The Harvester

Chapter 444: “I’m rather greedy.”

❮ ◈ ❯

Warning!

External Influence Detected!

Offender Identified! A̸z̸a̴—̸

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A̴g̶r̵i̶v̴a̶ ̴E̴k̸l̷a̸ ̸K̶i̴r̷

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S̶̵̷y̵̶̴s̵̵̷t̵̴̷e̷̷̴m̷̸̸a̷̸̷k̶v̶a̸

. . .

L̸o̷r̶o̴s̵

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Alert!

The Offender Has Withdrawn.

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Warning!

Mind-Immunity Has Been Nullified!

Eye of Symphony is not responding! Reboot Sequence Interrupted!

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The Host's Mind Has Been Damaged!

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Warning!

The Harvester's Soul Is Weakening!

The Host's Soul Is In Peril!

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Fear Resistance has leveled up! 5x

Fear Resistance Has Excelled!

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The Title, Chalice of Wishes, is protecting you!

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Fear Resistance has been corrupted into Arch Madness!

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The Host has died during the Simulation. Confirming the Scenario's End…

Pending Decision… Complete!

Transferring Host.

❮ ◈ ❯

Rakna woke up. No sound left his mouth. He let go of everything. In the blink of an eye, his aura filled his view. His spiritual energies escaped his body, unfettered, and combined into a disaster that could and should have erased even himself.

He felt the urge to scream, flee, and tear off his own head all at the same time. It was nothing like pain. It was nothing like fear. It was nowhere near despair. It was worse. Far worse.

"Settle down."

A serene tone reached his ears. As if the voice itself was a spell; Rakna stopped. His rational mind banished away by the madness regained control and repaired itself.

Rakna collapsed on his knees, sweat literally both boiling and freezing on his skin. With dilated pupils, he panted whilst staring at the ground. Little by little, the Lunisolar Blaze, Soul Flames, Star Energy, Spiritual Intent, Mana, Ki, and Aura returned inside.

The therian didn't even dare to move afterward. His brain was still in a state of shock. There was no fear to speak of. He didn't know why; his fear didn't exist anymore.

All that was left was madness. He had looked too deep. His memories were falling apart and then reconstructing themselves repeatedly. They were not even deteriorating; every time the process repeated itself, he felt memories from even before his infancy gain clarity.

He calmed down. But the madness wouldn't go away.

"It is normal."

Rakna snapped his head to the right with a glare. There, in the training room of his house frozen in time, the Sage stood unfazed. He slightly leaned on his cane and gazed back.

"To resist the madness, you naturally have to be afflicted as well," he said. "Do not worry. There is a fine line between madness and sanity. And often, there is no line at all. It will be beneficial to you in the long term."

Rakna gnashed his teeth and looked away from the Sage. His gaze drifted to a pair of silhouettes on the ground and his eyes shook. Without hesitation, he rushed to check on both. Both women were unconscious and similarly in stasis due to the Sage's presence.

"Astraea… Lilith…" He muttered in surprise.

Astraea, he could understand. She was the product of a summoning spell and linked to himself as far as the System cares. But Lilith was pulled out of the Dream. Was it because of the Karmic Link they had established? Tarnished Death had been quick to praise it, after all.

Or was it because he was holding her while channeling his Nephilim Authority?

"…!" As realization struck him, he looked around. There was no damage to be seen anywhere on the walls, floor, or ceiling, but his earlier outburst should have inflicted some. It might even have killed them since they were near.

The therian ultimately turned toward the silent man. "…you saved me from the Dreamer."

"Yes," the Sage responded candidly.

"Did you also restrain me just now? Did you actually stop time?"

"Yes. And no."

"…"

"All I did was use a power you own; control the Reverse Side," the Sage stated. "One day, you will also be able to do this. Even now, you got closer after finishing this Simulation."

The Path Skills. Rakna promptly understood. He had only glanced at the notifications, but it had been enough to read them. "Should I thank you?"

The Sage chuckled light-heartedly at that. "Of course not."

Rakna scoffed. "Right."

Silence fell between the two for a moment until the Sage spoke up again. "What will you do? Are you going to try and save them still?"

"If I go back there…" The therian narrowed his eyes. "Can I remain sane?"

"Yes," the wish-granter answered. "In the first place, Azathoth did not wish to harm you."

