Beyond The System
Chapter 198: They Won’t

“Really?” I asked, hesitation bleeding into my voice. “It’s not, um…”

She answered before the question could fully leave my mouth, reading my thoughts with practiced ease. Her head shook once. “No. Kris isn’t the one, but this one isn’t a slouch either. It’s the champion of my counterpart. An Engineer.”

The word hit me like a pulse, echoing through my mind. I instinctively stepped back, but it was Elric who spoke first, his voice taut with suspicion.

“Your counterpart? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Serith didn’t react to his tone. Instead, she gave the answer, all of us leaning in without meaning to. Even Griffith, ever the scholar, pulled out a notebook, his pen already poised.

“My counterpart is… well, watching an entire world isn’t simple,” she said. “She takes the other side. Saying more than this is—”

Elric cut her off, eyes narrowing. “Of course. Can’t let anything actually help us, right? Fine. What about the Engineers, then? Can you tell us anything about them? Something we can prepare for?”

Trying to ease the growing tension, I stepped in. “I saw something about them in the pillar, too. They were strong enough to interfere with you during your evolution, so… anything at all would help.”

She nodded. “They’re similar to you. Blessings show their attributes, but theirs are more focused on creation as the name implies, but by agreement with the other Guardian, I’m prohibited from speaking about specific abilities. The same rules apply to her.”

Griffith spoke next, eyes still on his notes, scribbling as she talked. I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly he was jotting down. There hadn’t been much said, and yet, his pen never stopped moving. Theory crafting?

“So, what kind of danger should we expect?”

Her smile returned, smooth and inscrutable, though perhaps a touch more amused at the question’s phrasing. “You’ll be going all out, of course. But rest assured, if you’re beaten, then you’re beaten.”

Thea raised an eyebrow. “That’s not the impression you gave last time. Rule change?”

“She’s... an old friend,” Serith replied, but the way she said it lacked even a trace of warmth.

Thea picked up on it immediately, tilting her head. “You don’t talk about friends like that,” she murmured.

Serith didn’t answer.

Her crystal chair vanished beneath her, dispersing into fractals of refracted light. She remained hovering where it had been, then began to rise slowly.

“Now,” she said, her gaze landing on me, “I’d like to see how you’ve improved.”

Put on the spot, I rubbed the back of my neck reflexively. “Well… I’ve mostly been focusing on fighting. The commander helped a lot,” I added, gesturing toward him.

She gave a nod, though the gesture lacked enthusiasm. “That’s good. You needed work on that.” Her gaze shifted to Griffith, and she gave him a dazzling smile. One so radiant that if Trevor had been present, he probably would’ve melted into the ground.

“Thank you for watching after him,” she said sweetly.

Click. Click. Cl-cl-click.

Griffith’s magical pen slipped from his fingers, and for a second, I could swear his eyes were welling. He never struck me as the religious type, and I had no idea what Guardian worship actually looked like, but people could surprise you.

“I also managed to—”

I flicked my hand up, channeling the thin thread of Fire Force within me, already converted, attempting to form a fine, concentrated needle of flame. I didn’t expect it to be solid, just a precise, cool stream of fire.

Boom.

The explosion knocked me off my feet. I flew backward, crashing into the trunk of a tree so hard it rattled the branches, sending leaves and twigs raining down on me like nature itself had joined in. “Owww…”

Groaning, I rubbed my temple, trying to make sense of what just happened. I glanced around at the stunned faces surrounding me, several sets of wide eyes blinking in confusion.

But what caught me most was Serith.

She looked surprised too. Actually surprised.

“Did—Wait, weren’t you a water specialist?” she asked, stepping forward. Not gliding, just… walking.

That was the first time I’d seen her move like something unexpected had slipped past her mask. Not performative or divine, but just surprise.

For a moment, she wasn’t a Guardian. She was just another companion caught off guard.

Now it was my turn to be surprised. Someone like her, with all her power, knowledge, and age had to have some level of Spiritual Mastery. Maybe not in the same way we did, but surely the system had something for beings like her. Still…

“Didn’t you know I was trying to get more elements?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “You were spying on me.”

“Wha—No I wasn’t!” she shot back, defensive. “Some Guardians said you were being annoying, so I went to check. Then I saw you. And… we met. And even if I did hear you talk about other elements—”

She trailed off, her sentence dissolving halfway through.

“Yeah?” I prodded, folding my arms.

Her tone softened, gentler now. “It’s just… well…”

She was clearly struggling to admit something, her usual certainty replaced with awkward hesitation. Before she could finish, Elric cut in, voice flat with disbelief.

“You’re kidding me. She’s calling us wishful-thinking children.”

“Well!” Serith snapped back, almost pouting. “Who would ever believe someone could gain an element without evolving?”

Wait—she really didn’t know?

