Chương 168: 81 - RETURN OF THE MESSENGER

Ann Patrick couldn't say that she expected the welcome that she received upon her arrival at Graceland. She showed up here as the messages in her head told her to, not knowing what to fully expect at all. She was seeking a man. A man named T'balt Ferrier. And upon finding him, she was led to believe by the pictures in her mind that she would know what to say and the words would spill out of her in that moment, not sooner, not later. Now she felt like she was in an interrogation room.

Or like the small seat below a panel of Supreme Court justices. She was brought to the high tower centering the city where she was to meet, not 1 Redeemer, but 3. The three eyed her curiously: one with vibrant red hair and a kimono-like dress covering her plastic limbs. Another stout, with brown, greying hair and small but soft eyes. But it was the one in the center whose eyes she met. They were dark eyes, focused, curious, and above all shielding themselves like a concrete wall.

He wore a dark coat and kept his mouth hidden behind his locked fingers. It seemed as though he was expecting her… or at the very least knew what her coming here meant and nested in the gravity of it. These people didn't seem to regard him as their leader, but they still seemed to naturally surround him as such. There were others. A man sharply dressed with a diamond tattoo on his cheek sat quietly in the back with a small pen and notebook.

A tall, well-kept foreign man guarded the door to this room of white brick and mortar with no windows. But it was clear she wasn't going to be hearing any words from those two. She wore a thin burgundy rain coat that she was sure she hadn't taken off in a year. She was in her late forties. Her body was thin and her face pale white with a few marks and scars from her travels.

She waited patiently in the center of the room for the tall man to close the door and leave her trapped in the shockingly comfortable presence of Graceland's leaders.

"I'm sorry about the theatrics," T'balt said.

"But I wanted the others to hear what you had to say too. These two sitting next to me are Redeemers as well."

"My name is Uriel Grace," the man to his left said melodically.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ann." T'balt then gestured to his right.

"Tyene Demue." The woman's tone was flat and skeptical. But none of them felt familiar to her, not like how T'balt felt familiar.

"It's good to meet you. But the Looter God will only give me messages for T'balt. I wasn't told the rest of you would be here. Though I don't think it's a problem." Tyene tilted her head back.

"And what the heck exactly is the Looter God supposed to be?"

"It's what I was telling you before," T'balt whispered.

"Well, I want to hear it from her."

"He's the destroyer of worlds. At least ours," Ann answered calmly. It didn't have the effect that it might've on normal people. The room reacted as if they had heard this joke before. She continued, letting words empty from her lips that weren't necessarily hers.

"What you call Loot, those creatures that possessed this planet and gave it superhuman strength, is of his creation." She glanced at Uriel.

"The Bestower Loot that you used to build this city is the very same one he used to make them." Uriel suddenly stood up.

"Preposterous. Are you saying the Bestower is responsible for causing Zero Day? Based on what evidence?"

"The Bestower? No. That would be like blaming the hand that pulled the trigger rather than the being that commanded the hand. It's a piece of him. Just as the Collector, the Loot Thief, and even the Redeemer are separate hands of his."

"Again, based on what evidence?"

"Uriel," T'balt calmed him.

"It may not seem that way to you because you've been here so long, but Loot is still alien to us. We don't actually know how it works or where it came from."

"And you really believe a God has just inserted itself into our realm for what, shits and giggles?" Tyene prodded.

"It's the only answer I've been given so far. I don't suppose either of you have any better ones?" Uriel sat back down.

"I suspected something of the sort. But of course, proving a God exists is never as simple as it sounds. But still I would like to know. The implications of a God reach far more than just us, don't you think, Ann?" Ann considered a moment.

"He is not a God in that way…"

"What do you mean?"

"He breathes. He lives just as we do. But he's only a God in the realm where we don't understand the limit of his strength. Just as one who doesn't comprehend the powers of the Redeemer might view you all as Gods… All beings might view him as such. But he has a physical form, not within the cosmos but one we might touch and feel for ourselves. I'm sorry." Ann suddenly felt embarrassed.

"That isn't the message he sent me here to give, but it seems he allowed me to answer the question anyway. How odd?" Tyene twisted her face.

"What do you mean odd? It's you answering the questions. What, you can't control what comes out of your mouth?" Ann started fidgeting with her fingers and chewing her tongue.

"It's… hard to explain. I umm… you all wouldn't happen to have any coffee, would you?"

"David, would you mind?" Uriel signaled the tall man at the door.

"I'm sorry. It helps calm me down." Ann said. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Don't worry about it." T'balt faintly smiled.

"To be honest, you seem a lot more composed than you were before."

"I'm sorry again. I can't speak to that experience."

"He didn't show that to you?" Ann shook her head.

"So what did he show you?"

"Nothing," she said.

"He uses my mouth to speak. My head to think. And my body to carry his messages. Perhaps I feel different because this is not the same me that you met before. My mind feels empty. Like my memory is trapped behind a door that he chooses when to open and when to shut." Just then, David brought in a white mug of black coffee on a little plate with cube sugars and a smaller cup of creamer. Ann took it gracefully and smelled its bitterness, electing to hold it rather than drink it.

"It seems comfortable here," she said.

"Like nothing ever happened… You've really managed to create a peaceful place far from the suffering of the rest of the world." T'balt thanked her but with skepticism at the phrasing of the compliment. Tyene suddenly burst out of a fit of intense thought.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that we've been putting pieces of God inside our bodies this whole time. I mean, not THE God but… what the hell even is this? Why am I supposed to believe that this… thing-" There was venom attached to the word.

"-suddenly stopped tormenting humanity just to have a friendly chat with T'balt?" She pointed at Ann, whose attention was on T'balt.

"He wants you to gather them."

"What?" T'balt reeled back like he had been slapped.

