Chapter 32:

32: Absolute…

Gambling On Zero

I came sliding to a stop next to Fabrienne within seconds, slamming the sword into the ground to stand it at arm's reach beside her. It wouldn't do me any good with the way things were unraveling, but now she had her crutch back, just in case.

"What do I do? How do I… help her? Come on, think… Think! What am I supposed to do?! Fabri, tell me what to do! Fabri!"

Just… do something, anything. TRY!

Clueless, I dropped to my knees and flipped her over before tearing her cloak open. It hit the ground with a wet splat from sopping up the still growing pool of dark red. Now on her back, I desperately checked her over to assess her injuries. Fabrienne probably would have given me more than just a slap if she were conscious.

Don't think about—!

Her skin looked gray now. Blood soaked through bandages poking out from under the edges of her leather armor and matted the fur linings. It almost completely covered her and coated my arms from rolling her so forcefully.

How was I supposed to know what to do? I'd never been in a situation like this before. Not even close. I shook her shoulders, trying to wake her.

"C-come on, you… you can… get up now. Please? Y-you're tough… tougher than this. You've been… w-worse before, right? W-wake… up."

She's bleeding out, dumbass! Apply pressure! Stop it! But… with what?

My hands shot to my head. I yanked off the former shirt sleeve turned headband. It was the cleanest thing I had, but knowing where to place it was impossible. I picked a torn spot of her armor. Blood seemed to spill out from there more than other places. The cloth soaked through in seconds and drenched my bandaged hands.

Plugging one spot only caused more blood to pump out somewhere else. It was like trying to stop a leaky dam, and I only had one finger to stop it. I needed more. More hands. More bandages. More help.

The way she refused to let me help with her armor in the stream, or how she kept me away when she dropped the sword when I yelled at her, hit me like a slap. Everything she did was another choice to hide the wounds of the versipur attack from me.

"Y-you should have told… Why wouldn't you let…? I wanted to help, remember! You just yelled and… I'm not… I could've… You didn't give me a chance!"

I pressed harder, practically climbing on top of her. She finally coughed, gasping when I doubled down with the force of all my weight to stop the bleeding.

"Ny—!"

"Complain—Hate me later! Hit me. Yell. I… I don't care!"

"Get him off her now!"

"Wake up, Fabri! You have to—I-I'm… I'm sorry, okay? Please, get up now. Y-you promised! You promised to show me around, right? The… The bakery, and… and… something about books, and… I'm so… s-so sorry. It's all my fault… F-fix… it. I know you can hear me! Fix her! Please? You… You have to fix… her song. Unbroken… Please d-don't… don't let her… I don't want my… my f-friend… to break. Not because of… I'm not worth—Fabri!"

My voice cracked as I rambled, yelled, begged, and apologized over and over. I even called her short to rile her up, but everything failed. I needed to hear her, to know she was okay, but the men rushing towards us made too much noise.

"Grab him! He's going to kill her!"

"Shut up, dammit! I'm trying to help—!"

Someone blindsided me with a strike to the head, sending the world spinning.

"Get off her! Now!"

A rough pair of hands grabbed me by the arms, pulling me from the ground and throwing me away like I was nothing. I almost landed on my head and thought I heard someone laugh. The man just stood there, holding a spear and waiting for the others to arrive instead of actually helping Fabrienne.

"I was originally looking for someone, hmmm… let's say, more… capable?" I heard the voice's bluntly accurate words replay in my head. They were more right now than ever before.

Stay down, idiot. You can't help her. You never could. You're in the way.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched her bleeding out. It wasn't fair. It was never fair. I just wanted to help.

"Get up! Come on!" Fabrienne's memory yelled at me. "We need to hurry."

You… You’re right!

The man with the spear wasn't even paying attention to me. I guess I wasn't worth his time, but he already proved to be an obstacle I needed to break through. My bloody fist caught his chin and knocked him down as I rushed back to her side.

