The Lone Wanderer-Chapter 279: Tlaloc

“You know… saving you would have been a lot easier if you’d tried running towards me instead of standing there, waiting to be rescued like a moron…” Percy said once he was back on his feet. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Then, he helped the prisoner up, as the guy seemed incapable of standing by himself. He opened his beak to speak, but a few runes lit up around his collar, not a sound coming out. Though he didn’t give up. He tried to communicate via gestures, only for more enchantments to glow on his shackles, causing him to wince in pain.

“Oh… wow… Rhaziel is a piece of shit, isn’t he?”

Apparently, the god had inhibited both his range of motion and his ability to speak, leaving him as little more than an exhibit meant for demonstrating the boosting art to his people.

Tracing his fingers over the runes, Percy realised: to his relief: that the enchantments weren’t deeply woven into the metal itself, but rather etched onto its surface. The collar and shackles were mundane, unremarkable iron, meant only to serve as a vessel for their magic. A single flaw in the script, a mere scratch, and the whole enchantment would fall apart, freeing the guy.

Gathering some air mana to his finger, Percy nicked a spot on the man’s collar. The enchantment blinked a couple of times in protest, but ultimately died down, a wisp of smoke fizzing out.

“…thank you…” the Green-born spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

“You’re welcome! When was the last time you spoke?” Percy asked, mostly to distract the poor man from the intense pain he was clearly in, disabling the rest of the enchantments one by one.

“…a child…”

“Seriously?!” Percy’s eyes widened in disbelief. “He’s kept you in this state for over a decade?!”

The prisoner nodded, tearing the shackles and the collar off as if they were made of paper as soon as the enchantments stopped suppressing his strength. The chains landed on the cold floor with heavy clings as the guy massaged his bruised wrists for the first time in ages.

“Who… are you?” he asked, curiosity mixing in with his gratitude.

Percy scratched the back of his head, contemplating the best way to respond to that.

“My name is Percy, but the owner of this body is called Leo. It’s him you should be thanking, actually. He’s the one who spoke out on your behalf at the beginning of this whole thing, sacrificing everything to help you. I only took it from there.”

The prisoner blinked a couple of times, clearly having some trouble coming to terms with all this.

“Thank you too… Leo. I’m Tlaloc.” he eventually said, offering his upper-right hand to Leo while pressing his remaining left fist over his heart.

Percy gave partial control back to his host, prompting the boy to shake the guy’s hand as the former prisoner shifted his attention to something else.

“Why… help me? Where… did you learn that technique?”

‘Actually, I’d like some answers too.’ Leo’s voice rang within Percy’s mind. ‘And what’s up with these people?’

Looking around, Percy noticed they were once more surrounded by a crowd of the Vault’s residents, examining them from head to toe. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he placed his palm on the floor before retrieving the translation device.

“Piss off, will you? Has nobody taught you it’s rude to stare?”

This was getting old. Metatron should really consider working some kind of private landing spot into his Decree. Turning back to Tlaloc, he remained silent for a couple of seconds to gather his thoughts before speaking.

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“As you might have guessed, I’m not from Felmara or Huehue. I have the ability to possess random bodies around the universe. I do it as often as I can, searching for new ways to grow stronger.”

He paused for a while, letting his words sink in.

“A few years ago, I ended up in the body of one of your people. He taught me Circulation as we fought together in the arena. I was trying to return to Huehue when I got in this kid’s body by accident. The rest, you can probably guess…”

The Green-born nodded in understanding, though Leo appeared to have a couple more questions for him.

‘Why me? And how did we end up in the auditorium? The last thing I remember, I was still in my room.’

Percy sighed again.

‘I can only possess dying bodies, kid. You must’ve overdosed on those sleeping pills of yours, right before I found you. That happened several weeks ago. I only managed to piece your mind back together by earning a spot in the Wiseman’s chamber and using your diary.’

