17:23

They both seem to have left the office, this time, together. RY4N still has a lot of questions, but now it doesn't really seem to be the right moment though.

[RY4N]-Are you coming back to the Council then?

[CHE5TER]-No. Not yet.

[RY4N]-But they are still causing a mess at every meeting without the Great Leader there.

[CHE5TER]-So? My role there is to solve problems that affect our city, not to help full grown adults to understand each other. I didn't want to come back at our base this early either, remember? But at least here, if something happens, everyone knows me already. I cannot risk to go at the Council and have a sudden problem without putting them in worry or even reveal my true identity.

[RY4N]-Yeah, but... to be honest... you kind of passed this burden to me.

[CHE5TER]-Oh? So that's the problem here? Don't you want to learn to be a Leader, RY4N? Take this incident as a practice.

[RY4N]-So you still want to make me the Leader of this base in the end?

[CHE5TER]-Weren't YOU the one who begged me of a way to help me? I told you that I will title you the Leader here when you are ready, so you can take a small burden of mine. Now you don't want that to happen anymore?

[RY4N]-I just asked, Ches! Don't be like this!

[CHE5TER]-Oh, dear M1NERV4...

RY4N laughs a bit silently, but CHE5TER remains serious as always. It's bit of a silence between them, before CHE5TER starts talking once more.

[CHE5TER]-RY4N, I have to go somewhere now. We will discuss further when I get back.

But from the happiness he had, RY4N now looks a bit rather sad as he hears his sibling's words.

[RY4N]-...Are you leaving us again?

[CHE5TER]-You know that I'm not leaving forever. It's just my duty as the ruler of this city. I cannot stay in one place forever.

[RY4N]-Even so...

[CHE5TER]-Stop worrying about me, RY4N. You don't have to take care of me, that's not the legacy that our father gave to you. We are meant to work together, that's what He wished, not to think only about the other one. You have to start thinking about yourself too.

[RY4N]-I know, but--

[CHE5TER]- --Just listen to me, Brother. I can take care of myself no matter how bad I'm doing. And I promised you many times that I will forever come back. I was doing this when we were kids as well, don't you remember?

[RY4N]-But back then you were taking me with you whenever I've asked you.

[CHE5TER]-That's because back then we were only wandering around the city, nothing more. Now it's more complicated than that and I cannot take you with me. Heck, you weren't even catching up back then when it was so simple, what makes you think you can catch up now?

[RY4N]-Maybe because you were moving too fast for me. I've never trained back then, remember? You were the one training every single day. Of course I wasn't catching up with you.

[CHE5TER]-*sigh*...I told you that I will take you one day with me when it isn't something that complicated.

[RY4N]-And when will it be that day...?

[CHE5TER]-I don't... know. Let's hope it isn't far from us. For now, it will be the same as it was before I left.

[RY4N]-So I guess I will be left to the base with the others while you go and waste your time with your stupidity. Wake yourself up and embrace reality, Brother. You know already that running away from your responsibilities will only make me punish you one day as I did back then. Little rascal...

CHE5TER gives him a small look in the eyes, before He kicks his head with His left hand. RY4N was sure a bit surprised and confused as He did so, but as he looks at Him back, CHE5TER is only giving him a small smile, as if He was laughing. Of course it is a thing from their past, RY4N used to do this to Him every time He was doing something stupid. Now, maybe He considered his words stupid and took the opportunity to take a small revenge on His brother. He believes in Karma after all, revenge is His lovely hobby.

[CHE5TER]-I will see you later, RY4N.

But then, He only takes His leave, without saying another word, letting RY4N behind, alone. And so, He leaves the base, going towards His next destination which seems to be... the crevaators' area? Or at least He tries to, as He gets interrupted by one of the crevaators nearby, as it has attracted His attention. The crevaator seems to be trying to get more supplies, but he isn't the only one, as it seems that there are even more of his kind around the area. Some wear their insignia, some don't. And it's even harder for them since the Great Leader is always dressing the same as them only to hide in this city, without an insignia, to get distinguished from the true crevaators.

One crevaator comes to Him, which seems to be one of those who don't like this insignia of theirs, as he thought that He is one of them as well. So, he starts speaking to Him.

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-Hey! Kemjahmtse vath zevhtsai! Manayihtsai ceht la na xohnai! (TR: Hey! I bought what we needed! Let's get back to the rest/group!)

[CHE5TER]-Oh? What did you say, crevaator? I couldn't understand.

But then, the crevaator gets terrified as he recognises His voice and face. He even tries to run away, but CHE5TER gets him by a hand before he can do anything.

