That distressing news struck Worthy hard. It might've caused him physical pain, if he wasn't in the midst of an already impossible situation. He was in a flying city, which was controlled by wraiths from an ancient society, and was currently speaking with one that seemingly had an intuition on par with the divine.
No matter how much divine ichor he consumed; how much he strategized and planned; how much he predicted future events, the boy could not have possibly expected the events that were to come. Yet, the pieces had always been laid out before him.
The Blood Marauder was not originally a god-like being. It had taken advantage of its unique constitution, or ability, and dove into the divine blood of the Lord of Hope. There, it consumed the blood directly and went deep into the reaches of a drowned world. It consumed the remains of every person in the world, and even if it could not find those remains, their blood was bound to be merged with the dead god's ichor.
The Blood Marauder became a new deity, because it assimilated the entire world with itself. All except for Alice and her burdens she carried.
However, the Blood Marauder did not die when it lost to Alice. Instead of dying, it became dormant. Because it had swallowed the entire world, there was little that could be done to save or revive it, even if she wished to. Because one day, the Blood Marauder would awaken from its slumber. Perhaps not within a thousand or a million years, but eventually it would.
Thus, Alice left the world.
She created a Gateway and she used her power over burdens to connect her creation with a fuel source. She tied it to the heart of the Blood Marauder, and sent it to the Dream of Hope—the sun. The Gateway was made, and the power of the Blood Marauder was used as a medium to cast it. Worthy didn't understand how the relation between burdens and the heart worked, but perhaps it was by using the burdens the abomination carried. However she accomplished it, the Dream of Hope was used as fuel for the Gateway, and supposedly has continued to do so for years.
If the Blood Marauder could assimilate the ichor of the Lord of Hope, as well as every other being in the world, then it could assimilate burdens too. It was connected to the Dream of Hope, and this meant that it was probably becoming more powerful and lively every second, even when it wasn't consuming the newcomers. Monsters on the First Floor were able to consume Gateways, then so too could the demonic lord of the realm.
It couldn't ignore the limitations placed upon it by its one weakness, its heart, being connected to the Gateway. Nevertheless, once it gained enough consciousness, it'd no doubt find a way to manipulate it to its advantage. It would eventually escape this world it swallowed and move on to wherever Alice had gone next. In this instance, within the confinements of the Tower, it'd move to the Second Floor and kill everything there.
This wraith, Alice's father, was trying to bestow burdens upon him so that he could destroy the heart, which also served as a medium for the Gateway. It would kill the Blood Marauder and save countless lives, and that was fine and dandy to the boy. There was just one thing…
'To utilize Alice's creation, you have to destroy the monster's heart. To destroy the monster's heart, you must sever the burden that is tied to the Dream of Hope, and that will require a burden to stand in its place. You must become the anchor for the rift, and destroy the heart.'
Worthy repeated everything he said in his head, and the more he considered it, the more it made sense. Yet, he detested the idea. Because, there was a very clear flaw to the plan. No, perhaps it was not a flaw at all. It was something the wraith was aware of, but the man would certainly not shy away from making sacrifices when he thought they mattered. Case in point: Alice.
He detested this plan because it meant becoming the medium for the Gateway to last.
After destroying the heart of the Blood Marauder, there was no telling what would happen. The child was going to sever the burden linking the heart to the Dream of Hope, and then replace it. Whether this process was painful or could destroy his body, he didn't know. Trusting the intuition of the man seemed like the only option, and that's why he was so opposed to it in the first place.
If the Blood Marauder died, then its body that encompassed the world would most likely crumble. Worthy, being unable to use the Gateway—or at least being required to keep it functional long enough for thousands of people to go through it—would be a sitting duck while the world collapsed.
"All that sounds lovely. You know, if I weren't the one who was getting completely railed by this idea, I would be on board for it. No deal. Pick somebody else, maybe Old Lady Haul, I think she's still alive, not sure for how long. You'll probably be doing her a favor, in fact."
Denying the plan was a no-brainer for the child.
The wraith couldn't allow this. He shot down any ideas the boy was thinking about.
"If you do not take the burdens while you carry Alice's in your mind, you won't be able to destroy the heart. Your knight is mighty, but by now, the Blood Marauder must be close to gaining enough consciousness to manipulate the creation of my daughter. Nothing will stop it once it has learned that, because then it will consume the Dream of Hope and become impossibly powerful."
"That can't be," Worthy retorted. His rebuttal came quickly, almost desperately. "The Dream of Hope, the sun, is fueling the gateway. If it consumes the sun, the Gateway will have no fuel. It'll trap itself in a dead world, and eventually, it'll just be forced to become dormant again… That or whatever else comes with being trapped alone."
That judgement was sound. It made sense, because it was all true. The Dream of Hope being extinguished would mean the Gateway would close. Theoretically, the Tower would do something to reactivate it… Though, this was wishful thinking. The First Floor was damaged beyond repair, and faced with a reality more gruesome than any other floor thus far.
Silence tyrannized the gap between the two for several long, agonizing moments.
Neither had anything else to say. Until finally, one of them did.
"Consider this," The wraith spoke, his voice no longer laced with certainty. Instead, he now talked in a way that was agreeable—educating. "Alice used a burden to tie the heart of the demon to the Dream of Hope, and used them both to create a gateway to send her to another world."
He stopped speaking and looked to Worthy for an answer. The child nodded, showing he understood.
"So, if the demon were to assimilate both the burden and the Dream of Hope with itself… What is stopping it from creating a gateway of its own after destroying everything?"
And to that, Worthy truly did think about everything. Considering all the options, he played out several ideas in his mind.
He considered the idea that the abomination lacked the intelligence to accomplish such a feat. Then, he considered the benefits he'd gained after consuming a much smaller quantity of the Lord of Hope's blood. The Blood Marauder's mind must've been boundless in comparison to both his own and Alice's.
Then, after finding his previous idea to be inadequate, he contemplated the Tower simply not allowing a gateway to be made. It was obviously the source of the other portals that existed on the First Floor. Yet, this idea revolved around too many unknowns. The Tower did nothing when the abominations of the First Floor consumed the previous Gateways to the Second Floor. Not to mention, the Tower had instructed them to destroy the heart. It was either refusing to interfere, or could not.
There were several other smaller, nonsensical conclusions he tried to reach, and nothing stuck.
The final, lonesome conclusion he came to was clear.
"Nothing. There's nothing stopping it." At that moment, he became morose. His tone was dejected, as he quickly understood the reality of the situation. Unless he sought to carry the weight of thousands, including himself, dying once the Blood Marauder awakened…
"Then, I really have no choice but to accept this deal, huh? Damn it. I'll find a way. Fine! Throw it on me!"
With nothing more to discuss, the wraith did exactly that. In the moments following the extension and stretch of his hand, Worthy experienced an unexplainable sensation.
He felt the weight of burdens.