Chapter 2: The Cost of Action – Arianna

  Cassis?

  But something was wrong. He wasn’t the battle-hardened warrior she had watched last night. He looked younger, unscarred by time and hardship, just like the him from ten years ago when their patron–awakener relationship began. Her mind reeled. Where am I? What’s happening?

  Then, Cassis’s grip on her tightened, his voice rough and filled with something she didn’t understand. “Who are you?”

  Arianna blinked, stunned. She stared at his face, searching for any hint of familiarity in his golden eyes. But there was only wariness, confusion, and something darker, something almost… haunted.

  “I'm … Arianna,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

  His body tensed. “Arianna?” He frowned, his eyes narrowing as he studied her face. “That’s not possible.”

  A lump formed in her throat. “I—I don’t understand. What’s going on? I was crossing the street and then—” Her breath caught. “The car—did I get hit?”

  Cassis’s expression darkened. His grip on her loosened just slightly.

  She shook her head, trying to make sense of everything. “Where am I?”

  Cassis hesitated before replying, his voice guarded. “This is Avaria.”

  Her stomach dropped. “Avaria…?”

  It couldn’t be. That was the world from her dreams, the world Cassis lived in, the world of the system apocalypse. But it had always been just that: a dream. A fantasy she had watched from the other side of the screen. No matter how real it had felt.

  She swallowed. “How old are you?”

  Cassis frowned at the strange question but answered, nonetheless. “I’m 28.”

  Her heart pounded. “That means…”

  Arianna pressed a hand to her forehead, then used it to pinch her other arm. It hurt… She was really here. And if Cassis was 28, that meant it was the very beginning of the apocalypse.

  “I’m 27,” she finally said, her voice shaky, just wanting to say anything. She didn't want to think about the implications of physically being in Cassis’s world at the beginning of the apocalypse.

  Cassis stared at her strangely. “You’re younger than me?”

  “Yes.”

  Before either of them could say anything else, a low growl echoed through the air.

  Arianna’s breath hitched as a group of small, hunched figures with green skin emerged from the trees, their yellow eyes gleaming with malice.

  “Goblins,” Cassis muttered, his jaw tightening.

  Arianna knew what that meant. Goblins were weak compared to the horrors that would come later, but Cassis had yet to awaken. He was just a regular human right now.

  The people around them started screaming as one of the goblins killed the first person and started eating him. The other goblins advanced, and people ran away in a panic.

  “We need to run, too,” he said, setting her down and grabbing her wrist.

  Arianna didn’t argue. With her heart hammering, she ran alongside Cassis, plunging into the chaos of a world she had once only watched from afar.

  Arianna’s breath came in short gasps as she ran beside Cassis through the ruined streets. The city was crumbling around them, buildings reduced to rubble, the sky dark with smoke. They had run in a different direction than most people, and soon the distant screams of them faded into eerie silence, leaving only the sound of their hurried footsteps and the occasional snarl of unseen monsters in the distance.

  Arianna knew the silence meant they had died. She felt sick. What was happening? Why was it happening? Just this morning, she had started another boring day in her boring life. So why was she now here, running next to Cassis in a monster-infested world?

  They soon reached a park, its once vibrant greenery now eerie and desolate. A children’s playground stood abandoned, its swings creaking in the wind. A treehouse sat nestled in an old oak at the far end of the park. Cassis grabbed her hand and pulled her toward it.

  “Up,” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder.

  Arianna scrambled up the wooden ladder, Cassis following close behind. Inside, the treehouse smelled of dust and old wood. There wasn’t much inside, just a few forgotten toys, a child-sized shovel, and, luckily, a wooden baseball bat. Cassis picked it up, weighing it in his hands.

  “They’re still searching,” Arianna whispered, peering through a small window. Three goblins had followed them to the park and then split up, stalking through the greenery with their crude knives. “They haven’t seen us.”

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  Cassis nodded. “I need to awaken. The only way to do that is by killing a monster.”

  Arianna swallowed hard. “I know.”

  He turned to her, gripping the bat tightly. “I’ll do it.”

  “What?”

  “You don’t have to,” he insisted. “I’ll kill one of them and awaken. Then I can protect you.”

  Arianna frowned. “Cassis, I—”

  “Isn’t it enough if I fight?” he whispered harshly. “I can do this. You don’t have to dirty your hands.”

  Arianna’s stomach twisted. The idea of killing terrified her, but she wasn’t sure if it was the fear of the act itself, or the fear that Cassis would get himself killed while trying to protect her.

  Still, he looked so determined. So desperate.

  “…Okay,” she murmured. “Be careful.”

  Cassis nodded and crept down the ladder, moving like a shadow toward one of the goblins. Arianna gripped the child-sized shovel, holding her breath as she watched from the treehouse window. Her fingers trembled as she clutched the tiny weapon, her heart hammering against her ribs. Just in case…

  Cassis moved silently, raising the bat high before swinging it down on the goblin’s head. He was so slow compared to the Cassis from her dreams. Weak, too, since the creature didn’t die immediately but let out a shrill shriek instead. With force, it whirled around, slashing its knife wildly.

  Arianna’s blood turned to ice as Cassis fought. The goblin’s blade cut into his arms, shallow wounds blooming red. He gritted his teeth, pressing forward despite the pain. Arianna clenched her hands. He didn’t even have an awakener’s body or the Pain Resistance feature right now. Every wound had to hurt terribly.

