Chapter 74
Just Chill, Man
Ken’s entire being screamed at him as he walked away from possibly the worst decision in his life.
He did not dare stop. Or he might change his mind.
I chose mercy…
What a moron.
“What am I doing? There's no way that won’t bite me in the ass!”
He paused, half turning, before waving it off.
“Bah, fuck it, not worth the time.”
The immense, sustained use of Momentum Chi during the duel with Ponytail had worn on his already strained channels.
Each of the many repeated strikes he took were a drop of rain in a storm.
Now he was soaked.
The bones in his arms screamed at him.
Every ligament in his body ached, and the back of his head throbbed.
I'm in rough shape.
“And I left that monster to come kill me in my sleep.”
He shook his head, the world slightly spinning.
Taking a roundabout way home was an added effort he didn't need at the moment, but he couldn't stop thinking about being followed.
White orbs staring at him in the dark.
After walking around a bit, back tracking a couple of times, he called it and headed in.
Ken stumbled into his ridgetop den, after sealing the entrance with a couple of big rocks, he slumped in the corner.
Sitting in silent shadows.
If only his mind was so quiet.
What does this mean? For real?
He couldn't stop thinking about the ramifications if what he theorized was true.
“If Ponytail and his dead buddies were REAL… I mean, I know they existed...”
His jumbled head spat out a detail from The Message he had forgotten, or just didn't care to think about.
Every sentient mind is receiving this message.
They are just as real as I am.
As the nagging thought finally solidified into his mind, he knew it to be true.
He spiraled, in a panic, as wave after wave of realization washed over him.
They are real.
Fresh blood mixed with gravel as he punched the stone beneath him.
The goblins.
Animals?
He hopped up, pacing back and forth in his cramped home.
A pit of ice in his stomach.
So I'm a murderer basically?
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Where did they come from?
Alternate Reality Earth? Fucking Mars? Where am I, right now, actually?
His fist blasted into the wall, the deafening crack echoing off the jagged rocks.
Where are they from? Why put us together now?
Does that mean we will be put together whenever this ‘Tutorial’ is over?
Where will that be, Earth?
He froze mid stride, boot hanging in the air.
Does Earth even still exist?
He lashed out a kick, blowing up a cloud of dust.
“Cough!”
Good job.
Quit acting like a child.
He waved the cloud out of his face, spitting more grit to the ground.
“Stop-cough-control what you can control-cough.”
He forced himself to stop, and take a deep, unobstructed breath.
He sat back down, and focused inward.
My poor battered body…
He put the rampant absorbed chi to work, healing as much of the structural damage from Ponytail’s strikes as he could.
…And maybe from punching a stone wall.
The orcs’ combative chi was useful, helping eradicate the slivers of foreign energy still active and wriggling in his body.
They clashed in his channels, wearing away at each other.
What the hell is that?
“Strange… I sure wish Jimmy was here to help me figure this shit out.”
As the silent battle came to an end, he sighed, lamenting his place in this universe and his lack of understanding.
He pulled the ‘Life Core’ from his side pocket from that Ent creature he killed.
Admiring its beauty, the look the orc threw in its direction came to mind.
“You brought them down on me, didn't you, little orb?”
He admired the light playing across it as he slowly turned it back and forth, when he suddenly froze.
I really imagined it might answer me for a second there.
Like it might come alive and talk back.
I might be losing it.
Without further ado, and maybe before it actually answered him, he smashed it onto the stone floor.
A storm of Life ripped through his small home.
The winds whipped up debris, causing small cuts to form, which instantly healed.
With a new-found desperation, he absorbed the essence from the orb.
His perception of time slowed to a crawl.
Almost all of his thoughts and cares were just gone with one long slow exhale.
I’m always running and rushing around.
Why?
I should just stay put, and chill.
Just relax, and grow.
He could see so much more now.
Ways in which the body wanted to heal.
What is important, and what's not.
Some things were more important to life, after all.
Cast aside the damaged limbs, and regrow anew.
All he had to do was relax, stretch, and reach for the sun.
A warm, golden pull tugged at his Core, like sunlight seeping into cracks, promising peace if he just… Stopped…
“Rrrrraaaaaaaa!”
Ken sprung up, fists and feet blurring as he jumped, trying to fight off the nightmare.
“Damn Tree! Tried to lure me over to the dark side...”
The idea of being still was too horrifying to dive into.
The insights in healing, on the other hand, were a boon.
Maybe most importantly, he felt he could stop healing.
“And save every drop of power possible.”
He plopped back down with a groan, the mental mountain weighing on him helping in the descent.
His grin was slowly replaced by a scowl.
“No matter what, I need to get out of here. Get out of this. I need to start thinking about what will come after…”
He looked down at the stone beneath him.
“I need to get to my family… my friends."
Aching, swollen knuckles creaked as his fists clenched tight.
“I need to get back to Kim.”
The frigid stare of Ponytail flashed.
Nothing will stop me.
His face grew hard.
Definitely not morals.
“Not until I see them again."
