Nothing’s Free in this World

  "You are—Roa? From Earth? The Roa—from Earth? Yeah, sure—and I'm the Dreamer," she joked, her words causing the frog to fall to the ground from laughing so hard.

  The boy stood there; a confused expression etched on his face. Meanwhile, a man lounging in the pool casually tilted his head toward them, as if eavesdropping on the conversation.

  "What, you're serious? Well—If you're him, then tell us—what happened at Black Fortia?" Theya asked, as Roa shrugged.

  "I have no idea what that is—I think they erased my mind—the Shadows, I mean."

  The woman and the frog continued to chuckle in their faces.

  "Sure, sure, let me get this straight. The Sunflower hasn't been seen in over 300 years—most Jumpers think he's long been dead—and you have no clue what happened at Black Fortia—but your name is Roa—and you’re from Earth?" she said, pointing her index finger at him with a skeptical look in her eyes.

  "How do you also know my nickname?" said the boy with a look of surprise.

  "And where exactly have you been all these years, Mr. Sunflower—on vacation?"

  Roa let out a deep sigh, his expression shifting to one of complete seriousness.

  "I'm not sure. I thought that I was home, just living my normal, boring, unfulfilled life. When one day, this pink-haired girl showed up—Nirvana was her name."

  The frog gasped, slipping inside the water, its arms flaying as it tried to catch itself from falling.

  "Hot. Hot, hot, hot!" it leapt out, holding his bottom.

  Theya's eyebrows curl up. She grabbed Roa firmly by the shirt, pulling him closer, her burning eyes digging into his.

  "Listen scumbag, I want to start hearing the truth, or I am going to start beating it out of you pretty soon, when I lose my patience. Gunhand Nirvana—the Queen Bitch? She owes me several million for a job she asked me to do a few years back. So, if you know where she is, you better spill the tea, now!"

  The Sunflower stared back into her eyes, his glance unmoving, answering in a serious tone.

  "I don't know where she is—I'm looking for her too. I was hoping to find her, so that she could tell me what the hell is going on. She was the one who came looking for me, for some reason."

  Theya let go of his shirt and scoffed.

  "Yeah, yeah—nobody ever knows anything. You Jumpers are all the same. Keep an eye on these two, Froxo. If they do anything strange, get the crew to kick their asses, thoroughly—then throw them onto the street."

  The two were allowed to rest and bathe, although they were kept under close observation. The warm mineral waters felt soothing on their tired feet and bodies; they took the opportunity to take a much-deserved break from the fray of the past few weeks and months. Several people came and went through the room, and the Sunflower decided to seize the opportunity to connect with some of the other Jumpers. Maybe one of them had some information that could be of use to them.

  He leaned over next to a man in the steaming waters.

  "Hello—I don't want to bother you," he said awkwardly, whispering as the stranger's head tilted away, "my friend here just Jumped for the first time in his life." He leaned in closer, but the man kept shifting away from him. "I think I got my mind erased by the Shadows at some point. Think you can help us out a bit, maybe give us some information?"

  Several other people sitting in the pool turned their heads as they listened into the conversation. Suddenly, a man lounging with his arms spread out on the opposite side of the pool interrupted him.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "Get a load of these two. We got ourselves a rookie and a reset. The best of the best!"

  The whole bathhouse burst out in laughter, as the person Roa had been speaking to slipped underwater, escaping from his questions. A winged man, also relaxing in the warm waters, butted in.

  "Don't mind these fools, not all Jumpers are like them. I'd tell you my name, but it's best if I don't, for—you know—personal reasons."

  "You're one to talk," said another one, letting out a chuckle.

  "Do you want to know what's going on? I'll tell you what we do know around these parts, sure. However—nothing is free in this world. Share what you know, and I will share what I know."

  The boy paused to think, then told them of the worlds he had visited, along with many details of his past. That seemed to be enough for the man to decide to invest some time in explaining further.

  "Traveling through the Innerverse is no small feat. Novices like you two need to be careful. Exits come in and out of Existence all the time, some at noticeable intervals, while others at seemingly random moments. Knowledge among Jumpers is often unreliable, incomplete or downright made up. So, be careful what, and who you trust," he said, waving his index finger at him, "and get used to getting lost—a lot."

