Chapter 499: Closing Doors

"You are willing to resurrect him, even if he becomes like us?"

Almost 10 millennia. Xra has been exploring the empty expanse of space for almost 10 millennia and never once has she really questioned that what she was doing is for her and her beloved.

The only thing that mattered is that she would once again hear Akkamesh's voice. Be it words of hatred, be it words of longing, or even words of disgust with what she had become. It has been many lifetimes for her, but for Akkamesh, his last moment is dying in space with Xra in his arms.

At most, Xra was ready to receive whatever it is that Akkamesh would say and do to her. Will he still love her? Will he be mad at her?

But now, the only real question is... will it even be him?

"You are probably the most empathetic mass murderer I have ever met on this side of the universe,"

Xra finally responded to Riley, with a subtle but obviously slightly thoughtful sigh,

"I could only imagine what you would have been like if you lived a normal life. You would have probably been one of the good guys."

"I did live a normal life, Pirate Queen Xra. I would even say privileged."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." This time, it was Riley's sigh that whispered through the silver hall, "I just wanted you to know the difference between our upbringing. The whispers, I always had a choice not to listen to them—in a way, I could have refused to give in to the urge of hurting people."

"..."

"And I am empathetic because I am surrounded by people who are. And each time I hurt other people, I hear their voice every time—anguish, pain, regret, hopelessness. I hear and feel their rawest emotions, the only problem is that I like hearing them. I can not force you to understand, Pirate Queen Xra. Your financial means were measly when you were still on Earth, after all."

"...I wasn't poor, Riley. I was born into a rich family." Although Riley said a lot of things that could be considered meaningful, only his last words really entered her mind.

"Oh."

"What do you mean 'Oh'?" Xra raised an eyebrow, "I just told you my life story not more than a day ago. I was the sole daughter of the largest brewery in the city, I was married to Akkemesh, the God King."

"I remember now, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley nodded, "It just became lost in my mind because of the way you looked."

"Wait, are you saying I look poor?"

"No," Riley once again let out a small sigh, "But it doesn't matter if you do look poor. You still have not answered my previous question, Pirate Queen Xra...

...Do you still want to resurrect him even if he becomes like us? In your story, Akkamesh cared for his people—do you truly wish for someone like that to live a life of carnage?"

"I..." And for once in her long life, Xra found herself speechless.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I... need some time alone with Akkamesh."

"Okay," Riley nodded before his feet slowly left the silver floor, "Once you are done, I called Hera to prove to you that she is one of the voice actors in Italian Mafia Reborn."

"..." Xra no longer answered, only letting her long black hair fall to her face as she looked away from Riley; her eyes, never really leaving Akkamesh for even a single second.

***

"Sir... Riley? I thought you left?"

Aella, the head of Xra's technical department, as well as one of her 7 main crew, was just walking around the Bloodcruiser, checking if there were anything amiss within the ship.

Of course, with the Bloodcruiser's automatic healing technology, she might as well just be wasting her time. Every couple of hours, the entire ship completely resets itself. If there was a table moved, it will return to its original location; if there is a faulty door, then it will fix itself if it hasn't already.

Still, Aella wanted to be hands-on when it comes to the maintenance of the ship, tracing her little steps on the floor no matter how minuscule the workload was. After all, there really wasn't much action happening when your captain is considered the most dangerous individual on the planet and should be avoided at all costs.

She and the rest of the crew thought they would finally be having fun when they encountered Riley Ross—but alas, at a weird turn of events, Xra seems to have taken a liking to him.

Perhaps that was a good thing as well, as Riley Ross seems to be... not so ordinary. If she was hearing the whispers in the ship right, then Riley Ross is almost equal to Xra, or even completely equal to her in terms of raw combat power. She had also seen the footage of Riley fighting bounty hunter Kerrigan—and the fact that he made him run was enough proof of the whispers.

It was no wonder that Xra welcomed him into the ship. But this... isn't this too welcoming?

"Did... you just come out from the captain's quarters?" It would seem that Aella's boring and useless routine was not so useless after all, as there truly was a discrepancy and anomaly in the ship—Riley casually stepping out of Xra's quarters. Even Alindor, Xra's second-in-command, did not have the grace and permission to enter the captain's room.

"I did, Miss Aella," Riley just nodded as the large door behind him slid closed, "Pirate Queen Xra was watching the deepest parts of me."

"W...what?" Aella completely turned her head up to look Riley straight in the eyes.

"Hm," Riley nodded, "And in turn, she let me inside the deepest parts of her."

"What!?"

"No," Riley then shook his head, "It is more like I forced myself to see and touch her secret."

Aella covered her mouth as Riley's lewd wordings continued to harass her ears. But after a few more breaths, she couldn't take it anymore as her little legs moved on their own and scurried her away; disappearing into the hallway almost instantly, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake.

"...The people here are weird," Riley sighed, before just proceeding to walk through the long hallways of the ship without any destination. His aimless steps, however, were completely interrupted as he saw Hera walking toward him.

"...I thought I was going to perform?" Hera quickly asked as soon as their eyes met, "I'm done warming up my vocals so I wouldn't strain doing that low-pitched voice."

"Pirate Queen Xra is suddenly... preoccupied with something."

"For reals?" Hera let out a heavy sigh before shaking her head, "I'll be in our room, then. Just call for me once we're near our destination, or if we're dead...I'm too tired to choose which I prefer, really."

"...Why don't you perform privately for me, then, Miss Hera? There's this scene that I particularly— Where are you going?"

Hera only raised both her middle fingers as she walked away; not even looking back as her silhouette very slowly disappeared into the giant hallway.

"..."

And so, once again, Riley was left alone to walk alone in this unusually large warship.

Alone.

Riley's steps came to a halt as the thought entered his mind. Once all of this is over—alone will be the only thing that could describe his existence. He knew in himself that he didn't deserve companionship, and yet with every turn, another one comes to serve as a compass for him.

Not a moral compass, of course—Riley clearly knew what was right or wrong. Just... a compass. A compass to lead him wherever.

Because alone, he will just forever be aimlessly moving.

"We... are not similar at all, Pirate Queen Xra."

And as Riley found himself completely alone, the urge to speak loudly to himself once again manifested as he raised his hand and looked at it,

"Your destruction has purpose. And when you have left nothing but the ashes of those you have killed, someone will be waiting for you at the end of the universe; the both of you, closing it together. The purpose of my destruction is destruction—if anything, then...

...I am more similar to the Cherbi than anything else in the universe."

Riley then raised his other hand, and as he did so, the floor in front of him started to wriggle—and in just a fraction of a second, a clone emerged for it.

"Alone," Riley then grabbed his clone's face as he looked at its empty eyes, "Alone is what I am, and alone is what I will be. And as I close the empty universe behind me, no one will be welcoming me on the other side."

"..."

"..."

And while Riley was doing his monologue, Moira, who was just awkwardly standing around the corner of the hall with Little Riley on her shoulder, could really only cover her mouth to prevent any sounds from escaping her.

It didn't really help that Little Riley seems to be feeling every word that comes out of Riley's mouth, as he too, had his hands raised in the air.

Thankfully for Moira, Riley seemed to be done with his monologue as he continued to walk through the hallways, not even minding or acknowledging her and Little Riley's presence as he passed by them.

"He... is he always like that?" Moira whispered.

"The Boss does whatever he wants, Moi. That's why he is the boss."

"...Right."

And so, with Riley just walking around the ship aimlessly for hours; and Xra's crew trying their best to avoid him...

...the ship finally neared Theran.