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After swiftly packing up their gear, the prodigies and I headed off deeper into the forest as the first rays of sunlight peaked through the treeline. Sebas made no mention of yesterday's talk, something which I much appreciated considering how embarrassing it would be if it was brought up in front of everyone, but he was strangely nicer to me the entire day, electing to carry my backpack while I took it easy at the back of the party. When the sun was decently high in the sky, from what I could gather through the gaps in the dense forest anyways, the prodigies abruptly changed direction, heading in an almost opposite path.

"If I've charted this out correctly, we should've completely avoided the obstruction on the passage and then some. If we continue this pace for about half a day, we should be seeing the road once more." Sebas explained to me as Aquila and Bren marked the spot they changed directions at.

"Away from the mountains then?" I whispered to the priest as discreetly as I could, not wanting the others to tease me for my worries.

"Yes, Ren, well away from the mountains. We never really got close to them either." Sebas smiled at me, ruffling my hair.

"Aaaand, done!" Aquila exclaimed, jumping from the ground where she was engraving some strange runes into. "Left the arcane imprint here so we're good to go if you are too, Bren?"

"Good to go as well."

"Lets get on with it then!" Aquila said, taking the lead but ultimately falling back to join me. "Its a shame you can't use magic, Ren, I always wanted a little brother I could explain magic to."

[]

A twinge of jealousy ran through me, swamped with a mix of outrage and disbelief. No, she isn't mocking you Ren. You know her too well to think that.

"What's mana like then? I thought I saw some strange things happening when you were engraving that 'imprint', so maybe that's it?" I lied to her with a slight smile, setting her off onto a lecture on the beauty of mana and magic. We both knew that I was lying about seeing something, since my affinity for mana was measured as a big fat zero, but it gave her a reason to talk about magic and me some entertainment to keep the boredom away.

[]

Once the lecture had run its course though, the rest of the march was unbelievably boring. Walking endlessly through samey forest bush and flora didn't exactly help with keeping the attention of an 8 year old child, let alone the tiring, long walks. It had been about a couple hours of walking when the forest opened up into a large, mainly empty field, surrounded by woodland on one side and the beginnings of hilly and mountainous terrain on the other.

"Sebas," Bren began to ask turning slowly to one certain side of the plain, "Why do I see mountains when were supposed to be going away from them?"

"The map shows that the range comes close to our path but... not this close."

"Did we go off path?!" I couldn't help but shout, worry and panic running amok in my head.

"No, and if we did it wouldn't be off by much-"

"Is the map wrong?"

"Cartographers probably don't map areas like this, so there's a chance its wrong." Aquila said, staying calm.

"You'd expect that from a merchant's map, not a map given by the guard though." Bren countered, nervously looking around.

"Fuck!" Sebas exclaimed, uncharacteristically swearing. "My chants aren't wrong though! I triple checked them for Gods' sake! It has to be the map."

Sebas got the chants... wrong? Sebas? Of all people? That shouldn't be possible, Aldrich would never be so vain to allow that of such a blessed priest like him. He's the Lord of Mercy, after all, not the Minister of Suffering. Unless... he betrayed me, betrayed all of us. I was right.

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They're going to kill me.

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I was so hysterical that I almost didn't notice some movement coming beyond the scarce number of tress that were spattered across the hilly landscape. A shadow, growing in size. A creature attracted to the noise that the prodigies' argument was making.

"Hey..." I tried to call out, but they weren't listening. They were still frantic, scared about an imaginary threat when there was already one right behind them.

The shadow advanced, its form expanding as it revealed a great set of wings. A set of wings that propelled the shadow at unreal speeds towards... us?

"Wai-"

Pain. Everything hurts. Sight coming in and out of focus. I'm on the ground? Since when? As my hearing returned from a purgatory of endless ringing, I heard screaming and shouting. Aquila and Sebas. When my vision recovered, hell was unveiled. The massive shadow towered over us, taller than anything I had ever seen, my height not even reaching up to the tops of its claws. Its brownish-red scaled maw looked down on the horror it had created and smirked. Its body longer than over half the entire plain, I barely saw the heavily injured Bren crawling under it. Looking around I saw Aquila desperately engraving out a spell at the creature, Sebas kneeling behind her, one of his arms hanging loosely at his side. The plain was in ruin, half reduced to rubble and the other half covered in... flames? From where the creature had attacked like a cannonball, a hole was punched through the trees and hills, everything that was in the path of its terror, completely and utterly destroyed. No, this wasn't a creature. This wasn't a monster either. It was a demon.

"Ren!" Sebas called over to me as soon as he noticed me getting up. "Run!"

The only issue with that was it alerted the demon to where I was, its terrible horned head craning over to look at me, its toothy smile growing larger. He's doomed me.