"There are nine total. The Redeemer, the Collector, the Bestower, the Thief, the Wanderer, the Magician, the Colossus, the —""Wait, hold on a second. This is different than last time. It doesn't sound like advice but a job. To collect these loots and do what, put the Looter God back together again?" Ann glanced around the room.

"It shouldn't be hard. 6 of them are in this very tower."

"6?" T'balt kept a tally on his fingers. Redeemer, Thief, Collector, Wanderer, Bestower… but he cut her off before she finished her list.

"Oh, you haven't realized… I hold one of his hands in me, specifically a piece of his mind." She turned and parted her blonde hair to show them the stamped symbol on the back of her neck. An upside-down question mark.

"As you all call yourselves Redeemers, he calls me a Prophet." The woman turned back around.

"But you can't have mind though. It doesn't leave my neck even if I die, even across lives. You'll have to face the beast who holds it yourself just as I likely once did. But the others aren't the same. If a looter were to take the power of his hands before you do, I imagine it can be taken off of them in—""Hold it, lady," Tyene interrupted.

"He hasn't agreed to go on your little fetch quest. It sounds like a bad time to me. And you haven't even explained what we'd get out of this deal." Ann looked shocked, like it was something that should've been obvious. But T'balt nodded in agreement with Tyene's assessment.

"I don't have anything against you, Ann. In fact, you helped me before, and I believe you do speak to the Looter God. But I don't have any reason to do what he says, especially if he's the one that made the world what it is." Her eyes widened, as a child's would when they realized they were overthinking a problem.

"You wanted to save this world, did you not?" Suddenly the air left the room, and each one of them was stuck still, deciding how to process what she had said.

"What do you mean, save?" Uriel asked. His eyes were unblinking, and his jaw seemed to be shaking.

"I mean, should you choose to end the loop, it is possible. But only with the Looter God's power."

"I've lived a thousand lives," Uriel spoke slowly with slight disdain in his voice.

"How come this is the first I'm hearing of this?"

"One of you had already been instructed, but they have not succeeded. The deserter, I believe they were called." The Redeemers traded glances, none of them recognizing the name, until the words escaped T'balt's lips.

"The one trying to save the world..."

"Oh, glad to hear you're not the only one buying this mess, T'bag," Tyene scoffed.

"We have to do it…" Uriel burst upright, frantically pacing around the room.

"Oh, you too?"

"Imagine it. An end. To all of it. Everything. Finally freedom..."

"It's a tall tale," Tyene spat back at him.

"A bad deal. The motive doesn't line up. You're telling me this alien comes in to make a mess of everything and then suddenly has a change of heart. Yeah, just summon the thing back to life, and everything's all better? Give me a break."

"What's the worst that can happen that hasn't already?"

"It killed how many people? If it is real, which I'm not even saying it is, then its next trick will be to chop the entire planet in two."

"And then we reset."

"Maybe we don't… the thing could just turn our powers off as soon as it wakes up."

"At least the story will have an ending then," Uriel paused and turned to Ann.

"If we were to stop the loop, what would happen to us? To the world? To everyone?"

"The Redeemer. The one who acts as the heart of the Looter God would be used to reset the world. But in that life he would no longer intervene."

"Meaning… Zero Day never happens." T'balt finished. Ann nodded. He chewed his teeth, but Uriel wouldn't allow his excitement to taper.

"We have to do as she asks. We owe something to this world to at least try. I say we start immediately and—""No!" T'balt shouted. When everyone paused, he took a deep breath and repeated, more quietly.

"No… it'll have to wait for next life." The other two realized what he meant and calmed down. He continued.

"I'm not saying I won't do it. But I need to consider. If we rush into this, there's a good chance one of us will get killed. Collecting these things can happen next life just as easily as it can happen this one, right? Then I don't need to risk erasing my daughter for that."

"Be careful not to drown in your bath because you are too comfortable in it," Ann said softly. T'balt stood.

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a message to trust in the Looter God. You said we met before… what did he tell you then?" T'balt chewed his tongue.

"He warned me not to abuse the power and live on despite my failures." Tyene grimaced.

"Well, this time, his message is that your time is not as unlimited as you might think." Ann stood up to match him, disregarding the sudden flash of fear on his face, much colder than she had been at their first meeting. But she nodded at him.

"That's all. I have to go now." Uriel chased her towards the door as David blocked her exit.

"Wait, you can't just say all that and leave."

"There are other messages I must deliver."

"To who?"

"I haven't been told yet, but I have to go now."

"What if there's more we need to know?"

"I've said all I'm allowed and can be of no further help to you. If you hold me here against my will, the Looter God's hand will force me to commit suicide. So I ask that you kindly let me go." Uriel put his hands up in peace.

"We don't take prisoners here. You can go." As he said it, she was already out the door.

"David, go find someone to keep an eye on her. Don't let her leave this city without a shadow."

"Aye," the tall man ran down the hall at Uriel's command. Uriel looked back to the others still in the room, contemplating.

"I'm going to inquire about those other loots and see if I can turn up anything. Perhaps I've seen them before somewhere in my memory… Magician, colossus, prophet, indomitable." Before anyone could respond, he was out the door too, mumbling those names repeatedly. Tyene sighed and signaled for German to help her out of her seat.

"So what did you make of it?"

"Her mind was unreadable," German said flatly.

"I can't confirm if any of what she said is truth or fiction. The only thing I believe we should assume is that someone, whether her or this Looter God, wants us… rather, T'balt specifically, to gather those loots. What happens after that, we can't know. We should remain weary of that fact."

"Should've told that to Uriel." She glanced at T'balt, who was standing stone-still in a deep state of contemplation. She knew exactly what was plaguing his mind and thought it best to leave him be for now.