Chapter 39 (Book 2 Prologue)

Hall of the End - 99th Run

"Your story is absolutely ridiculous," Sara said with amusement. “You know that, right?”

I ran my fingers through my hair as I looked at the beautiful bronze skinned, toga clad woman sitting with me. My eyes raised from her expressive orange eyes to her perfectly curled flaming hair. They raised even higher to look at the glowing, golden ring hovering over her head. My other hand reached behind the couch and stroked one of Sara’s six white-feathered wings. It shivered, but leaned into my touch.

Then I looked away from her and took in the room. The Hall of the End was much smaller than it had been even half an hour ago, but it was still quite cozy despite how gaudy it was. Though there was no light source aside from Sara’s halo, the entire room was well lit and no shadows were cast anywhere. The floor, walls, and ceilings were all made of gold of varying luster. Even the love seat we sat on was covered with comfortable golden threads. Sara could change her environment on a whim.

“I don’t know,” I responded, shrugging. “It all just seems par for the course for me.”

“Your first big milestone is fighting a library,” Sara scoffed.

“And my last big milestone is to flirt with a literal angel so that she extends the amount of time I can spend with her. Par for the course.”

Sara raised her head off of my shoulder. “You’ve picked up on that?” she asked.

“Come on, Sara, the very first time we met you basically kicked me out of here as soon as I was done with the shop,” I said, chuckling. “You gave me thirty seconds and I was back in my body at the beginning. The time you allowed me to stay gradually got longer, but it’s incredibly noticeable.”

“You got progressively less rude. But I could kick you out again, if you prefer?” Sara challenged with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you want to?” I teased.

Her head tilted again in thought before she buried her face in my shoulder. “No,” she answered quietly. “I can’t draw it out forever, but I like having you here. It’s comfortable. Having you around makes me feel comfortable with my circumstances.”

“We humans call it Stockholm Syndrome.”

Sara tapped my bare chest with her fist. “You wormed your way into my good graces all on your own, so don’t sell yourself short.”

“Oh, I’m a worm now, am I?” I snorted with amusement. “I didn’t realize you were the Esaraphelscion from the first five runs. I’m surprised you can bring yourself to snuggle with a worm like this.”

“Okay, now I am considering asking the system to speed up item production so you can get out of here faster,” she said, though I could tell she was teasing me right back. Her literally fiery hair flared up whenever she was actually mad. It was adorable.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop teasing you about how you used to be,” I told her. My hand left her wings and I reached up to stroke her hair. She didn’t jerk away this time, and I ran my fingers through her silky strands. Despite the composition being made of fire, it was pleasantly warm instead of painfully hot.

“I’ve stopped teasing you about how absolutely obnoxious you were a long time ago, so it’s only fair,” she said.

“We’ve both grown a lot since then. I was insufferably angry and, let’s face it, kinda stupid. You watched players like they were a part of a zoo.”

“Don’t call them players like that,” Sara chastised. “People are more than just players, they’re people.”

I laughed as she used the same words I did so many years ago. “And the student becomes the master,” I said, kissing the top of her head.

Sara’s halo, which had been tilted so that it wasn’t pushing against my face, brightened slightly. Just like her hair flared up when she got mad, her halo brightened when she was happy. When her halo brightened, I was happy, too.

[[Notice]]

Time Capsule has been created and added to your inventory.

I waved away the notification and sighed with contentment. There was a lot to be worried about in this last run, but sitting here and cuddling with Sara made it seem so far away. Even though the clock was slowly ticking down, I couldn’t bring myself to be stressed out about it. This last run was more of a vacation for me to clear my head before the final showdown, but I was more relaxed here than I ever was on Earth.

“What are you thinking about?” Sara asked, looking up at me.

“You and me,” I answered. “We’ve been having sporadic meetings for a really long time now.”

Sara nodded. “I don’t pack away any duplicate memories into the orb so I don’t have to relive the same moments over and over, but you’re nearly my age now.”

I looked at her in surprise. “Wait, really? I’ve been in this system loop long enough to catch up to you in age?” My brow furrowed as I thought it over. “How long have I been in the system? I lost track after the first hundred years or so. How old are you?”

The angel giggled. “Never ask a lady her age, Ant,” she admonished. “That’s a human saying I’ve decided to adopt.”

“Okay,” I said. “Okay.” I tilted my head towards the ceiling and began counting through my runs.

Once again, Sara tapped at my chest. “Don’t bother, I’m still not going to tell you my actual age.”

