"Bossman, you're awake. Again!" Aiko's voice broke through Jack's hazy consciousness. Her glowing blue light danced in his blurred vision, making her impossible to miss as his surroundings came into focus.
She held a torchlight in one hand, the flickering beam bouncing off the rough walls around them. "Bossman, Aiko thinks you should not walk through another portal for a while. You were asleep for many hours," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him toward a circle of boulders arranged around a fire.
Nevya was crouched by the fire, carefully turning a pair of rodent-like creatures skewered over the flames. The meat sizzled, and Nevya's attention was locked on ensuring every side roasted evenly.
"So it's just us," Jack said, glancing around.
He was still trying to process where the portal had led them. After Naaman had disappeared, he'd walked through the rift without thinking, with Aiko and Nevya sprinting behind to keep up.
The space around him was unmistakably a mining tunnel. Wooden beams lined the walls, supporting the rough rock, and the air smelled faintly of damp earth and rusted tools.
"Bossman does not have to worry," Aiko said confidently. "Aiko personally supervised our slave when she was catching the Beard Mice. Aiko guarantees they are the best quality."
Jack blinked, confused. "What in the world do you mean by our slave?" He sighed, wishing for a magical button to mute her endless chatter.
When his gaze landed on Nevya, it all clicked.
"Aiko," he said in frustration, "Nevya is a person with dignity. She deserves respect. How could you even… you know what, I give up on you."
"But Bossman," Aiko protested, her tone earnest, "Aiko is only calling the slave the title that the slave gave herself in front of Aiko!"
Jack groaned. Dealing with Aiko's logic felt like an uphill battle he wasn't sure he'd ever win.
[
System Information
Quest Completed : Kill Ludicrous Caesar
Rewards : Summoning Tickets x4 , Points x550 , Forked Viper Fangs x5 , Dread Ghost Bones x10
**System Warning**
**Manifest Remaining Uptime - 00:30:00:00**
Jack stared at the glowing blue screen in front of him, its stark warning impossible to ignore. He couldn't help but notice that the talent Manifest had stayed active even while he'd been unconscious.
"Aiko," Jack said, lowering the screen, "from now on, you will address Nevya by her name."
"Yes, sir," Aiko replied with a cheerful nod.
"Good," Jack said, exhaling. "Now tell me—what happens when the talent Manifest runs out of time? Nevya here, what will become of her?" He glanced at Nevya, who had remained quiet, her attention focused solely on the roasting meat. Despite being the center of the conversation, she showed no sign of discomfort.
"She will die," Aiko said casually, kneeling to push a block of wood deeper into the flames, causing the fire to crackle and flare.
Jack stiffened. "What?"
"Yes, Bossman," Aiko confirmed without hesitation. "The slave—oh, wait! Aiko remembers Bossman's orders. Nevya does not have a soul. The Manifest talent lets Bossman share his soul with talents so they can take physical form. Once the talent expires, her connection to life will also expire."
Jack's throat tightened. "Will she just vanish like you do?"
"No, Bossman," Aiko said, shaking her head. "Her body is real. She will die like any normal person would. After that, her body will decay into the soil over time."
Jack didn't miss Aiko's lack of tact, but if nothing else, he could always count on her for the unfiltered truth, no matter how grim it was.
"Nevya," he said, turning to the silent woman, "say something about this."
Nevya lifted her head, her calm eyes meeting his. "What would my master wish for me to say? Whatever my master desires, I will make it happen."
For someone who only had half an hour left to live, she seemed unnervingly composed.
"Bossman, this is what Aiko was talking about," Aiko chimed in again, her voice as casual as ever. "Aiko asks for permission to call her by the Bossman's forbidden name again."
"Denied," Jack said flatly, running a hand down his hair.
"Ookay," Aiko said with a shrug. "Aiko thought it was worth a shot, though."
After a few more minutes of Aiko's endless chatter, the rodents were finally ready. Nevya reached into the fire with her bare hands, pulling them free without even flinching at the heat. The smell of roasted meat filled the air as she speared the sizzling carcasses onto sticks and handed them out.
