The monster beneath the surface

The weapons encircled Chump, leaving him with minimal room to move. They momentarily ceased their upgrades, causing a tremor to ripple through the entity before him.

"Clem wouldn't have put me in this situation... He wouldn't..." Her once monotone voice faltered, now filled with doubt and confusion.

"You trust him so much," Chump mumbled, swallowing a bit of saliva as he let a moment pass deliberately. "But you're correct. He wasn't the one who informed me of all this. It was Ephiron, before Asaga's arrival. You know, we do have the ability to communicate."

Her voice returned to its monotone tranquility, as the tendrils maintained her semi-liquid, semi-solid form. "Cease these games, human. Undo what you've done to Clem. Now."

Chump shrugged, his facial expression remaining unchanged. "I can't, even if I wanted to, at least not without his consent."

"Then inform me of what is transpiring immediately."

"And I thought Asaga was rude... You don't seem to enjoy playing games or trying to figure things out, do you? You prefer a direct path to solutions. But right now, you're panicking to the point of aiming your weapons directly at me."

The artificial being did not respond. An awkward moment passed as the weapons made contact with the human, a knife at his throat, an 18th-century gun at his skull, and the red-hot tip hovering near his lower region, close to his legs. Yet the human displayed no fear or remorse for his actions, a fact that did not sit well with the android, evident by the subtle shift in her facial expression.

"Explain. I am not made of time," she demanded.

The human breathed in and out slowly, mindful of the weaponry pointed at him, then replied, "I will consider what to tell you, but I will ask exactly four questions. If you answer them with complete honesty, I will share with you, without lies or omissions, what has happened to him. That's the game I'm playing right now. Do you want to play?"

Meisho glanced at him and then around him. No weapons, no traps, his hands were empty. Remenant flowed through her eyes, briefly turning them gray as she scanned him for traces of any metal objects. No devices were detected apart from a rectangular piece of metal in his pocket.

"Empty your pocket. Slowly, use only two fingers," she instructed.

"Alright, alright. You certainly know your way around," Chump responded in a calm tone. He slowly retrieved the phone from his pocket, holding it between two fingers. "Please don't destroy it. It's not a weapon, just a tool."

Meisho examined the device with a mix of curiosity and caution, maintaining a safe distance. "An item composed of precise yet unknown components with no apparent function? A simple glass tablet with minimal protection for its internal components... How peculiar... And no Remenant either... Human, drop it."

"Oh, come on. It can break from this height," Chump grumbled, unhappy with the request.

The hot red tendril approached dangerously close to his lower region. "Are you partially deaf? I will not repeat myself."

"Alright, alright, not my... uh, sensitive parts, geez!" He carefully dropped the phone from a height of almost two meters.

Fortunately, the double casing protected the phone, preventing it from breaking. Meisho's monotonous voice intensified in volume, the situation becoming more tense as she closed in on Chump's face.

"Three questions. Then you will answer mine. Speak."

Chump took a deep breath, trying not to dwell on the weapons aimed at him.

"I'll try to be quick then; hope you know what I mean. First question: Are you an artificial being? And I don't mean the element..."

Meisho responded immediately, not even a second after he finished speaking, "Yes."

"Alright, I won't delve deeper into those answers. Not in the mood for it, got it. The second question then: What are artificial people? And please elaborate on this explanation."

"Artificial people are individuals who have been created by others or cursed by the artificial element. Some are only partially artificial, but many are more fully artificial compared to other races, as this is a relatively recent development."

Clem's Remenant recharge had finished, and he slowly woke up. He noticed them conversing but remained silent, fearing that the promise he made with Chump would be accidentally broken. He quietly disengaged himself from the recharge process.

Chump nodded and rolled his head, connecting the dots in his mind. "Impressive, like cyborgs but occurring naturally. Alright, the third question then: You issued a secret order to Clem, prioritizing it over what Clyon and the threat ordered for everyone. Why?"

