Chapter 78
Chapter 78
“The good news is you know she made it,” Jazzjak stated. “The constant flow of DP, even if small, is a sign that they succeeded.”
Max nodded. He could feel the muscles in his face relaxing as he stopped clenching his teeth. “I know… It’s just been… weird,” he replied. “I mean, it’s only been nine months. I can’t tell you how many times Tanila and I find ourselves standing in her room. Everything is there as she left it, and I think I finally understand how my parents must have felt.”
The vorpal rabbit moved to the chair next to Max's and plopped down. He scooched back into the seat and sighed. “I hadn’t really thought much of my family in almost 80,000 years. With how time works and the gods I’ve tried to help… things like family aren’t usually important to them. We’re barely over a hundred years, and I’ve witnessed more concern from you all than I have from all the other gods combined. Remember, three hundred years isn’t that long. Besides, you and I helped make sure that Miranna and the others knew how to proceed. Whatever helper they get is going to owe me if we ever meet.”
Max cocked his head at those words, glancing at Jazzjak. “You and the other… helpers. Do you spend time with each other if there are no gods? Or like how does that work?”
Jazzjak’s ears twitched as he leaned back in the chair. “Every helper’s story is different, Max, but there’s one thing that’s always the same. When the god we’re bound to dies, we die too. Not just our body. Everything about us gets stripped back into the System.”
Max frowned. “Stripped back how? You mean like you just vanish?”
“Worse.” Jazzjak rubbed at his whiskers. “It’s like being unmade. There’s a moment of nothing—then you’re pulled into the System. I can’t explain it in a way that makes sense to you. No time. Nobody. No self. Just… waiting.”
Max leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “So you’re aware?” “Yes and no.” Jazzjak gave a short laugh. “I know it happened because I can remember dying, and I can remember waking again with a new god. But in between? It isn’t days or years. It isn’t even dreams. It’s like I blinked. If thousands of years had passed, I wouldn’t have known. The System doesn’t let us linger in that state with our thoughts. We’re stored, then retrieved when a new god needs a helper. That’s all.”
Max let out a slow breath, his jaw tightening again. “That’s… brutal.”
“It is.” Jazzjak’s ears sagged. “Though I suppose it keeps us sane. Imagine remembering centuries of drifting alone.” The vorpal rabbit shook his head. “I’ve had many gods over my lifetime. Each time, I wake and serve again.”
I can imagine in a small way what that is like.
Yet you have said before that you don’t remember anything from those previous times.
I do not, and yet I remember more now because of our time together. The stronger I’ve become, the more I remember. There is still much I do not know. Part of me wonders what it is like to be in that… void. To have no awareness, to be silent, and have no thoughts.
A sensation of something, like Bob wishing for it, washed over Max.
Is that something you desire?
Part of me might say yes, while the other part does not. I can imagine the kind of chaos I and the other black-skilled people must have caused during our previous existences. How many lives have we removed from the system? I wouldn’t spend much time worried about those things, yet listening to Jazzjak, I am curious about why the System does what it does.
Because everything comes down to power… why waste it?
Exactly.
Max rubbed at the back of his neck. “Do you know how many helpers exist?”
Jazzjak shrugged. “No. None of us does. I’ve wondered, but the System doesn’t let us share that knowledge. The only thing I know is that I never waited long. Not by my sense of things, anyway. Maybe that means there aren’t enough helpers to go around. Maybe it means too many gods die. Either way, I never sat in that void for what felt like more than an instant.”
It would explain the turnover we’ve seen. For every god rising, another must have fallen. A balance. A cycle. You’ve killed multiple gods in such a short period of time, yet there appears to be a consequence for doing so. In fact, the entire system is designed for you and the other gods to wage war or fight each other.
Max didn’t disagree, but he kept his focus on Jazzjak. “Tell me something else. When you served other gods… did you ever interact with outsiders? Other gods who came visiting?”
The rabbit shook his head hard enough that his ears flopped. “No. Never. Gods guard their helpers jealously. A helper is an anchor. We advise, we watch, we help maintain order. But if another god ever had a chance to interfere? It would be dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?” Max asked.
“They could kill us,” Jazzjak replied. “If that happened, the god we served would have to pay the System’s price to make another. Divine Points aren’t free. Losing a helper weakens a god in more ways than one. That’s why they keep us hidden. Why most helpers never meet anyone outside their god’s faction.”
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The pieces in Max’s head clicked together. He remembered Nerdok—smiling too much, offering help too freely, always watching with those sharp eyes. The gnome had never acted like Jazzjak, never carried himself like someone bound to rules.
Max sat up. “Then Nerdok isn’t a helper at all.”
Jazzjak blinked. “What?”
“He’s a god pretending to be one,” Max stated.. “Think about it. You said it yourself—no god lets others touch their helper. It’s too much of a risk. But Nerdok? He shows up, claims to be a helper, and pretends to be one of you. What if he’s just wearing the role like a mask?”
