Remembering

Peace didn’t step out of a portal, he didn’t need to. He simply appeared exactly where he needed to be. It wasn’t a skill many even thought possible because very few ever used it and even they, used it rarely.

In this case it was necessary.

Peace wore long and colorful robes that were more ornamental than functional as he walked down the flat brick roads of Drauu-Ekshar. He was surrounded on all sides by people hurrying along, children dashing through the crowd, stands set up along the streets offering ceremonial accessories and foods. It was the busiest Drauu-Ekshar had ever been as this particular Day of Discovery marked the end of an era and the beginning of something exciting.

Even with the carts, two horses wide, the stands along the sides of the streets and the busiest holiday crowd the city had ever seen, it wasn’t particularly stuffy. Drauu-Ekshar never was. It was a city built out of massive brick structures, each a dozen stories tall with the footprint of an entire city block. Between them, the road was large enough for even the biggest Dragons to traverse in comfort, not that they ever would.

Running down the street at a fraction of what he was really capable of, Peace blended in with the crowd, his ceremonial robes matching perfectly with the bright colors saved for that particular holiday. He traversed in and around multiple massive buildings, none of them laid out in a logical pattern and all of them a different, unique shape.

Some were round and circular, others were square monoliths. Some were massive domes, and others were tall towers. Every single one though, was made from the exact same bricks as the road, an off white brick made from beach sand that was intentionally dull.

Walking right up to a circular building with a dozen ringed balconies all the way up the side topped by the customary sky blue domed roof, Peace slowed to a stop and very slowly opened the door.

Stepping inside, he carefully closed the door behind him to ensure he respected the-intense anywhere else but in Drauu-Ekshar, completely relaxed-vibe of the room beyond. There were games being played on the tables, drinks and food being delivered and subsequently devoured as well as books being read and muffled whispers of heated conversation.

The pub was far closer to a library anywhere else though as the games being played were games of complex strategy, the books theses on philosophy and mathematical proofs, the food and drink consumed with utensils and the heated whispers forming the rigorous structure of a debate.

The noise floor in the room was low enough that Peace could hear his intentionally louder and clumsier footsteps so as not to stand out. In the normal hustle and bustle of a city where no one could hear each-other’s footsteps, even with massive Perception, no one noticed the complete silence of Peace’s steps. In a building where footsteps were often the loudest sound being heard, it would have been immediately noticeable.

Peace had already made that mistake when he first visited the city of Drauu-Ekshar but he had since learned.

He moved through the more than generous amount of space intentionally left between the tables to ensure no one walking through disturbed those sitting and made his way over to the back. Hopping up onto the first step, Peace intentionally tripped a little, winced and silently apologized to the room then continued up the staircase that wound up the outside of the building. He found people tended to ignore those that seemed incompetent, even if they drew attention to themselves.

Popping up onto the second layer, a wide balcony lined with bookshelves along the walls with tables and chairs spread throughout, the general noise floor was drastically lower. The bottom floor, despite being quiet enough for footsteps to be heard, was generally considered the rowdy floor. The build as a whole was a place the residents went where they were allowed to relax and be a little louder.

Yet, the second floor was nearly silent. Peace’s Perception was high enough that he heard heartbeats, fingers traced along paper pages, liquid in glasses slightly sloshing around and even the stomachs of a few residents as they digested.

Peace continued through them, slightly lowering the sound his footsteps were producing to stand out just a little less as he made his way to one of the rooms on the third level. Like the second, it was a balcony with an identical footprint but only a few meters were open. The rest of the space along the outer wall was split into closed off rooms.

Finding the room he was looking for, Peace tapped his finger against the door in a specific pattern then waited. A few moments passed before the door was opened and Peace stepped inside.

As soon as the door closed behind him, the large man who had opened the door for him reached out and grasped Peace’s forearm in greeting, “It’s been far too long Athuuk. Much has happened and we’ve missed your unique talents.”

.________________________________________________________________________________________

[B - Common] Zhontu (Lvl 2372) .________________________________________________________________________________________

Peace shrugged, “It has been far too long, Zhontu. Last I remember our plans were delayed indefinitely so I was surprised when I got your message. Something’s happened?”

