Dig stumbled and hurriedly reached out to stabilize himself, grabbing Jameson's arm. He shook his head to rid himself of the dizziness he felt, but he faded almost instantly. He looked around in confusion.
"Um, young man, are you alright?" Jameson asked.
"Although most youngsters are in a rush to do it as soon as they hit fifteen, there's no shame in waiting a day or two."
Dig slowly turned to look at Jameson and realized he was holding the security guard's arm quite tightly. He let go.
"No, I'm fine. I think."
'What is going on?' Dig asked himself. That was the second time now that he had a dream so vivid it felt like reality that ended with his death before waking up in front of the Vault as though nothing had happened.
'It can't be a coincidence.'
"Are you sure you're alright?" Jameson asked again with a worried frown as Dig stared at the Vault doors in a daze.
'Am I actually dying and then returning to this point in time somehow?' Dig was too deep in his thoughts to answer the confused Jameson.
'But that doesn't make sense. How is that possible?'
'Wait a moment…Setting aside the how—Did Mogdo Dal just kill me?' Dig froze in place, much to Jameson's growing concern.
From an outside perspective, it probably looked like an accident. Dig was weaker than Mogdo Dal had expected, and his Skill wasn't compatible with the self-healing method Mogdo Dal had told him to use.
It was simply a stroke of bad luck.
But while Dig had only met Mogdo Dal once in his life now, he had heard about him before.
He was the experienced veteran Blessed in charge of Team Four, a team of rookies and rising stars.
Mogdo Dal sat on a treasure trove of experience. He shouldn't have rashly told Dig to use his Skill like that, not when there were people with healing Boons in the building. Surely. There had to be, since it was a building meant for the safety of Winter Russel's family.
Secondly, he was used to fighting newly hatched chicks who didn't know what they were doing. It should have been next to impossible for him to 'accidentally' hit Dig with enough force to send him flying through the room and give him a concussion, and most likely make his brain hemorrhage.
'Is this what Luisa was worried about?' Dig's eyes narrowed, and his expression changed continuously.
In his father's absence, some of the members of the company would look to seize power. If Dig wasn't there, it would become an all-out brawl, according to Luisa.
Dig had naively assumed that meant there wouldn't be any fighting as long as he dutifully stepped up and tried to take the reins his father had left. But in hindsight, it was clear that if someone wanted to take over the company, Dig's measly presence wouldn't stop them.
He sighed and slumped like a hunchback.
For now, he decided to go with the flow. He didn't know whether he was dying and going back to this moment in time or simply dreaming possible futures, but it seemed like the only way forward was to try to survive as long as possible.
That meant changing things.
However, changing everything was a bad idea. Now, at least, he knew what he was working with.
So, he picked the same black stone again. Arker drove him through the city to the Liama Ventures main office, where they took the stairs to the top floor, where his father was patiently waiting for him.
"Son," Winter Russel greeted his child with a nod.
Dig didn't answer straight away. His father's disappearance last time made him hesitate.
"Winter," He said simply in acknowledgment of the man's presence.
Winter had expected worse, so he was pleasantly surprised. He did his best to control his expression as he cleared his throat and spoke.
"I know you don't like me forcing you to come here, but I just wanted to know if your first claim was successful and talk to you about something."
"And if it wasn't?" Dig asked.
"Wasn't what?" Winter's brow furrowed slightly.
"If my first Boon is useless scrap, what then?" He demanded.
"Then, I'm sure there's something we can do about it."
Dig groaned a sigh of frustration.
"I'm going. Don't call me. Don't tell me to inherit your position. And don't ride the elevator." Dig left before giving Winter a chance to answer.
Arker looked between Dig and Winter, silently asking Winter whether to stop Dig or not. Winter gestured for him to let Dig go while he leaned back in his chair.
"What am I doing wrong?" He asked himself.
Arker wasn't sure whether Winter was asking him or not, but he decided not to take the risk.
"You're putting a lot of pressure on him, Sir. Now, I'm not saying that's wrong, per se. It's just, I don't think that's what the boy needs. Sir." Arker clasped his hands behind his back.
Witner opened an eye and looked at Arker with a raised eyebrow.
He was silent for a long while before opening his mouth.
"Pressure? I just want him to have a stable future. If he takes over after me, he will have the strike teams and all of you to watch out for him, and if he has a good first Boon, his future will become a lot easier and safer. Is that so wrong?"
"Not at all, Sir. But if I may?" Arker asked carefully. He could tell that he had already gotten very close to stepping on Winter's toes. He had crossed the line between employee and employer.
Winter rolled his eyes.
"Go ahead."
"It's the way you word it. You don't exactly come off as the caring father I know you are."
"Huh? I am a survivor of the Chaos Descension, and I'm running a successful business that controls the majority of a city with over a hundred thousand citizens, and you want me to, what, wrap him in a hug and soothe his little tantrums like he's still a baby? I have an image to uphold."
"You also have a teenage son. But if it continues like this, probably not for long."
"Get out."
"Sir."
"GET OUT!"