Chương 82: Extra: Looter's Paradise Tease #4 - No Checkpoints

"I can't just accept that there's nothing we can do. There's gotta be something. A checkpoint. Something."

"Checkpoint? You must have this confused with some other bullshit. No matter when you die, its back to zero day."

"But it's been @$#% years… if I lose everything again, how am I supposed to remember what I did to get myself back here?"

"Listen, T, I'm gonna really need you to get this through your thick fucking skull this time. YOU DON'T GET IT BACK… Every time you reset, there's something different. It ain't the world. It's you. Your knowledge is different. Your perception is different. Your thoughts. Everything about you. So no matter how hard you try to replicate everything down to the exact detail, you can't. You'll scratch your ass a different way. You'll duck when last time you dodged.

And not to give you a lesson in psychology, but people respond differently based on the tonality of every word you say. And I don't suppose you plan on keeping track of every syllable that comes out of your mouth… I thought not. Trying to do things the same way works fine for a couple weeks, but a couple years out from Zero Day…. Man, you get hit hard with that butterfly effect shit." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"I get it. Everything we've been through together effectively won't happen again. So if I die, I'll never get back the Ellie I know now. Acelin won't grow into an adult the same way. Nothing will be the same."

"That's alright, bud. Cuz you know what will be? Your good pal, Monan. I'll always be here, and I'll never change, brother."