Act II - Zach

Zach blinked, for a moment not knowing where he was. He looked around, seeing that he was in the forest. Someone groaned next to him and Zach turned around and looked, seeing Ryun holding a scabbard and a sword in his left hand.

For a moment an incredible sense of sadness and hate filled him. He put his hand to the side calling something, but it didn’t come. He frowned, his mind confused and shrouded in a fog. He shook his head, and then he remembered. The Framework, his talk with the Dealmaker.

He stood up just as Ryun ran over to him. Zach closed his eyes, trying to remember.

“Did you have a strange dream too?” Zach asked, keeping his eyes closed.

“I don’t think that it was a dream,” Ryun said.

Zach grimaced and waved his hands in front of his eyes as he saw a window fill his eyesight. Everything was changed. He looked around still having the sense that things were wrong. “Right,” he said after a moment, turning to look at Ryun.

“We should get ready to fight,” Zach said, and then frowned. For some reason the words felt wrong on his tongue.

Ryun raised his sword. “I’m ready,” Ryun said.

Zach blinked, but then dismissed his feeling of wrongness. He turned to his screens and put the Essence that he had left into his Class. The action felt familiar, but the thought faded in his head almost the moment it came. And he didn’t chase it.

*  *  *

Zach didn’t know how much time had passed, the days blended together. He and Ryun found Linda and Melody just as they were attacked by monsters, they managed to arrive in time to save them, but Henry died. Zach felt a deep sadness at that, as if it had been his fault for being too weak.

But they had no choice but to continue. They found a cabin and were using it as a base. They spent most of their time hunting monsters, Linda had been against it at first, and Zach understood. It was terrifying, but he managed to convince her that it was necessary. Something deep inside Zach told him that he couldn’t afford the time to waste, that they had to get stronger.

The four of them worked well together, and they were survivors. They would get through all of this together.

*  *  *

Ryun’s cultivation was weaker than a Class, that was for sure, and yet his friend had managed to keep up. The techniques that he had did give him some advantages. They had no cooldowns, and he was more adaptable. Still, Zach was stronger. He had gotten titles that told him that he was the first person in the world to reach level ten. That only made him want to push faster. If he was the strongest person in the world, then things were much worse out there than they could even imagine.

The four of them were having daily discussions about what their plans were. Linda wanted to find other people, to find someplace that was safe. But Zach and Ryun had managed to convince her that they needed to be strong enough to survive the wilderness if they were ever going to be able to find people.

They shared what they knew, showed each other their screens and tried to figure out how things worked. For the most part Ryun had the best insights, and Zach could see that he had adapted the best of them all. Ryun had never really fit in the world of before, Zach had always had to push him to participate in things. But here, it was as if he had finally been given the freedom to be who he was.

Zach was glad for him, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Whenever they talked about finding safety and other people, Ryun would go quiet. Zach knew that he didn’t really like people even before, but he almost didn’t seem like he wanted to find others.

Melody seemed to be taking his side more often than not, and Zach had seen them being… close. He was glad for them, but he wanted them to keep their eyes on the fact that they were isolated and forced to rely on themselves. They had to get stronger, and find a better place to use as a base.

*  *  *

Zach looked around, finding Linda’s sleeping form next to him in bed. The two of them had gotten close relatively quick, both of them needing something to make them feel better. Something inside of Zach told him that this was right, but he also couldn’t shake a feeling of sadness.

He didn’t know where those feelings came from, which terrified him. Sometimes when he did something he would feel as if things had clicked into place, as if it was what was always meant to happen. And sometimes he would feel a sense of wrongness, as if things weren’t quite right.

Even with all of the changes that the Framework brought, that was what made him terrified the most. It made everything seem almost unreal. And none of the others felt it. He feared that he was going mad.

*  *  *

Zach roared as he leapt and landed on the back of the Great Boar, with a [Piercing Stab] he pushed his sword through the back of its neck. The boar shook once, then dropped to the ground.

Linda ran over and fussed around Zach, while Melody looked at Ryun’s bleeding arm. Zach stomped over to him.

He opened his mouth to admonish him for putting himself in the boar’s path, but then he stopped himself, wondering why he was going to do that. They had fought the boar and they had won, they got stronger.

“Good job,” Zach said.

“Thanks,” Ryun grinned at him.

The sense of wrongness filled him, but Zach had learned to ignore it now. He pushed it aside and together the four of them looked at their loot.

