Chapter 9: 9: Global Devastation
This… is a bit unexpected. So, he noticed? I'll bite.
"What holds you back from doing worse? I can tell — I know, you enjoy it too much, yet when you could go so much further, you don't and simply end their suffering. And it's not because you're tired or anything… I can see your desire to go further, to do more, yet you stop. It's this one limit you never go past. Why is that?
"I've never seen you be excessively cruel… Well, for you anyways. The deaths you offer usually are swift. I mean, yeah, you occasionally prolong them, but you never play around for too long. I know you're capable of doing much worse, being much more cruel, but you never do. Why? It's not out of boredom; it's out of principle, right? So, what are those limits?" Struan says, clumsily trying to express his thoughts.
"Hmm…" I think. I never really had to verbalize what I'm unwilling to go past, and it is probably the only boundary I have.
Struan patiently waits, looking at me with those dark, pleading eyes.
"I guess… I try to find the balance between what I wouldn't want done to you with getting my fill… Hence my usual preference for clean, simple cuts compared to something with a higher horror factor," I try to explain, but I'm not sure how well I'm doing.
"Eh!? You would be fine with me getting chopped up?" Struan asks with horror.
"No! I meant that as it's less scary and less painful than other methods, but I also need to find a balance with what I need. And I never do chopping, only slicing," I clarify.
"Like that's any better! What about you? Why am I the standard?" Struan asks.
"It's because, as of now… no one can even come close to hurting me," I say.
"Arrogant, much?"
I look at him with a raised eyebrow, wordlessly asking 'but did anyone ever come close?'
"But…" I continue, "The golden rule doesn't really apply to me, as I don't care how different things might feel to me — I'm interested in it all! But… I can understand not wanting things to happen to you."
"..." Struan squints at me as he processes my words; however, he can't disagree.
"The last two events were somewhat exceptions to it, though I still had you plant enough bombs to ensure swift deaths for almost all. With that one guy from the livestream, I didn't play around with him for more than five minutes. You know the guy who's home we lived in for a bit? He didn't even know what hit him. So, you're right," I continue, "There is a limit…"
"Uhh… so long story short, your morals are based on me?"
"I suppose? I guess you can say that."
"So, let's try this… Would you want people coming after me for no reason?"
"Well, you're strong enough to fight off essentially anyone, or at least escape… So, it's fine."
"Yeah, well what if I wasn't?"
"Then I wouldn't ever leave you alone."
"Ugh…" Struan pinches the bridge of his nose. "But, let's say something came up and you had to leave me alone. Then, people decided to target me for absolutely no reason—
"But you're half of the Primordial Sovereign, so they would have a reason?"
"THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON! PRETEND I'M WEAK!" Struan slams his fist on the wall, creating a huge crater with deep cracks extending outwards.
I stare at the wall before deciding that I should fix it. The outer cracks seal up like a slithering snake and the crater pops back out with a deep doooiingg.
"Well? I'm weak, and I'm being targeted and attacked for no reason. How would you feel about that?" Struan asks.
I smile oh so very, very sweetly. The air turns ominous and the wind whips up into a howl, frantically swirling the snow around us, but the air where we stand is still. The ground trembles, turning into a deep rumble as the planet itself rips apart. Countless fwhoomps resound through the neighborhood as snow starts to fall off in large clumps from the trees and houses. Street and house lights flicker and burst, shrouding the neighborhood in darkness.
Beads of sweat form on Struan's forehead and lip as he watches, despite the cold. He looks touched, awed, and horrified at the same time… though, probably mostly horrified.
"... Riiight. So I take it you wouldn't like it, correct?" He asks.
"... No." The surroundings calm with my answer, and the lights reform.
"Okay, so, can you agree to not harm or kill living beings except for self-defense or to protect those you care for?" Struan asks.
I scratch my head as I consider his proposal. Low-key, I feel like I'm being talked to like a child…
"What about food?" I ask.
"No harming or killing living beings except for self-defense, protecting those you care for, or food. Deal?"
"... Alright," I agree.
"Okay. That's that, right? You have never broken a promise to me before… so you can do this, right?" Struan asks, extending his hand.
"Right," I say with a nod, and we shake on it.
***** ***** *****
"Good morni— I mean, good day! Did you all feel the earthquake last night!? The tremors kept going! I heard that there were even tsunamis too!" Eir exclaims.
Her slip up doesn't really surprise me. It's only recently that we've been starting some of our livestreams with that line in the wake of tragedies.
I sit at a table with Struan near the kitchen, brushing my hair as Eir comes downstairs. Taking one look at her ragged appearance, it isn't hard to guess that she was hard at work for most of the night, trying to evacuate and save people. That, or she simply couldn't sleep.
Regardless, we can take a hint — it doesn't seem like she wants us to mention anything about her secret identity.
"Yeah, it was intense," Struan joins.
"Dunno, I slept through most of it," I say. I really didn't feel any tremors after I went back to bed.
"Of course, you did. As always, Ama looks well rested — nothing in the world can shake her," Struan mutters, mostly to himself.
The TV runs in the background, covering the events of the night.
"The catastrophic series of earthquakes last night triggered tsunamis for large swaths of the coasts, worldwide. The Hero Association is working tirelessly around the clock with international aid organizations, emergency services, and the reserve forces of the affected countries. The death toll is currently estimated to be about two million."
Images flash across the screen, showing the devastation: waterlogged coasts, collapsed buildings, people stranded on roofs, depressed folks covered in dirt amid the rubble — the usual.
"Additionally, experts say that volcanic eruptions were triggered by the stronger earthquakes. These rare volcanic eruptions aren't always triggered right away, and it is estimated that an earthquake can cause a volcano to erupt as many as two months later. About half of the affected volcanoes can erupt months after the event."
"Fwooo," I whistle. This goes far beyond the scope of what I expected. The one time I don't treat everything like it's made of extra-fragile, expensive glass — this happens. I debate taking credit for this event… but decide against it. After all, it wasn't exactly intentional.
"Keep an eye out for air quality warnings, as volcanic ash can travel all the way around the globe. Next on—"
Eir shuts off the TV as one of her family's staff brings out plates with our breakfast. She looks even more shaken up, but she does her best to continue her cheerful facade for us.
"It's ok, Eir," I say, patting her shoulders. "There is only so much you can do."
"... Thanks… I needed to hear that," She says. Silent tears slide down her face before she quickly wipes them away.
Eir's phone vibrates and her eyes go wide.
" Your duties call?" Struan asks.
Eir nods and wipes her tears again. "I'll see you later, alright?"
"We'll be here, cheering you on from the sidelines! Go out and fight the good fight!" I say.
Our friend smiles and the front door clicks shut. I hear her car's engine roar to life as she speeds away and catch a glimpse of it from a window before I turn to Struan.
"Right… so Struan… I know what we talked about last night, buuuut…"
"Ama…?" Struan warily asks, suspicion rising in his voice.
"Don't start before I even say it!" I exclaim. "I looked at the tuition…"
"Yeah?" Struan asks.
"It costs enough to be a small fortune… and that's just for one year for only one of us."
"..."
"About the same as all four years of undergrad for a private university… for one year there."
"..."
"So… whaddya say? We go rob some banks?"
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