59 The Tunnels

I want to slam my head into a wall.

Our first arrival in the dark corridor was a complete disaster, so I did what anyone in my situation would, and I Rewound time. It didn't work, so I did it again.

And again.

At this point, I think I am on my twenty-fourth Rewind, and still nowhere near close enough to resolve this problem. The Order needs manpower, and shooting everyone you meet isn't exactly the best way to gain recruits.

So far, everything I tried ended up in complete failure.

Reasoning with them didn't work since these guards are the kind of people who shoot first and ask questions later. Impressing them with a light show somehow worsened the situation since the surge of mana alerted the other residents, and a ton of poorly equipped guards rushed through the corridor.

I'll have to admit; I may have to spend a few minutes gunning them down with a smile on my face.

Of course, it was to relieve my frustration and not because the voice in my head kept pestering me until I gave up...

This voice will soon fade away, right?

Man, I would be a goldmine for a therapist. I mean, someone pretending to be a god while a voice in his head tells him to murder people doesn't exactly scream 'sane person', does it?

But let's leave it at that. For now, I have more pressing matters to attend to. Until this point, I've been Rewinding to the moment when we entered the corridor, but it's not working. I need another approach, something that would allow us to come in without being considered as enemies.

And I think that the idea that popped into my head is going to be this approach, at least if everything happens as it should.

I Rewind time to the moment where we are about to enter the long corridor, and I turn towards the nearest woman who is already fiddling with the hexagonal item that will open the door. "Listen," I say in a soft, yet commandeering voice.

Or I sound like some weird idiot, I can't tell. And I wouldn't even know it since the cultists are not capable of being critical when it comes to me, the two long-eared women would also be too scared to say anything.

I'm sure that everything is fine...

I take a deep breath, "Those Tunnels of yours will be guarded, correct?"

Roshia nods, "Yes, usually there's a pair of guards that monitor each new arrivals."

She told me the truth, so it's a sign that she's willing to be honest with me. At least this confirms that this situation wasn't an elaborate set up for an ambush.

"Then we should wait here until you confirm our situation with those guards. Otherwise, they might get angry, and we'll have to enact divine punishment on them." I say while briefly pointing towards the two cultists carrying rifles.

She looks to be in deep thoughts while the door reveals itself, "This makes sense... I'm sorry to leave you out there! You want to help us and yet we reject you for no good reason." Roshia says in a sad voice.

I raise an eyebrow; I never said anything of the sort. It looks like my earlier theatrics left a deep impression on her fragile mind, and the look in her eyes is eerily similar to the fanaticism of the members of the Order.

It's nice to see that my propaganda efforts are already bearing fruits, with any luck the beliefs of this woman will be the catalyst for spreading my reputation amongst her people.

"It's fine, I'll allow it for this time. But only for this time." I say before stomping the ground.

After all, I have to maintain my image of a strong but merciful god.

"Of course, I'll not disappoint you!" Roshia says while clenching one of her slender fists. In the meantime, her companion looks at her with a look of slight surprise. It seems like my efforts haven't yet reached her, but I'm sure that I'll win her over within the day.

The door closes in front of us, and the cultists don't say anything, so at least I won't have to explain my potentially stupid plan. If the women fail or run away, then we would wait in front of a wall like a troupe of idiots for who knows how long.

The resulting headlines, 'Man pretending to be a god fooled by two starved women', wouldn't be good for my reputation in this Shard.

Even a Rewind would not erase the shame I would feel. In a weird, and kind of twisted way, I'm glad that this place is drowning in so much misery that things like newspapers don't exist.

I sigh and wait for a minute to pass.

Another one passes, and the wall shows no sign of movement.

Another minute comes to an end, and I begin to show hints of impatience.

Two minutes later, and the seeds of doubt have infected my mind. I'm not worried about our potential pursuers since there aren't any in the first place, but I'm beginning to believe that we'll not enter those tunnels today.

Two minutes, and a lot of internal debates about how reasonable it would be to blow up this door later, and something finally happens. The protective wall comes to life and peels away, revealing the rusty metal door that is soon opened by the occupants of the tunnels.

A bit of relief course over my body when the two women are present, at least they didn't call an army of guards.

That would have been unwise.

"They don't look like much, but I'll believe you this time." One of the two guards that flank the two women eyes us with obvious disdain before beckoning us into the tunnels.

