BXBX NOVEL Chapter 806: It Ended Just Like That?
Riley and Other Paige were still lying on the hard ground, with Riley straying his eyes away from the dark expanse he created, and onto the face of the overly colorful woman beside her.
"I am, always have been," Other Paige, however, just stared at the darkness before closing her eyes, "But I am not meant for this world, and neither are you. And yet here we are, staring at the madness you and I have created. I, staring at nothing, and you, staring at me."
"..."
"I am not human, Riley Ross," Other Paige finally opened her eyes and returned Riley\'s gaze, "This body that you see is not real — it is but an image I needed to create. Even my story is forged."
"Does that mean what Paige told me about her life is not true?" Riley let out a small hum as he looked Other Paige in the eyes, "Are those memories just implanted in her by you, Other Paige?"
"Oh, it happened," Other Paige let out a small, but slightly ominous giggle, "The cute one experienced all of those. Her fellow orphans, the doctors that experimented on them, the entire orphanage itself is true — for her."
"You let her experience all the painful experiences, Other Paige?"
"No, not at all," Other Paige shook her head, "I let herself sleep through the painful memories — all the happy ones are hers. The cute one is meant to be a symbol of what it means to be human, or at least what my notion of them is."
"Interesting," Riley looked away, "How are you and I connected, then?"
"That is a question I do not know how to answer, Riley," Other Paige sat up, "I feel I know the answer, but I can not quite tell what it is. The only thing I know is that you and I, we are connected — that is true."
"Then who were you before Paige?" Riley also sat up.
"I don\'t know," Other Paige shook her head, "I created her, but it is also true that she and I were born at the same time."
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he glanced at Other Paige.
"I know, it is… confusing," Other Paige giggled, "But the only thing you need to know is that we were born…
…the very moment you first died, Riley Ross."
"Then what were you the first time you came into existence, Other Paige?" Riley stood up and he started looking around.
"I was… nothing," Other Paige meekly whispered as she looked down, "My very first memory is when I created Paige in front of the orphanage. And it feels like I have a memory when I was nothing, but at the same time, I do not…
…I can\'t give you answers because I myself am a question."
"I am not really seeking for answers, Other Paige. I am merely curious," Riley shook his head before very gently placing his palm on Other Paige\'s cheek and slowly lifting it up so she could look at his eyes, "But I do have another question unrelated to your origin."
"...What is it?" Other Paige squinted her eyes.
"How does it feel to be human?" Riley asked.
"Well…" Other Paige smirked, "...How do you feel now?"
"Deliberating on whether to incapacitate you by sending a sufficient electric current through your body, Other Paige."
"What are you—Kuhk!"
"And I just stopped deliberating."
And before Paige could even finish her words, her eyes slightly turned upwards as she completely lost consciousness. But of course, Riley did not allow her to fall to the ground as he immediately caught her.
He wanted to use his telekinesis, but it would seem that even though she was completely out of it, the temporary seal that she made for Riley was still active.
"Hm…" Riley then stared at Paige\'s… slightly peaceful face. Paige told him that she already tried to kill him when he asked her 5 years ago, and yet he still came back to life. But what if he asks her to seal him for eternity?
Will that not essentially be the same as death? Keep him unconscious and asleep forever inside a sarcophagus. But then again, a seal is just a seal — it will always be broken with time. And if it does break, Riley would once again be unleashing himself, perhaps even thirstier for blood.
"Ahor Zai."
[The victor by dirty mind tricks and deceitfully taking advantage of a woman\'s heart after she laid all of herself to him…
…Riley Ross!]
"..." And as those words reverberated throughout the flat planet, Riley once again found himself in front of the champions—no. The others seemed to have already left; leaving only the strays, themarians, humans, and the norinlads. Chihiro, Tempo, Bernard, and the two Hannahs, however, weren\'t there.
"Queen Vania already left?" Riley asked while he gently handed the unconscious Paige to Ahor Zai.
