A couple hours after Cecilia fell asleep, midnight struck, and physical sensation vanished. Alesha found that she could no longer feel the parasite's body. However, she was once again able to see -- it was the same gray expanse as before.
[Looks like the Story ended,] Rogork commented.
Finally, Alesha thought. I really didn't like being a parasite!!
Cheerful horns went off with a "toot-to-toooot!" sound and confetti rained from above. A ribbon-like banner with the word "Congratulations!" scrawled on it in green crayon appeared in midair, supported by nothing, after which a cubic treasure chest appeared on the dull ground in front of her.
Like before, she found herself unable to move.
Great, back to being a sword.
[Yup!] Rogork replied in a chipper tone.
"Congratulations!" A recorded voice said, sounding all too familiar. It was Zorhellian. His smooth, baritone voice came out of a speaker that materialized nearby.
"You have survived the Fourth Story of my esteemed Storytelling Games! What's more, you were successfully identified by our Patrons as a Participant and, as such, are qualified to continue on to the Final Story. If you win, you will be sent back to where you were invited from! If that's not enough motivation for you, then perhaps you should just roll over and die like the vermin you are."
Zorhellian's sudden, harsh change of tone took Alesha by surprise, but she didn't have time to think about it before the cubic treasure chest in front of her opened on its own.
Somehow, light rays like in a video game manifested as it opened. A fancy-looking linen scroll, decorated with intricate red markings along the sides, unfurled itself in front of her in time with some music that played from who-knows-where.
"Now, Participant, select your Boon for the final Story. You have ten minutes. Be careful, for this Story will end in the deaths of everyone besides the Winner!"
Alesha was horrified by Zorhellian's final words. Everyone except the Winner of the Story would die?! Thinking back to the dream-like Soul Harvest Story, Alesha wondered just what kind of Story was guaranteed to kill everyone besides one person.
[A battle royale, of course,] Rogork remarked haughtily.
Yeah, right. Zorhellian wouldn't do something so obvious, she retorted.
Bracing herself, Alesha read the Boon options described on the scroll. It was in cursive so it was a bit difficult to decipher.
﹡ ﹡﹡⛬ ⛬ ﹡ ⛬ ﹡ ⛬ ⛬ ﹡ ﹡ ﹡
Survivor's Boon Options
☐ Provided Weapon Upgrade: (High-Grade to Mythic, random)
☐ Team Lead Role: comes with Choice of Companions (4 rounds)
☐ Waiver Ticket (x2)
☐ Resurrection Chance (x1)
☐ Species Change Ticket (eligible only for species you've personally met during the Games)
☐ Ability Use (x5) (eligible only for skills/abilities you've seen used during the Games)
☐ Advantage Ticket (x3)
﹡ ﹡﹡⛬ ⛬ ﹡ ⛬ ﹡ ⛬ ⛬ ﹡ ﹡ ﹡
Unfortunately, Rogork's guess lined up well with the Boon Options provided.
Did that mean the System was right? Would she really be facing a Battle Royale with everyone who'd survived thus far? Had Zorhellian run out of ideas or something??
Though, on second thought, the Stories so far hadn't necessarily been entirely original ideas, either; they'd just been somewhat unconventional variations of popular themes. Werewolf/mafia, hero summoning, and alien invasion were all popular tropes. The only one that didn't quite fit with the others was the Paranormal Events Story.
While pondering on the various Stories and the Roles she'd been forced to play, Alesha wondered whether she'd be a sword in this Story. She wouldn't, right? Except for the most recent Story, there had never been a case in which she'd begun as something that was unable to move. And wouldn't it be an unfair advantage for her to be a nearly-indestructible weapon in a Story that was likely a Battle Royale?
What little she remembered from what Zorhellian told her about it last time seemed to indicate that Zorhellian, at least, thought that being a sword would help her survive. There was no way he'd allow her to have an advantage in that regard, so she thought it likely she'd be transformed into a form in which she could move, breathe, and be killed like everyone else.
That meant that she couldn't immediately rule out the first option. As for the team lead role, it couldn't be carried over after she won, so it was just a consumable. Other options that looked like consumables included the waiver, resurrection chance, ability use, and advantage tickets.
When she laid eyes on the Species Change Ticket, Alesha was sorely tempted. Zorhellian's explanation of boons the time before made it seem likely that this would likely affect her deepest self, the core of her soul -- meaning, if she chose it, she could likely stop being a sword permanently. Additionally, just as she had been last time, she was partial to permanent options -- in some intangible way, choosing something that would last forever rather than a temporary boost felt like she was confidently proclaiming that she would survive.
