Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

346 A Path worth treading?

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"Hm?... ?!"

The Runes gathered together, slowly converging into a thin piece of paper in his hands.

This greatly surprised Dale as he didn't remember ever grabbing such a thing, causing him to drop it to the ground, shock written all over his face as he took a closer look at the item.

'This is… The Red Envelope? What is it doing here?' He thought as he crouched down

'All of the Envelopes vanished once Babylon closed, this one included… But then again, it isn't that surprising.'

'The Envelope is an invitation, the sender can give me as many as he desires…' He thought quietly as he raised his head

Arriving at a logical conclusion was easy to do, however, Dale jumped over several factors, taking them out of his calculations likely because he was far too accustomed to Azimuth over the real world.

He completely glossed over the fact he had been pulled into an area he previously accessed via the game directly from the real world without the use of his Pod.

Such an event would've completely turned him over his legs before, but now, he barely even gave it a second glance.

Perhaps… He had been induced to ignore such glaring detail... Or the recent events were so intense to his mind that he began to lose grasp of reality. /Gather…/

Nonetheless, like before, the words on the Envelope slowly changed, stringing and converging together into somewhat coherent phrases he could understand:

"Welcome back." It was a simple greeting, but it held a plethora of meanings.

A return could be many things, a new beginning, a commemoration, a consolation...

Dale did not think much of it at first, more interested in his real-life problems and troubles, so he wished to protest, he knew he couldn't be here as he had something else in his mind, but at the same time, he knew he was at this creature's mercy.

It would be best to listen to what it had to say first before demanding things, maybe that wouldn't even be necessary.

So he continued to read, calm and composed.

/Move.../

However, very much like last time, many words of the Envelope had been censored, blurred out, or messy, impossible to read and understand.

Dale did not believe it was an intentional act but one caused by the language barrier between them both.

Those were words lost in translation and meaning, likely impossible to properly describe to him.

That was how he felt when he glanced over them.

But confirming such an idea was an impossibility in itself, unless this strange being decided to cooperate, maybe it would, but the last time Dale asked questions, it quite frankly, told him to shut up and focus on his rewards.

"It is done... You have witnessed the path ahead, what Destiny forged to be your journey. A treacherous path filled with uncertainty, wrath, and regret."

"Control… Was there ever truly such a concept? Can one truly be so sure of themselves? Fate plays no favorites, it only chooses whom it requires to get the job done."

"You have seen its design and its goals, treated as a pawn, a tool for the progressing of its agenda, just a cog in the endless machine that is creation."

"Do you intend to follow its will or clash against it, to form your own amidst the thunderous tides?"

Although the cryptic message was the same, Dale could tell one thing for certain about the Red Envelope.

Its grammar was considerably better than before, more… Modern to say the least.

And above all, it seemed... Motivational? Though that was left for interpretation.

"... What?"

As to be expected, Dale did not take the words very well.

'Witnessed?'

'What fate has to offer?'

'Why is it speaking in a past sense like that? Is it mocking me?'

"I don't understand what you mean." Dale said bluntly as he raised his head to face the creature

"..."

/Grunt.../

A low growl echoed in the void, was it... Dissatisfaction? That didn't seem right either.

Whatever it was, it made him nauseous. Was this part of what the creature felt?

He was like a child speaking with an adult, one that kept trying to have the child behave, the only problem was, that it was more of the difference in intelligence between a Human and a cow.

/Darken…/

Suddenly, the whole world around him went dark, a process he was already all too tired of by now.

/Light!/

/SHUAAA!!!/

"?! Wh... Arg!!... Huff…"

Dale was suddenly jolted awake by sharp pain and a lack of breath as he clutched onto his stomach, trying to get up from the ground as he was currently kneeling in a long trench of snow, only to fail as his legs remained unresponsive.

/Thud!/

Eventually, he plumped back down, resting on the side of the trench as he assessed the situation he was currently in.

"Huff… Where… Where am I this time?" Dale asked out loud as he breathed heavily, the air condensing in front of him as he spoke

'Cold... Way too cold, it's going down to my bones. It's my first time ever feeling like this... And I never thought that after all the training I did, I would ever feel like this as well.'

'Just how cold...'

Feeling the pain in his stomach, he turned his head to look at his hands, and upon noticing just how bloodied they were, he immediately realized the situation was dire.

Be this a dream or not, it felt all too real and he needed to patch himself up quickly.

So he immediately turned his gaze to his stomach, the source of his pain and weakness.

A fist-size hole was now drilling across his stomach, wide enough for him to see his stomach inside.

"N-No... It can't... Shiiiiiiit… There's… There's no recovery from this…" He said to his utmost despair and fear as he continued to cover his stomach in pain

'How… Just how did I get into this situation?' He thought quietly as he raised his head up the trench, seeing and feeling the intense blizzard ravaging outside

From the snow, he could see some trees lying around, making him wonder where he truly was.

He tried to use the Game System, but it did not comply, prompting him to believe he was in reality.

And maybe due to his stupor, Dale forgot to look out for the Green Box, opening it would deliver some critical information about himself, and right now, anything was welcome.

Albeit... Maybe it would be for the best if he just gave up already.

Such thoughts crept in his mind like maggots on rotting flesh, he didn't know where they came from, were they even his?

/FLASH!/

The moment he thought of that, a dozen visions struck immediately, telling him what he sought.

From the moment his parents were attacked to now, everything was laid bare through a series of short moments, tying up together to form a streamlined series of events that led to today.

Somewhere on Russian grounds, an undisclosed amount of time after his parents were attacked, he slowly bled to death as a consequence of his own actions.

It was hard for Dale to tell exactly how it got to this point, the memories were vague and incomplete, but he could tell that several months had passed at the very least.

