Chapter 19: Revelations

Rain dripped down from bright green leaves. A rocky dirt path cut through the mountains was trod upon by the confident feet of an uncertain man. Two months of hard training, and nightly tenderness, had passed since arrival in the final hunting ground that Scott would see on the casual server.

Rhea had remained behind to hunt the higher level monsters in the area. She wanted to force herself to level faster despite the dangers inherent in fighting second-tier monsters. Close to her goal of reaching level one hundred, she wanted to attain it by the time that Scott finished his final business.

He raced along the mountain road, the wind whipping his hair. He had to reach the first stage of his profession quest at exactly the right moment. That was all that he knew.

In the distance Scott could see a mountain. Halfway to the top there was a massive cathedral-like structure. It was the Dawn Call Citadel, an ancient home for the sorcerers who follow the path of balance. Stationed at neither the base, nor the summit, of the mountain they lived in a way native to their ideals.

His bare feet were not stung by the rocks along the way. His flesh was far too tough for such mundane hindrances. The highland mist that clung to him did not keep him cool, as the speeds that he ran were taxing beyond belief. He had only one hour from the moment that false-dawn appeared to reach the base of the mountain. That way, he could greet the sentinel who barred the way the moment that the sun rose above the horizon.

The distance that he had to run was one thousand miles. Early in his career, his speed had matched directly with his strength and agility. However, over time his top running speed had ceased to match up in that way. He could outrun a sports car on the highway for a few minutes, but that speed could not be maintained long term. He would not be able to meet that requirement at his fastest sprint if he relied on his stats alone. However, upon reaching level one hundred he had acquired a new skill. It was a skill only available to those who had chosen consistently to follow the path of enlightenment and balance when choosing upgrades.

Scott ran till his sides began to burn and his thundered in his chest. He ran without cessation until he could use his skill once more. He felt the cool down end and instinctively activated the ability, Soul of the Hummingbird.

The world seemed to stop even as he ran forward as fast as he could go. He passed leaves that floated in mid-air after having fallen from their rain soaked branches. Rocks flung backward by his toes were hurled away like bullets fired from a machine gun. For one glorious minute he moved at speeds far beyond what his body could normally attain.

In order to meet his goal he had to stay on the Phoenix Trail from the Mountains that he had trained at to another mountain near the sea on the opposite side of the continent. It had taken quite some time to get used to his new ability once he had learned it. Any attempt to fight with it activated had caused him to lose concentration and waste the mana that he used.

Scott hurdled a fallen tree that blocked the path and continued on. The mountain that had seemed to be in the far distance before loomed ominously close long before his minute ended, but he did not slow down. He knew that it had nearly been an hour.

The naked sorcerer blurred to a stop just before the stone gates that barred the path to the steps. Scott walked forward, sweat pouring from his body, his thighs chafe and raw from the run. Various masculine parts of him ached from the forces that had been exerted on him by the mechanical motions of his body. He was tired, exhausted really. However, he had made it. Now he only had to knock on the gate with the ornate ring attached to it at precisely the right moment. If he failed to do that, he would fail the test and be forever denied the right to take the rest of the test.

As he waited for the sun to rise above the horizon, a surprising development occurred. An old man stumbled out of the woods!

Scott glanced at the old man. “Hey! Are you alright?”

The old man gasped loudly then clutched at his chest. “Please…”

Scott wasted no more time and ran over to the man. He knelt down and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been bitten by a serpent. The poison attacks t-the heart.”

“Shit! I don’t have any antidotes! Is there anything else I can do?” He’d been forced to empty his entire inventory for this quest. He took nothing with him but his determination and willingness to endure the shame of running naked for one thousand miles.

The old man slapped at his thigh. “Please, if you remove the poison… I… I might recover on…” The elder fell silent and went limp.

Scott quickly removed the man’s pans and inspected him for a snake bite. What he found was a large bite mark on the man’s calf muscle that looked like the snake had tried to tear his leg off!

The sun could peek over the horizon at any moment, but Scott did not care. This old man was probably a local. He had only one life. How could he choose to abandon him for a profession quest?

