Chapter 403: 403

Rattan felt a chill run down his spine. Chief’s words were heavy with despair, a complete surrender to their fate. But something within Rattan refused to accept that. He looked at the scattered pieces of the gauntlet, then back at Chief, a spark of defiance igniting within him.

“But… if we don’t try,” he said, his voice small but firm, “then what’s the point? If we just give up, then they’ve already won.” He picked up a small gear, turning it over in his fingers. “Even if these are just toys, maybe… maybe we can find a way to make them more than that. Maybe we can find a way to use them in a way they never intended.”

He looked up at Chief, his eyes filled with a newfound determination. “I know it seems hopeless,” he said, “but I have to try. I have to believe that there’s something we can do.” He paused, then added in a softer tone, “Even if it’s just to prove them wrong.”

Chief, seeing the innocent, almost naive look on Rattan’s face, shook his head sadly. If he were the ratman he once was, he would have been heartened by the boy’s motivation, eager to nurture his enthusiasm and share his knowledge. But the experiences he had endured had hardened him, leaving him fearful of leading another down the same path of destruction. No matter how difficult Rattan’s current life was, it was far preferable to the fate that had befallen his people.

“Quite arrogant of you, boy,” Chief said, his voice laced with a deep weariness, “to think we haven’t already considered all of this.”

Rattan’s eyes widened in surprise. He had expected resistance, perhaps even dismissal, but not this direct confrontation. “Then… what happened?” he asked, his curiosity outweighing his apprehension.

To his surprise, Chief actually answered. “I happened, boy,” he said, his gaze distant, lost in the memories of the past. “And that should be enough of an answer for you.” He watched as the light dimmed in Rattan’s eyes, the spark of hope flickering and threatening to extinguish.

Chief continued, his voice heavy with regret. “I don’t know about the other ratman underground caverns, but in my part of the world, we did everything you’re talking about. We dedicated ourselves to improving our tech, to proving the empire wrong. But it all amounted to nothing. All we learned, in the end, was that we should have accepted the empire’s ’grace.’ But by then, it was too late.”

He paused, a dark shadow passing over his face. “In our fervor to increase our power, our standing, the so-called ’enemy’ of the empire managed to get their hands on us. It pains me to admit this, but with the help of the empire’s enemy, we indeed advanced our technology to a level where it was no longer seen as mere toys or tools.”

Chief’s gaze shifted to Rattan, a chilling intensity entering his eyes. “But it all came at a price, boy. A terrible price. The purity our tech once held was lost, corrupted. Replacing lost flesh with mechanical parts wasn’t new for us, not when it was due to an accident, but this new path… it embraced it. Flesh and machine became one, a twisted amalgamation.”

He leaned closer to Rattan, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “I’m sure you know nothing of the enemy the empire is facing. They go by the name… ’Demons.’”

A shudder ran through Chief’s large frame. “Fearsome creatures they are. A corrupted race, twisted and unnatural. And my people… we had the ingenious idea of using their corruption to enhance our tech. It was a brilliant idea, in theory, but the cost was devastating. Not only was the tech corrupted, but so were the minds of my people. Every last one of them.”

“In a short time,” he continued, his voice filled with a haunting sadness, “our tech became something truly fearsome. For a brief moment, we even bridged the gap with the ogres. Our weapons could finally deal them a significant blow. But then came the mages. From the sky, they rained down destruction, dealing with our weapons and our people as they saw fit.”

He looked directly at Rattan, his eyes filled with a desperate plea for understanding. “What can you hope to do against an enemy that moves freely in the sky, that hurls chains of lightning at you from above? You see, boy,” he said, his voice almost a whisper, “all this tech is nothing without magic, a gift our people do not possess. As long as we lack that gift, no matter how much we tinker with these machines, it will amount to nothing against the mages, or even the stronger ogres.”

Chief slumped back against the wall, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The exertion of reliving those horrific memories had clearly taken its toll. He closed his eyes, his face etched with pain and regret. The silence in the barn was heavy, broken only by the faint rustling of straw and Chief’s shallow breathing.

Rattan stood frozen, his mind reeling from Chief’s revelations. The picture he had painted was bleak, a horrifying depiction of ambition gone horribly wrong. The idea that his people had not only failed in their attempt to rise above their oppression but had also become corrupted in the process was a devastating blow. The spark of hope that had ignited within him moments before was now flickering precariously, threatened by the cold winds of despair.

He looked at the scattered pieces of the gauntlet, his earlier enthusiasm replaced by a profound sense of futility. Chief’s words echoed in his mind: “All this tech is nothing without magic.” It was a stark truth, a harsh reality that Rattan had never considered. He had been so focused on the tangible, the mechanical, that he had overlooked the fundamental difference between his people and their oppressors. They lacked magic, the very power that allowed the goblins and their allies to maintain their dominance.

A question formed in his mind, a desperate plea for some semblance of hope. He looked at Chief, his voice barely a whisper. “But… what about the spider?” he asked, referring to the ethereal creature that constantly hovered near Chief.

Chief turned slowly, a look of confusion etched on his face. “How… how did you know about the spiders?” he asked, his voice laced with disbelief. “I’m sure I never said anything about them.”

Rattan, equally confused, pointed towards the space beside Chief. “You have a huge spider hovering right there,” he said, his voice matter-of-fact. “And it’s currently staring at me.”

Chief looked around, his gaze sweeping over the area Rattan indicated. He saw nothing. Now it was Chief’s turn to stare at Rattan in bewilderment. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening. A fleeting thought crossed his mind – the possibility of some kind of supernatural ability – but he quickly dismissed it. The chances of such a thing were infinitesimally small. Even the priests who devoted their lives to worshipping the goddess of their people had never displayed any such powers. “But how do we explain the boy’s seemingly supernatural sight?” he wondered silently.

Wanting to test something, Chief said to Rattan, “Listen closely, boy. Describe the spider you see around me.”

Rattan nodded, his gaze fixed on the creature he thought was a common sight. Now, realizing from Chief’s reaction that it wasn’t, he began to pay closer attention. He started to notice details he hadn’t seen before. The spider was larger than any he had ever encountered, its form almost translucent, shimmering in the dim light of the barn. What was truly unnerving, however, was the sense that the spider was observing him just as intently. He could feel its gaze upon him, intelligent and calculating.

The intelligence in those eyes… Suddenly, Rattan took a step back, a shiver running down his spine. “What is it?” Chief asked, gripping Rattan’s shoulder with a strong hand, sensing the boy’s sudden fear.

Rattan tore his gaze away from the spider and turned to Chief, his voice trembling. “There’s… there’s a woman’s face on the spider,” he whispered, his eyes wide with terror. “And… she was smiling at me.”

Hearing this, Chief released his grip, stepping back in a mixture of fear and dawning excitement. He looked at Rattan with a newfound intensity. With a shaky, expectant voice, he asked, “Boy… have you ever noticed anything… different about yourself? Anything that seems… out of place?”

Rattan, still reeling from the vision of the spider’s face, was momentarily thrown by Chief’s question. But as he thought back over his life, he could recall very little that stood out. He was just a normal ratman, as far as he knew. Then, a memory surfaced: the frantic escape from the guards, the sudden appearance of the mist that had shielded them.

Looking at Chief hesitantly, he explained what he remembered. Chief listened intently, his eyes widening with each word. When Rattan finished, Chief let out a joyous laugh, placing a heavy hand on Rattan’s shoulder. “I don’t understand anything about magic,” he said, his voice filled with awe, “but what you just told me… there’s no other explanation.”

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