[Reward - Kleptoparasitism: Long journeys can be strenuous and stressful. When you cannot sustain yourself, you must rely on others to sustain you. Only through death will you find this sustenance, however.]
After killing Furfur, Worthy received a new Reward.
It was not an upgrade, like what he acquired from reaching certain checkpoints. Instead, what was before him was an entirely new ability, an additional power on top of the one he had now.
Judging by the description, it had something to do with stealing from others. The word "klepto" meant steal, as far as Worthy knew.
So… by killing things, he could gain sustenance? Perhaps he was truly destined to become like Crazy Viper.
'That's a little sick, isn't it?' Worthy studied his new Reward for a while, in disbelief that he'd been awarded one in the middle of the Tower. As far as he was concerned, such a thing had never happened before. Maybe it was one of the factors in how War acquired so many abilities, but that was doubtful. It wasn't like the Knight to sit on such vital information.
That meant he'd met a hidden condition. By killing Furfur, an entity the Tower recognized as a true threat, he was awarded.
'Furfur of the Mind.' That was the demon's name. Furfur of the Mind had been a terrifying being, one who could not be beaten without exceptional circumstances being met. Perhaps that's why the boy was rewarded for overcoming such an impossible trial.
War would've been able to defeat the entity, if not for the vessel, Edwin Redglaive, hiding himself until the Holy Knight was gone.
'Well… I mean, could he have really beaten Furfur?'
To War Reaver, the battle would not have been based on defeating his enemy. That was far too simplistic for a being whose mind infested the shells of thousands simultaneously. It's possible that by killing Furfur, War might've eradicated the minds of everyone who was controlled by the entity.
Worthy's unique mind allowed him to drag every fiber of Furfur's being into his own space, which allowed everyone's mind to steadily flow back into place. However, killing Furfur before everyone could be free from his control might've resulted in a mass lobotomy.
Only Worthy had been equipped to defeat the entity, without knowing it himself.
"I am impressed. Never in my life would I have guessed a human child could defeat such a disturbing enemy. Somehow, I can't help but believe that is a lapse in my own imagination." Alice had played a crucial role in his victory. There were many times when his avatar would've been destroyed by Furfur, but was saved by an unnatural twist or alteration in the demon's movements.
Worthy didn't know why Furfur couldn't perceive Alice in the mindscape, but the two took full advantage of that lack of understanding.
'Never in your life? Do you even have a life, technically? You're going to be stuck in this place alone afterI leave, aren't you?'
True enough, Alice would be alone. Worthy had no way of accessing the mind space consciously. If he were unlucky, he'd come across another enemy that knocked him right back here. However, on the higher Floors, anything capable of doing that might shatter his mind outright.
He hoped that his mind would be more formidable by then, if it was possible to train it.
Well, that may have involved a lot of this thing called… reading.
"Hm. I did not think about that until now. Yes, I suppose I will be alone, won't I? Worry not. I am just a fragment of a memory. I'll still be able to see the outside world through your memories, so I'll have plenty of entertainment. Compared to the dead world you saw in my memory… This is much more favorable."
Worthy studied the feminine avatar, and then considered her words.
Alice wasn't human. Even before she was born in his mind as a conscious fragment, Worthy was certain Alice had not been a human-being as he knew them. There was too much about the woman. Accordingly, it'd be more accurate to refer to her as a demi-god. She singlehandedly defeated a deity and then lived a further life of solitude in a dead world as she traveled, built structures, and forged her method of making gateways.
If her living self had that much patience, then whatever life of solitude awaited her in this space, where his memories flowed like strings of film, was not nearly as cruel.
It still felt a bit cruel to leave the woman alone in the forsaken part of his mind.
'I… I wish I could thank you enough for your help. I don't know if I'll ever be able to. Still, thank you so much.'
All he could do was thank her. She'd created the opening he needed with her quick comprehension of the mind, and also supported him in his battle against Furfur. It'd all happened so fast, he nearly didn't have enough time to formulate his vengeful plan of defeating the Mind Demon.
"Goodness," Alice chuckled, the back of her hand gracefully covering her lips. "If I'd expected praise from every child I saved, I'd be a rather selfish woman, wouldn't I?"
Worthy laughed at that, 'I guess not. Still, thank you so much.'
There was bitterness behind his answer, because the truth had not passed him. Alice hadn't saved anyone in her memories. She was alone in a dead, drowned world with a monster who had no intention of allowing her to live either. The death of a god drowned the world, and the new god ate everything left.
This was the first time the fragment had saved anyone in all her existence, as far as Worthy could tell.
He didn't say it out loud. For once, he felt that saying those words would be too cruel.
Instead, he nodded his head and drifted away in the direction of the distance hole in his mind, toward the vacuum that captured Furfur.
There was more he wanted to say, more he wanted to ask. Hell, he had all the time in the world… Only, he didn't.
Beyond his mind, there was a world where time was flowing. Alice didn't have anything else to give him. Maybe he could uncover the secrets of magic from her, and question how she created a gateway. Yet, even if he she were willing to answer those questions, he'd be able to do nothing with the information.
Worthy was a child, a twelve-year-old boy that had a long life of learning ahead of him. None of that learning included how to invade the realm of the gods.
He thought about turning around and saying something to Alice. However, whatever words he spoke would be far too bitter. So, rather than asking her anything or trying to quip, his avatar raised a hand and he thought a final farewell.
'I'll be seeing you, Alice.'
He hoped he never would, funnily enough. Meeting her again would mean that his mind was broken apart into fragments again. If the two ever came across one another again, then he'd probably be in a more harrowing circumstance than the last.
Extending his hand out toward the tear in his mind, Worthy mentally prepared himself to return to the real world. It was going to be odd, returning to a place where the world did not behave in his favor. Out there, he couldn't manifest War's armor and sword. Instead, he'd return to standing behind others and using his dagger to cut down any straggling enemy that was just weak enough for him to fight.
Getting thought in his own thoughts wasn't going to do him any good, in the end. It was time to go back, back to reality.
His fingertip moved through the tear, and just like the Demon of the Mind who was dragged into Worthy's world, his consciousness was sucked out of the void and back into his true mind.