Another Way

Chapter 30: Mercy

Sue didn't expect the bug robot to lead her away from Moonview, but figured it still fit what she had wordlessly asked them for.

The road was narrow but reasonably well worn. Not the kind with daily overwhelming traffic, but which was established enough to stand out from the surrounding grass and shrubs. Where did it lead to, why was the bug robot heading there, and why were they carrying all this wood in their baskets? Those questions were preferably for someone else to answer.

She already had her fair share of pointless thoughts filling her mind.

To Sue's dismay, a change of surroundings helped less than she would've wanted. She appreciated the most acutely painful thoughts easing up, but getting rid of all this crushing pressure, of ceaseless comparisons, and of suffocating inadequacy would've been nice, too. Alas, none of that—so sayeth her broken soul.

She would've appreciated an opportunity to choke said soul into silence, just like she'd done time and again. Alas, she wouldn't be finding it yet—for there was something else to focus on at the moment. Something just as silly and pathetic on the surface, just as threatening to shake her very foundations if she dug into it too much.

Probably not the best distraction all in all, but it was the one she was stuck with now.

As off-putting as Justice and Its intrusion into her dream has been, it was hard to deny that Its vision had left an impact on her. Even despite just how worryingly unclear it was. The basics were straightforward—she had been doing well so far, but there was still more left to do. Oh, and the stupid three-eyed thing had a chip on Its shoulder at being accused of lying, too.

The specifics were where it got... tricky, however. Tricky enough to where Sue was of half a mind to just discard this entire topic, just like she'd done after waking up. To consign it to the pile of 'deities being dumb'. Alas, her mind really needed this distraction. And so, here she was again, pondering the exact associations of the mental image of the fucking Moon falling down onto her.

Come on you dumb mortal, you simple pawn in our quaint game of Ludo—think! Figure out this oh-so-intricate puzzle of mine, dance for my amusement and do my chores while you're at it!

With everything they had meddled with, in her personal experiences and Moonview's history alike, Sue wished to never see another deity again. Both because of them only ever using her like a tool for their own means, again and again, and because of a... different reason, one that reinvigorated her mind to think about. Even if just for a moment.

As awful as Sue had been and was still feeling, her realization from yesterday remained true. She didn't want to go back to Earth. And even if she had a hard time thinking herself worthy of staying here right now, that didn't change her underlying desires. With that realization, she grew much more keen on actually figuring out what in the world that Justice entity wanted—and then doing the exact opposite. Anything to sabotage Its plans.

Anything to not have to go back.

Alas, her pursuit of optimal contrarianism was undermined by Its plans being incomprehensible. Literal interpretation was one approach, in which case she was already all good—no way in hell was she gonna be protecting anything and anyone from the falling Moon.

Mission solved! It was time to rest on her laurels and start thinking how she would spend the rest of her life in a mutated animal wonderland.

...

...

I mean, a girl can wish.

Sue's pitiful chuckle was lost in the noise of shuffling grass and distant, ever-intensifying clacking. By her own admission, she knew little—especially when it came to this incoherent world—but even she was positive her dream wasn't meant to be taken literally. Not with both deities involved in her task, and their villages, being associated with the Moon.