The New World-Chapter 433: Honesty

Jamal hit the bar.

"Oh, come on. We barely talked about."

Nissa raised a hand.

"We've talked this over so many times. Stop acting like we're not exhausted with it. By now, you know what we think. You're just trying to wear us down."

As Nissa took a step away, Jamal turned to me.

"Before you go, let's hear what the new guy has to say."

I gulped as they all turned to me. Jamal gave me a nod.

"Well?"

I blinked.

"Me?"

Jamal gave me another hurried nod.

"Yes. You."

As they spoke, I had my own thoughts on what they should do, but I also understood how little context I had for the situation. These three had adventured together for years. Each of them held their own ideas for their futures, and I was merely a double agent using them for information. Despite that, I had knowledge they lacked in a few areas. After taking a second, I parsed through a few stories and ideas before standing from the bar.

"I have a few thoughts, though I don't know any of you as well as you all do. Please, take whatever I have to say with a grain of salt."

Nissa rolled her eyes.

"Enough preamble. Out with it."

I took a breath.

"I think you're both right and you're both wrong."

Jasmine's head fell back.

"Of course, you're riding that fence for dear life."

I peered her way.

"Not quite. I have specific ideas, and I'm sure about them. I just know how information is delivered oftentimes exceeds the importance of the information itself."

Jamal shook his hand.

"Come on, man. Lay it on us."

I pointed at him.

"You don't get to say how we spend our portion of this score. That's entirely up to us, and trying to help us sell the goods to create goodwill before asking for the income like this is in bad faith."

Nissa smirked before I turned to her.

"I've travelled the world a bit on my way from the Rockies to here. You're not ready to go out and search for any runes or esoteric bits of information. In fact, you're going to need to get level capped and preferably well into a class before you head out on your own. Same for you and your great wonders trip, Jasmine."

Jasmine narrowed her eyes.

"What makes you so sure?"

I crossed my arms.

"I mentioned coming from Colorado, and I can tell you from experience, the Rockies are an eldritch-infested wasteland. You and Nissa both have to be careful against typical forest eldritch, let alone the monsters you find near landmarks. That's why travelling anywhere by yourself is paramount to suicide."

Jasmine tilted her head.

"What if I have a legacy and a ring? That'll improve my combat capabilities dramatically, and I can leverage that to visit the places I want."

I swallowed a bit of annoyance at her abusing the system I established. I frowned.

"You'll lose the legacy whenever you spend several years travelling the world."

Jasmine nodded.

"Sure, but I can always keep the ring."

Jamal shook his head.

"You think you can outsmart The Harbinger?"

Jasmine massaged her temples.

"He doesn't even care about us. He's preoccupied fighting cosmic horrors or whatever the hell he's up against. It's going to be a long time before he starts caring about the rings and what happens to them."

I leaned forward.

"Now, I don't know for sure if this is the case, but I've heard a rumor recently. Apparently, The Harbinger is going to be putting stricter requirements on keeping the rings."

Nissa snapped her fingers.

"And here I was hoping to get some of the benefits before he put a tighter lid on those artifacts. Assuming he follows through with what you said. If that's the case, then that guy's timing is immaculate for screwing me over."

Jasmine spread her hands.

"Why would he even care about the rings?"

I raised my hands, keeping my voice low.

"From what I've gathered, he went to The Shattered Spires and heard of crimes committed by his guild members. He'll be tying the rings to his legacy from here on out. If you try to keep them, he'll send his golems to get you."

Their faces paled. Jasmine murmured.

"He wouldn't."

I frowned.

"I think he would."

Nissa put her hands on her forehead.

"The metal giant wants everybody to fight until they die like him? Great. Just great."

I let my hands flop against my sides in resignation.

"Hey, I'm just the messenger."

Jamal leaned against the bar.

"We knew the situation wouldn't last forever."

Jasmine glared at him.

"You're just happy my travelling plans have been postponed."

Jamal put his hand against his chest.

"My desires and aims are pure and just. Beyond reproach, really. It's a part of my charm."

The ladies frowned at him. I shrugged.