Jazzjak’s fur bristled, and he sat back, staring at the ceiling. For a moment, he didn’t answer. Then he exhaled through his nose. “That… makes sense.” His whiskers twitched in a way Max had only seen a few times in a hundred years. “It makes a dangerous kind of sense.”
“Dangerous?”
“Max…” Jazzjak said, leaning forward. “If a god is willing to pretend to be a helper, it means they want something another god has. Why else get so close? Helpers see everything. You and the rest don’t hold back much from me because you need my help to choose the right path forward. We’re trusted. If a god is pretending to be one of us, they’re trying to spy, manipulate, maybe even sabotage.”
Max’s chest felt tighter as he listened to his helper and friend. “So Nerdok’s been sitting there this whole time, watching, and waiting. I mean, it seemed like he was helping… but was he really?”
“I don’t like it,” Jazzjak replied. “A god masquerading as a helper—what happens if the System allows it? If it doesn’t step in? That means the game is dirtier than I imagined.”
We should assume the System knows what Nerdok was doing. It knows everything, even the subtle tricks we use to convey things rather than speak about them. Which means it allows that charade, if that is what is happening. What’s worse is that we’re not certain whether Nerdok was just being clever or playing us.
Max clenched a fist, his knuckles cracking. “But why? What does Nerdok gain? I mean, if he is one of the gods from that world, then he gave us a fake black-hole bomb. He could have sent us home empty-handed.”
Most likely, it has to do with access. He can watch how you grow. Learn your weaknesses. See who you trust. He could whisper advice that pushes you toward traps. Or gather information to use later. If you didn’t ever find out what he was, how long might that ruse go on? We already considered returning and seeing what items we could purchase to bring back here and craft with.
Jazzjak spoke up, not knowing that Max’s skill had just finished talking. “No one would suspect a god playing that role. Honestly, you're the only god who has ever spent time asking questions outside of— where do I spend my DP or what comes next . Who questions a helper? We’re basically furniture or something even less to most gods. Sure, we’re always there, always loyal. Our lives revolve around you and I would never think about betraying you unless I had a reason. And that reason would have to be something I was willing to die for. To think someone might be lying about being one—it unsettles me.”
Max studied his helper and friend. Jazzjak was shifting in a way Max had never seen before. The normally calm advisor looked… smaller.
“We need to decide what to do about it,” Max said.
We could confront him directly. Ask if he’s a god. See how he reacts.
“Bob thinks we should confront him. But what if we kept quiet and watched,” Max said. “We could let Nerdok think we don’t suspect. That way, he keeps showing his hand without realizing we’re aware of it.”
Jazzjak’s nose danced how it sometimes did. “If you ask him outright, I doubt he would answer truthfully. He’d probably lie about it or give some other reason. Even if you requested him to summon some of the other gods, he might make it happen and they might also be in on this ruse. In the end, you’ll put him on alert. From what you told me, the world is old and Nerdok will know how to twist the question back on you. And if the System allows him to play this role, then speaking it aloud might trigger some punishment on your end, not his.”
“So either way it’s a trap.”
“Exactly.” Jazzjak replied. “If Nerdok is a god pretending to be a helper, then he’s already ahead of us. The only choice we have is whether to play along or try to rip his mask off. Neither is safe.”
That is our advantage—we know now. He most likely won't think we suspect him of being anything more than what he claims to be. That’s real power. Knowledge that no one else has.
Max exhaled slowly. He didn’t like being stalked; he didn’t like the idea of someone worming their way into his plans. But Bob was right. Knowing was better than not.
“Then we’ll watch him. If he slips and tries to make a move towards us, at least we’ll have some warning. That also leads me to wonder about other things. A planet that allows travelers, even world champions. Set up for us to come, trading and purchasing things. But what do those gods get from all that?” Max asked. “I guess one day I’ll force him to answer the question for real.”
Jazzjak’s whiskers twitched again. “That’s a dangerous plan, but it may be the only path you have right now. I’ll help however I can. You already know that you’re not the first god to be hunted by another. But you may be the first who knows it early enough to turn the game back on their hunter.”
Max leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Bob’s presence stirred inside him.
We can handle this. We’ve handled far worse. The difference is that this isn’t a beast or a tower guardian we’re facing. This is a god on their home world and we don’t know how strong he might be. We’ll need to treat him like an animal we both know could turn on us at any moment. Unlike that oversized owl, who we didn’t know was there until he decided to show himself, we know about Nerdok.
“Thank you, Jazzjak,” Max said softly. “You may have just prevented me from stumbling into a hole I couldn’t see.”
“What are helpers for?” the vorpal rabbit asked, his red eyes glowing. “I mean, besides getting stronger the longer you stay alive?”