Chapter 14: Something Isn't Right
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"I am so, so, so, super-duper fucked." I grit my teeth, smacking my palm on my head as I curse my luck.
I mostly ignored Paradox back on earth. Despite my love for MGQ, MGQ Paradox had confusing elements that made it challenging for me to keep track of anything. There was time travel, parallel worlds, dimensional entities, alternate histories, bullshit power scaling, and routes splitting into routes that split into more routes, and it all just got out of whack. In the end, I settled for knowing the general gist instead of memorizing every detail.
I was regretting that decision very hard right now.
How the hell was anyone supposed to save the world when parallel worlds and diverging timelines were all over the fucking place?!
"Maldita sea, me voy a arrancar el cuezo a la persona que me dehardan aquí! Tell lo promesa!" I cursed in Spanish.
I was so angry I almost slammed my fist down on the table but stopped myself at the last second. I did not need to explain to the chief why his study table had suddenly become firewood. Instead, I settled for glaring holes through the map.
"Hhhrrm, shit, what do I do now?" I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to calm down.
I barely remembered Paradox. I didn't know where to start, couldn't trust my original route knowledge completely, and couldn't exactly talk about it to anybody.
Trying to settle my thoughts, I look again at Navel of Sentoria. In the original MGQ world, that central area was much more connected. In the original game, it was made up of mountains stretching across the regions. You couldn't travel directly from Safina to Gold without crossing those mountains, traveling by ship, or going around them.
But it was different here. All four regions of Sentoria were separated by water. "I really should've given Paradox the time of day." I whispered bitterly.
My eyes drifted back to the Navel of Sentoria. The gate of heaven was how Luka and the rest of the cast used to bring the fight to Ilias. But if the mountain range wasn't there anymore, then what did that mean for the gate?
I searched through Luka's memories, hoping to find something useful. I did get something but nothing I would call concrete. It was general knowledge to everyone that Sentoria had once been a single giant continent until around fifty years ago, when some mysterious event split it apart. Some said it was divine punishment. Others said it was monster activity, but nobody seemed to be sure.
As for the Snow Continent, Luka's memories gave me nothing about that.
I sat there for a while, debating whether or not to ask Chief Alabaster about what happened. Before I could decide on how to approach the subject, I heard someone crying from outside.
I bolted out of the study to check it out. It was one of the village kids, Finn, sitting on the ground and bawling his eyes out. He clutched his knee with both hands, blood running down his leg from a nasty scrape.
I hurried over and crouched beside him. "Finn, what happened?"
"I-I was running home." He sobbed, tears streaming down his face, "A-and I tripped on a rock and fell! It hurts! I want Mommy! Wah!"
"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright, little man." I patted his head gently. "It's just a scrape. Come let's clean that up." I picked Finn up carefully and carried him back inside the chief's house.
He sniffled and clung to my shirt as I brought him to one of the medical beds and set him down. I moved quickly, grabbing a bucket of clean water, a few towels, and whatever basic supplies I could find.
Returning to Finn, I dipped a rag into the water and pressed it gently near the wound. "This might sting a little. Bear with me, okay?"
Finn whimpered but nodded. I wiped the blood away from his knee, careful not to press too hard. He sniffled in pain, his small hands gripping the edge of the bed. "I know, I know, just a little more."
After cleaning the wound, I used a dry towel to dab away the remaining water and blood. "So you were running home to your mom?" I handed him a dry towel to dry off the tears.
Finn nodded, taking the dry towel. "Mhm…"
"Next time, be more careful. I smiled and placed one hand over the towel on his knee. Then my hand began to glow. Golden light spread from my palm, soft at first, then brighter. Finn's eyes widened. Mine did too.
"What?" My first instinct was to pull away. I hadn't meant to do that. If my light was acting on its own, I didn't want Finn anywhere near it. But the moment I attempted to move it, something deep inside me told me not to fight it.
The glow brightened around my hand, warm and gentle. Finn stared at the light as it seeped through the towel in wonder. A few seconds later, the glow faded.
For a moment, neither of us moved. Then Finn blinked and surprised me when he said, "It doesn't hurt anymore?"
"What did you just say?" I asked him.
"I said it doesn't hurt, big brother Luka. See look." To prove his point, he moved his knee up and down.
Curious, I lift up the towel and check his knee. There was no blood, torn skin, or redness. Nothing at all. His knee looked perfectly normal. I knew I could heal myself through Meditation, but that was different. It only healed me. My light magic was already overpowered, but this just added to it.