“No, that’s not it. Well, not all of it, I’m curious as to how old I am. Mentally, at least.”

“And you’d rather count that number than focus on me?” Sara asked, pouting.

“You’re right,” I said, immediately giving up on that endeavor. Instead, I turned so that I was leaning against the side of the love seat and wrapped my arms around her. I lifted her up so that her wings left the slits she had created for them and pulled her onto my lap. Her surprised shriek from the sudden reposition caused me to grin.

Her wide eyes suddenly narrowed as they looked into mine, but her glowing halo betrayed her true feelings. I released a surprised cry of my own as the love seat shifted so that the armrest I was leaning against pulled away from me and I fell backwards. The love seat changed to a recamier, a backless couch with a high headrest and a low footrest.

My heart raced as she shifted close to me, resting her head on my chest. Her wings draped over me on one side and rested on newly created ottomans instead of reaching the floor on the other. I shifted to get more comfortable, but she intertwined one of her legs with mine and I couldn’t move without disturbing her.

Not accepting being one upped, I reached for her chin and lifted it so that she was face to face with me. Staring into her eyes, I leaned in and kissed her, my fingers leaving her chin to cup her cheek. My other hand reached behind her, between the wings, and started to gently stroke her back. Sara’s body arched forward into mine, but she continued to kiss me back. My hand slowly fell from her cheek to her neck, sliding under her toga and onto her shoulder.

[[Notice]]

Time Capsule has been created and added to your inventory.

I pulled away from the angel’s lips and swiped away the notification that dared to interrupt. Sara’s face was flushed and, after a few seconds of staring, she quickly buried her head in my chest. “Are you blushing?” I asked, grinning. “Did you just speed up the item production in an episode of pure-hearted maiden panic?”

“You’re a dangerous man, Anthony Franklin,” she stated, voice muffled from my chest. This was despite her ability to be heard clearly from anywhere in her domain with just a whisper.

“How can I be so dangerous when you’re so clearly out of my league?” I asked.

“Hmph,” she snorted, refusing to look up at me. I continued to stroke her back with a smile as she threw a little tantrum. I looked at her hair, far more red from anger, and her halo, which was very bright, and had to suppress a chuckle.

“So let’s see,” I started slowly as I took her hand in my free one. “The very first thing I’ll do is fight a library, as you said. Then I have to break into some poor man’s house and Kevin McCallister up a few things to kill his car.”

“Kevin McCallister?”

“It’s a character from an old movie who booby trapped his home to defend against burglars,” I explained. “Basically, I’m setting up death traps to kill a monster. Not a lot, but the analogy makes me happy so I’m not changing it.”

Sara chuckled. “Okay, Ant.”

“After I beat up the car, then I’ll head down to the hotel and smooth talk my way around the guards-“

“Aren’t they idiots because the Kingtin hasn’t had enough time to perfect its human impression?”

I coughed. “Like I said, smooth talk my way around the guards. After a short fight, it should be easy enough to get up to the Kingtin’s room, grab his bowl, and drown the bastard in the resort’s pool.”

“With the people saved, you have to put on your villain hat,” Sara continued, turning her head so that her face wasn’t buried anymore. “Which sucks because of the Regression Imbalance, right?”

“Yeah, you got it,” I said with a nod. “Bring Kayla up to my room. Since I’m going as a Warmind, I won’t need Mercurial Mind, so I’ll give it to her. That’ll assure that, even if I push too hard again, she’ll be okay. Then it’s all about resting up for the tutorial.”

“You have to get your rest in,” Sara agreed. “From a being that can’t do it, let me tell you that never sleeping is exhausting.”

“I believe it; I was terrible at getting sleep for the first few runs and it really showed in my performance. But that’s not a problem now, and after a good night’s rest I’m going to crash Al Showman’s circus and beat up a two-headed clown.”

Sara wrinkled her nose. “Then go talk to that slippery bastard, the Dealer.”

“He’s not so bad, but I understand your apprehension,” I said, remembering the grudge she held from one single argument with the crocodile man. “I’ll send him after the Trident of Poseidon, and in a few days he’ll get back to me for more shenanigans.”

“Fingers crossed he won’t double cross you,” Sara muttered, causing me to chuckle. Perhaps it was time to gloss over the Dealer.

“Once I get back to the Safari Resort, it’ll be time to confront Tommy Brown.”

“Be problematic on purpose, right?”

