Chapter 39: Nature is tame only if you look the other side

Reidar’s brow furrowed. “But why are you even here? What’s the point of all this?” He gestured around them. “The monsters, the mana, the System. Why did our world change? Why did it come? Why do any of this?”

Keth’moran’s tentacles stilled. “Work, Mr. Miller. It is not we who made all of this happen; it is nature. My kind provides disaster relief to worlds undergoing the Last Will Framework integration. The Dimensional Trade Consortium deploys merchants to Framework worlds to provide goods and knowledge. We bring resources from worlds that have already stabilized.” Keth’moran spread his webbed hands. “But ultimately, it falls to humans to adapt. We provide tools; you provide the will to survive.”

Reidar stared at the floating items in

“That’s not an answer.”

“No, it isn’t.” The Thalassari’s fingers interlaced. “The simplest explanation is this: mana exists everywhere in the universe. It’s fundamental, like gravity or light. It is the core strength of the universe, and in a sense, it could be considered the god of the universe or, better, what creates gods.”

Reidar crossed his arms. “So why didn’t we know about it before?”

“Because the Allied Worlds shielded you from it.” Keth’moran’s voice dropped lower. “When intelligent species emerge, they need… protection. Mana in its raw state transforms everything it touches. The stronger the concentration, the more feral and dangerous the mutations, and the more severe the mutation and connection to mana itself, the stronger are those creatures.”

“The monsters.”

“Precisely. Your Earth animals? They’re actually the result of mana deprivation. Weaker, milder versions of what once roamed your world millions, thousands of years ago.”

Reidar’s stomach tightened. “You’re saying our entire ecosystem was… neutered?”

“Temporarily, to allow your species to develop intelligence without being devoured.” Keth’moran’s tentacles resumed their gentle swaying. “The Allied Worlds use mana itself to create a dampening field around planets with developing sapiens. This protection gives time for civilizations to mature.”

“But something went wrong.”

“Not exactly,” Keth’moran said. “The Failsafe Mechanism, in a sense, failed, yes. But that was expected, although they… didn’t know when that would happen. They monitored the situation since the Protection system was integrated.”

“Who are these they you are referring to?”

“Let’s say it’s the allied worlds, of which I’m part.” The Thalassari paused. “Regardless, at some point, Mana reached levels that the protective mechanism couldn’t control anymore. When that happens, there’s only one solution — the Last Will Framework.”

“Quite the name,” Reidar said.

“Indeed. It was made because this is the first, last, and only chance for the sentient species of the planet to… survive. If they fail, it’s like they are leaving their Last will. Hence the name.”

Reidar remembered the system notifications from that first day on the highway. “The Guardian System.”

“Yes. The Guardian system is a rapid-adaptation protocol, part of the Last Will Framework, which adds to the vendors and another couple of things, such as the quest the system gives. It protects creatures from excessive mana, preventing mutations and giving the body and mind time to get accustomed to the godly substance itself, until the Guardian system becomes nothing more than an easy way to get information about oneself. The System provides structure, skills, attributes, and growth from other species, those belonging to the Allied worlds, to help your species harness mana before it turns you into world-devouring monsters.”

“So the monsters out there…”

“They’re what happens without the System’s protection. Raw mana changes everything. It makes creatures stronger, but they lose control and their minds.”

Reidar glanced at his hands. “So, why did we fall asleep during the first day?”

“From what I understand, and trust me, I don’t know much, it’s because the Guardian system had to be… installed? Yeah, that’s a pretty good word to put it.”

<Ah… so we didn’t fall asleep because of mana… Well, Maybe it was in part… because of the system installation.>

Keth’moran’s black eyes seemed to darken further. “The sleep state also acted as a protection during the initial mana surge, but… well, it didn’t protect you from what was around you.”

“I get it,” Reidar said, pausing for a moment. “So you vendors came here to help us, but this doesn’t explain why one of you might want to have come here to begin with. What is your reason?”

“Mine?”

“Yes, yours. It’s weird for someone to get so far from home. I can’t even fathom how far you are from home; it must be quite a lot.”

At that, Keth’moran remained silent. Then, he looked at Reidar. “We Thalassari… have been subject to the same events you are currently undergoing… It’s just that… we failed…”

Silence spread for a couple of seconds.

“I’m sorry to hear that…”

“Right…” Keth’moran’s voice trembled.

<Keth’moran must have seen quite a bit of things given his… peculiar work area.>

The vendor’s words slowed, each one seeming to pull up memories from deep waters. His tentacles curled tighter around his shoulders.

“Don’t worry.” The words sounded hollow even to him. “It’s not like we were wiped out… There might still be a chance for our race to survive…”

Black eyes flickered under the torches’ light. His webbed hands trembled slightly before stilling.

“We lost our planet… The monsters there got too strong for us to handle, and we were evacuated by the allied worlds.”

“Most of us decided to go into a community to… try to increase our population’s numbers…”

The Thalassari straightened. “But I… I couldn’t simply stand there when other worlds were facing the same harrowing events we had…”

His gaze locked with Reidar’s, two survivors across an evolutionary chasm. “I wanted to help.”

Keth’moran sighed. It was clear that was the first time he got asked that question. It must not have been easy to answer.

“Well… thanks, Keth’moran. I can’t speak for everyone, but I for sure appreciate what you are doing.”

The Thalassari vendor said nothing. Reidar understood it was best not to pry any further into his story and turned to the system, albeit briefly.

Reidar stared at the floating items in the trade interface. They weren’t charity. They were lifelines with price tags.

Reidar assumed that even the vendors had to get their goods, and those had to be bought. No one in their sane mind would just give stuff for free to millions, if not billions, of worlds going through all of this. It wouldn’t be sustainable, even if those producing everything were billions of worlds themselves.

Reidar thought of Martha and Marcus, somewhere out there. Were they doing well? Then he turned to Keth’moran.

“How long do we have? To stabilize, I mean.”

Keth’moran’s tentacles twitched. “That depends entirely on how quickly your species masters mana control. Some worlds take decades. Others… They become cautionary tales in the archives of the Allied Worlds in a few years. Now, shall we return to business? You have Survival Points to spend, and I have precisely what you need to avoid becoming one of those tales.”

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