Chapter 27: Relit Flames

John walked up the stairs and into Albert’s office. His nose wrinkled as he smelled the cigar smoke, but he dealt with it and pulled up a chair. Prota sat in the corner, clearly unwilling to participate in the discussion. She pulled her hood over her head, leaving only a few bits of hair to stick out. If you didn’t look closely, one might’ve assumed she was just a large doll.

“Hey. Fate said you wanted to see us or something?”

“Well, I didn’t tell him to tell you that, but yes. I heard you got into a fight?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Figures. Let’s talk, boy,” Albert grunted, emphasizing the “boy” part.

John just stared, visibly bored.

“I’ve been monitoring you for a while.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You- I’m not gonna question it. This is Bren. He’s second in command ‘round here. For lack of a better word, he’s been trailing you for a while.”

The man appeared from the shadows, giving John his first good look at the man.

Thin, pale, but sharp and attentive, dressed in a fine suit with two wicked knives hanging at his side. He had a neutral look on his face, and his eyes were always flickering here and there, looking, observing. One might easily mistake him for a weakling. He was frail, thin, and didn’t exude any kind of powerful aura. He looked old, too. Bren almost looked like a distinguished butler of some noble family, perhaps one who had served for many years, but John knew.

This was a professional. One who shouldn’t be underestimated.

But then again, if he was such a professional, then why hadn’t he helped earlier? He didn’t feel like asking now. No point.

“We’ve met already, boss. Continue as planned.”

Bren nodded and moved to the corner, leaving Albert to continue the discussion.

“Boy. Do you know why I had you trailed?”

“Cause I’m suspicious?”

“You’re-” Albert shook his head. “Yes. That, and a bit more than that.”

Albert took his cigar out of his mouth and rubbed it in an ashtray, putting the thing out. He looked at John, his piercing grey eyes shining.

“Have you ever seen the slaves around town?”

“Oh, yeah, of course it’s the slaves,” John muttered. “Yeah, I’ve seen them. What about it?”

“Those slaves, to everyone’s knowledge, are criminals that are undergoing rehabilitation. Great system, right?”

“What, but they’re not really, and half of them are mind washed citizens or something like that?”

John was being half sarcastic, but Albert reacted in a way John hadn’t expected at all.

“What the- how do you know about that?”

“I guessed.”

Inwardly, John was desperately hoping that his guess wouldn’t be correct, but it truly did seem that the [Author] was scraping at the bottom of the barrel here.

“There’s no way someone like you would guess something like that. No one knows. No one.”

“I don’t know what to say. Seriously, if you tell me that it’s a “little more than that” there’s only so many things it could be.”

“Still, there were only four of us that know the details. For you to-”

“Six.”

“Six?”

“Me and Prota. Two. You, Bren, Fate, I’m guessing, that’s five, and I don’t know the sixth, but yeah. Six.”

“You- that’s not the point here! You do realize the position you’ve just put yourself in here, right?”

“I told you. I guessed. Not even. I wasn’t really being serious, but seeing you react like that…”

Albert looked at Bren, who ever so slightly shook his head. John was telling the truth as far as he could tell.

“Gah… well, doesn’t matter. Listen. You’re correct. Or, at least, that’s what we think.”

“I’m sorry, you what? You think? Not know?”

Albert shook his head, visibly frustrated.

“Listen up, and listen well. Initially, I thought the whole rehabilitation thing was suspicious, but there was nothing of it. That was until I saw a child working a fruit stand while the owner was taking a break. I approached the child. No response. No nothing. The kid must’ve been six, seven. That’s strange, ain’t it? A kid shouldn’t be put through a system like that, that young. Still, not enough. It was just a hunch, a feeling, nothing truly suspicious. Still, I didn’t like it.”

“Uh huh,” John nodded. He wasn’t impressed.

“So I did some more digging. There’s a more secret slave market. Same system. Same cover. But others are sold. Women and children are popular with rich bastards for reasons I don’t even want to think about,” Albert shuddered. “I know one of em, and his tastes are… never mind. My point is that the more I ask around, the more I realize no one knows about this whole thing. No one knows where the slaves come from.”

John stiffled a yawn, scratching his ear. He took a look at his pinky and blew on it.

“So you found some kind of facility?”

“Bingo. Well, not really. We found a group of men kidnapping some F rank adventurers out doing a collection quest. We stopped ‘em, but they died before we could question ‘em. So we’ve been investigating for the past two months.”

“What’s that got to do with me?” John sighed.

