NOVEL NEXT Chapter 859: Closure
The following days were quite something. The cult Damon created spread faster and faster, so fast that Damon wondered if Seraph Null hadn't realized he was losing control.
But after thinking about it for a while, Damon noticed something.
The amount of dissent between the Chained and the Outsiders was growing. It was subtle, especially here in the inner city where everyone was wealthier, but he could see it.
The invisible divide. The whispers and rumors. It started small.
"These outsiders are dirty…"
"They're the reason we aren't getting enough resources …"
"They're stealing our jobs…"
Small things like that, but those small things were more than enough.
Damon realized something.
The delicate balance that existed here in the inner city, where only the most competent outsiders were allowed, was slowly fraying.
Naturally, he could see hostility building. As for the outsiders, they were already an oppressed group in this world that rejected them. Anything little they had, they fought tooth and nail for.
To that end, when they saw someone like them being abused by the Chained, it left poison in their hearts.
It was so easy.
It was so easy to create hate.
The quickest way to unite people was through shared hatred.
All you needed to do was give them something to hate. Someone to blame.
"All creatures with complex emotions and reason are, most often, emotional beasts. We revert so easily to our simpler nature."
This, like many instances of people showing how small they are, would lead to death. Blood would be shed. It would become an us versus them scenario.
But that was fine.
This was what Damon wanted anyway.
If Seraph Null wanted to accelerate it, Damon would let him.
"You've gotten confident, Seraph Null," Damon muttered, glancing at the black tower at the center of the city.
"You must think that because you are in the seventh class, no one can harm you…"
That was a fact. He was untouchable, because no one, not even those in the seventh class, could actually use their full power in this world.
Though there was one exception.
Lazarak.
"You think you have me trapped… no. It's the opposite."
Even so, Damon reminded himself to be careful. While Seraph Null knew nothing of him, Damon knew too little of the lesser god.
He sighed, leaning back against the balcony railing.
Damon had picked up the habit of staying here for whatever reason, mostly because he liked the view of the city.
He glanced at the tower again. The cure for his sister was there as well. Maybe that was why.
As soon as he got it, he would finally be able to close his eyes to this sick world.
That way, all the things that could happen in the future wouldn't.
But Damon had a grim feeling.
He would fail to die.
His Deathless skill was simply too effective at keeping him alive against his will.
He could try using his third-class skill Dethrone to disable it, but that would only be a temporary solution.
He had noticed how Deathless worked.
The skill was more like probability manipulation, or at least, that was what he thought at first, but it went deeper than that.
This seemingly small passive skill was actually influencing fate.
His fate.
He wondered if the Unknown God had given him this skill as a failsafe, insurance against being killed again by the Goddess of Doom.
Though Damon had a feeling that if she truly wanted him dead, Deathless would not be enough.
"I still have the Fate Manipulation Resistance mastery…"
Damon opened his system panel.
---
[HP: 24995/24995]
[Mana: 55,567/55,567]
[Strength: 31,124]
[Agility: 23,157]
[Speed: 33,985]
[Endurance: 34,210]
[Class: Usurper]
[Shadow: 1900]
[Shadow Hunger Levels: 15%]
[Shadow Level: 19]
[Condition: Shadow Is Fed]
[Attributes: Umbral, Domination Fragment]
[Skills:]
[5x] [Remorseless] [Shadow Perception] [Water Celebration] [Sacrifice] [Shadow Control] [Parkour] [Shadow Armor] [Beholder's Gaze] [Dead Eye] [Spirit Affinity] [Ashborn] [Omen of Dread] [Dealer's Hand] [Bloodletting] [Shadow Movement] [Shadow] [Faceless] [Danger Sense] [Shadow Storage] [Wave Walk] [Shadow Clone] [Blitz] [Flash Step] [Air Walk] [Appraisal] [Iron Bones] [Astral Projection] [Accel] [Terror Engine] [Vengeance] [Soul Tongue] [Eyes of Veracity] [Shadow Stride] [Soul Conduit] [Heart of Shadow] [Demon Dominate] [Shadow Seizer]
[Mastery:]
[Etiquette Lv3] [Swordsmanship Lv7] [Survival Lv10] [Persuasion Lv2] [Deception Lv3] [Bartering Lv2] [Theft Lv3] [Archery Lv5] [Trap Lv5] [Alchemy Lv1] [Dagger Arts Lv5] [Cooking Lv2] [Basic Magic Lv5] [Mana Control Lv7] [Magic Gatling Lv5] [Pain Resistance Lv6] [Mental Contamination Resistance Lv5] [Disintegration Resistance Lv3] [Sniper Lv5] [Rune Magic Lv3] [Insanity Lv4] [Fate Manipulation Resistance Lv2] [Ravenous LvMax] [Poison Resistance Lv6] [Elemental Resistance Lv3] [Petrification Resistance Lv5] [Magic Resistance Lv5] [Curse Resistance Lv2] [Pressure Resistance Lv2] [Corruption Resistance Lv5] [Aura Farming Lv4] [Charisma Lv9] [Tyranny Lv3] [Ragebaiting Lv5] [Shadow Manipulation Lv1]
[Items:]
[Pale Crown Armor] [Broken Bonds] [Deep Quiver] [Silver Blades] [Staff of Carnage] [Sword of Nicolas] [Furnace of Frost] [Helm of Balero] [Womb of Healing] [Charms] [Potions] [Miscellaneous Items]
[Quest:]
[Path to Conflict]
[Nightmare of Lazarak]
"I still have my quest, Nightmare of Lazarak, which I still haven't figured out how to complete…"
He looked at the first quest.
"Right… and Path to Conflict," he muttered.
He sighed.
"Now that it seems so close… do I really want to end it all?"
"Heheheh…"
He chuckled.
"Yes. Yes, I do. And nothing is stopping me."
Damon had a passing thought.
If he died, that would be… off-putting for his sister.
He needed to give her some closure.
After some thought, he took out a pen and paper, summoning a chair and table from his shadow storage.
He needed to write his goodbye message to his sister. It was, after all, what most people who committed suicide did.
"Hm. What should I start with… what have I never told her? Or what do I need to tell her…"
"Hmmm."
He placed a hand on his chin.
Right.
He had just been lamenting how he'd never told his sister that he loved her. It was always implied, but never said.
"Right… that was it."
So he placed the pen on the paper and wrote.
The first words.
"I love you."
Then he paused.
He felt someone behind him.
A familiar scent.
A familiar shadow.
He had been so distracted that he filtered her out, along with the rest of the noise.
"Which woman are you writing a love letter to?"
She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Is it me?"
Damon's eyes twitched.
"Ah… princess," he said slowly. "It's been a while."