Temlat hadn’t been home ever since the day Jake fetched him from the dystopian futuristic world he came from. He hadn’t even asked to go once. Instead, he had stuck primarily to the centaur world and the jungle world for all his training sessions.
His reasoning was that he didn’t want to risk losing control of his emotions. Also, he was certain he was still wanted in his homeworld after having escaped from that noble woman on the floating island. Jake had briefly asked Temlat if he wanted Jake to go and check things out, but the half-elf had answered in the negative. He didn’t even want Jake to tell the lady Temlat was dead or anything like that.
One of the reasons for this was also his desire to protect those he actually did care about. The freedom fighting force he had been working with were the only people in that entire dystopian world he considered friends and family, and he feared getting them involved wouldn’t end well. If they knew Jake had taken Temlat in, they would want to see him, and if they were told he had died, Temlat feared they may go for revenge or do something dumb. Jake also sensed that Temlat was afraid of how they would look at him these days. He had changed a lot in the time he had spent with Jake, the curse energy affecting him a lot.
Jake had simply done as Temlat asked as he continued to go with his free-range teaching style. However, even so, he gladly joined his student when he asked Jake to join him on this first visit back.
Standing in the portal room, Jake gave Temlat a look, noticing he was hesitating.
“Nervous?
“I… what if they can’t recognize me? My friends, that is,” Temlat muttered. “You know… the last time they saw me, I was running from some monstrous cloaked guy, and now I have suddenly been gone for nearly two years. I feel like I have changed a lot during this time too… I know I have changed.”
“Any changes will surely be easily explained away by telling them that the monstrous cloaked guy decided to help you get stronger,” Jake said casually and calmly, trying to reassure his student.
Temlat flashed a light smile, the curse energy around him temporarily fading a bit. “Yeah, probably. No matter what, they’re gonna be ecstatic when they learn why I am back. When they learn what we can now do to set things right.”
Jake just nodded, genuinely hoping his reunion would go well. Jake knew the feeling Temlat was currently experiencing, as he had felt something very similar when he had first gone to see his parents after the integration.
To return to loved ones a changed man wasn’t easy. You wondered if they would accept you, and even if they did accept you if they would begin to treat you differently. Especially if you experienced a large shift in your status. Jake had already been tired of everyone acting all weird because he was the Chosen of Villy, and he really didn’t want his parents to also act differently back then. Jake had gotten lucky, and he hoped Temlat would share the same fate.
“Let’s not delay anymore,” Jake finally said as he gave Temlat a pat on the back. “Let’s go.”
“Right,” Temlat nodded.
It was time for him to either reaffirm or reject the source of his hatred. In order to do that, he would first meet up with the freedom fighter organization to learn what had happened during his absence. To have clarified how shit the world still was and to hear their opinions on if his deep hatred was truly justified. In other words, he would have a discourse about his own hatred to either come out feeling vindicated in what was to come or reconsider his entire Path. Needless to say, Jake wanted him to feel confident in the Path he was walking, but even if he ended up rejecting the curse and evolving in another direction, it would be interesting for sure.
Jake wouldn’t involve himself either way. It wasn’t his job or why he was there. He was just there to guide Temlat in whatever direction he decided to take his life.
Walking through the portal, Jake was instantly hit by the slightly metallic smell and taste of the futuristic world. He didn’t like it at all, and his Sense of the Malefic Viper unprompted made him aware that pretty much nothing alchemical could grow anywhere nearby. Yeah, definitely happy Haven has strict building codes.
“It looks the same,” Temlat muttered as the curse energy around him fully retracted, Temlat absorbing it into himself to keep it hidden.
“Even if you have changed a lot in recent times, two years is just an insignificant blip in the existence of a world like this,” Jake commented. “Especially if those who live there have no desire to pursue change.”
Temlat looked at the floating mansions still high up in the sky, adding: “Or if those who hold power do not allow any change to happen.”
“That too,” Jake agreed. “Anyhow, this is all you. I’m just gonna be the little spirit that’ll follow along as you decide what you want to do. Feel free to ask me if you need something, but I won’t interfere in anything unless you ask me directly, alright?”
Temlat nodded with determination. “Thank you, Teacher.”
Jake had already been focusing as they talked, his body slowly shifting on the spectrum of Perception. The stable arcane mana covered his body, and soon, his form faded away, making him invisible to anyone who wasn’t Telmat. Telmat was only able to see Jake was there because he already knew Jake was there, to begin with.
The two of them headed into the city, Temlat flying over it with confidence. His own stealth skill wasn’t all too shabby, and Jake knew most weaker C-grade couldn’t see him unless they really tried. Even if they were spotted, Temlat had good odds of defending himself, even if a C-grade got mixed in there.
