Nockt slowly raised his head.

Before him was an all too familiar figure wearing a toothy grin.

Dravok, the Saint of a Thousand Chains.

"Hey there, Nockt."

Dravok leaned down, his smile vanishing into a contemplative look,

"Hm. Your expression just now wasn’t very good. What seems to be the problem?"

Nockt’s expression instantly turned annoyed,

"What, have you just come here to mock me?"

Dravok blinked,

"Mock you? Why on Urbus would I do that?"

Nockt opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and eventually let out a sigh.

"No, it’s nothing. Nevermind." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He rised a brow,

"So? Why are you here?"

Dravok clicked his tongue and plopped down right in front of him,

"How could you be this cold to an old friend?"

Nockt pursed his lips.

It was true that he and Nockt were rather old friends, going way back before the start of all this madness.

While he had served as an accountant in what seemed like another life, Dravok had been an instructor for a dojo frequented by the city’s rich and elite.

Although he was well into his years, he still had, as Nockt liked to describe it, the body and virility of an Ox.

"I’m not being cold."

"No. Clearly, you are being cold. But I digress. So... How are you holding up?"

Nockt’s eyes narrowed.

He huffed,

"Just when you think things are bad enough, somehow they get worse, huh."

Dravok chuckled,

"I wish I could have helped you out more, but I’m just an idiot with muscles."

Nockt snorted, "That’s putting it lightly."

"How mean." Dravok said with a loud laugh.

Nockt smiled, then shook his head.

Around the same time he had awakened to his system, the same had also happened to his old friend.

At that time, Dravok had come over to his form building to have a little chat with him. Thankfully, he had been there that day. If not for such a coincidence, he most likely would be a permanent, bloody stain of viscera on some wall in a pile of ruins.

From what he could tell, after defeating the first Devil, Dravok had awakened to a skill that allowed him significant boosts in his physical abilities; mainly his defensive and strength stats.

Thanks to that, and with his support, they had managed to survive within the ruins of the City of Zoan.

Then had managed to gather a small group of survivors themselves at a certain time.

At some point, Dravok had awakened another skill that earned him the moniker of Saint of a Thousand Chains.

This ability allowed for his combat potential to soar to the high heavens. Although he didn’t know the exact details of the spell, he for certain knew that the idiotic smile perpetually plastered on his face was simply a front. The Saint of a Thousand Chains was a nightmare that could probably go toe to toe against Baldur and Nebula.

However, just like him, he was an advocate of peace and seemed to steer clear of violence for the most part.

Probably.

"Right now, we are in an a rather strange point of limbo. A tilt in either direction could send us spiralling down the edge."

Dravok’s brows furrowed,

"And this dilemma of ours... How bad is it?"

Nockt frowned,

"Considering the plans we have to squabble with the Pilgrims and the so-called ’Golden Asura’, I’d say we might as well be bent over."

A strange look appeared in Dravok’s eyes,

"The Golden Asura. I heard their leader is a straight up monster. Apparently, he was the one that defeated that scary Devil."

Nockt nodded,

"There is no doubt about that. His name is Cain, and from what I can tell, he is currently one of the most dangerous people in the City of Zoan’s remains."

Dravok raised a brow,

"One of?"

Nockt nodded,

"Although I cannot deny strength of such levels, I do believe there are monsters in our camp as well. But even then, the scales are not balanced."

His eyes narrowed,

"You didn’t partake in the battle six months ago so this might be news to you, but there are some truly scary characters we are about to be involved with."

Dravok chuckled,

"You seem so dissatisfied, Nockt. Why not just leave all this and run away with me? I have enough booze and meat to last us the rest of our lifetimes."

Nockt frowned and fell silent.

Indeed, such an option did exist.

In that case, why would he choose to stay and try to keep everything from falling apart.

It took him a while if thinking to come up with an answer.

"As hard as it might be for you to believe, I don’t want to give up yet."

His brows scrunched together, the lines and wrinkles on his aged face becoming even more prominent,

"I’ve been through so much. I believe my life has been a long one. But,"

He heaved a deep sigh,

"Regardless of how dangerous and inconvenient it is, I have left so alive before. There is no other way to explain it."

His gaze locked into Dravok’s,

"In other words, I think I’m just being a bit headstrong."

Dravok guffawed,

"You haven’t changed a bit since our younger days have you, Nockt."

Nockt chuckled,

"You are the same as always yourself."

Dravok grinned,

"Then, how about you tell me what you have in mind?"

Nockt nodded as his expression froze over.

He had thought about it for a long time before deciding.

Although it seemed rash to be revealing his thoughts to another Elder, he didn’t mind at all. After all, he trusted Dravok with his life, and he was sure the reverse was true as well.

"I believe the best course of action, would be to rescue the Matriach and reinstate her as the figurehead."

Dravok raised a brow, "I see..."

Nockt nodded,

"I plan to make contact with the Golden Asura to negotiate her release. As long as we pull that off, I believe most of the problems that result from that will be secondary."

Nockt paused,

"At least, I hope so. What do you think? If you don’t believe the same, it’s fine. You can—"

"I know what you want to say, you old goat! Don’t worry. I’m right behind you, one hundred percent. Feel free to use my body as you wish!" Dravok guffawed as he said.

Nockt concealed his smile as he shook his head,

"Who are you calling an old goat, you old goat?!"

"Hahaha!"