The wound was already open, so there was no need to cut it. Scott sucked out some of the blood from the man’s wound then quickly spat it out and started again. He had never done that before, so he was not certain if he was doing any good.

After the fourth time, the old man’s eyes fluttered open and he whispered, “Thank you, my son.” Scott blinked as a message appeared before him.

[Message]

You have been deathly poisoned by the venom of the Greater Shadow Cobra! You will die in ten minutes without the antidote.

[--]

“Damn. Now I’m poisoned.” said Scott. The poison was serious too, there was not even hit point loss mentioned. He was simply going to die in ten minutes if the antidote wasn’t administered.

“I am sorry. You tried to help me and now you too will die.”

Scott shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’d rather die helping someone than live by abandoning someone who needs my help.”

“Such noble words.” said the man cryptically.

Scott glanced at the man. “Maybe there is someone up at the citadel that can help?”

“Maybe, but I doubt it. They only admit sorcerers to their citadel.”

“I’m a sorcerer. They should let us in.”

“Should? You’ve never been here before but you’re a sorcerer?” asked the man weakly.

“Yes, but we really need to try and get some sort of antidote.” said Scott.

The man nodded weakly. “There is. We can eat the fruit of the Holy Mongoose.”

“Holy… Mongoose?” asked Scott. What kind of name was that for a plant?

“Yes, it is nearby. You could get there quickly.”

“Where is it?” asked Scott.

The elder pointed weakly toward a bush that grew a short distance away. It was in plain sight, but also clearly had but a single fruit.

“There’s only one fruit on it.” said Scott. “Can we split it?”

“No. The entire fruit, including the seeds, must be eaten to remove the poison.” said the man quietly.

“I see.” said Scott.

“You should eat it. You’re young and have much to live for.”

Scott glanced at the old man. Briefly he wondered if this was some sort of test. It seemed highly likely that he was being tested by this old man to see if he had a good heart or whatever.

In the end, it did not matter. He would fail his test, or perhaps pass it, because of his actions now. Still, he refused to let someone die just for his sake. Scott went and plucked the heart-shaped fruit from the bush, a bush that looked nothing like a mongoose.

“Here.” said Scott.

“No, you should eat it. An old man’s life is not worth as much as a young man’s life.” said the elder.

“That’s stupid. Without the wisdom of old people, young people wouldn’t do anything but have sex and fight all day.” said Scott with a smile. His expression shifted right after as he felt a sudden pain in his chest. It was like his heart had temporarily ceased up.

“Son, listen to this old man. There is a season, a time for everything. Do you understand?” said Scott.

“I’m not going to let you die just because you feel bad for me helping you.” said Scott, just before a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. He was starting to feel hot.

The old man looked him in the eyes, and said. “When a man plants a seed, he expects it to grow. Why would he do otherwise?”

Scott looked at the old man for a moment then said as lightly as he could in the situation. “Time, like the mighty honey badger, does not give a fuck. Even young people die, and it is never before their time, even if it is a tragedy.”

Harsh words to be certain, but there is a truth to them that cannot be denied. Days pass without care or concern for those who must live them. Life and death happened due to choices people made or random chance.

“How can that be true? The natural order of things dictates that the old die to make way for the new.” said the old man quietly. He seemed to be having trouble staying awake.

“The natural order of things can kiss my ass. Now eat the damned fruit and live to annoy random naked men another day!” snapped Scott.

The elder’s eyes widened in surprise “You’re a sorcerer and you say such a thing?”

“What good is having the power to blow up a city if I can’t even get one old man to see reason and eat a damned piece of fruit?”

The old man stared at Scott briefly then tilted his head to the side. “What good is an old man’s life if ending it would save the life of a man with such a power?”

Scott was starting to lose it. His heart ceased up again and his vision started to blur. He could eat the fruit, there was even time to knock on the damned door. The old man was wasting time. Was this a test or just some old fart who wanted to annoy him to the end?

“What if the man- What if that man, was not a good man?” Scott pressed the fruit toward the old man’s mouth and started to pant heavily. His body felt like it was on fire. He did not have long left.

The old man smiled at Scott then placed his hand gently against the fruit and pushed it away with far more strength that he was supposed to have. “What if he is, but thinks passing a test is as simple as being selfless?”

