Roy’s face rested on his palm, with his elbow on the side handle of the car door, watching the scenes of the district fade past in quick blurs.
"What’s that look for?" Donald suddenly asked.
"What look?" Roy’s eyebrows folded in slight confusion and he raised his head.
Donald pointed at Roy with his thumb since his other fingers were wrapped around the steering wheel.
"That face, the one you’re making right now."
"Oh, nothing." Roy returned his gaze to the scenery outside. "It’s just... everything seems to be happening so fast now."
From being granted his sign in system, to linking to Pierre, to eting Cash God and receiving ten million, to eting Black Zero, getting an abyss soul, encountering a false gate, hearing his mother’s voice call for him, Chris turned into so raging giant and killing Greymane, to now finding out that an unknown irregular used their skill on him—an irregular suspected to be linked to Neo, a criminal organisation.
’And then there’s my dream...’ he thought.
There were too many things happening. Roy felt he was missing sothing, one piece to connect them all.
Donald gave Roy a asured look.
"That’s the tide of life. You can’t control it, no matter how hard you try."
That last phrase seed more like Donald was reminding himself. He scoffed.
"I rember I had gotten myself an apartnt in District 05 when the executioner I was managing relocated there. Midas, is his pseudonym. GOLD.exe. I was in the eting room at work with my colleagues when breaking news ca on the holoNet. A gate appeared out of nowhere in District 12 and broke just five minutes after." Donald let out a dry laugh. Roy listened attentively.
"You should’ve seen how my heart fell to my stomach. I already feared the worst had happened. So I called ho. No answer. And I saw on the holoNet the residential area caught in the attack.
"Heh. My colleagues were still laughing and joking around in the office, while my entire world was turning upside down. I spoke to Mom and Dad before that eting. They were taking you to a neighbour’s birthday party. Nana was visiting a friend several blocks away.
"It was only after an hour since executioners were dispatched to do their job that I learned the death toll. Twenty thousand, four hundred and nine people, dead. I could never forget the number. I thought Dad, Mom, you, and Nana were all gone but then Nana called. She had gotten to a bunker before the abyss creatures got to her.
"Mom shielded you from a monster, is what they told . But they didn’t even let see her or dad one last ti. Whatever those creatures did, it was that bad. You were alive and in a coma, but truth be told, to you were all dead. In my mind, even though you didn’t die that day, there would be another abyss gate that would open up in the future and take us all in the end.
"Over the years since God’s Abyss appeared, abandoned cities increased in number. There was no point in fighting, in living anymore to . I quit my job and helped Nana relocate, but two years in we were going broke. We would’ve been unable to pay the district commissions and would’ve been relegated to a hot district.
"I had to find a job. Nana understood. But when I left, I don’t know... I just... you guys were still dead to . Humanity was still dood. And I was one weak man who could only help executioners keep their reputations when they abuse their fa and status.
"I was working extra hard, saving money... so I could leave you with sothing. The grief from losing mom and dad and the realisation that everything will be lost in the end at the mouth of an abyss creature... made obsess over choosing how I die for myself. This will make it the fourth year I was supposed to end it all.
"I didn’t know why I kept on going. But now I see it now. It’s not that I chose to believe in you among many options, no." Donald looked at Roy. "Believing in you is the only option for . Until you called a week ago and told you leveled up from killing abyss creatures, my life had no aning, Roy. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’m sorry it took you having to get a system before I saw it. If there were another way for to just... be happy with my futile existence that would have been easier."
Roy had an expression of solemnity and lancholy. He remained silent for a few seconds before muttering, "You selfish asshole."
"What?"
Donald couldn’t believe his ears.
Roy shook his head. "You are even more than . We really do share the sa brain."
"What do you an?"
"I an you were going to kill yourself because... ooh~ life is pointless, life is aningless, ooh~ I’m sad, I’m depressed. Get off your dick, bro." Roy burst out laughing, making Donny frown.
"I wouldn’t have opened up if you were just going to laugh." However, this statent of his made Roy laugh even louder.
Donald just pald his face. What did he expect from a previously hoschooled sixteen-year-old with the emotional intelligence of a prepubescent child?
"It’s not funny."
Roy just laughed even louder.
"Why isn’t it funny? I used to think you were smarter than , hahaha, but you need a reason to live."
Donald furrowed his eyebrows. "We all need a reason to live."
"Well, you just said you didn’t have one. And you’re still here. Maybe we just need to stop being goddamn cowards!"
Donald glanced at Roy and pondered on it for a second, then sighed.
"Sounds like sothing Abraham would say. He’s had this much of an influence on you already."
Roy grinned and spoke proudly, "Look at , I was afraid of using the dagger Master gave , but I love that little knife now. I see what he was trying to do now. He asked what I wanted but gave sothing else. I could do two things: keep crying about it or shut up and kill the abyss creatures."
Roy placed his hand on Donny’s shoulder and said with a confident smile, "We’re not cowards. I’m going to be the strongest executioner, and it’s because you believed in first. God’s Abyss will wish it had never ssed with us."
Donald just smirked. "Spoken like a true musclebrain."
Shortly after, they arrived at Abraham’s apartnt building.
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