The Married Life Of Immortals

Once Bane was out of the building, and a good distance away, he stepped into an alley, and sank down against the wall.

‘That was risky.’

‘No shit, Sherlock. I have no idea why I got so aggressive with her?! I seriously thought she was going to skewer me like a pig!’ Bane cried inwardly as he stared at his shaking hand.

‘That was pretty stupid of you, but your bluff worked, thankfully. I think that you should take her advice and be more proactive with helping people. I know you say you don’t care, but you are going to need these people's help to get stronger. You should start working on building better relationships with these people. There is a chance that your positive relationships in this village will have an impact on the rest of the world,’ Eve explained, and Bane nodded after taking in a deep breath and expelling it.

‘I guess you are right, but what is my purpose in this world? What am I supposed to save? Or am I just supposed to rally this world to crush our own people as soon as they get here?’ Bane asked inwardly, not bothering to get up yet.

‘No. You need to become someone that can prevent the world from falling into chaos. You need to be able to ally not only the places in this world, but we also need to make sure that earth also aligns with you,’ Eve explained, but this made Bane raise an eyebrow mentally.

‘While the first part sounds extremely hard, how do I make humans that will be immortal join me?! I don’t know if you know this about our world, but even though war has stopped, and everyone is on the same “side”, humans are still just as bad. If anything, this false peace just made things worse, and it easier to bully the weak. Those same bastards will be the first ones to come into this world, and they will use the poorer people to do the work for them. I don’t need to play games or see the future to know what will happen… And you still want me, a low life thief and killer, to unite these monsters?’

Eve was silent for a moment as Bane's thoughts spiraled into the complexities and challenges ahead. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before responding.

‘Bane, I know this seems overwhelming. But remember, you have something no one else has: the ability to bridge two worlds. You can be the catalyst for change, the one who shows both sides that cooperation is possible. It's not about being perfect or having all the answers. It's about taking one step at a time and finding strength in the people you meet and the experiences you gather.’

Bane sighed, running a hand through his hair. ‘You make it out like I actually care if the other humans that enter the world live or die. Why wouldn't I just take these ten years to make a name in this world, and crush the humans before they get a chance to mess everything up?'

Eve's voice softened, sensing Bane's frustration and weariness. 'Bane, it's not about caring for every human who enters this world. It's about creating a future where you have the power and influence to shape events to your advantage. If you can forge alliances here, you'll have a better chance of controlling the chaos when others arrive, but that won't be enough. Even if you have everyone on your side, they are only NPCs and they will never get any stronger.'

Bane felt annoyed by this, even though he knew it already. 'Don't you think it is ridiculous that they can't grow? While I know you told me I was transported into a game, these people feel no less real than myself. Are you positive that there is no way for them to get stronger?'

Eve pondered this, but could only give a mental shrug. 'In my last life, I had never heard of any NPC getting stronger, unless they were part of a Chain Quest. In those cases, the enemies and NPC would scale to the area that they were brought to.'

'Oh? So it isn't impossible then, right?' Bane asked, but Eve remained quiet, so he continued to speak. 'While I can't prove that it will work yet, it is something to think about in the future. If I can take NPC to higher level areas, I could potentially force them to get stronger... How do quests work anyways?'

Eve stayed silent for a moment longer, but then when she did speak, she asked a question. 'Why don't you want to help our own kind? Why are you so against it?'

'Do you even have to ask? You lived through this all, right?' Bane returned, and Eve nodded. 'Okay. Then let me take a guess as to how everything happened. First everyone came in and treated it like a game, but like you said, when they found out it was more than that, what did they do? They not only started waging wars and killing the NPC, but I am also guessing that they treated their fellow humans no better, right?'

Eve remained silent because she couldn't refute his claim.

Bane nodded to himself. "The AGI, Guardian, is a plague on our world, Earth. The peace it created is only for those that can afford it. Why would coming to a game that it created be any better?'

As Bane sat against the wall, absorbing the weight of his thoughts, he realized the immense challenge ahead. The notion of uniting two vastly different worlds, with their own sets of values, histories, and complexities, was daunting. Yet, he knew he couldn’t simply give up. He had to try, not just for himself, but for everyone who depended on him—even if they didn’t know it yet.

'I don't know what to say, but I can understand your feelings. You are not wrong about what is to come, but that is just more of a reason why you need to unite everyone. Still, I will not push you, but even if you don't want to save everyone, I hope that you will help some people. Not everyone is as evil as you make them out to be,' Eve explained, and Bane stood up, dusting himself off.

'The people of this world might not agree with you, but I understand what you are trying to get at. There are clearly some people from your last life that you want me to rescue and save, right,' Bane asked as he peaked out the alley to make sure he didn't look suspicious.

"Look who we have here? Sneaking around back alleys like a common thief!"

Bane rolled his eyes as he turned back to the alley to see Ezio standing behind him. "You came from farther in the alley than me, assassin. Your class isn't any better than mine, even though I don't have one," Bane scoffed, making Ezio pull out a dagger in a flash to put to Bane's neck.

"Don't talk like you know me, Heaven's Blessed!" Ezio spat, but then winced, pulling his dagger back from Bane's neck.

"You know, that is like an insult and a compliment at the same time?" Bane smiled as Ezio coughed and stepped back, sheathing his dagger.

"How so? Don't you know how much everyone here hates your kind?" Ezio growled, and Bane nodded his head.

"True, but I am hardly blessed. I have no class, system, or anything they had. Hell, You can't even party with me! Correct me if I am wrong, but if I was a Heaven's Blessed, then you should be able to add me to your party, right?" Bane challenged, making Ezio frown since he had not been around during Bane's conversation with Belgarth and Lysia.

Ezio went silent, and then it looked like he was examining the air. After a moment, his frown deepened to look of pure frustration. Finally, Ezio looked back at Bane with a scrutinizing look. "How is it possible?"

Rather than replying, Bane asked something else he had been curious about. "Are there any other functions like sharing stats, or is there someone, or thing that can use some kind of ability to see if I am lying?"

Bane was certain that his heart was pounding loud enough for anyone within fifty feet to hear it. Ezio's eyes bore into him with a mixture of disbelief and suspicion. The alley's dim light cast long shadows on the assassin's face, making his expression even harder to read.

Ezio narrowed his eyes, his hand twitching near his dagger. "We have ways to determine if someone is lying. Lady Morgana can use her magic to reveal the truth, and there are other methods in this village."

"Great," Bane said, forcing a calmness he didn't entirely feel. "Then why not take me to her and let her check me out? If I'm lying, then you'll have your proof. But if I'm telling the truth, maybe it'll help you all see that I'm not your enemy."

Ezio hesitated. The thought of taking Bane to Morgana seemed to weigh heavily on him. The young assassin glanced around the alley, his paranoia almost palpable. "Fine," he finally muttered, "but one wrong move, and I'll end you myself."

Bane shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant despite the adrenaline coursing through him. "Lead the way."