Chapter 4: Monarch

Speeding down the various backroads on the way to Monarch, the ironically named aluminum factory was a sobering experience for Vex. 

Life has been way too fucking weird lately. James is a demon, I'm lying about my system to two of my three friends, and people are going to try to kill Monty one of these days. I need to calm down. Vex thought as he pressed his foot harder and harder on the accelerator, turning the twenty-minute drive into one that lasted barely over fifteen minutes.

Surprisingly, the roads on the way to Monarch were utterly devoid of any cars, let alone any traffic. 

Pulling into the driveway of the abandoned factory, carefully avoiding every pothole, Vex parked his car under an opening in the crumbling wall, blocking it from the view of the road. 

Stepping out, Vex entered the old aluminum plant and marched up the loud and silent steps, eventually finding his way onto the roof. Taking a seat near the edge to relax, he was very nearly able to relax.

"Evening, Emperor." A young man, said, jolting Vex from his internal monologue and causing him to look around frantically. 

"Where are you? Who are you?" Vex said, his head shooting in every direction. 

"Look up dipshit." The voice said in a slightly annoyed tone, tired of waiting for Vex to spot him.

Bringing his eyes upward, Vex spotted possibly the most peculiar sight he'd had the displeasure of ever laying his eyes on. 

Floating lazily in the air was a young man, no older than Vex himself, in a completely relaxed pose. The only issue being, the fact that he was completely stark naked. 

"Why the fuck are you naked!" Vex said, averting his eyes from the strange man's family jewels. 

"The earliest flight skill I can get in this run is weight-based, if I wasn't naked I wouldn't have been able to fly this far." The man said in a completely serious tone as if it was the most obvious information available. "Anyway, I've found that dumping all the info on you seems to work the best in convincing you, so I'm gonna do that. Hello, my name is Javier and I've died forty-three times in the last three days." The young man said, landing with the grace of rock and dusting himself off. 

"What the fuck? Did you smoke some laced shit or something?" Vex said, staring at Javier in disbelief. 

"No, I'm not high, I didn't smoke anything, no I didn't drink any funny drinks, and no you didn't eat any of Monty's fun bread. No, I'm not from the future, I just have the memories of sixteen previous Javiers. No, when I die you don't die, I just die in the world, and Javier in the next one gets his memories. Yes technically you can kill me and act like none of this ever happened but I wouldn't recommend it, since if you do, you're going to die." Javier said, stealing each question out of Vex's mind before they were even fully formed.

"Okay, that was really creepy, and I have no choice but to tentatively believe you. I mean, if magic systems and demons are real, reincarnation could be, right? But why me?" Vex asked, completely stunned by the multiple revelations at once. Mainly, the fact that he was on the path to death. 

"OH right, probably should have mentioned that one. Out of every user within a forty-mile radius, runs that involve you always go the best. Not only are you the strongest user by a long shot, even with your unevolved class, but from what I've seen you're eventually able to give skills, and I really wanna see what that's like. Before you ask, the longest I've lived on a run is about a month from now." Javier said, walking up and sitting crossed-legged across from Vex, looking at him like a kid in a candy store who just spotted a jumbo lollipop. 

Just as Vex was about to open his mouth, something even more interesting appeared before his eyes. 

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