"They did — they did not want to be a party of this ruse any further." Surprisingly, Queen Adel was the first to welcome him back.
"Hm, that is a shame," Riley sighed, "I was hoping to convince her to fight me — she was able to injure a Primordial, after all."
"A weakened Primordial," Queen Adel continued to approach Riley; her eyes, glowing red as she looked him in the eyes, "And as I have seen, there is also one in front of me. You do not have your powers right now, Riley Ross. We could kill you right now and trap you in a very tiny box so that even if you sprung forth into existence again, your flesh would succumb and be crushed by itself over and over again — a fate worse than death, which is something you deserve."
"You are very welcome to do that, Riley shrugged, "But I still have Paige\'s abilities, Queen Adel."
"Abilities that only truly affect you and that… weird child," Adel smirked.
"Yes," Riley nodded, "That also means that I could also be on Earth right now if I wanted to, I just need to figure out what prompt I would need to imagine. Tha also means that I can get out of that box you will trap me in for eternity if I wanted to, Your Highness."
"Well, it won\'t hurt to try."
"I believe that would not be necessary."
And before Queen Adel could take another step, the norinlads all emerged from the ground in front of Riley and blocked him from Queen Adel\'s view.
"Riley Ross, as the Elder Tedi and the Common Council have decreed it so, is a Protected Entity," the leader of the team floated close to Queen Adel; making sure, however, that his eyes were lower than hers, "And if you were not aware, you are also a Protected Entity, Queen Adel; all of the themarians are. It is just a mildly useless decree since the number of beings that could end your life could be counted in one human hand, but it is a decree nonetheless."
"...And are you saying that you are one of those beings?" Adel shifted her glare toward the norinlad.
"I am saying no such thing."
"Y—"
"Mother, stop." And before Queen Adel could start another argument, Aerith and Diana pulled her away. And while Aerith was trying to prevent her mother from running amok again, Diana approached Riley.
"Where are Sister and Father, Mother?" Riley quickly asked as he looked around, "Did they leave with the others?"
"Tempo left with… Princess Vera," Diana awkwardly glanced at Hera as she momentarily lowered her voice.
"I did not ask about Tempo, Mother."
"Right," Diana waved her hand, "Dad and Hannah are waiting for us. Chihiro is also with them."
"Where?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Diana. And a few seconds after he did so, a portal suddenly emerged behind Diana.
"...You should see for yourself," Diana sighed, "I think you will find it… very amusing."
"Hm," Riley tilted his head to the side to look at the portal. Instead of moving toward it, however, he looked at Ahor Zai,
"Announce that I won the Tournament, Ahor Zai. As for the prize, well — you can give it to Mr. Man as payment for his services."
"Hey, no. No!" Delivery quickly popped up out of nowhere behind Riley while raising his hands, "You have already paid me through credit card payment, and I don\'t accept tips. Give it to Madam Gracy instead."
"The fuck, no," Gracy almost winced as her eyes widened, "What would I even do with a pocket universe? My goal is to save this universe, not whatever that is. Give it to the sexy vamp, she wants to revive a lost lover, right? That\'s… I think that\'s all the reason you need."
"To… me?" Xra blinked a couple of times as she looked at Gracy, who just shrugged her shoulders in response, "But—"
"Ahor Zai, give the prize to the Pirate Queen," Riley did not let Xra finish her words.
"...Why?" And as the ring sprouted from Ahor Zai\'s chest and floated toward Xra, Xra could not help but just stare at Riley.
"Our team won but no one seems to want it, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley also just shrugged, "Rekindle your lost love. Is that not why you are still alive even after several millennia? Now Mother, the amusing thing awaits for us."
"...Everyone here is actually coming with us."
And just like that, with Riley just casually stepping through a portal — the Tournament ended… unceremoniously. Although, the rest of the universe that is still alive was left wondering if it was even a tournament at all…
…or the start of the end of their universe.
***