The red dragon choked out a sob, echoing the growing hollow in Peacock’s core. What had he done?
His target recoiled, disappearing from sight as they scurried out of the back tunnel.
Peacock watched the dragon go. A dull voice urged him to follow as his anger folded in on itself. Haven’s helix floated up and away. Peacock watched it go, the last of his desires leaving with it. He’d killed her on an impulse. Not because she’d deserved it, but simply because she’d made him mad. He was a monster, through and through, worse than Zenith himself.
Peacock’s thoughts froze into sluggish mud. His limbs buckled as the Overseer’s chains settled onto his essence. He no longer cared.
*****
Once again, Peacock woke up to nothing. The world and his body were gone. Only his mind remained trapped in psuedo-existence. He tried to scream, drown out the grief and pain as all of his plans and consequences came crashing down around him.
“Not so loud, yeah?”
A man’s calm voice pierced the dark. In an instant, Peacock found himself in a modern office room complete with a computer on a wooden desk, three leather office chairs, a full bookshelf, and a smattering of potted plants. A grey-haired man wearing a business suit and flowery tie sat behind the desk with a friendly smile on his face.
Peacock’s senses came flooding back. Plush carpet beneath his hands and feet, the man’s spicy cologne, the tick-tocking of a wall clock, the pressure of the wall against his tail. Peacock’s spiral shifted gears, the abyss of despair partially de-railed by the absurdity of being a dragon in an office. He stared at the man as words failed him.
“It’s odd, I know. But we decided it would be easiest this way. After all, you’ve been nothing but a dragon since your Rebirth.”
“I don’t understand.” He should be dead, deleted. Had he been wrong? Had Haven been wrong?
“No. Neither of you were wrong.”
Peacock froze. Could he read his thoughts?
“Yes. Your thoughts are part of you, and therefore data. If it’s data, I can read it.”
Heaviness pushed down on Peacock. It was all too much. He didn’t want to understand anymore. All he wanted was peace.
“You still think death is the answer to all of your problems?”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Peacock snorted. “After what I did? Yes. Why should I live after all the lives I took?”
“You believed it necessary to save your world.”
“Doesn’t change the fact I’m a murderer and a monster. I mean… I killed….” Peacock trailed off as a sharp lump rose in his throat.
“Haven’s Rebirth is my daughter.”
Peacock’s eyes grew wide for a second. A wave of calm acceptance washed away his grief. Now he understood. Now he was ready. “You want revenge for what I did to her.”
“Revenge?” The man chuckled. “You are a morbid little thing, aren’t you? Although I can’t blame you. But I can apologize. Your suffering is a result of our failure, and for that, I’m sorry.”
Peacock dived back into confusion. “What?”
“We overestimated our systems and underestimated our adversaries. We should have looked harder for vulnerabilities, but none of us expected a bunch of criminals to buy out the best hackers the world has to offer.”
The pieces fell into place. “Alainn… uh, Haven, said her dad was an admin.” Something between joy, anger and shame blossomed in Peacock’s chest. “Does that mean the admins have access again?”
The man nodded. “We do. We’re applying a patch as we speak, one which will prevent what happened from ever happening again.”
“What exactly did happen? From where I was, it felt like we’d been abandoned.”
“Not by choice, I assure you. Suffice to say, the people who let those like Zenith in had only one thing in mind—lining their pockets.”
A bit of hope rose. “So, Zenith Flight were monsters.”
The man shrugged. “We all have a bit of monster inside us. But yes, Zenith and many of Zenith Flight’s members, were there illegally. Most of them were family of crime lords who took their ideals into the game.”
“Most, but not all.” Peacock’s throat constricted.
“No, not all. Before you dive back into self-destruction, answer me one thing.”
“What?”
“Why? Why did you attack Zenith Flight, even before my daughter helped you? You had next to no chance, yet you went anyway. Was it truly just for revenge?”
Peacock thought back to what felt like an eternity ago, back when the false peace he’d had with his dragon family, then Ferret, had been torn away, when the only world he’d ever known collapsed. “I hated what Zenith Flight was doing, what they’d done. How they could take what was supposed to be the ultimate afterlife and make it into the ultimate hell for fun. It’s sick.”
“I agree. Although I can’t officially condone your actions, I must thank you for your extremely foolhardy use of my daughter’s hacking program.” The man rose from his chair. “That move allowed the Overseer back into the server, which opened the path for us.” He came to a stop in front of Peacock, crossed his arms, and frowned. “Some of my colleagues wanted to delete you, you know.”
Peacock’s stomach dropped; the resolve he’d held shaken by his unexpected visitor.
“Talk about foolish.” He smiled, gentle and warm. It reminded Peacock of Cavua. “I said it wasn’t our place to judge Rebirths forced to extremes by our mistakes. You’re a victim, as much as the other legal Rebirths.”
“Then what are you going to do!” Peacock shouted. He hadn’t meant to, but the constant emotional rollercoaster was too much.
The man laughed and waved away Peacock’s outburst. “I’m going to hope I’m right, because if you pull another stunt like this, you won’t get another chance. Oh, and take care of my daughter, will you? She’s asked to be Reborn as whatever you pick. Heart of gold, that girl. Don’t break it again.”
The office blinked out of existence. Aisha’s voice boomed across the nothing.
WELCOME TO CHARACTER CREATION
YOU ARE CURRENTLY TIER ONE
ALL TIERS AVAILABLE
PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR RACE