"My advice would be to keep your heads down and change the kind of missions you're doing. Right now, you're all focused on making money. In my opinion, levels are this world's real currency, and simply killing eldritch would help-"

Nissa threw a piece of ice at me. I snatched it out of the air. I took a deep breath, acting melodramatic. I walked over to the bar and leaned over, my breath ragged. Jamal furrowed his brow.

"You alright, man?"

I raised a shaking fist.

"Of course not."

I turned to Nissa, the ice between my fingers.

"That was...Cold of you."

A cacaphony of boos erupted, and I dodged six other pieces of ice thrown my way. I laughed while grinning.

"What's with this chilly reception?"

More ice was tossed my way. It coursed towards me from cups supplied by Joshua, the pieces becoming an avalanche. I kept dodging as my laughter became maniacal.

"Why, that's very mean, not very ice at all."

Joshua raised his arm, an ice spear coalescing.

"If you make another ice pun, I'm not serving you that tonic ever again."

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My mind danced with possibility, but I suppressed the urge to watch the world burn. I took a breath, letting a few ice pieces clank against me.

"Alright, fair enough."

Joshua let the spear land in his hand before snapping it in half. He threw it in an open fridge. Jamal shook his head.

"What were we even talking about?"

Nissa waved her finger in his direction.

"You were trying to spend all our money."

Jamal rolled his eyes.

"That's not what this is. It's an investment."

I walked back over.

"No, it's you spending their money and putting them in a position they don't want. From the sound of it, you don't want it either."

Jamal leaned his elbows against the bar.

"Ok, Sherlock. Please, by all means, tell me what I want."

I leaned against the bar beside him.

"Tell me this then - would you make this guild if Nissa and Jasmine weren't in it?"

Jamal frowned.

"Of course not."

I sighed.

"That's my point. This isn't something you actually care about. You just want to keep your group together, and this is your means of tying them both down."

Jamal flushed while Jasmine reached up her hand and snapped her fingers several times.

"Preach."

I shrugged.

"I don't see why you don't just try to turn the trip to the great wonders into an excavation for rare artifacts. If you did that, then Nissa gets her supplies for her shop, Jasmine gets her trip around the world, and you get to stay close to your friends."

I put a hand on his shoulder, my eyes flashing over memories with Michael and Kelsey.

"Don't let something stupid like pride stop you from keeping those close to you. This world is harsh enough as it is. We shouldn't add more pain to it."

Jamal grasped his hands before throwing them up.

"Ah fuck it. Fine. We'll go on the damn trip."

The ladies put their hands up while letting out a series of cheers. I let my hand go.

"That's good to hear."

Jamal leaned back.

"Hear? You're obviously invited, man. We need someone who can help show us how to travel those eldritch infested wastelands like you mentioned, and you have experience we'd love on our team."

Nissa adjusted her circular glasses.

"I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea. Well, that strongly at least."

Jasmine pointed a finger gun at me. She fired it as she said,

"He's alright by me."

Jamal spread his arms.

"There you have it. Democracy for the win."

My smile softened, a subtle sadness creeping in.

"Ah. I'd absolutely love to, I really would."

Their expressions dimmed. Nissa turned, the tattoos on her neck sheening in the lamplight.

"It's probably for the best anyway. We can't have some slacker who relies on potions all the time anyway."

Jamal rolled his eyes.

"I've never seen him sleep since we met. Or relax either."

Nissa coughed into her hand.

"Oh, just shut the hell up."

Jasmine gave Jamal a glare. Jamal sighed.

"Sure, sure."

We kept talking for a while, but the energy from the previous conversation faded. Knowing this was a temporary arrangement established a precedent, one where no one wanted to get too close to me anymore. By the time we finished talking, they all wanted to split up and go shopping for supplies.

Before they left, I raised my hand to them all.

"Yo, guys."

They turned. I lowered my hand.

"I'm going to stay in Springfield for a while. I'll be able to help you guys on missions for a few weeks to get you all rich and prepared. We can even spar to sharpen our skills."

Nissa smirked.

"And you think Mr. Bottles can beat us in proper combat?"

I held an absolute but quiet confidence.

"There really is only one way to find out."

Jamal raised his hands.

"Ok, ok. You've twisted our arms by begging. Pleading. Some could even call it groveling."

