Chapter 521


    CHAPTER 521


    SANCTUM''S END (VIII)


    Eldon didn''t think as he threw himself, still tightly holding na, into the vehicle . Reli, as well as another pair of arms from the inside, helped him up as she flung the doors closed behind him, shouting right after .


    "Go! Go! Go!!" the engine revved and the tires screeched as the ancient vehicle turned and began moving .


    After settling somewhat, Eldon looked around and realized that there were quite a few folks besides Reli inside -- three more to be precise, two men and a woman . Thetter was of simr appearance to Reli, and though Eldon never met her in person, he quickly realized it was her younger sister, Elta .


    Though he didn''t recognize the other two men, it wasn''t important; one was in charge of the wheel up front while the other was the one that helped him get inside .


    "--how?" Eldon asked, the tiredness finally oveing him as he began drawing short breaths .


    "We went to your apartmentplex, but you weren''t there," Reli exined . "We spotted you on ident as we turned around . "


    " . . . " though Eldon had many questions to ask, he had no strength to do so . na wiggled out of his embrace and sat up, fixing her disheveled hair, angrily ncing at her father .


    "Where are we headed?" she took the role of the questioner as Reli giggled lightly . She''d only met the girl once or twice, yet that fierceness still remained intact . "To the research facility nearby," Reli replied . "One of my close friends works there and has contacted me, saying there are several operational ships . " though she spoke with a certain sense of calmness, it was impossible to miss the shock and terror inside her gaze . While the world around them was copsing, they hung onto thest straw of hope .


    "--can . . . can we escape, even with that?" na asked with a somewhat lowered tone .


    " . . . I don''t know," Reli replied honestly, sighing . "But . . . what other choice do we have?"


    That was true . Adur was headed to the copse -- not a figurative one, but the literal one . The would cease to exist . The atmosphere had already begun copsing slowly, meaning that even if, by some miracle, the body held together, every living organism on the surface would die from exposure within a year at most .


    However, chances were that before that transpired, they would be flung into the open void and left to the cold and deste destitute of infinity .


    Eldon managed to recover somewhat, sitting up and inspecting the insides once more; the vehicle had twopartments, the front, and the back . Elta and the driver sat up front, thetter furiously spinning the wheel as the world in front of him continued copsing .


    The backside also had seats, but also some room in-between that seemed to have been used for some minuscule storage . The other man and Eldon sat on that opening, both leaned on the doors, while na and Reli sat on the leather seats .


    Gathering some strength and courage, Eldon lifted himself up with a grunt and looked outside the window . Something immediately got stuck inside his throat; the massive behemoths were copsing into ruin, yed like the tiny houses of cards . The debris rained upon the world, most of it infernal, as fires bellowed out from all sides . He didn''t even understand how the driver was operating through this hell .


    " . . . thank you . " Eldon mumbled faintly as he sat back down, ncing toward Reli . "You . . . didn''t have to . . . "


    " . . . I couldn''t have just let you die, now could I?" Reli replied, smiling strangely . "Ah, these twods are also family -- the driver is Elta''s fiance, Artur, and this serious-looking fe is his brother, Itor . I myself lucked out quite a bit since the three decided to visit me today due to some wedding ns . . . "


    " . . . what happened?" Eldon asked . "To our defenses, I mean . Did . . . did they really destroy everything?"


    " . . . yeah," Reli''s expression sank as she thought back to a few hours ago when their vanguard met with the strange creatures . It wasn''t a fight, not really . It was simr to what was happening right now . "They didn''t even pause . I don''t know what those things are . . . but they''re definitely supernatural . "


    " . . . " everyone fell into silence, as there was little else to say . Right now, they hung onto thest hope; chances are, they wouldn''t make it out alive . They''d be buried with the rest of their world . Forever forgotten .


    Ataxia and Lino watched the vehicle flying through the inferno, floating somewhat above it . Ataxia had a remorseful, pained expression, while even Lino was unable to stand indifferent . After all, he was witnessing the copse of an entire world . An entire, one muchrger than Noterra, with the poption being at the very least a hundredfold . Though true they didn''t have Qi like the people of Noterra, they had technology that surpassed even the Humans of Earth .


    Pondering for a moment, Lino realized that something simr could have also happened there . But . . . why? What was the point of all this? If he projected why people warred from the surface onto the cosmos, it had to do with conquering resources andnd . But, that clearly wasn''t the objective, otherwise they wouldn''t simply destroy everything without saying a word . At the very least, Lino expected them to take ves . Yet, not even that . They killed everyone without even a hint of remorse .


