Chapter 87

Chapter 87

"So what's your world like?" Oleg asks taking John by surprise and bringing his focus away from some weird looking knives, there blades looping around a few times and looked like it would cut their user and another folding over themselves a few times and looked unusable.

"That's a rather difficult question to answer, a while back it was peaceful, well mostly peaceful, only sentient and dominant race was humans, some wars where brewing and we had various issues like poverty and starvation, we had no known or shown magic though, I feel it did exist but just secretly, but even our technology and innovations seemed to slowly begin to stagnate, but everything was decent and routine, familiar and then suddenly it wasn't, the world changed, everyone got classes from 'gods' and the world pretty much ended, people got corrupted by their class or went nuts, human's true nature began to shine through, and that's not even the end of it, I learnt through a friend who met one of the strapped workers of the 'gods' that my whole world is just a way for them to get more resources and when the entertainment is done the world goes poof and everything is reset, to make matters worse I also got told there's various levels now to my world depending on the class choices and level of entertainment. I want to bring them down, but I haven't even made a foothold yet and already lost 2 of my closest companions, one is gods know where due actions of others and the other who was with me since the start… She's no longer around and leave it at that." He tells them, his mind flashing back to everything that had happened to Alcie and almost causing him to once more break down.

A large hand patted him on the back as a pair of small ones seemed to hug his head form the side. "It sounds like your worlds going through hell little human friend, me and little Sweet's world is one of magic and well we do have some level of technology we mostly relied on magic and the worlds around us, plenty of wars between races but we all had some levels of respect for one another." Oleg explained, sharing about their own world with John as they continued exploring the store together, Oleg seemingly having taken a interest in a large tree like club and a box of 6 strange gems all of various colours.

"Hmmm well there where those strange people a few months ago though, they were offering power and a chance to go to a new world, but world travel wasn't that new of a thing for us, some people did seem to take them up on that offer but after disappearing it made a lot of others more wary to trust them. I don't think its related, but it was really strange" Sweet Bell says seemingly remembering something.

"Have a look at this little human friend, you said you were having pains in your head right? This might help slightly. It's called a soul mirror and should help me understand if my hunch is right or not." Oleg says drawing his focus to a large full-length mirror, its surface a shimmering silver and its frame a deep obsidian black and full of carvings making it beautiful yet a faint pressure could be felt from it.

"Stand infront of it and lets see what it shows, I have one of these at home, well one that's far better but this one should still have the same effect, if we get told we need to buy it after testing ill get it and give it away to someone, now focus on yourself and where your feeling the pain." Oleg tells him getting a nod in return.

Not fully understanding what was going on or even why he trusted the pair he decided to risk it, thus far they hadn't done anything to him, and they have had plenty of opportunities to do so, instead they genuinely seemed to want to help him and took him as a friend without even knowing his name.

With a deep breath John began to focus on his reflection and the spot in his mind where he seemed to feel the spiking pain, his reflection soon shimmered, showing his larger and fatter form that he wished to regain but what took him by surprise and causing him to take a step back was the figure looming over him, there with its claw like fingers seemingly digging into his temples was the Keeper, the very first creature or possibly 'god' he had faced, the rings making up its head cracked and broken, the burning orb now a inky black.

"How the hell are you still around! You where destroyed! I even damaged my soul heavy,and my friends needed to bind themselves to fix the damage you caused so how the fuck do you still exist!" John almost screamed, his breathing becoming laboured as he began to slightly panic only for Olegs hand to press against his back, the other somehow seemingly gripping the Keeper and tugging him away as Sweet Bell glowed green and pulled its fingers from his head.

What followed was a guttural scream of agony and anger, the entire store seemingly shaking from it, but Oleg didn't relent, with a final pull he ripped the Keeper out as Sweet Bell finished her healing work.

"This would explain that spiking pain, also since the disappearance of your 2 friends and even before then have you felt troubled or faced any kind of issues? Not being yourself?" Oleg asks, the keepers form squirming in his hand but unable to break free, its form so much smaller now as well.

