Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 586: Ra'azel

Old Pains

Ra’azel kept quiet as he was flown to a place where he would meet with the cthul god. He was introspective, for the first time in a long time his mind felt clearer. He hadn’t realized just how much his imprisonment had affected him. Oh, he was well aware that he had gone mad, acts that would once have given him pause now no longer bothered him, his principles had been eroded, his morals shattered. Only his base desires remained.

Yet, he had always prided himself on his intellect, on his mind. He had, foolishly it seemed, believed that as long as he retained that core piece of himself, even mad he was still himself. He had allowed himself to be distracted, to become obsessed with things that didn’t matter.

But seeing his home again, seeing the fate of his people, his family, that brought him back to a time before everything. When he set out to prove to the world that he and his people were worthy of being chosen.

It was ironic in a way, his defiance had succeeded, he was deemed worthy enough to be preserved. And now he was a chosen, given the same access to the Framework as any of the other nine races.

The realization that he had gotten what he had wanted for so long was slow in coming. After the battle where he stole the body, his injuries had prevented any kind of real self reflection. It was months after that he realized he was still living, that the Dealmaker hadn’t interfered to remove him from the body nor hobbled his access to the Framework.

Ra’azel was a chosen now. His people had accepted an offer that had them turned into slaves, serving as monsters for those that had been chosen. He shouldn’t feel as he did now, they betrayed him. And yet…

His hand traced the cover of the journal in his hands. He had read more of it on the trip, his daughter’s words reaching out to him across time and space.

She had doubts about their choice toward the end, when their reality was torn down. Perhaps the fault was his, if he had taken the time to properly explain, to convince her instead of being blind to their concerns…

Another part realized that he was, perhaps for the first time in his life truly free. He had enemies, people after him, but… he could just leave. He was mostly recovered, he could pick any direction and vanish in the Infinite Realm. Go and do whatever he wanted. There were still secrets to uncover, peaks of power to reach. His Class journey, the Ways, even what he felt from his opponents during the battle. That change in their Souls and the power that came with it.

But here he was, heading to meet a god because he was intrigued. Who or whatever this god was, it somehow knew him, knew his name and what he was. Enough to connect him to the dungeon where his family used to be. Ra’azel was certain that the emissary hadn’t made the connection, didn’t know that he was a yeti just like the monsters that used to be in that wild dungeon, only one in a drake’s body. Otherwise, the emissary wouldn’t have referred to Ra’azel’s people as monsters. But someone knew, the gifts given to him proved that. He wondered what the god wanted, why it sought him out.

Ra’azel turned his eyes to look out of the shuttle’s window, watching the world as it passed by, his hand still on his daughter’s journal. They still had a few hours until they reached their destination.

On a whim, he opened his interface and navigated to an option that he had stared far too long at ever since he gained access to the Framework.

Mentally, he pressed it.

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The world spun and fell away, and then Ra’azel found himself in a dark and silent place. The constructs woven into his soul that monitored the world around him grew silent, his new perks cut off.

He sat in a chair in front of a table, a familiar figure across from him.

When the Framework arrived on Ra’azel’s world, they had no means of speaking with the Dealmaker at will, many of the options that this Framework contained were not present back then. They had spoken with the Dealmaker only twice.

Once, when the Framework arrived, introduced to them a way to gain power, and told them what was going to happen, that they were being judged.

The second time was years later, when he told them that they had failed.

It was so ludicrous to Ra’azel back then, they hadn’t even known what they had failed at. It had fueled him with anger that had spurned him to change the Dealmaker’s mind.

“Greetings, Ra’azel,” the Dealmaker said.

Ra’azel stared at him, a ping in his head warned him that his emotions were being influenced, a construct attached to his soul ticked and information flowed, he was being muted, his responses tapered down, his logic was being heightened. It wasn’t an attack, he was being given clarity of mind, he realized. His faculties allowed to operate at their best. He immediately realized why. Probably to help those who had injuries that inhibited their thinking, or any other afflictions. In this place, all were equal. Or so the Dealmaker had once said.

“There are dungeons that respawn,” Ra’azel said slowly. “Their occupants brought back, over and over again. Is my daughter still alive?”

“No knowledge is free,” the Dealmaker said.

Ra’azel knew some of how this place operated from what he overheard from the Unchained.

“How much would that knowledge cost me?”

“You have no means to pay that price.”

Ra’azel kept his eyes on the darkness beneath the Dealmaker’s hood. “You realize that that in itself is an answer. My daughter’s fate is worth more than I can pay.”

“Perhaps it is only worth that much because it is important to you.”

Ra’azel scoffed, he wasn’t here to play games.

“I hate you.”

The Dealmaker didn’t react.

“How are they better than we were? Nothing I’ve seen of them in this Infinite Realm makes them better, makes them worthy of being chosen. So why?”

“You are chosen, Ra’azel,” the Dealmaker answered. “Your people failed to meet the expectations.”

An echo of his anger rose up through the dampening around him, and Ra’azel glared at the hooded figure. “Why am I different? Because I defied you?”

The Dealmaker didn’t answer.

“Will they ever leave this bondage you have them under?”

“The testing period is not finished,” the Dealmaker said.

Ra’azel turned away. His hate, his desire to tear everything down felt so… small. Despite the hate in his heart, he had reached what he had set out to do. He became chosen, proven to the Dealmaker that he was worthy. “What am I supposed to do now,” he whispered to himself.

“Whatever you wish,” the Dealmaker said.

Ra’azel turned his eyes back on the figure. “And if I want to tear this world down? Destroy what is so precious to you?”

“Then attempt to do so.”

Ra’azel narrowed his eyes. “You won’t try to stop me? Like you did before?”

“I never stopped you, Ra’azel. Your people did not agree with your desire, that is all. I simply preserved your potential.”

“Liar,” Ra’azel leaned over the table. “My family betrayed me, you forced them.”

“I offered a choice; they feared that your actions would jeopardize the path they’ve decided to walk on.”

Ra’azel wanted to scream at the Dealmaker, to attack, but he didn’t. It would be as futile as an ant trying to swallow the sun.

“Send me out,” Ra’azel finally said, he was done.

A moment later he was back in the shuttle, his emotions roaring back up. The sheer anger he felt at that being was almost too much to bear. It was as if nothing he had done was his decision at all. The Dealmaker said that he had free will, and yet… he had defied him and still ended up where the Dealmaker wanted. His attempts to infiltrate the Framework were seen as acceptable as if he was always meant to do it.

It nearly broke him. But then, Ra’azel pushed all of that away, his mental constructs altering his thoughts in ways he had designed, calming him down, analyzing everything from a more logical point of view.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He knew that he was nothing compared to the Dealmaker, his power insufficient. He could just accept his fate, and live his life as he wished, free of any expectation he had put on himself in the past.

But… he wanted to defy the Dealmaker, wanted to do something to force the being to acknowledge him as something more than just another piece on the board.

He only had to find a way to do that.

The landscape below them changed from mountains to a city filled with light, moving shapes, and towering structures.

They had arrived at their destination. Ra’azel took a deep breath, and shifted his focus to the meeting he was about to have. He was very much interested to hear what a so-called god had to say. Perhaps the conversation would give him ideas about what to do next.