Leo gasped in horror as he understood how closely he’d brushed with death. And that was merely the beginning. As if a dam had broken open, a surge of emotions and memories flooded Percy’s mind through their bond.

He saw the dimly lit auditorium again, though he was sitting elsewhere this time… there was another prisoner like Tlaloc standing before a sea of impassive faces… the poor guy was only at Orange, his injuries even more severe… in the end, he failed to bear the strain of the technique, his heart giving out before the lecture was over… Leo broke out in tears, weeping until his ribs ached… he received a brutal beating as a reward, leaving him broken and bedridden for weeks… after that, sleep became his enemy, the nights long and filled with grief… the pills helped a little at first, before taking their toll… he started missing classes, worrying his friends…

‘Klatz and Lyn!’ the boy panicked. ‘What did they think of all this?!’

‘I’m sorry… I tried to shield them from the truth for as long as I could. They were really worried about you, but I don’t think they ever realized you were dead. I did everything I could to bring you back to them. Almost succeeded too. But I never expected things to end the way they did…’

Percy let out a slow breath, his thoughts drifting back to Leo’s empty room, where a lone painting still clung to the wall: a quiet testament to a friendship now fractured. Klatz had poured his heart into that canvas, capturing a moment of warmth that now felt like a cruel illusion. What would become of him and Lyn? Would they be left to pick up the pieces, or would Rhaziel’s wrath come for them too, punishing them merely for associating with a now-fugitive? Logically, they weren’t to blame: they were just a couple of clueless kids. But, knowing how petty the god was, Percy wouldn’t put it past him.

“Where are we?” Tlaloc suddenly asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but this is the Vault of Magic.” Percy said. “And before either of you ask, I’m afraid this was a one-way trip. I’ve no way to bring either of you home at the moment. Well, not like you’d want to go back, I guess…”

Turning inwards, he spoke to Leo.

‘Kid, I need you to listen to me very carefully. This place is even worse than Felmara. I want you to promise me you won’t flip out again, no matter what injustice you run into. I know you’ve got a good heart, but you can’t stick your nose into matters beyond your control again. I won’t be able to protect you a second time.’

The boy didn’t reply at first, his mind still hazy as he tried to process all the revelations. But Percy didn’t let up, continuing to pressure him until he got a response.

‘Ok, I promise.’ Leo eventually said. ‘Are you not going to stay here with us?’

But Percy shook his head.

“I’ll return to my main body soon. There is a lot of important information I need to bring back. That said, I’ll do everything in my power to negotiate a good deal for you guys before I go.” he said out loud, for the Green-born’s convenience.

“That friend of yours… from Huehue… is he alive?” Tlaloc asked, shifting the topic.

“Kinda.” Percy replied, before elaborating. “He got killed on Huehue, but I managed to put his soul in a different body back home. Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember much. This was why I wanted to return to Huehue…”

Tlaloc was about to reply, when some commotion drew their attention. The crowd soon parted, a familiar pentapus slithering through the mortals.

“Well, well… What mess have you made this time, Percy? I don’t recall ever giving you permission to bring passengers along.” Metatron said, though the excited gleam in his eyes didn’t match his chastising words in the slightest.

“Please, don’t insult my intelligence.” Percy shrugged. “We both know you’re even more happy about the Green-born than you are about the kid.”

“A Green-born?” Metatron asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “Are you certain? He’s already an adult.”

Percy wasn’t sure if the titan truly had no way to tell, or if he was just pulling his leg. Either way, he played along.

“He was a prisoner his whole life, so he never got any cleansing resources. But it shouldn’t matter much.”

Green-borns could live for thousands of years even if they never advanced. Sure, Tlaloc had lost a few decades, but that was barely a drop in the bucket. As long as Metatron fed him some sizian meet, he’d be back on track to reach godhood.

“Very well then. If it’s truly as you say, I’ll ignore your transgression this once.” Metatron said, about to slither away.

“Wait.” Percy hurriedly said, stopping the titan in his tracks.

“I have an offer for you.”