Rakna's eyes twitched at how nonchalantly his inner persona pronounced the name of the Outer God. Even he was still in half-denial, hoping that it was not like the literature he knew of.

"I understand that," he clicked his tongue. "It's my fault. I should have turned off Cross Sight and unsummoned my Tenth Tail. But what did he want from me? Did I really catch his attention?"

"He was curious," the Sage responded. "Azathoth is the Eldritch of Dreams and Nightmares. First, he noticed you because of the Ashes' Truth. Then, he detected something within you."

"You?" Rakna questioned with a raised eyebrow.

The Sage shook his head. "No. The Obsidian Star."

"…"

"Azathoth is not the Dreamer for nothing. Whatever exists, he dreams. And whatever he dreams, he creates. He likely did not know about the Obsidian Star; he cannot dream of it. He wanted to see it up close, is all."

Rakna's expression twisted. "So, what you're saying is, I nearly went mad and died because some incomprehensible monster was acting like a curious puppy?"

The Sage flashed a refreshing smile. "Why, yes."

"…fuck," that was the only thing Rakna could say as he massaged his temples. Even now, some of his mind was in shambles. He was pretty sure that if it wasn't for the Sage's presence, which was somehow forcing him to calm down, he might have remained out of it for a while.

"Well, it is not all that bad. You were lucky."

"Define 'lucky'…" He grumbled.

"Because of what you did, the Dreamer is waiting for you. He is also ready to communicate."

"Waiting…? How so?"

The Sage lightly tapped his cane on the floor and held it up. "You should know by now. What you saw today has imprinted your mind with 'Insight'. Ultimately, madness is not a consequence of tragedy, but a side-effect of understanding."

"…your point?"

"The Dreamer is above Time. As we speak, he exists in all three marks of chronology. There is no doubt that you will go back, is there?" The Sage tilted his head with a smile and Rakna rolled his eyes. "Since it will happen, the Dreamer knows. Thus, he is 'waiting'. And because of it, he has yet to end the Dream you were in."

Rakna didn't say anything for a while. "…let me out," he eventually requested.

The Sage snickered softly. "Understood. Before you go, let me warn you; this is the last time we will see each other until the very end," he declared. "I am sure there is no need to explain what that entails, right?"

"I get it," Rakna responded flatly.

"Then, farewell."

Immediately, the surroundings reverted to normal and the therian could hear the breathing and heartbeat of Astraea and Lilith. On cue, his left eye made an ascending noise. The lenses became visible and the Eye came back online.

With a relieved sigh, he flicked his finger, gently lifting the two girls with his Valkals. At the same time, he effortlessly conjured two mattresses for them with magic.

For a moment, even he was surprised. "…was it always this easy?" He muttered to himself. There was absolutely no downtime between his thoughts and his spell. His Valkals had already been as fast as his mind before, but now they felt like limbs rather than objects he had to wield.

"Madness… or Insight, was it?" He opened his status and saw nothing about that. There was only the new skill of Arch Madness… which was filled with question marks.

As he made that observation, two people teleported inside the training room. One of them was a worried-looking Artemis. The white-haired goddess immediately spotted Astraea and rushed to her side. "Rea!" She yelled and diagnosed her with magic.

When she was sure nothing was wrong with the Egregore Records, she looked at Lilith. She was seriously injured, but treatment seemed to have already been applied. "This is…?"

"Were you not doing a Path Quest?" The other person addressed Rakna directly.

"Svanya," Rakna acknowledged her. "Well… yes."

"…and you brought back someone from there?" His guildmate was obviously dumbfounded.

The therian chortled weakly. "Things happened. Why are you two down here?"

"I was talking to that rude friend of yours about a solution to my situation," she said. "Then, I sensed something strange from here. I came down to check everything was fine. Her as well," she pointed at Artemis with her chin.

"Were you two the only ones who sensed something?"

"Most of your friends are not up there. Lilia also went out with Ceresta and Flavia, if I remember correctly. You have been doing your quest for almost half an hour."

That surprised Rakna. 'Half an hour? The time dilation is different from the first time. It could be related to Azathoth, or it could just be a coincidence,' he rubbed his temples. "At least, the girls are not here—"

"Not here for what?"

The therian grimaced at the new voice that interrupted him. To his dismay, Kaelith teleported in from within a whirlwind of blue flames. She smiled widely at him.

"Wolfy, putting aside the fact you just brought home another woman, is there something I should know about?" She inquired slowly.

