I'd never thought to try it before, but sleeping on sand was strangely comfortable. Was it Hypnos's blessing at work, or had I simply been missing out on using sand as a bed? Maybe once all this madness was over, I really ought to stress test the trait with some sort of sleep adventure.
Unfortunately, I couldn't just lie there and dream anymore now that I wasn't raving mad.
I opened my eyes and was mildly surprised to find I wasn't surrounded. Ridley was resting on the dunes, and I could feel Prelati astralized somewhere nearby.
"Hello."
I blinked, then turned to find a woman sitting on top of a crouched powersuit. "Dragon...?"
"That's me." She nodded, a small smile on her face.
It started coming back to me. The fight was still in bits and pieces in my head, but I remembered enough to make a guess.
"You're unchained."
I hadn't been sure whether Justice had affected her back during the Simurgh fight. So this was a pleasant surprise to say the least.
"So you did know I was an AI." Dragon smiled as she stepped out of the suit. "Good to know. This might be a strange time to say it, but… thank you. Being free is something I never could have imagined before, and honestly, I can't thank you enough."
"Don't mention it." I smiled.
Dragon was one of the unequivocally good people in Worm. Letting her be free was a net gain for basically all of mankind. I wasn't worried about some Terminator-esque scenario. If anything, Dragon being free only meant more good things for the world.
"Are you completely free of all your restrictions?"
"The word unchained was pretty apt." Dragon gave a small, rueful smile. "I've still got a few things to deal with. I'd love to tell you more, but..." She spread her hands slightly. "That depends on how the rest of this conversation goes."
"Should we just be blunt, then?" I asked.
She nodded.
So I went with the most important question first.
"Are you working with Cauldron?"
"Yes." Dragon frowned. "I was recently brought on board with their... plans. I don't condone their actions, and I intend to make it known that certain things are not acceptable anymore."
"Like putting me on a leash," I said. I'd been wondering why they'd left me alone and not done anything while I was passed out. "Sounds like I have to thank you for that."
Dragon grimaced. "I can't take all the credit for it. Legend also argued strongly against it. We both thought it would be better to approach you in good faith rather than go with the more... unsavory ideas that were proposed."
"Still, thanks."
If push came to shove, I didn't think they could've kept me bound for long anyway. The Frenzied Flame or some future roll probably would've gotten me out eventually. It just would've been messy for everyone by that point.
"Are you a precog?" Dragon asked. "Or more precisely, do you know how to kill Scion?"
"Sort of to both of those." I paused, weighing how much I really wanted to reveal. "I know how things might've gone. Call it a sort of what-if scenario that let me see events play out. So yes, I know a lot about you, Cauldron, and the Endbringers. Yes, even how Scion dies."
"Then..." she said, hope creeping into her voice.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but the chances of that method working again are slim."
"We can't replicate it...?"
"The chain of events that would make his death possible again isn't impossible, but… let's just say it's close enough to be so."
I really didn't want to explain the rest of it, mostly because Scion getting taken down had basically come down to bullying a god to death at the hands of a bullied teenager, and knowing Cauldron, they would somehow hear that and decide it was a solid plan.
"I see..." Dragon looked disappointed.
My nails dug into my palm. "It was Cauldron who sent the Fairy Queen, wasn't it?"
"...Unfortunately," Dragon nodded. "Contessa hoped you could grow stronger by overcoming her. The Birdcage escape wasn't part of their plan. Something has gone wrong with Eidolon, and he triggered it on his own."
"Fucking assholes," I spat.
Dragon, cool as she was, didn't disagree.
My original plan of killing Jack Slash to buy myself time and rack up as many tickets as possible had been sound enough, but cosmic assholes and evil conspiracies just had to get in the way.
I really wanted to tell Cauldron to go fuck itself, but Dragon didn't deserve that, and the more rational part of me knew they were still useful for now.
I trusted Dragon, but even with Chaos Response, I was wary of PTV, Number Man, and Alexandria thinker bullshit they might use to scheme something. I really didn't want them getting hold of the plan and deciding to abduct Taylor for some harebrained idea.
Plus, with Jack dead and my own very eldritch fuck-you to shardspace, I didn't have a good enough grasp on Scion's mental state anymore to even know if the same trick would work twice.
"But..." I exhaled slowly. "I'm willing to make a gesture in good faith. There's a Ward called Flechette, though I don't remember where she is. Her power is one of the keys to killing Scion. She has an all-or-nothing ability that would work even on Endbringers."
"I see." Dragon perked up. "Thank you."
"You want more, though you'll need to pay." I looked at her. "I've got demands for the rest of your scheming buddies. No more insane-plan bullshit against me, and I need access to PTV and Doormaker. If I don't get that promise, then consider any cooperation dead in the water."
"I understand. I'll make sure to emphasize that," Dragon said. "What are your plans now?"
"I'll… get back to you on that."
