Choice

"We should never have been able to leave alive but we did. Every single one of us. But that wasn't the end. I couldn't direct the portal's exit. That is how we ended up inside the golem dungeon." Victor continued explaining.

"My mission was that relic, and now that it appeared I needed to get my hands on it, no matter how. But who would care about that when confronted with … 'Their' summoning. All I could think of was finding a way out."

"That's why I lost sight of The relic. I don't know what the others did during that timeframe, but when we arrived in the golem dungeon it was Alec who held the die."

Alec, Riva recalled the name from the guild's files. He was the final party member and died during the time after the incident.

"Turned out he was also working for someone. He called the relic 'the master die' and declared he would use it against us if we didn't comply with his orders. With how mysterious the relics are I can't even guess how he got ahold of more information than the Abyss."

"But, thinking back, with what happened, his sources couldn't have been that reliable. Back then we decided to follow Alec's orders for the time being and headed deeper into the golem dungeon."

"Why would he want to head deeper into the dungeon?" Riva interjected.

"Honestly, I have no idea. We never found out." Victor answered.

"I remember that you tried to question and stop Alec you also warned us about the die's power, said Alec was being reckless."

"I knew how the die worked?" Riva thew in another question.

"I don't think so, you did treat it just like any normal die before the incident." Victor mused. "But who knows? You have always been unpredictable. You at least had a good hunch about its powers. But Alec completely ignored you and Jacob who also tried to reason with him."

"Since we couldn't be sure if he'd see his threats through we had little choice but to comply. That was how we continued up to the crystal golem's hall."

The image of the golem in question was forever burned into Riva's memory. One day she would grind this thing into powder.

"It was a tough enemy for our lineup and we all had to do our best to avoid and block its spears." Victor continued. "We stood a chance only because our party was pretty well balanced and because Jacob was approaching the peak of his rank. The fight was drawn out but going in our favor. All we needed was an opening followed by a decisive attack to finish the job. It was then that Clarrissa and Janis made their move."

"They must have waited for an opportunity where Alec was focused on the golem's opening between its attacks. Using the chance Clarissa shot an arrow at the hand in which he held the die resulting in him dropping the relic. Janis immediately snagged it and revealed a high-level teleportation scroll. With that level of spell they would have been near untraceable once they succeeded in its activation."

Riva frowned. "To think she didn't use it when in front of the Nightwalker, they must have planned to escape with the relic from the very beginning, right?" She verbalized her conjecture.

"I believe so." Victor agreed. "I never expected their actions. We traveled together for such a long time, built trust, and as a party that regularly faced danger, we relied on one another with our lives. I even kept an eye on everyone yet I didn't even suspect both Alec and the sisters to aim for the relic. Not to mention, I myself had the very same intention. Our friendship had been a lie. A means to an end."

Riva didn't comment. Even though she felt the need for revenge. She didn't remember the time she spent with the others as a party. Her memories were gone. She couldn't share Victor's attachment because the people he was talking about were nothing more than strangers to the current her, this included Victor. For all her initial anger and burning hatred, she was surprisingly calm, a frosty calm.

"The sisters caused the fight to devolve into chaos. Everyone was pretty distracted by the sisters' actions. But we still had the crystal golem to deal with. Without them and Alec it should have been difficult to handle. We couldn't let them get away." Victor narrated. "The leader was the first to respond. He exploded with silver light and strength. I always knew he was powerful, but never to what extent. Turns out he had been blessed by the goddess of the Righteous Shield. He went full-on berserk and quite literally smashed through the crystal golem."

"At the same time, I also made my move. After all, I couldn't have them leave with the relic. I needed to succeed with my mission, at all costs. It was all that mattered to me."

"Everyone rushed at Janis and grabbed onto her, in time to be teleported along with her… except for you."

Victor gave a cautious glance at Riva's expression.

"Go on." Her calm and serious demeanor made him nervous. He was expecting her to lash out at him, at the very least express her anger.

He swallowed hard and picked up where he left off.

"You never got involved in the fight over the relic. Truthfully, you would have been too weak to make a difference anyway. And beacuse you handled support from the backlines you were too far to make it."

"When we got teleported, the golem was already half dead. But we all knew there was no way for a beginner like you to survive alone in there. If the crystal golem didn't do the deed then another one would finish the job. And if you stayed in a cleared room you'd face a fate worse than death and be assimilated by the dungeon."

"We could have chosen to let go of Janis and stay behind with you… None of us did."

"Considerations aside, in the end, we all saw how a crystal spear pinned you to the wall."

Victor sighed as if he had just unloaded a huge burden.

"I will never forget the disappointment, denial, and hatred in your eyes. We deserved it. We had been adventuring with you for over two years. We were responsible for protecting you. Turns out, all of us only cared about your relic."

Riva didn't interrupt Victor and chose to continue to listen.

"I've killed many people throughout my life, yet it was that one instance which kept haunting me. Maybe because I stayed with you for such a long time. The longest I stayed with the same people, ever. Maybe because I knew you were the only guilt-free party, and you were the one that died because of our greed. Back then I justified myself, with the fact that I was just executing orders. But I know it doesn't justify it nor does it make it any less cruel. I made the choice to leave, just like the others."

Victor was speaking fast, as if he was worried he wouldn't get the chance to finish.

Once he finished a heavy silence fell on the two.

Riva had attentively listened to the whole story. She needed a moment to digest what she just heard.

Victor was obviously trying to display his remorse. But she didn't trust him. The icy calm.

She needed to crush this twerp.

Nails dug into her palm.

Make him regret.

See him suffer!

A system window popped open. Riva glanced at it.

Then she took a deep breath and carefully calmed her emotions.

Victor who had been observing her swallowed audibly.

"I still have a few questions." Riva broke the dangerous silence.