The moment Richard activated his Talent, the world inside his mind shuddered.
A thin ripple trembled through his soul, spreading outward like a stone tossed into a silent lake. Then, like threads pulled from some invisible loom, large amounts of filament-like roads unfurled before his inner sight, lines of possibility writhing, twisting, splitting apart and converging again like glowing veins in the dark.
Each road carried information, choices, consequences, tiny details and minor shifts, the difference between life and death compressed into lines of light weaving a tapestry only he could see.
And at the very center of that tapestry, there was one road brighter than all the rest.
Richard focused on it.
Knowledge flooded him, not in long explanations or paragraphs like usual, but as a single sentence.
A single condition. A single absolute requirement he must obey before and after his resurrection ability manifested. A chain that wrapped around his future and refused to break.
Richard stared at the line.
Then stared harder.
Then blinked, hoping it would magically change.
It didn't.
"…This complicates things," he muttered, comb drooping as he reread the requirement for the tenth time.
Normally, this was not something he would choose to accept. No sane rooster would. It was the kind of condition that made you question whether the will of the world had a sense of humor, and if it did, why it hated or perhaps mocked you personally.
He exhaled slowly, steadied himself, and triggered his Talent again.
This time, he poured all his focus into a single desire and that is whether he could fulfill this condition and still keep everyone alive in the next battle?
The tapestry of roads exploded into motion.
Paths split. Paths died. Roads crumbled, rewove, vanished, or bloomed anew. The brightest one shifted. Others expanded, showing new possibilities he hadn't seen the first time. Some were short and brutal. Some were long and fragile. Some were downright insane.
Finally, the lights steadied.
Dozens of paths remained.
His knees nearly gave out in relief.
"With… that kind of restriction and there are still this many ways…" he whispered. His heart felt like it had been roasted, shredded, and stitched back together by a kindhearted hen with questionable ethics.
He slumped, shoulders drooping. "Haah…"
But then he looked at the requirement again.
"…"
His face sagged. "This is going to be a long night."
He began pacing as he reviewed the clearest paths in his mind.
He walked in small, tight, overlapping circles at the top of the hill, claws clicking against the ground.
Scratch, scratch, scratch..
"I see…" he muttered. "So if I do that… then that happens… but then that means…"
His claws dug little trenches into the soil as he circled, beak moving constantly, mumbling to himself like a scholar who'd just realized all his books were written in chicken scratch.
Behind him, Shivaya's eye twitched beneath her serene, meditative posture.
She sat in the center of the pond as usual, feathers smooth, breath steady, with life energy swirling faintly around her like a halo. Anyone seeing her would think she was the picture of peace.
Inside, she was anything but that.
Ever since she started talking to him. He had become harder to ignore.
Before, he had been simple. A target, a humiliation to erase. Something to kill once she awakens, preferably with dramatic flair and a long, satisfying monologue.
Now?
He had become something more complicated. A presence she couldn't ignore even when she wanted to.
She certainly wasn't going to go out of her way to make him the happiest rooster in existence. Absolutely not. But she had already decided she would keep him alive, at least until she had properly vented the injustice she had suffered.
Which meant beating him up. Often and thoroughly.
And maybe, just maybe, killing him afterward.
Her body, which was trying very hard to absorb life energy, was now absorbing something else instead: the stress oozing off the pacing rooster.
Her beak twitched wildly.
'Stop walking in circles. Stop scratching the ground. Stop radiating anxiety like a broken furnace. I'm trying to awaken here, you stupid rooster…' She thought irritably, temper flaring.
Scratch, scratch, scratch..
Richard, deep in thought, continued pacing.
Scratch, scratch-
He stopped.
A faint, prickling sensation crawled up his spine. The tiny feathers at the back of his neck stood up. He felt, no, sensed something behind him.
A murderous aura. Focused entirely on his back.
He froze mid-circle.
"…"
Slowly, he swallowed.
Then he turned his head a fraction, just enough to glimpse Shivaya's still form in the corner of his eye.
She hadn't moved. She hadn't opened her eyes. She was the very picture of tranquil meditation.
The killing intent around her, however, suggested otherwise.
'Ah,' Richard thought, feathers stiffening.
Like a chicken who had just realized he'd been pecking too close to a dragon's tail, he quietly, respectfully, and with all the wisdom of a seasoned commander. He executed a strategic retreat.
"I'll, uh… just… check on the troops," he muttered under his breath slightly louder than normal as if trying to let everyone know his intent.
And with that he turned around, descended the hill as silently as a rooster could manage, and made himself scarce.
…
Richard reached the lower slope and spotted a familiar sight.
A black lizard lay sprawled on a boulder.
Once upon a time, that boulder had fit the lizard comfortably. It had been the perfect size, a nap platform, a thinking rock, and a vantage point all in one.
Now?
The black lizard covered almost the entire thing. It sprawled across the stone like an oversized lizard that had discovered both sunlight and protein powders. Thick limbs dangled off the edges like vines. Its tail drooped limply down the side, twitching now and then in sleepy dreams.
Richard blinked.
He took one instinctive step closer.
Then the bad habit triggered.
His body moved before his brain registered the sin he was about to commit.
He bent his legs.
He angled his body.
He raised his foot.
'No, wait!' His mind screamed in warning.
But it was too late.
His foot fell.
The black lizard, as if some ingrained survival instinct had finally evolved specifically for this scenario, snapped its eyes open and tried to leap out of the way.
It would've been impressive.
If it hadn't been one fraction of a second too late.
SMACK!
His foot connected squarely with the lizard's rear.
Coupled with the lizard's own desperate leap, the force of the kick multiplied several times over.
"GYAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!!"
The wronged reptile soared higher than it ever had before, like a tragic meteor fired from a particularly emotional catapult.
