When consciousness slowly returned to her, Elisa realized she was tied to a tree.
Beside her, several others were also bound, including Eric. They looked frail, as if they had gone days without food or water.
At the far end of the area, Elisa spotted Hanston with several of his subordinates.
"Hanston!" With anger burning in her eyes, Elisa struggled against the ropes, but the thick bindings refused to give.
"Awake already?"
"So this is your plan? Building a civilization, you said!"
"Are you stupid? You want to build a civilization when true evolution is right in front of us?"
Elisa froze. Evolution? What did he mean by that?
"You look confused. Your knowledge is too shallow. Humanity has grown through evolution. From our ancestors until now, we have faced countless challenges to reach this stage."
"But after seeing how pitifully backward humans have become, I wondered what would happen if we made one great leap in evolution" Hanston raised his hand toward the sky.
"God answered my prayers and now we can step into a new world. Awakeners. By unlocking these powers, we can build a superior civilization… flawless."
Elisa clenched her teeth. If she were not bound, she would have kicked him in the face.
"I began to remember the rules of the game and I found a loophole. This card is mine." Hanston pulled a red card from his pocket. "And this blue card belongs to someone else."
"When I hold the red card, I become red. When I hold the blue, I am blue. Unfortunately, there is a power that prevents holding both at the same time."
Elisa glared at him. "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Hanston simply smirked. "I have already experimented. If we exchange cards, it works. The rule is simple: remove the cardholder, and the card can be transferred."
His smile grew thin. "The reason I am telling you this is because I want you to join me."
"I have done my survey, and you are one of the people who could help build this new civilization. So what do you say?" Hanston stepped closer, waiting for her answer.
Elisa spat in his face. "Eat dirt."
Hanston was silent, but the anger in his eyes was unmistakable.
"I see… Bring me the red cardholder who refuses to cooperate."
Two of his men dragged out a frail old man, half-dead from hunger. Hanston took his red card and swapped it with his subordinate's blue one.
"Go and embrace evolution first" Hanston said as he handed a bone knife to his subordinate.
"Finally! I can get out of this crazy place!" The man stabbed the old man without hesitation, his grin wide as blood splattered his face.
Elisa could only stare in horror while Hanston stood there with a satisfied smile.
When the old man lay motionless, a strange light enveloped them and the two vanished. Elisa now understood why the number of survivors kept dropping.
"You are insane! When I get out of here, I will kill you!" Elisa shouted, her voice cracking with rage.
Hanston glanced at her. "Wait. Your time will come. I will kill every person you think is worthy of following this evolution."
Before he could walk away, he noticed a dark column of smoke rising in the distance, from the direction of the camp.
"What…"
The fire spread quickly, devouring the forest. Thick smoke choked the air. Hanston ran toward the camp, only to find everything burning. Chaos was everywhere.
Standing before him was a man with a sharp gaze. A bone knife was in his hand, and blood dripped from a wound on his cheek.
"Who are you! Why burn the forest! Our home! Are you insane?!"
"Ironic… hearing that from someone obsessed with evolution" the man replied.
He raised a bow and loosed an arrow that grazed Hanston's cheek, leaving a thin line of blood.
Wow… this class is stronger than I thought.
Oskar smiled in satisfaction. The pain was worth the power.
[Status Window]
[Oskar River]
[Level: 18]
[Class: Scribbler (1)]
[Affinity: Manipulator of fate, writer of reality, witness to all events.]
Strength: D
Agility: B+
Endurance: C+
Intelligence: B+
[Abilities]
[Write words that subtly influence probability.]
[Create small chances for great events.]
[Side effect: Writing reality drains extreme amounts of mental and spiritual energy. Altering reality on a large scale may draw the attention of cosmic entities.]
'Every greatness demands a cost… and the greater it is, the heavier the price.'
Even altering the arrow's path had consumed half of Oskar's energy. As he drew the bow again, the air around him trembled faintly.
Faint black letters floated in the space near the bowstring, like ink dissolving in water.
Each time an arrow was released, the letters vanished as if swallowed by the world, twisting the arrow's path midair ever so slightly. Yet still, they did not land true.
Hanston's men roared with laughter. "He cannot hit a target right in front of him! Hahaha!"
They laughed freely, unaware of what moved behind them. In the thick smoke, a shadow crept closer, slow and deliberate, like death itself was approaching.