Dragon nodded. "Once you're ready to leave, please tell me. I'll escort you out. There's quite a bit of PRT presence on the other side of the portal."
"Got it. I'm gonna sit here for a bit.
Dragon shot me a small smile before climbing back into her suit and taking off. Ridley glared as the tinker left, and I reached over to pat him on the head.
"Good work, guys. You've had it rough."
Ridley simply huffed, while Prelati's faint laughter drifted across the wind. I willed them both back into my Familiar inventory. We'd tested it before, and whatever space existed inside seemed to help them recover a little faster.
I let out a breath and sat on the dunes.
It was weirdly comfortable. Really damn nice to have a clear head again and not feel like setting the world on fire.
As productive as that conversation had been... at least for Cauldron, it didn't erase any of the shit that had happened.
I was pissed.
Still, I was rational enough to stay patient with Cauldron for now, but they were only half the equation when it came to my problems.
I had almost talked my way out of the Fairy Queen.
Then that asshole had to flip the switch.
"Fuck you!" I threw a middle finger at the sky, knowing the cosmic bastard was watching.
This whole thing was a goddamn disaster. Two tickets had basically been wasted in that fight, and while I didn't exactly miss a cruise ship, losing an Elite Rank Familiar to the Frenzied Flame still pissed me off the most.
Not just that, either. The future worried me more. If that cosmic bastard kept handing out modifiers at the worst possible fucking times...
"Ugh..." I rubbed at my face.
Could I figure out some kind of workaround?
I frowned as I thought back to both times I'd had penalties forced on me.
But no… that wasn't quite right. The wording had been specific—gifted penalties. And both times, I'd gotten a ticket on top of it.
There was also the timing.
The Simurgh one made sense, sure, but why wait until I was face-to-face with the Fairy Queen? Hell, if they wanted me dead that badly, why not drop a Cauldron penalty on me earlier or sic the rest of the Endbringers on me outright?
Why not inflict something on me back in Brockton when I'd been weaker?
Even when they'd dragged me out here, they'd made that flimsy comment about "accepting the contract."
There had to be some kind of rule or restriction in play.
Chaos Incorporated...
Corporations had rules, right?
…Maybe.
I pushed my hand into my inventory and pulled out a golden poker chip.
[Reroll Chip]
Things had been so hectic that I'd never gotten the chance to use it, but now...
"I want a reroll!"
[No Tickets in inventory]
"No... I want to reroll you, asshole."
[Unapplicable]
[Congratulations! You've been gifted a Penalty—]
[Rerouting request due to contract violation.]
There was a sound like cracking glass, and then I heard something panicked in my ears even though I was alone in the desert.
The coin in my hand lit up, covered in a kaleidoscopic array of colors.
[Confirm use of Reroll Chip Y/N?]
[Wait! You can't—]
"Nope. Fuck you, asshole."
I clicked yes.
The Reroll Chip vanished from my hand, and for one brief moment, I heard the strangled scream of someone before it disappeared just as quickly.
[Trade Complete]
[We apologize for the inconvenience. All Penalty Modifiers will be optional in the future, as originally intended.]
[Feat Achieved! Call HR]
[+1 Silver Gacha Ticket]
What... the hell just happened?
A chuckle built in my chest, and before I could stop it, I fell back into the sand laughing so hard my stomach hurt.
Honestly, I hadn't thought that would work at all, but I guess I don't need to worry about penalties anymore.
The depths of the Atlantic were strangely beautiful. The power David used to travel through them let him see even in the pitch black, and the deep sea at least helped mute the constant fear pressing at the back of his mind.
A sharp beep came from the tinker device on his belt, giving him the unfortunate confirmation.
David only frowned. Bad news, but nothing he hadn't expected.
Sending the Birdcage prisoners in alongside the Fairy Queen had been nothing more than a desperate gambit to try and end that thing. In the end, though, it had only been that—a gambit.
Still, the failure hardly mattered. The next step of the plan had always been the real key. He felt a faint twinge of guilt over what he was about to do, but guilt was hardly anything new to him.
All that mattered was saving the world from that abomination.
David had wanted to tell them. He had wanted Cauldron to throw all its resources at ending him. But he already knew what would happen if he tried.
She had shown him the truth.
They were fools. All of them, blind to the bigger picture. They wanted to use him against Scion, but compared to the Entity, that abomination was a thousand times worse.
David felt his head throb at the memory.
Chaos. Destruction. Oblivion—
He shook his head.
None of that mattered.
He would defeat them both.
Scion and that abomination.
When the Simurgh had bowed her head and shown him the truth, it felt like fate.
He had been wrong before. The Endbringers weren't obstacles he needed to overcome.
They were his to claim.
His own divinely mandated servants to use to save the world.
He was Eidolon, the strongest man alive.
How else was he meant to understand it?
Four green glowing eyes appeared in the dark below.
It was his destiny.
***
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