Zhontu grinned, “Much has happened. Not only are we back on track but things have accelerated drastically. As you know, this is the first Day of Discovery in half a span, the longest its been by quite some margin.”

Like many cultures of the multiverse, they used a lifespan as a unit of measuring time. Span, short for life span, equated to about a hundred years and was a holdover from before their integration.

“Of course. I was even more surprised reading that in your message. Gratitude for warning me.”

He released Peace’s arm and sat down on the bed, “Of course. It wouldn’t be proper for you not to be here my friend.”

Peace smiled and bowed a little, a gesture of gratitude in Zhontu’s culture, then leaned back against the wall opposite him, “So tell me, what happened?”

“Not only is this the first Day of Discovery in some time but it is also one of the grandest. Aom has finally proved the Xelphen Prime theorem.”

Peace’s eyes went wide with genuine surprise. The theorem wasn’t complicated and outside of this remote planet, it wouldn’t have been difficult to solve. In fact he was pretty sure it was a subset of some larger model that had been proven back in the second integration. Drauu-Ekshar was one of those cities that no one really cared about, that lay forgotten and ignored by the rest of the multiverse.

It was one of many that were integrated, watched for a time then deemed not worth it.

Still, it was an impressive feat for Aom to have solved the Xelphen Prime theorem. It was a proof he had been working on his entire life because it had massive rippling implications in the rest of the mathematics they had discovered to this point.

“Wow. I really didn’t believe he would in his life time.”

Zhontu lightly chuckled through his nose and shook his head, “Me neither. What a blessing it is too as the Eksharans have decided to open the walls of their city to honor Aom in the long forgotten Garden of Insight.”

Peace’s heart skipped a literal beat. Everything he had been working so hard to prevent was shattered in an instant.

Zhontu continued, completely unaware of the dread that began to overtake Peace’s entire body, “My armies are already in position and in just a few hours, we’ll have the city. I’ll be joining the procession into the garden and my people already have their orders.”

He stood and walked over, placing a hand on Peace’s shoulder, “It would be an honor if you would join me. I promise we will be swift and merciful.”

Peace knew his meaning of merciful wasn’t to capture and jail his enemies, it was to behead them so their spirits could rise up into the heavens unobstructed by the heavy heads they wore. An idiotic notion that meant absolutely nothing and yet, made Peace’s entire body tense up in rage.

He didn’t have the stats to notice Peace’s state or forced expressions as he smiled, “It would be an honor to join you for the final moments of something we have worked so hard to achieve.”

Zhontu smiled wide and nodded then stepped back and over to the door. He glanced back at Peace once more then wiped the smile off his face and replaced it with a completely blank expression and stepped out.

Peace already knew where and when they would meet, it was a part of the Day of Discovery and everything to do with the holiday was planned with unnecessary precision.

With a few moments to himself, Peace clenched his jaw and resisted the urge to scream. It was too late to call anyone else to take his place and they were already stretched well beyond their capabilities as it was. There was nothing he could do about it and so a few frustrated tears welled up at the bottom of his eyes.

Thinking back to how it had all started, he desperately tried to find anything he could do now and barring that, tried to find anything he could have done to prevent this.

Zhontu, being Common and a decent chunk of the way into the B grade was simultaneously a miracle and a tragedy. He was the current leader of his people and fought every day of his life to protect them. This resulted in his steadily gaining levels and his people avoiding extinction for generations. The effort he had put in to fight and protect them should have earned him a Rare or even Special class, race or profession in Peace’s mind but for whatever reason, The System disagreed.

He was by far the highest level anywhere on the planet and yet, even having nearly a thousand levels on Peace, his stats were abysmal as a result of his average rarity. Peace’s stats were closer to that of a beasts than that of a leveler, he knew that, but even still. Comparing Zhontu’s stats to anyone else at Eramith, their lowest stats would have been about twice that of his highest. Grade would even the gap somewhat but not nearly enough, especially when he considered the complete lack of equipment and proper weapons.

Still, those in B grade with Common anything were even rarer than those in B grade with a Legendary to their name. The higher in the grades people got, the more likely they would effectively be stuck and so, the lower rarities became less frequent and the higher rarities more frequent.

Maybe if Zhontu had gotten a higher rarity anything, he would have felt less pressure to invade Drauu-Ekshar.

