"Hey."
"Hey."
An awkward start, he's the one that called me out here though so it's reasonable to wait for him to initiate.
"Do you realise you killed someone?"
"Huh?"
"No, don't act dumb." He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth an exhaled a cloud of smoke before turning to me.
"You killed someone."
"Everyone here is already dead."
"We have a chance to be alive again, you stole his chance, you killed someone."
There's no questions to be asked, he knows it's my doing that Corpse got eliminated.
"It's one life or another." It was either Corpse or Shockwave stays alive, I simply chose the one that'd benefit me more.
Uncle paused for a second to smoke after my retortion, then said while hanging his head.
"You're not the Sean I remember...you're not him at all."
He turned to me with a pensive stare.
"Sean will never lie to me, you've done that twice."
The conversation was never about how I eliminated Corpse, it's always about how I went behind his back, he just mentioned Corpse to kickstart this discussion.
Before I could give my elaboration on my actions, he answered his own question for me.
"You don't tell me your plan...not because you don't trust me, but because I don't trust you, am I right?"
Yes, you absolutely are.
"I'm nowhere as smart as you are Sean, I've never been. Maybe that's why, right now in this game, where I feel I have the power to protect you, I feel you don't have the power to protect yourself."
He is, objectively speaking the stronger player of us two. I guess the fact that he knows he's more competent, made it so that he thinks I'm incompetent.
"You don't tell me your plan, 'cause you know I will never approve of it, right?"
"Yeah..."
Then both of us paused, I couldn't think of more words to be said, and he took a break from the talking for another smoke.
Another exhale of smoke, clouded my face causing me to cough a little.
"Sorry."
He dropped the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it to put it out.
"I've also changed a lot for the last three years...maybe."
He was as I remembered from the start, it's only after stage 1-5 do I see a different Uncle Magnus unfold in front of my eyes.
"I just...I..." He turned to me with an intense gaze right into my eyes.
"I see potential in you Sean, something I've never seen before."
Potential to be a chronic gaming addict is what I think I have.
"You can be the greatest whenever you put your mind to it, you can solve any problems no matter how complex as long as you're interested. You...you're exceptional Sean.
I feel a responsibility to bring someone exceptional back into the human world, back where he can shine, brighter than anyone around him.
At the same time, I feel a...tremendous pressure to protect this exceptional someone."
I don't agree with what he's saying, I don't think I had any notable achievements in life that suggests I will be a valuable asset in human society.
"But I know I'm wrong here, this someone who's exceptional doesn't need my protection, he needs my help.
He doesn't need me to monitor his every decision. He needs freedom, and people behind to support him."
He lets his head hang again, his hair was messy at the time and it covered his eyes.
"Whatever you want to do from now on, Sean, you do it, I'll be behind you. Maybe I'm not the one that will get us back into real life, maybe you will."
He lifts his head back up, but this time with a strict expression.
"However, I do wish to know the reasons for your actions."
I think I somewhat understood his meaning.
"You think it's a bad idea?"
"Turning the third strongest alliance in-game against us, yes I think it's a bad idea, can you blame me for thinking that though?"
"No, no I can't."
He looks down yet again.
"Doesn't matter what reasons you have behind this, just say it, I won't oppose to it, alright? I just wanna know."
His sincerity ultimately won me over. Perhaps I can tell him my reasons and my plans, maybe he indeed wouldn't try to stop it now.
"I think I can survive Living Cemetery, and if I do, we have the second best player in the game with us now, our odds of winning the tournament also goes up."
"You think you can survive, do you have a uh...concrete plan on how to do that?"
"So far, no."
"You're just gambling then, betting our lives that you will overcome their attacks."
"No, I'm just confident that I can survive this."
I'm being completely frank here, I hadn't thought out a plan moving forward at all.
All I know is that if I survive being hunted down by Living Cemetery, I now have the second best player in-game, Shockwave.
"I see...well, if at any point, my help is needed, ask for it, I'll trust your decisions."
"Understood."
"Well...even if we did piss them off hard enough for them to accept GPS's deal, the odds of them immediately finding us here is low, get some rest."
"Alright."
I went back into the apartment, he followed a few moments after.
"Get some rest everyone, could be our last sleep before war with Living Cemetery."
My uncle suggested, so we all lied down, Shockwave and Kenneth on the bed, me and my uncle each at one corner of the room.
He's right, this could very much be a vital sleep before going a long period of time without any rest, depending on whether or Living Cemetery accepted GPS's deal.
After a few moments of staring into the ceiling, pondering my next courses of actions, I shut my eyes and eventually fell asleep.