17 Book 3 Chapter 13

Everyone's eyes were on Jason as he suddenly faced the most difficult decision in his life. Although he imagined this scenario countless times before, now that the moment had finally arrived, conflicting emotions made his resolve waver. Hesitation, anxiety, nervousness, unease, hope, anticipation.

Jason was the only thing giving humanity a fighting chance. Because of that, any decision he made could cause things to spiral out of control. Everyday he had the same thought: were all his choices up to this point helpful? Or did it make things worse? Not knowing the answer was more stressful than even the death of his father.

Only social gatherings and training distracted him from the nightmares that plagued him at night. The weight of his burden was heavy, oh so heavy. Many times he almost divulged his secret, only to make excuses like the risk was too high or that he wasn't strong enough. But could he say the same even now?

No.

Now he had the strength to defend himself, and more importantly, people he trusted.

Shenlong, Zhen Hu, Ebba, Amara, Dubaku, Peter, Carly, Cheslov, Olivia, and Roy. Jason could confidently leave his back to them in battle. The chaotic emotions vanished, leaving only doubt behind. Would they trust him?

Jason glanced over his allies before locking eyes with Shenlong. Over the next several minutes, he summarized the last years of humanity, the final battle, and his 'reward'. At first he narrated everything like a bystander, but as he poured his heart out, one tear after the other fell.

Everyone besides Shenlong, Cheslov, Olivia, and Roy were doubtful. The only expressionless one was Shenlong, his thoughts unknown.

"...and that's why my alias Index and I know so much." Jason finished as a feeling of tranquility filled his soul.

Jason's story was shocking, and yet everything was too elaborate to be fake. For a while no one responded, until finally Amara snorted. "Nice prank."

Jason turned to Amara and slowly said one word after the other. "Rebirth. Of. The.-"

"STOP!" Amara interrupted. Horror, but more so shock, covered her face.

"Rebirth of the?" Peter glanced between Jason and Amara. "What does that mean?"

"A skill." Shenlong answered first. "Most likely a deep secret of hers that only Jason would know if his words are true."

Zhen Hu and Dubaku tensed and stared at Jason cautiously. Only when Dubaku remembered his private conversation with Index did he relax.

"Jason." Shenlong narrowed his eyes. "If you can say everything about a skill I've never revealed, then I'll believe you."

"In front of everyone?" Jason raised an eyebrow, delighted and concerned at the same time.

Jason was relieved. If Shenlong was on his side, then he felt like everything would turn out alright. As such, he said. "Absolute Domain, a custom passive skill awarded from the arena challenge. You intuitively know everything about your surroundings. Distance is based on level."

Shenlong's face drained of color as he clutched his chest. Zhen Hu, seeing his master's abrupt change, rushed over. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Shenlong took a moment to calm his heart before he glanced over everyone with a pained expression. "How can I be the only one to feel this grief, this loss?" He laughed bitterly. "How naive was I? To think I could reap the benefits the tower provided without consequence. What greed! What selfishness!"

"Master, you're too harsh on yourself." Zhen Hu consoled, shocked that the person he respected so much looked so vulnerable.

Amara bit her lip. "Shenlong, you actually believe him?"

"What if he is just using an unknown inspect skill?" Ebba asked.

"No." Shenlong shook his head. "He knew where I acquired it. Would an inspect skill know that?"

"Doubtful." Peter remarked with folded arms.

Amara finally snapped. "So what? We're all going to die? I refuse to accept that!"

"N-no, you're w-w-wrong." Carly directly refuted Amara. "H-he's only been in the tower for less than a year in this t-timeline right?"

Amara glared at Carly, causing her to hide behind Peter.

Peter coughed. "I think what she's saying is, if Jason used his foreknowledge to reach our level in less than a year, what if he shared everything with us? Wouldn't our strength skyrocket as well?"

"She's right. How foolish of me to fall into despair so easily." Shenlong was renewed with confidence as he turned to Jason. "Will you take over as party leader?"

Jason grew solemn and looked over his companions. Only when he saw no objections did he nod. "I understand what we must do."

At that moment, Roy, Olivia, and Cheslov approached Jason with tense expressions. "Uh, we're sorry."

"Whatever for?" Jason blinked in confusion.

Roy smiled regretfully. "Well, we kinda figured you had a secret because you always seemed to know everything."

Cheslov spoke next. "We, uh, might've gambled with each other about what your secret was."

