The Search for the Goal

  ?Two months before he arrived. That would mean the "game" had been going for at least four months by now. Honestly, Blade expected it to have gone on for longer, but it didn’t fully explain why they had not met anyone yet.

  ?Sensing his unrest, Severance asked for Aisha.

  ?“How did this ‘game’ start? Anything inherently important you can tell us about it?”

  ?Aisha thought about it for a bit, remembering what she could from the opening moment before beginning.

  ?The game had begun with the overseer calling everyone, using her powers to make sure she reached everyone. She had then told them about the rules, or the lack of them.

  ?It would be a game where everyone was on their own, a challenge against each other for survival. The people targeted, though, were only Absolute Authority holders. Meaning this was only targeting the most powerful. Afterwards, the whole Origin Realm was remade to better fit a map of her design. The last action made was randomly placing everyone, deterring premature alliances and any preparation that could have been made.

  ?When the games first began, it had been clear by the start that the two biggest threats were the [Twin Stars], and they would also get the biggest targets on their backs. But as nobody held enough power to challenge them, meeting them was nothing short of a death sentence.

  ?Despite Authority holders being able to reincarnate, death was still something feared, making killing something that became banned unless necessary. But due to nobody enforcing these rules, it quickly became forgotten.

  ?When Aisha was done, a contemplative silence washed over them. Again, Severance was the first to break it, asking.

  ?“Did you meet a lot of Authority holders up until now?”

  ?To her question, Aisha shook her head. She had been mostly silent and idle during the game. The only ones she met were the overseer, Raiden, and Blade. But even if she herself did not meet more, she had heard about them.

  ?“I heard there was a meeting spot for the Authority holders, a while away from here. I heard about it around a week before we first met.”

  ?“A week? That means it's been over two months by now…”

  ?Blade thought out loud. It did not give much, but it was the greatest hint they had about where they could find others and potentially gain information about what was happening. Deciding to go there after breakfast, they found a place where they could eat.

  ?The village had been mostly remade by now, due to Aisha and Blade's respective roles in helping them, and so they got their food for free. Despite not needing to, Severance took part in the meal, enjoying her food. When Blade asked when the last time she had eaten was, she responded with.

  ?“Just because you don’t need something, doesn’t mean you don't want it.”

  ?If not for everything he had been through, Blade would not have understood that premise. Yet now he could understand, as he also wanted things that were not essential for him.

  ?When they finished eating, Blade had gone on a little detour of his own. Something he had been continuously doing was visiting the library. It was not like he was the biggest literary fan, he simply wanted knowledge on energy. More specifically on how lightning worked. No matter how much he denied it, would he eventually have to fight Raiden, so any form of advantage would be ideal. That included learning about lightning.

  After his visit Blade would find himself checking his storage to see if he lacked any essentials, and afterwards met up with Aisha.

  ?She had created multiple familiars and spread them out scouting the area for any potential threats or dangers. Finding none, she reported it to Blade as they finally began on their journey. Severance was content being sheathed, having no reason to walk with them, but saying to use her at any time if anything happened, or simply to keep them company.

  ?While they walked, they stayed mostly quiet, letting the silence reign. They would take breaks and stop whenever Aisha got tired. The chance was already slim that there would be someone there, so Blade wasn’t in a hurry to get there.

  ?By the time they had reached the spot, two days had passed. Blade could probably have gotten there within hours if he went alone, but he focused more on Aisha than a chance.

  ?Expectedly, the town was empty. There were signs of people, but none that were there currently. Blade and Aisha decided to split up while looking for any clues.

  ?Blade went for what seemed like the biggest house in the area. On the way, he decided to check out every other house he saw. He did not find anything that could help them much.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  ?Empty bottles, stains of blood, and some weapons and random items summed up everything he found. The house that had been his main goal proved more useful. Though the inside harbored nobody, it did come with some insight about what had been here.

  ?The place reminded him of the adventurer guild from his world. There were scattered utensils everywhere, as if the people here had been in a hurry to leave. The place was a bar and a hotel. Blade thought about going up and checking the rooms, but decided against it, not finding any reason to do so.

  ?As he continued to inspect the bar, he found some additional information about the murder games, but nothing he had not figured out already, so it was nothing but useless.

  ?Continuing the inspection, his eye suddenly caught the glint of a white bird made of mora, heading for him. Walking over to the bird, it landed on his outstretched hand as Aisha’s voice sounded from it.

  ?“Brother, someone is on their way. They are heading in your direction, so I wanted to tell you.”

  ?“Thank you.”

  ?Blade responded, caressing the bird lightly as it dispersed into the air. He then ran out the building, leaping onto the roof. Looking ahead, he could make out the silhouette of a stranger. Though what he was standing on suddenly buckled and came crushing down, forcing him to jump.