Finn looked up to me. "Big Bro Luka, what was that?"
"Finn." I placed my hand on his shoulder and made my face serious. "Finn, listen to me carefully. You can't tell anyone about what just happened here. Not your friends. Not the other adults. Not even your mom. Promise me you won't?"
"But—"
"Finn, please." I asked him. "If people find out, it could cause trouble for me." The kid stared at me for a few seconds, then nodded.
"OK, I promise. Your secret is safe with me."
I smiled and rubbed his head. "Thanks, buddy."
Finn suddenly hugged me. "Thanks, Big bro. You're the best!"
"Yeah. No problem." I let go and tell him, "Now run off home to your mom before she starts worrying and don't trip this time."
"I won't." He hopped off the bed and ran out of the chief's house.
Alone, I looked down at my hand. "Healing light, huh?"
Creating a small knife of light, I held it over my palm. Normally, a tiny blade like this with barely 0.4 percent lacked the power to penetrate my skin, but my daytime power-up made it sharp enough to cut me if I wanted it to. I took a breath, then made a small slice across my hand. "Ow."
Blood welled up from the cut. Instead of using Meditation, I focused on the same feeling from before. Warmth. Restoration. Gentle light instead of sharp light. The golden glow spread across my palm, and I felt the cut slowly begin closing.
It wasn't instant. Meditation was faster for me, and I could tell this version required more time. But the sensation was different. Meditation felt like my body correcting itself from the inside, so I didn't feel anything. This, on the other hand, felt warm and soothing.
A few moments later, the cut vanished. I flexed my hand, feeling no pain and seeing no lasting scars. "Neat."
I grabbed my journal and wrote it down immediately. Flipping the journal closed, I cleaned up the supplies, washed the blood from the rag, and returned to the study. My thoughts were still buzzing, but I forced myself back to the books. There was too much to learn, and now I had even more reasons to learn it fast.
For a short while, I stayed cooped up in the chief's study, reading everything I could find about Sentoria, the Snow Continent, and any mention of strange geography along with anything historical. My enhanced mind, along with the daytime boost that sharpened my processing speed, allowed me to glide through the information quickly, absorbing and memorizing everything with frightening ease.
"Aaaand done." I closed the last book and returned it to the shelf. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything useful.
Just then, the study door opened. Chief Alabaster stepped inside, then stopped. The old man's eyes widened at the sight of his study. "Well, I'll be…" He muttered, looking around the room in bewilderment. "Luka, did you clean all of this yourself?"
"Yep." I wiped my hands together and stepped away from the shelf. "I organized everything too. Old stories, maps, legends, and information from outside the village are on this side. Village documents, trade notes, supply records, and ceremony paperwork are on the other. I also arranged the books alphabetically."
The chief walked around the room, eyes moving over the shelves, the table, and the neatly stacked parchments. "Why you didn't have to go so far, my boy? I only asked you to clean."
I shrugged. "It was nothing."
Back on Earth, I had a habit of arranging things in very specific ways. Clothes, books, games, whatever. If something wasn't lined up right or put where it belonged, it drove me nuts. Maybe it came off like minor OCD, but I never gave it much thought.
Chief Alabaster chuckled softly, stroking his beard. "I suppose that's a useful habit to have."
"Sometimes." I chuckled in response, thinking back on all those times I reorganized my card collection.
The old man reached into his waist and pulled out a small brown pouch. "Thank you very much for the hard work, Luka. These are for you."
I took it and opened the bag. Inside were thirty copper coins. It was more than I expected for simply cleaning and organizing one house. Before I could say anything, Alabaster gave me an apologetic smile. "I know it isn't enough to properly compensate you for the extra effort."
I shook my head. "No, it's not that. This is more than enough. Thank you."
The village chief had looked after Luka for years after his mom died. He made sure the kid had food, checked on him regularly, and gave him small jobs when he could. He and the other adults provided care for all the orphaned children in the village, but Luka always held a special place in their hearts because he was the kind kid who consistently tried to do right by others. For that reason, the chief and the other adults had given Luka a bit of special treatment for all the good he's done for them, like giving him a little more coin. It may have come off as a little favoritism, but that was because Luka had earned it.
"No thank you, Luka." Alabaster smiled warmly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "We're truly blessed to have you around."
At his words, all I could do was give a bitter smile. "Yeah."
