The Jester of Apocalypse - Chapter 66: Tenacity

Neave stumbled through the hallways of the sect, clutching his head and forcing the influence away.

With every step, he felt the influx of thoughts growing weaker. Perhaps it wasn’t growing weaker. Maybe he was just getting better at keeping it away.

As he turned a corner in one of the corridors, he stopped as he heard a voice.

“Neave?”

He turned around and spotted Harel standing a bit down the hallway. Neave hadn’t felt her coming as he had been too focused on the influence. Miraculously, he felt the rush of interference disappear as his mind focused on Harel instead.

Neave shook his head and rose to his full height. He was much shorter than Harel.

“Harel, hello, excellent seeing you here, you know, you have wonderful timing. Please keep talking about something. I could use a distraction right now.”

Harel looked confused at Neave’s words, but that was how anyone reacted to his strange ramblings.

“I’m glad I ran into you…” She didn’t even believe those words but thought it suitable to butter him up before asking, “About those cores you gave me…” Harel raised the smallest core, and Neave stared at her flatly.

“Oh, fuck sake Harel, don’t tell me you didn’t use them yet?”

Harel winced a bit.

“I wanted to ask you about this. The cores you have provided to me are very powerful. I understand the ones related to altering my body or boosting my physical characteristics. I don’t understand this one.”

“Why doesn’t that one make sense to you?”

Harel paused a bit, steeled her nerves, and asked.

“What was your intention in giving me a metal detection power? Do you… Need me to use this spirit power for something?”

“Huh? Are you fucking stupid?”

Harel hesitated at Neave’s words. Was his intent perhaps obvious? Neave continued and said something Harel didn’t expect to hear.

“That isn’t a metal detection spirit power. It is a metal senses spirit power. You misinterpreted it.”

“Well… I mean… I suppose you could see it as that but isn’t that the same thing?”

“Not even close. What the fuck would you do with metal detection? Mining? Metal senses are a different thing altogether. It isn’t about just telling that the metal is there. It is about perceiving its qualities on a deeper level.”

“But this power can’t do that.”

“It can’t do that yet.”

“I would have to evolve it to make it do that, though! It isn’t smart to rely on unpredictable evolutions!”

“That is kind of true, but also not. However, that’s completely irrelevant, as you misunderstood me again. That power you have there doesn’t need to be evolved to do this. It just needs to be trained. If you can evolve it, that would be splendid, but it already inherently possesses the qualities I’ve mentioned.”

“… I didn’t feel that at all.”

“Well, I did. And trust me, my spirit senses are much more reliable than yours.”

“What would be the point of having such a power?”

Neave looked at her with utter confusion. It was clear from a mile away that he considered that a stupid question.

“Huh!? You use a sword, no? In fact, haven’t you built your entire repertoire around swordsmanship!? Isn’t it obvious that you would benefit from a better understanding of your weapon?”

Harel didn’t hesitate much at that one, to Neave’s surprise.

“Well, no. Not really. Perhaps to a degree, yes, but it’s a waste. I can understand the sword far better just by progressing on the path and working on my cultivation. Wouldn’t it be better to use my spirit powers to do things I can’t?”

“No. Just no. No, no, no, You’re…” Neave groaned, “What are you talking about? I gave you rounded cores. You do know what that means, right? I can just give you more monster cores to do all the other fucking things you want them to do, and it won’t impact the difficulty of the spirit trial by much! If I gave you a bunch of iron rank powers, you could easily stack hundreds without breaking a sweat.”

Harel swallowed. She looked Neave in the eye and asked.

“What do you want in return?”

“What do you mean?”

“These cores are beyond precious. You must want something in return.”

“Ah, I get it. When I first found you and Marven, you said you wanted to become a hero to the people, no? I want you to do that.”

“That… But that doesn’t… You don’t get anything out of that!”

Neave simply shook his head.

“I get exactly what I want from that.”

“What is that?”

“It’s none of your fucking business. That’s what it is.”

“Of course it’s my business! You are giving me something that many would sell their very soul for. Am I wrong to be afraid you’ll take something of equal value!?”

“The cores are valued that high only because nobody else can do what I can. To me, they’re practically garbage.”

Harel clenched her fists.

“Then what am I worth?”

