Rise Of The Godking

With the information he had right now, it was impossible to form a complete plan, but he still worked out several scenarios. It wasn"t very easy, and they were all vague, but nonetheless, he felt very happy with himself when he was done.

There were many areas that he was worried about, and there were also many risks, but his sense of danger seemed to have been dulled, making him bold and courageous. After studying this feeling, he didn"t know whether it was due to the very process of planning, or due to what he had absorbed.

When it left, he looked around dejectedly, as if he had been deprived of light all over again. With the energy coursing through his veins, even his vision had been sharp, allowing him to see everything with clarity, so when the darkness returned, he simply hated it.

Still, finding a pathway forward bolstered him, just as it had done before. Even though the final plan was unclear, he had figured out what he should do next, and that… involved finding the healer.

It took three entire days for him to finish the task. When he wasn"t working, he had to comb through the corridors, one by one, hiding every time he heard the enforcer walking around. Even though the rules hadn"t been stated explicitly, he knew that it was forbidden for slaves to enter areas that weren"t related to them.

This was probably why the healer had said before that he was risking a lot to be in his cabin. From this utterance, he had found the clue that the man was probably far away, and hence, he had started his search with the corridor that was the farthest from his.

He was faced with a lot of curses and scowls, but he ignored them all, keeping his eyes on the prize. He would go into a corridor, duck into each and every cavern and only leave after confirming that the resident wasn"t Reese.

In the process, he came upon slaves being intimate thrice. He hadn"t even imagined that such an act would grace the Pit, but as soon as he thought this, he saw his foolishness as there was no other way in which slave children could be born.

The first time he interrupted a couple, they merely paused as if they were used to someone b.u.t.ting in. After seeing that it was the infamous young master, they screamed all sorts of obscenities that rang in his ears for quite a long time afterward.

They hadn"t been naked, so he hadn"t seen much… but still, the image had evoked his own memories. It had been followed by a physical reaction that he needed to step to the side to control, and as the slaves pa.s.sed while watching him smile with embarra.s.sment with his hands on his crotch, they cursed at him and warned that they would cut what he was holding off if he dared to force himself on anyone.

He took the other two incidents in stride after that. In the second one, the woman noticed his strong build and even invited him to join… until she saw his face, after which she lunged to try and close her hands around his throat.

After facing many such dangerous situations, his relief was palpable when he finally found the old man huddled in the corner of a certain cavern that was different from the rest.

His had storage areas that held salves and liquids of various colors. The cupboards were as rickety as the one in the room he had woken up in before, on the surface, and the stone bed also had a mattress, which was an oddity when compared to everything he had seen so far.

At first, he thought that the man was despairing over something… but then, when he took a step closer, Reese turned around and shouted, "What the h.e.l.l do you think you"re doing? Can"t you leave me alone even when I"m trying to move my bowels?"

As he realized what he was interrupting, Daneel scratched his head and almost turned around, but then… he stopped and stood his ground.

Folding his hands behind his back, he kept his eyes firmly on the healer and said, "Nope. No way. I"m not going anywhere! Who knows? You might disappear if I turn my back on you… so either stop, or finish while I wait and watch."

He didn"t want to let all of his hard work go to waste, and from the way the man had vanished so perfectly for all these days, he was sure that he must be capable of more than he had estimated. He didn"t want to take the risk of losing him, at all, so he acted shamelessly, but didn"t feel so one bit.

Squatting on the ground, Reese c.o.c.ked his head and stared at him as if he was joking, before understanding that he was serious. Grumbling beneath his breath, he pulled up his pants and rounded on Daneel.

"Do you know how difficult it is for an old man to clear out his stomach? I felt them moving after trying for an hour, and then you popped in! Well, out with it, so that I can continue!"

Daneel was unfazed by the hostility, already having gotten used to it over the course of his quest. Yet, for a moment, his mind blanked, and he said nothing.

"If it"s about learning the rest of the story, I admire your dedication… but my mind is set. You need to earn it. And right now, I don"t have any task to give you…"

He had almost forgotten about that little argument of theirs, but he rejoiced and latched onto the topic as soon as he heard the man, deciding to use it to his advantage.

"That"s unfair! You riled me up, and I believed that if I found you, I would have a chance to prove myself! You know how much I went through to get here? Huh? Do you? They threatened to cut my c.o.c.k off, but I still didn"t falter!"

He had already seen that at the end of the day, the old man was kind. It was just a feeling he had gotten after studying all of their interactions, so he was betting on his judgment to get what he wanted.

For a second, Reese glared at him, still unhappy about having to stop what he had been doing… but after that, he looked aside, guiltily, and Daneel knew that he had him.

With a sigh, he decided to speak again and seal the deal.

"I can"t even sleep, you know? I just stayed awake, thinking about what you said! And after reaching here… I have to go back, hopeless?"

For extra effect, he even buried his face in his hands with anguish.

And when the old man began to reply in an apologetic tone, he smiled, and hid it easily by staying in the same position.

"Alright, alright… enough. I"m sorry. I do tend to lose my temper sometimes. But as for the story… you really do need to earn it. Tasks come around now and then, but this just happens to be a dry period. Before I can give you one, can I help you in any other way? I hear that you got whipped the other day. Do you need to salve?"

Daneel continued to be forlorn for a moment more. He acted as if he was struggling with something, and after that, he slumped his shoulders and said, "Okay, fine, I believe you. No, I don"t need a salve… but I could use of information."

He could see the old man raise his eyebrows suspiciously, so he plunged forward, not intending to give him much time to think about it.

"It"s the food. You know that I had potential in my previous life, so I was given all sorts of precious nourishment to train with… now, eating that gruel, all of my power is wasting away. If I want to accomplish anything later on… I need to find a way to retain it. Why are we fed so little? Isn"t there any way in which the amount of food can be increased? Has it always been this way? I remember vaguely that when I was little, the slaves seem stronger…"

He let his voice trail away, and watched as the old man shook his head.

"You remember correctly, even though it must have been when you were just a year old."

As Reese paused, Daneel blushed. He had only been able to spot that detail because the system had given him all of his memories in a crystal clear form. No child would have been able to remember such a thing after so long, so he hoped that the old man wouldn"t ponder on the subject.

Thankfully, the question he had asked turned out to be more important than this little incongruity.

Putting his hands on his legs, he continued.

"Once, slaves were even given meat and vegetables so that they could keep their strength and work harder. All of that changed when a certain heir took over the responsibilities related to the food allotted to the Pit. I"ve heard that he"s been gouging the budget, but no one bats an eye…its an honest wish, but I don"t think you"ll be able to do anything about it."

Daneel sat on the bed, enjoying the comfort of the bed while continuing the act.

"Really? Can nothing be done? Where can I find out more about this person?"

The answer gave him a chill.

"In the Pit…the only one you can go to for more is the Slavequeen. I"ve heard that she answers a question in return for a night with a slave. But if I were you…I wouldn"t choose that route. You"ll wake up years older…and nowhere closer to your goal. She might seem pleasant, but in fact…she"s the most dangerous one here, and you would do well to remember that."

In the silence that followed, Daneel said nothing. But as the old man sighed again and started reminiscing about the past, the gears in his head turned, and he realized that he had found his next target…even though he didn"t like it, at all.