A glance towards the cultists is enough to silence them; this guard doesn't know how close to death he was in this timeline.

We enter the tunnels under the watchful eyes of the guards, and I can't help but sneer under my helmet. If all the fighters are at the level of the two guards, then I would be more than enough to deal with all of them at OnCe.

But let's not focus on that, it took quite a bit of Rewinds before I reached this point, so I don't want to throw this opportunity away unless I have no other choice.

We walk in silence until the narrow tunnels expand, and what I see takes my breath away for a moment.

The tunnels, which are wide enough to hold two pickup trucks side by side, are filled with rickety shacks lined against the circular sides of the tubes. The resulting corridor over what looks like some weirdly shaped rail system is bustling with people coming and going.

Just how many people are hiding in there?!

These people appear to be of the same species as the two women and the guards, so saying that we're sticking out is a bit of an understatement.

"We got you an audience with the Chief. If even half of what she's been saying about you is true, then we would appreciate your help." One of the guards says before guiding towards what was once a station. The re-purposed station has been reinforced and mostly sealed off, and it should be used as a sort of ample living space. The group leads us towards the door, which is nothing more than an old piece of cloth, and nod at the two guards protecting the area who follow my every moves with narrowed eyes before stepping to the side.

The inside of the mansion, and I hesitate to call it that, is relatively clean and good looking considering the place it's in. The furniture is sparse and was made with whatever was lying around.

My gawking is interrupted by a guard who beckons me towards a room separated from the rest of the mansion by an actual door It looks to be beyond ancient and ready to crumble at any moment, but it's still something.

The guard raises a hand, "Just you, these two will have to wait outside." he says while pointing at the Legionaries.

I nod to silence any protest the Legionaries might have made and step into the room with the two women. It's empty save for a 'grandiose' looking metal chair that has seen better days, the rug under my feet has lost all of its colors and is ragged beyond recognition.

This situation gives me a slight sense of déjà vu, and I can only hope that this meeting will be better than the last time I met a tribal chief.

"Chief Taanyth enters!" a guard says, and an old man with a face covered in wrinkles, with wispy shoulder-length white hair and who's wearing an old shirt and a faded pair of pants that have lost all their colors steps into the room and sit on the chair. I put my hands behind my back and straighten my spine while the others lower their heads.

"So you're the one who's saved those two little rascals? Are you a new Arrival?" he asks with a surprisingly bright and melodic voice while nodding towards the two women.

"I did save those people, and I have no idea what you mean about being an Arrival," I reply.

Please, no more prophetic bullshit, I had my fill with the Order.

"Arrival is how we name those who have been dumped into this Shard, but something tells me you're not the kind of person who can be ordered around," Taanyth replies with a mischievous look.

"You guessed right," I say while eying the old man up. I'm the perfect example of why appearances can be deceiving, so I will not underestimate him. This old man might look weak and feeble, but I wouldn't even be surprised if he could slap me into another dimension.

And I can't afford to have my ass handed to me like this. Otherwise, my plan which relies on pretending to be a god will fall apart.

"From what my guards told me, you healed two of our wounded Divers, and even repelled a group of Invaders that was about to kill them..." all hints of mischievousness disappear from Taanyth's face. "Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful for what you did. You can call me cynical, but I don't believe in the inherent goodness of people. So tell me what you're after, and we might be able to make a deal that will benefit both of us."

Being wary of the old chief turned out to be the correct decision. I need to be cautious when dealing with him, or he might turn the population of the Tunnels against me, and this would defeat the whole purpose of coming here.

Of course, I'll Rewind until I get a favorable outcome, but who knows how much time it will take, and how much Rewinds will I be able to go through before the murderous voice forces me to kill him?

"Straight to the point then... I saw how your people live and I can offer them a better life. I have the resources and knowledge to give them food, actual housing, and proper healthcare." I say with a confident voice. The Printers can easily provide all these things with little to no effort, and it will make a tremendous difference for those in the Shards who are living in horrible conditions.

"This all sounds too good to be true, what's the catch?" the chief retorts.

"There's no catch; I just want a couple of things in exchange. First of all, I want this Shard."

My declaration causes silence to fall, Elora seems completely taken aback while Roshia looks like she was expecting it. This woman is surprisingly calm considering the situation, and I kind of wonder what's going through her head at the moment.