"Sir?!"

"Get him! Look at what he's done! See his sword?! The blood?! T-take him away!"

Someone kicked me in the side and restrained me. I gasped and coughed, unable to break free. They tossed me away like human trash.

"Don't defy me again! Stay there, hands where I can see them," sneered the guard. "Do as you're told… whatever you are."

They're not—! Why won't anyone help?!

"I can't step in whenever you throw a fit."

Shut up!

"Move when I move. Stay quiet. Don't. Fall. Behind. Got it?"

I want to, but…

Breathing, no matter how shallow, sent pain ripping through my chest after that last hit. The leader, still barking orders while not actually doing anything else, slung his spear over his shoulder and stepped in front of me—a roadblock. The hate in his eyes radiated off of him.

"Are you trying to fail?"

No!

"We're not safe yet. Get ready. We need to go again!"

I planted my palms in the dirt and shoved myself up once more. One step later, the leader swung his spear behind my knees. I tumbled down, and a second strike hit my back. My face was back in the dirt.

"Do you have any convictions at all?!"

I… I don't know! I just need… to help her.

"We can't stop. Not yet! Now's not the time, Skyler!"

Somehow I got up. My vision blurred and my balance was off, but I lumbered towards Fabrienne. One of the armored men finally knelt beside her, tending to her wounds, while the others just stared at me. Their expressions were mixtures of hatred, disgust, and fear. Fingers pointed at me, assigning the blame I knew I deserved, and whispers joined screams coming from the growing onlookers at the gate.

"She stopped breathing!"

No. She can't…

A wooden cart rattled and creaked, speeding in our direction with the help of another two men. I turned away from everyone except Fabrienne. My body wouldn't stop moving, and my arm stretched out with an open hand, still trying to reach her.

"Just… Hold on to me. Stay close. Keep moving. I got ya."

Whack!

"You need… more, Skyler."

Crack!

"S-sir?!" One man sounded unsure about something, but he wasn't important. Only she mattered.

Every part of me screamed in agony, my body and soul. The relentless onslaught of unwarranted attacks and the pain they caused overwhelmed me from the rest of the world. Ringing filled my ears, drowning out most of the shouts.

"Now's not the time, Skyler! Do ya want to die?!"

I… I don't want… you to…

Fabrienne's form blurred so much there were now three of her getting loaded into the cart at the same time. They all looked at me with their lips moving. I couldn't hear her words, but I knew she had to be telling them it was my fault. I needed her to know I didn't mean it, though.

"Please…" The word almost didn't make it past my lips.

I'm sorry.

My movement was clumsy, but I no longer had control over myself. Something I didn't recognize pulled me along by invisible strings. Purpose? No. I had none. My only thought was making sure Fabrienne would be okay.

Knocked down again, but I wouldn't stay down. I rose, staggering.

"Sir, his hand! What in the… Nysharra, what's that light?!"

"Stop him!"

The edges of my vision swam with shadow and blurred. I squeezed my eyes shut to blink the distortion away.

"Start believing in—"

Something collided with my shoulder. It should have knocked me over. My side had a numb feeling of pressure, but I was still on my feet.

"Did I… fall?"

Opening my eyes left them stinging from dust, but nothing was there. I stood alone in a dark void.

"No. I'm not… I'm still… I don't think I—Fabri! Where did they take her?!"

I scanned the area while my body twitched with sudden, jarring movements. The sense of falling swept over me again, but nothing knocked me over. I remained on my feet and took a lumbering step forward as my foot dragged and scuffed the ground.

"Fabri? Please, answer me. Are you okay? Where are you?"

Ping.

A spark of light popped into the darkness, then grew and formed a rectangle floating a few feet ahead of me. My eyes took a moment to adjust, but a stream of familiar words scrolled across it when I approached.

"We appreciate your interest and application… regret to inform… better suited candidates…"

The screen flickered and changed shape. A glowing purple hexagon took its place.