While Jake hadn’t been the most attentive, he did keep up with Temlat’s progress. He knew the young half-elf had gotten a lot stronger in the nearly two years since Jake took him in, to the level where he had even managed to take down a handful of C-grades, that centaur warlord included. Sure, he did sometimes use tricks to get it done, but as a hunter who liked to start a fight with an extremely strong Powershot, Jake couldn’t exactly fault him for getting early advantages.
Temlat and Jake had appeared quite far up in the air after going through the portal but soon headed downward toward the slums. The city was absolutely massive, but Temlat clearly knew where to go as he beelined for a certain area Jake recognized. It was close to where he had originally been “kidnapped” by Jake and also close to the headquarters of their particular freedom fighter squad.
Also, while Jake had said he wouldn’t interfere, he could ask questions.
“Did your former friends have any C-grades among them?” Jake asked while wondering if they ever even stood a chance against the C-grades living in their mansions with C-grade guards.
“We had one,” Temlat shared as they kept flying. “Our leader. He used to work security for one of the mansion owners, but after a particularly bad case, he quit. The government tried to make trouble because he didn’t work for any of the people in power, but he managed to convince them he had retired and that he would contact them if he ever wanted to go back to work. Now, he is under surveillance, but as long as he stays in the same area, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“I see,” Jake nodded solemnly.
He didn’t say anything more… because he felt the area in front of him. There wasn’t a single C-grade anywhere to be found below any of the highrises or the floating islands, at least not in the entire area of his Pulse of Perception. Jake didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but he got a bad feeling.
Soon, they arrived in the area district where Temlat’s squad used to reside. Jake could feel the half-elf’s excitement but bit his tongue even as they landed, and Temlat began to scout the area. They went toward a few warehouses that stored ores from the underground mines, where they headed inside and toward a hidden staircase.
Temlat frowned a bit as he went closer, muttering to himself. “It hasn’t been reinforced for a while… our leader was the one who did that…”
With a careful demeanor, he unlocked the hidden pathway and entered using some secret code, Jake following. Down below the warehouse, Jake saw several people gathered, none of them particularly powerful. At least none of them matched up to Temlat at all.
The people in the room had also noticed Temlat was there, as the entryway also included a detection spell. One that Jake naturally dodged easily with his stealth skill. Anyway, the people in the room quickly hid themselves, likely preparing for an ambush.
Right before they reached the final door, Temlat stopped and raised a knuckle. He knocked in an odd pattern as he also spoke up. “The Broken Collar has returned.”
One would assume the people inside would calm down with this revelation, but instead, they tensed up. Jake was quite curious as he saw they nearly all of them carried what looked like laser rifles or guns, and while he very much wanted to disassemble, that wasn’t why he was there.
Temlat opened the door only to have all the weapons trained on him. The half-elf was confused, but before he could say anything, a woman who also happened to have the highest level in the room – 190 – raised her voice.
“Temlat!? What the fuck are you doing here? No, where have you been!?”
“I… I just got back,” Temlat stammered. He had removed his hood and hidden the curse energy as best he could, but Jake still saw some of it shimmer beneath the surface, barely being suppressed. “As for where I was… a lot has happened, and I cannot tell you exac-“
“Fuck that! Give us a proper explanation!” one of the others yelled.
None of the guns had been lowered yet, and their aggressiveness was over the top, in Jake’s opinion. It was more than just nervousness, suspicion, and agitation. They were genuinely angry, and as someone who had a budding Sin Curse of Wrath, how couldn’t Temlat recognize that?
“I was taken away by my teacher to train and get powerful,” Temlat shared, not going into details about exactly who Jake was. “I have come back now because there are things I have to do before I can evolve.”
Silence took over the room for a few seconds before the woman spoke up.
“That’s it? That’s your fucking excuse?”
“What?” Temlat asked, confused. Jake was also a bit perplexed about what exactly had happened.
“You just waltz in here with some bullshit story about a teacher and expect us to believe you? Do you know what the fuck you’ve done?”
“No, I quite obviously don’t,” Temlat shot back, failing to suppress some of his anger.
“Oh, do you remember Isaia?” the woman said in a cold tone. “You know, the man who saved your pathetic life and brought you here?”
“Of course I remember,” Temlat said in a calm tone.
Jake quickly put two and two together that this Isaia was the leader.
“Then do you know what he did for you?” the woman spat out, not even giving Temlat time to answer. “When you didn’t return, he went to that owner of yours, acting like a buyer trying to get you back… how the hell don’t you know any of this!? A year! A fucking year the announcement was up!”