*  *  *

Zach sat on the porch of the small cabin that he shared with his friends, looking around at all the new people around them. Building more cabins and walls. They had stumbled upon then, gotten an even quest. They were survivors like them, running from a Great Aniwye. Zach, Linda, Ryun and Melody managed to save them all, twenty one people, all of which were now a part of their community.

They used one of the rewards they got from the event, a Town Stone. They had to defeat a monster horde, but all four of them were stronger now. They managed to defeat it without casualties and established a town. It gave them some benefits.

The sense of wrongness was always present in the back of his mind, but Zach still ignored it. They were building something here, a community. And together they could get stronger and survive.

*  *  *

A group claiming to be from the World Government arrived. Zach and Ryun talked with them, and while most of them were arrogant in the beginning, but that quickly changed as they realized just how strong Zach and the others were.

Their people had been traveling for a long time, looking for survivors to bring to the fold. Even if their government wasn’t perfect, Zach still agreed that it made sense to band together with more people. Ryun and Melody weren’t quite convinced, but Zach talked them into at least visiting the government’s city.

They left their small encampment and headed back with the visitors.

*  *  *

The city of Haven was impressive, the advantages that a City got from the Framework were many. There were a lot of people there, an organization that worked to keep everyone safe and find more survivors. That appealed to Zach and Linda.

Ryun and Melody weren’t quite convinced. They didn’t like some of the things that the government was doing with their cultivators. But Zach saw an opportunity. He convinced Ryun and Melody to stay. They were the strongest people around, they could change things.

The sense of wrongness increased.

*  *  *

It had been two years since the arrival of the Framework. Zach could barely remember the old world, and he wasn’t sure if he would even want to go back if he could. They had established rules, they had laws, and things were safe for the most part. There were still people out there that hunted and preyed on the weak, warlords and bandits.

Zach, Ryun, and Melody had been hunting them down, in between the fighting the monsters that were constantly changing and growing stronger. The world was dangerous, but they were working to make it safe.

They didn’t know how many survivors there were, but humanity had lost too many. They couldn’t afford to lose more.

*  *  *

Zach looked out of the window as Linda played with their daughter, Rayleigh. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this happy. Everything was going well.

*  *  *

Zach ran through the forest, his stats pushing him further and faster than anyone else. His team couldn’t keep up, so had been forced to leave them behind. He needed to reach Ryun, nothing else mattered.

Ryun and Melody had taken a team out to hunt monsters on the frontier, and had decided to stay in one of the towns there. Zach was sad that they would be separated, but he understood. They were the strongest people in the government, it was their job to protect everyone. Even Ryun who didn’t care much for people understood that.

Expanding the World Government domain had stretched their resources, but in the end Zach had agreed. It had been a mistake, Ryun and Melody had been cut off from most of the government support. But they hadn’t expected the warlords to grow so bold. One of their factions attacked Ryun’s town. Zach didn’t know the details, only that something bad had happened, that people were dead.

The only thing that he could think of now was to reach his friend as quickly as possible.

*  *  *

It was raining when Zach walked into what used to be a bandit camp. The main base of the Warlord that had attacked Ryun’s town. The dead were scattered everywhere, broken bodies with their limbs torn off. Men, women, children, none were spared. The buildings were torn to pieces, he found a man with his rib cage ripped open, and another mounted on a wall with bones of someone else.

The sight made him sick to his stomach.

He walked through the carnage and reached the center of the camp. He found Ryun standing in the middle, covered in blood, his eyes closed and turned to the sky as rain washed the blood and gore from his body.

“Ryun,” Zach whispered.

His friend turned around and opened his eyes, for a moment they flashed red.

“What did you do?” Zach asked, his tone filled with horror.

“They killed her, so I killed them,” Ryun said as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

Zach closed his eyes, he had known that he took Melody’s death hard, but this…

“There were children here Ryun, barely old enough to walk,” Zach said.

Ryun shrugged. “They were in my way.”

“We have rules Ryun, we have laws. This… this is madness. We agreed that we wouldn’t turn into the kind of monsters that we hunted!”

Ryun’s expression darkened, his eyes flashed red again. “Rules? Laws? The only thing that matters is strength! You know what, fuck you, and fuck the government. I should’ve never joined. If we had gone off on our own this never would’ve happened. They attacked because they knew that we were part of the government!”

