Bitz's heart was about ready to pound out of his chest. Talking to an Awakened was almost always suicide. If they were in the Outskirts, that meant they were not mentally okay. If someone had that level of power.
…But the Oskar had offered to pay him credits and feed him.
He had over a thousand blocks under his control. And even amongst other bosses he was revered and feared.
Several gangs served under him, following his laws and code.
Oskar was known to be unpredictable and scary.
Some said he was kind and thoughtful, while others called him a sociopath.
But if Bitz could work for him, then he would actually have an opportunity to stop living like a rat, sleeping in the streets, and going entire days without food.
So he found himself approaching the Awakened. The fact that the entire Block was open and empty due to a recent Gate crisis made it all the more stressful.
There was absolutely no chance he could run and maybe lose him in the maze of the Outskirts if there were no buildings around for a kilometer.
As he neared the Awakened, he suddenly realized he didn't know what he was going to say.
'Hey, what are you doing? Where is that pile of stone coming from? Are you going to kill us all?'
If he said that then he was sure to be met with a swift death.
How was he even going to get the Awakened's attention? What kind of greeting could possibly be appropriate.
Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about that. As soon as he was a few meters away both the Awakened and his demented Echo stopped their work.
He turned to face Bitz, sword still in hand.
The man was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Bitz wasn't fond of boys in that way, but from an objective viewpoint no one else compared. No man or woman.
All Awakened were beautiful, but this one stood out from even the ones he'd seen on screen.
He had dark skin, piercing green eyes, an impressive build with rippling muscles, and jawline that could cut glass.
Even though he seemed slightly haggard, Bitz's mouth hung open in awe at the sight of him.
"What?" the Awakened growled. His face was full of aversion and hate. His glare pinned Bitz in place.
"I–can I help you?" Bitz panicked, and he said it as a question. He figured that offering his services and showing submissiveness was the best way to avoid death, but he was so distressed that he couldn't form words correctly.
The Awakened stared at him in disbelief.
"I'm not giving you money, be gone from my sight."
He said it with such force that Bitz immediately started taking steps back.
"Now, now Caster. Such hostility isn't necessary."
A booming voice cut through Bitz with such viscousness that he felt the need to kneel…no, it wasn't booming. The words had been whispered right next to him.
Shaking, Bitz turned to see another figure standing to his side.
He felt his mind reel as he took in the sight of the thing. It appeared to be a man, but Bitz's intuition told him that he was even more dangerous than the Awakened.
It wore an old top hat, and a long dark brown coat. A blood-red vest and tan pants fit him loosely. Sharp boots matched the trench coat and hat. The ensemble of clothing might have been that of the rich elite in ancient times. But it seemed to be as old as ancient times.
"He was simply told to inquire about us," the thing said, his voice shaking Bitz's bones. "I see no reason to turn him down. After all, we are the outsiders here."
The thing took a look around.
The stone it had accumulated was not as tall as a small mountain. Much of it had been cut to small blocks about a meter in length and width.
Seemingly satisfied with this, he nodded.
"One moment, child. I will return shortly to answer your questions."
With that, he walked over to the Awakened. Despite the defiant look in his eye, the stature and body language of the handsome young man showed deference to the monster. After exchanging a few words the Awakened and his Echo walked away, disappearing into the rubble.
Shortly after, the sound of cutting stone resumed, but this time it occurred at longer intervals.
Still, the sound was defended by the creature's voice.
"I am building a Workshop. I would implore you to share this news with others, and also tell them to stay away from this area for one week's time. After that, it would please me if some of you came by to visit."
Bitz's face scrunched in terror, but he tried to play it off as confusion.
"...a Workshop? What are you creating in this place?"
"A great many things. Weapons, traps, perhaps some mundane things to make life easier as well. I will personally teach those who wish to learn. And if their passion is not for creation, I will train Hunters as well."
A shiver crawled up Bitz's spine. He wanted nothing more than to run in the other direction. But he recognized there was no malice in this thing. Though it reeked of blood and death. It acted gently, almost like a parent. He decided to take his chance and inquire further.
"The stone, are you getting it from the ground? I heard…that it might be bad to do that."
He braced to be snapped at, but instead the figure smiled. It was a wide, exaggerated smile that seemed to tear at his skin.
"Indeed, that would be bad. But there is no need to worry. I am bringing this stone from the Dream Realm. I will make my Workshop out of this, and I will import some other things as well to make it more comfortable."
Bitz's eyes bulged.
"From the Dream Realm!" he couldn't help but exclaim.
The thing let out a deep chuckle.
"Yes. It might seem excessive to you, but for me it is actually the most efficient and easy building material."
This was impossible for Bitz to comprehend. It was magical stone! How could that possibly be easier to deal with?!
