A peculiar set of events: Part 5

"Many people say compromise is a sign of weakness, of cowardness. In the end, though, compromise is the means towards an end. Depending on the situation, compromise can show strength, humbleness, and responsibility to ending whatever conflict there may be. Those that criticize compromise without understanding its uses and where it should and can be implemented are nothing but stubborn fools, clinging to power they believe is eternal and unchanging. They show off a front of strength and reliability, but when the time comes, and there is no longer an opportunity for compromise. They blame everyone but themselves for the ending they chose."

-Author: Jean-Pierre Gallant

-Time: 24th of May 2021

-Era: Era of Stagnation

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Location: Foundation Faction Harbour

Time: Year 17 of the Era of Change

Era: Era of Change

"Pah! You missed me? I imagine you missed me as much as you willingly abandoned us and then sold us off to the slaver's association of the Foundation Faction!" shouted Phillip angrily while raising his pickaxe and holding its sharp points against Evelyn's neck.

Before anything further could happen, Phillip noticed an extremely small and delicate blade of ice against his neck. This tiny blade of ice belonged to the cute teenager who was now standing next to Phillip and staring at him with a menacing smile and eyes that promised to kill him brutally and painfully.

"Seems like you got yourself a new pet. What did the young chap Hans not please you anymore?" said Phillip smiling coyly and laughing muckily at Evelyn.

Hearing this, Evelyn rolled her eyes and proceeded to ignore Phillip and whatever profanities came from his direction. Furthermore, she also looked at her surroundings, as she saw quite a few strong individuals under Phillip who could easily fight against her. Seeing this, Evelyn squinted her eyes and looked over to her junior sister.

"Junior, leave him be. We have more important things to do than to get provoked by such a mongrel," said Evelyn while showing a look of disgust when looking at Phillip.

"Ah… Sister! I wanted to have some fun!" said Evelyn's little sister in a coquettish tone. Nonetheless, though she obeyed, she pulled her blade away from Phillip's neck and walked towards Evelyn and then stood next to her while pouting.

"Good girl." Said Evelyn while smiling and patting her junior sister's head.

"No problem, senior sister," said Evelyn's junior sister while fidgeting under Evelyn's hand, which was patting her head.

"My goodness, you've just gotten crazier than before. I thought after the Awakening, and when Steven had vanished, you went insane, but now? I think you were pretty sane compared to what I am seeing at the moment." Said Philip while looking at the scene between Evelyn and her junior sister with disgust.

"…" Evelyn didn't answer Phillip this time and proceeded to walk over to where Colin and the injured captain was. Evelyn felt that he was somehow connected to Steven. The overwhelming signals were pointing towards this area, which confirmed what she had been feeling over the past few years. Evelyn didn't know why or how she felt these feelings. All she knew, though, was that they were important, and if she ignored them, she would never get the chance to feel them again and find out what their purpose was or where they were leading.

Seeing that Evelyn and her junior sister were heading over to his only source of information, Phillip wasn't happy. Furthermore, he didn't like that Evelyn, who once his friend but then went insane and betrayed him, now interfered with his plans and ignored him when he was confronting her. Therefore, he signalled his allies to quickly surround Colin and his captain to make sure Evelyn didn't do anything to them before getting the information and revenge he wanted. In the following moments, all of Phillip's comrades encircled and created a perimeter around Colin and his captain and unsheathed their weapons, readying themselves for whatever was to come. In front of them stood Temarr, his master the old man, as well as the scarred man. As she observed all of this happening, Evelyn found it quite ridiculous when she saw how Phillip and his band of insignificant idiots acted in an attempt to stop her. Signalling her junior sister to prepare herself, Evelyn hands slowly glowed, and two ice spears appeared and started floating in her hands.

As Phillip saw this, he immediately used his enhanced body and jumped over to where his companions were. Once he landed in front of them, he held his ruby red pickaxe and pointed it towards Evelyn and her junior sister. Phillip didn't know what Evelyn was planning, but he knew he couldn't allow her to do whatever she wanted. He would stop her, and if he had the opportunity, he would kill her. He had no sentimental feelings left for her after betraying them, letting them be enslaved, and leaving them to die. Ever since the Awakening, everyone had changed, yet Phillip would never have thought that a person who was so innocent and kind could become so cruel and evil. Evelyn, who he had once cherished as a dear friend, was now long gone. The person in front of him was but a hollow corrupt shell of who she once had been. Therefore, if he had the chance, he would kill her in honour of who she once was and not the twisted creature that she had become.

"You think you can stop me, Phillip? Do you think I am the bad guy? You know nothing about how this world works! What I had to sacrifice! You think yourself innocent! But you would have done the same things as I had if you were given the opportunity! Don't act self-righteous with me! I know you well enough! You never cared about your other friends! You only ever cared about Steven! And when he was gone, we were nothing but burdens to you!" said Evelyn venomously as she looked Phillip directly in the eyes.