Status

"A… status screen? For what?"

Status
Skyler Wright
Title: Rejected

"That… This isn't funny! Is that you? Did you bring me here?! Why are you doing—?!"

"Why are you like… this? Such a waste—" Jess's voice of contempt echoed around me. "You’re not worth my time."

"Huh? J-Jess? Are you here somewhere?"

Two more panels flickered to life beside the first.

Title: Waste
Title: Worthless

I took a step closer to the floating purple plaques and tripped over something. The ground slipped out from beneath my feet and pressed against my back, except it didn't.

"What just—How am I still standing?"

"Dumbass…" My voice answered me from the darkness, full of hate and disdain.

Title: Dumbass

"Hey, I'm not laughing!" I shouted into the void. "I didn't say—!"

My head jerked from an unseeable force, and another panel sprung into view from the direction I now faced. A dialogue box from Wonder Saga appeared. "Watch where you're going, whelp!"

"S-stop it. Please," I begged. "Why are you doing this?"

A second box of dialogue filled with a new line, "Still here? Useless… I said, go away! Pathetic…" The text blurred and shifted as three new screens formed to replace them.

Whelp. Useless. Pathetic

"It’s been quite… entertaining so far… Do you enjoy playing pretend?"

Entertainment. Imposter.

"So, it… It is you? You're doing this?! Stop!"

"This is how I'm gonna die, isn't it?" My voice called back to me again. "Am I that much of a joke to you?!"

Doomed. Joke

"Please… You have to—" I couldn't breathe. Something knocked the wind out of me and left me struggling. Then more echoes from the past filled the emptiness.

"I like your little… toy sword, boy."

"W-what kind of—What are you?!"

"Nysh, some monster you turned out to be. I don't take too kindly to thieves or liars."

"I'm a… a murderer."

Boy. Freak. Monster. Thief. Liar. Murderer.

"No. That's… enough. I-I can't…"

An increasing number of panels closed in around me, along with voices and accusations.

"What's wrong with you? You're too soft… I don't have time for…"

"Nothing. A… pale… imitation… Pitiful little…"

Wrong. Weak. Fake. Pitiful

"You're… different, Skyler."

HOLLOW
BLANK
EMPTY
BROKEN

"Ya just shouldn't have been able to take it. Plain and simple…"

UNWORTHY

The dizzying storm of hate swelled and wouldn't let up. More panels swarmed over me as the voices cascaded, every word striking harder than the last. Even the phantom blows continued their own unrelenting attack, physically beating me into submission. I couldn't defend against any of it. Soon I wound up on my knees and covering my ears, but nothing stopped.

"Please… J-just shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!"

A heavy, yet familiar weight pulled at my arms.

Gong.

Vibrations flowed through my hands and up my arms.

A sudden silence smothered the cacophony of voices, and each of the hexagonal screens burst into starlight and vanished. Emptiness returned, except for a single panel.

Gong.

"Wh-what was—?"

"You’re… not my friend." My own hateful words echoed in the dark.

Gong.

"I'm sorr—I guess she… she wasn't, was she? B-but I thought… I thought maybe… So th-then am I j-just…? A-am I…? I'm…?"

Title: ALONE

Gong.

The single panel glitched and updated. Its text blinked on and off, flashing a final message on repeat.

Title: FAILURE

"I… I know, but—"

Gong.

"Ya can get up now… little Skyler."

"N-no… No, I… can't," I whispered, choking on the words. There was no fight left in me. I knew what I was. I always knew. It didn't matter what any other voices told me. The message was always the same. "You… You're not real. You're not here. You're gone, Fabri. You tried to be my… but you never should have… I never should have left the ruins. It's all… my fault, and I… I hurt… I just can't take anymore… of this, of… any… thing. No… Nothing… left… W-why… me?"

Gong.

A giggle slipped into the silence. I recognized it immediately.