“Nothing. Nothing essential in the grand scheme of things, no.”

Harel gritted her teeth.

“What is this grand scheme of things? In our conversation when we first encountered you, you claimed that you wished to kill the devils and suborn the gods. What is your real goal?”

Neave’s expression darkened.

“Fuck off and shut the fuck up. You consider yourself a lot more important than you really are. I have no interest in humoring a child’s bullshit. Take the cores if you want, or shove them up your ass. I don’t care either way.”

“I asked you a question.“

Neave paused.

“And I didn’t answer it. What are you going to do about that?”

“I’m going to ask you again. What do you want?”

Neave turned away and started walking. Harel felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

“You owe me your life, Neave. I saved you back in the Zearthorn sect. Pay the debt back by answering my question.”

Neave stopped. Harel stared at him expectantly, but Neave didn’t move or say anything. Neave stood there, and Harel felt the air darken. It was as if she was sinking with a boulder chained to her foot, but she stood her ground.

She didn’t apologize.

Harel waited for Neave to answer her question.

And answer it, he did.

“I have nothing, Harel. I do not possess anything at all. This world had rejected my very existence time and time again, regardless of my actions.”

“You have a father. Is that not something? He loves you, Neave. He is doing his best to repay what he owes you.”

“But he is afraid of me.”

Harel hesitated.

“That’s beside the point.”

“It isn’t. Marven is a coward with plenty of children. So why me? When Hunter arrived, Marven didn’t even face him. Why didn’t he repay his debt to Hunter then? Let me tell you why. Because Hunter is harmless.”

Neave turned his head back to face Harel. Only his head, as the rest of his body remained facing the other direction.

“While I could kill Marven in an instant.”

Every fiber of Harel’s being wanted to back off, but she refused.

“He owes nobody as much as he owes you. You can’t even compare these things.”

“I also have the most to offer him. What would you bet that he cares more about that than he does about me?”

“You’re wrong.”

“I am not wrong, Harel.”

“Then why are you still here!?”

Neave disappeared. Before Harel could see it, He was already under her and gripping her neck. Neave’s hand elongated until Harel was hanging from the air, and eventually, he pinned her body against the ceiling.

“Let me tell you my plan, then, Harel. Make sure you listen carefully. This world is rotten. The gods that are supposed to be the supreme existences of this realm have failed all of us. This realm is hell. It is a world of nothing but torment and suffering. It is our responsibility to punish those who have failed us. The devils will die. The gods will be enslaved to fix their mistakes, and then, they, too, will die. I will seek to eradicate the only thing people hate more than they hate me. I will erase death. I will reject the rejector and become the true savior of this inferno. The eighth wave will finally be over. And I will finally be imprisoned by the one thing I acknowledge. A world that accepts who I am.”

Harel grew red in the face, but she didn’t look desperate, to Neave’s surprise.

Neave continued, “As for what role you will be playing in the–” Neave was interrupted as saliva smacked right into his forehead. Harel spat on him. He couldn’t believe it. Rather than regret what she did, he saw her gurgling.

She spat on his face again.

Neave was flabbergasted. It surprised him so much that he released his grip, and Harel dropped. Rather than fear, what he saw in her eyes was… Annoyance?

Harel sucked air between her teeth and massaged her neck as she got up. Neave felt the height difference between them as she crossed her arms and stared at him.

“Wow, you love sounding like a villain, don’t you!?”

“…What?”

“All you really said there is that you want to make the world a better place. You can do that without being a little shit!”

Neave gaped. What the hell was happening? This didn’t seem like Harel at all. She didn’t stop, either. Harel took measured steps toward Neave and pointed a finger at his face.

“Stop that. Neave, you have serious problems that aren’t what you think they are. I don’t know whether ‘enslaving the gods’ will be possible, and I do not know whether you can do it alone, but I do know that you don’t freakin’ have to! You and Marven have the same bad habit of shoving your head so far up your ass that you lose sight of reality! You know what, Neave? You definitely have a father! And he is exactly like you! You also have a brother! And you can have friends. You don’t need to be a world-class drama king to admit you want to fit in somewhere!”

Neave felt anger. A deep, guttural fury.