Although he still did not know what gave him such a harrowing wound.

Where was Roger when he needed him?

"ARG!... Huff… Haa… Hahaha…"

Slowly, starting from a giggle, Dale began to laugh drily as he recovered from the short burst of memories, understanding why and how he came into this terrible situation.

"You reap what you sow… There's nothing else to be said about it." He said feebly as he looked at his distorted reflection in the ice in front of him

Driven by both anger and vengeance, after the terrorist attack against his Family, Dale grew colder and colder by the day, just like the solid block of ice in front of him.

As he hunted down the culprits, killing them with his own hands, and crushing their bodies to a pulp, he slowly grew further and further away from his ideal person, being consumed by the very rage and wrath he once tried to control and flee from.

Because of his anger and helplessness to abide by his own morals and protect those dear to him, Dale strayed from his original path, either consciously or unconsciously.

Either way, Dale began living his life as a big patch of grey, feeling as if it was meaningless if those he cared about weren't there with him.

Within Azimuth, to achieve his goals as efficiently as possible, he began treating the Villagers as mere tools, demoting them back to nameless and faceless NPCs instead of people, not disregarding them in itself, but being harsher and diminishing the kindness he once used to spread around.

Training and training every day, he ignored other minor problems, which led to a series of other issues he dealt with equally heavy and severe methods.

However, due to this extreme way of being, Dale solved many problems as well, creating a unique balance centered around individual strength instead of the community he was building before.

Dale couldn't tell what each of those problems were, but he saw several things that made him think deeply…

He saw an army march through the Desert's Sands, making their way to Resko… They held unknown banners as they walked under the golden sun, strangely enough, they were familiar... Where had he seen them before?

He saw the Church burst into flames as indescribable fear crept onto him, only for it to be resolved with the joint sacrifice of the Saint and David, another pivotal reason for his slow descent to madness.

He saw a gargantuan monster eat away entire mountains… It gave him shivers, that was the first time he faltered in the face of a foe, and in the end, he turned tail, never to face it again.

He saw a red battlefield littered with corpses and monsters at the edge of another Continent, yet, he felt nothing, even as those he considered companions died around him.

And those were only some of the ones he could make sense of, there were many other notable moments Dale was unable to fully grasp due to how fast everything passed inside his mind.

But together, it all made sense…

This was his life, or better put…

"This is… My future. A slow and painful descent into madness." He said as his left hand grew weak, causing him to let go of his stomach

'The madness of a man unable to bear everything he built alone after he gave up trying to pursue his dreams.'

'Someone consumed by the flames of rage...'

Dying slowly in the snow, was this everything he fought for? Was this the truth he so wholeheartedly searched for? He didn't even find it, there was no mention of it in the memories.

Only pain and more pain... Maybe that was the entire point.

Someone who sought to deliver pain would only remember it in the end...

"The attack… That was where everything went awry." Dale mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes

'My search for the truth was initially out of curiosity, but now I'm sure there's much more at play, it's now a necessity to make sure I can protect those I can about…'

'But when that very reason was taken away… I lost my purpose, so I sought a new one…'

'Yet revenge is an empty thing to pursue, you can seek it but not live by it as it is only a goal in the end…'

'I made so many mistakes… All for this… Pathetic.'

With each passing moment, with each thought that formed in his mind, with each weak breath he took, Dale became more and more in synch with the memories, and eventually, he completely believed he was about to die, that everything he saw before was nothing but his life passing across his eyes.

That what he experienced just moments before was just a delusion brought by his dying body, a strong wish to change everything and make things right.

"... I wasn't strong enough, I wasn't smart enough, I abandoned all that I should not for everything that is worthless." He said weakly as he laughed drily He had grown strong, extremely so, but in the end, he stranded himself.

He was one against everyone, including those he threw away once he was done with them.

And at the height of his persuit, he was overthrown by those whose path was still set straight.

There was no one to sympathize with him, he did not deserve it.

He had long thrown any chances of that away.

/Step…/

Then… Suddenly, from the snow, the sounds of footsteps echoed.

"... You're here." A voice echoed from above

It was gentle but firm, extremely so, a woman's voice.

It was a familiar voice, one that made Dale smile without him knowing.

"..."

Dale said nothing in the end, there was no need to, he was too tired to joke, and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't, he felt as if he didn't deserve it, not after what he did.

He made his choices.

"... Look at your face, did you finally reconsider your actions? Now, at death's door?" The voice questioned, angered, but at the same time, relieved

"..."

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"..."

But as she looked at Dale, she realized that he likely had no strength left in his body to do so, even his eyes were slowly unfocusing.

He didn't have much time left.

"... There's no point going over this again, I already tried once, others too… Including grandfather." The girl said as she stepped inside the trench

She seemed to feel little danger, and she was right.

"... What do you think he would say if he saw you like this? So weak and pathetic… Barely strong enough to even hold your chin high?"

"Weak enough… For me to end you at any given moment." She said deeply as she took a knife out from his waist

"..."

It was faint, but Dale's smile deepened.

"... I have a regret too. I should've listened to him, had I done so then maybe… I would've had enough strength to stop you, if even for a moment."

"The maybe… Well, enough ifs."

She stood up, moving away, uninterested in ending Dale's life.

"If you're done with it all, then let it go already, stop dragging others into it."

"In the end… It's as you said, the world is changing and millions will perish unjustly."

"You're just one of the many that fell to its tides, a victim of this cruel world."

"... I'll remember you, for what you were before. Dale."

/Shuaa…/

And with that, the girl vanished amidst the blizzard, leaving Dale alone in the cold.

But by now, he couldn't respond, he was already long gone.

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