A-a-a-and I have died…

Let me start from the beginning, though. The beginning of my colonization game phase - the cut scene!

***

A thin cabinet of the observation post was empty. Not because a young cabin boy slacked off his duty - er Jiggs have honor, not one of our family would leave their duty. Especially observation, especially on such a responsible flight.

A young Lebrr er Jiggs left his post due to the only possible reason - he died. It was hard to tell the exact cause of his death since only smithereens left where once a person stood.

A thick mythril frame of the panoramic dome was warped and curved but not disassembled yet. The windows were hardly intact, though. Hard, heavy plates of glass were shattered almost to their natural state - the white sand of Errana. The reputation of the er Yuish clan would have been devastated if they knew about this event. For hundreds of years, they were making unbreakable glass. Not so unbreakable after all.

The air was wet from the clouds we were in and thin from the altitude. It was hardly possible to breathe, and if I weren’t from a tail wing of a clan, I would have suffocated already.

All five square meters of a cabin were thoroughly trashed. None of the binoculars and spyglass survived. I approached a mythril frame and leaned over the parapet. Naturally, the wind almost blew me over - the only mechanism preventing me from this spectacular but somewhat sporadic flight were claws on my feet, two centimeters deep in the wooden floor of the room. This moment of curiosity was not random. I am not fond of self-harmful activities. The reason of me doing this dangerous stunt was hanging just over the edge of a frame - a large, wide feather. From this side of the frame, it was not a singular physical sign of foreign presence - few more feathers, several rad stains, and one dead body, or rather a carcass. A giant carcass of a tremendous…

"Birds?! Pteris? Here?! How?! Fuck!" - the surprise of the Guide was not surprising. The possibility to meet this kind of bird on Protea was close to zero, yet here it is, laying on the floor down in the lower deck's hall. Its massive beak looked more like an Elder Rasta rostrum, and that ship could carry several marine flocks. Such over exaggerations were just a mere defensive mechanism, not to fall into an oblivion of panic, but this flying death was impressive. All Archeo shared the same fear - birds. Their paths parted million years ago. One portion of once a single species went down the road of intellectual prevalence, while the other took a sky mastery path, leaving self-awareness to their grounded relatives. Deeply in their hearts, Archeo envied birds. Especially this kind. From the point, they met them, six thousand years ago, when first pilgrims returned from the Big Above, the other part of the continent, till current, modern times. They.. we even taught ourselves to build flying machines, to at least sample that one thing our souls crave the most.

"Bloody fucking hell, son. I knew something was going to happen, but this... I am so fucking close. Those cunts will suffer.." - all males from our clan started to swear a lot at a certain point in their lives. I was yet to discover this family, or rather age, condition.

"Higgs, how much left till the Plato?" - the nimble Rapty navigator, the only er Isso among er Jiggs, quickly dove into a cabalistic board. Thick safety ropes have tightened so hard even the mercury-filled anchor has shifted several millimeters towards the board. A few seconds later, wet but happy er Isso brought news - we had an excellent chance to make it to the final destination.

We didn’t just lose an observation post but also the main rudder. We’ve lost perception and control. Zephyrus, our zeppelin, the biggest and most advanced airship, is beaten down by birds. Such an irony. It was still an actual and relatively intact machine with two more maneuver rudders and a skilled navigator. The absence of an observation post made it quite hard to find a way through clouds, which surrounded us as soon as we reached the mountains. Cabbalistic board navigation was rare but a very valuable skill, and it was pure luck er Isso joined our clan in this suicidal voyage.

Every time a navigator dives into a cabbalistic board, they risk themselves. They dive into a great Maybe, and, quite like our guides, foresee the correct path from a legion of wrong ones. They are not alone there, as guides are, though. Daemons hunt there. Every leap into it and every second spent there increased the probability of the attack.

We've lost him after tens leap at the end of his day-long watch. It was an absolute record. At least amongst once a great fleet of er Jiggs.

Father called for me just before it had happened. We've reached his room almost at the same time - I and a messenger of a lower wing, Sator er Jiggs, with the news. I was not surprised. I was ready to die from the moment we took off from the Ferruga. We were all ready to die. A couple of days would not make any difference - the leftovers of the er Jiggs clan were queuing after the brave er Isso.

"You will live, son." - these were the first words my father said to me after the messenger left. The news regarding er Isso made no impact on him - as a guide, he probably knew that before the voyage. As a sole male guide among Archeo, he and his clan became primary targets for the whole hemicycle in general and an Archeo race and its satellites specifically. That also made him a Guide of a race, according to the ancient Laws. Few complied. Everyone who followed him in his Path was caught and slaughtered, laws were altered. Alliances got broken, and even closest betrayed him. Dark ages came once again. Death followed Guide on his Path, and she was only two steps behind.

