Way of the Knights

Chapter 917: Sleep, Finn.

‘Is he…is he testing me?’ 

This is the first thing that Finn thought of when Raven asked him that question. He didn’t know who this person is nor know what kind of personality he has but given how he acted early, he must be one of those eccentrics that his parents told him about back in the day. 

“It’s…okay? I don’t really know. But how did you know my name?” He asked. “We’ve never met before have we? If so, then I’m sorry, my memories are in a bit of a mess lately.”

“It’s okay huh? Very well, not that my acting skills are important at this point.” The man hummed to himself, “As for how I knew about you well…let’s say that it is my duty to know things. We’ve never met before yes, but that’s not really important.” 

Finn frowned upon hearing that. He thought that this human sure is a strange one. One thing for sure is that, this guy has much more than he’s letting on. 

“Pardon me for asking but, how did you get in here, Sir?” Finn asked politely. He just realized that he doesn’t even know this man’s name. 

“What? You don’t believe me when I said that I just walked in? Is it really that unbelievable?” 

“Uh…” Finn was at a loss, it seems that his man didn’t want to tell him so it’s best if he just forget about it. “Right. You walked in, got it.”

“A fair warning though, Sir. This place is extremely dangerous for the likes of you. It’d be best if you don’t recklessly roam this place. There’s a fair chance that you’d die by doing so.” Finn advised, “I might not look trustworthy to you since I look like them but believe me, things will get ugly if they discovered you.” 

“On the account that you helped me kill this one, take this advise as repayment. Do go back and tell Humanity to prepare for a great war. Tell them that the Gods are coming to take everything they know and love. Convince them make plans for their safety.” Finn implored to the man, his words were heartfelt, coming from the deepest recesses of his being that still remains human. 

“…Abyssals.” 

“Excuse me?” Finn was surprised. 

“We call them Abyssals, Young Man.” The man smiled, “They’re not Gods. A strong bodily constitution that is developed by ingenuity and not naturally isn’t enough to brand their race as Gods. They don’t deserve that title. They will never deserve that kind of title. Do remember this well, Young Man.” 

Finn speechless. Those words were full of disdain and overwhelming pride and confidence. There’s not a trace of hesitation nor fear in the man’s voice as he openly defied and insulted the Gods on their own land in front of him. He was one audacious person for doing this. 

“Aside from Abyssals, we should also call them Locusts – pests, if you will.” The man stated as he walked around while inspecting the room. “They jump from one place to another, devouring everything of value in places where they can sense some. Rinse and repeat. That’s what they do. If that’s not a pest-behavior, I don’t know what is.”

The man looked at Finn and smiled:

“The first method on defeating a monster, is by believing that they’re not real. Once you discover that they’re not as terrible as you initially thought, the next step is for you to see them bleed.”

“The first method removes your fear of them, the second method makes you realize that they’re not invincible. And final method, is by killing them. Once you kill them, you will discover that they’re not immortal and if you can kill one, you can kill another. Kill them again and again until it becomes their turn to be afraid of you.”

“That’s how you defeat a monster.” 

Finn would be lying if he said that he’s not freaked out by this man because he totally is. Every hair on his body was standing on end and every cell was screaming at him to run away as far as possible from this man. 

It is so strange though. This man looked practically harmless. He did nothing but speak what’s on his mind but the primal fear he can instill to someone’s heart is so immense. 

Who is he? 

“Well…since you’re done with you revenge, I wonder what your next plans are, Young Finneas?” 

Once again, Finneas was caught off-guard by that sudden question. Indeed, he was done. He already fulfilled his vow to himself. He had killed Skroll and there’s nothing for him here. 

Once again, he was made aware of the gaping void in his chest, figuratively and literally. 

“…it’s time for me to go.” Finn murmured, “I’ve lived and suffered enough. There’s nothing left for me to do here. I’ve done everything that I could. I carry way too much sin that I can possibly atone for. Not even my death would be enough for what I have caused.”

“Death is the only thing left for me.” Finn concluded. 

“…not yet.” The man stated while shaking his head. 

“What do you possibly mean by that?” 

“Now is not yet the time for you to die.” The man clarified, which made Finn even more confused. “Don’t worry, your death will arrive sooner or later, but certainly not now.”

“Why?” 

“Because if you die now, you’ll die as an Abyssal.” The man stated rather bleakly. “I’m guessing that you don’t know what happens when you die as one do you?” 

Finn nodded, he indeed has no clue of what he’s talking about. 

“Abyssals have no afterlife, Young Finn.” He said, “There’s no heaven, hell, nor purgatory. The Abyssals don’t believe in such things and they certainly won’t allow it.”

“To them, they believe that they’re Eternal. Infallible beings that are meant to rule everything they see. They don’t believe and refuse to believe that death has any power over them.”

“If you die here, you’ll just enter a cycle of reincarnation. Especially since you’re within Paradise. About 1000 to 2000 years later, you’ll be reborn as an Abyssal. Your memories will return once you adulthood and at that time, everyone else will know who you were.”

“Given the things that you did, you will not know reprieve under their hands. They will keep you in prison and drive to madness time and time again until you break down completely and turn you into a mindless slave that exist solely for their own use and amusement.”

“Such fate is extremely cruel. One that I can possibly allow to you.” 

Finn was shaken. He truly had no idea that such a thing was going to happen to him. Add this to the bucket of things he regretted by turning into an Abyssal. 

This basically ensure that he will suffer regardless of his alignment. He’s meant to forever dance on top of their palms. Truly, a fate worse than death it is. 

“…considering how I doomed Humanity by bringing them here. Don’t you think I deserve such fate?” Finn asked in a self-deprecating manner. 

If he’s being honest, he’s terrified to experience such torment. He already suffered so much in one lifetime and now, someone’s telling him that this is just the start? Of course he’d be scared out of his wits.

Then again, isn’t this quite an apt punishment for the sin he carried? And Eternal Suffering for dooming Humanity through and through. While he might be afraid of what’s going to happen to him, he knows that he’s a sinner and this is an apt punishment to atone for his sins. 

“I would’ve agreed with you in the instance that you willing sold information to them.” The man stated, “But you never did right?”

“In fact, you’ve never asked for any of this to begin with. All you wanted and dreamed about, is to eat delicious food all day long and not worry about anything else. Am I right, Finneas?”

Finn looked at the man, his rims of his eyes were bright red yet the message on them was clear. Yes, Finn indeed never wanted any of this. He never wanted the curse, he never wanted to be exiled, he never wanted his parents to die, he never wanted to become an Outsider and experience a very difficult life.

More importantly, he never wanted to be captured by the Abyssals. He never wanted to become an Abyssal. He didn’t want them to drain his memories and use it against Humanity. 

Finn never wanted to doom Humanity. He never wanted to become the greatest sinner. Yet all of it happened to him. 

Could anybody really blame him if he was resentful about his fate after knowing all of this? Probably not. 

“Fret not, Young Man.” The man stated, “I’m here. You’re suffering ends now.”

“I will grant you death, not as an Abyssal but as a human.” He said, “If Divine Realm still stands after this great war, you’ll enter the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn in your rightful home. I’ll rinse you of your bad luck so that fate will be kind to you on your next lifetime.” 

“For now though, sleep. The battle had just began.” 

The man pressed a finger on Finn’s head and he promptly lost consciousness.