Rise Of The Godking - Chapter 93 Onwards

As the teleportation ended, Daneel felt to his knees, the image of the sacrifices that had enabled him to leave burned into his eyes.

He just lay there, panting, for some time, staring at the matrix that had been immediately shut down so that no one could follow. The upgraded system’s cognition module had to be thanked for that; before, when the system had still been in its infancy, he would have had to give it orders for it to do something like this, and so, not for the first time, it had saved his skin when he was too stunned to do anything.

The screams were added to the echoes that emanated from the very corners of his mind, now, accompanied by those of the dead enforcer’s family. Even though he had left the island, it felt as if they were still front of him, so near that they could be reached if he just stretched his hand forward…but Daneel did no such thing, knowing that their lives would have been lost in vain if he did something so foolish.

When he finally got to his feet, the first thing he noticed was that there was actually lush, green grass under his feet. Looking up, he let out a sigh of relief as the clear afternoon sun appeared in front of his eyes, shining in all its glory on the sea that looked even more vibrant now, after his experience in a world that had been bleached of all color but black.

Turning around, he saw that the dome that had surrendered Graiton was here, too, and the entire place looked much more normal than the hellhole he had just walked out of. It was almost like a nightmare, now, that he wished he could forget, but he did no such thing, all too aware of the fact that he had bought his escape with blood and suffering.

Their final wish was clear: they wanted the message to be spread, and at the moment, Daneel decided that he would do it, no matter what it meant.

On each island, the entry and exit teleportation matrixes were present on the opposite ends of the land. Intending to think on the way, he trudged in the direction in which he knew the next one would lie, but before he could even start, he felt a strong urge to step into the dome and see if underneath, more people were dying or already dead, too.

He fought with it for a few moments, but being greatly weakened by what had just happened, he gave in and hesitantly took a step inside the transparent layer. Thankfully, all that he saw was more land filled with grass and even trees and flowers here and there, so without tempting more unneeded danger, he stepped back out and resumed his journey.

His face cleared as soon as he reached this decision. He firmly put the matter out of his mind; no matter what it entailed, he could do nothing without more information, so at the moment, he let his mind drift to different topics.

He found himself recalling those feathered beings who had almost killed him, and without a pause, he spoke to the system to find out their secrets.

“System, did you scan those birdlike things?”

[Affirmative. Genetic make-up appears to be consistent with that of ancient Godbeasts that are similar to the vultures from host’s home planet. It is possible that interbreeding has occurred. It is also possible that an individual skilled in genetic modification created the species to make use of the strength of both. More data is required for further analysis.]

Daneel thoughtfully bent his head as he pondered on the system’s answer. He wasn’t really surprised that ancient Godbeasts had been thrown into the mix; in fact, he had suspected something similar, too.

Godbeasts. They had various origins; some had come along with Angaria when it had separated from the Mainland during the war that had torn apart the place many, many years ago. Others had evolved from a being that had made the island its home after climbing out of the sea. It made sense that he would find more of the former the closer he got to the Mainland…but it was surprising that he had done so so quickly, after just getting to the next island from his.

Also, there hadn’t even been clues of such beings on his own island. Was each island really so different because they each came from different places on the Endless Sea? Or were there other factors at hand that he needed to figure out?

Either way, Daneel placed all of his attention on each step that he took to get him closer to his destination and just kept walking. He did think, for a few times, about what could be the connotation of seeing so many people being sentenced to death, but because he couldn’t reach a conclusion, he often found himself forcefully abandoning them…and then hating himself for an instant as he had abandoned those who had lost their lives to help him.

It was finally with a troubled mind that he reached the next matrix. Feeling both anticipation and dread, he touched a crystal to those arising out of the ground almost as if they were part of a tree that had been planted there…and let out a breath when they glowed a harmless orange, this time.

Stepping through brought him to a place that had a rocky surface, but nothing else amiss. A glance inside the dome also revealed nothing out of order, and without doing anything else, Daneel made his way to the next matrix.