  Then she saw them, the other two goblins, who had turned around the moment their teammate had screamed. They were rushing toward the fight, and Cassis hadn’t noticed yet.

  Arianna cursed under her breath. Damn it, Cassis! Without thinking, she gripped the shovel tightly and launched herself out of the treehouse, sprinting toward the goblins. She wouldn’t just watch anymore. Now she could protect him for real.

  One of the goblins turned just as she reached it, its beady yellow eyes widening in surprise. Before it could react, she drove the shovel forward, ramming the tip into its eye with all her strength.

  The goblin screeched, flailing as black blood gushed from its ruined eye socket. Cassis, who had finally dispatched the first goblin, took advantage of the distraction, killing the last goblin with a brutal swing of his bat.

  Arianna stumbled back, panting. Her hands trembled, the shovel slipping from her grip. She’d killed something. Her breathing came faster. It had been so easy, the feeling of the shovel entering the goblin’s eye still so sickening. Spots were forming in front of her. What had she done?

  She’d never killed something like this, something semi-intelligent. She even had a hard time killing a spider or insect that had somehow gotten into her apartment. She usually opted for catching them with a glass and carrying them outside.

  Her breathing came faster, and the spots were starting to dance in front of her eyes. Then, a ding sounded in her ears, and a glowing blue screen appeared in front of her, snapping her out of her panic.

  [Congratulations! You have awakened.]

  Her breath caught, but before she could fully register the message, the screen flickered wildly, the text rewriting itself.

  [ERROR: Patron system violation detected.

  Status update: Virtuous Deity → Fallen Patron

  Reason: Direct interference in the mortal world.

  VP (Virtuous Points) removed.

  Alignment shift: Virtuous → Chaotic.

  Goblin (Rank F) slain. Exp gained. → Creating a pseudo-awakener physique

  CP (Chaos Points) gained: +10 (for killing a sentient being), +10 (for protecting a mortal).

  Warning: As a Chaotic Deity, you must balance your actions carefully. Both intent and consequence will affect your CP. Should you become too virtuous or too evil, your CP will be reset.]

  Arianna’s heart pounded. What… what does this mean?

  The system had recognised her as a deity again, even though she was now physically in this world, not just an observer anymore. But it had changed her alignment. My VP! Gone, everything was gone. Granted, she hadn’t had many, but now she needed to start anew. She didn’t even have enough points for a healing potion! How would they survive? Cassis was already wounded just from fighting some goblins.

  And what is a pseudo-awakener physique? Just what was going on? Could she level now? Could she grow stronger, like Cassis had before? Could she fight by his side? Did she even want to? What was she—?

  “Arianna!”

  Before she could spiral further, Cassis’s voice yanked her from her daze. He stalked toward her, his golden eyes blazing with fury. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

  She blinked at him. What was she thinking?! What was he thinking, trying to face those goblins alone when he was still so weak! “You needed help!”

  “You were supposed to stay hidden!” he whisper-shouted, his anger barely contained. “What if you had gotten hurt? What if you had died?”

  Arianna grit her teeth, then consciously relaxed again. “And what if you had died?” She glared at him. “You should be thanking me instead of yelling at me.” Her hands weren’t trembling anymore. This man was so infuriating that any emotion other than anger didn’t stay long in his presence. He’d frustrated her when she had only been watching him, but now he seriously made her mad.

  She could finally do more than just watch and send items. She could fight by his side. She didn’t know why or even how she was here, but this was a chance. Her old life was empty; only Cassis and his world had given her purpose. Now she was here, and she’d make a damn difference, no matter what the stubborn man opposite her thought about it.

  They locked eyes, tension crackling between them.

  Then she took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. There was no reason to fight already. More fights were inevitable, knowing Cassis. Right now, she could be the bigger person; she had been the bigger person often enough in the past. There were other things that were more important than her feelings or his ego. “Whatever. That’s not important. What matters is—did you awaken?”

  Cassis stiffened, looking away. “Yeah… I did.”

  Arianna exhaled in relief. “Good. That means—”

  “But it’s the same F-rank, only basic abilities,” he muttered, cutting her off.

  Her brows furrowed. “Same?”

  Cassis immediately shut his mouth; his expression guarded. It was a small slip, but it sent alarm bells ringing in her mind. He shouldn’t know how the system works already… Today is the first day of the apocalypse.

  Hope spread inside her. Did Cassis… remember, too? That would be the best-case scenario. Together, they could change how this whole apocalypse would go. They could survive a lot more easily.

  Before she could ask, Cassis’s eyes widened in sudden realisation. He turned toward the direction they had come from. “I have to go home.”

  Arianna hesitated. “What’s wrong?”

  He looked back at her. “My family. I need to make sure they’re safe. Come on.”

  Arianna stared at him, then at the ruined city around them. Everything had changed in an instant. The apocalypse had begun, and there was no turning back. But she knew how much it had hurt Cassis to lose his family. She understood. She’d lost her beloved father, too. If they could change that …

  “…Yeah,” she said. “Let’s go.”

  Without another word, she picked up her small shovel and they started toward Cassis’s home, the weight of their new reality pressing down on them both.