A Treat for the White Stone

"Here looks good," Cody said. He pointed at some colorful tent and we all sat down at one of the tables. This was the only other place to eat food other than the large kitchen on one of the wooden panels near the north end of the base. Here, the tent barely covered enough room for fifteen people, yet the kitchen was large enough to serve all at once. I wondered why a place like this was here.

"I'm not sure what I wanna get! Maybe some of this?" Robby and Tyler talked amongst themselves, Cody looked at the menu in silence, and David was eager to ask me questions, I could tell by the look on his face.

"So, what was it like? I am a Generation Two Arkian, so I'm not sure what it's like to just wake up one day... but what was it like for you? How does it work?" David asked me. That was a fair question, even I wonder what happened to me sometimes.

"Well, I woke up on the beach for what seemed like the first time in my life. I don't have any memories of people or places in my previous life, but I knew a lot. Stuff that you learn as you grow up, I already knew. I knew what happiness was, I knew what sadness was, I knew what blood was. I think my memories were just wiped, but I haven't met a person who recognized me or who can tell me anything about my past." I told David. He only nodded in silence, trying to understand it all.

"We heard about your fights and your System. What happened there? What was it like, as a White Stone, to kill?" Tyler asked me next. So, they were going to take turns? Fine by me.

"I beat up Ullr on the beach, because he deserved it, simply put. I lost control of my mind and I started hitting him in the face, hard enough to kill him. I hit him over and over again until my System alerted me and stopped my entire body. My System limited me at that moment and I was forced to stop. Luckily, Ullr got to live." I sighed. I was truly relieved he was a better man now.

"After Ullr came Raven. Raven came to my base and made me do... something horrible. I pushed past the limits of my System by ripping my left eye out. That's the eye that I could read the System's messages, so I ripped it out and wasn't limited. Then, I killed Raven. I decapitated him for the things he did. I saved everybody, but I took severe injuries after being launched back by my System again. Sorry if I'm not explaining it clearly, I don't like to remember that." I told them. They profusely apologized, but it wasn't their fault.

Remembering what happened was hazy, I could barely remember any of it... just like the time with Domin... and Red...

"You guys can keep asking questions, it's fine, I swear," I reassured them.

"Then, what made you decide to take down your own kind? You killed Demos, not to mention that Elo, Talion, and Xian are all dead as well. What made you do that?" Robby asked me.

"Revenge. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Demos has no business telling my friends their lives meant nothing and then murdering my friend like that. So, I killed him. He was the second man I killed, but I don't regret it at all. My family used to be more important to me than anybody, but I've since learned my lesson. I won't just protect my family, I will protect everybody." I told them. I didn't want to get so meaningful, but it was truly how I felt and I wasn't going to hold back anything.

"Wow... your family is your friends, on that beach you woke up on?" David asked me. I nodded.

"That's a pretty big family, isn't it? You were able to keep them safe?" I nodded, looking at the stone in my hand. The food finally arrived, after all of that talking. I just had steak, while the others picked out random meals. They explained they wanted to try everything at this food tent before going to war.

"So far. I'm a very lucky man to keep the majority alive." I responded to them.

"The last question we had for you was about what your plans are. For the war, I mean. Are you going to kill everybody on the other side? What about the innocent people Orion has in his base? Where are we going to go if we win?" Cody asked me. So, that was their question all along?

"I'm not sure if I can answer that confidently. I want to save the innocent people, but if their devotion to Orion gets in the way of our collective success, then we'll have to deal with them. I don't want to kill everybody, I just want to kill Orion and be done with this." I said to them.

"Why? What has Orion done?" Tyler asked me.

"Sent his people to hurt my family, and then people to hurt our people. I can't let him do that anymore. He captured us and put us into a coliseum for whatever reason where they could've died." I told them.

"So, it was true. Tavian explained it to us but you weren't exactly credible because of your Corrupt Stone. We asked to train under you so we could see your true intentions." They told me. Corrupt Stone again, huh? That's all I am to these people...

"Hm, that's why I killed my enemies, you know. I was never seen as a White Stone, only the Corrupt Stone that followed. My feats of defending my family were overshadowed by the state of my stone. They never understood, and neither did you. I don't expect nor want you to fully understand why I Corrupted. There was one thing I learned after waking up, something I never knew from before I woke up on that beach. The word "Corrupt" means bad because of your point of view. You've grown beside White Stones who hold their ideals high, White Stones selfish enough to sacrifice their friends, thinking their lives are expendable, just as they did to my family. That's what your definition of Corrupt means. Mine is obviously different." I told them.

"R-Right! We didn't mean anything by that! You're right, the people see you as the Corrupt Stone and that's wrong! We wanted to know what kind of man was leading beside Tavian, that's all!" Tyler pleaded. I nodded, ignoring whatever he said next.

"Thanks for the food. I need to go now." I said, getting up out of my seat and leaving the area."