Where is my telepath when I need her?

I shake my head, knowing the idle thoughts of a random woman isn't worth risking the life of someone with what might be a unique ability.

"Are you serious?" Taanyth says with a look of mild surprise.

"Of course, and I can get rid of those that you call Invaders." I declare.

In truth, we don't know a lot about this gang. So I hope they aren't hiding something of a level similar to Beelzebub or we would be annihilated without a doubt.

"And of course you'll replace them? I don't know you, and your proposition is too good to be true." Taanyth says with suspicion.

"I'm not like those bastards. I know very well what it's like to be powerless against a seemingly all-powerful ruling class. Haven't you thought about rebelling? I can give you weapons that will make you stronger than their most exemplary warriors, all I need from you is your support and loyalty." I say.

The face of the old man shifts slightly, but this change doesn't escape my eyes. He's already thought about kicking out the gangs from his home and earning his freedom back, anyone in his situation would.

But Taanyth looks like the kind of person who lives in reality, so he must be aware that their current situation is hopeless. They are unable to feed themselves properly so fighting a long, drawn-out conflict isn't something they can afford to do.

However, my proposal should shake the status quo.

"Loyalty? Your offer is tempting, but what guarantees do I have that you will not turn into a tyrant as soon as the Invaders are gone?" the chief argues back.

I got him; he wouldn't ask that if he wasn't interested. Now, I need to convince him that we're the better, and the only way for them to have a future.

I take a deep breath and activate my robes. The dim room is lit up for a brief second, but it's enough to shock everyone except the cultists.

"My name is Prometheus, Bearer of the First Flame, Savior of Humanity and someone who transcended the limits of mortality! How can you compare me to mere thugs?!" I shout.

Those titles I found in the Codex when I briefly read it are instrumental in making me sound more grandiose than I am. Of course, this guy doesn't know what any of these titles mean, and I also have no idea.

But I think he got the message, and he must either believe that I'm very important...

Or very delusional.

If I'm honest, it's the latter. But this old man doesn't need to know that.

"A-Are you serious?" the shocked old man ask while tremors course through his body.

I don't know if he believed me, but at least I scared him.

"Of course I am, do you think that Prometheus speaks lightly?" if I were in any other situation, I would have died of shame. "As a gesture of goodwill, I will set-up some basic medical facilities in your Tunnels, and provide your people with rations. Prometheus takes good care of his followers!"

One thing I didn't say is the fact that we'll spread preachers around and slip copies of the Codex with each meal and treatments we will provide. If things go as planned, then the faith of the Order will spread on its own, and the chief will not have any other choice than to accept.

But I have to maintain the illusion of choice for a bit longer; there's no way that he'll refuse our help in his current situation.

"I'll think about it," Taanyth says after pondering on my offer for a couple of minutes. "In exchange, you'll help my people like you said you would, even if we end up not accepting?"

I nod, and we both grin at the same time. Accepting my proposition is like signing away his authority since I'll commit a rather large part of the Legion to this endeavor. It's another way of forcing the hand of the chief; having a superior foreign armed force in your territory has never been a good idea.

This old man may not be as sly as I thought since he was immediately blinded by the offer of free food and medical care. He may have some plans of his own, but I think he underestimates the power of modern propaganda.

However, the way that negotiations went still makes me a bit wary. It was way too easy, so I should be careful of any underhanded maneuvers from his goons, at least while they remain loyal to him.

If things go as planned, then this Shard is as good as ours. So I think it's time to think about what we are going to do once we relocate.

Should I track down the one who requested the bounty? Finding the instigator may be lengthy and costly, and I'm not sure that we will be able to do anything if we ever find him. On the other hand, we should begin to advertise ourselves on Earth.

Organizations like the Order or disenfranchised people are likely to flock to my banner if my message gets out, and it will increase our manpower pool. But it would also attract even more attention from the Enforcers. And it wouldn't be a good thing since my tactic of sowing chaos into their ranks has failed miserably; not one of the splinter groups I hoped would form have contacted me, so I can only assume that they don't exist or are too small to matter.

Either way, taking control of this Shard is the first step towards WorLd DoMinaTioN-

Like I said before, it's the first step toward getting rid of the Enforcers.