“What the hell do you know?” Neave took a step forward, “You spent your fucking childhood being spoonfed attention and resources. You know how I spent mine!? Praying that every day I wake up doesn’t end with someone ‘accidentally’ snapping my neck and killing me on the spot!”

“So why didn’t you fight back!? You even had talent! You didn’t have to suffer like that!”

Neave responded to this one by kicking her in the stomach. She flew back and dropped to the floor, clutching her stomach as Neave walked toward her and spoke mockingly.

“You have talent, Harel! What happened, Harel!? Haven’t you spent literally your entire life so far on getting stronger!? You don’t have to take this!” Neave kicked her again, “So why the fuck is it that you’re taking this beating then? Could it possibly be that getting stronger doesn’t equate to miraculously becoming immune to those who want to abuse their power?” Another kick, “Tell me, Harel, how strong must you be to stop me? How strong would you have to be to stop someone on the diamond path? Heavens forbid, someone above?” And another kick, “Could it just maybe, possibly be, that living a life of violence makes it inevitable to suffer at the hands of another?” Neave kicked her yet again, and this time she flew off the ground and smacked into a wall, “Could it possibly be that perpetuating the problem doesn’t solve the problem?”

Harel coughed. Yet again, Neave was surprised that she had no fear in her eyes. Harel smirked a bit.

“So why are you perpetuating the problem then?”

“Ooh, you got me there!” Neave exaggeratedly waved his hands, “I guess I must have become the thing I wanted to destroy all along or something. You could totally become a novelist with such genius ideas in your lil’ noggin.”

Harel hissed as she held her side, gripping her hip, and got off the ground.

“Do you no longer care about principles, then?”

“Of course I do. Mine have just changed a bit. There is this thing I like to call ideological reality shifting. It is the act of taking the privilege of living your life as if things truly worked the way they do in your head. That was the mistake that I made. Flowery wishes and ideals, even if logically solid, aren’t going to magically transform the illogical nature of reality. Things are the way they are. And, believe it or not, you’re right about how things are! The secret to not suffering at the hands of those more powerful than yourself is super simple! Just become the most powerful being alive.”

Harel took a deep, patchy breath.

“You’re right.”

Neave gave her a cheeky grin, waiting for the ‘but’ that was coming.

“But, to change the world, you must start with yourself.”

Neave rolled his eyes so hard he fell over from the backlash.

“You know what, Harel? I’m sure you have a good point in there somewhere, but that definitely isn’t it.”

Harel was confused at his reaction. She thought what she said was perfectly valid.

Neave threw her a small, green pill from his dimension ring and jumped back to his feet. He looked a little uncomfortable but forced himself to speak.

“Let’s go, Harel. We have a job to do. Rather than debate you about it, I’ll just show you what I expect from you.”

Neave walked away.

Harel popped the pill in her mouth, rubbed her sore ribs, and followed him.

They walked briefly, Harel choosing to catch up with him rather than stay behind. The silence stretched on. Eventually, Neave scratched the back of his head a bit.

“Sorry for beating you up.”

Harel smiled.

And punched him on the top of his head.

It didn’t hurt even a little. In fact, Harel was the one who suffered damage from hitting him. Neave saw this and couldn’t help but laugh.

***

She clutched her head in agony. The influx of emotions, intents, beliefs, opinions, personalities, and memories tore her head apart. The indistinct figure stood above her and caressed her slowly.

After a considerable amount of time, she finally got up but couldn’t open her eyes.

The presence of the shadowy figure was gone.

She didn’t need its guidance anymore. She knew exactly what she had to do. She knew exactly what they would want her to do. Their desire for vengeance burned deep in her soul.

She had never thought about it until now, but she had no name. Names were not a thing for those who did little more than consume. They would have wanted her to have a name, though, to be more than just a nameless creature of metal and gem.

Dimbra. That would be her name.

She would don her name in honor of the woman she most resembled. Then, as she ascended to the heavens, the gods and devils would know whose vengeance it was.

She finally opened her eyes.

She was deep underground again, surrounded by many precious gems and metals. There was one she had never seen before.

Immense amounts of power radiated from a specific substance lining the edges of the cave.

She walked up to a wall and plucked one.

A beautiful purple crystal shone between her fingers.

One prettier than even her eyes.