"But I have been learning about architecture and building lately," the thing mused. "I will be creating a solid base first. I will cover this whole area with epoxy flooring. Quite expensive, but I can create this mostly on my own, and then it will not only be very tough, but also much easier to clean," the creature smiled again, this time more subdued and reassuring. "I will try to keep the noise down though, I wouldn't want to bother my neighbors."
Bitz opened and closed his mouth. He was at a complete loss in the face of this unknown and strange thing.
"How…what are you?"
Once again, the creature's face was cut open by an impossibly large grin.
"I was a Hunter for a long time. But recently I've been inspired. For what I plan to do, I need to be something more. A greater power with greater authority. So from now on, I will be a swift and absolute decision maker."
His eyes glowed with inhuman light.
"So you can call me The Judge."
…
For the first time in a long time Oskar was truly scared out of his wits.
He knew something bad was about to happen after that Gate Crisis knocked out a Block. While everyone else despaired about the damage, only he realized how lucky they actually were.
What escaped from that Gate had been a Corrupted creature. Something of the 4th Rank had the ability to topple ten thousand Blocks without breaking a sweat. And yet it had scarcely destroyed one.
No one could get a clear picture of what actually defeated the creature, but it had to be either a Saint or an Ascended. Since there was no way a Legacy Clan was in the Outskirts, that greatly narrowed down the list of people that could have done this.
What worried him was that, in the Government, higher Ranked individuals were all a bit insane. They had to be, since they had all ignored offers from Legacy Clans.
And one of those individuals had taken a keen enough interest in the area to respond quickly to the Gate Crisis and also minimize damage.
He knew that chaos was coming to the 9000s Blocks, so he had been expecting something that would upend everything for a while.
Though this was his home, and he planned to do his best to adapt to whatever was coming, he was rational above all other things. Several buildings and factories had been acquired in preparation for a retreat and subsequent take over of a new land.
He had run through hundreds of scenarios in his head.
But none of them came close to what actually showed up.
Having one Awakened was bad for business.
Having two in the vicinity practically halted every regular-day operation in order to give them as much space as possible.
A sort of backwards-quarantine would be set up. No one could enter the area near the Awakened.
It would be a pain, but it was not the end of the world.
But this…well it might not be the end of the world, but it may very well lead to the end of his.
"He said he got it from the Dream Realm," he whispered.
At that moment, the Rat kid named Bitz was kneeling in front of him. The boy did not dare to raise his eyes, nor did he dare to speak out of turn.
It saddened Oskar to see the kid so terrified, but he knew that it was for the best.
In truth, he had long known Bitz's name. Just like how he knew the names of all the other Rats that offered him information.
Oskar wasn't a needlessly violent person. He had made sure to clarify to his guard that he shouldn't actually kill the kid if he was lying.
Still, a reputation had to be upheld.
If he did find out that someone was bullshitting him, and if they were also a genuinely bad person, then they would die before Oskar's feet. Those deaths would be loud. Word spread of the unnatural squeaky voiced sociopath.
Which was how he now ended up with his own room in his own building with his own stockpile of depressants.
But he wasn't high at that moment. Unfortunately.
He really wished he was though, because all signs were starting to point to one unbelievable and horrifying truth.
"If he can bring inanimate objects back to the Waking World…then he is a Master."
The entire room flinched at the word.
Masters were humans who had reached the 3rd Rank. Only two dozen or so worked for the Government, and only a few hundred existed in the world.
He tried to find holes in his own theory, but he found none.
Who could possibly order around an Awakened with an Echo?
The only answer was an Ascended.
Bitz seemed to think that the guy was some kind of monster, possibly a Nightmare Creature. But there was no doubt in Oskar's mind that this was a human they were dealing with.
No Nightmare Creature would bother with building a strange charade before slaughtering every human in the vicinity.
This was both good and bad.
It was good because it meant that there was potential for cooperation.
It was bad because humans had the capacity to be so much worse than Nightmare Creatures.
Still, something about this whole situation was still odd.
Why had the Master only brought a single Awakened to help him 'build a Workshop'? What did this 'Workshop' really mean? What was the end goal?
Oskar recognized that none of his men or women could get these answers, at least not with the detail he wanted.
He needed to talk to this Ascended himself.
…but that would have to wait.
"Well, before we do anything, I need everyone in the 9000s to know they need to steer clear of 9280 indefinitely. Make sure they know to spread the word to anybody visiting from afar. If any of the other bosses are snooping, just tell them that an Awakened's showed up and we can't tell how long it will be till he leaves."
Oskar reached for his pipe, but he froze mid air. Creasing his brow he cursed to himself repeatedly.
A Master was knocking at his doorstep.
He would have to go sober for a week.
"Fuck my life."