Heir Of Chaos

Matt tightened his grip around the handle of the knife and strained, trying to turn it again but unlike before, it refused to budge.

As Dale watched, the adrenaline high stopping him from feeling the pain riddling his body faded.

Several parts of his body flared with so much pain that even the mere thought of moving seemed to worsen it.

He let go of the energy blade and collapsed on the ground.

Sera swatted her hand at Matt’s. His wrist twisted out of place as it broke, causing him to let go of his knife.

He tried to run but the moment he turned his back to her, she kicked him, sending him flying.

Her eyes turned to Dale, flaring with anger. "Diabolical little snake. To think I gave you a genuine chance."

Dale forced a smile. "Well, I did in fact consider joining you on your parade but in the long run, it would have backfired." Surprisingly, he was honest with her.

That bought him no sympathy. Not that he expected it. After all, he just killed her one ride home.

Sera raised her blade once more but Matt charged in again, holding her.

Perhaps it was because of the blind rage consuming her or Matt’s ability skill — maybe both — but she was unable to sense him coming.

"Get off me!" She screamed and raised her blade at Matt, ready to strike yet for some reason, her anger and disgust seemed to fluctuate whenever she considered hurting him.

Sera turned her head to the sky and Dale watched as her eyes widened. She jumped, landing some distance away, and gripped the blade still lodged in her throat.

Staring Dale in the eye, she pulled it out slowly until it was dislodged.

The weapon was thrown to the ground and spat on. She walked to Porter’s body and pointed at it, then at Dale.

"The next time we meet, it’ll be your corpse I’ll be leaving behind."

Golden wings sprouted from her back and she took flight, disappearing into the approaching night sky.

Dale’s eyes widened. ’Why did she leave?’ It didn’t make sense. She had them on the ropes and could have ended them there and then.

Well, maybe not Matt but definitely him. Something must have chased her.

Matt ran over to Dale and turned him over. "Hey, are you alright?" He could only nod. His head hurt but he could manage.

Bright lights suddenly flooded the sand around Watchtower One, blowing up dust. Dale’s eyes widened and he forced his eyes to peek outside.

’Matt managed to call for help.’

Three helicopters were circling the structure carrying what was undoubtedly reinforcements and aid.

’So that was why she ran... killing us would have wasted time she would use to escape.’

Through the light, the crystal from the worm shone more than ever. Dale could see it clearly now.

’What?!’ The crystal was roughly the size of an adult. With it, and the necessary materials at hand, he could vastly improve his prowess.

It would undoubtedly be a great boon to whoever uses it.

’Whoever...’ Dale gritted his teeth despite how much it hurt. After going through so much and risking his life, he would earn nothing.

Maybe, sure, a little renown amidst the military personnel but that would quickly die down. Now, if they could give him the crystal, that would be spectacular.

He doubted they would. Even him knowing about it was through chance and he couldn’t ask for it.

If he did, it would reveal that he is aware of the existence of the crystals which would in turn raise some questions about his activities within the desert.

No matter how he looked at it, he had to let it go.

Despite Matt speaking to him, he could barely hear what he was saying. From the inner parts of the desert, the silhouettes of sand hills were collapsing.

’Shit! We need to leave now!’ He tried to scream it but he was too weak.

’How did I forget about this? The reason why fighting and killing a beast to close to any beast habitat is dangerous...’ As soon as he completed that thought, dozens of worms shot out of the sand.

Guns attached to the helicopters started firing at the beasts. Clearly, the military had anticipated their arrival.

With the dead carcass of an Ascended amongst them, it was only natural that they wanted to eat it.

While the barrage was happening, a helicopter landed close to them. Erin stepped out with an awkward look on her face.

She ran to Dale and knelt beside him, "Good job recruit."

Because of him, their informant and spy would survive. This would change the current status quo within the nation.

With the information Matt had, the family aiding the Aereon kingdom could be brought to justice.

Not that any of that concerned him. What mattered was that he was safe.

The crushing pressure that had been crippling him alleviated and his vision tilted slightly before he passed out.

***

Dale’s eyes flew open and he immediately shut them as the light overhead burned his retinas. This time, however, he wasn’t in the clinic with Doctor Edmond.

He turned in his bed, wincing as every inch of his body crawled with pain. The pain reminded him of his latest... escapade.

A part of him doubted that any of it was real

Somehow, he had survived tricking an Ascended mercenary, indirectly causing the death of an Ascended beast, and offsetting the balance of power within the nation.

Naturally, the description of [Variable] came to mind.

[Variable(Passive): You are an unforeseen number. Changing fates, directions, and spreading disarray]

’Well, I certainly spread disarray. Not too sure about changing anyone’s fates... well, maybe Matt’s.’ The latter would have certainly died had it not been for him.

Dale forced himself to sit up in his bed and he took in his room again. Currently, he was in simple clothes that certainly did not belong to him.

Also, all the grime and dirt on his skin had been cleaned.

"Did they bathe me?!" Somehow that was more unsettling than any crazy Ascended.

That thought brought his memory back to Sera. Indeed, she was a nice person but it was her fault for trusting him.

If there had been a way to leave the desert alive without betraying her then he would have certainly done it.

He was left without a choice.

"Oh well, she did say she’d find me so maybe I can apologize then." He smiled.

If one thing was certain, it was that he had no plans for her to meet him as a Dormant again.

Next time they met — he was absolutely sure they would — he’d be an Awakened.