We chatted for a little while, mostly about the upcoming blessing ceremony, the waves of merchant caravans about to visit, and all the preparations still left to handle. According to him, more visitors would begin arriving soon to stay in the inns, like the soon-to-be heroes and priests from San Ilia.
Hearing that part about the priests visiting didn't sit right with me. Still, I kept my expression calm and eventually steered the conversation where I wanted it to go. "So, Chief, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"When I was organizing the maps, I saw a few things about Sentoria about how it got split up and also about the Snow Continent. Do you have any idea why Sentoria became like that and what the Snow Continent is about?"
Alabaster stroked his beard, his expression turning thoughtful. "Hmm, well, there isn't really much I can say about the Snow Continent, I'm afraid. Much like Hellgondo, few people dare go there for fear of the monsters inhabiting the area. It is completely uncharted and dangerous territory. I only know a few things from an old friend of mine in the merchant association."
"It happened when he traded in the town of Saloon in northern Safina right near the ocean. Supposedly, he got curious about the Snow Continent and had put some money and supplies aside to make a short trip with his crew toward that frozen land."
I leaned in a little, eager to know. "So what did he see?"
"Snow." The chief answered simply, "Endless snow. It's a land of cold winds and monsters adapted to frozen environments. He didn't stay long to see if there were any humans, as he did not stay long."
"Why?"
"A polar bear girl chased him the moment he stepped foot. He never returned after that." The chief said, and looking at my slack jaw, he quickly corrected himself. "To the Snow Continent, I mean—he returned to Safina safely. He and I were just talking last weekend."
"Oh, gotcha." I couldn't help but chuckle. Shaking my head, I get back on topic. "So about Sentoria?"
The chief nodded and went on to explain what he knew. Fifty years ago, Sentoria was a single great continent with bundles of mountains stretching far in the middle. Then, one day, a giant pillar of darkness rose from the mountains, tearing them apart and piercing the sky. That wasn't the strangest part because soon after, a ray of light descended from the heavens and struck at the dark pillar. The two forces clashed with such power that all of Sentoria shook and the mountains blew away. The continent shook and split apart as the mountainous area disappeared. When it was over, the four continents were split, and the sea rushed inward where land once stood, but people who witnessed it say the light prevailed and forced the darkness down.
"And that's how Sentoria became what it is now." He finished.
I, however, was silent, processing the information. 'There is definitely something fishy here. No doubt Ilias has something to do with this.'
Chief Alabaster noticed my expression and chuckled. "A shocking story, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah," I said slowly. "Very shocking, but I don't understand what caused it."
"Well, many believe the darkness was caused by a powerful monster intending to harm humanity." He said, his tone becoming reverent, that I felt like gagging. 'And that the holy light was Goddess Ilias smiting it before it could bring ruin to the world. Once again, her protection and boundless love saved mankind from disaster."
I forced my face to remain neutral at the mention of Ilias and thanked him for the information. Quickly pocketing the copper coins, I left the chief's house.
…
The sunlight hit my face as I stepped outside, warm and bright. While on my way a few kids ran by, laughing as they chased each other in the streets. One of them waved at me, and I smiled and waved back. The kids laughed and kept going.
My smile stayed for a few seconds before slowly fading as I tilted my head to the sky. There was definitely something wrong with Sentoria beyond the Gate of Heaven if Ilias herself had to get involved—or if her subordinates acting on her behalf had anything to say about it. As for the Snow Continent, I vaguely remembered it having something to do with Ilias in Paradox. Something about heaven.
I let out a weary sigh. Whatever plans I had cooked up before, I might as well toss them out the window. The only thing I could trust was to get powerful and hone my abilities. Luckily, I was making some headway in my training, so I was feeling a little confident. If events followed the canon, even slightly, I could use that. If they didn't, tough shit. Either way, it doesn't change what I have to do.
My gaze hardened. The wind swept through the street, shifting the hair over my right eye. For a brief moment, sunlight touched the yellow iris beneath, and it glowed in rhythm with the anger. I wasn't even using my light. That's how pissed I was.
Yes, I've noticed lately that my powers react and my eye glows according to my emotions, but that was neither here nor there.
A few villagers were going my way, and I quickly lowered my head, letting my hair fall back into place and cover the eye again. I stretched my arms over my head and exhaled, forcing the tension out of my shoulders. For a rest day, it has been way too mentally draining.
Since I was free for the rest of the day, I figured I might as well give Suu an early visit. After everything I learned, I could use her smile to cheer me up.
*GROWL.*
But before that, I needed lunch.
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..
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