Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-One

NO MEANS NO

You've run, you've hid

You desire peace, but you can't find it.

Yet, you would forsake the power that awaits you?

Once again, Dionysus didn't have to even think about his answer.

"I don't give a damn, and probably won't ever. I don't want to join a side, I want to be an extra on the side. I don't want to be the shining hero or the villain, I'm more interested in other things."

Dionysus looked it all over again. That was, his journey.

'I didn't want any of this. I don't care if all of humanity, no, all of mortals fall to hell, or if they rise to heaven. I don't care about this abyss that's awaiting us all.'

'I don't care at all.'

'I want to live my life. I was just a bartender dragged into this whole mess. I enjoyed it, it was nice, fun, and the people I met during all that was amazing. I don't want to lose it all just because I was pressured into being the hero, or a villain, or something else.'

Dionysus reflected on his thoughts, and came to his final decision.

"I'm sure you've all been waiting for a long time for someone to come. I'm sure you've all been waiting for that final chance that would lead you all to glory."

Dionysus grabbed one of the hands on his left shoulder and gently removed it.

"But, I'm not that chance or one."

He'd seen enough people that he respected that he was surprised that he was chosen over all of them. His memories flicked to Cerberus, to the Chained King, to Negata, to the other version of himself.

'All of them are impressive people that I could never be like.'

There was something that they all had that Dionysus never found in himself, or rather, didn't try to coax out of himself.

That was the insanity required to accomplish what the civilians of the abyss were asking.

'You could ask them to do the impossible, but instead of a confused look popping up on their face, they'd probably do just that.'

They had forsaken their rationality because they understood how the world was, and they wanted to become powerful and reach the top. On the other hand, rather than being scared or fearful of throwing common sense out of the window, Dionysus didn't want to.

'They have their lives, and I have mine. They're optimistic, fearless, and absolutely insane, which is why they're going for the top. I'm realistic, rational, and calm-minded, but that isn't what's needed to reach the true peak.'

It was a door that Dionysus believed he'd never willingly cross, ever.

"I apologize, but I refuse your request."

Dionysus was recollecting himself. During all of the insanity that he had gone through, he lost all his true features, thoughts, and everything else, and threw them away. At the time, it was the only way for him to survive.

Now, he felt like the finale was near, and he was picking up his former self.

It is not I who you must apologize to, but instead the souls of the people who dwell.

Dionysus wasn't floating in the abyss anymore, at least not physically, but was now inside of some sort of bubble. He was confused as to when he got into it, but that didn't matter right now.

'It's just like Behind the Curtain.'

Reminded of his alternate dimension where he could float around wherever he wanted in it, Dionysus easily learned how to move round in the bubble. He did a no gravity backflip and looked at the souls that resembled fragments of glass.

None of the hands are stretched out anymore.

'Dead people are so much nicer than the living.'

Dionysus remembered the nature of humans, where if a single person rejected what they believed in or wanted, a group of them would gang up on the one. Contrary to that, the denizens of the abyss seem to be very accepting.

'Makes me feel really guilty.'

"I'm beyond apologetic, to the degree that I���d be willing to approach each and every single one of you to apologize if you wanted it so. However, this is not what I want for myself, nor do I think I will ever desire it. Now, for both your sakes and mine, I humbly request that we put this behind us."

Bowing at a near perfect ninety degree angle, his message was conveyed. He didn't even know if the soul fragments had mental capabilities, could hear, see, or if there actually was a consciousness behind them, but he did know that an apology was due.

Shortly after he conveyed his emotions, the souls that resembled shards of glass disappeared from his view, and the abyss was completely black.

Except for one. A singular one decided to stay.

'Why is this one person still here? Did I offend them so badly that they refuse to take just that?'

Dionysus didn't straighten his back, but instead bowed even deeper than before. It looked like he was about to snap his spine, but due to him being a granted and awakened one, this was nothing to pull off.

"I deeply apollo-"

CLAP

He felt a hand on his shoulder, one full of warmth and emotion, unlike that he would expect from someone that was living in the abyss.

The second that the hand was put on his shoulder, Dionysus immediately recognized it. He didn't dare to look up, as he was afraid of possibly bursting the dream he was in the middle of. This hand belonged to something that left Dionysus long ago, something he had thought he would be ok without seeing ever again.

'I was wrong.'

He could feel his nose sniffling, the sensation of snot ready to drip hung about it.

'I was terribly wrong.'

His eyes moistened and began to turn red, something that Dioysus thought he'd never end up doing again. He was on the verge of tears, and a storm of them at that.

". . . Silhouette?"

--- SEQUENCE 2 ---

SLAM

The door to the chamber that was full of pillars was opened, and standing in the entrance was a man who Veritas knew plenty about.

"Y-You . . ."

"Yo."

It was the same person that Veritas could've swore 'bled out' a while ago. There was still some liquor dripping from all parts of his body, but not as much anymore.

'Wait, he can sense me?'

Veritas realized that he reacted to his words, and this worried him greatly. However, after seeing the man stare at Ira, his anxiety all but disappeared.

"That's right, there's no way he'd be able to see me."

He stood up, and dashed straight at the intruder.

'I've gotta put him down before he does anything to Ira.'

He straightened his left hand, and prepared to slide it into the man's neck. Only a few feet away from him, Veritas leaped at this point, and his hand was going straight for the target.

