Chapter 217: Your Funeral!

Chapter 217: Your Funeral!

"Tessa! What are you doing? Talk to me!"

She paused, the weight of her decision hanging in the air. She turned slightly, just enough to meet his gaze. Deep down, she knew she owed him some form of explanation, even if it was far from the whole truth. The knowledge she possessed—Zorath's final gift—was too vast, too dangerous to share openly. But she could help Gastro. She could elevate him to levels he couldn't dream of reaching on his own.

""I can help you," Tessa said, her voice steady but laced with an undercurrent of urgency. "If you trust me, I can take you higher than you'd ever reach by completing this evaluation. I discovered something during the process—something I can use myself, without going through all this trouble."

Gastro narrowed his eyes, his confusion evident. "Is that where you disappeared to...?" His voice held a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

Tessa hesitated. She'd already denied disappearing when he questioned her earlier, but now, to convince him, she had to give a sliver of truth. She nodded reluctantly, watching as Gastro's expression shifted from disbelief to wide-eyed astonishment.

"You... You really disappeared," he muttered, the weight of her silent confirmation sinking in. Gastro could sense the enormity of her revelation, even if he didn't understand the details. He felt like he was standing at the edge of a precipice, staring into a depth he couldn't fathom.

Still, he hesitated, his mind racing. What could be so dangerous that she'd abandon the evaluation? What did she discover that made her so certain? He didn't have answers, but one thing he did have was trust—trust in Tessa, who had guided him this far.

As Tessa turned and began walking away, Gastro called out again, desperation creeping into his voice. "Tessa! Wait! You can't just—"

She stopped but didn't turn fully, her voice soft but firm. "I'm doing what I must, Gastro. If you trust me, follow me. If not... I'll understand."

The assembly ground fell silent, eyes locked on Gastro as he stood frozen, torn between his instincts and his faith in her. He looked at the supervisors, who seemed indifferent, and then back at Tessa. She was walking away with her head held high, carrying a truth none of them could comprehend.

The decision hit him like a bolt of lightning. Tessa was the reason he'd made it this far. If she had a way forward, it was worth the risk. "I quit too," he announced, his voice carrying across the hushed assembly.

RIIS, who had been watching with mild interest, turned to Gastro with a raised eyebrow. His expression hardened with disdain. "Even if you didn't quit, you'd be useless without her," RIIS said dismissively, his words biting like frost.

The crowd erupted into sneers and laughter at RIIS's cutting remark, but Gastro clenched his fists, ignoring them. He wasn't making this decision for their approval.

Tessa, hearing his declaration, glanced over her shoulder. She said nothing, but her gaze held a glimmer of respect. Gastro had taken the leap of faith.

For Tessa, this was more than a choice—it was the beginning of a far greater journey. The multiverse teetered on a knife's edge, and she was at its center. Every step she took now wasn't just for survival—it was for control of the fate tied to her existence. The game had begun, and she had no choice but to play.

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Tessa and Gastro approached the formidable gate that marked the boundary to the middle realm of power. Before them stood the gatekeeper, an imposing figure who appeared absorbed in his duties, carefully managing the influx of new souls ascending from the lower realm. The air was thick with the energy of those recently promoted, their souls still brimming with the raw, untamed energy of their ascension.

Tessa's mind, however, was far from this crowded scene. She had given up her place on the evaluation ground, but her body—still in the higher god realm of planet Kaelria—remained in a state of stillness, watched over by her divine parents, Solaris and Lunara. The higher gods, ever vigilant, observed her motionless form as they kept her under their watchful eye, awaiting her next steps.

Despite her vast acquisition of knowledge from the now-deceased time god, Zorath, Tessa knew returning directly to her body with this newfound knowledge and in that manner, would raise too many questions.

The suspicious eyes of the supervisors on the evaluation ground, the whispers of conspiracy, and the direct link that would be drawn to Zorath's death were risks she couldn't afford. Her silence in the matter would stir far more trouble than she could manage.

The path of least resistance, as it seemed, was to take a less direct route. Furthermore, returning directly would draw a scrutinizing attention from Gastro, and she wasn't ready to explain everything to him. She could only reveal the bare minimum until she felt she could trust him more fully.

Clearing her throat, Tessa addressed the gatekeeper, who had finally noticed her presence, his confusion evident.

"Why are you here?" The gatekeeper asked, his voice tinged with surprise. "I've never seen a case where a competitor entered and then returned. You are the first."

Tessa smiled inwardly, her efforts to hide it evident, but her tone was perfectly composed. "We couldn't complete the middle ground evaluations, so we wish to exit through the gate," she explained, giving him an innocent look that barely concealed her amusement.

The gatekeeper raised an eyebrow, his skepticism apparent. "Even so, if you were killed during the evaluation, your soul would simply return to your body. You'd be sent back, your limits set according to where you ended. But coming here… You must know that returning from here means you'll have to go all the way back to the lower realm, and then return through the gate again before you can reenter your body. It's almost as if you didn't partake at all. Are you sure you want to do this?" His voice held a stern edge, underscoring the weight of the decision before her.

Had Tessa not possessed the extraordinary knowledge gained from Zorath—had she not been the bearer of the time god's seed—she might have felt the gravity of this decision. But now, she stood undeterred. The consequences the gatekeeper spoke of hardly phased her. The power she held within her now far outweighed any of the risks involved in returning.

Gastro, standing beside her, felt a flicker of doubt for the first time. He could sense the gravity of the situation and how Tessa's confidence bordered on arrogance. Trust was hard to come by in this world, and though Tessa had shown him glimpses of her power, he couldn't ignore the risks of following someone so enigmatic. Still, he saw the unwavering determination in her eyes. Her confidence was as boundless as ever. Perhaps it was a gamble, but in the end, it was a gamble he had decided to stick with.

"I still wish to exit through the gate..." Tessa said, her voice resolute. She was unwavering, her decision final.

The gatekeeper sighed deeply, his expression hardening, and he stepped aside. "Your funeral..." he muttered, allowing her passage. As Tessa walked past him, her gaze flickered briefly to the long row of newcomers, their eyes wide with the excitement of their recent promotion. None of them would know the truth of the road she was about to take. They were innocent in their journey, while she had already carved a path fraught with secrets and risks.

With a final glance over her shoulder, Tessa strode confidently forward, Gastro following in her wake. He wasn't sure what awaited them, but one thing was certain: Tessa was not a woman to be underestimated. The consequences of their actions might ripple far beyond the middle realm.

Afterwards, they both vanished, returning to the lower realm of power.

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