Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 473: When in Doubt, Ask Kal'tsit
The dream dispersed.
From the very beginning, this had been a vision deliberately shown to him by Hypergryph—a future that would have unfolded had there been no interference from him, the "outsider."
And Steven believed it.
No—more than that. He believed this was not just a possible future, but the future that was meant to happen.
Yet, just as Hypergryph herself had said, only an unpredictable future was truly worth anticipating. Perhaps that was why she always carried an air of encouraging him to change this world whenever he could.
"…I really agreed to something outrageous," Steven muttered with a bitter smile. "How did I end up nodding along just because my heart softened for a moment? Now I can't just ignore that girl anymore, can I?"
Rubbing his temples in frustration, his gaze fell to the object resting in his palm—a strange, fingernail-sized scale, clear and lustrous like crystal. His words were full of regret, but his eyes were steady.
At the final moment before the Talulah of the dream dissolved completely, Steven had ultimately nodded in silence. In doing so, he accepted the last wish of a girl who had already sunk too deep into despair to ever turn back.
After that, the half-transparent Talulah scattered into light, condensing into this single crystal scale that now lay in his hand—as if to bear witness to the promise between them.
[The End of an Idealist]
A remnant of will left behind by an idealist who burned herself out in despair. It seems to be waiting, hoping to witness something.
The description was vague, almost riddling. In practical terms, the item was little more than a decorative trinket to Steven. And yet, despite its lack of real utility, he carefully stored it away in his inventory, treating it with an almost solemn reverence.
"So… you showed me all this just to stir my emotions," Steven said quietly, standing alone in what had become a void-like dreamscape. "To push me into rewriting the fates of people like her, those shackled by destiny?"
He knew the world's will could hear him. And he also knew she didn't need to answer.
"You already know," came the reply.
Steven felt something like a light pat on his shoulder. He didn't turn around. Just from the voice, he could tell—it was exactly the kind of thing that ultimate riddler would do.
Before he could ask anything else, however, the world suddenly tilted.
His body lurched, and he snapped upright in bed, as though falling from a great height.
He quickly scanned his surroundings. After confirming that he was indeed back in his own small cabin—and that everything in his inventory was still intact—Steven finally let out a deep breath and sat there in silence.
Honestly… after seeing a Talulah so different from the one he knew now, he couldn't help but feel worried.
Such a good, proud, adorable little fire dragon—turning into a world-weary terrorist leader? Yeah, no. Let's not go there.
"…But since I've already promised her," Steven murmured, scratching his head, "where should I even start?"
If he remembered correctly, the fragment of the Black Snake lurking inside Talulah had already been completely purged by his hand.
Could something like that really relapse?
…Or was there something else he was missing?
Steven scratched his head in frustration.
The Talulah he had seen in the dream was already on the verge of completely merging with the Black Snake. That kind of fusion wasn't physical—it was spiritual. And honestly, even milk might not be enough to wash that clean.
Besides, no matter how one looked at it, the Black Snake counted as a god within this world. Even if he wanted to erase it completely—wipe it out once and for all to prevent any future trouble—he would first need to understand how the thing was even constructed.
At the very least, judging from the fact that it had managed to infect him while parasitizing Talulah at the same time, this thing was definitely not something that could be dealt with by dumping a bucket of milk on it and calling it a day.
"…Yeah. I really need to consult a professional," Steven muttered. "My understanding of this world is still way too shallow."
Making up his mind, he swung his legs off the bed and stood up. A glance out the window showed that the sky was still cloaked in night. It was rare for him to wake up before six in the morning like this—and now that he was awake, there was no way he was falling back asleep anyway.
If that was the case, he might as well deal with his questions right away.
With that thought, Steven didn't hesitate. He took out his Warp Stone and activated it, sending himself straight to Kal'tsit's office aboard Rhodes Island.
To be honest, Steven had always been curious about one thing: why did she insist on placing a Waystone inside her office?
Officially, it was for convenience—so he could return easily and be received promptly. But somehow, Steven couldn't shake the feeling that she just wanted to keep an eye on him.
That said, his timing this time around was… a little unfortunate.
As he squinted and slowly opened his eyes—still adjusting from the flash of teleportation—the first thing that entered his vision was a green-haired feline who had collapsed face-down on her desk, fast asleep after working herself to exhaustion.
