Chapter 33 #2
“Then, it’s probably in your best interest to tell us everything you know about what Zeus wants with us.”
The eidola wearing Sylvia’s face spills the beans a lot more easily than I thought she would.
You’d think someone who serves Zeus would show at least a second of hesitation before divulging the secrets kept by the King of Gods.
However, the demon laid it all out there, and what everything boiled down to was that Zeus was losing power over the game.
It seems he made a deal to play a game with the other gods about whose followers could get them the right offering first. Only, he didn’t know until recently that the others had worked with the developers to make the winner of that game the new ruler of Olympus.
Since any deal a god makes is binding, he’s terrified of losing his crown, and he’s pretty sure Aphrodite is his biggest threat.
Why? Well, her little cleric is breaking the game with almost no effort.
There’s nothing special about me as far as anyone can tell.
I’m not some chosen one that’s been prophesied.
So, obviously, Aphrodite must have gifted me with some unknown power.
Except, why wouldn’t she have done that for one of her veteran players?
Or all of us? An army of game breakers would be a terrifying and unstoppable force.
I’m not special, not like that. I’m just like any other player who landed here.
No one knows why I’m able to do it, and it’s not like I woke up one day and decided I would break the game.
It’s unlikely that Aphrodite granted me some favor I’m not aware of that unravels coding.
If that was the case, I don’t think she would have been so pleasantly surprised when I helped Arachne’s children and their villager neighbors.
There have been hundreds of questions about this place swimming in my head since I got here.
Every day, I do my best to ignore them so I can focus on finding the right offering and getting home to Mom.
But what if that’s been a mistake? Solving these mysteries might help me survive Zeus’s attacks or even find the right offering for Aphrodite.
She said I was the closest anyone in the game has ever been, but the only thing that separates me from the other players is that the NPCs around me act like real people now.
As we take down our camp, Alexander broods on the hill, his gaze on the middle distance.
He’s pulled out some surprises, for sure.
He stayed with us despite his programming to leave when we reached a certain point in our main quest line.
He brought me food, called me Lauren. Then there was the fucking Benelli M4 Super 90 shotgun.
Yeah, he’s changed a lot. Sometimes, I wonder if Aphrodite recoded him.
That thought intrigues me. If she can recode, the other gods probably can, too.
Are they the real programmers? Wouldn’t that be interesting?
You create a fantasy RPG and incorporate enough elements from Greek mythology so that you can comfortably settle into a godlike role, and the players never question that they should do whatever you want.
Not sure why they would want to live like that, but it makes more sense than all the other ideas that float through my brain.
I walk to Alexander’s side and touch his arm to get his attention. “Hey, it’s time to go,” I tell him.
Alexander turns to me, his haunted eyes even darker than usual. “There will be many dangers in Ismarus.”
“Yeah, well, that seems to be the case everywhere we go.” I point at the chaos dragon’s corpse, which is now missing so many scales that we’ve left yards of bare skin. “If we can take that thing down, I think we might have a chance in the city.”
He shakes his head. “Danger doesn’t always attack. Sometimes it comes in a drink or an embrace. It can shine in a friend’s eyes and offer comfort at night.”
“Yes, we’re aware of the eidola,” I say.
“But you cannot predict the danger that doesn’t know itself,” he says in an ominous tone.
“Well, that’s vague and unnerving, but I still have a quest to do for Aphrodite,” I tell him and grab his arm to pull him toward the group. “Let’s go talk to Khione.”
Alexander shirks out of my grip. “You need to do all the other Ismarus quests first.”
“Dude, we don’t have time,” I say, my voice now clipped with irritation. “Zeus is trying everything he can to kill me. The only chance I might have to survive is to get this done for Aphrodite.”
“That won’t save you,” he says. “You need to complete the other quests. You need to help Orpheus.”