I blinked, momentarily forgetting the explosion, the burn in my shoulders, the leaves still tangled in my hair. “I’m not a water specialist,” I said. “Or… I am. Just not in the way you’re thinking.”

I got to my feet, brushing myself off, eyes still locked on hers. “You really don’t know how our cultivation works, do you?”

She’d claimed interest before, but now it was clear that whatever curiosity she had was shallow. She might’ve skimmed the surface, but she’d never really looked.

After all, what could someone like me possibly teach someone like Serith?

Well, elemental essence attainment, obviously. Maybe even Body Refinement. And Spirit Refinement… actually, yeah.

I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully. “What interest would you have in forming new elements?” I asked. “I don’t mind sharing what I know, but I’d want something in return.”

“No,” she said, instantly. But then her tone shifted, the finality softening. “For now… I don’t like taking things for free.”

“That’s exactly what I meant,” I began to explain, but Thea interjected smoothly on her behalf.

“She means she can’t give anything back right now, so she won’t let herself learn anything either.”

I looked at Serith, and she gave a single, silent nod.

Then my gaze shifted to Elric. For the first time since meeting Serith, there was no trace of disapproval in his expression. But this reaction from her wasn’t quite what I was after.

So I shook my head. “You should learn,” I said firmly. “Then you help. Think of it as an investment. When all this chaos is finally over, you help me. Teach me—teach us what you know.”

“Peter! You can’t be serious,” Elric objected. “I get how you are, but trusting her—”

“I did the same with you, didn’t I?!” I snapped, cutting him off. “Back then, I didn’t know what I was doing. Half the time, I still don’t, but I trusted you. We had an exchange which at the time you could hardly fulfill, and I still helped you. If you know who I am, then you know this is how I operate. You can disagree with me and I'll hear it, but this is one of those times where I have to insist.”

I took a breath, voice leveling. “It’s this kind of decision that brought me to you. To your older brother. To everyone who’s helped me.”

Elric looked down, fading into quiet acknowledgment. “Yeah. All right.”

Serith turned to him as well. “Personally, I think you’re right,” she said, voice lower. “I had the same idea once. Thought I knew best, and all it did was come back to bite me. If more people had opposed me then…”

She trailed off with a sigh, then shifted her attention back to me. “Take a few more days. Talk it over with your friends. Leader or not, a decision made by one doesn’t always lead to the best outcome.”

Then she turned and walked toward the pillar. The snake's blood-red eyes locked onto her immediately. And then froze.

“Is it... trembling?” I whispered to Thea.

She nodded, voice just as quiet. “Looks like it.”

The snake began to slowly retreat, slinking toward me with exaggerated caution, as if Serith were some massive predator it didn’t dare provoke. Its movement was careful, the same sort of slow backing away you’d use with a bear.

Then, without a word, she reached the pillar and touched it, and in the next instant, she removed it.

But something in her eyes had shifted, becoming more distant.

She pulled her hand back to her chest, and for the briefest moment, it trembled.

And without so much as a goodbye, Serith disappeared.

“What’s up with her?” Thea asked, eyes still lingering on the space where Serith had vanished.

I shook my head slowly. “It’s a strange memory,” I said. “You’ll all have to look eventually, but for us, it won’t mean much. We’re too far removed from that time.”

Elric stepped closer, his voice low but not confrontational, heavy with concern. “Are you really sure? About giving her the information?”

I glanced toward Thea. Her expression mirrored his uncertainty.

“Making someone that strong even stronger?” she said, lips pressed into a thin line. “It feels... iffy. But I’ll support you, if you decide on it.”

Elric nodded. “I told you I’d follow you and I meant it, but still… not everyone’s wired the way we are.”

Before I could answer, Griffith approached from behind and laid a large, steadying hand on my shoulder. “You made a call as a leader, and that's already a good thing. We can talk about it more later.”

Then he turned to Thea and Elric. “Why don’t you kids go knock out a third of your mission?”

They exchanged glances, understanding the hint, then each stepped forward and placed a hand on the pillar. Griffith wanted a moment alone.

He turned me gently, crouching so we were eye to eye, the bulk of his frame folding down with surprising ease.

“You’re becoming a real leader,” he said, quietly. “Even if you don’t see it yet.”

Then his tone shifted to something heavier. “But you’ve got to remember… your decisions don’t just affect you anymore. Those kids, and most others back on the first island? They’d die for you.”

He paused, then delivered the final words like a stone dropped into still water. “Don’t make them.”

It wasn’t a threat. It wasn’t doubt. It was the voice of someone who had been there. Who had given orders that led people into danger, and watched some of them never come back. A man seasoned by war, carrying the ghosts of those who hadn’t made it.

And I couldn’t dismiss him.  A wrong decision now could cost more than my own life. It could cost theirs. I met his gaze, the gravity of the moment anchoring something inside me.

“They won’t,” I said softly. “Never.”