"If you say so, father. But I would rather die with everyone than live..alone." - Sure, I wanted to live, but I knew what true loneliness was. I didn't want to feel it again. Forever, this time.

"You will do what I tell you to do. I am the Guide, and my word is the Law." - he stuttered a bit, "I need you to li.. I want you to live - you are my son..". He stood and approached a brute cabinet of ironwood, one of a few artifacts from the Great Before. I used to practice my lockpicking skill on it. Not even once I succeed.

The Guide opened the top drawer and revealed the tender egg-shaped casket. It was a master-crafted item, made from a solid piece of mythrillium ore, carved with peculiar, complicated ornaments. It gleamed from the inside with a pulsating black light. It sounds like a paradox, but I had no other words to describe it. I could not take my eyes off it. After millennia or two, my father woke me up. He hugged me so tight and long I thought I would lose my consciousness.

"Open it," - he said and handed me the casket. It sounded almost blasphemous. How can I open this art? It will surely break it.

I obeyed, though.

Somehow I knew how to do it, which apples to press, which windows to knock, which funny fat birds to tickle (overcoming my fear). The ornament was gaining life with my touches. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Inside, on a rough patch of cloth, a crude copper ring laid. This view contrasted so much with what I've just experienced, it made me nauseated. The contrast and the fact that I knew this ring. Not to fall, instead, I sat on the floor. My father sat beside me.

"Not knowing is your major advantage, but I will reveal some nuances now because under information may become your major drawback in the future. This ring is called..."

"Legacy.." - I looked straight into the yellow eyes of my father. "Do I have to do it? Do I have to kill you?"

It was the first time in a while I've managed to surprise him. I would rather not, though. He stood up, straightened his back, fixed his jacket from invisible wrinkles, and smiled.

"Stand up, son."

I obeyed.

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"You are ready, after all. I have nothing more to tell you. Just answer one question. Have you seen this event in a dream?"

"Yes. I have this recurring nightmare. Night after night, I kill you, grandfather, other Archeo, Rapty, Traxes, and creatures of races I don't even know, and not sure they even exist..ed. Each time there was a ring like this, and there was a word - Legacy."

He turned around, staring before himself with the void, absent stare.

"Have you ever killed yourself in these.. dreams?" I felt how tense he became. It looked like the answer to this question is very important for him. I've seen him like that in the past - each time before the plan he constructed was ready to succeed. Or fail.

"No, father, I've never killed myself in my dreams. Never even saw me in a dream. I.." - I stopped, embarrassed about what I wanted to say next.

He turned to me with a powerful smile glowing on his face. Apparently, I complied with his plan, not killing myself in a dream. I've never even had a single doubt regarding whether he is capable of putting together such a construct. He is a Guide - he is capable of almost anything. And I have to kill him now. Cold sweat covered my back and palms.

Father understood my feelings. "My time has come, son. The time of the whole er Jiggs family has come. Don't look at me like that. Everything exists on purpose, and we, our clan, have reached our goal. When a thing has accomplished what it was made for, it should seize to exist. A thing cannot exist without a purpose, son. Your goal, on the other hand, is not reached yet."

"I am er Jiggs, thus.."

"Son, fate has said her word. I noticed you wanted to say something regarding your dreams and stopped. Please, tell me that, don't be embarrassed, even if it is the most insignificant thing in the world."

"It is not like that.. it is just.. it is hard to talk about this before the end of the.. before your de.. Wow."

He wiped my tears and hugged me one more time.

"I will always be with you here," he touched my head, -" and here" - he touched my chest where both of my hearts were. "Now tell me what bothers you."

"Lately, I've been feeling rather.."

"Rather what?"

"Invincible, unstoppable… immortal."

Directly at this moment, Zephyrus shuddered from two distant explosions and started to lose altitude rapidly. Father didn't even blink.

"The time is near, son. I am at the endgame. Legends say each star in the night sky is one Archeo that found its wings... We will meet again, my son, I know that. Look at me!" My stare stopped at all the little details of his appearance: high boots from brown leather of er Jiggs dominion cows, with tricky sheaths for the claws and with steel overlays on shafts and vamps; thick woolen trousers once dark blue, now of indefinite ash gray color, with less faded patches from where pockets once were; sheepskin coat girded with leather belts; his robust palms covered with thick patchy green down and steel sharp claws; finally his resolute face with distinct mimic wrinkles and heavy but sympathetic stare. It was the hardest moment of my life - looking into those eyes. Er Jiggs being highland dwellers, always were herdsmen but not warriors, despite having outstanding technology and smithery. In spite of that, my father decided to die in a native dress rather than custom full-plate armor, I knew for sure, was somewhere aboard. His finger pointed at my shoulder so hard that it would be severely damaged if not for a steel plate. "Now everything is in your hands. Don’t hesitate, don’t regret. Every choice you make is the correct one. Every direction is right. Follow your path, follow yourself. Now do it."