He knew what was coming next, but the question was needed to progress.

“Your sister is quite the prodigy. On top of that, neither of you are, well, important. No records. Nothing of importance. We run background checks, of course, and nothing comes up on either of you.”

John nodded at that. It seemed that his request regarding the cultist incident had been fulfilled. He hadn’t exactly kept himself on the down low for that, so he was grateful that his records had been wiped from the incident.

“So, given that your sister is quite the mage, it was suspicious. Where did your training come from? Where did you learn how to fight? If you hadn’t been trained by anyone we know of, then what if someone else trained you?”

“And?”

“We don’t think you’re the enemy. And if you’re not the enemy, then why not stick with us?”

“What’s in it for me?”

In reality, John was going to take the offer no matter what. He wanted to stay as close to Fate as possible, and following up with the [Plot] was the best way to do that. So even if Albert had nothing to offer, John was going to join the team. But if he could get something out of it, then why not? You miss the shots you don’t take, after all.

“Twenty gold.”

“...that’s it?”

“That’s it? What are you, some kinda punk noble? I oughta…”

John laughed. “I’m kidding. Sounds good.”

Albert stood up, towering over John. “You sure know how to push someone’s buttons.”

He stuck out his hand, and John grabbed it, shaking firmly to close the deal.

“Oh, by the way, who’s the fourth?” John said on his way out.

“Fourth?”

“You, Bren, Fate, and…”

“Ah. You’ve met him already, actually. Do you remember Elfin?”

“...yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.”

John motioned for Prota to follow him and left. Things were being set in motion, but he still had to do one thing. He’d just crossed quite a few to-do things off his list, and there was only one loose end to wrap up.

~~~

“They failed? Why didn’t you tell me about it first?”

“Would you have let them go?”

Breaker and Doctor were standing in a room, looking at an empty tube. It was a strange sight, the large, menacing man standing in a position of respect towards the frail, messy man. Regardless, the hierarchy was clear, and it wouldn’t be changed.

“...you’re right. It’s not like we needed those idiots anyways.”

“Our man updated us, by the way. The boy and girl from before, the ones we warned you about. They are no longer just objects of interest. They are direct threats.”

“Um… James and Proter.”

“John and Prota. The boy isn’t exceptional, but the girl…”

“Yes, yes, the candidate. Why does any of that matter? Two more, two less, who cares? If an ant brings two friends, just squish them. They’re easy to dispose of. Should a god care when mortals gather up an army?”

Doctor giggled with glee. His words were something between those of a psychopath and a philosopher, but his tone was like that of a gleeful child.

“Ahem.” Breaker coughed awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. “Regardless, it seems that we, too, must start moving.”

Doctor whirled around, a light in his eyes.

“Ah, then the plan can be set in motion soon.”

Breaker nodded. “Yes.”

“In a year… no, less. We’ll be able to do it.”

Doctor turned around and flung open a door, revealing dark, dank corridors full of caged cells, humans, elves and dwarves locked inside, chained to the wall like livestock. Cries of pain, moans of anguish, pleas and cries for help, all echoing into Doctor’s ears.

“Shut the door,” Breaker growled.

“But what a symphony! Does a celebration not call for music?”

“No one likes it.”

“You’re a spoilsport,” Doctor pouted, slamming the door shut. “You should try the process on one of them sometime. It’s quite fun.”

“I’ll stick to fighting.”

“Suit yourself,” Doctor grinned.

He rubbed his hands together with glee.

“One year… After all this waiting, what’s a little more?”

~~~

“John.”

Fate’s voice rang out in the forest. The sun was setting, and a calm wind blew through the trees.

“Yeah, I’m here. What do you want?”

The boy emerged from the shadows, not that it made much of a difference. With the mask and the cloak, it was as if the boy was a part of the shadows themselves. He faced John, golden eyes blazing.

“I think you know what I’m going to ask. Who are you?”

“I’m John. Did I not tell you my name? Sorry.”

“Don’t mess with me.”

“Mess with you? I would never.”

The sarcasm was practically dripping from his words.

John did know what Fate was asking. Was John from Earth? Or was he just another stranger? Another person wandering through life, clueless to Fate’s true identity? The [Protagonist’s] golden eyes bored into John. He would draw out the truth, no matter how much interrogation or time it took. Eventually, he would find out-

“Ah, you’re talking about Earth, right? If that’s where I’m from?”

No need to complicate things.

“That’s what you’re curious about, right?”

