Chapter 194 - Day DLXII, Part I

I fell asleep thinking about Will, and what happened in that corridor, about Nadia and the invasion. I couldn't find my answer, even after sleeping I still didn't have one. I still felt responsible, and on the other hand, understood William.

I felt like in a maze that has no exits. It gave me a headache, so I decided to stop thinking, and get some food. I went to the cafeteria, as It was now fully functioning. My arrival got a lot of attention, probably because of the news of a dude who brought several carts filled with crystals spread out.

As I stood in line, doing my best to ignore all those gazes, I was approached by a curly-haired blondie. Her name was Maia, but I didn't know that at this point in time.

- Do you have time, to talk about God? - she asked me.

There was so much confidence in her that I almost said yes.

- I'm busy right now.

- Busy standing in line? - She rose her eyebrows.

- I'm busy not talking to you. Please. I had a tough month and a bad night. I'm hungry and my head hurts, so just leave.

- That's exactly why I'm here. We from Followers of Divine Tree hear about you a lot. We would like to support you.

- Then how about supporting me now with going somewhere else?

She almost stabbed me to death with her eyes.

- Wery well. We will talk on another occasion - and with those words, she left.

I just sighed, peaking at how far did she go. Fortunately, she got out of the cafeteria.

After a rather long wait, I finally got my food and could fill my stomach with something warm. Although I would personally prefer something more filling than just sup. It was still great. The best dish I had in at least a whole month.

With a full stomach, I went outside. The girl was waiting for me, but she had no idea how fast I was. A few shadow walks later I lost her, and could finally head to where I wanted to go, which was Jayadeva's workshop.

The cannon he used to kill the boss was outside, on a full display. It was surprisingly... average? There was nothing special about it.

I went inside, knocking on the door beforehand.

- Peter! - shouted Rishi the moment he noticed me.

Both father and son were in the middle of preparation to start working.

- Good morning Peter - said Jayadeva. - I heard about your return. What brings you to us?

- I wanted to talk with your son if that's ok with you.

He looked at the boy, then nodded.

Rishi seemed way happier about my visit. He dropped everything and came straight to me.

- What do you want to talk about? Your weapon? I didn't make it yet. There was just too much other work.

- Well... Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk about, but that's not the only thing.

- What else? - he seemed surprised.

- I wanted to ask if you need more crystals, or class points, to get better at your work. Now is a pretty good time to get you those.

He peaked at his father. I was a bit less subtle and just stared at Jayadeva, waiting for his answer. He slowly nodded.

- Good. I'll bring you some more crystals, and then let's get you some class points, but I want something amazing in return. The best thing you can make.

- Of course - he said with a big smile. - I'll make you the greatest weapon of them all. I swear!

- Take your time with it. I want something really sturdy, and great at cutting.

- I already had it all planned in my head, to be honest, just my skills were not enough. I really wanted to give you something worth your skills.

- Just do your best. I'm sure that will be enough.

- Then, when are we going?

- I'm not sure yet. I need to gather a lot of crystals for myself, and the city, and you. That's the first thing I'm gonna focus on. When I return we will talk about the details. I'm sure Hatta will support this, so we don't have to worry about hunting spot.

- Good. So... see you then?

- Yes. Have a good day, both of you.

- You too, Peter! - Rishi seemed to be very excited.

Jayadeva just nodded politely. I left them to their endeavors. To be honest I didn't have anything else to do. I just wanted to rest before another busy month of staying in the wild, hunting. Time was the problem. I just didn't want to pass as fast as I would like it.

I could use the device to get myself to perfect shape, say fuck it, and go, but my mental fatigue would stay anyway. I was also afraid of fighting. I wouldn't admit it, but part of me was scared that I'm going mad.

I lost control of my own body only once when I got drunk at a party. Nex day I felt horrible and swore to myself to never ever again lose control. Although this time was different, I was unable to even notice when it's happening. That was probably the real reason.

I decided to visit Aisha and see how the real Tam is doing. I was missing my rooster. For some reason, his presence was always making me feel good. Maybe because there was a part of me in him, and we understood each other so well, or maybe something entirely else. The fact that I really wanted to see him remained though.

So I started slowly walking towards Velvet Lotus and watching what others were doing. I noticed a group of soldiers being taught by Amit. From the few words my ears caught, it seemed like he is explaining some kind of tactics. It involved shieldmen, pikemen, and regular sword-ax-equipped infantry, and flanking.

Few other groups were cleaning the ruins around, probably to inhabit them, or maybe Hatta had some kind of project in mind that involved those buildings. The second idea seemed more probably to me since there were a lot of workers involved.

I passed by them and picked the right alley to get to my destination. This view brought me a bit of hope for our future.. Maybe this time it will work - I thought to myself.