“They attacked because they followed a monster,” Zach said. “Because they had no other way to survive. We were supposed to show them that there was a better way. Instead, you killed them all! The guilty and the innocent!”

Zach could barely look at him now.

“Go away Zach,” Ryun said. “I don’t care, I don’t want to care. Just leave me alone.”

Zach turned in disgust, he could barely look at his friend. He took a step, but then stopped himself. He felt guilty, because he hadn’t been there to help. Guilty because he convinced Ryun to join. He took a deep breath, something in his head told him that he should walk away, but he pushed that thought aside. He turned around and stalked over to Ryun.

He saw him tense, and his eyes narrow.

“Don’t make me hurt you Zach.”

Zach stopped in front of him, glaring down at him. Ryun looked unsure, on the verge of lashing out. Zach reached out and pulled him in close, embracing his friend.

“I’m not letting you push me away, we will get through this together,” Zach said, and slowly Ryun’s tension drained away.

The wrongness in his head returned.

*  *  *

Zach watched Ryun as he sat alone in the corner of his backyard. He barely spoke with anyone, and when he did it was usually without any emotion.

“I don’t know what to do about him,” Zach whispered.

Linda put her head on his shoulder. “I don’t think that there is anything that you can do.”

Zach was struggling with finding a way to help Ryun, but nothing worked. He hated those who were weak, Zach would see him staring at the other cultivators in town, those who cycled all day and didn’t venture outside of the walls. There was contempt in his eyes now.

The wrongness filled Zach’s every waking moment.

*  *  *

Zach heard the news on the way back from a hunt. He didn’t believe it first when he first heard it. He couldn’t believe it.

When he reached the city, it was burning. Cries of pain and anguish filled echoed among the razed buildings. Dead bodies filled the streets. Zach tried not to look at them, this was his fault, he couldn’t look at them.

He reached where his house used to be and found only a burned down crater. He walked among the ruins, and then he saw them. Out in the courtyard. He rushed over and then fell to his knees. Linda’s body was on the ground, her chest ripped open, Reyleigh’s body was split in two next to her.

Zach didn’t cry, he couldn’t, he just stared them in shock. The city was destroyed, thousands of lives gone, his family. And it was his fault. He had brought Ryun here, he had caused this.

The sensation of things clicking into place returned, he felt as if everything was right with the world.

Zach frowned. No, this couldn’t be right. He tried to think, to find the source of the sensation, but it was elusive, like trying to catch a dream. Suddenly he remembered something, words echoing inside his head.

“You need to face yourself, little visitor. To face your demons and understand the truth. It is the only way to break the dream.”

“This…” Zach whispered as he looked around. He shouldn’t be here, his house had never burned down. “This isn’t how it happened.”

Zach saw flashes, memories of this happening, only he hadn’t been here. It was another city, and he remembered the guilt, the pain.

“No,” Zach stumbled back, his head hurting as he tried to remember. “I didn’t help him.”

He had left Ryun alone last time, he had allowed him to leave. He was never part of the government, but Melody still died. Zach frowned, and looked around. His mind was fuzzy, but this wasn’t right. He had lived through all of this before, only it had been different.

Slowly, he remembered. He had spent ten years on Earth, had lived and fought, and hunted Ryun. He failed, and had reached the new world, the Infinite Realm.

Zach sunk to his knees. He didn’t know where he was, but he had lived here for years, it had all felt so real. He looked down on Linda and felt the pain as fresh as it had always been. She had died again, even when he did things differently.

He realized that this had to be some kind of a dream designed to torture him. The words that the other prisoner told him years ago echoed inside his head again, and Zach frowned.

He was supposed to face his demons, to understand the truth in order to break the dream. He didn’t know what kind of a truth he could find here, other than that he hadn’t been strong enough again. That he had failed again.

The guilt was almost too much. But then Zach remembered Naha, all alone outside of this dream. Probably thinking that he was dead. She was a broken person, and he loved her despite that. He had made a commitment to her, to help her and be by her side. To grow strong with her. He couldn’t give up and leave her alone.

He stood up and looked at the bodies of his family one last time. Then he turned around and walked away.

*  *  *

He found Ryun a month later, sitting on a rock in the middle of the forest. He was the same as the last time he found him, before the dream in the real life. His face calm and his eyes clear, without any sign of red. He had forgotten about that Zach realized. Something had to have happened to him to cause that. But ultimately it didn’t matter. Even if he had done all that he had while influenced by something. All that he had done after he had done with calm and methodical belief that he was right. He had killed hundreds of thousands, caused the fall of an entire world.

