Truth about the system!

"Wh-what the fuck did you say?" Words choked on Desmond as he was unable to comprehend what he just heard. To drop all of these bombs just now was a huge hit for him.

"You know about the regression? You were killed by Home-Bringer? How do--"

"Calm down." Graham looked at his son with pity. He didn't want this. He wanted his son to live a normal life away from the other worlders and their skirmishes but he is already too deep inside to back out now, whether willingly or not.

"What do you mean you were the reason why I regressed?" Desmond calmed down from the initial shock though he wanted answers, being hyperventilated does not help here.

Calmness is the way to succeed. He learned it the hard way last time. If he were calm, then he would never have spewed those things in the public media, garnering unwanted attention, which ultimately leads to his death.

"Like you, I was also a holder of the system." Graham looked at his son. Desmond decided to listen to his father before saying anything.

Seeing his son's calm face, Graham continued, "My mission also was to subjugate the anomaly that can threaten both ours and the... gods' world."

Desmond nodded and took a sip from his coffee.

"Like you, I also had a second chance, and yet I failed." Graham's voice was breaking.

"Who is he? For him to cause this much trouble to both the worlds." Desmond asked, confusedly. For someone to cause so much trouble that even the gods decided to eliminate him by all means.

"Like both of us, he was also a system holder."

"What!? How is that possible?" He was genuinely shocked.

"See, son, there are many things you don't know and many things that I don't know too, but the basic premise is this; This world is like an anomaly to the so-called gods. Those aliens cannot intervene here directly, since there are some unknown restrictions on them. So, what do they do? They select some people and grant them the power of the system, which is an advanced training process and aid that can help the holder to be more powerful than their potential, so in turn, the holder exterminates the marked ones for the gods. That is the gist of the matter."

Graham took a sip of his coffee to wet his throat. Well, which was unnecessary, since he was a soul in the afterlife.

"So the guy Home-Bringer, as you can guess, was selected, and he was successful in eliminating the marked one. Note that this was 300years ago. The gods played dirty and tried to eliminate him, but the genius Home-Bringer was more powerful than their thoughts. The angered gods then started to grant people a system to exterminate the Home-Bringer, which is still going on to this day."

Graham stood from his seat and walked towards the window, motioning Desmond to follow him.

Through the window, Desmond saw an old memory, not his, but his father's.

It was a family moment. The small little Desmond might be 3 or 4 at that time. He and his father, along with his mother, were playing joyfully at an old house. They all looked happy. The giggle on the little kid while chasing his mother was so pure.

"God, she is beautiful." Desmond heard his father and looked at him. He was longingly looking at his mother.

"You loved her?"

"Of course, she was my whole world."

Desmond knew something was wrong with the relationship between his father and mother. It was more deeper than he thought.

"...what happened?" he solemnly asked.

"I lost both you and her in my first life." A heavy silence descended as the words left him.

Desmond didn't speak anything, he just looked at his father with pity.

Graham took a deep breath and looked at Desmond.

"And I got a second chance to make it right, which I did, but at the cost of breaking our family. Explaining it to your mother will only bring her death, as she will be adamant about helping me. She's like that. So don't hate that woman. She is shy and awkward sometimes, but deep inside, she is a good woman."

Desmond was in deep thought. "I hated her. Both on my last time and this time, too. She died pitifully last time. I never even went to her funeral. I...I didn't know."

Graham placed his hands on his son's shoulder. "That's alright. You've plenty of time to make it right, but for that, you need to be strong enough to stand against him and until you're strong enough 'do not get marked by him'." Graham emphasized the warning. "Or you can die a pitiful death by him."

"I don't plan on taking him now. I know what he is capable of." He looked at his father. "How did you die?"

"Oh," Graham wore an embarrassed look, "he lasered me through my eyes."

"Oh, same as I."

Both of them looked at each other and laughed loudly. Desmond was enjoying this small conversation since he know he won't have this luxury in the living world.

"What should I do, father? Should I go against the gods or should I go against my world's god?"

"If you go against the gods, then your death is certain as of now and even if you chose to go against the Home-Bringer, you'll be dead like last time unless you get powerful enough to take him down. Whatever choice you make, it will affect both of the worlds."

"I see. I guess time will tell."

They both stood there and watched the sunset, which changed from the family memory. Desmond had a feeling that this reunion will end soon.

"What about when you said you're the reason I was regressed?" He wanted to acquire the maximum knowledge that he can get before he returns to the mortal world.

"When I died a second time, I asked them to give you a chance."

"Why?"

"For the upcoming calamity, you need all the power you can garner and the system will help you get that."

"What is this calamity?" Desmond asked in confusion.

"I don't know yet, but you know about the unexplored land masses in the north and west, right?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"There is something there, or rather, someone or some group of beings, that can be a problem if discovered."

"Dad, what are you--" His voice choked as he saw his father was becoming transparent... "What is happening?" He cried out.

"Well, I guess this is it. For now. Don't come soon, enjoy out there. Oh, and look after John, he is an idiot."

"Yes! I will."

"And there is an A.I. to assist you with the system. They can be quite annoying, but they will be more than helpful to you than you think."

"Ah, a little annoying? That thing is driving me crazy..." His eyes tearing up. " I just wanted to say I'm extremely proud to be your son, but that doesn't mean I'll follow in your footsteps."

"Fair enough!" Said Graham quite happily. His torso was now becoming invisible.

"Oh, and I was in the Vagabonds last time. The youngest to achieve it."

"Wow, seriously? Well, I guess you do have my genes, after all." He smiled proudly. He looked down to see only his head remaining. "Take care, son." With that, he was gone and Desmond felt his soul being pulled by a force just like the Bluek Hylark's special move.

*****

[Come on Desmond, don't die now. Wake up]

In a large red space, Desmond was floating on water and acids along with many other dead and alive fishes and other things. So many bones and other 'things' were also present there.

He was currently in the belly of the giant blue creature, unconscious for several hours.