The corners of John’s lips curved upwards. It would be better for the plot if he hid the truth. More tension. More misunderstandings. A game of cat and mouse, one searching, the other hiding. But John had no plans of playing along for a more interesting plot. Sure, things like building tension and suspense were interesting. But they also made life more complicated. Why hide a secret when there was no downside to telling the truth? There was no need to overthink it. He had enough secrets as it was.

And besides. This was fun.

“Y-yes…”

“Then why not just ask that? I’m John. Where I came from doesn’t change who I am.”

“You know that this isn’t Earth, right?”

“Obviously.”

“Then this isn’t normal! Our situation is definitely not normal!”

“Says who?”

“What do you mean, says who?” Fate exclaimed. “This is a different world! A place with magic, elves and dwarves! This is normal?”

He was starting to get upset. It was clear John knew something he didn’t, but he was being deliberately dense. Fate wanted answers, John had information, and yet no progress was being made.

“Sure,” John shrugged. “For you, maybe it’s not. But if you’d known travelling to other worlds was possible beforehand, then wouldn’t it be normal? I mean, hell, phones are probably normal to us, but show one to a Victorian child and you’d probably be burned at the cross.”

In a flash, a blade was now pointed at his throat. The threat was clear. Wrong answers meant death. Fate wasn’t playing around anymore.”

“What’s your motive?”

“My motive?”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

John’s eyes seemed livelier than ever despite the sword at his throat. He was really enjoying himself here.

“My motive for what?”

“You seem to know that’s where I’m from, too. So what do you want? What are you trying to get at here? Are you really from Earth?”

“Mm… maybe?” John smiled.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means I’m not from your Earth. But I’m from a Earth, nonetheless.”

Fate’s blade dropped just a bit. John could practically see the frown underneath the mask. Well, that was to be expected. Most people weren’t used to this.

“That doesn’t make any sense at all.”

“That’s true.”

“Then explain things so it does.”

“Can’t do that,” John shrugged.

“I’ll make you.”

“By doing what? Killing me? Yeah, good one.”

“Tch!”

Fate closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“What are you concerned about? That I’m gonna tell everyone your secret?”

“...!”

“Why would I do something like that?”

“Why else would you be provoking me right now?”

“Because it’s fun?”

…seriously? Was this guy insane?

“Say that again.”

“What?”

“Why are you provoking me? For what reason?”

“It’s fun, dude.”

“...wow. You’re a special kind of asshole.”

“Mm… truth detection. Handy ability, isn’t it? I wish I’d been given that, but no, I have to use my brain,” John complained.

“How did you-”

Fate couldn’t stop himself. The panic that surged through his body instinctively brought his blade to John’s throat, almost slicing it, but in that instant, the sword was coated with ice, throwing the trajectory off and ultimately preventing a disaster.

He looked around. John was manaless, so it wasn’t him who’d cast the spell- his sister. Fate’s eyes panned over to Prota, whose arms were extended. She was panting, clearly panicked at what had just transpired.

He looked back to John, intending to apologize, but then found that the man was completely unfazed.

“How did you know that?”

“I guessed”

“No, seriously, how did you-“

“I mean, little detective work. But it mostly boils down to the fact that most people wouldn’t just believe me for no reason. I’m saying pretty stupid things here. But you believed me anyway. Why?”

The question hung in the air like a mine, as if the next person to speak would trigger it and die. Fate took a minute to process the whole thing, but as soon as he did, his gaze sharpened, eyes glaring at John.

“Hey. I’m gonna ask again. Just who the hell are you?”

“I told you. I’m John Quarta. I mean, technically that’s not my whole first name, but I’m not telling you that.”

He shrugged as he looked Fate right in the eyes.

“What, you want to know where I’m getting this information from?”

Fate’s eyes continued to glow.

“I’m not a mind reader or anything. I’m just guessing.”

“...guessing?”

“Call it an educated guess. I’m not just shooting in the dark or something. But really, I’m basically just guessing. Don’t believe me? Use your little lie detector and check.”

“Then what do you want with me? Why are you so interested in me?”

John nodded. This was it. He’d been fishing for a while, and the fish had taken the bait. This was now the hardest part.

Time to reel it in.

“Help me.”

“Help you with what?”

“Well. As you can tell, I’m not really good at fighting.” John ignored the look Prota was giving him. “That sucks, because Prota’s family was killed by the Demon King and we’re kinda on a revenge mission.”

“So you aren’t blood related.”

“We don’t need to be.”

“...I understand.”

