Chapter 263 - To Answer

Jack looked up to the man before him and grimaced in nervousness.

He was scared. Jack was facing a man who could kill him. And, after pushing and pushing way past the limits of the man's patience, the stakes had never been so high before.

"What do you mean by that?"

While tensions were high, Jack remained calm. He was still inside the magic array, after all, and there was nothing he could do but defuse the ticking time bomb of a conversation. Jack would have to calmly talk his way out of this, much like the situations before now.

"I am no god."

The man repeated with a slight shakiness to his voice. To which Jack noticed and tried to find out more.

"You may not be one now, but I'm guessing that you once were," Jack added, not going back on his theory. "At least, that's how it looks like to me."

After saying that, the man glared at Jack for a moment before letting out a deep breath. He quickly turned to the side, avoiding Jack's stubborn-looking face, and walked away from him. Jack, meanwhile, was hanging in there.

There was no telling what was going on inside the man's head, nor was there any confirmation of the reality of the man's origins. Either way, though, there was still no truth to the matter at hand.

God or not, there should still be a resolution to the situation.

"Are you not going to say anything..?"

Nervously asking the strange man, Jack felt confident that his question would be well-received. He had built some rapport beforehand, albeit shaky. Even so, Jack needed the conversation to proceed, no matter how awkward or dead he'd end up.

"Why are you so eager for my answer?"

The man asked without looking back at Jack. He stood there, surveying the distance. With his head held up high, the man seemed indifferent to whatever accusations Jack managed to say.

"I don't know," Jack answered honestly.

"For a mortal with many words, you do not seem to know why you are asking me these questions," the man acknowledged and somewhat mocked all the same. "You are not very bright, human."

"It's fitting, don't you think? For a guy like me to not know a lot of things. I answered your question with another question. I wouldn't think that a smart guy would do something like that."

"Well, what would this smart person say, then?"

"The thing is, heh, I don't really know," Jack answered honestly once more. "But no matter what they say, I'm sure you won't be satisfied with the answer."

"..."

Once again, silence. At this point, Jack wouldn't be shy to admit that he said those things on purpose. While there was truth in them, Jack wanted to show something to the man.

In other words, Jack was trying to teach the god something.

"You know, I can keep guessing here. I can say whatever the crap that you'd like to hear. But none of it would matter to you. I won't live, not after this. You said it yourself, right? I'm doomed."

"Get to your point, mortal."

"The point I'm trying to say is that whatever people might say, you're not going to accept it. Be it someone much wiser or much more powerful than you are. They're all poppycock."

The man turned to face Jack, prompting the latter to explain further.

"So, I'll tell you this," Jack smiled. "I may be a mortal. And I have no idea what comes after death. And, based on the way I am right now, I might not live too long to see it. But, I guarantee you, whatever you say to me right now. Whatever answers you might have. I will take them to my grave. No matter how short of my time may there be left."

Jack offered the man some asylum, causing the latter to pause and think. Jack, naturally, waited for a response. Convincing a god to follow his suggestion seemed a lot less insane now that Jack was doing it.

But it was insane nonetheless.

After a few brief moments, the man turned around once more. He then walked away from Jack, causing him to think that his plan didn't work. But then, the man snapped his fingers.

The magic array below Jack's feet shrank in the blink of an eye.

As soon as the magic array vanished, Jack fell to the ground. He regained his mobility, stretching as he stood up. The man, meanwhile, didn't look back at Jack as he stared over the cold horizon.

"You let me go?"

Jack asked, surprised at the sudden turn of events. He welcomed it, of course, but the act seemed too benevolent to be true. As bewildered as Jack was, though, the man didn't answer. Thus, Jack moved closer to the man standing not too far away from him.

"You are not wrong," the man casually mentioned as Jack stood by his side.

"About what?"

"I was a god."

"Heh. I knew it," Jack scoffed and smiled. "Although, that doesn't explain why you chose to free me now when you could've done it before. It's not like I'm a threat to you."

"I had to ensure."

Jack looked to the man, confused. "Ensure what exactly?"

"The curse inside you is a soul possession curse. The creature previously imprisoned here embedded the curse in your Mana Core, taking control of your body once it runs its course. The magic array served the purpose of revealing said curse. However..."

"It didn't react the way you expected it to," Jack finished the sentence acknowledging what the man had meant. "The question you asked was just to keep me preoccupied so I wouldn't notice."

"Impressive deduction, mortal," the man nodded as he crossed his arms. "However, I am many things, but a liar is not one of them."

Shaking his head in defeat, Jack felt as though he was played. While there was some genuine curiosity in the questions the man had asked, Jack didn't like being played around like that. If Jack knew what was going on, Jack would've at least cooperated.

That said, if the man hadn't lied, then there was some truth to what he had said.

"So, you're not a god, then?" Jack asked, eager to finally get a straight answer after all this time.

The man gave a quick look at Jack and then back over the horizon. The edge of his mouth slightly curled up to a very subtle smile but ultimately reverted back to the same cold expression.

"For a brief time, I was the Frost God. I have since relinquished the position and chose to wander around the lands. From dimensions to worlds, I have seen what they offer. There are —"

"Hold on," Jack quickly and spontaneously interrupted, "You were a god, and you chose to be a hermit? Like some wandering hobo? Why the hell did you do that for, man?"

It was the most ridiculously absurd thing Jack had ever heard. A part of him couldn't believe it and wanted to slap himself awake, thinking all of this had just been a bad dream. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for this situation as he knew full well that the man wasn't lying.

"You know the answer, mortal. Do not ask me such questions when you already know."

"Sorry," Jack hastily apologized after he realized what he had just said, "Sorry. I can't believe that you chose to let go of your divinity. Was it really necessary? How long ago did you even do this?"

Jack asked one question after the other, nearly forgetting who he was talking to. That said, the guy didn't seem to be too bothered by his relentlessness and proceeded to calmly watch the snow over yonder. He didn't even so much as blink.

But, by the time Jack managed to calm down a bit, the man finally said something to appease the storm over Jack's mind.

"It was indeed necessary," the man answered after seeing Jack finally settled down. "Although during when I did so I do not recall, my resolve in the matter still remains intact."

"Well," Jack nodded, pretending he understood, "Who's the Frost God now?"

"The position remains unseated," the man said, "Meaning to say, there is no current Frost God."

"So, let me get this straight," Jack cleared his throat as he wrapped his head around the situation, "You left your status being the god of the Frost, chose to live your life as a wandering hermit, and didn't bother making sure you had a replacement?"

"That is correct."

Jack let out a deep breath as he looked over the same horizon the man was looking over. While he understood the same deep, fundamental need to find life's purpose, Jack couldn't necessarily agree that what the guy did was alright.

He left without making sure somebody was there to pick up the slack. It would have been fine if this were some rank-and-file job they were talking about. But, that wasn't the case here.

As of right now, there was no god of the Frost.