Chapter 77: Goren: Chaos

  At first, Pandemonium was a wild, overwhelming place that threatened to drive Goren crazy. Well…crazier than he already was.

  The place was a jumble of mess that seemed to follow no coherent rules. Even the basic laws of physics were sometimes dismissed and replaced by other, nonsensical ones. It almost felt like a world a child created. A twisted one at that.

  According to Thanata—based on the minimal knowledge she managed to gather about the Realm of Chaos—Pandemonium consisted of five major regions. At the very center was ‘The Heart’, which was precisely where Goren was heading. It was from this central point that the realm extended outward in every direction, each area sprawling continuously without halt.

  The desert where Goren had awakened, and was currently traveling through, was one of the regions. Funnily enough, despite its arid appearance, it was called 'The Sea', further confirming that the desert wasn’t a true desert, but rather the bottom of a long-dried sea.

  Eventually, Goren adapted to this bizarre world. In a way, despite the realm being the manifestation of chaos, Goren managed to find some sense in it, some patterns.

  Finding order inside chaos sounded like something impossible, yet somehow, he managed to do just that. Did that mean he was even crazier that he initially thought? Highly likely. But either way, he felt alive in this place. A feeling he hadn’t felt in ages, it seemed.

  The journey itself was grueling, and not only because of the absence of any clear sense of time in this realm—it was always sunny—but because of the monsters that inhabited Pandemonium. Goren tried to compare these creatures to those he had fought during his life as a human in Tepan. However, the monsters here were unlike anything he had encountered before: uglier, far more violent, and much, much harder to kill.

  Fortunately, by making him her assistant, Thanata had equipped Goren with a unique set of abilities that very much reminded him of the Core System he used to have before he died and was recruited by Chronos. That was intentional, of course. She wanted it to feel familiar for him—to speed up his progression. It was called the 'Dead Man System', and it operated in a similar fashion.

  Defeating monsters granted XP. And more XP improved the link between Thanata and Goren, allowing her to grant him stronger abilities in exchange. It was thanks to this new System that Goren was still alive. It was also thanks to it that he was even able to slay Pandemonium’s beasts.

  In addition to an array of abilities, the new System also had a fun feature: a ‘Borrowed Time’ tracker. In fact, there were two of them really: Long-Term and Short-Term. Each tracker appeared as a percentage bar, ranging from 0% to 100%, but they served very different functions.

  The Long-Term tracker was always filled to one hundred percent. This was, in essence, Goren’s lifeline. As Thanata had explained at the start, she would ensure that this bar remained full in order to grant Goren as much time as he needed to complete their mission in Pandemonium. The only scenario in which the Long-Term bar could potentially drop below maximum was if Goren deliberately chose to defy Thanata. Thus, nullifying their agreement, and ending his life immediately.

  The Short-Term tracker operated quite differently and was far more practical in use. Thanata, wary that Goren might exploit his newfound immortality by carelessly throwing himself into danger without regard for physical harm, implemented this tracker as a form of discipline.

  Each time Goren blocked, parried, or dodged an attack, he would accumulate Borrowed Time in the Short-Term tracker. He could then spend the accumulated time to essentially rewind his body back in time and instantly heal newly acquired wounds or even regenerate lost limbs. This allowed Goren the freedom to take risks, but also provided a compelling incentive to avoid unnecessary harm and keep his body intact—something Thanata constantly reminded him was paramount for them if they wanted to succeed.

  After what felt like months to him, but was probably mere days in actuality, he was finally getting closer to the border between the Sea and the Heart.

  Supposedly…

  It’s not like he had a map. Though he did have something else. Someone else.

  “How far are we, Corry?” Goren asked, flashing his unlikely companion a grin.

  Perhaps “companion” was an overstatement, given the true nature of their partnership. That and the dark leash encircling the creature, burning its skin at each wrong movement.

  “My name is Corentin, you damn swine,” the creature shot back with contempt.

  He was an Akazod—a high-ranking species in Pandemonium. He looked almost like a human, except for the striking crimson color of his skin, his pitch-black eyes, and the eight horns protruding from his head, arranged in a way that nearly resembled a crown. Yet he wasn’t Pandemonium royalty or anything—Goren had asked.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Once Goren had progressed through a fairly large stretch of the Sea, his survival had caught the attention of someone in the Heart, who decided to dispatch one of their own to confront the human that kept defying the usual script by refusing to die. Corentin, however, underestimated Goren and ultimately found himself taken prisoner.

  “Yeah, there’s no way I’m calling you that. Name’s too long,” Goren said with a chuckle. “And besides, we’ve been traveling together for so long now, I’m not gonna lie, I’m starting to grow attached. Nicknames are a must at this point.”

  Corentin, in obvious disdain, spat on the ground near Goren in retaliation.

  “Perfect.” Goren grinned, then shifted his focus to the dark leash coming from his arm—an ability given to him by Thanata. He tightened its grip on the Akazod, causing Corentin to collapse to his knees, groaning in pain.

  “Damn you, human!” Corentin cursed.

  Goren put on an exaggerated frown. “It hurts me as much as it hurts you. Maybe even more. Maybe you – “

  Thanata’s voice in his mind interrupted him, her tone bored yet impatient. “Stop goofing around. Just get him to talk. Like you managed to do before.”

