Mythical Artifacts

Chapter 22: The Note

The pain overwhelmed me as I thought about everything that had happened over the past few days. What came to mind most prominently was the death of ChiLynn — at the hands of myself. I had become a murderer without even realizing it, and by the time I found out, it had been too late. I had already messed up, making decisions that I should not have. And because of those decisions, one of the owners of the server died as well. I could not help but blame myself. Not only did I blame myself, but I hated myself.

And now, as I sat around a boardroom table — alongside my friends, Hypixel, and various admins — I wondered why it had all happened to me. Of all people, I was the one to find The Sword. Of all people, I was the one whose curiosity led them to such a terrible maze of pain, where I would be the one to end somebody else's life. Of all people, I was the idiot who made so many mistakes, possibly destroying the server. It pained me more than any amount of arrows could. I could not take it anymore. I needed a way of relief.

Thus, after the admins asked me to tell my entire side of the story, I did not hesitate to explain everything the best I could. I left out a few details to get it over with, but it still ended up being far too long. There were too many errors that I had made, ones that I did not want to remember. But eventually, I finished the story, and my friends stopped commenting, and the admins stopped asking questions. But even though I wanted to leave the world I was in — which they called the staff lobby — I needed to know one more thing.

"Why'd you keep lying?" I asked. "The rumors. Our meeting about The Sword. All of it."

For a moment, nobody answered. Most people looked at Hypixel, but he was simply staring down at his lap. So instead, Robity took the lead: "As a team, we made many questionable decisions," she said. "But you must understand, Flawed, that if word got out about Sercher and the artifacts, chaos would ensue. After all, look at what you did when you thought we couldn't be trusted. We needed The Sword without any trouble, and lying seemed like the best option."

"And what about hunting us down, huh?" I asked. "Hypixel mentioned . . . erasing memory, or something. Could've used that, instead of chasing us through a deadly maze."

"As I said, we made questionable decisions. Instead of believing the best, we chose not to trust you — and I guess we scared you, and you began running, which scared us," said Robity. "Anyway, it's hard to erase memories. Especially if we're doing it to more people. Plus, we couldn't do much to you, because you were around artifacts a lot."

I felt like speaking, but kept my mouth shut. It seemed to explain everything perfectly, as simple as it was. And while Supreme_moo — Sercher, really — had given just as good of an explanation . . . could I really trust the one who murdered Cherubily and Rezzus? I didn't know if Sercher was to be trusted, and really, I didn't know if the staff members could be either. At that moment, I felt too mentally tired to figure it out.

"So what are you doing to us?" I asked. "Do it so we can leave."

Nobody answered this question either. Everyone was looking at Hypixel once again, and though his head was down still, no one answered for him this time. Finally, realizing he had to speak, Hypixel raised his head, looking straight at me. Only now was I able to see his eyes. Those bloodshot eyes.

He seemed to be thinking as he stared at me. He then began to speak, but had to clear his throat and start over. "I hate to say this, but . . . there's no reason to punish you," he said. "You had honorable intentions, and though you made mistakes . . . I have too. So I forgive you."

I was surprised at this. Really? No reason to punish me? "But I killed ChiLynn," I said. I didn't deserve mercy after what I had done. "I killed ChiLynn, and I killed Rezzus."