Nothing could excuse that.

“You found me,” Ryun said.

“I knew where to look,” Zach said. He was calm this time, hadn’t gone into a murderous rage and attacked. He knew that this was a dream now, and he needed to find a way out.

“What do you want?” Ryun turned his head to meet Zach’s eyes.

“Why did you do it?” Zach asked.

Ryun titled his head and Zach wondered what he would say. Was this dream based on Zach’s memories? Or were parts of it real, things that he couldn’t know?

“Hah…” Ryun sighed. “Because they did not understand, we were given a deadline, and they were content to live their lives like it didn’t matter. To wait for death that was certain. They were weak and… they were guilty.”

“Guilty? For Melody?” Zach asked.

“Hm…” Ryun frowned, as if confused. Zach remembered that Ryun had never mentioned Melody again after her death.

“Melody was killed by a Warlord and his followers, not the government,” Zach said. At least that was what had happened in this dream. “You made them pay for attacking your town. There was no need to attack more innocents.”

“They are all the same. People that decided to ignore the new rules. This is not how we were supposed to live. To follow rules made by a world that is so far beyond what is now a reality. It is ludicrous, it is madness.”

Zach looked at him for a long minute, his heart nearly breaking. He had felt so guilty about this, about the fact that Ryun turned out the way he did. That he hadn’t stayed and tried to help him. But now… Zach remembered the real Ryun, not the one that he had tried to keep alive in his memories. Even before the Framework arrived Ryun was callous toward other people. As if he was lacking empathy toward anyone who wasn’t struggling to make themselves better.

The Framework only made Ryun think that he had always been right. That pushing oneself and being strong was the right way of the world.

“You would’ve turned out this way no matter what I did,” Zach realized.

Even if Zach had tried to help him, if he had stayed with him. Ryun would’ve never been able to function in the kind of society that Zach had been trying to build. He was wild, and uncontrolled, free in all the meanings of the word.

Ryun blinked at him, looking as if he was confused. Zach felt something inside him shift.

“It wasn’t my fault,” Zach whispered. “I was not responsible for your actions. For you turning the way you did.”

A great weight lifted off his chest, and he finally felt free of the burden that he had carried. Perhaps Zach could’ve stopped Ryun, if he struck early enough. But it even if he had, there was no guarantee that he would’ve been successful. The years spent in this dream made him realize it. Even when Zach had been pushing himself, more than he had the first time, Ryun had always kept up.

He had always been too strong to deal with in such manner.

It was not my fault. Zach whispered in his mind again.

The reality around him trembled. Ryun looked at it as if surprised. But then it all started to collapse. Zach closed his eyes as the entire world shifted around him.

Then there was a blinding pain inside his head. And Zach groaned out loud, his face against the cold stone floor. The pain slowly abated, until finally it was gone completely.

“Impressive,” a voice said. And Zach forced his head to move and look in its directions.

He saw the yeti shade looking down at him, still bound by chains.

“You’ve gotten out of it quickly,” the yeti said. “True, this trap was not designed for you, but nevertheless, an achievement.”

Zach opened his mouth and groaned instead of speaking. He pulled up his screens and looked at his perks. The cooldown on his Ethereal Fissure was two weeks, meaning that he had been trapped inside the dream for almost three.

He cursed inwardly. He had felt like he had spent years inside, and he still remembered it as if it was real. But it hadn’t been.

His rift into the Real Realm had closed by now, the others were either trapped in here with him or had managed to retreat before the day was out.

Naha… Zach hoped that she was alright. She was smart enough to know that she couldn’t do anything for Zach, and that if he survived, he would find his way back to her. He only hoped that she didn’t try anything stupid, especially with a High Ranker around.

But he couldn’t do anything for her now. He might still be alive, but he was stuck here for another two weeks until his perk came back from cooldown.

He managed to move and sit up. His body was stiff and his head still somewhat fuzzy. He glanced at the shade, his eighteen ringed eyes studying him intently.

Zach knew that he had no chance against it, but by some miracle he was still alive. The shade hadn’t killed him, so perhaps he could still get out of this alive. First things first, he needed more information. And the yeti had helped him once, perhaps it would be willing to do so again.