“Oh my fucking God,” I whisper as I bury my fingers into my forelock and try not to pull all the hair out. “Okay, you try telling everyone that. I’m sure they’ll all be on board with doing another quest when Zeus is sending actual fucking chaos dragons after us.”
Alexander marches over to the rest of the party.
Of course, he took me literally. That’s what an NPC does.
His coding may be different, with way more advanced AI, but he can’t understand that I’m telling him there’s no chance in hell we’re doing the Orpheus quest, because my statement was too nuanced. I chase after him.
“Hey, Alexander,” Guy says when the NPC approaches him. “Ready to head out?”
“You must complete the Orpheus quest and all the other Ismarus quests if you can,” Alexander says, ignoring Guy’s question.
“Afraid we can’t do that yet,” Guy responds. “We have a bit of a tight deadline for Lauren to talk to Khione.”
“She will fail if she does that now,” Alexander insists.
Cait comes to Guy’s side and crosses her arms. “Yeah, well, she’ll die if we don’t rush things, so…”
“You’re wrong,” Guy says. “Aphrodite won’t let her die. Pretty sure Lauren is her chosen.”
Miko finishes packing up and walks over. Rolling her eyes, she says, “Are you fucking kidding me? Her chosen? I knew this game was missing some overdone trope.”
Joshua holds up a hand and looks at the party with an uncharacteristically serious expression. “No, let’s hear him out. Being chosen doesn’t mean she’s some prophesied hero. We were all chosen, after all.” He turns back to Alexander. “What about the rest of us?”
Alexander shakes his head. “The rules of the game prevent her from aiding or harming anyone other than her players.”
I cock my head to the side. “So, you’re aware this is a game? Do you also understand your part in it?”
“I’m a player, as well,” he answers.
Did I really expect him to understand he’s just a string of code? Of course, he thinks he’s one of us.
“Forget about this being a game for a moment,” Miko says. “If Aphrodite can’t help or harm other players, then how come Zeus can?”
Sylvia, or rather the eidola possessing Sylvia, laughs darkly. She’s still bound and sitting where we interrogated her. “You can do anything you want when you’re the King of Gods,” she says. “He holds so much power that he could snap his fingers, and you’d all die.”
“Okay, well if Mr. Thanos can do that, why hasn’t he?” Cait asks. “Why go through all this trouble?”
The eidola tilts Sylvia’s head. “Like I said, he wants to know what Aphrodite is up to. Unlike you pawns, she’s a god and knows enough to hurt him.”
“You must finish the other quests,” Alexander insists again. “If you don’t, you will fail, and Aphrodite may not be able to protect you.”
Once again, I feel I’m a burden to my group.
If they weren’t with me, they wouldn’t be targets.
Can Aphrodite truly prevent me from dying, no matter what?
I think about when I woke up next to Guy.
He’d been dead, charred to a crisp. Except for passing out and experiencing some frostbite, I was perfectly fine.
I was close enough to Guy that the dragon flames should have killed me, too.
Going alone would be better for everyone. There’s no reason to protect me because I can’t die. They should worry about getting their own offerings.
Guy and Cait stare in silence at Alexander.
They’re almost leaning against each other, finding comfort in their friendship.
Well, maybe more than friendship by the sounds of their conversation this morning.
I love them. I’m sure they’d miss me, but they would still have each other. And most importantly, they’d be alive.
“Fine,” Cait says. “We’ll do the dumb quests.” She turns a pointed gaze at me. “And you! I can see the gears turning in your head. You better not be thinking again about ditching the party.”
I hold up my hands in surrender. “I’m not leaving.”
Not yet, anyway. Not while they expect it.
We’ll get the Orpheus quest done, maybe even the other quests.
But when it’s time to talk to Khione, I’ll slip away and go alone.
Whatever Aphrodite’s up to, it scares Zeus.
If I were him, I’d kill me and any witnesses as soon as I told Khione she needs to claim her son.
I don’t know why this is so important, but I’m taking it seriously, and I won’t let my friends die.