Gil was now standing alone, as if in a darkness created by himself. Only the sound of his fettered breaths entered his ears. And soon, that darkness slowly faded, revealing the light of the sun that shone on the bodies that scattered around him– Corpses which were all wearing the same uniform he once wore.
Gil could only imagine if he wasn’t kicked inside the Pit alongside Van– Would he also be one of the corpses that littered the dried ground of which he stood?
He knew some of these people, some could even be considered as his friends to some extent.
“What… what have you monsters done!?”
And as if following a script, words from a familiar voice entered Gil’s ears like a knife. It was his friend, Jack, the one he ordered be taken away before all this carnage started inside the Dome. He did it to save him, but it was obvious that Jack did not take it like that anymore as soon as he saw the bodies of his comrades.
“Gil… Gil! Look at me!” Jack said as the Pit Soldiers tried to hold him back, “Why… why would you do this!?”
With Jack’s voice echoing in his mind, Gil could only look to the side, a pang of guilt littering in his heart. Although he did not really participate in the battle, he was still part of the army that did so. He might as well have done it with his hand himself.
“Put this guy with the others that are still alive.”
Cynthia then approached the soldiers, asking them to take Jack away before walking towards Gil with a long and deep sigh, “You alright?” She asked.
Gil quickly shook his head in response, “I think nothing will be alright after what we’ve done here,” he then said as he looked at the Locals which were celebrating their victory.
The Locals’ eyes were almost glistening as they looked around them, not even minding the dead that littered the ground. Their minds were filled with awe of this foreign place that presented itself to them.
“This…”
“I can’t believe a place like this existed!”
The Locals’ eyes did not even take a rest as they scanned the vast expanse of the ruined desert that is the Deadzone. It was a dreaded place for the inhabitants of the country, but for them, it was almost akin to a paradise they have never seen before.
“This… this is where we used to live?” One of them then muttered as he looked at the gigantic Dome that confined the Portal to the Pit. “Doesn’t it look… too small?”
“Stupid,” one of the Locals near to him quickly commented, “The Gate… The Portal transfers us to a different place entirely. Didn’t you listen?”
Gil could not help but let out a long and breathy sigh as he listened in on the conversation of the Locals.
“I suppose there’s some good in it as well,” he said, “These people would have been trapped inside a dying world without even knowing that there’s a living breathing world out there.”
“…You call that a good thing?” Cynthia let out a scoff, “Now these people have no choice but to be involved in a war they know nothing about.”
“A war?”
“Against the Circle. Did you really think this stops here?” Cynthia stepped closer towards Gil, “If there’s one thing those people hate even more than someone questioning their authority, it is someone taking their things away from them…
…and we just took one of their little playgrounds.” Cynthia whispered as she looked at the Dome.
“…”
Half an hour passed, and the surrounding area had finally been cleaned, with the corpses buried deeply into the ground.
“Everyone, listen up!”
With the people finally slightly calming down, Latanya gathered their attention, standing on top of what seemed to be one of the quarters of the City Guards.
“They lit up a beacon before we could stop them,” Latanya raised her voice, “I am sure that there are more people on their way here, stronger ones.”
“…” The Locals looked at each other, their thoughts almost turning into whispers.
“Now, we can just run in different directions and escape from them. Live out our lives peacefully in this new world… but I assure you, we won’t be able to do that! They will hunt each of us down because we do not belong here!”
The Locals began nodding in unison as Latanya’s words reached their ears.
“So I ask you now to defend what would be the beginning of our journey in this new world… in this new home!”
“Yeah!”
“Protect our home!”
As soon as the people cheered, cracks formed on the Dome. And then, the cracks turned into crevices.
And soon, it crumbled; revealing the Portal inside that connected their world to this one.
But the tremble did not end there. The ground beneath them also started to quake, and soon, the reason why showed itself.
A distance away from where they were gathered, a tall Wall of earth protruded from the ground, circling them with the Portal as the center.
Another Wall was erected. But this time, it was not to separate a society from one another but to defend a newfound home from those who seek to destroy it. With the Locals all hyped up, Latanya did not even need to continue her speech as she jumped down from the roof, straight in front of Van who was quietly sitting and leaning on the house.
“You’re not going to say something to your people, Mr. President?” Latanya said as she stood beside Van, “They might be waiting for you to say something.”
As soon as Van heard that, he let out a tiny scoff before shaking his head, “You seem to be doing it fine yourself. I… am not cut out to be a leader of anything, Miss Latanya.”
“Really? I think you’re quite eloquent with your words… enough to charm even me,” Latanya whispered as she slightly leaned closer towards Van.
“…”
“…What’s your plan now, then?” Latanya’s tone then became serious.
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you going to find your sister and friends?” Latanya said, “Isn’t that why you desperately wanted to escape?”
“…Oh,” Van could only blink numerous times as he heard Latanya’s words. He then took in a long and deep breath as he stood up.
“I… forgot about that,” he breathed, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he slightly looked towards his feet. Latanya was right, Van’s main goal for wanting to escape in the first place was the hope that he could see Andrea and his friends again.
And he didn’t lose focus on that… at least until the arrival of Hercules; or maybe it was even before that.
With the extreme change and development going on around him; his identity, the source of his System– his focus completely shifted.
His desire to know who he truly is and what role he has in this world overpowered anything else.
“My friends huh…” Van muttered as he let out a deep breath, “…Perhaps it is best…
…for us not to meet again.”
As soon as Latanya heard that, her eyebrows could not help but raise, “How so?”
“…”
Van looked at his palms, which almost looked as if he was wearing a pair of gloves. A pair of gloves made from the dried blood of his enemies. He then shook it off, shedding some of it off of his skin, but still… most remained.
“I… need to know who I am first…” Van whispered, “…or what I am.”
“Pft,” Latanya quickly giggled as she heard Van’s words, “You’re starting to sound like an old man.”
“You would know, won’t you? Being more than 90 years old or something.”
“…” Latanya’s eyes could not help but twitch as a voice joined in on the conversation. It was Nisha, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
“I too am curious about what your next plan is, Van,” Nisha said as she approached the two.
“Hm?”
“At first, I thought you really wanted to lead these people because they reminded you of your time in the Relic Graveyard…
…But it would seem that wasn’t the case at all.”
“…”
Seeing both Latanya and Nisha’s eyes not even blinking as they stared at him, Van could only let out a sigh.
“…Messenger,” he then muttered in a quiet voice.
“What?”
“Mister Hercules told me that it was my job to… send messages for others like him. I… want to find them.”
“Them?” Nisha could not help but feel confused. Latanya, however, clearly knew what Van was talking about. After all, she was there when all that supernatural stuff about ghosts and gods happened.
“Gods,” Latanya was the one to answer.
“Gods?” Nisha let out a tiny scoff, “I didn’t take you for one to believe in such things. Where do you even plan on finding something like that?”
“The Pit,” Van answered without any hesitation.
“…You’re going back inside?” Nisha raised an eyebrow, “But you just got out.”
“No,” Van shook his head, “Not there, the other Pits.”
“…You mean the Pits from other countries!?”
“Hm,” Van nodded, “I think… that’s where I can find answers.”
Even though Van had only been in 3 Portals so far, including the Pit, he knew that there was something different about it. There weren’t any objectives, there weren’t any Portal Boss… but most importantly, someone like Hercules had been there for more than a thousand years.
That could only mean one thing, he thought.
That the other Pits might very well house the other Gods of Olympus.
