Chapter 58: Chapter 58- Life Value
After that, Talon walked away from the group as he approached Hyun-Jae.
"Sorry for moving first without telling you." He said calmly.
Even though he told her that he wouldn't do anything and let Hyun-Jae deal with the matter, seeing what was happening really angered him and made him react before Hyun-Jae could do anything.
Talon wasn't the type to let his anger control him but in such circumstances, it becomes harder for him to actually keep his composure. Talon was raised to hate oppression more than anything else.
He hated seeing the weak being abused by the strong for no reason other than ego and greed. Even before the Integration, he would end up in random fights with others because of this very same reason. He never claimed to be a hero or a kind person, but this was a line he wasn't ready to let anyone cross.
Never did he regret learning such a habit from his father since he really believed that this was the right thing to do.
"It's fine. He deserved what he got." Hyun-Jae replied as she stared at the unconscious Ji-Seok with a cold glare. "Scumbag." She murmured.
"Don't worry about him. He won't be able to move for a few months and when he does, I'm sure he won't be able to be a threat to anyone." Talon replied as he exhaled a long breath. Even though he was faring a lot better than before, he was still sick and the remains of that sickness remained in his body.
He will need some more time before he makes a full recovery.
"I will excuse myself. I want to rest a little more before we get ready for the next step." He said.
"Mm, I will take care of the rest," Hyun-Jae replied.
Talon nodded his head in understanding before he walked away. Moving through the corridors, he felt Acrypha slowly floating behind him.
The entire time, the woman didn't utter a single word and neither did Talon. When he returned to the room and sat down on the mattress, his eyes finally moved to the divine beauty in front of him.
The two stared at each other for a while silently before Talon finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Thanks for protecting me back there." He said in a complicated tone.
Acrypha was slightly taken aback by his words since she expected him to be annoyed with her. Still, she nodded her head. "No problem. I did what I deemed to be the right choice."
"Was it really the right choice, though?" Talon asked.
He didn't know exactly how strong and important Acrypha was but he was certain that she was extremely special. The fact that she was ready to risk her life just to save him, a mere human, didn't sit well with him.
It wasn't because he looked down on himself and more of a sense of confusion. Why was Acrypha doing all of this? Why was she ready to go as far as to sacrifice her life just so that he could survive? What goal did she want to achieve by helping him grow stronger and stronger?
Talon had all these questions going through his head and he had no answer for them. He still remembered what Acrypha said to him back then.
"I won't die, kid. It's far too early for that. But, if I do. I want you to reach the absolute peak of this world where nothing can rival you. I'm sure you're the only one that can pull that off. When you do it, don't forget to finish what needs to be finished."
Those words definitely had a deeper meaning behind them.
'Do what has to be done? What exactly do I need to do?' He stared at Acrypha mysteriously. Her purpose was still as vague as ever, but he knew that it required him to reach the absolute peak for it to be fulfilled whatever it was.
"It was the right choice. If one of us needs to live, it's you, not me." Acrypha replied with a certain look on her face. She didn't seem hesitant at all to say those words.
Realizing her seriousness, Talon felt even more confused. Tilting his head down, he ran his hand through his hair.
"Are you fucking with me?" He sighed as he murmured.
"You don't realize how important you are, Talon. I'm not someone who's seeking death and yet I know that your life is more valuable than mine."
"Enough…" He murmured again quietly.
"Your powers are going to matter greatly for the future. I can't let you die because I want to li-"
"To hell with that bullshit!" Talon finally snapped as he yelled. His face was confused and angry, taking Acrypha by surprise.
"'You're special' this, 'you're more important than me' that! That's all a bunch of nonsense! Did you forget what you told me the first time we met? You said you would take me to the highest of peaks. Are you intending to break your promise, Acrypha?"
In reality, Talon's problem wasn't really lying within that fact. He was annoyed because he didn't want anyone to sacrifice their lives so that he could live. Whether he liked that person or not, whether he cared for them or not, he didn't want that kind of debt to lay on his shoulders with no way for him to pay it back.
If Acrypha died, he knew that no matter what he did, his consciousness wouldn't lay peaceful knowing that his entire life and future were preserved because of her death. He was ready to return favors no matter how massive they were, the only favor he didn't want to bear was that of a life's sacrifice.
"Here I am, Acrypha. Aren't you going to take me to the top? If that's what you want then do it! I want to achieve that goal with you by my side." He opened his arms as he added.
Acrypha blinked silently as she looked at Talon. His words echoed in her head again and again seemingly not vanishing at all.
Her thoughts felt chaotic at that moment. She didn't know what to say back at all. Even though she always had an answer to anything Talon would say, this time was different.
Talon had said something that was unfair in a sense. After all, even Acrypha herself was still struggling with that dilemma. What was more important to her? Her life or her goal?
She valued both greatly and wanted the two of them equally. So, whenever she was met with those two choices, she would lose herself in choosing which path was the right one.
Choosing Talon's life over hers meant that she valued her goal over her life. However, it seemed that her goal refused to allow her to choose it instead of her life.
Closing her eyes, she exhaled and inhaled. No words could describe what she was thinking of at that moment.
"Ok, I understand." In the end, she replied with a small nod of her head.
"Thank you. I know that we don't know each other yet and it will probably take ages before we really reach a deep understanding of each other. Perhaps your goal is far bigger than anything I can comprehend currently. But, there is nothing in this world more worthwhile than your life. As long as you're alive, things can change for the better whether by your own efforts or by fate.
That I am sure of." Talon said seriously.
"Mmm…" Acrypha sat down and nodded her head. His words felt extremely familiar to her.
'That person said the same thing, no?' She asked herself with a small smile as she remembered someone from her distant past. She found it rather funny how similar the two of them were in this sense. Both wanted her to value her life and both refused to let her sacrifice herself.
'I guess they were always similar in more ways than one.'
"I won't promise you anything. But, I won't throw my life as easily as I did there." She said in the end with a peaceful look on her face.
Talon noticed that change in her expression but didn't comment on it. Instead, he simply nodded his head with a small smile.
"Ok, with that settled. I think I'm going to rest for now." Talon said as he lay down. His body was recovering at a fast speed but the mental exhaustion from what happened that day was still there as heavy as ever.
"One last thing before you sleep," Acrypha said as she looked at Talon.
"Hm?"
"It's something important. Even though it will be a long while before you will need to worry about it I still wanted to tell you either way to avoid any potential unexpected situations." Acrypha explained seriously.
Talon naturally straightened his posture as he listened to what Acrypha wanted to say seriously.
"You already know that the Core Dimension's gate is the trigger that starts the integration process."
"Yeah, you told me that before. What about it?"
"You also know that the dimension this world resides in is a Low-D one which is the weakest level, right?"
"Yeah, that's also something you told me. Why are you telling me that again?" Talon felt a bad hunch about what was about to be said so his expression subtly changed.
"Have you ever wondered how a Dimension Transitions from one rank to another?" She asked.
"..." Talon blinked as he realized what she meant. He never really thought about it that deeply so that question didn't cross his mind.
But, now that he heard that, his curiosity grew to know how that happened.
"How does it do the transition?" He asked.
"Very simple. To do the transition, the gate will reshape the entire dimension to fit the new laws that will enter it. Earth won't look the same and neither the universe around you. Everything will slowly shift completely."
"Hold on a second, new laws?" Talon stopped Acrypha with a surprised look on his face.
(A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )
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