'I'll just ask the heavens about why you stood back up later.'

TIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG

Suddenly, a deafening sound rang out from seemingly nowhere. It resulted in an extremely intense ringing within the ear.

'Where?! Who?!'

Veritas' natural instincts as an organism kicked in, and he could tell that he was in danger of some sort. He looked left and right, but besides the guy drenched in liquor in front of him, there was nobody but Ira.

'According to my connection with her, she's done nothing but charge up. That means it could only be him.'

His eyes flickered back to Dionysus. After the sound rang throughout the whole of the chamber, Veritas' path had been skewed, and blood was dripping from his ears. It wasn't to the point of deafening him, or even getting close to it, but his hearing was definitely impacted.

'Just kill him!'

His worries were starting to surface, but he still thought he could finish it right here and now.

"Die, Dionysus!"

Veritas lunged at him, taking aim at the heart this time.

DVFUM

What met Veritas was the back of a fist. It wasn't even a punch that was thrown, but just a weak counterattack. That weak counterattack, though, ended up sending Veritas flying into a pillar, and then going through it and into the next.

"GU-HA!"

Blood dripped out of Veritas' mouth. Combined with the blood coming out of his ears, Veritas was starting to worry about taking an actual injury. But, there was something that was even more worrisome than that.

'He . . . can sense me?'

"It's over, Veritas."

Veritas was dumbfounded concerning what was happening. The man who was supposed to be dead was in front of him once more, and not only was he standing, he looked like he was fully capable of doing anything right now.

"Get out while you still can. If you do, things won't go as awful as they can."

His gold eyes were glowing stronger than ever, so much so that Veritas could've swore that there were lanterns buried in them. Even the sight and smell of the liquor that he was drenched in wouldn't make anyone think of Dionysus as anything less than royalty.

"I don't want to take this any further, and neither should you."

Unfortunately, after Dionysus' second sentence, Veritas stopped listening.

'Get out while I still can . . .? What a load of crap.'

'If I leave do you have any idea about what would happen? Do you?'

'No, you wouldn't. Nobody would, after all. If it wasn't for me, so much more people would be dead.'

'Nobody understands. Not you, not my five contractors, nor any other mortal.'

Dionysus continued to stare at Veritas with dead, cold eyes. They were glowing more brightly than ever, yet he'd never felt so distant before. Veritas hated those eyes so much, but he also felt like they were all too similar to his, which made them look comfortable.

'You, you're similar to me. You were forced into something you didn't want to be a part of, right?'

'Maybe you understand.'

Veritas pulled out his leg from the pillar that he was embedded into. First, it was his left leg, and once it made contact with the ground, he pulled out his right arm to pull out the rest of his body.

"I've killed . . . so many people, that it's insane. I did it to protect humanity, to protect us all. If I stop, we'll all die, and not a peaceful death either. Do you understand that?"

Veritas was looking for possible sympathy, for some comfort. He believed that he finally found someone similar to him, someone that could look at his experiences and relate.

Sadly . . .

"There's nothing I don't understand anymore, my good sir. However, even if I understand it, I refuse to acknowledge it."

. . . Reality wasn't kind enough to acknowledge that faint dream.

Veritas had his mouth wide open, his eyes full of bewilderment as he stared at the figure of Dionysus.

"You mortals have powers, powers strong enough to rebel against that of the heaven's. Was the Chained King not an example?"

Veritas was ready to burst.

"DAMN YOU TO HELL! WHAT DO YOU KNOW, UNDERSTAND, OR ANYTHING ELSE!?"

"THE CHAINED KING TRIED, AND HE FAILED. EVEN IF HE IS FEARED BY THE DWELLERS OF HELL AND HEAVEN, HE FAILED!"

He was angry at Dionysus' lack of commitment to anything. Even in this moment, he was still staring at him calmly, without any emotion. It was like he was beyond all of this, beyond these issues that related to life and death, including him.

This terribly pissed off Veritas.

"No, there was a difference. The Chained King fought, but he fought alone. If all of humanity banded together to strike back, do you truly believe that you would still stand no chance?"

". . . banded together? I knew it, you're an idiot. Do you really think we'd band together? We're too busy clawing at each other's throats to look at the real issues plaguing us, and yet you think we'd get together?"

"The only thing that our kind cares about is money, satisfying lust, and status."

Dionysus gazed at Veritas with pity in his eyes, but disappointment also didn't fail to represent itself within them as well.

"Ignorant, beyond ignorant."

Dionysus began walking towards Veritas.

"You don't have to say anything. You won't back down, no matter what words I put out there. I can only convince you through action."

Veritas clearly had his switch flicked on, but Dionysus saw him as just another human like there was no ability to begin with.

DWIF

A silhouette like being that Veritas had never seen before manifested itself to the right of Dionysus, and began to walk alongside him.

"Hurry up, aren't you going to forsake everything that you're worth to protect humanity?"

Veritas was confused, lost, and emotionally unstable.

But . . .

"Damn straight."

. . . He understood what he had to do.

He began approaching Dionysus as well, but not quite as calmly.

"Even if the peace we live in is fake, even if I have to continue to kill people, I'll do it. After all . . ."

"That's what it'll take to stop a genocide on humanity."