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The author here. It's been a while, I know. The situation with the Ukraine is affecting me more than I'd like. I'm sorry about that and will be back once I'm feeling better. I actually did continue to write but the chapters were just too depressing to publish T_T. At least it's not a bad point to pause because we're basically done with the first ark. Enjoy the chapter.
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"What happened after you left me behind. How did the die end up in your possession and what happened to the Nightwalker?" Riva asked Victor.
Victor, evidently glad about the change in atmosphere didn't hesitate to elaborate.
"Teleporting with the sisters was a dangerous move. They must have been aware of the possibility that we would choose to be teleported along with them. With their level of preparedness, they probably had something set up at their destination."
"I bet, that if everything went according to their plan, they would have gotten away with the relic. Jacob must have had the same thought because he notified the guild's special division. They mobilized their best forces and deployed a long-range anti-teleportation barrier."
"Thus the teleportation was interrupted and we landed directly in the guild's lap. They had even mobilized a rank surpasser and easily confiscated the relic. The rank surpasser then took an elite team into the dungeon to fight Nightwalker."
"It should come as no surprise, but they were very nearly annihilated. They finally drove him back but the losses were severe. It was a huge fiasco, so nobody even thought to head into the golem dungeon and look for you…"
Riva was secretly glad they didn't or they would have found an unconscious undead and she would have woken up in a holding cell, if at all.
"As for how I came to possess the relic. During the Nightwalker subjugation, I told them that I knew a bit about the way to use it and the possibility to turn their meager chances of winning against the Nightwalker into a reality."
"Since the rank surpasser died they were desperate enough and agreed to my terms of using the die while under their supervision. By then I had enough time for my boss to send me a replica." Victor grinned condescendingly "I simply exchanged it for the original."
"Those guild fools never noticed. True, it would never have worked with the supervision of the rank surpasser, but with just the normal adventurers left, nobody noticed the swap."
"You knew how the die worked?" Riva asked.
"Not really, but I had a good guess because you had talked about it when I asked you about it in the past. You told me it was part of a game that people used to play in your homeland. They would throw the die to decide the fate of their representatives in a foreign world while the one that led the game would control the world and creatures within."
"You explained that a 1 was failure while a 20 was assured success. There were more rules to it but you didn't elaborate. You just said that the one leading the other players and controlling the world was called a 'Game Master' and tended to be a person with uncanny luck as long as they used their set of dice. If another player were to use them in their stead it would be bad luck."
Listening to this Riva pulled Fate from her Inventory. The die still set her instinct ringing with warning, although it had lessened.
Victor stiffened at the sight.
"Why do you have that thing?!"
"I got it from you before you died," Riva said matter of factly.
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"Wanna know what happened?" Riva asked.
"No, I'd rather not. I've had plenty of surprises for one day."
"Yes, it's probably better that way. So, did you really use the die back then?"
Victor smiled ruefully. "I didn't dare to. I think the fact that Alec kept being plagued by unlucky accidents talks volumes about the die's ability. He dropped it back in the dungeon, and I may be overthinking but in my opinion, that's how his eventual death was caused."
"You're more superstitious than I would have given you credit for," Riva commented. "But this thing does give off a dangerous feeling." Riva rolled the die between her fingers.
"Relics tend to be very unpredictable," Victor confirmed.
Riva nodded and to Victor's horror threw the die on the table.
"What, didn't you just agree it's dangerous?"
"I did, after all, posessing it killed me once already."
"Then why?"
"Two reasons, one, didn't this belong to me? And two, I am pretty confident in my survivability even under bad luck. Wasn't I supposed to be dead? Yes, I technically am, but I'm still fine, no?"
Victor looked stupefied. Then for the first time during their long conversation, he showed a smile.
"I knew it. You really haven't changed! What number is it? I can't read the letters."
"14." Riva smiled satisfied, picked up the die, and stuffed it back into her inventory. "I'm guessing the die's effects aren't immediate, maybe I should have wished for something?"
Victor shrugged.
…
They both sat in silence.
Another minute passed.
These bouts of silence were already turning into a regular occurrence between the two.
Victor was the first to speak.
"Riva?"
"Yes?"
"Won't you kill me for what I did?"
"I'm considering it."
"Go ahead."
"Why? Don't you want to live?"
"Putting myself in your shoes, I would want revenge for sure. I should have opposed my orders. Even once, but I never had the courage."
"Do you regret leaving me to die that day?"
…
"If I could start over my life. I would. I'd do everything differently."
"Hahaha" Riva burst into laughter.
"What's the matter?"
"You realize your wish is representative of a certain story genre, one where the protagonist fails to protect the things they deem important and die with regrets, then return to the past and become super overpowered because they know everything about the future and have all the experience from living the same life once before." Riva explained her thoughts.
"I have never heard of any story of the like."
"And you know what?"
"What?"
"I don't like those stories." Riva grinned. "I think a true hero would accept the mistakes they made and grow from them. They would choose to keep moving forward despite the hardships. Also, reliving the same thing a second time is boring. You already know everything. Where is the fun in that?"
"What are you getting at?" Victor checked.
"I think someone who died and gets a second chance at life should choose to continue where they left off. They should try to forge a path from there. It may be more difficult but also more rewarding. Don't you agree?"
"You're trying to tell me to live with my regret and continue on because you have given me a second chance?" Victor's voice was tinged with disbelief.
"Yup." Riva leaned back in her chair satisfied.
"Why? Don't you hate me? Don't you want revenge for what I did?"
"First, yes I do hate you, and yes, I certainly want revenge."
Riva leaned onto the table and rested her chin on her hands.
"I've been thinking. Wasn't it the representative of the god of revenge and hate who had a large part in kicking off the events that finally killed me? What irony would it be if I followed his doctrine even though I died at his hands?"
Riva glanced at the system window that popped up before. Yes, she was certain.
"You know, I strongly suspect that part of my vengeful tendencies was because I died shortly after coming into contact with his domain. I have no intention to change my faith."
"Second, if it wasn't back then, I still would have died some other way, the way everyone was hunting the relic in my possession. I don't know how many factions are after this thing but I've already counted 4! That's more than the past me could have hoped to handle. At best I would have become a slave to one of the factions so they could use the relic through me."
"And third, you just said you regret never standing up for yourself and defying orders. Then I am happy to be the bearer of good news. Because that's exactly what you did. It might have been a forced situation, but I appreciate the effort."
"Fourth, I never believed that you'd retain your memories, but you did. I've been hunting for clues about the people that were targeting me back then. Now that I've gotten my hands on a major clue, why should I get rid of it?"
"Fith. I can't deny that I still feel angry about the whole thing but hey, I've got myself a free laborer. Isn't seeing you work your ass off for free also a nice atonement?"
"You're too soft you know that?" Victor sighed.
"I made the effort and even listed five perfectly logical reasons for why I shouldn't kill you and you still tell me I should have?"
"Revenge isn't about logic."
Riva heaved a sigh, got up, pulled a new knife from the shop, and directly thrust it into Victor's chest, expertly avoiding the ribs and piercing his heart.
Getting her fill of Victor's shocked expression she pulled the knife back out and mustered the black blood on the blade.
"Guess my purple blood is somehow special." She mumbled.
Victor just stared at her with utter confusion.
"There, I killed you once. We're done." Riva declared.
Victor looked down at the hole in his shirt and wound it revealed in his chest. The blood had already stopped flowing and it was closing.
"You're incorrigible." Victor shook his head in resignation.
"And you've cost me another shirt, you'll have to work to pay it off, I'll have you know."
"Yes ma'am."
"I said no honorifics."
"Yes, Riva!"