Chapter 4. [Departure.]

Bong, Bong, Bong.

When was he going to stop that. "Can you cut that out?"

[You don't get to say that.] It was heartbroken. Bong, Bong.

It'd been hitting its head against the glass in a silent mourning. All the joy had left his face and he just floated at the perimeter. Depressed.

The cracking of the barrier hadn't been something that Rhodney had been trying to do. But it slightly comforted Rhodney that he was going to have all this firepower when he entered the new world.

[You can take all your "Feelings of comfort" and stuff it.] The being said, whipping around.

[This was thirty drachma! Thirty! Do you know how much thirty drachma is?]

He didn't.

[A lot!] The being huffed and warped back over to him. [I'm going to have to haggle with a creation god. And I hate creation gods. All because you wanted to explode.] They said,

The currency and nature of the gods puzzled Rhodney. He wondered if their nature was based on their experiences or others' outward perception of them. He'd never seen a fish god, or The Guardian in any kind of religion or story book. So this whole system was new.

The guardian sighed, running its hand down its face in exhaustion.

[Okay,]

It tapped the air and sort of transposed along the world a glowing keyboard appeared. The guardian tapped away at it (Clicking noise and all) staring into the void. Rectangles of light with different characters, languages and colors, floated and weaved around it.

After reading them, the guardian looked back at Rhodney, expressionless.

[Alright, the world you're heading to is named *%$** in the fourth realm.]

*%$**? The word felt alien in his throat, Cause it was. He was barely able to mimic the word. Rhodney was sure he had gotten it wrong.

[Your mind never developed the right vocal chords or mind to process the information. The word means dumping ground.]

That didn't sound good. "Dumping ground?"

[It's the world that we typically send irregulars like yourself when we deem them worthy. Trust me, this was one of the better options.] The creature's voice didn't sound like that was the case. Its voice had lost a lot of its melody. The wind blown out of its sails.

The bowl shifts. Static fills the room as Rhodney feels his body once again start to be affected by gravity. Sweeter air than before fills his lungs. It almost tasted spicy. He looked around and noticed it was a new forest.

The wind was still and he looked around scanning the fauna. This time, the trees are blue. Pure fantasy. The forest felt drastically more alive then the one they saw before, each sway of the tree spiking Rhodneys nerves. Because there wasn't enough wind for the tree's leaves to blow and for it to sway. It was almost like it was imitating the movement of the wind.

A small horned rabbit hops tentatively into the two of their views. It carefully looks around. Each small hop filled with paranoia. Its eyes were filled with intelligence.

Rhodney knew immediately that they were invisible, because this thing would've either ran or attacked the two so fast.

The ground suddenly exploded. His heart stopped as he was covered by the massive shadow of the creature. Almost metallic three pronged mouth. A brown body with purple rings that glowed with power.

Dirt rained down from the sky as the worm burst forth. The beast screamed so loud Rhodney had to clasp his ears. The Guardian just laughed softly, as the worm charged the rabbit, starting combat.

"This is where you're sending me! You're insane!" Rhodney yelled over the forest being ripped to shreds. The horned rabbit leaping around with grace. Its body moves like a trained bullfighter, kiting and flanking the beast. Moving tantalizing close then dodging with its superior dexterity and speed.

It ducked under a tail slash. Seeing an opportunity, It kicked off the ground.

Spiderwebs cracked from beneath the rabbits legs as it zoomed forward. Its body looked and glowed red like a missile as it zoomed toward the beast.

[This is the only place I can send you.] The Guardians voice was unaffected by the change in decibels. Its voice permeated the air and seemed to break through it all. An effect of it's mind abilities.

[Creatures here have so many ways to deal with the build up that your soul causes. You'll do well he-]

"Well?! Well?!" Rhodney pointed at the rabbit that had just made contact.

BOOM!

The creature's body exploded into a mountain of viscera and gore. The bunnies fur slowly turns red as the sky begins to rain blood. Piles of meat hit the ground in wet plops. A pile of meat splats in front of the rabbit who begins eagerly claiming its bounty.

The scared rabbit thing was apparently an act.

"I am not going here."

The being waved their hand [You have no choice. The gods have decided that this is the area that you will go.]

"I won't." Rhodney growled. This is not what he expected. No way he was going to this place that was full of monsters and death. The being had seemed nice before, but he had come to the realization that it was simply still following its directive. It was nothing more than a tool for these other worldly beings.

He had lost respect for it.

[Rhodney,] Its voice suddenly was firm, [What does life mean to you?]

Rhodney turned around, not looking at The Guardian any more. He didn't want to talk to them.

[Life,] The guardian continued, [Is sticking it out through the hard times.]

[When I met the gods. I had nobody in my corner. Nobody to call upon when I was in danger. I had no supporters. I was arrogant. Haughty. I only thought of myself and had thought I had reached the apex.]

They paused and their voice wavering, [I was wrong. So, so wrong, Rhodney.]

[I showed you this to make sure you knew what you were walking into. I wouldn't want you to end up like me. Stuck working for people who you hate. Stuck rolling a ball uphill with little to no help.]

[You can hate me. You can get angry. You can get mad. But I will support you. Because from this moment on, I'm your patron whether you like it or not.]

[All I ask is that you live a good life.]

Rhodney said nothing. He wanted to trust the being but… He didn't know what the beings' motivations were. It told him alot, while also telling him so little…

He…

I…

"Ok." He said, but he didn't turn around.

The guardian would just have to accept that. They had to build this trust, it couldn't be made in a day.

[...] The guardian probably waited for about a minute before realizing that Rhodney wasn't going to face them anymore. They sighed, and just confirmed whatever they needed to.

Rhodney felt his soul slowly start to drift and float away into the void. Sleeping as a passenger on a ship. On board to a destination that was entirely new. He wasn't sure if he was ready. He wasn't even sure if he was going to wake up again.

The yellow creature could've just been lying to him.

But Rhodney had the feeling that it wasn't. Stars streaked and stretched as he moved faster than light.

And the soul went to sleep. Getting some rest before his journey in another world.

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