Meisho faintly smiled, answering the probing question, "Interesting, yes, I did. I wish to investigate all matters and enhance technology, efficiency, power, and everything related to a brighter future for my people and Clyon."

Chump acted quickly, continuing, "Nice, always striving for a brighter future! I like your vision. What do you consider Clem, then?"

"Oh, he's like a son I cannot have," Meisho replied, a slight blush appearing on her face. "You said three!" she reminded him.

"Clem! Have you heard—" But Chump was abruptly cut off.

One of the tendrils enveloped Chump's throat, lifting him while strangling him with tremendous force. Meisho's alien eyes glowed a fiery red, while Remenant lines of multiple colors traveled through her synthetic skin to her head.

Chump instinctively struggled to free himself, a mixture of fear and dread filling his eyes for a moment. But he saw her expression.

She was furious. Enraged. Filled with hatred.

Even without words, Chump could sense her intense anger, evident in the deep frown etched onto her face. Her words, though choked, conveyed her anger.

"You and all of you fleshlings are the same, joking around and making me go out of my way. Let this be the last words you hear, human. No inferior meat bag will make—"

Clem descended like a meteor, swiftly severing Chump from the tendril and placing himself between them, his alarm and anxiety evident as he pleaded, "Wait, Master Meisho, he means no harm! Remember the Guardian Ercles!"

Meisho froze, still hanging Chump by the throat as she looked at Clem. Clem rushed to the lab, leaving the door open, and immediately retrieved the Austenite mole bear skull trophy. Meisho inspected it, saying, "An Austenite mole bear skull. This could be faked."

Clem, in his anxious state, tried to explain, "It's the truth, Master Meisho. I—" The Promise spell activated.

Clem concentrated Remenant into his right arm, the blue Remenant glowing brightly. In the next nanosecond, a massive blue-purple laser shot forth, slicing through the tendril around Chump's throat. It severed the tendril, freeing Chump and sending him into a free fall.

Clem shouted frantically before, "CHUMP! CHANGE THE PROMISE! CHANGE THE PROMISE!" The golem extended his arm, marked with thunderous power, while using his other hand to catch Chump.

Amid violent coughs and while falling, Chump barely comprehended Clem. Before he was caught, he managed to say with the faintest hint of air left, "Change...promi..."

But enough to be understood by the world, as both hands connected, the marks lit up, momentarily blinding Meisho. However, it didn't take long; the next moment, they were back on their respective bodies.

Before the tendrils could reach the human again, Clem shielded Chump with his body and extended his recorder crystal with them. Meisho paused to assess the situation. More tendrils were approaching the human, but she personally, with her hand, took the recorder and infused it with Remenant.

The recorder projected the entire interaction from the golem's perspective, starting from their first meeting and leading up to the promise. It showed their journey to the abandoned village, highlighting not only how Chump had saved Clem once but three times in different ways.

First, by pushing him out of the way of the magma mole bear; second, by redirecting him to the industrial zone and snapping him out of it; and third, by freezing and defeating the bear.

All the recordings were played fast forward, while Meisho simultaneously downloaded this wealth of information into her brain through Remenant. In the few minutes it took, they witnessed the entire sequence of events and Chump's detailed explanations of everything, along with the complete report Clem had been preparing for when the promise ended.

During this time, Meisho meticulously examined the entire recording session. Chump, regaining his breath through violent coughs, held his hand tightly.

Clem attempted to justify the situation, saying, "I'm so sorry, Chump. Sometimes Meisho experiences panic attacks outside of her titan, and—"

"She had a PTSD reaction... I understand... It's not my first encounter with it, and I don't think it will be the last..." Chump's hand didn't leave Clem's. For the first time in two weeks, his words and his actions differed. He trembled, shaking, his eyes filled with a heavy sadness, and then he sobbed uncontrollably. 

He half hugged clem. Letting his emotions go.

He cried as its hearts content, 

It has been a long and trying day.