Leveling up the World

Chapter 966: Personification of Doubt

“Eury,” Dallion whispered.

The gorgon had changed since the last time he’d seen her, trading her sun gold armor for a casual Greek robe and what could only be described as a pair of medieval britches. She didn’t seem particularly older than Dallion remembered her, although the snakes on her head had acquired a faint golden color.

Seeing her seemed to make the pain fade away, along with all the concerns and fears. Suddenly, nothing mattered anymore. His college days, Atol, even the hunt for the awakened seemed trivial and unnecessary.

“Splitting’s never easy, especially the first time,” the gorgon said.

Dallion took a step towards her, then stopped, almost fearing that if he’d continue, the realm would swallow her up.

“You’ve been reckless again.” Eury’s snakes moved about.

“Just a bit.” Dallion looked at his left hand.

Two sets of fingers were moving about. That could only be described as pitiful by any definition, yet he felt a sense of achievement.

“I thought I lost you,” he said, finally having the will to continue forward.

Without thinking, his arms wrapped around her, giving her the strongest hug he was capable of. To his relief, he also felt her arms on his back. Despite being overwhelmed by joy, he could clearly see how much he had weakened. Maybe he wasn’t as weak as a non-awakened, yet he wasn’t too far off.

“It’s alright,” Eury whispered. Dallion could tell she was careful not to hurt him.

For a short infinity the two remained silent, holding each other, afraid to let go of the moment. With every second, their fear slowly faded away.

“How is it?” the gorgon asked.

“How’s what?”

“Your world.”

“Ah.” Dallion opened his mouth to continue, but paused before the first words could come out. Back in the awakened world, he’d often tell her about the wonders that existed back home. They all seemed so mundane now, not to mention that he still felt slightly out of place here. “It’s the same as when I left,” he said.

“I see. I wish you could have shown it to me.”

“I will,” he said without hesitation. “I’ll find a way to show it to you. All of it.”

“I know you’ll try.” Euryale let go of him and took a step back.

The action felt confusing, but for some reason Dallion wasn’t able to react to it. He knew that she was about to move away, yet he didn’t have the will to even try to stop her.

“Don’t go,” he said.

“I’m always here.”

“Eury, don’t—” Dallion rose up, suddenly finding himself in a rather small place.

It was dark with only a scattering of LED lights around him. A rhythmic hum was coming from everywhere, along with the faint sensation of constant vibrations.

“Finally up?” a female voice asked, though it wasn’t Euryale’s.

Things slowly came into focus. Once he was used to the faint light, Dallion was able to make out where he was. What initially seemed like a bed was a rather long seat. The lights were indicators for charging spots, read lights, and buttons with which to call for service and assistance.

A plane, Dallion said to himself. He had no memory of getting here. The last he remembered, he had been in Atol’s car on the way to the airport. No. Actually, he had been in his phone.

Atol was further down, watching some movie on the internal entertainment system. It couldn’t be said that the plane was top of the line, but it still had a level of luxury reserved for private jets. Dallion didn’t want to think who she had convinced to lend her this.

“What happened?” slowly he sat up.

“Your nose started bleeding, then you fainted.” The woman didn’t sound in the least bit concerned. “Lucky you didn’t mess up your clothes. I wouldn’t have been able to talk my way through that.”

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Dallion put in every ounce of sarcasm he could muster. “Where’s my phone?”

Almost immediately, the woman froze. Clearly, she had relied too much on her music skills to engage in physical contact.

“What really happened?” Slowly Dallion removed his hand from her mouth.

“Nothing happened.” The woman made an attempt to tie in a subtle music thread among her words.

Dallion tightened his grip round her throat slightly.

“Okay!” she quickly said, still in a hushed tone. “I’ll tell you.”

Dallion loosened his grip again.

“You suddenly split into instances,” she said. “It wasn’t much. Not like now. I didn’t even see any changes, but I felt it happen. Then, your nose started bleeding. I pulled up on side of the the road, but you were gone.”

“Dead?”

“Fainted. It still freaked me out. I was about to turn back to your college when..." There was a moment of silence. “You muttered a name. Euryale.”

“My wife’s name.”

“It’s a gorgon’s name.” Even now, the woman sounded terrified. “You aren’t human, are you? That’s why you want to go back.”

That’s what she thought? Not something one would expect. It also could explain her reluctance to get doctors involved. If Dallion was masking his appearance, the first medical professional would find out, which would lead to serious issues for the both of them.

“I’m on your fucking side, okay?” Atol insisted.

Surprisingly, Dallion removed his hand.

“I’m not a gorgon,” he said. “But my wife is. And I am going back.”

As the seconds dragged on, the turbulence abruptly ceased, returning the flight to its expected smoothness. The plane guardian had done his job well and now went back to ensuring that the flight was as perfect as possible.

Not needing to press his point further, Dallion sat in the seat opposite Atol. He never thought that gorgons had changed so much throughout the ages. It was understandable, though. The furies despised the ground and everyone living on it... until they were utterly defeated, becoming a scattering of servants and mercenary tribes that worked for the highest bidder. The same must have happened to the gorgons. Of all the races in the awakened world, the least was known about them. Euryale, like every other gorgon Dallion had met, knew very little about their history and discussed even less.

“What else could you do?” Atol asked. “Other than splitting.”

This was a crossroads question. Telling her risked Dallion keeping the edge. Not doing so, risked losing her trust.

“I can talk to guardians,” Dallion revealed half the truth.

“No shit?!” She instantly leaned forward towards him.

“That’s why we need to find a place he’s been.”

“Shit Dal. That’s massive.”

“I can’t convince people, and I can’t fight worth crap.” He put things into perspective. “Our target can split as well. Also, I’m almost sure he has foresight.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“It’s either that or magic. Take your pick.”

Either choice was bad, but magic was worse. Normally, Dallion would spend a while within the awakened realms re-learning more of his skills. The price was rather high. Although it didn’t seem like it, he was far from his best. The best way to describe it was having been through a serious case of the flu—weak, though not enough to be noticed by others. Getting his health reduced by a third tended to have such an effect.

“We’ll need five hours after we land. It should be about noon by then.”

“That’s fine. The plan isn’t to hide.”

“What if they come after us?” Atol asked the question on both of their minds. “Even together we can’t match an attack skill.”

“We make sure we’re never alone,” Dallion said. “You’ll make sure we’re protected. I’ll make sure to take our targets down.”