Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 129: Bitter Truth

"You might be right. The choice must be easy for you, right?" Sirius asked.

"--" Finn didn't respond, not quite knowing what the man meant, though not liking what it suggested.

Sirius continued with a small smile, bringing his thumb and index finger together before–

Snap.

As that sound met Finn's ears, he found the scenery of the crimson cavern replaced by a luscious garden of colorful flowers, blooming with life.

"Huh?--" Finn let out, perplexed at the sudden transportation as he looked around.

Above him, the sky was a reverse field of flowers, completely engulfing him in the scenic majesty of nature before he looked ahead at the man who seemingly brought them both there.

"What I mean is, the choice between your world and this one must not be that much of a struggle. After all, you see this place as one on the brink of fading away as it is," Sirius pointed out, holding his hand out as a stray dandelion gliding in the wind landed on his palm. "You're not wrong, but there's still beauty left."

There was something surprising about the attitude of the "Storm King", a title that Finn believed belonged to a mindless brute, though he found the complete opposite standing across from him in the serene field of flowers.

"You seem aware of what's going on…Can I ask why you're holding on so tightly? There's barely anybody left in this world, from what I've seen. What are you protecting anymore?" Finn asked sincerely.

"Isn't that what you're doing?" Sirius said.

"Well…" Finn thought about it.

"There's still things worth protecting–even if I might be the last person still standing, it's my duty to preserve the memories of this world. The legends, heroes and villains, cities, wars, victories, people–all of it," Sirius told him, letting the dandelion crumble away by a passing breeze. "Once this world is gone, so are those memories. That's what I'm protecting, Finn."

Hearing it from the man meant to be his enemy, the meaning of those words were conflicted within him. He wanted a reason to hate him, to despise the one he had no choice but to kill, but he was given the opposite of what he asked for.

"Why're you telling me this? You know what has to be done–" Finn asked.

"I'm giving you an option. If you want, you can live in this world. I'll personally see that you and all of your companions are given royal chambers and protection. You wouldn't have to fight anymore," Sirius offered. "Neither this world nor yours are stable; both are fleeting."

Amidst that serene field of flowers, it didn't seem like a bad offer; that world did have qualities of its own. Even so, Finn already had an answer in his heart, meeting the ruler of the First Order eye-to-eye.

"I can't do that," Finn answered.

Sirius' soft smile stayed as he nodded his head, "Yeah, I expected that answer. I wanted to avoid fighting if I could. I guess that was naive of me–that's the way things always are, aren't they?"

Hearing the words of the man who seemingly wanted peace, there weren't any words Finn could replace, as he felt conflicted about the ordeal. He knew what needed to be done, even if it was impossible at the moment.

"I'll be waiting at the castle, then. I'd suggest training yourself up a whole lot more, by the way–if you tried to fight me at this moment, you'd end up in a grave in the blink of an eye," Sirius advised him with a playful smile, bringing his thumb and index finger together again.

Snap.

Once more, with the distinct sound meeting his ears, the scenery around him shifted in a mere instant. From the majestic garden, he found himself standing back in the forest of golden trees, standing in front of the abode of Gurmo.

'I'm back,' Finn thought, partially still confused.

It took a moment for him to gather himself, looking around as he expected the benevolent king of the world to still be there, though he only found himself greeted by a familiar presence walking out of the tree-home.

"Finn?" The concerned voice of Charlotte called his name with a look of worry printed on her face. "You're alright? You're not hurt are you? Gurmo told us about the quest he sent you on–he shouldn't have sent you alone."

"I'm fine," Finn assured her, wearing a small smile. "What about you? Heard you all went to take care of some wolves."

"Yeah, it went fine–well, Seung sort of did most of it himself," Charlotte explained with an exhale.

"He tends to do that," Finn said.

As he entered the abode of the old elf, greeted by the scent of natural candles that smelled of maple, he found his companions settled in, chit-chatting about unimportant topics. It was all noise to him, as his mind was left hyper-fixated on what he experienced–what he had learned.

He sat in thought on the first floor, taking up on a worn sofa set between two shelves.

"Is something the matter, mate?"

Amidst his thinking, he didn't realize that Jasper was standing right in front of him with a concerned tone. The helmet of the knight was repaired, which meant of course he didn't part from it for a single moment once again.

Charlotte was in the room as well, looking over with the same question on her mind, no doubt.

"I met somebody when I was out there," Finn admitted.

"Somebody? Who? Someone from here or our world?" Jasper asked.

"At first, I thought it was another survivor. In actuality, it was him–the person we're here to kill," Finn truthfully informed them.

Charlotte came closer with a curious look, sitting down beside him on the worn sofa, "That person…Do you mean the Storm King?"

"Yeah," Finn confirmed with a quiet nod.

"Wait, hold on–are you sure, mate? Isn't the Storm King, like, the ultra-super boss of this world?" Jasper asked for clarification, standing in front of him with his hands held out.

The conversation seemed to reach unintentionally far as a certain golden-haired figure came barreling down the stairs as though his name was called.

Seung practically crashed down, leaping from the railings as he landed, not wasting a moment to question him, "You're saying you met the Storm King? You didn't kill him?!"

"It's not from a lack of trying," Finn assured the hot-headed man.

"Without a scratch on you? You pussied out, just tell the truth," Seung pressed further, waving his hand.

"Knock it off, mate—!" Jasper sharply told the brawler.

The noise brought Nova down to the first floor as well, seeming to draw a bit too much commotion for a nice afternoon. It was the last thing he felt like engaging in after what he experienced.

"I'm just saying–if I had the boss-of-all-bosses in my sights, I'm either winning or I'm dying right there," Seung said, leaning against a shelf while folding his arms over his chest.

"Luckily not everybody is an idiot," Charlotte remarked.

"What?--" Seung barked back.

Finn spoke without looking at anybody, merely speaking his mind of the encounter still fresh on his mind, "I was practically a child throwing a tantrum against him. There was absolutely nothing I could do."

"I knew it was going to be an uphill battle, but it's that bad then," Jasper said, taking in the information.

"You just got taken by surprise, right? It can't be that bad—" Nova tried to reason, waving her sleeves.

"I was the one that took him by surprise. At least, I tried to. Look, as we are right now, we don't stand a chance," Finn admitted.

The truth of it wasn't exactly hopefully news to any of their ears. Either way, there was nothing to do except to accept that reality.

"Did you use Sleuth on him? What was his level?" Seung impatiently asked, nudging his elbow against the shelf.

"One-hundred," Finn answered. Enjoy stories on m_v lem|p-yr

Charlotte repeated what was said, "One…hundred?"

"That's a bit off the rails, mate. We have to face a monster like that?" Jasper sighed.

Seung didn't say anything as he marched his way out of the forest abode, practically stomping past the threshold. Nobody tried to stop the golden-haired man, nor did they feel like hearing what he'd have to say.

"Where's he off to?" Nova asked with a raised eyebrow.

"To level up," Finn answered. "What we all should be doing."

"You're definitely right. It's just…we can't be reckless about it," Charlotte reasoned, holding her hands by her knees as she stayed beside him.

"You mean what Seung is doing? Pretty sure that guy is just throwing himself at whatever looks at him the wrong way," Jasper jokingly asked.

"About that…" Finn added in. "That guy might be a bit crazy, but he definitely knows how to level. I mean, you can't deny he's higher than all of us."

"That's true," Charlotte admitted.

With the safety of the group in mind, but the pressing matter of having to deal with an astronomical enemy, the path was unclear. For the time being, at least, the best course of action was simply to sleep on it.