“W-what if he, he doesn’t care about passing if it means an old man dies.”

“Good point.” said the old man before plucking the fruit from Scott’s hand and taking a bite from it.

Scott collapsed to the ground and gasped feebly. His heart started to clench and cease erratically and his legs spasmed wildly.

“You fail by the way, but good point.” said the old man before nibbling delicately on the fruit in his hand.

Scott tried to laugh but he lost the energy to do even that. He could barely breathe. It was hard to even move his body. He’d failed the test already. It figured.

The old man finished off the fruit then licked his finger. “So good.”

He glanced down at Scott. “So, was it worth it to die to save an old man you didn’t even know?”

Scott did his best to nod. He would have done it anyway. This guy was one of those mystical assholes that live on mountains, but even so, he wouldn’t just let someone die to save his own butt.

“You’re an idiot.” said the elder.

Scott used the last of the energy left in his body to force a smile and then closed his eyes.

“Such contentment in death.” The old man stood up then casually slung Scott’s body over his shoulder. He walked over to the gate and knocked on it with the gate knocker.

“Hey no entrance till the sun rises!” howled the gate.

“Shut up gate. Let me in.” said the old man.

“Oh, sorry master.” said the chatty entryway. The gates opened slowly revealing the stairway beyond.

The elder carried the supposed corpse up the stairs without care or concern for the weight. Once he reached the citadel he stepped into the court yard and several robed men raced forward. “Master!”

“Take this thing to the altar.”

“The altar master? No one has been taken there in quite some time.”

“Yes, yes. Just go.” The master tossed Scott’s body onto the stone courtyard floor then wandered off toward a nearby bench. He wanted to sit and watch the sun rise, as was his custom.

Two of the robed men reached down and each of them took one of Scott’s arms. They dragged him into a set of massive double doors that led into the mountain.

**

Light, the enemy of sleep, it poured in through the half closed blinds of Scott’s bedroom and speared him in the face. His eyes fluttered open and then he hissed at the light in protest of his sudden awakening.

Scott looked around and sighed. “Dead, huh?” He had died and failed his test. Now he was back on Earth, forced out of ARS for twenty-four hours.

“Man, this blows.” He said before he tried to sit up. He blinked when he realized how difficult it was to do so.

He pulled back the covers and looked down to see what the problem was and his eyes widened in shock. “The hell?”

His bedroom door opened and a tired looking woman with stringy blond hair poked her head in. “What is it, honey?”

“Sarah?” asked Scott in further surprise. What the hell was going on here?

“Yeah? Did you call me?” she asked.

“Uh no…. Just, the hell?” asked Scott in confusion. What was going on, seriously?

“The hell what? Breakfast’s almost ready. Oh, you’re going to have to pick up the kids from school today.”

“Kids?” Scott stared at her like she had grown a second head.

“Don’t give me that look! You know I had to take Glitter’s shift at the club tonight.” she said in annoyance.

Scott slid out of bed, his beer gut jiggled with the movement. “Sarah? What the hell are you doing here?”

Sarah looked at him, surprise obvious on her features. “What do you mean?”

Scott flailed his arms around at the sad looking little room, “This!” He looked at her. “Us!”

She looked hurt for a moment then shook her head. “You know what. I don’t want this now.”

“Want what? What is this?” asked Scott in annoyance.

“Sometimes I wonder! Fuck it, I’m going for a walk. You can finish your own damned breakfast!” snapped Sarah, before she turned and stormed out of the room.

Scott watched her go, still confused by what was happening. He looked down at his beer gut and cringed. “Damn, so hairy…”

There was something wrong here. Had he died and gone to a different Earth? What was this? He walked into the bathroom to splash a little water on his face. The man he saw in the streaked and dirty bathroom mirror frightened him. It was Scott, but as an older man. He looked to be in his late thirties, perhaps early forties. He was balding on top and had the look of a defeated man.

“Fuck, I look like a bum… and my hair’s brown.” He frowned at the specter in the mirror. That was not him! He was not that guy!

Scott stepped back from the mirror and shook his head. No, this was not happening. This could not be real. He was a sorcerer!