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They were always going to do this. Lead me over to the Crylian Mountains. Attract the attention of a demon. Make it kill me.

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Still trying to cling onto some semblance of sanity, I reached for my rucksack of supplies just as the demon moved. One instant it was there, facing down the prodigies. The next it was batting me away with its claw, the only semblance of protection I had being the bag I had just picked up. Hurtling through the air, losing consciousness for a moment from the hit, I collided with one of the thicker trees hard, the further crunching of bone indicating more breaks. With the breath knocked out of me from the swipe, I didn't have enough air to even scream before the demon advanced upon me once more.

Flying towards me with a single flap of its wings, the air current created by it sent me flying into the air, an entire portion of the forest flattened under the mere pressure caused by one of its movements. Consciousness returned to me again as I found myself covered in exploded wood and dirt, still clutching onto my supply bag. Uncurling from the foetal position I had unconsciously crawled into to protect myself, I saw only more ruin. The prodigies helping Bren up, as they faced the demon head-on once more. The demon itself, crawling slowly towards them, a mocking grin on its face, somehow even wider than before.

It hit me in that moment, covered in my own blood and piss, unable to move very well from broken bones and torn muscles, that I was going to die here. Lured into this by the Saviours, the second I had accepted Sebas' proposition of becoming their chaperone, my demise had been sealed. All. Because. Of. THEM

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Their unending arrogance at their undeserving power has finally killed me. The power that was stolen from me. That was rightfully mine. And how do they use it? They didn't. Instead, they flaunted it.

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Ha! And look where its gotten them now! The prodigies' deaths was almost as assured as my own!

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Those worthless Saviours have finally gotten their comeuppance and this time it was a punishment they couldn't escape. The punishment they should've gotten when they stole it all from ME!

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And their faces! Struck with horror and guilt, their stares dancing back and forth between me and the demon! How delectable! How deserving!

-Shield-

How beautiful!

-Confirm-

How—!

Huh? What was I thinking about?

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Sebas looks... why is he scared? And Aquila, she's... shaking? Bren, crying? Why is that?

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They're the Saviours, right? Isn't that what they're meant to...

Oh. They need saving too, huh. I couldn't help but allow a small smile climb onto my face. I could finally repay them.

[]

All that they had suffered dealing with me would be nothing compared to the crueller hands of petty nobles and entire nations. If anything, they deserved what I was about to do. Yes, what I was about to do is recklessly stupid and insane, but it feels right nonetheless. Gathering everything in me that I could afford to spend, I drew in one great, deep breath. And then? I screamed.

"RUN!"

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Wait, why did I do that? Why did I just do that? Why? Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy- WHY?

As the shocked expression of the Saviours wandered over to me, I saw a strange look of pride manifest on Bren's face before moulding into grim determination. Soon, the demon's head grinded over to look at me as well, somewhat surprised that I had survived, its smile freezing.

Then, to my horror, Bren stood up, and shoved the other two prodigies into running away. Sebas tried to protest, but Bren, even injured, could overpower the priest any day of the week. Knocking him over and then slinging him over his shoulder, he took off in a sprint, urging Aquila on with a look. I thought I saw her face scrunch up for a moment, like she was on the edge of tears, before she took off running as well. Running. They were running. WHY?

[]

Vindictive thoughts clouding my mind, I didn't even notice when the demon snorted in amusement, and attacked once more. I didn't even notice the pain of my countless, and accruing, injuries as my body was sent flying. I didn't even notice the second attack after that, another flap of its wings this time, that sent me further into the forest, closer to the mountains. I didn't even notice when the demon stopped attacking, thinking me finally dead. I didn't even notice where I was, deep into the forest, surrounded by the exploded remains of trees and packed soil. I didn't even notice when the murky blood from my wounds began to pool around me. I didn't even notice when I began to cry.

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Why? WHY?

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WHY?

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THEY HAVE EVERYTHING. AND THEY TOOK IT ALL AWAY FROM ME!

WHY ME?!

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WHY?!

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"...why?" I barely managed to croak out, blood covering my face from where it rested on the ground. It wasn't fair.

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They were supposed to be Saviours. Heroes of the world. Then why couldn't they have saved ME?

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They all had the same as me. And yet they did so, so much more. More with it all! More with the same opportunities! More with worse opportunities than me! More than ME!

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Why couldn't they have shared it with me?! Why couldn't they have given it to me?! Why couldn't it have all been MINE?!

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Why can't it all be MINE?! Why can't I want it all?! Why can't I be a Saviour?! WHY?!

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"...-WHY?!"

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-[]-

...What?

"...who said... ...that?" I muttered, straining my head to look around the best I could. Did one of the royal guards find me? Did the Saviours find me? Was I saved?!

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"...help... ...me...?" Where were they? Unless... the voice wasn't coming from any particular direction. It was coming from inside my head.

