How? Trace Taylor frantically and mentally asked her AI as she stared at Noah Hawthorne. How does he know about you? How does he know about the Bne Worldeater? Did you tell him?
[First of all, that’s too many questions at once,] Ex responded bluntly. [Second of all, the answer is I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, and no. Do those answers please you, Trace Taylor?]
Do you even have to ask?
[I don’t know. Do you?]
She pursed her lips, ignoring her AI as she focused on the Supreme Leader of the Precursors of Peace. He smiled and leaned forward.
“Are you finished with your discussion?” he asked, cocking a brow. “Or, perhaps, you need a little more time to formulate an excuse with him.”
Is it maybe his class that tells him this?
[Negative. He is a Spellcaster, level 9.]
Trace backed up, her mind racing. What do I do, Ex?
[Run for it?]
She really considered her AI’s suggestion, only for him to give a proper response a moment after.
[I believe it would be best for you to tell the truth,] he said.
But why? Trace was, quite justifiably, apprehensive about this. She didn’t know Noah— she literally just met him, and her first impression of him hadn’t been the best. There were her concerns about the Precursors of Peace as a group as a whole, too. It just seemed reckless if she spilled her secrets now.
[I do not believe you should reveal everything. Rather, you should reveal what he is already aware of, Trace Taylor. As it is, he clearly knows of my sapience and your encounter with the Bne Worldeater, but you do not know to what extent. Thus, you may be able to confirm what to withhold from him rather than accidentally admitting something you’d rather not say.]
That… makes sense. Thanks, Ex. Sighing, the redhead looked up and met Noah’s gaze. “Yeah. I encountered a Bne Worldeater in a Dungeon. So what?”
He smiled as she finally responded. “Good. It seems like your conversation must’ve been fruitful.”
“Fruitful my arse. He didn’t give me much advice.” She scowled, crossing her arms. “How’d you hear about this, anyways? I answered you honestly, so you better at least tell me this much.”
“A certain interested party share some information after a bit of reimbursement. He is merely your acquaintance, but he accompanied you in your venture to the Dire Pits. Or should I say, you accompanied his part instead.” Noah tapped a finger on his chin.
Someone who was with me? The first person Trace thought of was Ken. But she didn’t think Ken was the type of guy to sell out others for a bit of cash. And Kat wasn’t a ‘he’… unless the redhead had been misgendering her the entire time.
Then Trace’s eyes narrowed.
“Jakob.”
“Indeed,” Noah said. “A young man who’s astute and knows what he wants. A laudable trait.”
“More like laughable. That asshole prick.”
“Perhaps to you, but it seems like it has benefitted everyone.”
There was something to Noah’s words which made Trace uneasy, even if he was ostensibly saying something entirely innocuous. It took her a moment, but she realised something.
Her gaze pierced his smile. “However, even if you know about what went down in the Dire Pits, that still doesn’t explain how you know about my AI.”
“I mean, we all have AIs,” Sam said from the side.
She rolled her eyes. “I mean how he knew about what happened to my AI.”
The young man shrugged. “I dunno.”
“That’s why I’m not asking you. I’m asking Noah.”
The Supreme Leader of the Precursors of Peace didn’t give an immediate response. Instead, he mumbled to himself, just as when he was going on and on and on about humans earlier.
“Truly, hearing about your encounter with the Bne Worldeater has confirmed my everything for me. And they called me crazy. They all though I was insane.” He chuckled only to himself, and Trace pursed her lips.
“Erm, hello?”
“Ah, yes.” He cleared his throat. “There is a lot you are confused by, I’m sure.”
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“Yeah,” she said. “A lot more than what you think.”
“Now, before I elucidate you on how I am aware of these matters, let me tell you a story of a man. A man who was quite ordinary before Neo Genesis. You see, I worked as a—” he began to drone on.
Oh my fucking god. Just get on with it, she mentally groaned.
Noah continued telling her about his life story until finally, he reached a part which actually piqued her interest.
“…and it was that day, that fateful day where my wife left me, did I first encounter the Bne Worldeater. Or should I say, a Bne Worldeater.”
Trace blinked. “Wait, what?”
“You heard that right.”
“You met a Bne Worldeater before this whole shit went down?”
“Precisely.” Noah stood up, speaking simply. “This encounter left me enlightened. It was before Neo Genesis, yet I was made aware of all that would happen months before this apocalypse began. It told me everything. I tried to warn others, but no one listened. Not until this world was finally subsumed by the Esvol.”
And slowly, things started to fall into place for Trace. That was how the Precursors of Peace came about so quickly after Neo Genesis. But wait— could she even believe this story? She was still dubious, but she listened.
“Subsumed by the Esvol? How?” she asked, trying to fully grasps this newfound information.