"My…"

The panel flickered again, wiped clean, and letters blinked to life one at a time.

C… H…

"You're… wrong. No… body really… wants… me."

O… S…

"I always… let everyone… down. Even…"

E… N

"…Harbinger."

"Take… t-take it back," I whimpered. "Send… m-me back… I don't—Please?"

Skyler Wright
Title: Chosen
Class: Harbinger
Level:

Gong.

I held my breath. The last line remained unfinished until the panel glitched a final time and returned, now complete.

Level: 0

"Nothing. Still… nothing… Always… n-nothing…" My words were a muffled, unrecognizable gurgle. I spat out a mouthful of blood before I choked on it.

The panel warped in and out of sight, a hazy mirage, as the red stained dirt road faded back into view around me. The world returned, or I returned to it, and I was back at the gates of Docheo, but the village was dark. Wavering torchlights approached in the distance.

Everything to the right of me was missing. I couldn't see out of that eye anymore for some reason, but I noticed something was different. Fabrienne, her body, was gone. A fresh red trail stretched towards the village. They took her away. They'd taken her from me.

My body swayed. Something fought against my balance and left me unsteady. The stone sword was back in my hands, and an odd light—lilac and periwinkle—was shining through the blood-soaked bandage of my left hand.

"When did…? But why?"

The man with the spear took another swing at me, aiming at my head. Before it struck, the last string of defiance keeping me propped up snapped. I broke with it, and the sword pulled me down as his spear whistled overhead. He missed.

Gonguh.

The sword fell. I caught myself, barely preventing a mouthful of dirt, and pushed myself to my knees. Coughing and sputtering, a sound in my throat hitched, catching on my next breath. Pressure ballooned deep in my chest that cut off my next gasp for air, and my whole body shook violently. An ugly, visceral sound finally erupted. It wasn't a cry of rage or injustice, but the ragged, guttural sound of a broken child desperately sobbing, unable to form any words.

I wanted to hide from the now silent crowd of onlookers. There were more than just the mob of apparent guards. Parents shielded the eyes of young children who wanted a better look at the freak who hurt their dear Fabrienne. I was now the boogeyman they all feared.

Tears streamed down my face, blurring everything beyond recognition. They stung every fresh cut and wound inflicted during the onslaught of voices and light while mixing with dirt, blood, and snot.

NO! It's not fair!

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum…

Wind whipped around, encircling me and pushing the mob back.

"T-tell me… Why!"

Lines ghosted through the air, pulsing with life and forming a dome I never expected to see again. Quaking vibrations rattled the ground, causing villagers to run screaming. Only a select few guards remained.

"There… has to be a… a reason. Please! I… I'm not… Why?" My words came through interrupted sobbing. "Why am… I never… never enough?!"

"The… The light! What is he…? Stop him!"

"No! It's not fair! I need… I NEED—!"

"Stop—Shut IT up!"

A clap of thunder rang out as the dome suddenly solidified around me, trapping the man with the spear and a few others inside with me. I knelt at the center, screaming and demanding answers. I wanted to know the reason for all the torment the voice had put me through. I deserved an answer.

"WHY?!" The others soon let out their own cries for help. "TELL ME!"

A new light shimmered in the air before me, fighting its way into reality, and forming a hexagonal shape.

"OOF—!"

The tip of a metal boot slammed into my stomach. I doubled over, unable to breathe. Something above me shattered like glass.

"I… I said… be quiet!"

The boot's heel crashed down, grinding my left hand into the earth. The light went out. The shimmer vanished. The dome was gone.

Fabri… promised… She said Docheo… was supposed to be… safe.

I looked up at the owner of the boot just in time to see the butt of a spear.

THWACK!

Ba-dum. Ba-dum… Ba… dum…

The world went black and silent.

"Aw… The game's not over yet, Skyler. There's still so much… more ahead. I—You haven't… even… begun."