Nissa nodded.

"I would be one of those people."

I scoffed.

"I can just work with another-"

Jamal raised his hand while bending his head down.

"Enough. I can't stand to watch a grown man kneel. We'll let you join us as we run through a few more missions to stockpile supplies and credits. Besides, we can't just let this homeless wanderer starve, can we?"

Jasmine crossed her arms.

"No, that would be wrong. He's too pitiful."

Nissa frowned.

"And ugly."

Jasmine nodded.

"And full of himself."

Nissa sighed.

"Did I mention ugly?"

Jamal laughed while I waved them off. I smiled.

"Don't force my hand. I have more puns if need be."

They skeddaddled outside while cackling, and we left on far better terms than the middle of the conversation would've implied. Either way, I got to work sending messages and organizing the initiatives I started up over the last week. At the same time, I sipped on the tonic while eating a grapefruit Joshua ordered a while back.

After handling my piled-up guild business, I searched within myself to assess my injuries. They still lingered as scars, but the activity helped speed the process along. At the same time, I tested my new Rise of Eden power by saturating my room with the passive buffs. It carried through, and I was able to get a portion of the stat increases even while using my other dimensional wakes.

It was a colossal upgrade. Usually, I experienced a sudden and steep drop-off in stats whenever I switched away from The Rise of Eden. It always felt bad, though Event Horizon could immediately replace the missing stats if I fed on enough people or enemies. Perfection's Providence wasn't as much of a stat boosting wake anyway, so it had never felt that bad to lose the stats in that aura.

However, Event Horizon and The Rise of Eden competed for my best-in-combat dimensional wake. On occasion, I wielded my primordial wake to get the upper hand in mind magic shenanigans, but it usually lacked the same absolute power. In a pinch, I could soak an area before facing off against a foe using Event Horizon now.

It gave me another trump card, and I would wield it as a hammer.

As I waited for the others to return, I tested Perfection's Providence. It held the most unique and active ability of them all - creation. I could generate conscious bolts of mana now. It wasn't like the golems or Torix's creations either. This was full-blown sentience.

I could have ethereal birds fly across the room before landing on my shoulder. Once made, they followed the personality I willed upon them. However, it wasn't based on a constant stream of orders. It would go upon its own volition, making its mark upon the world. While I couldn't test the magic using even a fraction of my power currently, I could wield tiny bits of it.

Before I knew it, I had a dozen floating soda bottles with legs floating above me. They danced in sync with canes, top hats, and resonating their hums all the while. It took no effort whatsoever to maintain, and I watched the bottles while utterly ensorcelled. They kept dancing like the world's greatest screensaver until someone knocked on the door frame.

Nissa leaned her head in, her expression deadpan.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

I pulled an obelisk out of my storage in a flash.

"Watching a stupid video."

She peered at the bottles.

"Huh. Yeah, that sounds about right. We're all planning out the next mission, and we figured you'd want to be involved."

I threw myself out of my bed.

"Of course."

As we walked off, Nissa put her hands on her hips.

"And Jamal said you never relaxed. Dude's watching videos like it's YouTube or something."

I smiled.

"What can I say? It passes the time."

We walked back into Joshua's bar. The barkeep had no time to dally with us as customers flooded in for the weekend. A bead of sweat dripped down his brow as the man flowed from one task to the next, an obvious flow overcoming him. In that moment, I understood why Joshua chose this life.

The man loved it.

In one of the booths, we planned out the next mission. It wasn't anything as tumultuous as the last one, and everybody got drinks and food aplenty. By the time the night waned, we were the last customers left. As was tradition, I carried the three adventurers to their beds. When I passed Joshua, I noticed several empty glasses beside the man.

I raised a brow.

"What did you do with these guys before I was a part of the group?"

Joshua smoked a cigar, and the smoke lingered over him like a dark haze. It seemed to mold into his mood, the gray becoming a part of him.

"I'd carry them to the room myself. Of course, that cost extra. They always passed out anyways. Heh. I wish I could live like there was no tomorrow like they do."

He took a puff on the cigar, holding it in. He let it out in a satisfied sigh.

