We stared at each other for a solid minute.
“So… Will you ask questions or will you keep undressing me with your eyes?”
“There is not much to undress.” He shrugged his shoulders. “It is not like the weather will affect me. I just wore this to make communication easier.” He said as he tugged on his trousers. Well, he wasn’t a human, so I guess his culture was different. Speaking of it…
“Very well, let me start by asking this: What are you? You look like a beastkin but I am sure you are something else.”
He puffed his chest as if he was proud. “I am something else, alright! I am one of the few peaks a wolfkin can reach.”
Peak?
“That didn’t explain anything at all.”
He sighed. “Okay, let’s see… As a human, you can train your martial arts enough to reach your race’s peak, right? Another one can train in magic and reach that peak. I too am simply one of my race’s peaks.”
“Basically, you are one of your race’s best?”
“Yes.”
“Your form is… It''s not your “actual” form, right?”
He shrugged once again. “You probably would be on edge more if you saw my true form. Like I said before, easier communication.”
Considering his son was a werewolf and his father was a giant wolf, him being a beastkin wouldn’t be normal.
“What is a Calamity?”
He touched his chin. “Nothing special, really. At least unless it is a true one.”
Are you fucking kidding me? Everyone I met until now made a big deal of Calamities, and now this motherfucker tells me they aren’t special? I crossed my arms and looked at him. He raised his hands defensively.
“Okay, okay. I’ll explain further. Calamities are probably why that upright Star called you here. What you should know is there was never a “true” Calamity on this planet before.”
“???”
“A true Calamity is a being that has the power to kill every living being in this world. No, calling it a “Higher Authority” is more proper. It doesn’t matter how small or big, how mortal or divine a being is. If a true Calamity manages to manifest, everything will die.”
I took a step back in shock.
Not again. Not AGAIN.
“Every being that has been called a Calamity had the potential to become a real one but they never did become one.”
“Why? Why would someone try to become one?”
“Father wanted to become the strongest creature this world ever saw and will see. It was simple as that for him. For others… I don’t know.”
I felt confused and dizzy.
“I don’t understand. Is this some kind of prophecy?”
“No. It is a law of this world. You have at least one title, right? It is a title. Once you are given the title of “Calamity Candidate” by the System, that’s it.”
“Wait, wait. I don’t understand. What gives you that title? I thought Gods controlled the system.”
He straightened his back before answering.
“System is one of the laws governing this world. Gods may have better understanding and control over it, but in the end, they are bound by it.”
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I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“You don’t really have to worry about being given the Calamity Candidate title. The system may be the law of the universe; however, it does work by records. Everything in this world, past and present, is being recorded. What you see in when you look at your status is your own records given to you in a form you can understand. Unless you have the qualification for being a Calamity, you won’t turn into one.”
“Just stop talking. I need some time to organize my thoughts.”
I thought I was sent here to stop racism and shit! Not fucking world-ending monsters!
“Why is the universe giving away titles that can end all life on the planet? Also, can anyone become a Calamity?”
I asked.
“I don’t know. Why do natural disasters happen? Probably the same reason. And for your second question, no. Titles are only given if you have the proper qualifications and records.”
“In the world I came from, we knew why natural disasters happened! There must be also a reason for that!”
“Whatever it is, we don’t know.”
I sat down. All of this was too much. Especially after what I went through.
I couldn’t help but let out a yawn, despite how restless my mind was. Sitting down after eating and drinking must have released all the tension I carried. My body felt like jelly.
“I think it would be better if you were to rest before our conversation goes further. Your mind and body are already battered from your travel.”
I lay down. The ground was hard, but I didn’t mind. My eyelids forced themselves to close, and I fell asleep.
I woke up, groggy as fuck. I probably saw a thousand nightmares during the time I slept, but I remembered none of those. Maybe that’s for the better. It took me a minute to understand where I was.
“Good morning.”
Interitus said. When I looked at him, I noticed that he didn’t move an inch from where he was when I fell asleep.
“You hungry?”
He said as he pointed to my left. I looked and saw another bottle and plate. I wondered where he got these from, but maybe not knowing it was better. I was hungry and thirsty, so I grabbed them.
“For how long I was out?”
“Not more than a day.”
I checked my wounds. They still weren’t fully healed yet they didn’t show any sign of infection.
“You heal fast… For a human.”
“You suck at compliments.”
He looked somewhat offended.
“Hey, how I am here? I didn’t fight against a boss monster before reaching here.”
Maybe that should have been my first question.
“Not all dungeons are conquered by brute force, Outsider. The last floor’s trial was simple: Keep moving forward, even when you were faced with your past regrets and trauma.”
“Sounds pretty simple.”
“If it was so simple your comrades wouldn’t be still struggling. You actually surprised me. I thought someone who left his world behind would struggle most, but you were to first to overcome. Is your mind made out of steel or what?”
“Past is out of my reach. If I keep thinking about the past, present, the only thing that’s currently on my reach will become past and will fly out of my hands.”
He laughed.
“What a fierce conviction. I thought she would have picked someone similar to herself, but maybe she looked for something she didn’t have.”
“Let me guess: You aren’t going to tell me her name.”
“Considering I was her enemy before, I don’t think she will take it lightly if I took her name in my mouth.”
“Okay. Then let me ask this: What is a Spark?”
He leaned forward.
“She didn’t tell you much, did she?”
“She didn’t tell me anything. She just dragged me from the afterlife and threw me here.”
He started to laugh as I stared blankly at him. After some time he stopped and looked at me.
“Wait, you serious?”
He
doubled over, holding his stomach as he kept laughing. I stared at him, motionless.
“I think that’s enough.”
I said after counting up to 100.
“I am sorry. I just can’t believe that woman, out of everyone sent you here without telling anything.”
“You seem to know her well.”
He waved his hand dismissively.
“Only good as people who tried to kill each other several times. I am sure you understand, being a warrior.”
“Not really. When I fight someone with the intent to kill, there is no second time.”
His eyebrows were raised with surprise.
“Fair enough. Anyways. Spark? Yes, I know of it. Not much, considering even in my time it was fairly ancient.”
His face looked melancholic as if he was reminiscing old days.
“Well, you are not the first human I encountered that had Spark.”
“Wait, human? Does that mean only humans can have Sparks?”
“Yes. Anyways. A Spark is basically the manifestation of one’s soul. I don’t know why only humans have- had it.”
“It’s a surprisingly simple explanation. Something heavy will come after this, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Let me guess, why humans lost it?”
He crossed his legs and shot me a smug look.
“Want to guess who caused humans to lose their Sparks?”
“Is there a prize?”
I crossed my arms and answered his smug look with my own.
Suddenly a black book appeared in his hands.
“I’ll give you this skill book. You know what’s a skill book, right?”
“I am here for several months now and I haven’t been living under a rock, so yes.”
Okay, I was joking when I asked for a prize but I am not going to tell him that. It was also this is the first time I saw one.
A skill book had one simple function: When you opened it you gained a personal skill. After that, it turned to dust and disappeared. They were rare, super rare which made them very valuable. While I didn’t know how strong that skill was just it was probably more expensive than every weapon I carried at this moment.
“But if there is a prize, then there should be a punishment for failure too, don’t you think so?”