Then it fell.
Down the slope it went rolling, tumbling, somersaulting in a blur of limbs, tail, and dust.
Richard stared after it, frozen in place.
"…It wasn't on purpose, Lizard… you gotta believe me…" he whispered, guilt pooling in his chest.
He hurried after the rolling reptile.
Halfway down, he found it.
The lizard lay on its back, twitching, tail curled in sorrow, eyes swirling like a confused cartoon character who had just been introduced to existentialism.
"B-Boss…?" it rasped, voice thick with indignation and betrayal.
Richard coughed and looked away.
"Ahem."
He cleared his throat and straightened. "Anyway, Lizard, I came to find you because I need your help with something."
The lizard's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"…Was kicking me part of that something…?"
Richard pretended not to hear. "I want to test a new ability I acquired."
The lizard's expression shifted instantly. "A… new ability?"
Richard nodded and called forth his status panel. Glowing letters flickered before his eyes.
[The Ruler's Condemnation]
[Description: A curse born from a ruler's grief. The condemned feel their strength falter and their will decay beneath the weight of your fury.]
He read it out loud for the lizard.
"Yes, it's called The Ruler's Condemnation. According to the description, it should be a debuff-type ability. I need to test its effect before the next battle."
"???"
The lizard's eyes focused on unfamiliar words before digging into the sea of knowledge it had received during awakening. Lines of instinctual information surfaced, and understanding dawned.
"Debuff…a curse… that weakens enemies…" it murmured.
Then it swallowed and nodded obediently. "Alright, Boss! Test as much as you want! For the flower field, I can endure anything!"
It raised a claw in a dramatic salute.
Richard's chest warmed. 'Such a good subordinate… I must have saved the whole chicken race in my past life to earn one like this…'
He exhaled and let his eyes sharpen.
Then he gazed down at the lizard and activated his new ability.
A faint pressure rippled outward.
The world did not darken. The wind did not stop. There were no dramatic cracks in the sky, no black flames, no creepy whispers.
But something shifted around the lizard.
Its posture stiffened.
Its limbs slowed.
Its breathing became just a little heavier, as though the air had thickened into warm tar.
The lizard blinked several times, swayed, then steadied itself with a grunt.
When it looked up, it no longer saw just a rooster.
Richard's outline seemed taller, a looming silhouette framed in shadow. His eyes glowed like twin embers as he looked down like a quiet, feathered judge.
"Ugh… Boss?" it croaked.
After a moment that felt like forever.
Richard deactivated the ability.
The pressure vanished.
He leaned forward, eyes intent. "How did you feel?"
The lizard sighed in relief, chest heaving, tail dragging a lazy trail in the dirt.
"It's… strange," it muttered honestly. "My body feels heavier. Like someone tied stones to my legs."
It lifted a claw and wiggled it sluggishly.
"And I feel tired. Really tired. Not like when I run laps or haul logs… This is different. It's like the strength in my body doesn't want to answer me."
It raised its head, eyes half-lidded.
"And… when I look at you, my thoughts feel slower too. Not painful, just… muffled? Like my mind is wrapped in wet leaves. I can still think, but I don't really want to. Everything feels dull."
Richard nodded, stroking his beak thoughtfully. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
'More effective than I expected…'
The lizard continued, honest as ever. "But Boss… it's not enough to stop me from fighting effectively. I can still move, still think, still react like usual. Just… slower."
"Hmm." Richard nodded again. "That's fine. It's not meant to stop enemies completely, just weaken them."
The lizard let out a deep, exasperated sigh filled with admiration. Its tail dragged a long, crooked line through the dirt.
"Boss, you should definitely use this against the otherworlders in the next fight! With you and me together, we can beat them all with no trouble!"
Its eyes gleamed murderously.
Hearing its words, Richard's pleased smile faltered.
He exhaled.
Then took a step closer, expression shifting from pleased to serious.
"That's the other thing I need to talk to you about."
The lizard immediately straightened.
"Lizard," Richard said quietly.
The black lizard braced itself.
'Boss, couldn't you just say everything at once? Why build up the tension like this…?' It complained silently.
"I won't directly participate in the next battle."
Silence.
The lizard stared.
Then its jaw dropped. "WHAT?! B-BOSS, WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WON'T?!"
Richard clicked his beak in irritation, feathers bristling. "Do you think I want to stay still while my subordinates fight for their lives?!"
"Then why?!"
"…Because this is what I must do for our future," he replied softly.
He didn't elaborate or to be exact he couldn't, when he wanted to say the condition aloud no words came out. Like some short of restriction was placed on him.
Besides, there's no need for the lizard to know the price of resurrection.
The lizard stared at him for a long moment.
Then swallowed hard and nodded.
"If it's your decision, Boss… then it must be for the flower field."
Richard's gaze softened and continued.
"Also, you don't need to worry about letting any otherworlders pass anymore," he said. "Just focus on keeping everyone alive."
He looked the lizard in the eye.
"Lizard, this battle… you'll be the one leading the army at the front lines. Can you do it?"
The lizard trembled.
Not in fear.
But in fierce, burning resolve.
"You can count on me, Boss!! Just tell me what to do!"
Richard nodded, pretending to wipe imaginary tears at the corner of his eye with his wing.
'Such a good subordinate… maybe I saved all the worms in my last life too…'
With a serious expression, he began laying out the plan in detail.
By the time he finished, the lizard's eyes were blazing.
"Understood, Boss," it said solemnly.
"Good." Richard nodded. "You can go and rest now."
He turned and began walking back up the slope.
Behind him, the lizard did not rest.
It began to warm up instead, limbs stretching, claws digging into the earth, tail swaying like a drawn whip.