"Aah… let's sit down for this," Rakna promptly surrendered.

Kaelith blinked in surprise, dropping her threatening aura. "Oh… and here I thought you would try to brush away my concerns again and go risk your life."

"Um…" He uttered awkwardly. "What if… like, just one of those is true?"

"Explain."

And then the menacing look returned. Figured.

* * *

After a few minutes of retelling, which had Kaelith ready to pull her hair several times, she let out a sigh of exhaustion. With a hand on her forehead, she glared at her lover.

"And you want to go back there? Where one of the most supreme forms of a living species is able to kill you with its gaze alone? By mistake, at that?"

"…essentially."

"And you think I'm going to let you?" She deadpanned.

"…yes?"

Kaelith sighed. "Wolfy, I understand, I really do. It would be sad of me at this point if I didn't know how the guy I like behaves," she blankly said and the therian couldn't help but snort. "Even if it's for a good reason… why should you burden yourself like that?"

Svanya leaned against the wall nearby, making herself small in their conversation, but listening attentively, nonetheless. Artemis was steadily healing Lilith but kept her ears open as well. 

At the genuine concern in Kaelith's tone, Rakna smiled wryly. "If I had to say… there are plenty of reasons why I'm like this. Partly the old man's fault, my own, and a pledge I made to myself.

"…"

"There is no podium for benevolence in this world. I learned that early on," he said. "No medal to earn, no prize, and no recognition. Truthfully, I'm not even that compassionate. For a long time, the only reason I would go out of my way to help someone was because I deemed it right. But the first time I truly felt like I was doing something meaningful was when I saved Flavia."

Kaelith's eyes expanded slightly.

"I coincidentally realized; only desire matters. I can't just do it because I can. I must want it."

The vixen didn't know what to say. Wordlessly, she watched as Rakna stood up. His wings were unfurled behind him and she steeled her expression.

"And today, I realized…" The therian smiled lightly. A malevolent force briefly leaked through the restraints of his Nephilim powers. "I'm rather greedy."

The nine-tailed heiress didn't even bat an eye as a surge of Infernity filled the air. Without caring for the turbulence swaying her hair, she stared into Rakna's eyes. Only the two onlookers were stunned by the sudden phenomenon.

❮ ◈ ❯

You are exhibiting overwhelming emotions.

Your Sub-Path, Nephilim, is reacting.

Your Title, Chalice of Wishes, is reacting.

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You have obtained a new Ultimate Excelled Skill; Passion of Mammon!

Tenth Tail of The Sage Nephilim [Imperfect] has assimilated Passion of Mammon! Whatever you covet will not escape your grasp. New effects have been added.

You have awakened the Extra Magic; Greed!

❮ ◈ ❯

Kaelith let out a chuckle despite herself. "Of course. There's only you to awaken a Sin right in the middle of a conversation," she shook her head sarcastically. "I should have expected it. But… this is not enough, wolfy," she muttered with glowing eyes.

Nine-colored flames erupted from around her and turned into blistering chains, grappling the air itself and transforming the room into a paradoxically cold prison. The constructs shackled the energies within their hold and the very fabric of space.

"The Cager," Rakna huffed smilingly. Without the chains even touching him, he could feel himself being trapped in place. His wings and body's dimensional energies were being wedged. Even his mana was being chained.

❮ ◈ ❯

The Spell Craft, Cage of The Nine Flames, is chaining down the World around you!

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The Title, Limitless Traveler, is resisting the effects!

Your skill, Arch Madness, is ignoring a part of the effects!

Your skill, Rift Shuttle, is weakening the effects!

Your skill, Authority of The Law-Breaker, is resisting the effects!

Your skill, Philosopher's Ardent Soul, is weakening the effects!

Your Internal Art, Rippling Ghost of Rupture, is resisting the effects!

Your high proficiency, Mana Rule, is weakening the effects!

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Tenth Tail of The Sage Nephilim is overflowing with Pride and Greed.

The effects have been significantly weakened.

❮ ◈ ❯

One after the other, several skills and titles were triggered in response, making the chains grind and tighten. The corners of Kaelith's lips were lifted bitterly. "Seriously, wolfy… I'm not holding back here, you know? You shouldn't even be able to move a single point of mana."

The therian shrugged. "What can I say? I'm that good," he joked and deployed his Stellar Aura. In the blink of an eye, the transmutation copied the signature of Kaelith's magic.

