[You have reached the maximum Essence, your Class is about to evolve to a new rank, do you want to comnce evolution now?]
[You can delay the evolution but after twenty-four hours the evolution will automatically kick in, forcing you into deep slumber]
I blinked. Read it again. Then a third ti, because what I was seeing wasn’t just strange. It was impossible.
’Class evolution?’
If I was reading this right, the Axiom was simply telling that my class would evolve into a new rank. Which ant that I was going to stop being a Transcendent Mundane.
’If I can evolve, of course I want to evolve right away.’
[After absorbing a Class, in order to fully assimilate with the class, you will be incapacitated by agony as the Hollow fully digests the Definition and makes the Class your own]
[By delaying Class Evolution, you can delay this process. If Class Evolution proceeds, this procedure will automatically follow, and cause you to be unconscious for 8 to 12 hours]
My face twisted the mont I finished reading.
’Eight to twelve hours? I can’t even spend one hour here!’
Anyti from now, the Enforcers would start coming around. They were Awakened Novice too, but with far more experience than Desmond, who had not awakened for twenty-four hours and wanted to prove a point to . Those ones had been Defined for over five years. They’d been to the wilderness, had to survive the brutal environnt that only sought to kill them. Every last one of them was a hardened killer with real combat behind their eyes.
I better not be here when they showed up.
’Alright, I will postpone.’
Hearing my response, the Axiom replied accordingly.
[Postponing Evolution, after twenty-four hours, evolution will happen automatically]
I exhaled.
’So, I have twenty-four hours to get out of this hell hole.’
I scrambled to my feet sohow and stepped away, then stopped. Against every instinct screaming at to move, I threw one last glance at Desmond’s body. His eyes were still open, staring up at the boundless night sky with millions of stars staining its dark silk. He looked like he could have been stargazing. Peaceful, almost.
Yet he was so lifeless.
I clenched my fist, coldly steeling my heart.
’It was kill or get killed.’
Not that this excuse made any less of a killer. I had killed a Defined and diminished humanity’s resources for surviving this hazardous world by one life. One Defined life that could have fought for people, protected them, done sothing that mattered.
’Fuck humanity.’
I turned away and hurried, breaking into a run. My body weighed down at a mont like this, lungs burning within the first thirty seconds, but I pushed through.
’Tsk, I should maybe start a weight loss journey.’
This had to be the four hundred and seventy-sixth ti I was making such a statent. The follow-through rate remained a perfect zero.
I exited my parents’ estate through a gap in the fence. The governnt had their hands all over most of the building, yellow tal tape stretched across every entrance, telling people it was out of bounds and they should keep off. Even the gate was sealed.
Stepping out, I cast a wistful gaze back at the gate, and little mories of my mother played into my head. Her coming ho from work at the Academy, the way she’d wave before she was even close enough for to see her face clearly. I exhaled heavily, let the image dissolve, and turned around.
As I turned, I slamd right into soone who seed to have been hurrying towards . We both staggered back from the collision and I heard the voice before I saw the face.
"Oowwwhhh!"
I steadied myself and stared, blinking.
"Ysor?"
She straightened, rubbing her forehead which was already reddening.
"What’s wrong, why do you look so... why are you in a hurry, what? Is that blood on your face? Axel, what happened? Did you get attacked? Who?"
"Ysor! Stop!" I shouted.
And her voice froze. So did her face. It seed to be coming apart bit by bit as her expression contorted like she was about to cry.
"Listen... I’m, I’m sorry okay. But you’re asking too many questions right now, and I need to leave. Besides, should you even be here? Why are you?"
She looked down and held her right elbow with her left hand.
Her entire disposition... this was how she was whenever she did sothing really bad. I recognized the posture imdiately. I narrowed my gaze.
"You didn’t kill anyone, right?"
She flinched and frowned.
"What? No! Why would I do that?"
I sighed in relief. ’Well, that does not make two of us I guess.’
But I fixed her with a renewed gaze, demanding her response.
"Well... uhm..."
I was getting quite impatient.
She raised her head and managed to look into my eyes with sothing that might have been determination, or might have been desperation wearing determination’s face.
"Take with you."
"Uh?" The words caught off guard.
"You’re running away, aren’t you? I want to go with you. I don’t want to die! I want to live, I want to live so much. So if you will, please Axel, kidnap !"
I never knew soone asking to kidnap them could put such a wide smile on my face.
I wasted no ti and grabbed her hand, and we both broke into a run.
"First, we have to make it to the outer ring."
She ran beside and asked, "And then what?"
My gaze was strong as I ran across the dark and ruined streets of the middle ring.
"Well, what else? We find a way to leave Earth and go to another Dinsion."
Reviews
All reviews (0)