“Magic!” Scott slammed his hands out and called out, “Freeze!”

He accomplished nothing with his hand gesture and command but a healthy jiggle of his belly fat. Jiggling around knocked something loose inside of him and he realized that he had to use the bathroom.

“Dammit…” He closed the door and lifted the toilet lid. The moment he saw his masculine equipment he nearly cried. His manly bait and tackle were far from ideal. The bait seemed alright enough, but the tackle hung loose and looked like it had been defeated by life.

“No, no….” He shook his head. It could not be, this could not be! He was married with children. His balls were saggy and sad. This was not what right!

Scott started shouting names of the people he knew. He started with Ero, the sweet fairy who had been with him every moment since they had met. After he received no answer, he continued with the various name of Rhea. Neither Rhea, Aria, nor Origin answered him. He continued to yell out names and ask for help but there was none.

He burst into tears. This could not be happening. It was too much.

He sat down on the toilet and clutched his head in his hands. This was not his life. Sarah was not his cheating wife!

Sadly, no matter how he denied it, he continued to persist inside the nightmare that he now called existence. There was no log out, no beautiful goddess to love him. He had neither fairy BFF nor magical powers. He had only a beer gut and the anger of a woman who he had last spoken to months after she had dumped him.

The problem was, that this life was far more likely to be true and he knew it. Hadn’t he just woken up in his own bed? What was more likely, that he was an elbow-dropping fire hurling sorcerer, or a balding middle-aged man married to a stripper.

He could literally feel the reality of the situation rushing in around him. His body felt like it was being pressed in a vice. His heart beat faster, the walls seemed as though they might close in at any moment.

“Daddy?” asked a small, sweet, voice.

Scott was on the verge of hyperventilating, and the sound of that voice had startled him greatly. He nearly fell back off the rim of the tub.

“Did you call me? Are you OK?” asked the voice. She knocked gently on the door.

“W-who… who is it?” asked Scott.

“Dad? It’s Rhea, are you OK?”

Scott blinked then stared at the door. “Rhea?” he asked, surprise rising up in his tone almost as quickly as he rose from the tub. His brain removed the parts about her calling him daddy. He had obviously not heard her right.

He tore the door open and exclaimed, “Rhea!” and looked expectantly at the space before him. He saw no one.

“Dad?” asked the voice again.

He looked down and saw a little blond haired girl who had her hair tied back in a ponytail. She had the prettiest jade green eyes.

“Rhea…?” he asked her slowly.

“Dad, are you alright?” she looked up at him fearfully.

Her eyes were Rhea’s eyes. Her face was a tiny child-like Rhea’s face. Only the hair was completely different. She didn’t have the vibrant blue hair of the elf woman he loved, she had the normal blond hair of Sarah.

He wanted to do a lot of things upon seeing her face, seeing the lie. But it was like he had been punched in the heart and he had no strength left to do any of those things. Scott collapsed to the ground. His consciousness faded.

When he awoke again, it was in a different room. There were tubes running into his arm and he could hear the beep of medical machines.

“He’s awake! Oh god!” called out Sarah’s voice.

Scott looked over to her and saw that she was wrapped in a white sheet. “Sarah…?”

She rushed over to his side and kissed him on the head and cheeks. “You’re, OK!”

“What… Happened?” asked Scott.

“You collapsed! Scared poor Rhea to death.” said Sarah with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

From the seat she had been sitting in, her cell phone rang. Sarah glanced at it then looked away quickly.

Scott tilted his head to the side. “Gonna answer that?”

“Not right now.” she said. Something about how she had said that caused a spike of anger to wash over him.

A painful silence ensued. The phone started to ring again after a few minutes and she glanced at it.

Scott took a shot in the dark. “Is it Jake?”

“Dammit, you just collapsed. We don’t need to go through this…” she said.

Scott frowned darkly but did not say anything. Pieces of the puzzle began to fit into place. They even made a strange sort of sense, albeit some of the implications were disturbing as hell.

It started to ring for a third time and Scott glanced at her. “Just go ahead.”

She sighed loudly then walked over and snatched up her phone. She went outside to answer it, but Scott could hear the angry masculine voice over the phone just before the door shut. He could not forget that voice. It was the voice of a man that he wanted to strangle.

