Maids VS Apocalypse

As the cold water rained down on him, scenes played in Mark’s mind. They depicted the conversation he had with his maid only a few minutes ago and the bashfulness she showed. Such scenes should have brought warmth to his heart but instead, they only filled it with bitterness.

He wished he had remained oblivious to the pattern, but now that he was aware of it there was no going back. Every event in the future will be analyzed in relation to the event loop. That would force him to be more on guard than he already is, especially since he had yet to decide how to deal with the whole matter.

’Can I go against it?’

His limited understanding brought with it limited options. So far the loop had been a good thing. It always ended with him surviving very difficult situations and that made him hesitant to break it. Still, the urge to break out of it was hard to ignore.

’I mean, it’s not like things have stopped progressing...’

Thinking about it, Mark noted that he had no idea how to even break the cycle. After all, it wasn’t like the events were strictly organized, and he did a lot of things that should have gone against the rules of such machinations.

Another thing that bothered him was the consequences of breaking the cycle. Who knows if there is some penalty for successfully evading one of the events?

’I used two flash bangs in the last loop...’ he thought. ’What a headache...’

Chaotic and unseasonable, those were the words he chose to describe the predicament he was currently in. If it were a normal time loop what needed to be done would have been clear, but this? He had no idea how to deal with it.

’Weaker enemies...’

The next event in the cycle would be an attack by the weaker enemies, after which a stronger one would show up.

’If I use a flashbang...’

The sound of falling water filled his ears as he dove deeper into his sea of thoughts. He didn’t know how much time he had spent just standing there, but it couldn’t have been much considering that no one came looking for him.

’Guess I will have to wait and see...’

In the end, he decided to leave it for later. After all, it wasn’t like he knew the exact kind of event that would happen. He only knew that they would fit in a pattern, which can only be discerned after the fact.

Tired of his dramatic shower scene, Mark got out and wiped himself dry. He then walked to the sink and opened the small cabinet behind the mirror, grabbing a sealed toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. After inspecting the exasperation date he went on to brush his teeth.

’Kobayashi is safe...’ He stared at himself in the mirror. ’Did they remember to retrieve his tablet?’

Things took an unexpected turn when they arrived at the Hopes End, or so he would’ve thought if he wasn’t tipped off hours before they arrived.

’Come to think of it...’

He pressed the Y button on his imaginary controller then selected the fake phone. Assigning it one of the shortcuts had been on his mind for some time now but doing so for the other phone sounded more logical, since that would make switching between them much easier.

Friend hadn’t replied to the messages asking for more info and Mark wasn’t expecting that to have changed. He wasn’t disappointed to see no new messages and decided to probe one more time to see if he could get a reply.

[Friend: So you’re awake.]

Surprisingly, he got on this time. That left him stunned for a few seconds unable to decide what he should say. A question popped up in his mind soon after and he began typing.

[Mark: Do you work for the Red Hoods?]

A more likely option would be that he’s a Peace Keeper. How else would he know the things they were hiding?

[Friend: You could say that.]

It was a yes or no question so the indecisive answer irked him a bit, making him put away the phone. Spitting the toothpaste, he rinsed his mouth and washed the toothbrush. Only once he put on some clothes did he sit on the toilet seat to come up and take out the phone once more.

[Mark: Who’s Neb’Alseth?]

Ramsay had shut him down just when the question popped up in his mind. Of course, he planned on bringing it up soon enough, that’s why he wanted to get an answer from another source. That way he could confirm if the Peace Keepers were hiding things from him while also determining if this so-called Friend was telling him the truth or not.

[Friend: Neb’Alseth is one of the five Sovereigns of the Underworld.]

Mark read through the message, but before the shock could settle in another message arrived.

[Friend: He is a Primordial.]

A single word sent ripples through Mark’s body, turning him into a ceramic statue.

[Friend: As for the ones you called the Red Hoods

They are members of an organization called the church of Scorched Abyss. To say they are fanatics would be an understatement.]

When the third message arrived Mark finally recovered, but only enough to tell the other guy to stop. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes and tried to regain his focus. A few seconds later his fingers moved and he quickly typed another question before freezing again.

Previously, when Lara noticed that they were being spied on, Ramsay had explained that the perpetrators were likely invaders from another world looking to poach some Awakened. For some reason, Mark had assumed that said invaders came from a random world somewhere in the multiverse. Not for a second did he suspect that said world was the Underworld.

A wild thought appeared in his mind and his fingers began to move.

[Mark: Are you telling me that you caused the Dimensional Collapse?

Friend: Didn’t I do that already?]

The reply came quicker than anticipated, a clear proof that his question had been anticipated. Mark recalled being shocked to see the Red Hoods wreaking havoc on the city. The situation didn’t allow for questions back then, however, which is why he decided to save them for later.

’... ah...’

The next question he wanted to ask had been an obvious one as well, yet when he started typing it he realized that he had the answer for a while now.

[Mark: Did they do all of this just to get more Awakened?]

The gates to hell were opened back during the Great World War, according to the Peace Keepers, at least. He had previously suspected them of being the ones behind it, and that their goal was to harvest more Awakened to fill their ranks, but the same theory applies to the fanatics in red.

[Friend: It’s one of the objectives, but not the main one.]

Turns out he hadn’t grasped the truth in its entirety.

[Mark: which is?

Friend: I told you already.

It’s slaughter.]

It was there. From the start. He had been aware from the beginning. The enemy’s goal was slaughter. They killed the Peace Keepers, and they killed civilians as well. They were crazy fanatics from an organization called Scorched Abyss, of course, their main goal would be to cause a massacre.

’As if I would believe that...’

The Red Hoods were cultists who worshiped some eldritch horror from hell. Though that makes it sound like senseless killing was something they do, Mark suspected that there is an objective behind it.

’Killing...’ he held his chin in thought. ’A blood sacrifice? No, not blood... Aether. They are gathering Aether. Is it for their deity? Natalie said the Fallen eat human souls... but don’t you have to kill something yourself to take its soul...’

[Friend: You’re probably wondering why right now.

I wish I could tell you more, but...

It’s one of those things the System would censor it you don’t have the clearance.]

The corners of Mark’s mouth dropped.

[Mark: Are you being serious right now?

Friend: Don’t worry.

Since you’re heading to Amberwood I’m sure you’ll learn the truth soon.

The System won’t be able to censor it all.]

Mark read the message once then twice. Although his first instinct was to ask how the other guy knew where they were heading next, it didn’t sound too strange considering he knew about their trip to Hope’s End. A more pressing matter would be the latter parts.

[Mark: Is something going to happen in Amberwood?

Friend: But of course.

Amberwood is at the center of it all.

You’ll understand once you get there.]

His eyes narrowing, Mark stared at the cracked screen of the phone.

[Mark: Can’t you give me more details?

You know there isn’t much I can do just by knowing something is going to happen.]

Hearing about the raid on Hope’s End didn’t change much and it felt like the same would happen again.

[Friend: To be honest, there isn’t much you can do even if you know all the details.

You’re nothing more than a pawn in a much bigger game of chess. Your only choice is to move as you’re told and hope for the best.

Still...]