"You accuse me of having only cared for Steven. Yet you were guilty of the same thing. You paint the narrative of being a victim. But it doesn't change the fact that you betrayed us! That you went insane and accused us of not caring! And as I can remember! I am not the one who mercilessly killed a family and becoming paranoid about them plotting something! You killed a father, a mother, a son, a daughter. Just because you were afraid, blaming us, saying if only we had made you feel safer, you wouldn't have taken such drastic actions! You are a monster, Evelyn! The person you once were, is long gone! Whatever you are now is an entirely different being! You crave power, and you see those beneath you like servants! The person I once knew wanted to spread love and help those in need! Not torture and exploit them!" shouted Phillip in pain, as he deep down felt anguish over the loss of a once close friend who had become nothing but a cruel beast in this new world.

"Hahaha!!! Hahaha!!! I should have killed you back then! I showed you mercy, you ungrateful swine! You should have been thankful! Do you think that if it were not for me, you wouldn't have been instantly killed?! But now, it's too late, eh? I will make you regret saying those slanderous things you said about me, Phillip. You will suffer, and you will die. I am not the same weak, pathetic creature that clung to you to survive! I am strong! Powerful! And this world, shall one day bow before me!" said Evelyn with eyes that sparkled with madness and a smile that was at the same time revolting as it was intoxicating. Following this statement of Evelyn, a battle seemed to be about to break out at any minute, yet before any struggle could begin, an immense noise interrupted them from engaging each other in combat.

A loud explosion came from the Cave, which was the entrance towards the Underground Mining Area. The ground shook, and the deafening sound of someone shouting could be heard. Hearing this, everyone turned to look at the cave to see what was going on. In the next moment, something unexpected happened. A young man was forcefully flung out of the cave and was covered in ash and gunpowder. Not knowing how to react, they watched him land ungracefully, directly between Evelyn and Phillip. Both of them had to rush out of the way not to be hit by this man heading straight for them. A loud thud, followed by a grunt of discomfort, could be heard as the man landed. The man had landed flat-faced onto the ground and didn't find it too comfortable crashing into it.

After a while, he turned around and sat on the ground, looking upwards while recovering from feeling slightly dizzy and nauseous from his flight and crash landing. Everyone looked at the man with curiosity and amusement, wondering what had happened to him. Phillip and Evelyn, on the other hand, had an entirely different reaction. Their eyes widened when they looked carefully at the man's face covered by dust and ash. They couldn't believe what they saw. Was this indeed who they thought it was, the person who they thought had gone from so long ago. Before Phillip or Evelyn could say anything, Colin spoke with shock and joy:

"Steven is that you?!" asked Colin with hope shining on his exhausted face.

"Hmmm…Oh! Colin, finally we meet each other again, eh? It's been a while, hasn't it?" said Steven jokingly.

Hearing this voice, both Phillip and Evelyn knew that this was not just some random Steven, but the Steven they had lost all those years ago, their best friend. Both Phillip and Evelyn shook with an unexplainable feeling and looked at Steven with great emotion that they couldn't understand.

"Steven…is…" said Evelyn with tears in her eyes

"Is that you?!" said Phillip with his knees warning to fall as he could barely control himself.

"Hmmm…wait…You got to be kidding me?! Phillip?! Evelyn!!! What the hell are you two doing here!?" asked Steven with his eyes widening while looking at his two friends, who he had been thinking so much about over the last six years. He was shocked to see how much they had changed

"Steve…Steven ho…how did you get here?" asked Evelyn weakly as she looked at Steven.

"Uh….well…I think my comrades will be about to answer your question quite soon," said Steven as he looked over to the cave entrance towards the Underground Mining Area.

Hearing this, everyone turned their sight to the cave, and to their amazement, they saw a large group of people running out of the cave covered in dust and ash, just as Steven had been. As everyone in that group had come out of the cave, five people from a group of thirty stepped forward and used their abilities to send balls of fire, ice, dirt, and various other things to collapse the tunnel and the cave entrance. With a rumble, the tunnel and the entrance to the world below collapsed, and the shrieks of unknown creatures could be heard on the other side of the collapsed cave entrance. Hearing this, Steven's comrades laughed and celebrated with joy as they just had escaped their doom. A short while after, they quickly looked for Steven and saw that many dangerous-looking people surrounded him.

The group gasped and quickly walked over to Steven with their weapons raised and their abilities ready to fight if they had to, to protect Steven. Seeing this, Phillip's comrades didn't find this amusing and readied themselves to fight against the group who dared come towards them in such a violent manner. Before they could, Phillip signalled them to let them through towards Steven. Hearing this, Phillip's comrades were not pleased, but they obeyed and moved out of the way with little other choice. Steven's comrades, surprised by this, continued heading towards Steven, and when they reached him, they could only smile when they saw his as usual stupid typical Steven expression.

"Hey guys! See, I told you my plan would work!" announced Steven proudly with a smug look while crossing his arms and puffing out his chest.

"You sure proved us wrong, Steven!" said Celine while shaking her head and laughing.

Following this, a new chapter would unfold, intertwining another group into Steven's journey in this new and dangerous world.