John sighed in relief. Thank god Fate wasn’t one of those idiots that didn’t understand what family meant.

“I want to help her. But it’s not like I can kill the demon king myself, right? So how about this? I can help you. You can help me. You’re strong. I’m… moral support.”

He didn’t need to reveal his guess about Fate being the hero. If John was wrong about that, it could ruin everything. Better to have a hidden card, anyways, because it was time to finish things up.

This was it. The last line. He’d picked out the bait, fastened it to the hook, and all that was left was to cast the line out to the water and hope the fish took the bait.

“Fate. Let’s be comrades. Even if it’s just for a bit.”

There was a moment of silence, but it felt like an eternity.

“You’ve got quite the tricky tongue. You remind me of someone,” Fate sighed.

“Thanks.”

“It wasn’t a compliment. I still can’t trust you.”

“That’s true,” John nodded. “So you don’t have to answer right now. Hell, it’s not like you have to answer me at all. Just think about it, ok?”

“...sure.”

~~~

For John, that was more than enough. However, there was one thing he’d still failed to consider.

Prota.

As usual, she was taking the role of the silent one during the conversation, but just because she wasn’t involved in it didn’t mean she wasn’t paying attention. Fate? John’s comrade? It made sense. After all, John had already explained why he wanted Fate on his side.

But somehow, it felt as if she was being replaced.

“...” She thought about it.

The dream from last night haunted her. She felt responsible, somehow. All of the people she’d lost. All of the people that’d died. Wasn’t it her fault?

So maybe…

Maybe John had a good reason to leave her.

Something inside her stirred. She didn’t know what. It wasn’t rational, but she left. It was a quiet exit, so silent that John nor Fate noticed, but she started walking away. Her mind was clear enough that she knew to seek shelter. Somewhere hidden but safe. After a few minutes of walking, she found something perfect—a small cave surrounded by trees in the lush forest. Someone was standing nearby, but it was probably nothing. She walked in unnoticed and sat down.

“...”

Her mind was still spinning. Was this the right choice? Was John better off without her?

Suddenly, a portal lit the cave up. The cave she was in was relatively small, just a bit of an empty space with a high-ish ceiling and a dirt floor, but at the end was a blue spinning doorway, seemingly made of pure energy.

“...?”

Slowly, she reached out towards it.

~~~

“Alright, one more thing,” John said.

“Don’t you think you’re getting a little greedy?”

“Oh, come on, it’s not for me,” John sighed. “Not really. Well, Prota over here-”

He turned, but Prota wasn’t there. What? How had she vanished in the few minutes they’d been talking? He didn’t keep a tight eye on her, but there was never a need to. It wasn’t like she wandered off or anything.

“Uh… did you see a little girl right here? What the-”

John started spinning around, but his little sister was nowhere to be found.

“Prota?” he called out. No response.

Fate started helping out, but there was no sign of the little girl.

“She couldn’t have gotten far. She’s not that fast,” John frowned.

[Wanna check your system? You know, the one that shows Prota’s location?]

“...” John clenched his teeth to stop himself from replying.

He quickly checked the map, but something wasn’t right.

“...missing? Hey, Fate, is there anything around here… uh, like a portal or something? Something that would move someone a far distance away? To another space, maybe?”

“Did you just say portal?”

“Yeah, like, some kind of device to take you somewhere else?”

“Kh… the Cave of Trials, dammit!”

“The what of what?”

“Just follow me! Hopefully we’re not too late!”

“Too late for what?”

Fate turned to stare at John.