  “What does it look like I’m doing? It’s part of the interrogation tactic,” Goren responded mentally—they had agreed that in the presence of Pandemonium’s creatures it was best to hide the fact that Goren was backed up by the Goddess of Death.

  “Hurry up then,” Thanata urged, still sounding indifferent.

  Letting out a heavy, disappointed sigh and rolling his eyes, Goren eased the pressure his Dark Whip exerted on Corentin. He turned to the Akazod. “Listen, be useful and I might let you go scot-free. No hard feelings.”

  Corentin stared at Goren with a look of utter disbelief, his expression frozen in shock. “You might be even dumber than I thought…” he said, his voice tinged with appalled incredulity. “How did I get bested by you is beyond me.”

  Goren sighed once more, preparing for another rant from him. “Here we go again.”

  Corentin continued immediately. “I’m already a walking corpse for failing to kill you. Do you think I can even show my face back in the Heart after this humiliation?! Urthran will annihilate me on the spot!”

  Goren recalled the name from before. “Urthran is your boss, right?”

  “My boss?” Corentin echoed, dumbfounded again. “She is our goddess! Her chaos is the most beautiful. She IS chaos!”

  “Right…” Goren rolled his eyes at the Akazod’s fanatism. “How about instead of showering me with religious nonsense, you’d actually be helpful? Do that and I’ll grant you the swift death you wish for.”

  Corentin eyed him carefully. “Liar.”

  Goren shook his head. “Why would I lie? You think I’m having fun just dragging you around?”

  “Yes.”

  “Whaaat? Of course not,” Goren responded with genuine surprise.

  “You literally said just that after catching me. You said, ‘I’m going to enjoy dragging you around, motherfucker’.”

  “Fair point.” Goren nodded, recalling the exact moment he was referring to. “But I only said that because you almost chopped my head off, and I was on edge. Things are different now. Help me and I’ll help you. Refuse and I’ll keep dragging you around aimlessly.”

  Corentin groaned loudly before nodding reluctantly. “Fine. What do you want?” he said, voiced filled with resignation.

  “What I always wanted: clear directions to the Heart. Not the roundabout routes you've been leading me through.”

  “Not happening.”

  Goren’s eyes narrowed. “You’re supposed to be helpful.”

  “I’m not going to direct you to my home. I’m not that stupid.”

  “Why not?” Goren asked, his tone biting. “Are you worried I’ll kill the rest of you and your precious Urthran?”

  “In your dreams.” Corentin laughed wholeheartedly. “Either way, that shit’s not working on me. I won’t betray Urthran even if you torture me. Next question.”

  Goren didn’t think he was bluffing so he decided to switch tactics in order to at least achieve their second goal in Pandemonium—learning Chaos' actual plan.

  “What does your Urthran wants?” he asked. “I saw Dolos' horns. Is he turning into one of you? What’s the plan there?”

  Corentin laughed again. “That human fool.”

  “Fool? For sure. Human? Not really.”

  Corentin clicked his tongue. “A self-proclaimed god is still just self-proclaimed. He was supposed to send you here dead, yet he had failed to do even that. And being that useless after all the blessings Urthran gave him? That’s ridiculous. She chose him but he failed every step of the way.”

  “What blessings?” Goren asked. He already knew that Dolos’ godly powers were most likely given to him by Pandemonium, but he wanted to learn the details.

  “Well, she – “ Corentin began but suddenly froze.

  A moment later, some green liquid began pouring down from his black eyes and mouth. And yet, he wasn’t moving.

  “Did you kill him?” Thanata asked in Goren’s mind, sounding slightly more alarmed than usual.

  Before Goren could answer, Corentin unexpectedly spoke again. However, the words that followed were not in his own voice. Instead, a new presence emerged. One that had a far more ferocious and slightly feminine tone.

  “Goren Shein, I’ve heard much about you from our mutual friend,” the new voice said, sounding amused. “How are you enjoying your time in Pandemonium so far?”

  “Urthran, I assume?” Goren replied, assuming the identity of the one addressing him. “I’m having a blast, by the way. Really enjoyed the greetings so far. Is Corry dead?”

  “He is,” the entity confirmed. “Can’t have you and the scheming Thanata finding me this soon. I’m not ready yet.”

  Goren tensed slightly after hearing their secret out in the open. Meanwhile, in his mind, Thanata remained silent.

  “He was loyal to you and you killed him,” Goren said casually, choosing to ignore her knowledge for now.

  “No one can stay loyal for long,” Urthran replied. “Every loyalty has an expiration date. His was reaching its limit.”

  “A bit harsh,” Goren said.

  “Not really,” Urthran disagreed. “They're not different from the contracts you humans enjoy signing with me. Just verbal.”

  Goren's eyes widened, his curiosity was piqued. “I thought only gods made contracts with humans.”

  "Goren, I invented contracts," Urthran replied. “And many humans, in many worlds, joyfully sign them time after time."

  He narrowed his eyes on the Akazod’s corpse. “And was Dolos turning into one of you part of his contract?”

  Urthran chuckled. “Do you think that’s what’s happening to him? You couldn’t be further from the truth.”

  “Then what is happening to him?”

  Silence.

  “Find me first. Then we'll speak,” Urthran finally said. “Though I fear you’d have to pass through the other three regions of Pandemonium first before you could enter the Heart. Good luck. I’ll be watching.”