A Man for Himself (Norton X Eli) [Identity V] *UNEDITED*

Chapter 17 - Little Seer

Survivors who "die" are allowed to be absent from the game for a few days until they're fully recovered. It's the same as getting severe injury.

In Eli's case, having to stay in the infirmary for a few days after one match seemed like an extension of his previous absences. He's not quite sure whether he should consider himself lucky or not. Most survivors would probably like it; but to the seer, it's almost a torture. Being alone with his mind had never been a pleasant experience.

Emily would check on him everyday to make sure that he was recovering well. Dying was easy, but convincing the body that it's still alive was the tough part. It would take a few days before the body could go back to its normal state. Those days of recovery would feel like dying over and over again until the pain was gone. He couldn't count the times he'd wished he would die. It was unbearable.

When Eli finally had a chance to go out, the first place that he decided to visit was the lake. Aside from the fact that it was a peaceful area, only a handful of survivors really knew what's so special about it, which was why he's wondering why someone from outside the circle was there.

Eli spotted Norton digging around. It wasn't the first time he'd seen the prospector there. It's clear that he was up to no good. He could be putting himself in danger.

His first instinct was to leave upon seeing Norton. He shouldn't really care, but the will to stop the prospector from continuing his sacrilegious action was stronger.

He expected the encounter to be the same as it always did. Ever since Norton confessed to him, the prospector had always tried to find a way to get close to him and to harass him whenever they're alone together; but he wasn't expecting Norton to bring up his fiancée.

Eli was suddenly filled with rage. He could accept all the awful things the prospector had done to him, but he couldn't accept Norton telling him to forget about his past when he could barely remember who he was before he arrived in the manor.

The seer wasn't able to contain himself. Ill-intentioned words escaped his lips without a thought. When he realized this, he immediately regretted it and left without a proper apology.

He didn't mean to lash out at him. He didn't mean to remind him of the tragedy.

When Eli "died" during his last match against Lady Yidhra, the deity had taken her liberty to converse with him.

During the death phase, the consciousness would float around while waiting for the body to be restored. It would take a few minutes to hours depending on how severe the cause of death was.

While in his death phase, Eli saw and felt nothing. It's like being asleep. However, he could hear the voice of the deity behind his supposed demise.

"That person..." whispered the female voice followed by a hiss. "I've met him before. Back in the cave."

Eli listened in, interested at the story of the goddess.

The Dream Witch was included in the pantheon of gods that Fiona worshipped, but the goddess wasn't as forgiving as the Yellow God. She had never given favor to any of her follower or believer. This was rare of her to talk.

"That man blew up the cave where I was resting and awakened me by accident," the goddess continued, sounding amused. "He was buried alive with his co-workers. Co-workers that he led to their own death because of his greed." She clicked her tongue. "For days, he was stuck. Hungry. But it didn't matter." She laughed. "He had his comrades with him to feed him."

Wait. What?

"But don't blame him," Yidhra added nonchalantly. "During that time, he was under the influence of the slug god that happened to had been buried with me in that cave for centuries. I wasn't expecting to see him again alive and well after that."