"I hesitated to join a fight because it was against other humans, only when my friend got hurt and the enemies became actual monsters did I join it but even then rationalizing it that they weren't human anymore so I wouldn't feel bad about killing them. Then instead of just punishing the defence group I had I had them traded away in anger when they made it clear on how they didn't see me as a decent leader and I felt they would try to take my camp from me, then when I realized what happened to my friend I killed the guy responsible slowly and painfully only to end her pain myself and laying her to rest, yet on the way home afterwards I had no issue with harming other humans for blocking my way, once more justifying it as being at my limit and it being okay because I didn't kill them." John explained, looking back and realizing he had no issues with fighting in the past before the Keeper, true it was mostly beasts, but he would at most disable a human opponent, as for the guards e would have exiled them and face the consequences as they came so why did he instead trade them?

"All that would be this things doing, from how you spoke it seems you fought it and won but without suffering injuries, my guess is before it died it cursed you and planned to influence and eventually take you over from the inside, the mental pains was it trying to guide you somewhere here possibly to something that could speed the process up." Sweet Bell tells him, reaching into her flower and pulling out a small stone that she tosses at the Keeper, it screamed once more getting sucked into the now expanding stone eventually stopping at the size of a fist once it seemed to consume the Keeper only to be picked up by Oleg.

"Can I keep this? Things that could do that to others are rather hard to find and make good crafting ingredients, I won't be taking it for free though." He says putting his free hand into his pocket and fishing out a small metal plate that was extremely familiar to John.

"This is a pass to the mall, it can allow you to come here once a week and makes it so the trip isn't random like how you ended up here, the added benefit is when you come back here it won't be a random place and once you get a special time space storage bag and a tag for if you want to bring people or creatures you can bring and take things between your reality and this place!" Oleg says happily only for John to smile and inform him that he seems to have a metal plate like that already, he just didn't know what it was or how to use it earning a laugh from Sweet Bell as Oleg looks stunned.

"Well you just hold it in your hand when you project and you should pop up in the mall at the last location the person left from, but be careful, these things don't bind to people so if someone else gets it they can come and go as they please and you would need luck to try and get back here again, hmm now what else can I give you instead." Oleg informs him putting the plate away and thinking heavily before brightening up and reaching back into his pocket and pulling out a small bag the size of Johns hand looking like a handkerchief in Olegs large hands.

"Here little human friend! This is one of those bags I spoke of, it's a bit to small for me and my suits pockets do the same thing anyway so you can have this! I left some spirit stones, magic stones, beast cores and I think 300 coins in it with 19 reusable tags, it's from when I was but a small goblin not even half your size trying to survive in a big world." Oleg says smiling in nostalgia seemingly remembering the past.

Looking him over John honestly couldn't imagine this bulky troll who jiggles with each movement as a small scrawny goblin but keep silent, gladly accepting the good will of his new friend, Sweet Bell though seemed to know what he was thinking and giggled but gave him a smile as she flew off his shoulder before returning a moment later and asking them to follow her.

"I'm a pretty good judge of people, knowing what they need even if they themselves don't, you mentioned trading away your defenders so it sounded to me like you needed some new ones, so Oleg will get you these ones here and then a visit to the slave market." She tells them showing a group of 15 armoured statues of various humanoid races and 10 clockwork robots.

"They aren't that strong and would probably fall to strong enemies but if there together like this it means they can cover each other's weakness and would be a decent force, adding in a few battlecast slaves or war slaves and you should have a decent defensive force!" She excitedly told them getting nods of excitement from Oleg.

"Perfect! This is how I can pay you back in full my little human friend, lets go to the counter and buy these for you to take and then ill get you 15 slaves of your choice! It's perfect!" Oleg exclaims but John felt uneasy about this, the concept of owning slaves didn't sit well with him at all, something Sweet Bell seemed to pick up on.