He passed four islands in this manner, each more normal than the last. The only disconcerting thing about one of them had been that a few piles of bones had been present when he peeked inside, but they seemed as if they had been placed there a long, long time ago, already having gathered dust and even a few scorpions that had made their home inside.

The moment he touched a crystal to the exit matrix of the fourth island, though, he felt, rather than saw that something was going to be different. The color that the crystal glowed was a vibrant blue, almost like the shade of the sky, and even though this gave away nothing, to Daneel, it felt as if there was something waiting for him beyond.

With wary eyes, he took the step…and froze when his vision returned to him.

A large wooden signboard was present right in front of the matrix. It would appear within sight of anyone who appeared, and just like the thousands who had probably come here before him, he found himself reading what was written on it without even thinking about what he was doing.

“Welcome, weary traveler! If you have crystals to spend, come over to Hopkins’ Bar! We even have hot food and cozy beds for those who can pay! Come one, come all…but if you come with empty hands, then be ready to be chased away!”

He frowned a few seconds, before suddenly remembering what the woman had said before beginning her message. Caught up in everything that had happened afterward, Daneel had forgotten it, but as he thought about it now, he suddenly realized that he hadn’t seen, before, that he might not be the only one making such a journey.

Their reasons might all be different, but the path they would take would be the same. Hence, it made sense that someone might have decided to make a business out of it…but was it safe?

He had read a lot about people being robbed in such places, or even killed for their wealth. Despite the risks, though…he began walking in the bar’s direction due to one reason, and one reason alone: to fulfill the dying wish of those people who were the reason behind him being unscathed.

He kept a close watch on his surroundings on the way. Only a couple of hundred meters away from the signboard, a large, wooden building’s top part came into vision, and soon, he was at the door of the bar.

The name was displayed in large letters made of individually hammered boards of wood painted a garish red. The structure of the building reminded him of the cowboy salons from Earth, and as he took a step inside, he almost felt like a gunslinger taking a rest from a dusty journey.

There were three people inside: a fat man with a large mole on his left cheek behind a long counter, a maid lazily brushing the floor and a masked and cloaked man sitting in front of one of the round tables that were present all over the room, nursing a large mug of frothy yellow liquid in his hands.

All three looked up as he entered. The bartender cracked a smile, the maid looked away and kept sweeping, completely uninterested, and the man returned to his drink with a grunt.

“Welcome! I hope you read the—”

Raising his hand, Daneel showed one of the crystals he had already taken out on the way. His smile broadening, the bartender politely gestured to the chair in front of the counter.

“Give me whatever he’s having.”

Soon, a replicate of the mug between the man’s hands was in front of Daneel. As he took a sip, his eyebrows rose as he saw that it was spiced wine, tasty and warming to both the soul and the stomach.

Looking around, he played with the idea of using subterfuge…but abandoning it after realizing that the man could probably look through anything he might try, he just said, “I have to pass on a message. The Grand See—”

Before he could finish the sentence, the bartender’s eyes opened wide and he moved with the speed of a startled cat.

The mug was snatched away from Daneel’s hands, and a second later, the sound of the door being opened reached his ears.

“Get out. Get out! Here’s your crystal! Be gone from here! We have nothing to do with seers…nothing at all! Go, before I throw you out!”

Daneel was surprised for a few moments, but seeing the dangerous glint in the man’s eyes, he decided to let the matter drop.

Picking up the crystal, he turned around and saw that the maid was the one holding the door open, with her head bent as if she didn’t want to see anything that was happening around her.

Daneel took as much time as he dared while he walked out. He could feel the masked man’s eyes on him, and the bartender looked like he was close to jumping in Daneel’s direction to usher him out…but apart from that, there was nothing else to be seen.

Sighing as he reached the doors, he prepared to give up on the place, but just as he went out of them, a whisper reached his ears…and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

“Meet me four hours later near the exit crystals. I’ll hear your message.”

Sighing as he reached the doors, he prepared to give up on the place, but just as he went out of them, a whisper reached his ears…and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

Sighing as he reached the doors, he prepared to give up on the place, but just as he went out of them, a whisper reached his ears…and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.