Olivia bowed her head. "We didn't think it was like this."

"Sorry." All three said in unison.

Jason broke into laughter. "You're apologizing over this? It's just harmless fun! Don't worry about it."

As Jason was chatting with Roy, Ebba inspected the companions she teamed up with not long ago. To her, this party was only temporary. It was just a way to bring her closer to her goal. Friends and companions? They were just a means to an end. It had been many years since she felt emotion, but when Jason explained the reward for clearing the tower, a long lost feeling began to blossom: hope. The thing she had been chasing all this time couldn't possibly be right in front of her, right?

After a deep breath, she called out. "Jason."

"Hm?" Jason gave her a quizzical glance. The number of times Ebba took the initiative to speak first could be counted on a single hand.

Ebba clenched her hands tight underneath her robe as she asked. "In your… original timeline, did I-" She braced herself for disappointment. "Did I ever succeed in reviving my family?"

The atmosphere froze. Everyone stared at Ebba, surprised that her cold exterior was actually hiding such a desire.

"Um," Jason's smile froze as he awkwardly answered. "we were barely considered acquaintances back then, so I don't know, sorry."

Ebba released a breath, along with all her hope. Seeing the light in her eyes vanish, Jason quickly added. "However… whoever created this tower definitely has the power to resurrect your family. Definitely!"

Cheslov smacked his lips. "Ain't that the truth! I'm not a scientist- far from it, but I say traveling backwards through time is a hell of a lot harder than resurrecting a few people."

Ebba's mind trembled. Right! Why worry about the slim possibility her necromancy could revive her family, when a being capable of time travel was so close in sight? Especially since that same being was the creator of the tower, a structure capable of so many fantastical and magical things.

"The reward for clearing the tower is a wish, right?" Ebba asked for verification.

Jason was just about to nod when he suddenly remembered something. When humanity's status upgraded to tier three, wasn't there a chance the reward changed too? He wanted to answer honestly, but when he felt Ebba's emotions through his awakened soul, he abruptly changed his answer. "Without a doubt!"

A smile spread across Ebba's face, so wide and carefree that it was as if she had become another person. Seeing this made Jason feel certain he made the right decision.

"Wait, something doesn't make sense." Amara furrowed her brows as she turned to Jason. "You said that being couldn't grant your wish of resurrecting humanity. He said 'Not enough energy', right?"

Carly hastily tugged at Amara's robe when she saw Ebba's pale face, but Amara continued anyway. "I agree with Cheslov, sending you through time seems much, much harder than resurrecting a few people, hell, even humanity."

"Huh?" Jason tilted his head. Normally he tried his best to ignore such painful memories, but upon hearing Amara's comments, he too felt that something was off. "So what are you saying?"

Amara placed her hands on her hips. "Simply put: I think that glowing asshole lied to you!"

Jason fell silent. While all of this was merely conjecture, it sure did feel accurate. Just thinking that a god-like being lied to him left him exasperated. Why would someone so powerful beat around the bush and say 'Not enough energy'? In fact, after thinking about it some more, 'Not enough energy' sounds like a lazy excuse a child would come up with on the spot!

Carly trembled in fear after hearing Amara. She promptly fell to her knees and clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Oh glowing god upstairs, please don't be mad at Amara for calling you an a-asshole! I beg for your forgiveness."

"What are you doing?" Amara looked down at Carly in disdain.

"Quickly, quickly! Get on your knees and copy me." Carly pulled on Amara's hand.

"Hmph." Amara glanced up and yelled. "Screw you!"

"AH!" Carly shrieked as she jumped to her feet and covered Amara's mouth with her hand. "She doesn't mean it! It was just a joke, haha. Just a joke!"

Carly anxiously glanced around, fearing that a lightning bolt would strike her at any moment. Only after a few seconds passed did she sigh in relief. Patting her chest, she nodded victoriously. "Looks like that shining ass- I mean person- forgave you."

"Hmph." Amara turned around and folded her arms. It was only then that she saw everyone else laughing hysterically. As much as she tried, she couldn't stop herself from joining as well.

A party such as this was rarely seen, even if it was a temporary one for now. Each member belonged to a different faction and would usually never cross paths, but all of this was possible due to Jason. While a skilled fighter, he was even more so a socialite. He could bridge the gap between two people, allowing them to get along harmoniously. It was only because of this that things progressed to this point.

While Jason couldn't be certain of the future, he was sure humanity had a better fighting chance now than ever before.