Chapter 73

The Fate of the Thief (I)

Just as Cain was about to order them to jump down, his heart froze for a moment as he felt a bad premonition come over him. Sweat doused him within a breath, and he felt as though there was a grand eye in the sky staring at his neck. His body turned frigid and he forgot how to even breathe for a moment as his hands began to shake. Right then, a notification window popped up in front of him.

//Emergency Quest Issued!!

Quest -- Halo of the Kings!

Requirement: ????

Content: You are being forcefully summoned to the Throne Room by a Presence who has detected your unique status.

Requirements: Kill the King and Conquer the First Trial of the Crucible! / ???

Rewards: Unknown!

Time Limit: N/A

Side Quest: Other members of your party will need to defeat Holy Construct without you.

Requirements: Destruction of the Holy Construct!

Rewards: Unknown!

Time Limit: N/A

Note: Should either of you fail, both Quests would automatically be considered failures!

Good luck!//

“Cain, what the hell is going on?!” Emma asked as she glanced to the side, seeing him slowly begin to vanish.

“WATCH OUT FOR THE BLINDSIDE ATTACKS,” Cain roared as he felt himself being pulled into a grand spatial tunnel. “ATTACK THOSE GEMS ON ITS HEAD! ITS SPEED WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS THE FIGHT GOES ON, AND ITS--” his voice faded, leaving stunned Emma, Jamal, Diya, and Senna staring at the spot he just stood.

They looked down and sat that the monstrosity had moved and that the Quest had begun, telling them to descend and begin the fight.

“How the hell are we even supposed to get down there without him...” Emma mumbled as a wind of despair drifted among the group.

Cain wanted to cry, but no tears came. Why?! Why?! Why?! Why does everyone immediately know my identity?! Looking back at the Quest contents... he wanted to cry yet again. He was certain -- no, beyond certain -- that the ‘King’ in the Quest was the ‘Ruined King’. Furthermore, there was a line in there that froze the depths of his soul -- conquering the First Trial... that is to say, clearing the first floor of the Tower. Don’t tell me... the Ruined King is the floor boss? No, impossible. That horse-looking thing is literally on the other side of the floor, nowhere near here. Aah, why does this keep happening to me...

The travel through the tunnel was painfully long, lasting nearly a whole week. Though Cain had personally never experienced it before, he had heard of tunnels like these. They usually led to one of three places -- Ancient Ruins, Tower Trials, and, lastly, King Arenas. Considering the circumstances, Cain was certain he was headed for the last. I'm worried about those four, he mulled, sighing. No... there’s nothing I can do but put my faith in them and hope for the best. They’re strong. They’ll figure it out...

Not having to do much, he also did some visual training, though at his level it wasn’t worth much. His Skills wouldn’t improve past the ceiling he hit during the last timeline unless something monumental happened. Like challenging a floor boss alone and winning--my ass!! That fuck will fry me! Aah, I will seriously need to find a way to hide the fact that I stole the Timecube from these guys...

A week soon passed, and he saw the circular exit shining in a rather ghastly gray. He braced himself as he knew that the longer the travel is, the stronger the 'membrane' on the other side would be. As he suspected, it took quite a bit of effort on his part to breach through it and enter his destination.

//Welcome to a King Arena, A’tesh’s Throne Room!//

He quickly dismissed the notification and looked around, but noticed nothing except thick mist covering everything. However, just as the confusion settled in, the mist began to clear up bit by bit, revealing an open-ended arena akin to a Throne room, with a red carpet stretching from his feet for nearly a mile upfront.

The ‘room’ was open space, he quickly realized, with clear sky far above. Everything else was cleaned out save for a singular object in the distance rising straight toward the sky like a spear -- the Throne. Cain took a deep breath and began walking over, the giant chair slowly shifting into focus. It was old -- signs of age were everywhere, from erosion to cracks. It looked like it was built of some precious stone, as glints of light still shimmered here and there, but most of the luster it once had... had long since vanished.

Cain stopped roughly a hundred feet from the Throne -- partly because he was close enough... and partly because of the insane density of Mana within that scope. Staring at the source of it all, he couldn’t help but frown.

Sitting on top of the throne was a bare-bones skeleton -- bones were aged and full of cracks, yellow and grayish tints dominating the hue. The one thing separating it from any other aged skeleton was the crown on top of its head -- the exact same as the construct’s ‘head’... but clearly the real thing as it, too, had undergone the process of aging.

Everything was still -- the earth, the sky, even the incredibly dense Mana in front of him. The skeleton didn’t move, nor did anything else poke its head -- not that it had anywhere to poke it from.

“... Time Thief,” a voice finally broke out -- deep and growl-like... yet incredibly calming and even mesmerizing at the same time. There was an air of past age to it, as though it should have long since spoken its last word and departed from the world. “You’ve come...”

“Not like I had a choice.” Cain cracked, wondering whether the voice came from the skeleton or elsewhere. His status window didn’t show up at all, and he realized he couldn’t even summon out his inventory.

“You could have not ventured into the Crucible.”

“I suppose...” Cain shrugged. “Are you the Ruined King?”