[CHE5TER]-Why do you try to run, little one? I only asked a question.

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-I-I'm sorry, M-Master CHE5TER! I-I promise to you that I won't come back in the city ever again!

[CHE5TER]-Why so terrified? Answer to my question.

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! W-We only bought some ores and materials to build more places to stay for the crevaators that came down! I-I only mistook you with someone from my group!

[CHE5TER]-And did you pay for them?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-Y-Yes! Yes! We paid for them! All of them!

[CHE5TER]-Good. Now... I would like to know what happened in this last month around my city if you do not mind. I was about to visit your leader for this information, but since you are here, I don't think I need to bring another corpse this time.

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-B-B... B-But you have to pay for the information like we all have to pay the merchants! W-Wasn't that your word in the first place??

CHE5TER takes from His pockets a bag which seems to be full of money, probably a part of them which He wanted to use. He hands them over, pushing him on the chest with the bag, as the crevaator puts the hand on it.

[CHE5TER]-Here is your payment. Don't waste it in one place. Now, tell me what I asked for.

The crevaator isn't so sure of what to do though, but he is afraid of this man, and at least He paid him with something.

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-I-I... *sigh*...A-Alright, alright. Mr. XANTH3 has decreased the production of Novha by 30% and increased the production of Verha by 10% because of the use needed around the Verha currency for the Council. Mr. N3MES1O has caught around 2.300 people trying to have deals with the ones from the above and even shut down the public entrances to the City of Above. Now they are all guarded and nobody has access to them, only the secret ones made for the Council are accessible with the approval of the Great Leader. His decision, probably... Mr. EM3RY is currently testing a new weapon which a designer has made. It is said that it will be available to the Council in the next few months, only with the approval of the Great Leader, of course. The barmen plot a riot because of the low wages from XANTH3's decision of lower production of the money, as well as the other merchants that are affected heavily. The population of the city now has increased, from 2.450.793 to around more than 2.457.000, without putting the new crevaators who moved here, and Mr. M1SH4M is still trying to save more people from the above, as well as bringing more from the newborns from the central building in the City of Above here, a reason of the increased population.

[CHE5TER]-Anything else?

He stands a bit to think of something, but he doesn't really want to tell Him the last thing. He is afraid after all, but manages to tell Him in the end.

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-...A-And two of your people from the base has caught one of the crevaators and found out that you work with us.

CHE5TER stands a bit to take a deep breath. He isn't so happy about this information, but it had to happen at some point, right?

[CHE5TER]-...And who were these two people?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-The vewfhroorav girl and the golden boy.

[CHE5TER]-Officer KYR4 and Soldier LUCAS?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-Yes. They were the ones.

[CHE5TER]-And how did they find out?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-DA4VAHNDAR, the crevaator who got caught, told them everything.

[CHE5TER]-And what happened to our deal of not telling my people anything of what I'm doing around this city?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-H-He told us that the girl threatened him by telling that she will kill him as she took him in the City of Above and made him hang above the city, while the gas was affecting his immunity. O-Out of fear, he answered her questions.

[CHE5TER]-And what did he tell them?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-The case of the Verha currency from months ago, the deny of the crevaators in the Underground City, the payment provided to us, how you got in touch with us in the first place and what was the last information you asked for when you came to our leader.

[CHE5TER]-So pretty much everything that I wanted you to keep it a secret?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-Y-Yes, Master CHE5TER!

He looked at him deadly in his eyes, a bit pissed off. Of course He is mad, why wouldn't He be?

[CHE5TER]-...And does he know that there are consequences when you disobey to my words and break promises? Or are you not aware of that either since you are here?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-W-We all know the consequences, Master! He only acted out of fear! P-Please, forgive us for our mistakes! We will make sure it will never happen again!

[CHE5TER]-Then be sure to not break this promise as well, RA4V'SZEFNAGH. None of us wants to know what happens if you break it again, right?

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-Y-Yes, Master CHE5TER!

[CHE5TER]-Good. So? Won't you leave my sight now? 'Cause I'm starting to get disgusted by your face, little crevaator.

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-S-Sorry, Master!

But before He leaves him alone, it seems that the Great Leader got a bit irritated by a word, as He talks to him once more.

[CHE5TER]-Oh, and one more thing...

[RA4V'SZEFNAGH]-Y-Yes?

[CHE5TER]-I want to correct that mistake in your words... I do not work with you. You work for me.

The Underground City

18:42

CHE5TER seems to be watching His beloved city from one of the buildings, standing alone. But He doesn't seem that cheerful as He was earlier anymore. Not because of the news, not because of the conversation with His brother. It's like He pretended to be happy, but... it was no pretending. It was real. It's just that... in the end, He will always remember what He has become.