The city was built in the one valley on the entire planet that wasn’t overrun with beasts. Being an integration world from the last integration, it was understandable why the beasts had grown so rapidly.

Drauu-Ekshar had been built early on when the beasts were weak by a culture heavily dedicated to deep thought. Math and philosophy dominated the minds of the people and for a time, it was more than enough.

They built large weapons to defend their city from the beasts, using their advanced maths to make them extraordinarily effective and as they rapidly grew, they were rewarded. For a time, The System looked upon them favorably as they completed its quests and were subsequently rewarded.

The rewards they selected though were both a boon and a curse as they progressively turned the valley they lived in into the only peaceful area on the planet. As soon as that happened, progress slowed and focuses shifted through the subsequent generations. They built monoliths and dedicated themselves to what they valued most, thinking.

Anything deemed a distraction, sudden noises and vibrant colors, were phased out in favor of the perfect environment for the people to remain engrossed in their own minds. They even had rewards from The System that handled their need for food automatically, so long as the warehouses were full. All of that was automated by other rewards and so, they spent their lives thinking, in peace.

Zhontu on the other hand was from another people on the same planet that didn’t value thinking as highly and never managed to build a city and so, they were seemingly forgotten.

They struggled just to survive as the beasts of the planet fought each-other and grew stronger, often overtaking his people in levels. They struggled, fought back where they had to and hid when they didn’t. They often starved and died of diseases they couldn’t afford to treat.

When Zhontu came along with a nearly fanatical disposition towards protecting his people, he was able to quickly level to the point where he began to succeed. They prospered in comparison to where they had been but it was still a struggled existence.

It all collapsed when they found the valley containing Drauu-Ekshar.

Zhontu was understandably furious but didn’t attack. He calmed himself and visited the city, negotiated with their leaders and on multiple occasions, they tried to integrate his people into the city.

The city dedicated to minimizing distractions entirely though, was nearly impossible for his people, who had lived in the wilderness, to integrate into.

Eventually Zhontu realized it was impossible and so he trained armies over the course of generations and planned his attack from the outskirts of the valley. He also managed to convince himself that what he was doing was the will of The System through some invented religion of his but Peace mostly just nodded along whenever he talked about it.

Peace had worked for dozens of epochs to embed himself with both people and try to find a way to make it work but without literally pouring resources into the planet, all he could do was sneak around. While it was possible to pour resources in, The Reaper had far more than enough resources to do so, they didn’t have nearly enough to do so for every situation like this one. They barely had enough people to remember them all, let alone supply and build up the cities.

They often tried to migrate the people out and Peace had offered to take Zhontu and his people off the planet to a more peaceful one, after carefully tip toeing around the idea of a portal, where they could live but, it was too late. Zhontu had already convinced himself The System didn’t favor these heavy headed people who spent all their time thinking in peace and that it was his righteous quest to destroy them. It was the way of The System and he was the messiah.

Peace thought through every option but even using his own stats to threaten either side wasn’t viable. They had tried that many times in many similar situations and it never reduced the number of lives lost. No matter how hard he thought though, there was nothing to be done, he knew that. It was one of the benefits of being raised by The Reaper. He had access to an unfathomable amount of collective wisdom from an innumerable souls that had been remembered.

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Peace wiped the tears out of his eyes then faltered and coughed. Breathing rapidly a few times, he took another deep breath and managed to compose himself then opened the door and stepped out of the room.

There was less than an hour left before he had to join the procession of the celebration and Peace spent that time wandering around and looking out at the completely bland city around him. He had to give the Eksharans credit, the complete lack of color save for the roofs which matched the skies above and the generally quiet atmosphere really did promote falling into your own thoughts.

Peace debated with himself, the very same debate he had had with himself many times over the last couple of epochs. Before then he had never even thought about it, wouldn’t have ever considered ignoring the people and running away. He was raised knowing how important remembering was and genuinely believing it was his purpose. He still believed it was one of the most noble purposes in the multiverse, possible the most noble.

He eventually came to the same conclusion he always did, to remember, because if it were him, he would want to be remembered.

Joining the crowd of people wearing bright colors, many of them for the first time in their lives, Peace walked down the streets. 50 epochs was a long time to be perfectly diligent and cooped up and it showed. The people spoke loudly with each-other throughout the streets, danced and ran as music played and flavorful food was distributed.