Jack took his portion, his hunger roaring to life. He hadn't told anyone, but he'd been starving since the moment he woke up. Even while sparring verbally with Aiko about manners and respect, his thoughts had lingered on the food, his stomach aching for relief.
As he tore into the meat, he made a mental note to start using the Bag of Domicile more often. The System's explanation of its ability to store items in virtual space suddenly felt invaluable. If he could avoid being this famished again, he would.
"So, Earth," Jack muttered between bites, not looking at anyone, "it's gone now, huh?"
"Aiko thinks that's most likely true," she replied without pause, chewing loudly on her own portion.
Jack's mind returned to his conversation with Naaman. The man had spoken of buying Earth more time by finding the Beast Lord. It was cryptic and frustrating, but Aiko would probably have the answers when he was ready to ask. Right now, though, something more urgent demanded his attention.
"Nevya," Jack said, raising his eyes to her. "You'll die when my talent expires. You know that, right?"
Nevya's calm gaze met his. "Yes, Master. I have already accepted my fate."
"Please, just call me Jack," he said softly. He paused before asking, "Do you remember anything from your past life? Is there anything you want to say before… before it happens? Something unfinished? A wish?"
Nevya was quiet for a long moment, her face pensive as she searched for the right words. When she spoke, her voice was steady but carried a weight that made Jack's chest tighten.
"I was the daughter of a great emperor in my past life. He taught me how to wield power and had high hopes that I would one day rule in his place, guiding his people after he was gone.
"If you ever find yourself in my world, Krassus, I ask only one thing: build a monument with my name on it. Let it stand as a link to the soil of my homeland, so that it shall never be said I abandoned my people."
The thirty minutes vanished far faster than he wanted them to. When the System finally cut Nevya's connection, her body collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been severed.
Her lifeless form hit the ground with a sickening finality. Jack froze, his breath caught in his throat. Nevya's body remained—solid, real, undeniable proof that she had existed. That she had died.
He forced himself to move, grabbing his sword to dig a grave. Each swing of the blade into the dirt felt heavier than the last, every clump of soil a reminder of what he was about to bury.
Aiko, for once, stayed quiet.
Jack wondered if guilt had finally silenced her, if maybe she felt something close to what he did now.
Aiko wasn't grieving—in fact , she was just thinking about how much faster this would go if he'd used the Bag of Domicile to store the dead corpse.
Still, she kept her thoughts to herself. Even she understood that this wasn't the time.
When the grave was ready, Jack lowered Nevya into it with slightly trembling hands. After the Apocalypse had started , he had witnessed more deaths than his whole lifetime combined.
He looked at her face one last time, remembering her calm strength, her unwavering loyalty, and her quiet acceptance of a fate she never deserved.
As he began covering her with soil, his hands faltered. Each handful felt like it was suffocating a piece of himself. By the time the grave was filled, Jack felt hollow, as though he'd buried more than just Nevya.
Aiko finally spoke, her voice softer than usual. "Bossman, Aiko is sorry…"
Jack didn't reply. He just sat by the grave, staring at the freshly turned soil.
"Aiko , I don't think I will ever use Manifest again ," Jack paused to take one last look at Nevya. The thought of watching another person go through such a fate just broke his heart.
"Bossman , you don't say things like that. One can never tell with the future , so it is always best to keep an open mind,"
" Is that wisdom coming from your mouth ?" Jack started burying the body.
"Of course it is Bossman ," there wasn't a moment that Aiko couldn't use to stuff herself with pride and arrogance.
"Let's put that assertion to the test. I now want you to tell me everything you know about Beast Lords ," the burial was finally complete and Jack could bring himself back to business.
He however did take a moment to commit Nevya's wish to memory . Her homeworld of Krassus, he was going to find it .
"Aiko can finally prove herself to Bossman , this is a great opportunity that she will not miss!
Beast Lords are the feudal leaders of the southern continent of Praiyas. They tame even the wildest of monsters in this world and then sell bonds of Stipulatio to the highest bidder.
Aiko believes that someone may have made a large commission to multiple Beast Lords to get control of the monsters that attacked your world,"
"No , not many. Just one Beast Lord was contracted ," Naaman's words were finally starting to fit the puzzle.