Gates of Penance-Chapter 36: Predicament

Nacht looked at Nora with a confused expression.

"What do you mean? How could I possibly have the ability to allow you all to leave a red zone?"

From what he knew so far, the sinners have all failed to leave this place and he wasn’t foolish enough to believe that he was more powerful than the rest of them.

Nacht lingered for a moment.

"And even if I did, why would I help all of you escape?"

Nacht was being cruel but he needed to ascertain his value in the eyes of the sinners around him. Especially since he didn’t trust any of them, but he could trust them to be loyal to their own interests. Besides, Nacht wouldn’t actually leave the group of sinners stranded if he had the ability to save them.

He didn’t know how long they had been here but he knew that given enough time, all of the sinners would eventually perish if they didn’t make it back to civilization soon. They were lucky to have survived this long since they resided in a red region. Despite his feelings towards the enlightened, he didn’t believe that any of them deserved to die... at least not yet.

Nacht believed that if he left the sinners here to their deaths then that would be no different then killing them. He would be no different than the capital for needlessly killing people who didn’t deserve it. Sure they had killed someone to get to where they were now, but most of them were forced to enter penance.

It was their duty.

Nacht still didn’t forgive them however, because in the end they still made a choice. Nevertheless, He didn’t want to have to kill anyone unless he had to or if they absolutely deserved it.

Nora spoke in an even tone.

"Well, why wouldn’t you help us escape? Believe me, you won’t be able to escape this place alone and even if you could, what would you do then?

Nacht knew what she meant. He had no connections to anyone outside of his own district. Well, even in his own district he had no connections. So having some friends in high areas could prove to be useful.

"As for how you’re supposed to get us all out of here, I was hoping you’d give us some information on that aspect."

Nacht looked at her in bewilderment.

"You want me to tell you about my abilities?"

Nora nodded.

"If you’d be so kind, then yes."

Nacht thought for a moment and quickly came to the conclusion that he was only going to tell them the bare minimum, but he wasn’t going to do it for free.

"As long as you tell me a bit about yourselves, I have no qualms with telling you a little about me."

Nora glanced at everyone else at the table.

"Very well"

Nora spoke first.

"My abilities are mostly suited towards battle. My archetype is internal. My rune increases my combat capabilities and I have a trait that gives me an affinity for light.

Armon gave an answer, keeping it short but blunt.

"My archetype is internal and my rune gives me extraordinary defensive abilities."

Historia continued to stay mute, but he had heard enough about her abilities already.

Both Magi and Mirad recounted their abilities in a carefree manner.

They each had an external archetype with Magi being a specialized scout and Mirade having an ability geared towards utility.

As Nacht began to listen to each one of them, he noticed that the imperceivable threads connecting him to them began to tremble.

Nacht didn’t know why but he didn’t have time to find out. It was his turn to speak.

"My abilities have to do with stealth. I have an external archetype and an affinity for darkness."

He partially lied.

Nacht knew from Alister that his archetype was unnatural, his rune which it manifested from even more so. This made him reluctant to tell them the truth since he didn’t know how they would react. Hell, he didn’t know that much about his abilities himself but they didn’t coincide with either the internal or external archetype.

It was a weird mix of both but at the same time it was different from both. Other than that he told the truth but he was reluctant to tell them anything more, partially because he was still learning himself and partially because he couldn’t trust them yet.

Nacht was getting a sense of deja vu from the whole situation.

Now that he thought about it, wasn’t trading information about each other’s abilities something he had done before? He had done the same thing with Alister and he knew how that ended.

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Nora looked at Nacht with hope in her eyes.

"Do you believe you can stay hidden from a tier IV dreg?"

Nacht tilted his head slightly.

’Is she serious?’

He answered sarcastically, not thinking she was being serious despite how specific the question was.

"Not unless I want to be sent to an early grave."

Trying to stay hidden against a dreg was suicidal. In fact, being anywhere near an abstract of that strength was suicidal.

"Well, you’re going to have to try because you’re the best chance we got."

Nacht looked at Armon.

"And why is that?"

Nacht really didn’t like the direction this conversation was going.

"Because not a single person in either of the four camps has the skill set to do so. You’re the only chance we got."

Nacht found it hard to believe that they couldn’t find at least one other sinner who had the ability to stay hidden instead of settling for a newly made enlightened with next to no experience. However, he was focused on something else Armon had said.

"Other camps?"

Mirad answered this time.

"We are not the only group of enlightened sinners to have been left stranded. There are others who follow different leaders. In fact, we are the smallest out of the other three groups."

Nacht was slightly confused. Why were the groups of sinners divided? They had the same goal so why were they so split? Actually, Nacht could think of a number of reasons for it.