Come to think of it, the last time he'd seen Kal'tsit like this was also under similar circumstances.
Seriously, she was already this old and still worked herself this hard. Did she have no fear of dying from sudden overwork?
With a hint of amusement, Steven instinctively lightened his footsteps and slipped into a stealthy approach as he moved closer. Kal'tsit only ever dropped that perpetually grim, funeral-like expression when she was asleep. And only at times like this did Steven realize—
Oh. So she actually is a pretty girl after all.
Of course, he wasn't here to admire her sleeping posture. Given Kal'tsit's personality and way of speaking, even if she were beautiful enough to topple nations, Steven would still only feel annoyed by her.
Still, there was one undeniable fact.
She really had lived for a very long time.
And naturally, that meant her knowledge—especially in all sorts of strange and obscure fields—far surpassed that of most people.
That was precisely why Kal'tsit had once openly referred to herself as someone who knew everything. And if Steven wanted to learn more about the so-called "Deathless Black Snake," then asking Kal'tsit was almost certainly the right move.
However, before that, Steven felt that since he had already witnessed such a rare and special side of her, it would be a shame not to leave behind a memento.
He reached into his inventory and took out a camera. Vic's Modern Warfare expansion pack included plenty of cutting-edge military tech—honestly, if he weren't worried about overkill, he could've just used a drone to take the photo.
After lining up the lens with Kal'tsit's sleeping face, Steven quickly pressed the shutter, capturing that gentle, harmless expression and state in a single shot.
But just as he lowered the camera and was about to open the gallery to admire his handiwork, what greeted him was a face completely coated in thick frost, staring straight at him with absolute killing intent.
Kal'tsit stared at Steven with a gaze that looked as if she were already examining a corpse.
But given Steven's extraordinarily thick skin, there was no way a mere look like that would scare him. After casually whistling, he stuffed the camera back into his inventory and flashed her an honest, almost foolish-looking smile.
"You're awake?"
As for deleting the photos in the camera? Yeah, no chance. Closure—or Warfarin, for that matter—would definitely be more than happy to buy those pictures off him.
Seeing that Steven was shamelessly pretending nothing had happened and clearly had no intention of addressing the fact that he'd just secretly photographed her, Kal'tsit could only furrow her brows and let the matter drop.
To put it bluntly, Steven was currently Rhodes Island's strongest trump card. Compared to the Abyssal Hunters or even Feranmut-related Operator, his importance weighed even more heavily in her mind.
With strength like his on the table, trivial matters like this simply weren't worth continuing to argue over.
"You came to see me for a reason, didn't you?" Kal'tsit asked. "Is there something you don't understand, something you want to ask me?"
Stretching like a cat, she loosened her stiff, aching body after sleeping hunched over the desk. She then picked up a glass of water and took a sip before looking back at Steven.
"Yeah. There's something only you and Nian should really know about," Steven replied. "But when it comes to talking about these things, Nian's usually even more of a riddler than you are, so I figured I'd come to you first."
Showing absolutely none of the politeness one would expect from someone asking for help, Steven plopped himself down on the edge of Kal'tsit's desk and looked down at the ageless woman before him.
"Besides," he added casually, "you said it yourself—I'm officially a shareholder of Rhodes Island now. If you start talking to me in riddles, I'll just pull my investment and dip, alright?"
"…Enough. Just ask." Kal'tsit rubbed her temples with a headache-inducing sigh. Looking at Steven's half-joking, half-bratty attitude, she could only shake her head and switch to a more straightforward tone. "Is it about gods?"
"Bingo." Steven tapped the desk lightly. "Ran into a bit of trouble on the Ursus tundra. Have you ever heard of the 'Deathless Black Snake'? I'm pretty curious about what kind of thing it actually is."
Kal'tsit frowned.
This was not something one wanted to get involved with. In fact, it was extraordinarily troublesome. To be honest, Kal'tsit would rather Steven go provoke Feranmut, or even Collapsals, than get tangled up with that thing.
Seeing her expression—like someone who'd just been forced to swallow something foul—Steven immediately knew he'd come to the right person. Without missing a beat, he added another sentence.
"Oh, and of course," he said lightly, "if you could also tell me how to kill him, I'd be even more grateful."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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