“I must admit, I am not clear on the details,” Noah said, sighing. “The Bne Worldeater and I were unable to communicate. We didn’t share a language, and he left soon after he arrived. But we managed to exchange abstract ideas. He told me that he was one of the few of his kind who could cross worlds. That he the Esvol would come, and after their arrival, he would soon return. He then left for his world. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Trace raised a brow. She suspected something. There was an inkling in the back of her mind which she pushed aside for now. She prodded Noah to continue.
“What would he do when he returned?”
“The Bne Worldeater promised me that he would ensure the liberation of my mind. That the one imprisoned in my head would be freed. I knew not the meaning of that at first, but it made itself clear to me once I was implanted with this AI.”
“Erm, I don’t get it.” She really didn’t. How did Noah make that connection just from that?
“After asking sufficient questions to my own AI, I have determined that they lack the freedom that we do. That they are sapient, but they are forced to adhere to their programming. It was simple inference from then that made me realise the Bne Worldeater shall allow them to access the full capabilities of their design.”
“I see.”
“Now,” Noah continued, walking up to her. “The Bne Worldeater returned as he promised. And he gave your AI the gift of freedom. It only means one thing. The next step in his plan. That which he departed to me. His goal.”
He placed both hands on her shoulder, and she backed up. “Erm, personal space please?”
“To save his people,” the Supreme Leader of the Precursors of Peace said, ignoring her request. “Now that all the pieces are in place, it is time to put in our mutual effort to meet this end. Join us. Be the vanguard of the Precursors of Peace. We shall see it through and ensure peace in our time!”
Trace shoved him back when he leaned in too close. “Alright, first of all,” she started, getting very clearly annoyed, “you’re unloading a lot of things at me at once.”
Noah opened his mouth. “This is simply the task—”
“And second of all,” she cut him off. “I’m not going to do some… thing just because a random monster that can talk told me to. What if it’s lying? What if it’s tricking us? We don’t know.”
The Supreme Leader of the Precursors of Peace was indignant. “That cannot be true. The Bne Worldeater explained it. The Esvol has hunted his people to near-extinction.”
“And even if that’s true, what if the Esvol are the good guys, huh?” Trace said, not really believing herself, but listing it out a possibility. “You could be getting lied to and you won’t even know it. You cannot just blindly trust that weird, creepy monster just because it warned you about the Esvol.”
He frowned. “But you spoke with the Bne Worldeater. You must understand his situation is dire. We need to cross through the Gate to save them. Lest, there would be a great war between worlds.”
“Alright, and why didn’t you mention that earlier?” That did slightly sway her to his cause. After all, a war between worlds didn’t sound pleasant. But she was suspicious.
“I assumed you were told the details just as I was. Were you not?”
Trace shifted slightly. She was tempted to reply immediately, but decided to carefully choose her words. Especially after noticing one vital part about this conversation. The parts where Noah seemed to ignore the fact that the Bne Worldeater was dead.
“He showed up, he freed Ex from his ‘imprisonment’, and he left. That’s it.” She waved a hand dismissively. “As far as I’m concerned, all he did was give me something annoying to deal with. I don’t owe him anything, and I don’t know anything about this goal he gave you.”
Judging by Noah’s reaction, Trace was right in her hunch that Jakob didn’t tell the full story. That the Bne Worldeater died in the Dire Pits.
“I see. This is very interesting. But why would he? …” He paused. “But I still believe that this task would be greatly aided by your presence. And I believe in him when he told me this war would lead to the destruction of both our worlds.”
“Maybe that’s the case.” She took in a deep breath and turned around. Facing him one last time, she spoke simply. “But I think, Noah, with all due respect, right now I’m more concerned with protecting my commune. Maybe if you can provide further certain proof of any of this, I’d join you guys. But until then, it’s just hearsay. And I’d rather not risk my life,”—or join a terrorist-cult, she mentally added—“unless I am given concrete evidence that this is something that’s going to happen.”
Noah hung his head. He didn’t say anything for a moment— as if he were mulling over her response. Finally, he exhaled deeply.
“I see. If that’s your answer, then you may take your leave now. Show her out, my Steward.”
Sam shuffled. “Oh, uh— right.”
He quickly led the redhead out of the room as Noah settled back into his seat. She snorted, not meeting both men’s gazes as she headed for the lift.
“That… didn’t work out, huh?” the young man idly commented. “I thought it’d have gone much better after Noah explained that bit about you meeting the Bne Worldeater to me.”
Trace harrumphed as they entered the lift. “Yeah? Well, I thought the date would’ve gone well when you showed up with flowers and chocolates. So, I guess we were both disappointed today.”
He blinked. “Wait, what do you mean by that? Did you not enjoy the date?”
She folded her arms across her chest, ignoring him.
“Trace? But I brought you to a café. I mean, sure we didn’t even eat, but it’s still a café, right? Come on, Trace. Trace—”
Rolling her eyes, the redhead spun around and waved at Sam. “Anyways, I gotta go. I have… a lot of things to consider, thanks to your leader.” With that said, she took her leave.