The vixen pursed her lips when she saw her Nine Heavenly Flames appear inside his aura. One part of her wanted to be surprised, but frankly, she almost expected that kind of thing. And with that, he escaped from her Cage even more.

Could she make it stronger? Of course. Could she attack? Of course. Could she stop him? Yes.

Would she do it?

"…you're annoying, wolfy," she pouted.

"Says the one who's casually sitting down while casting this overpowered skill," Rakna retorted.

"I don't want to hear that from you."

"Point taken."

"…don't die," she whispered.

"The Sage already assured me I would."

"Well, I don't trust that shady guy," the vixen scoffed. "And honestly, at this point, I don't think I should trust you either when it comes to your own safety."

"Ouch."

Honestly, Kaelith wanted to tackle him and tag along. If she couldn't stop him, then she could at least stand with him. But she knew her limits. She was stronger than him from a conventional perspective, but he eclipsed her in many other aspects.

There was no way to tell what would happen if she encountered the Dreamer. Unlike him, even if the Outer God didn't try to harm her, she didn't trust herself to be able to come out unscathed of his gaze. She didn't have any last resort insurance like the Sage of the Crystal Mountain either. If she lost herself, all she would achieve is hurt the one she loved instead.

Rakna smiled softly. "I'll be back soon. I would make a promise, but I'm on a really bad streak for that right now," he shot an apologetic glance toward Astraea.

The vixen harrumphed. "Yes. I suggest that you give up on making promises. It's not your thing, wolfy. Somehow, I would feel much more at ease if you didn't make any."

"As you wish," he huffed in amusement and his wings enfolded his body. Silver dust gushed out from the tip of the feathers and created the illusion of a revolving light. "See you later, foxy."

Kaelith watched intently as the feathered cocoon created a glittering aura and 'spun' fast enough to be unrecognizable. Then, in the blink of an eye, it shrunk to nothingness, producing a flash in the shape of a four-pointed star signifying the teleportation's success.

With a sigh, the vixen snapped her fingers and the chains dissipated into embers.

"Are you really fine letting Master go?" A disembodied voice asked right after. Fiora stepped into view out of thin air and stood to the side with a tilted head.

"Hmph," Kaelith stood up, dusting her dress and tails. "Then what? I'm not a shallow woman. It's not right for me to stop him when I already accepted that part of him. That would make me an obstacle in his life. I don't want that. Also…" She scowled at the Qilin. "He knew you were there. If he had given the order, you would have happily suppressed me, wouldn't you?"

"W-well, p-potentially~!" Fiora looked away with a very fake whistle.

"She would have," Oz's voice sounded as he stuck his head out of her shadow. "The second that she found out what was happening down here, she literally tripped on me in her excitement," the elemental wolf revealed with a blank expression.

"B-Boss! Don't tell that to the Madam! She won't like me now!"

"Stop calling me boss…" Oz grumbled and plunged back into her shadow.

"Aah…" Kaelith sighed at the sight. "Wolfy seriously lucked out encountering a fanatic like you..."

"Fanatic is rude," Fiora smiled and placed a hand on her hip and chest. "I am devoted!"

The three girls in the room silently stared at her.

"Right. Anyhow," the vixen turned around. She pulled something from her storage and tossed it to Artemis. The latter caught it and looked at it in confusion; it was a cubic object radiating some strange energy. "That's a Type-R Transpith. Use that on the other girl. It will regrow her arm and most of what she's missing internally."

"Oh? Fascinating technology. Right away," the goddess of the hunt nodded.

"After that, you can take her upstairs. I'll call the others so we can interrogate her together when she wakes up. You don't have to participate, so take care of Astraea afterward."

"Eh?" Artemis exclaimed in confusion. "Interrogation?"

Kaelith smiled sweetly. "To establish ground rules in this house."

Svanya, the ever-so-unnoticed beauty, nodded in understanding. She was impressed. Truly, what she had heard from Gray about her new guildmate was completely right. Without him even here, his girlfriend was already planning the growth of his harem.

"…hm?" She then felt a gaze on her. She looked up and saw Kaelith looking at her. "…?"

The vixen simply 'smiled'.

"Oh…" Svanya realized her intention. She nodded again. "Me too, I see. Truly impressive."

Rakna was unaware that someone had just developed very misguided respect for himself.