Look at you, Young Ruler. You can't even be happy without worrying everyone that something happened. You think you can save them? You even lie to yourself, let alone that you lie to them too. Are you proud of what you are?

So, He takes a cigarette and His lighter out to calm down for a while. He also takes a deep breath, before starting smoking from His cigarette, as He continues to watch over the city. But as He does so, He looks a bit at His right arm, His now corrupted hand that was once paralysed, moving a bit its fingers, or it as a whole, before closing His eyes and starting His rest.

"My name... is CHE5TER LENKOV, a descendant of the previous Great Leader, M4TTH3W LENKOV. Or as people know me of... the successor of this title. I am an Error of a code that was separated into three beings, three parts of a single soul. I am the youngest among my brothers by code as I am the right Error, yet even with this fact, I am a true warrior, one that doesn't plan on giving up any sooner. I've shown my worth in the past and I am not afraid to do it again. After all, my title defines my power too till this day.

But a title is nothing more than a bunch of letters. Why is that? Because different people call me different titles. To the strangers that meet me or either manage to work for me at some point, I am Seven Two. To the people from the Southeast Military Base, I am their Leader. To the people of the Council, I am the ruler of this city. But to the people that truly know me... I'm nothing more than a simple being, just like all the others in this world. A brother, a son, a soulmate, a friend, a disciple... and even a master.

A title doesn't represent me, nor does the words of a simple rumour. But the title that you have makes you be seen different by the people of these lands. Doesn't matter who you are or what you are doing. You can be a merciless killer or even a coward. As long as you own a title, people will always see you as a powerful being. But what about our names? What about those names that are given to us, names that truly represent us? Because to them... CHE5TER LENKOV is nothing more but a fallen child of the past.

...Isn't it funny? This whole city thinks that I've died many years ago, that I couldn't be saved and that I could never come back. It's a rumour, a lie... which was made up by me. But do I care if they honour someone that can't help them anymore instead of honouring the one who truly fights for this city's safety? Giving his own life only to know that everyone here won't get murdered horribly? ...No. Because in the end, the one they honour is the one who left me this title after His death... my father.

And even so, why would I care? I never wanted this title anyway, let alone the attention given to me because of it. Did I get it because of something that has happened? Yeah, pretty much. In the end, it was more of an obligation for me to take it from a young age, since RY4N couldn't take it back then nor he can take it now. And it's even funnier to know that he was the best option for the title. But it's true that... I was already in training in those times, while RY4N never even dared to give it a try when he was a child. So technically, it was my fault, wasn't it? But maybe it's better this way. Who knows if he could've handle this on his own?

Yet our... father... was truly someone that this city needed. It's a pity that He had to die so early and even... strange. He didn't suffer of any illness, and as much I knew He was also pretty young. I remember the moment He died, He was around 45 to 50, though I can't tell for sure. I wasn't sure at that point either as He never actually told me His age since I was never curious. So how exactly He died? I'm... still not aware of the truth.

Everyone that knows He is dead thinks that He died executed by the M soldiers, even by the General himself. But my master told me that it isn't the actual truth. In the end, I'm the only one left in this city who knows this information. I didn't dare to tell my brother about this even till this day, but I still put the blame on the soldiers for putting Him into a public execution, even if He died before it.

He was... better than me. He protected this city for years while I always just enjoyed to explore and find new things every day. When I became the ruler, the whole city started to have problems after problems. Maybe because I was so young when it happened, but that's still not an excuse for me to be such a failure, is it?

"Yet how does it feel to rule this city?" I get that answer from my soldiers pretty often and I admire their curiosity. But my answer is still the same. It feels... interesting. I sure have different ways than the previous Great Leader which probably creates these constant problems, but everyone has their own ways, am I not right? Even if it's a bit... cruel. But the M borns of the above wished for this... They wished for all of this.

They fear us as monsters because of the race we are born? Demons that belong in the flames of the Hell Itself? If they fear us so much, then put the whole fear in their eyes on me. They want a monster? I can give them a true monster so they have a reason to fear me. I can kill each and every person that helps that miserable man from the above. I can torture everyone just as he does with my people. Maybe this way he will see what mistake he has done and surrender right in front of me, kneeling on the ground, as the red cold river flows underneath his feet. Maybe this way... he will realise that he had lost even before the battle had started.

Do you hear that, General C4E5AR? You gave birth to this monster called Seven Two! Fear me, General!"

"...Fear me as you never did in your whole life!"