Leave The Monster Alone

"Luna, it's a world run by a program. I'm sure you know what I am trying to say to you" the other seemed confused for a second before his eyes shown with understanding and he nodded back at him.

And Mark knew the other took his hint and knew what was being asked of him. It would not be easy to hack the base but it would be possible to do so. They would get so much precious information if they succeeded.

"Are you sure you want to stay behind with me? I do bite sometimes" the guardian grinned at Mark as the others left them alone, his grin not sinister but not friendly either. It was clear to Mark that he wanted to intimidate him rather than scare him but he could indulge the other.

After all, it's not like Mark had a lot to do now anyway.

Kuro, Luna and Yun had left the place as soon it had been decided that Mark would stay behind to keep the guardian company. It had not been up for debate once Mark agreed with the other anyway. Also, he wanted to know more about the guardian too since he seemed like a fascinating creature to him..

The guardian looked remarkably human, with no indication of any of the divine features visible on him.

Unlike any other divine beast, this one appeared to be most human and Mark could not help but get dangerous vibes from the other without his mind being able to piece everything together.

"I don't mind staying behind with you but you would not kill me when we once are alone, would you? I don't think red makes a good colour on me" they were both feeling each other out, two animals circling each other and trying to find an opening to gain an inch over each other but failing to do so.

Mark also felt like he was the prey here and unlike the other predators, this one would not let him go if he caught him. Mark had to be careful in how he approached this situation.

"So, why did you take this post out of all the available ones? Surely someone of your calibre deserves something better" the question was simple enough, an easy ice breaker or so Mark thought of it.

But the other's closed-off expression did nothing to assure him that he had been successful at all.

"Why I took this post up? To honour a promise I made or maybe it was my greed. Who knows why this happened or why they decided to assign me this post" the guardian looked at Mark's confused expression before elaborating, "the developers of this world. This is a game after all" 

And now Mark was sure that this was no ordinary human and he might have even taken him as an outsider if not for the way he talked. He sounded like he resented his position, not something he should say if he got to chose it himself.

The guardian sounded like he was from inside as well and that was a worrying notion. Who tod him? Or did he realise it all on his own? 

If so, then who else knew about the truth of this world and resented this world for what it was.

"So, what are you going to do with all this knowledge? And why tell this to me? I cannot possibly help you in any way" Liam would have told Mark if he could make a change in how the state of this world was.

'But would he? He was from the outside as well. Would he badmouth his home like that?' Mark was no longer sure of anything and the voice inside him did seem to make sense as well.

Still, it was not his place to question all that,  just to see things going smoothly.

"I don't need your help though it would be appreciated. But I know you cannot trust me in this situation so I will make a deal with you. Accompany me this one time and I shall show you something that will change your mind" Mark hesitated to take the offered hand of the other.

He was not willing to make any calls on this issue since he did not feel confident enough. The other was a divine beast who could be trying to trick Mark but he did not see a reason why someone would do that. Especially for Mark who was an ordinary human being and an extraordinary power.

The guardian should be trying to poach Luna or even Alan if anything. They were the real powerhouses, even on a similar scale to the guardian but the guardian had ignored them for some reason, making a beeline for Mark instead.

Still, Mark felt like this was a good opportunity for him to know more about this whole situation he had found himself in. All he needed to do was to look past his self and he would be able to get a lot of answered he needed to get.

...….

"So, how many steps are there in total? I feel like we have been climbing up for a very long time now and I am tired" Luna was not tired but he found pleasure in irritating the other. The teen was leading their small party but he refused to look at Luna.

The kid had seemed to hide his power but now that Luna can sense it, it was a lot more potent before. He was afraid to get blown away at its might and his mind warned him, again and again, to maintain his distance from the other.

But Luna was a daredevil at heart and he felt like the kid was alright, if not a little misguided. He could work through it all to get the other to trust him more and to have a working relationship. If not, then Luna had to be able to get close enough to kill the other.

Not that things would come to that anytime soon. This was just a precaution anyway. A failsafe in case the other turned toward them and decided that he did not want humanity to live any longer.

But Luna still had a few questions in his mind, some he was not willing to wait for.

"Why did you help us out? You are a divine beast after all" Luna was curious about the reason and he wanted to know it bad. Why them? Why help them out when the other did not need to? Luna was really curious about the reason the other would provide him with.

"Why help you, humans, out? It's simple. I like humans and their potential a lot. If I cannot live as a human then I can pretend to be one at least. For that, I do need humanity to survive till the end. It is what I betted on after all" Luna was sure he was not supposed to hear that last part but he had anyway.

Not that he could tell what it was about anyway. He did not have enough pieces to put everything together and to come up with a solution anyway. 

There was a sudden change in pressure causing the surroundings to fade away. One second they were walking up the water steps, the other second they saw themselves in an exit in a water garden beautiful enough to put any decoration to shame. Water and flowers filled the landscape from head to toe, painting it in a variety of colours. 

"Welcome to Eden, the home of the divine beasts. Be careful though, so as not to get caught empty-handed here. I will give you a token that will help you navigate this place" The token turned out to be a pendant one would wear under their clothes for spiritual protection. 

Luna could not help but feel odd as he touched the pendant. There was an odd sense of detachment between him and his emotions but he could still feel them. It was the power that made him take a step back. 

It filled his pores and he felt like he was no longer a human. His muscles also felt like they were on fire and to him, it felt like a small fever had sprouted inside his body, one which he could not fight against without suffering. 

"Now that one thing is done, let's try to find your brother. The worst thing about Nathan's involvement is that we cannot be sure of anything anymore. He's really cunning but he's even more heartless than you think. Your brother could be anywhere inside here" Kuro huffed at that claim but her attention and focus in a single direction, her ears pressed back to her head. 

She had heard something she wanted to focus on and Luna gave her a small nod to take charge. If she had caught onto Alan's scent then she was the only one they needed to follow behind on. There will be no delay any longer.