The Monster was from a human initially if the information I had was correct. The Sword, well I wasnt sure about it yet, but it had been created by humans even if the System handed out the meta-points.

But this sphere was something that had come from outside the System. It felt unfair. The System had been fair in my mind, but uncaring. Content to let humans figure things out themselves. I gave it credit for all the stuff it did. But now that everything it managed was breaking apart, it lost all that credit.

In the battle between gods, the ants got crushed. I am going to sleep, I said and lifted up my empty jug of juice. I made my way to the bathroom next to the bridge. Jacob gave me a nod, getting up and leaving as well.

It was probably not the best thing to talk to him while he was working out countermeasures before the big battle, but I wanted to better understand him. I doubted the Divine Empress ever shared her juice with him. There was still a lingering concern if he would try something, but it really was win or die at this point. With no clear path to escape, we had to win. There was no where else to go.

As I laid down to go to sleep, I could only hope that tomorrow we wouldnt all die horribly. I didnt like this feeling of waiting before going against a more powerful opponent. They had all chased me or I had been forced into a fight. While I was being forced into this one, it felt different in a way I couldnt describe. I guess the tension was much greater than before.

Emperor Michael, Sphere Slayer, it would be a nice title to add once we won. A group monument this time for the brave teammates that were coming along with me as well. And the Avatar, she would get included as well as the figurehead on the airship. Ready to be flown in as a humanoid missile. That thought brought a smile to my face as I fell asleep.