"But I can't anymore. Life's funny like that. It shows you these fleeting, beautiful moments, and before you know it, they become memories. You can have something so valuable in your hands, but you only realize that after it's all gone."

Joshua gazed in the distance.

"And then, when the dust settles and you have time to breathe...Those memories become the most valuable thing you have left. Hah. They're just shadows of what you had, yet they're as good as gold compared to all this other trash we have to live through."

I frowned, but I listened. Joshua smothered his cigar before taking a breath.

"I shouldn't have said all that. I must be in one hell of a mood tonight."

I waved my hand.

"No, it's fine. I'm here to listen."

He nodded before turning to me.

"You know, you have something good with these three. Not going with them...It's a real shame to see you go out and waste the time you do have. Trust an old man that's wasted several lifetimes' worth of goodness in his life...Don't let these moments pass you by. You will regret it more than you know."

He spoke the words like a man holds a sick child. The worry, the care, it left me unable to find words to respond. After a while, a wave of guilt passed over me. I let out a sigh.

"I have something to tell you. Let me put these three down."

Joshua crossed his arms before putting his feet on his countertop.

"I've got all the time in the world. It's what happens when a man's waiting to die."

I walked the three adventurers back to their rooms before walking back to the tavern's main room. I leaned against the wood, a bit of fear creeping its way into my stomach. Joshua threw his hand up.

"What? Are you scared of little old me?"

I nodded.

"I am."

Joshua frowned.

"Oh."

He put his feet down before sitting upright. He put a hand on the back of his head.

"Well, son...I know you haven't been telling us everything, and that's probably for the best. After all, oversharing isn't good for anyone. Look at what I just did. That sure as hell didn't help anybody, did it?"

I shook my head.

"No, I appreciate it. I really do. You remind me of what I fight for."

Joshua flushed.

"I thought you just fought for money."

"I never have."

Joshua nodded.

"I figured as much. That cloak's worth more than those three combined."

I steepled my fingers.

"I...I haven't been honest with you all about who I am."

Joshua sighed.

"Son, you can tell me what you need to when the time is right. Don't feel like I'm going to kick you out because we disagree on something. You're still welcome here."

I peered up at him.

"Even if I make more ice puns?"

Joshua leaned back, his hands raised.

"Now wait a minute. A man has to have standards."

I laughed before gulping. I rolled the fingers of my hands, this moment becoming surprisingly difficult. After a few breaths, I stood tall.

"I'm not a wanderer from Colorado."

Joshua rolled his eyes.

"Any fool could tell that much. Like I said, that cloak alone lets me know you're not just some nobody."

I swung the cloak off my back.

"I'm a native of Springfield."

Joshua's eyes widened. He gawked.

"You're...You're from the first platoon?"

I unshackled several of the tightening belts over my arms.

"In a sense."

Joshua peered to the side.

"It makes so much more sense now why you're so strong. You faced Yawm and lived. Woah."

I nodded.

"And a little more."

Joshua scoffed.

"You fought in the Elysium Wars as well? Color me surprised."

My eyes glowed from mana. My presence leaked into the room, and Joshua's hair bristled. I nodded.

"I faced and survived Yawm. I killed millions on Giess. I slaughtered armies on Blegara. I faced and destroyed Lehesion across several timelines. I fought against the avatars of the Old Ones and won. I've even conquered planets in my legion's name."

Joshua's awe faded.

"Well, this was a pretty good joke, I have to admit. You had me going for a while."

I pulled the top of my leather armor off.

"It's no joke."

Joshua covered his face.

"My god, why in the hell are you undressing?"

I finished removing the leather pads, my dark metal armor forming over me the moment it could. I grew several feet taller, my head hitting the ceiling. My aura encompassed Joshua but not the others. The old man's surprise came back with vengeance, and he fell backwards off his chair. He scrambled back to the fridges, and his eyes opened wide.

"You...You're not who I think you are...Are you?"

I frowned. Mana glowed over my frame. It dolloped like glowing poison floating across space. My runes blurred the air in the room, and I molded gravitation to protect all that surrounded me. I sat down, my legs crossed, and my torso was still taller than the bar. A sad smile crossed my face as I loomed over the man as a titan of metal, violence, and potential.

"I am The Harbinger of Cataclysm."