I nodded. “That’s right. With luck, no one will take any drastic measures while winding down from the Kingtin’s influence, but I’ll still be able to goad Tommy into taking the Guiding Light class. Once he has it he’ll be more bold than cautious, and he’ll be incredibly reliable. Just an all around good dude.”

“Then you go buy cursed black socks.”

“They never get dirty!”

Sara gave me a look and squeezed my hand. “So you’ve told me.”

“Yes, pick up the Wool Socks of Doom at the auction and go to a grocery store to kill a giant boar,” I continued. “Then I have to go save Francis and Jess from themselves.”

“They’re the ones who get the Warmind class if you don’t, right?”

“Yes, and it’s less saving them and more helping them actually defeat the boss inside the train yard. They don’t die fighting the coal golems without my help, but they do run away and the golems can get out since the gate is wide open.”

“Then you crash the meeting with Tommy and the priest that shall not be named,” Sara said angrily.

I chuckled and squeezed her hand. She never liked the parts with Father Alexander. As an angel, she considered what he did abhorrent. It was really Seraphim claiming to be the Angel of the Beginning that caused the dominoes to start falling, but that scum sucker was a sore subject for everyone.

“Then, the truck,” I said, causing Sara to nod with enthusiasm. “The ultimate fight: fleeing for my life and letting other monsters deal the majority of the damage to it, then drop a building on it.”

“And that’s where we left off.”

“That’s right,” I said with a nod. “That’s where we left off before you called my story ridiculous.”

Sara rolled her eyes, but smiled. “We don’t need to recap what’s going on here, Ant.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, raising and lowering my eyebrows. “I sure could use a refresher on the events leading up to your pure-hearted panic.”

“You stop that, you sinful man.” With a scoff, Sara reached up and grabbed my face, pushing it so I was looking away from her. I opened my mouth and bit her fingers gently, causing her to pull her hand away in shock. “Why would you do that? Do you know how dirty the human mouth is?” she asked, wiping her fingers off on my chest.

“Does that mean teaching you how the French kiss is off the table?” I retorted, resuming my eyebrow waggling.

“Absolutely sinful. You’re a bad influence,” she laughed.

“Biting is a natural form of affection. Sometimes.”

“Biting is an attack, Ant.”

“Are you for sure about that? Is that a challenge for me to change your mind?”

Sara quickly shook her head. “No, no it is not. Can we get back on topic?”

“Alright, alright. So, best case scenario, I spend a day grinding and then bribe my way past the forest guards to lob a Relocation Grenade at the Vespae queen. She gets relocated leagues under the sea, and victory for Etson is complete. Patron bidding opens and I leave town before the Etson Faithful have a chance to lean into their downfall.” I paused. “Shall we get back to that refresher, then?”

Once again, Sara shook her head. She was absolutely adorable. “What about the worst case scenario?” she asked. “You said that was the best case, but you always said that nothing ever goes completely to plan.”

“That’s true,” I agreed. “There’s so many moving parts that a lot can go wrong with one sentence said at the wrong place at the wrong time. But the worst case scenario, huh? I mean, the worst case is that everyone dies. Gabrielle dies, Tommy dies, I die.”

“You’re not going to die,” Sara scoffed. “You’re not allowed to; you have to make it back to me.”

“My very own Guiding Light,” I chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “Okay, so not the worst case scenario, but I suppose if anything were to go wrong I’d say it would be… All three strongholds going down.”

“What will that do?”

“So normally Gloria, Tommy’s sister, and some of their crew take out the first of the Vespae strongholds, I take down the second one, and I warn the head honchos not to take out the third one.”

“Do they actually listen to you?”

“Mostly, I guess?” I answered, thinking back. “The priest who shall not be named never likes it, but he wants to put on a good face for Tommy. Usually what I end up doing is telling them to prepare to take the stronghold I’m after in case I fail. That divides their forces enough that they don’t go after the last one.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Sara said, nodding. “So what makes it so bad if all three go down?”

“It means that there’s a lot more Vespae coming from the forest,” I answered. “Instead of a fairly intense stealth mission, I’m forced to play war with the head honchos on a united front against the wasps. There are mobs that we can make friendly out there that can join Etson, but the day of preparation isn’t really enough to get any stellar results.”

“Friendly mobs like who?”

“The Kobolds, mostly, but if I can’t seal the deal in the first few hours then I leave it for Tommy to deal with later,” I admitted.

“Because you have a war to prepare for,” Sara stated.

I nodded. “Yup, because I have a war to prepare for, and it all starts with a flower delivery.”