SOS CH 54 (Patreon)

A calm wind went by and Noah proceeded with the information he had just received. There were many things he wanted to say and if he had to be honest, he just wished to sit down now and well…He didn’t know what he would do.

But right now wasn’t the time. As such, he did what he always did best in those situations;

“Pfft! I always wanted to be one with a Mecha. I never thought I would become one myself.”

…He laughed it off and pushed down all negative feelings that were not essential for his survival.

—...I am sorry.

“Don’t be. You made the right choice. I don’t want to die, you know. I mean. At least not now. Would be a bummer to die while being so close to answers.” He clapped his hand and continued, “First thing first.”

Space started to ripple again but this time the gate created appeared much faster. Whatever had happened made his circulation of Dark Matter much more efficient.

Once he pushed the remains of Ouroboros into the dimension, he closed the dimension and started walking toward a specific direction.

The place where the Scorched landed.

—You are taking it far better than I imagined. The first time you nearly became crazy.

“Humans are creatures of adaptation and adapting is my specialty.”

His stay on this planet had not been an easy one. He had many blackout incidents when his mind would simply shut down because he could not support the increasing weight of time on his psyche.

But every time this happened, he would eventually wake up stronger, and the interval between blackouts continued to lower until he was able to constantly stay awake.

“Anyway. With this out of the way, we can decide what we will do later. Now though. It’s time to finish the job.”

He had yet to receive a notice about the end of this challenge. This could only mean one thing.

Omid was still alive.

“Well. He won’t be for long.”

***

Finding the wreckage of The Scorched had been pretty easy all things considered. Even with his small pudgy legs, it didn’t take him long to reach the place where Omid landed.

The Current Scorched made a pale figure compared to what it had once looked like. The chest part had been destroyed and it was missing one leg. Finally, sitting in all his muscular glory, was Omid.

“So you survived. Though you seem different.”

Omid was alive but if he had to be honest, even Noah was surprised at this fact. After all, Omid currently had a giant hole in his chest. The very fact that he could even speak was a miracle.

His eyes finally focused on the armor Omid was wearing and understood that the nanites in the armor were working furiously to keep him alive. Sadly for Omid, Unlike Noah, he couldn’t magically revive by absorbing external matter and energy.

“Well, I am more surprised that you survived. Though it seems like you will meet your end soon.”

“You are right.” He leaned back and looked up, “So my story end like this. What a shame.”

Omid was tired, his body was heavy and his blood was continuously flowing. Already, his senses were slowly leaving him and he could barely see anything beyond a certain distance.

“Is it the part where I listen to your sad backstory and I learn that you weren’t born evil but became evil because of circumstances?”

“Kukuh~!” Omid coughed out a bloody lump, “Do not worry. I will not bore you with my past. I do need to seek your understanding nor do I wish for pity.”

“Huh. A shame. I was wondering why someone as strong as you became a pirate.”

Omid closed his eyes, even keeping them open was becoming a problem. But he did not let the embrace of death take hold of him.

Not yet.

Not now.

There was still something he wanted to know.

Things he wanted to hear.

“I…have a question.”

Noah ignored the struggling man and jumped on the mecha up and up until he reached the chest where Omid was seated. At this distance, all he would need would be one blow to end his life and if Omid had begged for his life, Noah would have swiftly ended him.

Now though, he was more curious about what this man wanted to say.

“Speak.”

“Why do you fight?”

“Hah? You gave your all to stay alive only to ask such a boring question?”

“Answer me.”

Noah looked up. Why did he fight? This was truly an interesting question. But the answer was simpler than he could have imagined.

“I fight because I like winning.” He grinned, “I started fighting because I was born for it, created for it. I knew nothing else. But then I realized…Fighting is fun. Winning even more so.”

A chuckle escaped him, “This is why I am continuing. Standing at the top makes me feel good. Saving people makes me feel awesome. Being called a hero makes me feel appreciated. In the end, perhaps I am just a junky in search of a new high.”

“So it’s that simple…”

Omid laughed. A laugh full of mockery. A laugh full of regret.

“So you wish to stand at the top. Even knowing that your enemies will be as numerous as the stars in the sky? You know nothing of the horrors awaiting you.”

“You are right. Fighting you, I realized that I am not who I once was. I am not the top dog. I am weak and alone. But then…So what?”

Noah’s eyes shone with golden splendor as he gazed down at Omid, “All my life I have fought. Even as I lost all my loved ones I fought. Even as the world pushed its expectations on me, I stood. I am no stranger to despair. Even less so of loneliness.”

He took one more step, pushing his face nearly against Omid,

“If all the stars in the sky are my enemies then so be it.  I will just have to rise above the sky. This is what I have always done. I will fight. I will thrive and I will rise. Until one day…I will once again stand at the top.”

“Then what? What will you do once you are the strongest? To whom would you turn to when you have no one else to fight?”

“...”

“You are a very shallow man.”

“...”

Omid heaved. The nanites stopped working, his time was near.

“I…I have one request…”

“...Go on.”

“If you ever meet Queen Scheherazade…Tell her that I am sorry I could not save her.”

Omid’s hand trembled as he pushed the black box and took out the reward he had received.

“This will be…My payment.”

Noah stood in silence for a few seconds before finally taking the core from his hand and as if this was the last thing he wanted to say, his arm fell powerlessly.

The light in his eye had already vanished, but he had a feeling he could still see the shining suns of his homeland. Omid had once been a man with many ambitions but as he felt the embrace of death finally take hold of him…He realized that all those ambitions were nothing but front he put to hide the hollowness inside of him.

If he understood this sooner. Perhaps he could have lived a better life. This was something no one had an answer to.

“Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust…”

He muttered and his body started breaking down, fissures appearing all over his skin and finally it crumbled onto itself.

Djinn did not leave a body when they died.

They simply became dust.

“What a shameless man. Paying me with my spoil of war.”

Noah laughed quietly as he witnessed the end of his enemy. He felt no pity. Omid had not been a good man. As a pirate, he certainly destroyed the lives of many people.

Even so. As his first true enemy in this world. He would forever exist in Noah’s mind and as long as Noah was alive, like Omid so dearly wished, he would never be forgotten.

This too was a form of immortality.

The Queen meanwhile had different worries in mind. She had no care for Omid as a person. She only had one question.

—I wonder how dust tastes.

Noah was speechless.