    " . . . this is bigger than I imagined," Lino mumbled as Ataxia nced at him . "Are they really just doing it for the hell of it?"


    " . . . I don''t think so," Ataxia replied . "Though my time with the Edifice was short-lived, it did say something about the gctic conflicts . Perhaps this was simply one of them . "


    "No, I get the warring part," Lino said . "Think about it . If the Emperors from Noterra had the ability, wouldn''t they do to others what they did to the other nations? Just bring them under their banner, no?"


    " . . . " Ataxia nodded after brief thought .


    "But, this isn''t really warring or conquering," Lino said . "If the point was to simply destroy, why bother waiting for so long? Why even wait for life to spring out? No, wait--that''s it . "


    "What?" Ataxia asked as he spotted the glimmer of realization in Lino''s eyes . Thetter suddenlyughed strangely, shaking his head .


    "Goddamn, the entire fuckin'' cosmos is fucked up . "


    "What?" Ataxia asked again, curiosity swelling within him .


    "Aren''t they doing what I do as well?"


    "Hm?"


    "Killing to absorb Vitality?" Ataxia''s eyes also lit up at that moment as his entire body shuddered . "If we look at it like that, it makes sense . It makes sense why they left you alone, why they suddenly attacked, and why they didn''t leave anyone alive . "


    " . . . so . . . you''re trying to say that all the people of Adur . . . were like the livestock to them?" Ataxia asked as anger surged through in his voice . It has been eons since hest felt this emotion, yet he couldn''t help himself . At the very least, all this while, he believed there was some higher purpose to his home being destroyed like this .


    "I imagine it''s not the only world like it," Lino said, his eyes growing more resentful . "If I really had gone mad and started murdering everyone, I imagine my strength would eclipse the boundary of even what I''m capable of doing now . It''s not hard to assume that someone else in the cosmos -- nay, many others -- have developed simr ways of empowering themselves . However . . . " he added, his brows crumpling into a frown . "I feel like there''s something more to it . If the point was to simply raise lifeforms as livestock, wouldn''t it be simpler to literally grow it? Instead of scouting the entire cosmos and hoping you run across a world inhabited by the living? Or the world with a mere potential of being inhabited sometime in the future and waiting for it?"


    " . . . " Ataxia also relented to thest part of Lino''s conclusion, entering deep thought for a moment . "Wouldn''t it be easier if you asked the Edifice?"


    "--it already used up its reserves by making me its Agent," Lino said, stroking his chin . "Looks like you were right -- I''ll really have to rebuild it . "


    " . . . aren''t you a bit frustrated?" Ataxia asked as a cheeky smiled fluttered on his face .


    "Hm?" Lino nced at him, tilting his head .


    "You always despised being used as a puppet, yet, lo and behold . "


    " . . . it''s different," Lino said, smiling faintly . "You were simply an Agent-in-making, and I imagine thest resort . "


    " . . . ugh . " Ataxia grumbled, yet couldn''t retort .


    "It''s difficult to exin, but my autonomy hasn''t beenpromised . If anything, it increased since I no longer have you regting me . I inherited all your functions, and though it will take time to unlock them, it shouldn''t take that long . However, I don''t have the restrictions you had . I don''t need a vessel, nor do I need to use insane amounts of Chaos Qi to manifest myself into a body, or use shitty means like Adin to form the body . "


    " . . . ah . So you already figured out how I became my own bearer . " Ataxia chuckled . It seemed like Lino had acquired far more during the brief moment he became the Agent than he let on at first . "How strong are you anyway? The moment you became the Agent, I couldn''t read anything about you anymore . "


    " . . . hmm, fairly strong," Lino chuckled, ncing at him . "A few tiers above you, actually . "


    "Me?" Ataxia tilted his head in confusion . Did he misspeak? After all, as far as Ataxia was concerned, even if he didn''t die, he''d at most just regain his mortal body from before he became the Writ .


    "I didn''t rob you of everything, old relic," Lino rolled his eyes . "I already figured some shittery will unfold, so why would I lower the number of people who could help me? Hmm, if I assist you for a bit, I suppose you should reach roughly E''s level . After that, however, it''s up to you to work out . "


    " . . . you . . . you can fucking do that?" Lino nced at the shock Ataxia and realized something, causing his eyes to turn into slits . Was . . . was this the first time this idiot cursed? Fuck! I should have recorded it . . . aaiii, why do good things always happen to the unprepared? Shit . . .