The rainbow parade made their way to the gates and Peace maneuvered his way through the crowd to his and Zhontu’s old meeting location.

As the parade and Peace passed by, Zhontu stepped forwards and walked alongside him as they made their way into the garden.

By many accounts, even those who had seen the rest of the multiverse, the Garden of Insight was paradisaical with bright flowers, ripe fruit, clean paths and an ever present sweet smell on the air.

As the people of Drauu-Ekshar filtered into the garden and began celebrating, Peace felt like he was in a dream, and not in a good way. Everything happening around him just felt fake, like none of it was real. He watched Zhontu participating happily in the festivities and remembered small snippets of the event but nothing more. Everything else was just blank, like he was missing time. The food was bland, the colors dull, the smells grating and the music drowned out by the dread of what was to come.

Then it happened. Right in the middle of the celebration, when everyone was most distracted, an army of what appeared to be savage barbarians streamed in from every side. It was rare that any of them wore anything more than an animal hide loin cloth and the weapons they used, were well made but little more than sharpened bones and sticks with rocks tied to them.

It didn’t matter though, Drauu-Ekshar had raised itself to be completely incapable of defending itself. Some of the citizens here and there struggled but they were quickly overrun by sentients who simply hadn’t ignored their class.

As soon as the battle had begun, Peace had dropped his robes along with the facade he had worn in the city for so long. Using the full extent of his ridiculous stats along with Reaper’s Movement he blurred around the battlefield, not a single person ever quite realizing he was there. A few noticed a shadow zip by but no one paid it much mind.

From corpse to corpse, Peace reached down and brushed his fingertips across the bodies without stopping or slowing at all. He didn’t interfere with the fight, there was no point and it would just slow down his real mission.

Trained nearly from birth, arguably even before, Peace was exceptional at remaining unseen and collecting the souls of the dead. Despite the chaos, despite the Eksharan’s desperate sprint into the woods and Zhontu’s people hunting them down, Peace didn’t miss a single soul. He caught every single one and with each one he collected, the hopelessness within him deepened.

He had trained not just to be fast, not just to remain unseen but even more so to handle the outpouring of emotions each dead soul carried with it. It was the hardest part of his job as one of Death’s Shadows and Peace was exceptional at it as well.

The incredible sorrow and anguish, the burning rage and regret, all of it poured into Peace’s soul every time he touched a corpse but he ignored them all. Each and every one of them. They didn’t affect him in the slightest.

The battle raged for minutes but lasted for hours. After the initial attack Zhontu’s people chased down the survivors and cleared out all the buildings of the city to ensure there wasn’t anyone hanging back. They were thorough and in Zhontu’s made up and ridiculous religion, merciful. They beheaded as many of the Eksharans as they could both to provide a swift death and because they believed it helped release their souls.

Peace ran from hunter to hunter brushing his fingers against the headless corpses as they flopped to the ground.

Finally it was over and Peace didn’t have it in him to face Zhontu. Not because the once idyllic garden was now a wasteland of blood. Not because he killed thousands of innocents. Peace didn’t really care about them dying, he had witnessed countless deaths from the most gruesome and cruel to the most peaceful and merciful. They were all the same. He was raised knowing it was just part of the cycle. As long as they were remembered.

Therein lied the problem though as over the last few epochs Peace had come to dread the very thing he trained so hard to excel at.

Mostly to calm himself, he recited the mantra his parents recited when they remembered a departing soul, “You mattered. Your story will be remembered. You will live on. You are free to rejoin the ocean, little droplet.”

He repeated this over and over again, on his knees, with his head resting against a tree.

Peace remained there for hours, unmoving. It was there he wept. Not for the end of the journey, not for the innocent souls who’s lives had been cut short. Not for the overwhelming wave of collective pain, sorrow and anguish they radiated into him. In fact, he found the storm of emotions a welcome distraction.

Peace wept for himself.

For every life he saved, every memory he remembered, another piece of himself was lost. Forgotten. Each and every one distanced him slightly further from himself. It was something he would never get back. Something none of the rest of the Death’s Shadows worried about. Something he hadn’t even noticed or considered until just a couple epochs ago. It was Peace’s greatest fear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .