The next day, Greg was able to stand with much difficulty. Kleo had left him alone, off somewhere, looking for some traces.

After taking a swig from the water, he started repeating the same phrase, almost instinctually. "I'm getting better." Immediately, his pain lessened, though he was walking a snail's pace.

Leaving the small hut, he found the outside to be entirely covered with clouds. He grimaced; clouds were almost always a bad sign in End of Days. Not only were Monsters tougher, but the risk of slipping increased, obviously. Not to mention the Monsters in the clouds, soaking up strength like a sponge. Luckily, they were too addicted to leave.

Unluckily, there would be an increased amount of Monsters, though he saw none right... now. His foot kicked a hard object encased in jelly, or at leas that's what it felt like; when he looked, it was the head of a Monster. He knelt, ignoring the pain, and picked it up, searching everywhere. His face scrunched when he checked the stump, finding a clean cut dividing it.

"She was a doctor, right?" he muttered, dropping the head carelessly.

Yes.

"So, there really are other people like me around, huh?" He glanced in the directed the head rolled, disgust clear on his face as he checked the disfigured body. He couldn't even tell what species it was.

They are not like you. But, yes, others have been brought. Almost too many.

"Well, that's ominous. Anyways, I'm going to search around." The popup stayed quiet.

So he searched, checking the bodies, finding them all cleanly murdered. After an hour or so, he looked upwards, towards the darkening clouds.

He heard an explosion before he felt it, causing him to stumble to the ground. He covered his ears, though that barely helped; his eardrums almost exploded. Still, there was no time for cowardice. Quickly, he stood up, running towards it while keeping himself low.

Stop. Hide, pleaded the window, causing him to stop. He didn't hide, though; it wouldn't be any help.

Finally, after a couple more rounds of explosions, he could see what caused it: Kleo, fighting a Monster. It looked like a difficult battle, with them landing blow after blow on each other, propelling themselves into the sky.

Greg gulped out of fear when he saw what Monster it was. It shouldn't be around, not this early.

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Task Accomplished! Achieved via sight! Early Bonus added! Calculating Reward...

"That can't be..." he muttered, falling to his knees. It looked young, maybe an hour old, if he was lucky.

Polysis' Incarnate was a late-game Boss who spread sickness everywhere it went. Half the time, it saved those it plagued; the other half, it took their souls.

ERROR. WORLD-ALTERING ANOMALY DETECTED. HEAVENLY SMITE ACTIVATING.

With those words, a lightning bolt fell from the sky, aimed directly at Polysis' Incarnate. It struck, disintegrating it into nothing, as though it was never around.

Slowly, Kleo drifted to the ground, landing on her feet with much difficulty.

Apologies for the scare. Rewards will be increased as compensation. Calculating...

Slowly, Greg moved towards her. She was beaten up pretty bad, bruises everywhere he could see, blood leaking from her mouth.

"You'll be fine," he muttered, though it seemed that she barely heard him.

"Polysis..." she whispered, expression stuck between tired and shocked.

Greg embraced her, feeling tears form in the corner of his eyes. "Shush. You will be fine," he ordered. Again, it didn't have any effect.

"I..." she muttered. "I... renounce-" Greg clamped his hand over her mouth.

"No. Don't say it until you're well. You'll be hunted."

Her eyes shut close, her body going limp.

"The Gods really suck, huh?" he muttered, a sad smile appearing.

Affirmative. They have no right to alter Destiny this much.

Greg didn't respond, instead taking Kleo back to the house he came from, placing her where he was.

The important thing was that she was breathing.

"Will she be fine?" he asked, clasping his hands on the chair she sat in.

Yes. Her time has not come.

He nodded along, feeling a weight off his shoulder.

"What are my rewards like?" he asked. Like last time, the list appeared, an almost endless supply of choices.

Pick one of the below Skills!

Poison Resistance (S), Poison Master (S), Paralytic Poison (A), Plague (A), Poison Breath (B), Poison Touch (B), General Resistance (Evo), Revenge (Evo)…

"Revenge," he said. It wasn't even something he had to think about. Revenge was a powerful Skill, amplifying damage proportional to the rage felt. However, it had the drawback of decreasing his rationality, which was a big risk.

Immediately, he felt something happen to his heart. He gasped, his throat blocked, clutching his chest, drool escaping his mouth. It felt like it was ripped out, leaving behind a massive hole of anger.

The rain fell. It didn't start slowly, instead cascading immediately, denting the ceiling quickly; it wouldn't break it, however. Because of the Goddess Aqua, the rain would never cause damage to humans, especially if they were under a roof. It only affected the rain after the first couple seconds of rainfall.

To Greg, it felt like an hour had passed before the pain stopped. Now, all he had to do was-

KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!KILL!

No, that wasn't it. He had to patiently master-

KILLING!

"No," he said, now clutching his head. "Be strong."

NO! IT'S NOT FAIR!

"So? Do I have to take the easy way just because nothing's fair? Should I throw away everything I want, just to throw a little tantrum!? You tell me!"

What is it you want?

He thought about his answer. Truthfully, "I don't know. But it isn't what you want, whichever one you are."