  "Do you know of a world called Earth? What about that being that grants wishes?" Roa asked.

  "Earth?" another man said, shooting a glance at the others. "What did you say your name was?" he asked but was interrupted by the winged Jumper.

  "Nobody here knows anything about a place called Earth, although that's a strange name to call a place. There is a legend among us Jumpers about the most powerful being in Existence being able to grant any wish to anyone who can find its world—the Heart of Hearts. The Dreamer, we call this mythical being—it supposedly lives at the very top of the Palace, inside the last doorway—Exit Zero. Many Jumpers try to find it at some point in their lives, to realize some kind of personal dream. Some wish for power, others to see a loved one that has gone. Each one has a different motivation to reach the Core, but the directions of their journeys are always the same—up!"

  "Has anyone ever reached the top?" asked Rosso.

  "Nobody around these parts has ever heard of anyone making it—but that doesn't stop Jumpers from trying their luck."

  "So, what's the farthest anyone has ever gotten up the labyrinth?" asked Roa.

  "Who knows—nobody here in the Palace Basements has ever made it past the chokepoint."

  The two young men exchanged confused looks.

  "You too really are novices," another nosey man butted in, swimming around them, listening to their conversation. The winged Jumper continued his explanation.

  "No one here has ever made it past the Throat of the Palace that separates the Basements from whatever floors are on top of them. It's blocked—no way up—and no way down."

  "I don't understand. You mean that one of the walls closed, blocking the way?" asked Roa, as the other Jumpers let out another chuckle.

  "I wish. No—the chokepoint is blocked by an immeasurably powerful being. A monstrosity no one dares to challenge because no one can defeat it. The way up is blocked—it's guarded," he said, nodding as his eyes narrowed.

  "Then, why is the monster there?"

  "In the Everago, the whole of the Palace was said to be open, back when Free Society was still in its prime. Then, centuries ago, the Free rebelled against the Lord, and the conflict reached its peak in a battle that would determine the future. As a response to the rebellion, the Master of Default World sealed off access to anyone trying to move through the Palace—something that had never been done before. They say he did it to prevent anyone from reaching the Dreamer, to ensure no one would become more powerful than him."

  Roa’s heart swelled with an old, familiar anger, as he listened to the tale.

  "It is said that for some time, we were actually winning. There was hope."

  "What happened then?" asked the Sunflower.

  "Well, we stopped winning, that's for sure. There weren't enough of us, or we weren't united enough. Who knows—maybe we were never meant to win in the first place. Bottom line is—we lost. Free Society receded into tiny and secretive clusters, like this one, separated by immense distances, insurmountable obstacles and silence—deafening and complete silence from the other floors of the Palace. Meanwhile, Default World—it kept on growing, from world to world, spreading from floor to floor of the labyrinth. Here in the Basements, we have been drowning in water ever since. What used to be dry rooms have now become filled with entire seas and oceans, waterfalls and rivers." The winged man turned to him, his eyes piercing Roa's. "We're the lucky ones, actually."

  "Lucky—why?"

  "Because the Basements have many floors—and the people at the bottom, well—they've all drowned already," he said, as the boy’s eyes opened wide.

  "What's causing all this flooding? We asked many people, but no one seems to know," explained Rosso.

  "The locals don't know. Problem is—we Jumpers have no clue either. It's all coming from upstairs though—that's for sure, past the chokepoint, and through many little holes, pipes, and fissures in the walls and ceilings. All we know is that—the bigger the Default gets, the hotter the Palace becomes, and the more underwater we in the Basements end up. Pretty soon, we will all be drowning. The people at the bottom will go first, then the ones on top of them, and so on."

  "It is what it is," said another stranger listening in, "might as well just enjoy the ride—nothing we can do about it."

  Roa sat in silence, pondering the situation, his head resting on the rim of the pool.

  "Everybody get out. The waters—they've gone black again. Out!" yelled the talking frog, leaping around the perimeter.