Scott continued to lie in bed while Sarah spent quite some time in the hallway chatting with what was probably her lover. While the medical machines beeped and whirred, and the intravenous tubes filled him with life-saving fluid, he thought about everything that had happened.

It all made sense. He had gone to sleep last night and dreamed a fantastic and disturbing dream. It was a wish-fulfillment fantasy where a goddess loved him indiscriminately, and he had been freed of his relationship with a woman who loved another man.

Sure, it was a sick and disturbing thought that the so-called goddess of love had been patterned off his own daughter, but who better to love him ceaselessly. What other creature of this world could possibly love a man like a beloved daughter loved her father?

Everything made so much sense now. He’d dreamed a beautiful dream and now he had awakened from it.

The problem was that he did not remember any of the last few years. How long had they been married? When was little Rhea born? A massive chunk of his life was simply gone. Because of that, it was impossible to completely let go of that dream.

“What was I doing?” He could remember his dream in such clear detail. There was nothing within his memory that spoke to the last few years of his real life.

He tried to think clearly about the most recent days of his life. Nothing came to mind. However, when he thought of the dream he clearly recalled failing the test to follow the path of balance.

The word balance struck in his mind. Maybe that was the key to his life in this world? Scott nodded slowly.

“What does that even mean, though?” he asked the empty air. The sorcerer class in his dream had simply been a method of having a hybrid of magic and martial arts. Balance in that case had simply been to choose a class that took a middle road, one that had equal magic and martial arts but did not allow for maximum usage of both.

What would balance be in this situation? He was married to a woman who was really with another man. Why would he accept that?

He snorted, “Another piece of the puzzle.” Wasn’t that the same thing as the dream? He had been with his goddess, but then came Ero the best friend. In the real world, the sexy little fairy was named Jake. Meanwhile the goddess was Scott. Sarah was in Scott’s position and she obviously cared about both men.

“Damn, I’m such a fuck up.” muttered Scott. It all made so much sense! Everything, he bet even the damned grass rats had been something related to his feeling that some sneaky bastard would jump him at any moment.

He had dreamed a dream of being perfect and finding the love of someone equally perfect. The reality was that it was just like the old fart who’d eaten the piece of fruit had said. “The wise old asshole was right. I am an idiot.”

His entire journey had been a desire to find a way to have everything that he wanted. Life does not work that way, though. No matter what, he could not make this imperfect clay he called his life into anything truly perfect. His life was a bunch of things that happened around him and to him. He had neglected the one thing that needed to be tended to the most. He had neglected to actually choose a path, and instead had simply let it be chosen for him. That was not balance. That was bullshit.

If he wanted balance in his life, he would need to stop letting it lead him around by the nose. Listening to the advice and directions of others was one thing. Allowing it to solely direct his existence was another. He had to live his life, not allow others to live it through him.

Scott closed his eyes for a moment then slowly opened them. He blinked twice when he realized that he was no longer in the hospital room. Instead, he was sitting on a cold stone slab out in the open air.

A newly familiar voice called out to him. “So, even an idiot can learn? Who knew?”

“Old asshole?” asked Scott in confusion.

Several robed men drew back in horror. He had really insulted the master like that?

However, the master merely laughed then nodded his ancient head. “Frequently, I am that. So, how was it young one? Did you learn what you needed to know to find true balance?”

“Yes.” said Scott decisively. “Honestly, I would have preferred not to see… whatever that was, though.”

“Of course you wouldn’t want to see that. It’s exactly what you needed to see to realize the truth, whatever that truth may be.” said the wise old asshole.

“Thank you, for the lesson.” said Scott. “I truly needed to see that, even if I never want to see it again.”

The elder laughed a little. “Good. You’re still learning. That is good. Go in peace, with your newfound balance. Master Jacobs.”

The robed sorcerers babbled about that for a moment. There had not been a new master named in three years. Few people could withstand the truth of their existence and realize what they needed to do about it.

“Master Jacobs?” asked Scott. “How do you know my last name?”

The old master smiled beatifically then made a gesture with his hand and disappeared. He really was an old asshole.