NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46: Crypt
"So that's what happened. Krist… I won't pretend to know what you are going through right now, but I need you to realise one thing."
After the crowd finally dispersed, my master calmly approached me before placing his hand on my shoulder. From how serious his face was, I could tell that he had no mischief on his agenda.
"Right now, you need to keep moving. I know how strong you are, but everyone can be broken. Only by moving forward, you will be able to push the grief far enough into the future, to grow strong enough to cope with it once it hits."
Retracting both his arm and his entire body by making a few steps to the back, the expression of my master's face changed.
"But let's put that matter aside. I never expected you to be capable of anything even remotely close to what you did here. Was it some kind of trick or…?"
That's my master for ya. Instead of depressing over the stuff no one could change anymore, he would instead focus on what could still be achieved. This was just a single element of his mindset that made him such a powerful ally and such a dreadful enemy.
"Partially a trick, partially a set of abilities that this sect provided me with. Speaking of which, was that company you mentioned, master, a real thing or just a publicity stunt?"
Moving my eyes away from the place with the greatest amount of rubble, I looked to the side, at my master's face.
"While I do have some businesses to my name, only a single one is at least remotely connected to construction. But worry not, I will call some people and get this place back in shape. The question is…"
Given how my master knew my real identity, there was no damned way for him to not realise how big of a ruse this entire event was. But even though he knew, I continued to speak of this Boruta sect I created in my head as of something that actually did exist.
And that was the simple clue to what my master really wanted to ask about.
Money.
No matter how much the world changed, money still ruled over everything. But it didn't mean that my master was someone who would demand payment from his former student in such a situation. What he wanted to ask about, wasn't whether I was capable of paying for his help or not, but whether I wanted to do it or not. After all, if I had a huge organisation backing me up, I alone might not be favourably inclined to raking favours from others.
"This matter is already dealt with. Instead of using my own connections, I just went for a… local workforce."
Smiling with a prideful look to my master, I was quite curious how he would react to this. After all, one couldn't claim it was an easy decision. In theory, by giving away the job of rebuilding most of the mansion to someone else, I was risking that it would end up rigged for their own uses. Given the insane value of the item I already gave them, it would be no wonder if they would try to do something funny with the walls to make them grow not only ears but also eyes.
"Are you sure its the best possible choice?"
Even though my master didn't seem to be dissatisfied with how I decided to solve this matter, it would be too naive of me not to expect him to fully approve of my actions.
"I'm aware of the potential downsides and I'm fully certain that they lack the means to truly threaten my interests."
Instead of trying to prove how great of a deal I made or even bringing up the topic of who I was working with and for what price, I decided to keep those cards as close to my chest as I could. As much as I didn't want that to happen, I couldn't discount for the chance that my former master was in cahoots with the current government!
"I see. Well, you have my number so just give me a call if you will need any help. Be it as my student or as a representative of a greater organisation. See you again!"
Most likely noticing how I couldn't wait to get to work, my master bid his farewells before leaving the place altogether. And as sad as it was to part ways with the only person who could fathom the depths of my desperation in this world, what I was about to do in this place couldn't have him be the observer.
Thanks to using quite a lot of the remaining fuel from the underground technical room to raise the temperature of the rubble, most of it already converged into a monotone mass. With pieces of plastic, concrete and metal turning into an uneven form of liquid, I could more or less freely shape it looks.
"Okay… let's start with the crypt."
Muttering to myself, I ignored the exhaustion that was slowly taking over my body before changing the shape of the former ruins a bit. According to my plan, instead of hiding away the existence of the basement, it would be a better idea to officially announce its existence…
But not as a home to the system that could easily turn the balance of this world on its head, but as the crypt where the three deceased cultists of my sect would rest, becoming the holy protectors of the area.
"Aaaaand done."
Forming this surprisingly plastic mass with just my repulsion and attraction alone proved to be quite a challenge. Thankfully, I didn't need to turn the former ruins into a piece of art. Just a single dome placed over both the entrance to it and the basement itself was more than enough. With that done, one had to first enter the single hole in the dome in order to even notice that there were stairs digging underground hidden under this barbarically simple construction.
But instead of the end of the hardships, the finish of this step only meant the beginning of the torture. The torture that I would sign up for on my free and unrestrained will.
Pulling out a phone from my pocket, an item that was faithfully lost in the basement before the day of the reckoning, I dialled the only number that appeared on my contact list after the day my previous self died.
"It's done. You can come over now."