Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 978: Every dog has its day Part 1

The sound of a thunder resonated throughout the megacity of New Texas. It was the kind of sound that brought back memories from childhood to most inhabitants of the city, memories of darkness and fear of the power of nature. Such fear is not without reason as it is inscribed in the very souls of humans and while they can grow accustomed to it, it never really goes away.

After becoming a hunter, Mark Jacobson thought himself to be above all fear only to be proven wrong by Uriel time and time again. Mark even reached for the forbidden power of cryptids, but even then his efforts were fruitless as Uriel once again defeated him. He was humiliated time and time again, he felt powerless in front of true power and ended up becoming a puppet for the gods because it just happened that his wife became the vessel for one of them.

He wished they had chosen him rather than her, but no god on heaven or earth found him worthy and only kept him on a leash out of necessity as he was deemed as a hero by the people due to June, the unscrupulous reporter. It was one of the few happy accidents to ever happen to him after becoming a hunter, but he knew all too well that just because they saw him as a hero it didn’t mean he could actually become one.

He didn’t know how to be selfless or what was right to begin with, he also didn’t care about what happened to other people. Mark thought of the only person who ever helped him, himself. After all, his so called friends cared only for his money, his own family attempted to kill him and worst of all, the moment he appeared on TV saving an old man and June declared him a hero the same people who previously turned their backs on him came back acting like nothing happened.

"Humanity is despicable, they should all die." Mark clicked his tongue as he saw people running like headless chickens without caring for the injured, the old or others in general. He despised every single one of them who couldn’t spare a moment to save the weak or to even avoid hurting them even more, but he also didn’t care enough to move to help. Such was the hypocrisy of his mind and he saw no flaw in his logic.

But then the thunder came and fear overtook him and every inhabitant of the city. It brought back memories of a distant past and the face of a woman too average looking to be a huntress, but on Mark’s mind she looked as the most beautiful human being.

"Don’t be afraid, my sweet baby, it’s just thunder," Her voice was so vivid Mark could have sworn he actually heard his mother. "when a lightning strikes, you can count how many seconds pass until the thunder comes. That way you can tell how far it is."

The memory of his mother comforting him that night was akin to being soaked in warm water. The soft embrace of that memory made him realize that he was actually not alone in the world or that at least it wasn’t always that way. His mother had always cared for him and while she lived, he and his brothers got along well. They were a happy family, one with a mostly absent father, but happy nonetheless.

Mark opened his eyes only to find himself in the middle of the city collapsing onto itself. Buildings crashing in a domino effect enshrouded in cinders and the smell of ozone. Cries of pain formed a chorus as bloody tears poured from the eyes of humans and even some of the hunters were numbed with pain despite not being hurt at all.

"We need to keep moving." A shadowy voice bellowed from Mark’s skin.

"Don’t you think I know that!?" Half of his body trembled like a leaf while the other half kept calm.

"If you know what to do then you should do it."

"Can’t you just get us away?"

"If you are too lazy to move, then I’ll just move onto a better host." The eclipse threatened hoping to motivate Mark, only it had the opposite effect and Mark fell on the ground on an adult tantrum.

"I knew it, you too are going to abandon me, like everyone else in my life." Mark whined like usual, though this time the eclipse didn’t attempt to embolden him and finally spat the thoughts he had been keeping to avoid hurting his host’s feelings.

"You’re a damned spoiled brat, you know that? Do you even know how good you’ve had it compared to those people? I’m not even a human, heck... I could eat their skins without remorse, but watching them die a useless death like that would make my skin shiver if I had one of my own. I’m not asking you to sacrifice yourself for others, that would be stupid because I would die too. I’m not even asking you to go out of your way to help them, but if you’re too stupid to even save yourself then maybe you deserve to die."

"It’s useless... the Dungeon Raiders, they’re monsters above monsters and their opponents are things that are supposed to exist only in myths. I can’t do anything, I’m not strong enough, but what do you know of being powerless?"

"Oh, what do I know? You do know they used my skin to make the book of the dead? My own father sold me to that woman and I was helpless. If you think yourself to be unlucky, then what about me whose first host turned out to be a good for nothing selfish child!"

"I’m not selfish, I don’t have anybody else to care about."

"Really? What about your employees?"

"They’re just in for the money, they can screw themselves!"

"And your friends? Nevermind, that’s more of the same... but then, what about your brother?" The eclipse corrected himself before Mark had the opportunity to turn the argument into more of a pity party.

"He’s dead! He’s fucking dead, alright?"

"Then who’s been filling your voicemail since months ago? You haven’t bothered to even listen to them. He cares for you, even now he’s teamed up with the Dungeon Raiders you despise so much against the gods. Do you think he’s doing it for money? To save himself? From what I see he has a set of wings he could have used any moment to fly away, but he hasn’t."

"And you think he’s staying for me? That’s too naive for a cryptid like you." Mark rebuked, but the thought clung to the back of his head. It was true that the Jacobson brothers didn’t get along well after their mother died, they all took it hard and it was difficult to make it through with a broken family. They mourned the passing of their mother in different ways, but Raphael was different.

Raphael was always a gloomy kid, he was weird and awkward to be around. The kind of kid everyone would bully if not for their family status and him being the elder brother, but after their mother passed away Raphael grew a bright personality and a cheerful attitude. He went from being a shut in that barely spoke to anyone even to his own brothers to becoming a goof that would clown around and want to hang out with his brothers all the time.

It hurt both Mark and Ethan beyond what words could express to see Raphael act like that just after they lost their mother. It was almost as if he was celebrating her death rather than sharing their suffering.

But right as the city became the hellish battlefield of men against god Mark took a glimpse of the chaos, noticing an ethereal figure taking laps in the air around the gods burning his own soul to provide support to his allies. It was Raphael fighting to his best, taking hits without even flinching and his face was not that of a goof anymore but that of a man on a mission and Mark finally understood it.

"He wasn’t happy mom died... he was trying to cheer us up..." Tears Mark didn’t know he had in him crawled down his ashen face and for an instant he saw himself reflected on the window of one of the few buildings still standing.

Mark knew himself to be stronger than most hunters, even without the help of the eclipse he was now stronger than Ethan ever was and probably stronger than Soulfire would ever be. But his reflection showed the pathetic figure of a fear struck child who cried for help despite being able to stand on his own two feet.

"They’re not monsters... they’re not stronger than the gods, they’re just idiots." The eclipse said as though landing the last nail on a coffin.

"If I go there... will you help me?" Mark asked after finding the resolve to do what needed to be done.

"Fuck, no!" The eclipse shouted so loud it caused Mark tinnitus.

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