“Some call me so, yes,” the voice replied. “Others, yet, call me many other names. Your life... was not pleasing to watch, Time Thief. You have absconded your humanity, treated others as though they were livestock, betrayed everyone you have ever loved... and even they were so few...”

“...” Cain frowned, growing alarmed and further on guard.

“That is why... your change... astounded me,” the voice continued, seemingly indifferent to his actions. “You, who by all accounts should have selfishly heralded the Age of Conquerors, ignoring the plight of the man... chose instead that which you so easily abandoned previously. You’ve taken the weak with you, and you stood by them. You have surprised me, Time Thief -- not something I could say for the two brethren that visited me before you.”

“H-huh?” Cain stumbled slightly, shocked to hear what the voice said. “You... you met other Time Thieves? How?! Didn’t I reset the timeline?”

“Yes... for most,” the voice replied. “But, if fate accosts you kindly, you will come to learn that many yet live above the Time. It is but one of many dimensions of existence. The two before you... did not change. If anything, they grew even more adamant in who they were. And, thus... they failed.”

“How did they fail?” Cain asked.

“They... met me.”

“Huh? You... killed them?”

“No,” the voice said. “They failed to defeat me.”

“...” What the fuck’s the difference?!

“I wish to know why, Time Thief. What was the root cause of your change? How were you able to become an entirely different man so quickly?”

“... you think I’m different?” Cain scoffed. “I’m not. At all. But... I’m trying to be.”

“I don’t understand -- did you not change? Else, why would you be dragging the dregs with you?”

“I wake up every day... asking that question,” Cain replied. “Which means... I didn’t change. Enough with that -- why did you drag me here? Rather, why did you drag other Time Thieves here? Shouldn’t a fight with you be an elective one?!”

“... a fight with me... doesn’t exist,” the voice replied. “For anyone except the Time Thieves.”

“H-huh?!”

“For everyone else, the Guardian of the First Trial is whatever creature is the strongest at the time,” the voice explained. “For the Time Thieves... I am. Are you surprised?”

“... surprised?! Fuck! This is nuts!” Cain exclaimed. “You expect me to believe that a Emperor-level boss guards the first fucking floor?! Stop shitting me! Nobody would ever advance!”

“... Time Thieves aren’t rare,” the voice said suddenly. “I have fought thousands of them over the course of my lamed existence. However, even among the Time Thieves, there are better and worse. If we, though, just let them roam the Trials freed, they would always end up being the Conquerors -- an unearned Title, in many of those cases. As such... though they had cheated the Fate and obtained a second chance... they still have to earn every bit of their strength.”

“...” Cain’s knees began to quake as he felt his throat growing parched.

“I believe you Humans have a very appropriate saying for this -- no free lunch, was it? Everything action causes reaction -- you have warped the Time and with it changed the outcomes of countless existences. Those that should have died were now given another chance to live, even if they are not aware of it. Those that should have lived may very well die instead. Just because you took what was there for the taking... does not mean you have earned your Fate, Time Thief.”

“... w-wait, what do you mean? What was there for the taking?! I stole the Timecube! Do you know how hard that shit was?!”

“Do you honestly believe an artifact as monumentally world-changing as the Timecube would ever be stolen, Time Thief?” the voice’s words cracked something in Cain’s mind as he felt the reality he’d built around himself crashing. “It is there as a tool -- an opportunity. That it was you who ‘stole’ it... is merely luck, and nothing more. Just like every other Human next to you, if you wish to earn the title of the Conqueror -- you will have to earn it, Time Thief. While your friends will be battling what you have been battling before, you will be challenged, time and again, beyond your means.”

“...”

“And I... I am the first wall to your climb -- the First Guardian of Time. It is a pleasure, Time Thief Cain. My name is A’tesh. Or, the Ruined King, as you have known me so far.”

“... Atty...” a grating voice pulled back Cain from the brink of insanity as he felt his inventory being forcefully opened, a tiny feline jumping out and landing next to his feet.

“... Thea?” a voice showed the first glimpse of emotion since it began to talk, startling Cain. “What are you doing here, you little rascal?”

“I look for you, Atty. Look for you... so long. Why?! Why hide from Te’gha?! Te’gha missed you, Atty! Missed you!! Missed you!”

“Haah, you foolish creature. No wonder the Time Thief cleared L’besh’s puzzle. I see you are still busy messing around...”

“--is... is it not enough, already? Isn’t it, Atty?” Te’gha suddenly spoke out in an almost human-like intonation. By now, Cain was once again closing-in to the brink of insanity, wondering what hells has he got himself wrapped up in. “You... you have done so much for them!! So much!! Aren’t you... aren’t you punished enough?!”

“Foolish kid, you know that my sins cannot be paid off,” the voice replied in a fairly melancholic tone. “You shouldn’t have butted in, Thea. I told you to live your life. So... why do you keep wasting it by hanging around here, at the bottom, in vain hopes you might run across a Time Thief so that you can come and see me?” a bolt of lightning pierced Cain’s brain as he slowly connected the dots and realized he was... played. By virtually everyone. I know I’m dumb... but holy shit, I’m dumb...