Priya looked at Zarek like he was crazy. A part of her was also feeling like she was at the end of her rope after everything she had been through. But that was just her mind. Physically speaking, it felt like she had just had three nights of rest, let alone just one.
When she realized this, she grit her teeth and took Zarek's help standing up.
"Okay. I'll do it."
Zarek smiled, but inwardly he felt himself wilting a bit. He didn't want to put her through this right now, but after seeing her battle, he knew that she had a great chance.
His strength wasn't the problem right now, and the best way to counter what was happening to him in the background… was exactly his girlfriend.
"Good luck," Zarek said to Zade, taking Priya and turning to leave.
"… What's that mean?" Zade called out.
"Well, what's happening here right now is probably the least of your worries. Your territory blockades are being attacked, and your main building is probably occupied by the rest of the Sakks and Dalton Firm people."
"… How do you know that?"
Zarek shrugged. He didn't have the time or patience to explain. He had said enough.
Zade's performance today was very disappointing, but all things considered, he couldn't blame the man too much. In the world of business, the Occam brothers were just upstarts—they didn't come from old money.
Their connections were limited, and their link to the "underground" was non-existent. Because of that, they didn't have experts like Van Hollen on their side who had been training all their lives.
Luckily, they had some martial arts experience, but nothing more than one might find at their local club. Considering that, Zade had done well.
But while he understood, Zarek was rarely logical when it came to Priya. Zade was very lucky he hadn't taken his head off too for the incompetence he had displayed.
The younger Occam brother could only watch as Zarek took Priya into the rain, vanishing from sight.
Zade closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When they opened again, there was an undisguised, firm determination within them.
He had to be better. The apocalypse had already been a wake-up call and he had already started not taking anything for granted, but now he knew that not taking things for granted wasn't enough. If he wanted to survive in this world, he would have to do more than just take what came.
He had to take what he could, seek advantages where he could, and take risks he normally wouldn't.
…
To the side, Gabe watched this scene as well. There was an odd pull he felt toward Zarek that he couldn't describe. After today, a large part of him wanted nothing to do with such a dangerous man…
So why was this feeling so strong?
**
"You can feel it in the rain, right? Focus yourself and repel it away. You were always the most adept at dealing with the Crimson Rain without external help."
Zarek explained patiently.
Unlock Passive Absorption meant that Priya could casually absorb a large amount of Godsfall in her day-to-day life, but that also meant that she was highly susceptible to taking in too much in conditions like these ones.
The only way to mitigate this was by her learning what she had coined as "holding her breath" in a past life.
What made Priya so special was her disease. Her special brand of albinism was obviously a skin and hair condition, so the source of her strength came from her being capable of absorbing Godsfall through her skin itself.
Holding her breath in this case wasn't literal, but instead a process of closing her pores and shielding herself off from the outside influence of Godsfall.
There was no better time to train this than right here and now.
"That's it. Perfect."
The rain bent away from them just the slightest bit. They were still under a ledge right now, but Zarek noticed the subtlety.
"That feeling of repulsion you felt just now was strong, but it'll also tire you out. You need to shrink it, pull it down until it takes the minimal amount of effort, concentrated onto your skin alone. Then tighten it like you were closing a garbage bag."
"You can't pick a better analogy than that?" Priya opened one eye and gave her boyfriend a sidelong look.
Zarek put his hands up. "Sorry, princess. Now focus."
Priya rolled her one eye and then closed it again. She took another breath and did as she was told, tightening it around herself—not like a garbage bag, but instead like she was bundling herself up in the cold.
It worked even better that way, because that was exactly what she felt like when suddenly cut off from energy. Her teeth chattered and she felt as though she had been plunged into a tundra.
There was a small flicker in Zarek's eyes. Sure, this was the first time he had gotten a chance to well and truly optimize Priya's path. He hadn't understood enough about her in previous lives to do this, and he obviously hadn't given her [Limit Break] then either since he had only just gotten it.
But the results were beyond his expectations. Her talent… not Melaloon, but her control overall. It was leagues beyond what it had been before.
She was improving so fast.
"Perfect."
"I don't like it," Priya said softly.
"I understand. But if your Intelligence improves too fast, the others will lag too much. Once you master the ability to do this passively and without thinking, then I'll teach you how to direct your Godsfall to your other stats.
"At that point, you'll be able to improve in your sleep without the slightest worry. Well, almost."
Priya's eyes were going to open, but Zarek stopped her.
"Keep your eyes closed and your focus trained. Take my hand and I'll lead you forward. Until we get there, your only task is to keep the Godsfall away from yourself. Don't worry about me. I have my own methods."
"Okay." Priya nodded.
With that, Zarek began to walk forward.
There was a reason he didn't carry her as usual. While this would make things easier, he wanted her to slowly get used to doing two things at the same time. Walking and controlling the Godsfall to stay away from her was a good starting position.
**
The chaos in the night didn't seem to have calmed at all. However, the hours continued to wane.
They crossed the deepest depths of the night, and soon it seemed that the sun might begin to peek over the horizon—the ebbs and flows of dawn began to leave it cookie crumbs.
Zarek held Priya's hand all this while, walking at a steady pace. It took them hours to return to the location he had in mind between fighting off Turned and their slow pace.
However, neither complained. Priya continued to focus as she felt her mind really struggling, and Zarek had all the patience in the world for his woman.
In this time, he had sensed Priya's Charisma go up not just once, but twice, reaching E+ just like her Intelligence. But she was so focused that she probably didn't notice. All she felt was a second wind.
And then they were there, crossing the bridge to see a Hub surrounded by Turned in the distance.