Temlat only looked increasingly confused as the woman and the other seven people in the room only got madder. Their anger, in turn, also affecting Temlat.
“What announcement!? Just tell me what is going on and stop acting like whatever the fuck happened is my fault!”
“They knew you worked for him!” another person yelled. “They captured him and… they said if you didn’t return they would… would… a fucking year! It was there for a year, and you just hid away, not doing shit!”
“How could I do anything if I didn’t know!? What the hell happened? Just tell it to me I am getting sick of this shit!” Temlat yelled, agitated and angry. Jake understood why. Emotions were high, and in all honesty, they had probably both underestimated the impact of Temlat’s passive curse aura amplifying everyone’s anger. As he had only ever really spent time around Jake, the Attendants, and his enemies. This meant he had never been required to learn how to fully suppress it.
“What do you think happened?” the woman asked in a cold tone. “What do you think they did to him when you didn’t turn yourself in?”
Temlat clenched his fists hard enough for his nails to pierce his own skin as he cursed out loud. “Fuck! Why did he go to them!? What was he thinking!?”
“You have the gall to blame him?” the woman shot back. “But, hey, at least we agree! He shouldn’t have gone and tried to save your worthless life.”
Her words were full of spite as she continued.
“No, he should have never taken in a pathetic half-breed like you at all. You know he only did it because he felt bad for your pathetic whore of a mother, right? Isaia always had a soft spot for pitful things.”
Jake considered speaking up but stayed silent, not interfering. He saw Temlat standing there trembling for a few seconds before he suddenly calmed down and took a deep breath.
“I don’t even remember my own mother anymore,” Temlat said, the curse aura around him slightly moving. “Isaia very much took on a fatherly role… but even so, he always had the mission as his top priority. Have you all forgotten?”
“What fucking mission?” one of the others yelled. “They are hunting us! Just because some bitch didn’t want to let her pet go, nearly all of us have been killed already. There is no mission. It died the day you let Isaia die.”
Temlat’s coldness only increased as he nodded. “You are right that Isaia’s mission died… but his ideal lives on. He wanted the world to change and for those in power to pay for what they’ve done. So I ask all of you, if you had the chance to fulfill that ideal, would you do it? Would you risk your lives for the cause?”
“Did your soul get fucked up or something?” the woman said in a mocking tone. “Without Isaia, we can’t do shit to anyone, even if-“
“Why did I even ask?” Temlat said in a casual tone. “It wasn’t a choice to begin with.”
A dark wave of energy was released from Temlat as he unleashed his curse. Only now did those in the room seem to realize the young half-elf had gotten a lot stronger than before. His skill allowing him to hide his level had done so none could see it.
“What happened to you?” the woman muttered, her eyes wide open.
“I found my Path… and I reaffirmed what I must do.”
Without any warning, Temlat took out a disc, and a ritual circle appeared all around him. It had been the ritual Temlat had worked on for this entire duration as Jake’s student. Jake felt the concepts within it instantly but chose to remain silent still.
Curse energy erupted from the floor, was what looked like black chains of flames engulfed every single person in the room besides Jake and Temlat. The flames instantly began to burn the freedom fighters as they all screamed in pain, the central woman screaming the loudest as she cursed Temlat.
“You fucking lunatic! What are you doing!? I’ll fucking kill you, I’ll-“
“Thank you,” Temlat just said. “Your anger is very helpful.”
With a wave of his hand, the flames all intensified as none of them could speak. They all became fuel as Temlat turned and threw Jake a look. “Thank you, Teacher. From the beginning, all I wanted was revenge on those of this world who only deserve death… and you made that possible. Even if I don’t turn out as you had hoped.”
Temlat bowed deeply as Jake nodded. “Your Path is your own, not one for me to define. Do what you think you have to.”
The half-elf nodded as the curse energy released from the sacrifices began to make its way toward him. His own aura began to intensify as soon even Temlat’s body erupted in flames. The light smile on Temlat’s face disappeared entirely as all emotions were burned away.
Finally, he took out his dagger – the one he had when Jake first met him – and pressed it against his own chest.
Right before the final emotion that wasn’t pure hatred and anger disappeared, Temlat plunged the dagger into his own heart. A black burst of flames erupted from the stab wound, and in the very next second, Temlat popped out of existence, having gone to the evolution space.
Jake sighed as he wondered what would return… and as he felt the aura of the room begin to change, he got a clue as he sensed something he hadn’t since he met the Dark Witch on floor forty-one.
The unmistakable scent of a plague.