Chapter 219 - Sitting on the edge. (Patreon)

John stretched when he woke up next to Rave. Well, he didn’t actually wake up NEXT to her. The techno-lover’s upper half was hanging over the edge of the bed, while her feet had found their way on top of him. Cuddling a pillow, the size of a human, a dakimakura or something weaboo-nese like that, she was doing a measly beatbox attempt in her sleep. He glanced over at the alarm clock on his nightstand, 8 AM, no time to be worried over; he could keep lying around for a bit.

Following yesterday’s events, he had returned to the mansion, had taken a relatively minor scolding from Lydia (who objected over the ‘how’ not the ‘what’ he had done), regenerated and then went into the city elemental dungeon three more times. Sure, Aclysia was pretty useless in there, but it was the best bet to get the 200 enemies part of the quest done. Trick was to not get swarmed and instead kite all of the enemies into a big ball of death and then let fire rain from above. 

Also, they did manage to kill the boss under 5 minutes, thanks to the gloves secret attribute, which meant that John had to reload that one. Hopefully Momo would just give him some of her mana (read: all) without making much of a fuss.

Anyway, the quest rewards had been…okay.

He had reached a level yesterday, so all that the EXP gave him was a head start into the next level. That was appreciated, since he still needed another one to raise his Charisma enough to get the Relationship Slots he needed, but not exactly a great reward. Neither was the buff. For the gloves, well,

Those were tank gloves, to say the least. John only had one empty hand slot, and wearing half didn’t give him any effect, so he gifted them to his girlfriend. She could use something to block sharp things with, bare fists were not that great in that regard, so the backhand plating was welcome.

He also had gotten a fair share of money from selling all of those items that had dropped (after feeding what was looking like it would give a lot of Consumption to Aclysia). He kept some of lingerie for obvious reasons. For the moment he hid them in a box in a kitchen, where Aclysia was guarding them until the day he needed them.

With the old challenges beaten, Gaia had kept her promise and gave him new ones for the day.

Evidently, Gaia was not going to let him use Purgatory to one-shot a goal again (Not that he could for the next few hours thanks to limiting factors). Which was expected. Speed running shouldn’t prove a problem today though, since they were going as a group.

John found a way to wiggle out of bed and then went to search for Momo. He wanted to speak to her, and he needed her mana, so there were enough reasons to go ahead and do that. Thankfully, it was as easy as ever to find his familiars by simply tracking their mental connection.

The edge of the island was still one of the last places he expected to find Momo. Crossing through the gardens, wondering who kept the hedges trimmed, John spotted her after leaving the extensive green area behind. She was sitting there on the ground, unbothered by the cold, her legs dangling over the edge. John stepped closer, but not quite as close as to be in any danger of falling if he did so much as trip over his shoelaces.

“If you want to talk to me, you better sit down here,” Momo told him as he opened his mouth. She turned her head and showed him a mocking smile, “or are you too ‘cautious’ to do it.” With a sour expression, he didn’t like getting mocked over his way of life, John sat down to her right.

“Need my Mana, huh?” “Well, I need triple what I have to charge this thing,” John said as he equipped his fighting set. The armguard underneath his suit flared up, but thanks to this one being largely fireproof (it still ate away at the suits Durability, but nothing that he couldn’t fix with Craft every evening). 

“Doing it alone takes way longer,” he said once the fire vanished, and his now scaled hand reached out to Momo. She took it without looking in his direction, and they both started to feed it their mana. The channel was mind-numbingly slow. With not much else to do, John piloted his sparrow, hopping over the ground behind them.

“When do you want to tell them about this?” Momo asked and nodded towards the glove. “Soon enough,” John shrugged; “Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe sometime during the tournament. Either when it’s the coolest or when it’s the most necessary. You know it has a 24-hour cooldown.” “And it pretty much takes all of our mana. As a trump card, it’s pretty good, but the opportunity cost is quite high. Ah, well, that’s your problem to deal with.”

“Speaking of problems,” John, wanting to start the overdue conversation about Momo’s feelings, said, “can we talk about…” “I love the sky,” Momo interrupted him and continued to stare at the air in front of them with a melancholic smile; “It’s vast, endless, and I get the feeling that true freedom lies within its blue depth. But when I look at it, all I feel is a sad reminder that I will never be able to reach beyond what I am. What you made me.”

A sudden white flare at the edge of John’s field of vision. From Momo’s back sprouted two black, mechanical looking extensions with white energy fields in the shape of stretched hexagons, like overgrown feathers, attached to them. But they weren’t right. The left extension stood at a slightly wrong angle while the right one seemed limp, the energy fields weren’t consistent in their strength, some were shattered off or had cracks running through them. Energy wings straight out of a sci-fi scenario, broken.