I haven't even noticed when the ring appeared on my index finger and a simple straight dagger in my left hand.

Powerful deja vu from my dream almost conquered my will, putting a dagger to a father's head automatically. I regained control over my body and made the final move consciously.

One more explosion, and then...

Only darkness.

I have died...

***

Bloody bollocks, what the hell was that.

I was the guy for several hours; I knew everything he knew; I felt every feeling the guy felt, and, damn, it was dark. Although as soon as I woke up as myself, I forgot most of the stuff, like an odd tiring dream, I still felt like I'd just killed my father. I swept away heavy thoughts, though, no time to reflect now...

Once again, I woke up in this shitty place with a major headache. The decorations were different, though. I laid on an enormous octagram in the center of a plateau. Apparently, this plateau was the expedition’s goal, but there were signs of zeppelin nowhere near. Surroundings were covered in a thin layer of snow. I assume there would be more snow if not for the wind. It was not powerful but aggressive and consistent in its goal not to allow snow to lay down here. Maybe it was the sole purpose of this wind. If there were no snowy clouds above this plate - the wind would have seized to exist. Who knows...

Wow, this cut scene got me good.

I felt weird and uncomfortable. The new body still felt mostly like a prosthetic augmentation, the mind was cloudy and obscured with visions of someone else's life, and the absence of a medicinal mask or respirator felt disconcerting. The last time I went outside without one was ten years ago on one of the last remaining tropical islands my mother put me in the summer camp at. The camp director had a scary story about the year 2020 before wearing masks became mandatory. The fright I experienced then, wanted to dig through the concrete of my memory as I stood without a mask, outside, on foreign soil of an alien planet… Game… Whatever...

Alone.

Dead.

I couldn’t stop crying for several long minutes.

Not to fall into a well of my own and someone else's past, I got up and made a small inventory of my current possessions to divert myself from that abyss.

I was wearing some indefinite pieces of clothing in the form of trousers of a dirty yellow color, the same quality shirt, and an unexpectedly comfortable brown leather jacket with a fur collar. There were no specific stats on the trousers and shirt, but the jacket had 15% cold resistance, which was quite relevant. There was no footwear whatsoever. I was utterly bold, but at least I had some pants, so I got that one going for me.

The interface appeared to be familiar and relatively intuitive to use. The only weird thing about it was that it was not a default United Alliances user interface, but their major competitor - Amaterasu. It was an interesting thing to think about when there will be a time and place for thinking.

I found several other items equipped. There was a simple earring Last of lineage - +2% to experience, +1 life when destroyed in a left ear. Its default price to sell in all inhabitant merchants - 10000 gold. IMPORTANT! Not considered as a piece of equipment but as a part of quenta thus cannot be lost. Pretty neat thing considering you have to lose the whole lineage to get it. The next item was expected: the ring Legacy: while dying for the last time, you gain one more life, one more level, and instant respawn with all belongings - tied and untied, at the place of death. You receive an answer, also. Tied. The first part of the description is clear, but the part regarding the answer is quite vague. It appeared to be tied, and I rushed to check the lives count, just to curse in some new and twisted way even for me because I had only 93 lives left. What the hell?

I found the answer pretty soon. The third and the last item I had equipped was a dagger with a poetic name: Death Betrayal, damage - 1-7(death), autokill of a party, raid, clan, family, friends lists members and if the reputation with the target is [friendship] or higher, in case of a deliberate usage for a purpose. An object from a Death Bestows Set(1/13), Equipped objects (1/13). Set bonus -. Limitations: life count should be 100; when equipped - automatically tied. Tied.

I was speechless - one more item of a set. It looked like no-one was pushing me towards the elf character. Instead, I was deliberately guided to choose this personage and follow the path of death. The question was why those creators of a game, those masterminds behind this farce, needed me to be an acolyte of death both by killing everyone around and myself during the process?

I could not resist anymore. I don't know who, I don't know when, some wise man said if there is a button that activates a nuclear bomb in the first act of a game, it most definitely will be pressed in the last act. Legacy ring got me hooked till the end. Now there will be a big spoiler to the whole book - in the end, I will die one last time and receive my answer. Here it is. You may stop reading the book already... Except if you want to know the answer also.

It all was good, but simple calculations showed that I had one life lesser than I should have had. There were no more equipped or tied items. There was one thing left to check, though.

On a left shoulder simple, single compartment, bag hanged. As I thought, it contained all three loot boxes that left unopened and.. nothing more.

I have truly died out there, at the zeppelin. Naturally, I have lost all untied items except for those that cannot be lost.

I will tire of swearing soon... Shitty world, with its shitty rules, creators, inhabitants, and colonists. Everything is shit, but me, a tender dandelion. Fuck.

I overviewed the skyline one more time and noticed a tiny, a bit darker cloud as if something were burning below it some time ago.

Let the journey start.

Shit.