Chapter 49: Of Gods & Men
Yuan finished his tea in silence.
He still struggled to comprehend the full severity of their situation. Yuan was a courier at heart. His existence for the last few years revolved around traveling and delivering packages. He never signed on for a high-level cultivator conflict over a Lost Age relic capable of laying waste to civilization.
He felt a sense of responsibility for carrying the Cube of NATO around. Had Slash not intercepted him, Yuan might have successfully delivered it to Manhattan and doomed the wasteland to nuclear destruction. Even then, he might have only delayed the inevitable. Manhattan would try to recover the device, and the Yinyang Khan would cause just as much trouble with that weapon in his possession.
Yuan didn’t wish to die again. He didn’t want to see Orient and Holster swallowed in a flash of light and vaporized.
But what could he do? Manhattan was way out of his league, let alone the Yinyang Khan. While Yuan was pretty sure he could take out Slash if they ever fought again, his murderer was a small fry compared to these two. Arc might help if he convinced her of the threat that the Nuke represented…
Yuan shook his head. He refused to rely on another’s mercy. If a man was a man, he honored his responsibilities and the cube was one of his.
Yuan needed to get stronger much quicker… but how could he do so when he struggled with his own Path?
Mordiggian sensed his hesitation. “You reek of guilt, Gunsoul. What weighs on your mind?”
Yuan wondered if he should tell the Sin-Eater the truth for a moment. The man offered him answers about the cube without asking anything in return, so he felt obligated to return the favor. “Have you heard of Fleshmarket?”