“If your sister went into the Cave of Trials… you’d better pray that she’s still alive.”

~~~

“Hello?” Prota called out.

She’d stepped through the portal, but somehow, she’d ended up in the exact same cave she’d been in before. That, except in this cave, there was no exit.

“...” she spun around, but the portal was no longer there. The cave was being lit up by some unknown light source, which was comforting yet disturbing at the same time.

For a bit, it wasn’t too bad. However, an hour passed, then another, then what felt like an eternity went by, and with nothing to keep Prota busy, memories began flooding her mind whether she wanted them to or not.

Jinae. John. Her parents. Her sister, Anta.

Their dead faces stared at her accusingly, blaming her for their deaths.

“If only you hadn’t been born.”

“If only you’d never existed.”

“If only you were stronger.”

“If only I’d never met you.”

Reality and imagination started to blur. She was seeing faces that were maybe there, maybe not. She closed her eyes, but the darkness didn’t provide her with the relief she so desperately sought. Somehow, she fell asleep, but in this state, her dreams and reality had no difference. The same dream as before haunted her.

Prota gasped, sitting up straight. Her vision was a little blurry, but it wasn’t like there was anything to see anyways. Or was there? Sitting in a dark corner of the cave was a figure. Prota couldn’t quite make it out, but it seemed familiar, else she would’ve panicked.

“...John?” she called out hesitantly. Had he come to look for her?

Upon hearing Prota’s voice, the figure stood up and walked out of the shadows.

“John?” Prota called out again, although there was less hesitation in her voice.

John? What was he doing here? How had he gotten in when there was no portal behind her? And where was this feeling of intense bloodlust coming from?

“You’re quite clueless, aren’t you?” John called out.

He slowly pulled his revolver out from his pocket and pulled the hammer down. The click echoed through the cave, crisp and sharp.

“What are you doing?”

There was no reply.

“John?”

The thing standing in front of her didn’t respond. She couldn’t tell if it was John or not. What if John had come here to kill her? Was that it? Was she being discarded? She was half relieved. While there was a pain pulsing in her heart, she no longer felt the burden of trying to keep up, trying to be perfect. She could rest.

“You don’t have the luxury of closing your eyes here.”

A click rang out, followed by a deafening crack. Prota winced as a bullet grazed past her cheek, drawing blood.

“I won’t miss next time.”

Prota slowly reached up and wiped her face. She looked at her hand, stained red with blood. Despite her high tolerance to pain, the wound stung like crazy. It was numbed, but the message was getting through.

She really would die.

Her body was shaking. Despite all the [Resets] she’d been through, Prota still instinctively had a fear of death. On top of that, John was the source of all these [Reset], couldn’t he somehow stop her from coming back? She didn’t know, but she couldn’t ignore the possibility.

The sudden surge of adrenaline caused Prota’s vision to quickly swim into focus, and she saw the “John” in front of her. His eyes. There was a violent light in them. Emotion. Violence, greed, some kind of sick and twisted joy.

This wasn’t John, was it? She could tell. Not because of how evil he looked. Sure, seeing a sadistic and terrible expression on his face didn’t feel right, but that wasn’t enough to convince her that this wasn’t her brother. No, it was that smile. That smile that, despite being twisted, was still excited about something.

The John she knew never truly looked happy about anything.

John raised his gun and fired again. Prota’s mind was telling her to stop and give up, but somehow, her body reacted without her trying to and formed a wall of ice. It was a bit slow, so the bullet wasn’t stopped entirely, but it was enough to cause the piece of metal to bounce off Prota’s chest harmlessly.

“...?” Prota frowned ever so slightly. She hadn’t cast that spell.

Then who?

“There’s no point in fighting back!” John yelled. “Just die!”

Once again, John fired, and again, Prota dodged, this time using accelerated wind magic.

“...?!”

The shock was enough to snap Prota out of her depressed state. What was going on? It was as if someone else was controlling her body. She tried to resist it. As much as the pain hurt, she was ok with dying here, and even if it was a fake John, she felt more comfortable dying to his hands than anyone else.

But something wouldn’t let her die.

Spell after spell was cast, barely saving Prota from death. She couldn’t stop it. She could stop her body from moving, but she couldn’t stop magic from keeping her alive.

“Why?” she cried out. “Just… let me die!”

She closed her eyes and opened her arms. This time, surely-

“Wake up, dummy!”

Prota’s eyes shot open as she heard a voice. She’d never heard this voice before. It was female in tone, soft, yet aggressive at the same time. Where was it coming from?

“You can’t die here! What kind of idiot wants to die? You have to fight! Keep fighting, even if it costs you everything!”

What?

“Fight! Back! Now!”

Prota’s hands trembled as she raised them, firing off a fireball. This time, though, the spell had been cast entirely of her own volition.

A new flame had been lit in her empty heart. It wasn’t strong. It was more like ashes in a fire, sputtering out. But she was desperately clinging on.

John might not need me. But I… need John.

Everything about protecting, everything she had told herself about being John’s protector, it was all an excuse, and she knew it. She knew John didn’t need protection. She knew she wasn’t strong. She’d been struggling with that ever since they’d first gotten into a fight. But she needed an excuse, something to cling onto, something to tell her that she was needed, that she could fulfill a purpose.

She still didn’t know why John was keeping her around. But right now, all she knew was that John had saved her, and she wouldn’t go until he told her to go.

“N… no.” She staggered to her feet, facing down her cackling opponent. “I… I want to live.”

Survive. She wouldn’t die here.