* * *
I just sit here for a while, hands in my lap. Sword grandpa is just standing on the far side of the roof, finally deciding to stay quiet. I find solace in the quietness of the night and my own thoughts. The silence brings peace and, in all honesty, I'm in desperate need of a nap.
I finally stand, step by step slowly approaching the stairwell. Man... I'm way stressed. I need a day where I just don't do anything... no dungeon, no training, just naps and food. A long strand of my white bangs sways in my field of vision, bobbing in and out of sight.
My feet slowly traverse the stairs, bringing me lower and closer to exiting the building. I can hear the steps of sword grandpa behind me, slowly stalking my presence. I don't think he truly feels shame or remorse, likely simply imitating it.
Let's at least try and come to terms with him, or maybe simply understand him. Maybe he has a reason for all of this.
"Why are you in this sword?" I question, not turning back as I descend the stairs. My feet are sore and my boots are heavy, but that doesn't stop me.
"..." For a while, he simply stays silent. I hear the clopping of his sandals behind me, his footsteps not nearly as loud as mine. An audible sigh, then he speaks.
"When I was created... no, when I was sealed, I was experiencing turmoil beyond belief, meaning it copied a version of myself during extreme duress rather than a state of normalcy."
Ah, that's the excuse. He's just really stressed. Whatever, I wasn't expecting a satisfying answer anyways. I reach the bottom of the stairwell, exiting the building through the back door.
"What was it that made you so stressed?" I ask, kicking a stone as I walk through the back alley. A cat scurries off hearing the noise, which makes me a little sorry.
"..." Once again, he stays silent as if deliberating his answer. He's probably happy that I scared the cat. "I... I can't exactly say. Most of the memory before I was sealed is blurry at best. Either way, it isn't your business."
I can't discern the emotions nor the implications behind his statement. Nodding, I figure it best to stop questioning the grumpy psycho. Just like everything else in life, I progress down the alley step-by-step.
My mind wanders back to Patricia and that kiss she stole. I don't think that I've fully processed it yet. Does she genuinely harbor feelings for me or is she simply messing with me? I don't want to be overly pessimistic, but both options are bad here.
If she truly does have feelings for me, then I leave her here when I leave the dungeon. If she doesn't have feelings for me, then I'm allowing myself to be tricked.
Do I trust this? I want it to be true, but what if it Isn't? I'll cross this bridge when I get to it, meanwhile I begin to cross an actual bridge and look at the night sky. Man... even in a dungeon, the world is so beautiful.
There's beauty to be found in everything and I just need to be willing to find it. Passing by a vendor's stall, I decide to snatch a small bag of rice instead of the usual bread. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I could find some kind of sauce that would go well with it...
Who even cares that I'm not some chosen one? I'm still a little special in my own right! I don't need to be chosen by god to be happy, because I'm the one who determines what makes me happy!
* * *
Vajra POV...
Walking across the rooftop, I find myself slightly irritated. For one, I missed all the good stuff with Arthur and the girl. For two, the planned quest keeps progressing and is now at 3/??? objectives complete with seemingly no cause!
What is even causing this? The primary objective is stated as "retrieve the relic", but we haven't done anything of the sort. There are likely auxiliary objectives, but it doesn't say what they are or how many there are.
I never thought I would be so irritated by a program, but I definitely am. This whole night has been a nothing sandwich. Still, I'm following Arthur as he walks back to the sewers where we're currently hid out.
He's surprisingly unaware of people following him. Also, he appears to be talking to himself with no reason. I've never seen someone like this, just talking to air like it will respond back... maybe he's crazy.
I take a light jump from this roof to the next as I follow, descending slightly from the difference in the roofs height. There's trash on this roof, but what's worse is that there isn't another roof to go to.
I walk to the end of the roof before taking a grasp of the ladder and seamlessly descending, arriving on the ground. I walk out the alcove of the alley and into the street, now some feet behind Arthur. I jog a little before arriving to his side, hands in my pockets.
"Arthur, I've been looking for you forever," I respond, lying to make it seem like I truly care. "Gram was worried that you just walked out... said it wasn't like you or... something."
I blank for a moment, having forgotten why I was told to follow him in the first place. I ended up just saying that he said "something" instead of an actual statement, meaning my lying may seem weaker. I don't much like that.
"Oh... Pierce," He seems shocked to see me, like he was expecting something else. He smiles to himself, something that looks relatively new to him. "Sorry if I worried anyone. I was just going for a little walk, y'know?"
"I mean, yeah, but still!" I state, sounding as best as I can to appear concerned. "You've been gone for 2 and a half hours! It's past midnight, dude! Ever heard of a curfew?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," His response is fairly dismissive, as if shirking all the blame off of him. He probably doesn't want to be criticized at the moment, despite the validity.
He pats my shoulder before looking forward again, like he's not actually paying attention to me. He seems much harder to manipulate than earlier, which means his moment of weakness has likely passed. I might've just missed out on a very important tool in the future and missed the soap-opera worthy moments!
How come the night gets worse the longer I'm awake?
* * *
Galatine POV...
Theoretically, if this were truly a portal to the past instead of a copy, the butterfly affect might not properly apply since we would already be experiencing the ripples in our present day, which means everything that can happen in this dungeon has already happened outside.
Time shenanigans are confusing. I just wanna go back to hitting people and relaxing in my nice castle room. Until then, I'm stuck in this weird flash copy of the past... or maybe I'm just stuck in the literal past. Who would I even ask for this?
How do I get answers for all this? It's all so infuriating. Plus, until we're out, we're homeless and living in the fucking sewers! This is not even close to girlboss!
Every second here makes me want to vomit... which has happened several times already. I'm sat at the corner closest to the entrance, because that's where it smells the least awful. I look over at Gram, the possibly homosexual man. In truth, I don't judge him If he's actually gay, but I just like to tease.
"You realize that I'm just teasing, right?" I ask, wanting to make sure that we're both on the same page. I have better things to bully about than sexuality. "I don't actually care that you're gay-"
"I'm not gay!" He interrupts me before I can finish my sentence, attempting to correct me.
I can't tell if he's denying because he's embarrassed that he's gay or if he's embarrassed for being called gay, but he's definitely embarrassed. Closeted gay man or zesty straight man? God... it's so difficult to discern between them.
"Whatever you say," I respond, deciding to compromise on dropping the subject. No need to push, I guess...
I'm just too bored being alone with just him in here. When are Arthur and Pierce getting back? We're supposed to be planning stuff right now! Like how to escape! And we're supposed to all talk about ourselves like normal friends!
* * *