[I don't recommend it,] Rogork interjected as she pondered about it. [I predict that once you gain enough experience to evolve, your species will be reset to what it was before, regardless of other changes you've undergone since then. Since this is a Battle Royale and you'll be doing plenty of killing, you'd just be wasting your Boon.]
…Were all of the viable options consumables, then??
How frustrating.
She took a couple moments to think it over, then made her choice.
One more Story. Just one more and she could go home.
A sense of emptiness struck her then. Home? Was she trying to kid herself? Faxton was destroyed, and so was Iritia. She had no home anymore. Even in the unlikely event that her family had survived, Elantris was probably very unsafe. If Toltura had been attacking Elantris city-by-city in the year or so she'd been gone, then it was likely many more had been reduced to rubble; worst case scenario, the Goddess of Chaos would have moved on from terrorism to true war.
Could Elantris have been destroyed entirely?
A more poignant question, after all she'd done, did she even deserve to find her family again?
A deep pit formed in her stomach then, a pit of self-loathing and despair.
Would her parents still love her even after finding out what she'd been forced to do, to become, in order to survive? Could they possibly love a mass murderer?
Steadying herself, Alesha decided to ignore all that and focus on what she could do for now. She'd been toyed with in Zorhellian's Storytelling Games for too long. First things first: win the final Story and escape the Games, then worry about what would happen when she went back.
Meanwhile, Rogork silently enjoyed her inner turmoil, deciding that her own emotional spiraling was sufficient enough for now. It wondered how she would react when she found out about that…
The System could wait. Her despair when she found out in the moment would be much more savory then than if it spoiled the surprise.
If it could have done so, the System would have grinned a wicked smile in anticipation.
Oh, what sweet suspense.
----
My Storytelling Games are supposedly fair, Zorhellian thought to himself as he puffed out a blue cloud of smoke.
He held a white-gold, sleek lightning-shaped pipe in his white-gloved hand, blue smoke wafting gently from its trumpet-shaped end. His thick, frog-like tongue flicked a piece of strongly flavored herbs from between his teeth.
But that's only on the surface. There's no such thing as 'fair' in any world, not in the truest sense of the word... and that is particularly applicable whenever a demon is involved. Congratulations, Alesha Jane Williams, for somehow managing to thrive in these Games despite everything I threw at you.
He had held a grudge against her for messing up the smooth progress of the Soul Harvest Story six months back. His life's work, the Storytelling Games that he'd been hosting for over a century now, had almost been ruined by the mere presence of her "Seed of Chaos System." That was no laughing matter.
However, as a Chaos Demon, Zorhellian's opinions were prone to turning on a dime. In this case, his curiosity eventually overrode his hatred for what had almost happened.
Further, because he had discovered the error before irreversible damage had been done (to the progression of the Soul Harvest Story) and the reliability of his business remained uncompromised, the grudge had not been deeply seeded. Instead, Zorhellian found himself amused at Alesha's neverending misfortunes and how she somehow found a way to survive them every time. Thus, his grudge dried up over time and he decided to treat her as any other Participant going forward, rather than continuing to single her out as his favorite victim.
Of course, that hadn't been true at the start of the Alien Parasite Story. He'd still disliked her then.
By placing Alesha in a human host near the Holmes girl, Zorhellian had intended for her to be discovered, reported and killed, and thus have any possible further risks with her pesky System thereby eliminated. However, he hadn't taken into account that the Holmes girl had secretly been quite fond of Cecilia. In denial of her feelings she might be, but that didn't mean they didn't sway her. Guinevere's soft spot for Cecilia had led to ripples in history that changed the future of humanity; of course, in ways that had already happened according to Alesha's home timeline. Not that he really cared about that aspect of things.
Was it simply a stroke of luck? Zorhellian wondered as he drew a deep breath through the pipe.
Looking up at this planet's moon belt, Zorhellian leaned on the railing and tapped his gloved fingers against it. He smiled softly, a very uncharacteristically wistful look on his lizard-like face, and swished his jagged tail gently. A blue ring of smoke left his scaly lips.
Well, he thought, At least it's entertaining.
A moment later, he put away the pipe, spun briskly on one clawed foot, and straightened his bright red ringleader's coat. All traces of gentleness gone from his face, he grinned wickedly and went inside.
"Let the final Story begin!"