NEWCOMERS

Alan and Jonttar sat side by side, perched up against a thin, wooden frame of the house behind them. All around, similar houses arose from the flat dirt and gra.s.s, hundreds in number, surrounded by expanding meadows giving way to the woodland and mountainous forests beyond. Right to them, a streaming river of blue flew in a slightly downward slope, rather deep yet entirely transparent.

Overhead, a sun sat perched on its zenith, blasting away the bright rays against the world. It was a haughtily beautiful scene, too serene for the two who were accustomed to h.e.l.lish circ.u.mstances.

Both drank the local wine they were offered, their brows scrounged up; it was whole few levels more bitter than what they were accustomed to, yet eerily tantalizing and all-embracing, causing them to continuously take sips only to regret taking them a few moments later when the liquid poured down their throats and into their intestines.

"—have you figured out how they did it?" Jonttar asked, breaking the long-lasting silence.

"Nope," Alan shook his head, sighing. "The energy is too… desolate. It's rather potent in creating sub-planetary individuals, but lacks the raw disposition for breaking past the barrier."

"Even the Dragons here are quite weak," Jonttar sighed. "Rather, can they even be quantified as Dragons?"

"… that's what surprised me the most," Alan said, glancing toward a mountain where the Dragon Tribe lived. "Usually, Dragons don't evolve individually on the worlds; yet, I can hardly think of a reason why one of the Dragon Kings would come all the way here to plant a few eggs."

"… isn't the answer rather obvious at this point?" a melodic voice caused the two to turn sideways and spot a woman walking out, draped in a simple, leather armor, body-long black hair tied into a tail wrapped around her twice over, hanging to the side, diagonal lies in her eyes s.h.i.+mmering in the sun-like golden. She sat down next to Alan and stole the bottle, taking a sip before quickly frowning. "G.o.d, this s.h.i.+t is disgusting… but… I can't stop drinking it…"

"Tell me about it." Alan shrugged, stealing the bottle back. "What's obvious?" he asked right after.

"Think of the major variable this world had those others didn't." the woman said.

"… Edifice." Jonttar and Alan exclaimed softly at the same time.

"Yup," the woman nodded. "Even natural chaos produces independent strains of the overarching species, to say nothing of the sentient one. Besides the Dragons, I've seen numerous advanced species roaming about. It's just that they are still in the infant stage of the development."

"… if the world is protected for long enough," Alan mumbled. "It will truly become something else."

"There shouldn't be any problems for the time being," Jonttar chimed in, taking another sip of the bitter wine and immediately regretting it as well. "Not only will the Creator somehow need to rapidly replenish three dead Agents, but there are too many fires across the universes to quell. Even if it's the Edifice of Destruction we're talking about, it would still be on the lower priority when compared to the likes of Wormers and Devourers. Alright, I'm gonna go and take a nap," Jonttar said suddenly, surprising both Alan and the woman.

"A nap?" Alan looked at him dubiously, questioning.

"I've learned it's one of the favorite past-times for people here," Jonttar replied with a grin. "Inspired precisely by that maniac. Maybe there's something to it," he shrugged, walking away. "See ya', lovebirds."

"…" Alan stared at the fading back for a moment before shrugging, taking a sip of the wine and cursing himself inwardly.

"We've a visitor," the woman said as the two turned sideways and saw another woman approaching; draped in a rather simple dress, her red hair flowing back like fire, the green eyes staring blindingly at theirs. "She's firing off my danger signals…"

"As she should," Alan shrugged. "She's the strongest person besides the Agent on this world."

"h.e.l.lo," Hannah greeted the two with a faint smile, noticing the wine in their hands and quickly taking out a couple of bottles, sitting next to the woman and chugging the entire bottle down in one breath. The two stared at her with the belting eyes and dropping jaws, questioning her sanity. "Aah, Myther's wine… it's already been like six years since he suddenly stormed into the Court and, amidst the session, yelled he'd invented the best wine in the world. He's got half the world addicted to his s.h.i.+t and is quite literally swimming in gold coins. But G.o.dd.a.m.n if it's not worth every last one of 'em." Yup, definitely insane. The two came to a quick consensus, confirming it by a quick glance. "How are you finding your temporary living situation?" Hannah asked, turning toward the two. "We're working on something better, but I hope you'll endure for the time being."

