NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: Chapter 20: Conversation
Well new chapter, I hope you enjoy it, you know comment and leave power stones.
The atmosphere felt cold, like an icy whisper crawling across my skin. Despite the recent explosion, the air remained still, heavy with tension. The night, dark and silent, wrapped the landscape in a shroud of unease, where even the insects seemed to have halted.
In front of me, Garnet stood motionless, her piercing gaze seemed to cut through every layer of my being. This was not a good sign at all. There could be many reasons why she was here, but the most likely was that explosion that had caught her attention. She could be here for answers, or maybe, just maybe, to finish me off and make my death look like an accident caused by my own powers.
If I were in her place, I'd do that. But I don't plan to die today, not again. This time, I'd have to be careful, both with what I said and with what I thought. I knew her damned powers worked based on the probability of something happening.
In my mind, I already had an illusion prepared, ready to vanish like mist if necessary. But before I could delve deeper into my thoughts, she broke the silence.
"Tell me what you are," Garnet said firmly. However, I noticed something strange in her tone, something I'd never heard before in the always stoic leader of the Gems: fear.
I took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill my lungs. I felt my nerves tense, but I quickly calmed my mind, speeding up my thought processes. I analyzed her expression: the stiffness in her lips, the slight tremble of her shoulders. This meant that no future version of me had answered this question, or worse, that she simply couldn't see my future. "Is it because I come from another universe?" I thought, filing away that possibility. "Or because I'm a forcefully inserted anomaly?" Another plausible hypothesis. "Or is it that my power interferes with her vision?" Still, the most urgent thing was to respond to her.
"I suppose 'human' isn't the answer you're looking for," I replied, offering a wry smile that masked my growing concern.
Garnet didn't flinch, didn't even blink. The dark lenses covering her eyes reflected the pale moonlight, hiding any hint of emotion. Yet, I could feel the intensity of her gaze, as if she were trying to dissect every word that left my mouth. Her expression, though impassive, held a tension that wasn't usually there, like a string about to snap.
She took a step toward me, slow and deliberate.
The ground beneath her feet cracked, and a fine fissure spread like a spiderweb. "That's not a good sign," I thought, but I didn't retreat. I held my ground, reinforcing my connection to the physical world. The air seemed to vibrate with the psychic charge that was beginning to build up.
"I'll ask you once more, Adrian, if that is even your name," she said, and her voice was now firmer, like a drawn sword. "What are you?"
I sighed, exhaling a puff of air that condensed in the cold night. "I am human," I said, raising my voice with a firmness that resonated in the environment. I felt the shapeless power intertwining with my words, making my declaration seem like an echo reverberating through reality itself. "And I always will be, no matter how much I change."
For a brief moment, I saw something akin to surprise on her face. I couldn't tell if it was because of my conviction, the power that accompanied my words, or something else. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and I wondered what she had seen, what secrets she hid behind those dark lenses.
"You might be human now," she replied, and her voice trembled slightly, like a leaf in the wind. "But what assures me that you'll always remain so? What guarantees you won't turn into one of those monsters?" she asked with palpable fear.
Monsters. The word hung in the air, loaded with meaning. Was I a monster in the metaphorical sense, or did she really see me as a threat, an aberration? I lifted my head, letting the moonlight illuminate my face.
"Monster? Enlighten me, prophet of the Gem race," I said, in a tone that allowed no evasions. This seemed to surprise her briefly.
Garnet closed her eyes for a moment, as if the images were too horrific to look at again. When she spoke, her voice seemed burdened with pain. "A red giant, clad in bone armor, leading an army of abominations. A horrendous machine, an amalgam of flesh and metal consuming everything in its quest for perfection. A demon engulfed in flames, with wings spread over a field of lies. And that… is not all."
Her words painted such a vivid image that I almost saw it myself. "Will I become that?" I asked, and I asked myself too. I didn't believe it was possible; I didn't want to believe it. I am not someone who would settle for being a mere beast or machine consumed by my own being.
Garnet continued, and now her voice was barely a trembling whisper. "A being with eyes on its wings sitting on a white throne, while humans worship it. Beside it, another equally imposing being sits on a twin throne as its equal."
"Well, that is interesting," I thought, although I couldn't picture myself ruling humanity. It's not my style, and who would that person on the other throne be?
"So, tell me, Garnet," I said, raising my voice, "which of these monsters am I to you? What is it that you see in me?"
There was a long silence, broken only by the whisper of the wind dragging dry leaves to our feet. Garnet finally spoke, and her voice was tinged with pure fear. "You are something that shouldn't exist. Something that doesn't fit into any future I've ever seen before."
I laughed softly, though the unease was beginning to gnaw at me inside. "I understand you," I said, extending my arms to indicate the world around us. "I'm not supposed to be here, but in life, there are things you can't decide for yourself."
Her fists clenched, and the ground beneath her cracked. The air, which had been cold, began to burn with a suffocating heat that distorted the image before me. I knew I had to measure my words. Garnet wasn't just a leader; she was an expert warrior and could attack at any moment.
"So tell me, Adrian," she said, and her voice was now a cold knife. "Are you a threat to this world?" a cold tone that contrasted with the heat emanating from her body, a heat already melting the ground beneath her feet.
I decided to be honest, no tricks, no disguises. "It depends," I replied. "Anything that threatens my existence or that of Earth, in some way, can be considered dead, broken, or destined to cease existing."
The silence that followed was so dense I could almost touch it. The beat of my heart pounded like a drum in my mind, and I could hear the crunch of the grass beneath the cold wind.
Garnet looked at me one last time, her lenses reflecting the moonlight. For a moment, I thought she would attack me, but instead, she let out a sigh and relaxed her shoulders.
"Then we're on the same side," she said finally, extending her hand toward me. I hesitated for an instant, but in the end, I accepted the handshake. The warmth of her palm contrasted with the chill of the night.