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"...status?" I asked, half out of curiosity for the inhuman, strange voice blaring into my psyche and half out of desperation, hoping not to have already fallen to insanity.

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Intent? I just want help for Gods' sake.

"...Help!" I shouted out louder this time, utterly unsure of what to do.

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Damnit! Trying to get up, my countless injuries kept me to the ground, sending shivers of pain bouncing up my limbs. Fuck! I need to examine my injuries, my head feeling worryingly lighter every second. Sebas... He taught me some basic first aid a couple months ago, and I should be able fashion something to stop the bleeding if I could scavenge some bandages from the scattered supplies; that is if I could find the rucksack that I was carrying in the first place. I swear I had held it before the last attack. Before those horrible, slashing, wings.

Status, though. A medical check of some sort? Its worth a shot.

"...sta-" I attempted to call out before my mind lurched oddly, sending me into a coughing fit and my thoughts into disarray. What... what was that? I needed to try that again. Something happened at least.

Gathering the last scraps of my strength, I dedicated it all to the thought of it, the Intent of the command. And then, I let it out.

"Status."

The world seemed to shudder at my command, the forest around me going still for but a moment, all going quiet. Then, as if it had never happened, everything resumed once more, but this time with a strange box floating in front of my vision. My Status.

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  Name: Thanren of Aldfield

  Pure Sin: Envy

  Alignment: 100%

  Body: Severely Damaged

    Resources: N/A

  Mind: Slightly Disarrayed

    Resources: N/A

  Soul: Critically Disrupted

    Resources: N/A

  Skills: N/A

[]

Glazing my trembling eyes over the box, I felt myself instinctively understanding the things written in my Status. Things as simple as feeling how damaged my body was, or how disrupted my soul was, whatever that meant, or as hard to comprehend as the strange alignment I felt with my... Envy? No, there was no time to fuss over the information provided by the Status box, or how it even projected itself into my vision. I needed to recover, the strange sense from the soul section growing alarmingly more foreboding, like a cooking pot just on the threshold of boiling over. Though the feeling of my body was bad, my soul felt simply too worrying to put off in favour of afflictions I could instead see.

Dedicating my Intent to the information behind my soul's condition, I was met with hopelessness. There was nothing I could do.

[ Fatally Disrupted>]

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Like fire in my veins, a different kind of pain hit me everywhere all at once. Unlike the physical, familiar pain of bodily injuries, this pain felt like something encroaching on my very being, threatening existence itself. Gasping in suffering, every muscle in my body tensed, constricting my breathing and movement. I was going to die here. Alone.

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Unable to even think properly, the instant the option to confirm to possibly save my life arrived, I accepted the trade immediately with a single thought.

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Instantly, I felt every single part of myself grow weaker for but a moment, the spiritual pain invading my body enhancing and gaining a better grip on my life now that I was weakened. However, as quickly as the weakness came, it was swiftly replaced by a new-found strength permeating through my entire body. An alien strength that fought off the pain just barely, so that I could once again breath freely. Starting with a hacking cough, I emptied my stomach onto the ground in front of me, vomit splashing into and mixing with blood all around me. Wiping my mouth on my shoulder, unable to move my hands, I began to shuffle away from the pool of blood, urine and sick the best I could, energised by this strength. No, this wasn't a strength. This was Will.

[ 4/5>]

Confused by what the voice was saying, I commanded open my Status once more and found something new.

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  Name: Thanren of Aldfield

  Pure Sin: Envy

  Alignment: 100%

  Body: Severely Damaged

    Resources: N/A

  Mind: Slightly Disarrayed

    Resources: N/A

  Soul: Fatally Disrupted

    Will: 4/5

  Skills: N/A

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Under the section describing the condition of my soul, where the resources were once listed as 'N/A', there it was. The will I had traded away to the Monarchy System, the strange entity that governed this new insanity of mine, present as a Resource.

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What? Freezing in place, I could barely believe my ears as the opportunity to stop the terrible pain came. Yet... before I offered those points, a chilling thought passed by. Were these mysterious 'points' recoverable? If, in transforming my own will into some sort of statistic, did I lose something of myself? Then what sort of consequences did that mean for my own figurative will?

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The price went up. No longer willing to ponder on the mental and philosophical effects of trading in my own will to this system, I immediately offered the points and confirmed the recovery.

[ 0/5>]

[ Critically Disrupted>]

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As the spiritual pain vanished and my soul's condition was healed, euphoria came for a moment, before a sudden tiredness overcame all. A tiredness, that I surmise, came from the sudden draining of the entirety of my current will points. Sleep claiming me, I paid no heed to the terrible condition of my body, or the physical pain that carried, only glad to be finally free of the too long lived suffering inflicted upon my soul. Then, there was nothing.

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