  ?Looking down, Blade saw the building had collapsed. The person had tried attacking him. Was this another one of the members in this “game”?

  ?By the time Blade landed on the ground, another explosion appeared in the building in front of him, opening a giant hole that made a clearing between the two individuals.

  ?The person then ran faster and leapt across the remaining distance as they lunged at Blade, punching the ground and making the ground cave in.

  ?“Can I at least know your name, stranger?”

  ?Blade asked undisurbed as he took out Severance, the chains manifesting securely around his arm.

  ?“Bara, the [Authority Hunter]. I heard you got one, so lets do this’

  ?“...”

  Taking the fact Blade did not share his own name with little offence, Bara blew through everything in his way until he found himself right in Blade’s face. Dropping low, the backhand was narrowly dodged, yet Bara still caught Blade’s slash in between his elbow and knee. Tossed away shortly after, Blade landed only to see Bara closing in with a burst of physical force.

  “I don’t particularly find myself talking much to strangers”

  Deflecting the punch, causing dust to whirl up around them. Before Blade tried kicking Bara’s back only to be flipped through the air. Still he found himself asking.

  “I can take it you don’t have an authority.”

  ?“Of course not. Do you think they grow on trees? Yet the ones who gain them, are too stuck up to use them.”

  The words were layered as Bara’s punches forced the air to move. Only dispersing when Blade cut them apart as he landed. Putting his Blade behind his head, Bara found his punch blocked by reflex, as Blade’s other hand grabbed the arm trying to rip out his spine.

  “Well aren’t you a strong one?”

  “...”

  His silence was less than a happy one too. Blade was struggling to comprehend how the air was moving without any magic or authority.

  ??(Severance, telepathically). “Had that punch been on any earth, it would have torn space.”

  ?The sudden words surprised him to a degree that it almost left him vulnerable, blocking the kick on instinct even as it sent him flying. Still it gave him the chance to respond.

  “Mind expanding on that ‘tearing up space’ part?”

  ?(Severance, telepathically). “Different realities have different regulations, you can say. It's the reason things were so hard for you when you first arrived. Different realities can have different regulations. from scales of sizes, to time and space, everything, really. The scale of sizes were practically the same for this reality and yours, but things like distance, speed, and physical stats are different. It's why you were so weak compared to your world. You didn’t lose strength, your strength simply was weak here.”

  ?“And you couldn’t tell me that earlier?”

  ?(Severance, telepathically). “Well, I didn’t find it important, and since you’re wondering, if someone like Indra were to go to your world, reality would in best case shake, and in the worst case shatter.”

  “Firstly how did you know I was wondering? Secondly please expand on that too”

  ?(Severance, telepathically). “Realities have limits. Think of it as everything having an Existential Value. The more powerful that thing or being is, the more existential value it has. In the case of Indra, he would have a lot of existential value, making a weaker reality instantly shatter at the breach of the limit.”

  “And how do you read my thoughts?”

  (Severence, telepathically). “I’m in your head”

  The realization almost hit as hard as the punch that destroyed whatever was beside him, forcing Blade to leap away from the second.

  ?(Blade, telepathically) “What decides the limit then?”

  ?(Severance, telepathically). “The strength of the beings within it. It's the reason why Origins reincarnate into other worlds. It's easier to limit your power when dead.”

  ?(Blade, telepathically). “Wait, wait. What is that supposed to mean—”

  ?Though he got no answer, the man finally managed to land a punch, which despite being blocked by Blade, still launched him back.

  ?(Severance, telepathically). “Do take care of yourself. I feel your pain too, you know.”

  ?(Blade, telepathically). “Tell me why I’m not reading your mind and I might”

  Getting back up, as he dodged the second punch and deflected the third.

  ?(Severance, telepathically). “You simply don’t want to.”

  ?Her words reminded Blade that he had rejected reading her memories when he received them, not wanting to pry into her privacy. Seems that wish carried over even now, so that he did not read her thoughts.

  ?(Severance, telepathically). “And before you ask, since I’m just a part of you, I don’t have that choice. I will feel you no matter what. We might have separate minds, souls, and bodies, but our core, the convergence between the three, will remain the same. And since it's yours, I will only be an extension of you, master.”

  ?He was suddenly brought back by the punch that landed square beside him. Talking with Severance telepathically had made him divide his mental capacity between everything around him going on. At least his reflexes let him move with decent mobility.

  ?“You must seriously dislike talking. Tell me, are you always this boring?!”

  ?The words brought Blade back from his own mind as he felt a kick connecting with his chest, launching Blade through three different houses. For Blade, though, it only felt like waking up from a daze. Rising from the rubble, he said..

  ?“Sorry for the rudeness. I’ll take you on seriously from here on”