“First time anyone else sees these,” Momo said, still staring ahead as John didn’t say a word; “I yearn for this sky, this endless blue, this freedom,” she sighed and stretched her free hand towards the sun, “but I will never be able to fly.”

“I didn’t know,” he said in an apologetic tone. “Of course, you didn’t, how would you? With everyone else you need to pay attention to, when else would you have found out? But it isn’t important to me, John,” Momo said; “You are not as important to me, I had no intent of telling you. I don’t see you as someone who has to bother with my problems. I would just love to soar through these skies for once. A thing denied to me, impossible to reach.”

“You are wrong,” John stated; “Twice, actually, you may not see me as the solution to your problems, but you will never receive help unless you ask for it. And I can make you fly.” The attribute could not be replaced by any means he was aware off. He didn’t even know if that would heal her wings or just remove them entirely either. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to find a solution though, but even now he had a fix for this. The sparrow fluttered over to Momo and landed on her shoulder.

“Pfft, what is that supposed to prove?” Momo asked; “Great you can fly, way to make me jealous through indirect experiences.” “You can take control,” John told her; “All we need to do is entangle our spirits; you could guide my thoughts.” The support furrowed her eyebrows, “That would mean that your thoughts are completely at my mercy, you know that, right?” “What? Are you saying you will pull a Siena on me and hurt me somehow? Aside,” John smirked, “I have to remind you that I have a bit more willpower than you give me credit for.”

They sat there for a few moments then Momo’s thoughts reached out to his. They weaved together, and John fell into a state of complete passiveness, similar to the moment shortly before one fell asleep. Almost thoughtless, only vaguely aware of the heaviness of his body, a state uncomfortable to break out from.

The sparrow jumped over the edge and fell. Fell like a stone as Momo, having no practice in it, struggled to get control of the doll’s limbs.

‘I don’t love you,’ the words penetrated John’s consciousness with ultimate clarity. As her thoughts were currently completely in control of his, a state he could end willingly, there was no doubt about it being true.

‘And I mean that in the truest way. I like you, most of the time, but I do not love you. The only love I have for you, the slightest and only bit, is that you allowed me to be.’ The sparrow finally opened its wings and managed to turn its fall into a stable gliding.

‘I don’t have the urge to be around you like the rest of your harem. I don’t really have the urge to be around anyone. I like speaking with my sister, sure, and Gnome needs someone who looks over her, but those are just the things that you made me for. I, personally, can do largely without people or this sex you all seem to be obsessed with. I mean, it feels good, but it’s nothing to go out of my way for.’

Cautiously, the sparrow changed the angle of its wings. The air caressed its feathers with a gentle breeze as Momo announced her conviction, ‘Once I get the chance, John, I will take the choice to become independent of you. I will not necessarily leave you, but unlike Aclysia, I have no desire to stay at your side for all of eternity.’

It was a promise to leave him behind. Maybe he should have felt weirded out by this, or shocked, or annoyed. All he felt though, was understanding. He had created Momo at a time when power was more of a concern for him. What he had wanted was a supportive character, a girl capable of enjoying silence. Momo was exactly that, but like Aclysia she had become more than the little initial characteristics John had provided her with.

She had made the fully conscious choice that supporting didn’t mean to just say what people wanted to hear. She made the fully conscious choice that she didn’t desire John. She had made the fully conscious choice that she wanted to be free, completely, from the tethers that bound their minds together.

There was a certain fear in her thoughts, the fear of the unknown. What would it feel like to not be connected with anyone else? To be truly alone in one’s thoughts, not merely isolated? Above these fears and doubts, there was a greater question though, one of deep curiosity.

What would it feel like to spread her wings?

The sparrow flapped its wings and with a wave of happiness Momo began flying through the skies as the little bird, conquering the territory she had yearned after for so long. She flew high into the sky, dived with a pirouette only to then pull up in the absolute freedom she enjoyed, resisting the ever-present pull of gravity.

But eventually, this had to come to an end. With a short flash of light, the armguard announced that it had reached its maximum capacity. A moment later, Momo distanced herself from his thoughts. John had the sparrow turn around and fly back to their position.

“Promise me that you will let me go when the times comes,” Momo demanded, her thoughts still connected to his. John’s smile was slightly sad, “Of course I will. I may not love all of you like I love Rave or Aclysia, but I would never harm you against your expressive wishes. If your choice is to leave, you are free to.”

Momo completely detached from his thoughts, her broken wings had vanished, and she stood up. She reached him her hand. “I do this as a support helping her master to her feet now,” Momo said with a cynical tone, “but this is you shaking hands on us being equals one day.”

John took the hand without a moment’s hesitation.