"It's fine," Alan smiled back faintly. "This feels like vacationing compared to some of the places we've been."

"… what is your story?" Hannah asked suddenly, surprising the two.

"… our story?" Alan asked back.

"Hm," Hannah nodded. "For instance," she said, tilting her head toward them, meeting their gazes. "I used to be a so-called Holy Maiden of one of the major Sects in the world. It was also around this time that I became the Bearer of a Writ – consider them offshoots of the Edifice… kind of – and roughly about when I met him. Eventually, our paths crossed again, much later on in our lives, before converging into a romancing tale of the world conquest, heart-stirring adventures, and so many wars I've deliberately stopped counting."

"… pft, ha ha ha," the woman burst into soft laughter, causing Hannah to chuckle. "Sounds like a lot of fun, I must say."

"Eh, it had its moments." Hannah nodded. "What about you?"

"Us? Hah, I'm afraid it's not nearly as fun-sounding," the woman said, sighing painfully. "Our homeworld underwent Ashening, and after a grueling, decade-long struggle for survival, we began roaming the universe, stopping here and there, while slowly trying to get stronger and stronger only to realize there's a major cap unless we're willing to sell ourselves wholly over to the Creator. We continued to skittle along the edges, trying to find the gap we could exploit, until the call came. And, well, here we are."

"… Ashening…" Hannah mumbled softly, sighing. "I still have trouble understanding how something so cruel can be easily executed."

"… it's a droplet in the ocean of cruelty," Alan added from the side. "Just a small smear on a ma.s.sive, bloodied wall."

"I'm sorry," Hannah said. "That you had to go through it."

"… thank you."

"If you'd like," Hannah perked up a bit as she took a few more sips of wine, much to the two's dismay. "I can allot you guys a guide and show you around the place."

"It's unnecessary for now," Alan said, smiling faintly. "This place isn't too bad either."

"…" Hannah merely smiled understandably, getting up. "Well, if you change your mind," she tossed a couple of talismans to the two. "Or if you ever need anything, feel free to contact me. Until then, just relax a bit. It's good for your bones."

"…" the duo watched her fade into a spatial ripple, vanis.h.i.+ng as though she was never here, the only evidence being the two, empty bottles she had left behind.

"… I wonder," Alan said, taking a subconscious sip. "How she retained decency in the face of such strength."

"… a steady environment," Ana mumbled. "And limited corruption, I'm a.s.suming. This world seems whole leagues different than Earth, yet… eerily similar."

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"Just a quick scan showed me that it isn't all that different, really," the woman shrugged. "There are wars everywhere still, people are bickering to retain the positions of power, there are crimes being committed left and right… but, somehow, that nature didn't creep up to the head-positions. Most of the individuals you've fought, as well as those that seem to orbit the central structure of power, are either hiding the corruption like world-cla.s.s actors or are simply void of it."

"I think it just spills over from the top," Alan suggested. "Lino could have killed everyone on the spot, and he wouldn't have been any worse for wear, but not only has he let us join him, but he also let those who still opposed him leave. The f.u.c.ked-up thing is," he chuckled bitterly. "I still think he would have been better off killing them instead of letting them go. Goes to show just how much I've changed…"

"… you've changed once," the woman said, leaning against his shoulder and closing her eyes. "It means you can change again. Just give it time. I'm quite curious about him; I hope we'll get a chance to chat in the future."

"Oh, wow, it's barely been a few days and you're already thinking about leaving me for a better guy? At least give it a month or two so you don't seem too desperate."

"Gal's gotta do what gal's gotta do," she played along with a chuckle. "Don't think I haven't seen you eyeing the redhead. You barely held back from kneeling and proposing to her on the spot."

"Tsk, and here I thought I hid it pretty well. Looks like I'll have to polish up on my acting skills; they've gone rusty."

"Oh, babe, it's adorable you think they've been anything except G.o.dawful since the beginning…"

"… that's just f.u.c.king mean."

Calm silence fell between the two as they remained seated, enjoying the serene atmosphere they've rarely experienced in a long, long time. Aah, Alan thought, closing his eyes and letting the wind caress his cheeks. I could get used to this…