"Why did you come here?!"
Two people stared off at each other.
Caelus was on high alert.
From his experience, every person who is still alive is strong.
It didn't matter if they were young, old, kid, male or female. Spoiled or hardworking, Everyone grew stronger.
Elder's Tomoko's group was actually one good example. Even when they are group of kids and women, they didn't bat an eye when he pointed them out towards a Safe Zone. they didn't beg him to go with them to protect them.
And this man, although he looked like a weak middle aged man, he couldn't help thinking he had to have an ace up his sleeves.
"You're thinking about something bad, huh?"
"What? Are you a mind reader?" Caelus grinned as he mocked the man. He was nervous and calm at the same time. It was a weird contradiction.
"No. But I'm a Prophet. Young man, your destiny shouldn't be here at all. Why are you here? You're ruining everything."
"Huh?"
Caelus couldn't help thinking about the original Sho and his enthusiasm towards The Prophet's page. The original Sho just loved to read The Prophet's random prediction and the banter of his fans and haters.
Is this the same Prophet?
"Young man, you should look at your roots before anything else. Once you know your roots, you'll understand yourself more. Your destiny doesn't lie here. You should head back to where you were living before. That castle holds all the answers in your roots. There, you would find your roots.
"Maybe you would find some of the directions you need to take. But this path… this path… is not really for yours to walk. Looking at you, you seemed to be… walking two paths… this is weird. This is the first time I saw this."
Caelus frowned.
He wasn't sure of what to make of this old man. He just met him and he already spat out a lot of nonsense.
But then, he wasn't quick to brush off what the man said either.
If he really has a prophetic ability, then, what he said made some sense.
He said that this path wasn't for him to walk. That's very reasonable because he took over Sho's body. The one who should be walking the path was the original Sho, not Caelus.
"Are you really a Prophet? What are you doing here? If you really are a Prophet, why didn't you predict I'll come here?" Caelus joked while scanning the zone he entered. He still wasn't getting any notification of what he needed to do here.
*Was this a Hidden Zone?*
"I've entered this Zone because my Prophecy told me this is the way that I can escape all the chaos outside! I don't want to see the end of everything! Those things… They don't care about us! They just want to toy with us! I don't want to be toyed! I'm almost at the end of…"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" But thinking about the Dragon Riders, they do feel like someone who would want to toy with humans. Remembering the human who was chasing after him, he felt like a broken toy controlled by Dragon Riders.
"N-no! You don't have to know. Damn it. Damn it! Maybe this is really the way I can escape! Aha! Yes! Yes! That's it! HAHAHA!"
Caelus backed off when the middle aged man suddenly laughed crazily. He noticed how the man's eyes glinted from insanity to realization to acceptance.
"More than 30 years… this ability that I didn't even ask to have! Finally, I can rest now! My part is done. Finally… young man, it's all up to you. Please, don't wake me up until it's real time."
Caelus kept silent. The man didn't make sense at all. He could not understand what he was trying to say. He felt there was a lot of missing puzzle for him to understand what he wanted to say.
"You don't understand it yet. It's not time. Be patient. But soon, everything would fit. Everything would make sense! Your mission is simple, look at your root. Then you would see where it all started. Then the path would be clearer. Everything around us. The reason for those rumors. The reason for the legends. For those myths. The reason for this Super Phenomena! You'll know everything in time!
"Everything has a reason! HAHA! I'm free! I'm liberated! It's been too long! I know I wasn't alone but everyone else didn't fare that well either! They were taken over or killed themselves! Suicide. I truly understand how they felt. But I just couldn't do it before knowing what lies ahead. I had to warn everyone. But no one listened! Even when I claimed I was The Prophet. Although I had fans, I had more haters. Even the police and researchers came for me!
"It was too much! It was a tough burden! And no one listened! No one prepared for this! Those who knew only care for themselves! They should've been safe in the previous shelters already! Soon, they would voice their propaganda to attract survivors.
"Soon, the war will start! HAHAHA! Idiots! I won't be there anymore! I really want to enter the cycle of reincarnation now but I know it's still not time. I can rest but I still have other tasks that only I can take! I hope that when the time comes, when I am reborn, the world will be peaceful! Ahhh… even with my ability, I know it would take thousands of years to achieve that. But all things would fall into place, right?"
The man laughed madly, then he stopped.
Caelus didn't know how to react and just kept looking at the man who suddenly fell silent.
"Hey?" he tried to probe the middle aged man. But he got no reaction at all. It was as if his spirit went away. He was still breathing, but he became lifeless.
He was truly at a loss.
He inhaled before using his Qi Cloak to check on the man. He frowned the more he tried to probe him. He seemed normal but also abnormal. He couldn't pinpoint what was wrong with him.
"Old man, you're crazy." He tried provoking him.
"Come on, old man, tell me more of your stories. So, 30 years? Did that mean you got your abilities thirty years ago? That didn't seem right! We only manifested our skills months ago!" He jested him, but he still didn't receive any reaction.
"You're just lying, right?"
"Come on, it's been an hour already! Stop acting! Tell me how to get out of this Zone!"
…
…
…
Caelus tried many things, and then 10 hours had passed. Still the man had remained impassive. He remained still as he was before. He even tried shaking but the man felt like a statue.
Unmoved.
"Now what? I can't seem to get a hold of Sanctuary. I lost connection with her… System, what do I need to do to get out of here?"
He coughed imaginary blood.
*These works?!*
He was speechless. He didn't think that asking the system would work at all! But then, he remembered Gabriel the Angel who said that they should ask the system if they have questions! He didn't think it was literally asking the System! He felt ashamed for having Sho's brain but not using its IQ.
「 Quest: Defeat The Wandering Evil Souls |
Quest Description: This Zone has been sealed by the System |
because of many lingering souls. The God's Army are busy with a |
greater threat. You are tasked to Ferry the souls into the pool of |
reincarnation. |
Reward: 1000 God Points and System Upgrade Option |
Special Reward: Keeping Knowledge About Wandering Souls |
Time Limit: Indefinite |
Zone: Special |
Qualification: Two people 」
"Ferry souls?" Caelus frowned. He felt Gabriel said something important regarding this matter. But like how he forgot everything beyond his Rank's knowledge.