Sebastian looked at Kyle with a mixed expression. On one hand, he felt like Kyle had been needlessly reckless, but on the other hand, he was also happy to be alive. On top of that, he could also see where Kyle was ing from.
Yes, it was the smartest choice to follow the script and to accept the sacrifices, but it also felt frustrating and oppressive when someone had to watch a friend sacrifice themselves for the greater purpose.
In the end, Sebastian just sighed. "Haven't you always said that you want to be like Swamp Dragon?" he asked.
"Yeah, I used to," Kyle answered with some annoyance. "I've fled a lot from my responsibilities in the past. I knew that I should do what's right, but I've always prioritized myself. That's why I wanted to be like him in the past."
"But that's simply not who I am. I am not a cell. I can't kill myself so that the body can stay healthy. Why do we live? Why do we keep going through so much shit?"
"Happiness," Kyle said. "Everyone wants happiness. Why do some people want to accrue more and more money even though they're already rich? It's because it feels great to make more money. Why do people spend time with their loved ones? Because it feels great. You can even argue that sacrificing yourself for your loved ones brings you happiness since the pain of losing your loved ones can be worse than not feeling anything at all. Zero is higher than minus five."
"Do I want to do the right thing and save Ayuvar? Of course! Ayuvar is my home! But I also don't want to see everyone around me dying!"
Sebastian released a deep breath as he put his hand on his face. "It was an unnecessary risk. You could've died."
"Yep," Kyle said with a shrug, "but it worked out, didn't it? Also, now that I think about it, it might not have been the wrong choice. A smarter guy would have realized that they couldn't just cut off unrelated Karmic Lines of other people since the Spirit is unassailable. It wouldn't have been a risk for them."
"In a way, I made the right choice for the wrong reasons. In the end, it was the right choice anyway," Kyle said with a grin.
"That's not a good thing, Kyle," Sebastian said with a sigh.
"Seems like a good thing to me," Kyle answered. "If I hadn't been dumb, you wouldn't be alive. If I had been smart, I would have gained nothing and lost a lot."
"You're ignoring cause and only look at effect," Sebastian said.
"So?" Kyle asked. "It worked, didn't it?"
Sebastian kept trying to argue with Kyle, but Kyle just kept dismissing his concerns. This made Sebastian feel quite frustrated, but he also realized that he was essentially attacking an already conquered fortress. He knew that Kyle knew that he shouldn't do something like that again.
"Never mind," Sebastian answered. "Anyway, what's the status?"
Kyle shrugged. "You tell me. You were the one who called me back. You told me that I should get the two of you to the Elemental Dimension."
The two of you...
The two of them fell silent for a moment as they remembered Star Genesis. Sadly, she hadn't made it.
Kyle had learned a lot about Karmic Luck within the past minutes, but even with all of his newfound knowledge, he still couldn't think of a possible way to save Star Genesis.
It had been impossible.
"I swear, if this is some kind of false alarm, I'm going to fucking kill Swamp Dragon," Kyle said with aggression. "Like, what if literally nothing happens? What if Swamp Dragon was paranoid? In that case, Star Genesis would have died for nothing."
"Is she even dead?" Sebastian asked.
"Of course," Kyle answered with a snort. "You left, which means the Demon Car has died, which means the isolation has collapsed, which means she's been spotted by an Ascendant Demon. These kinds of Demons are not the smart and planning kind. They see human. They smash human. Besides, the Karmic Line between us has already broken, and pared to you, she's not cosplaying as Schrodinger's cat. Dead is very much dead."
Sebastian sighed. "Yeah, I think I was a bit too optimistic."
Kyle also sighed. "Sorry, I might've worded myself a bit too aggressively."
"What?" Sebastian asked in confusion. "I didn't feel like you sounded aggressive in any way."
"Oh, that's good, then," Kyle answered. "I think I'm just a bit... twitchy, if that's the right word. I still haven't really processed Lara's death. I feel like I'm supposed to collapse and think about all the time we have spent together, but I can't. My mind is constantly racing with thoughts about our survival and the warning we've received."
"That's called shock, Kyle," Sebastian answered. "You haven't-"
"I know what shock is," Kyle interjected with a roll of his eyes.
Sebastian raised a brow in silence.
"Can I just move my earlier, unnecessary apology to this place?" Kyle asked.
Sebastian snorted a short laugh. "Sure. By the way, I'm not good with Karmic Luck. Can you tell the state of the others?"
Kyle glanced at the Karmic Lines. "Manny's state hasn't changed. Fierce Breaker's state has changed a bit. His emotions haven't changed, but I'm getting a lot of negative Karmic Luck from him. It's possible that he's been taken by the Demons, but I can't be sure."
"Star Genesis' Karmic Line is gone for obvious reasons. As for Swamp Dragon... It's a bit strange. There are a lot of positive and negative emotions. Seems like he wants to support me but also really hates me. I guess something about him must have changed. I assume it's related to that weird inheritance. It probably influenced him."
"Happy to hear about your emotional relationships, but now's not the time to talk about your situationship with Swamp Dragon," Sebastian said with a roll of his eyes. "I wanted to know their states, not what they think of you."
"Alive," Kyle answered. "I can't be sure about anything else."
"That's good to hear," Sebastian said. "So, technically, only Star Genesis has died so far."
"Technically yes, but..." Kyle hesitated.
"As much as I would love to believe that Swamp Dragon has sounded a false alarm, the chances are pretty low. He doesn't seem like someone who would do something this drastic just because he has a slight inkling that something might happen."
"But what is this danger?" Sebastian asked. "What could be so bad that risking our identities to this degree seems like the right thing to do?"
"Maybe the Demons have somehow found out that we're in the Abyss," Kyle answered with a shrug. "Maybe the Demons are going through some kind of purge because there are too many of them. Maybe the Overseer got involved."
"Not sure," Sebastian answered. "None of these things-"
"Wait!" Kyle suddenly shouted as his eyes widened.
Sebastian's brows rose as he watched Kyle's eyes dart back and forth. It was like he was looking at something Sebastian couldn't see.
Then, Sebastian saw Kyle's mouth move wordlessly. Even though Kyle hadn't specifically said anything, Sebastian could still clearly see the words Kyle had just mouthed.
What the fuck?
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