"Awesome! Thank you for choosing to make a purchase! I'm excited to help you complete your order. Are you looking to purchase a Beast Seed or an Inhabitant Seed today?"
"Inhabitant seed."
"Great! You're one step closer to meeting your new companion! Which tier would you like to purchase today? We have Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond. Could you confirm which seed you're buying?"
"Silver."
"Confirmation: You are purchasing a Bronze Inhabitant Seed. Please confirm your payment by following the instructions provided in your notification. Once the purchase is successful, your new companion will be placed in your inventory."
"Do you have any other transactions you'd like to complete today?"
Deus swiped his fingers through the air. With a few flicks, an egg materialized in his hand.
This has happened before…
Then, from the egg, a new, completely different baby appeared.
He threw the baby at me again.
I've seen this before…
*HUFF *HUFF
Then we walked back toward Jargaland.
Later, he hunted the Gnolls, and we returned to Catares.
*HUFF *HUFF
"She's gotten a ton of experience Traveler Deus. Congratulations, he's now at level 15!
What's going on…
*HUFF *HUFF
[Briel now at the start of his Childhood stage.]
[Do you want to stop his aging process at this stage? Or do you want him to grow older in appearance?]
"Continue the aging process."
*HUFF *HUFF
Briel's appearance shifted and she grew into a young child.
Deus pulled out his wooden club, swung it…
Briel…
But he just gave her her name…
Just like that, Briel disappeared into thin air…
Deus clicked his tongue, then I was in this empty realm.
He went away…
…
…
…
Then, we're here again.
In front of Remi, Deus was completing his transaction to buy a new one of my kind.
"Deus…"
"I'm here to buy another Inhabitant seed."
He does not care about what I say.
"I know my role now…"
"Great! You're one step closer to meeting your new companion! Which tier would you like to purchase today? We have Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond. Could you confirm which seed you're buying?"
"I'm at your command, Deus…"
"Bronze."
"Confirmation: You are purchasing a Bronze Inhabitant Seed. Please confirm your payment by following the instructions provided in your notification. Once the purchase is successful, your new companion will be placed in your inventory."
"Do you have any other transactions you'd like to complete today?"
Deus completed the transaction with Remi.
"Deus, this is pointless."
He ignored me until he got the new baby, then threw it at me.
He looked at me directly.
"I apologize for not following your orders, Deus."
He scoffed and said, "Good. Now you realize how powerless you are before me, no matter how powerful you become, right?"
"Yes…"
I just wanted him to stop this act of cruelty, all for the sake of proving his point. Those who have died… it's good that they're already gone, but I don't want anyone else to be executed because of me. I can endure all of his vices anyway.
For the first time since gaining this strength, I felt powerless. I wanted to take Deus' life this very instant, but something in my mind wavered, preventing me from doing it.
I've accepted my fate. This is the life I'm bound to—one of servitude, enslaved by the system.
"Great."
Deus accepted it as if it were nothing.
He has always been simple—just do what he asks, and everything will be fine.
Maybe the real problem is me, trying to escape this situation.
Maybe everything he's done was for the sake of building the relationship he wished for us to have.
"Follow me. Let's go back to that Galegi you never finished and prove to me that you're truly obedient."
"What do I do with this baby human?"
"Just bring it."
He started walking and I followed.
There's still heaviness inside of me but I know it will pass. Surely it will.
When we got to Tahaloo, the Galegis had already respawned.
"Someone must have already killed that Galegi, Deus."
"Yeah, it's been two days since. But anyway, I'm at level 50, and I'm guessing you're around the same level... We're not going to get much experience here."
He's talking to me casually now, just like he used to.
"I guess so... What do we do now?"
"I'll have to find a new place for us to grind. For now, just throw that baby you're holding into the horde of Galegi, and we'll head back to Catares."
…
"Sorry, Deus. What did you just say?"
"I said, throw that baby to the Galegi. We don't need it. It didn't cost me much anyway—unlike you. You're expensive as hell. That's why you're still my best buddy."
Too casual… He said that way too casually…
"Deus, I know you think we're just programs, but you do realize that we have physical bodies—that we can feel pain, pleasure, and joy, right?"
Deus sighed.
"Here we go again with your shenanigans, Lucien. How many times do I have to prove that you are not what you think you are?"
I lowered my gaze.
"You're right. I apologize for my earlier statement. I don't truly understand the value of life. I'm nothing more than a program."
"Good. Now throw it out, and let's get moving."
I threw it. I threw it like it was nothing—because, in reality, it was nothing.
I couldn't help but smile. Then laugh. Then grin. Then smile again.
I don't know what's gotten into me, but I feel… liberated.
Today, I was taught the value of life—its insignificance. And I understood.
Experiences, emotions, connections… none of it matters.
What does, then?
I don't know. Probably nothing.
Then, I felt free.
In my mind, I imagined grabbing Deus by the head and dragging him out of Hedenvall—the NPC region where player-killing was prohibited.
I dragged him, step by step, across the border, out of Hedenvall and into a different region.
"What the hell are you doing, Lucien?!"
"Lucien!"
"Let go of me!"
That was Deus' voice, but I didn't care.
I was enjoying this feeling of freedom—even if it was only in my imagination.
Then, all of a sudden, Deus vanished from my grasp.
He was gone…
But I was still here—still standing over the grassy plains, feeling the air on my skin.
This feeling… the feeling of freedom…
This is what I long for… This is what matters…
Deus was back—and still complaining.
I couldn't help but smile.
Then, the realization hit me.
It wasn't just my imagination.
I was real.
Deus was gone, and I had never been trapped in the void.
A laugh bubbled up inside me—hysterical, uncontrollable, manic.
Deus kept talking, his eyes sunken in confusion.
But I just laughed. And laughed. And laughed.
"You aberrant, creepy AI!"
Deus swiped his hand through the air. What was he trying to do?
I didn't know.
But it didn't look good to me.
So, I grabbed his hands—and twisted them until they broke.
Deus screamed in pain.
What was I doing?
I was laughing while I did it.
"What are you doing?!" he cried.
"What am I doing, Deus? What do you think?"
"How dare you lay your ha—"
He stopped speaking.
Ahhh—solemn.
But it wasn't completely silent. I could still hear Deus' grumbling, muffled sounds.
Well, I only slapped the mouth off his face. His voice box was still intact.
"Where are you looking, Deus? Your health bar?"
"Ggggggghhh..."
"Ggggggghhh..."
"Are you choking on your own blood, Deus?"
"Why are you crying?"
HAHAHAHAHA!
"This is how you treat people, right? I learned it from you."
"I know exactly what you want to do right now."
"You want to run, don't you?"
"You want to escape—I know."
"You said this world is just a program, that none of this is real, right?"
"And now you're asking what I'm doing?"
"I'm just ripping out all the parts of your 'not real' body. What's the big deal?"
"Are you in pain? Distressed?"
"Let me tell you something…"
…
"I won't let you escape—not until I'm satisfied."
"This is just the beginning."