Villain Retirement

Chapter 608: Tedi's Toe

"Hm…"

As Ahor Zai continued to expand exponentially, Riley asked Ahor Zai to bring him to the surface. It has been several minutes, and yet Ahor Zai didn't stop growing.

"Are you able to expand your size infinitely, Ahor Zai?"

[No, I am only programmed to change my size according to what the guests need.]

"I am asking if you have ever stretched your size to its limit, Ahor Zai."

[...I do not know the answer to that.]

"How are you able to increase your size?"

[Ahor Zai is programmed to say 'magic' whenever asked that question, Riley Ross.]

"Hm, I suppose that answers most questions. Do you know who programmed you, Ahor Zai?"

[I am afraid that is included in my deleted memories.]

"...Interesting."

Riley continued to watch Ahor Zai expand. The plateau that was once just the size of a small city, now a sea of gray that doesn't end; the plateau was still flat, and yet Riley could no longer see the end of its horizon.

"..." Riley squinted his eyes as he started looking around him, only to find himself surrounded by nothing but gray,

"Where is Aerith, Ahor Zai?"

[Aerith is currently on the tarmac, discussing something with the queen of evaniels inside her ship.]

"Are they perhaps discussing a plan that involves trapping me inside a void for eternity, Ahor Zai?"

[I am afraid I can not eavesdrop inside the ship as it is no longer a property of Ahor Zai. By trapping you in a void, do you mean the Norinlad's Shade Prison?]

"Is that what they are calling it?"

[Yes. As you may already know, Norinlads are an innately peaceful race, with the concept of war and violence completely foreign to them. But there are those that are born different, with the most popular being Bounty Hunter Kerrigan—violent deviants like him are called Shades.]

"I have met him before," Riley nodded, "But are the Norinlads truly not capable of violence, Ahor Zai?"

[Yes. The Norinlads are a powerful species that is not bound by the Universe's basic laws, perhaps being incapable of war and violence is a way to balance that.]

"Hm…" Riley squinted his eyes. He no longer knows whether or not Ahor Zai is still growing, but from the slight rumble that was coming from the ground, it probably still was, "...Is Tedi a Shade?"

[No, but she is still considered a deviant due to her abnormal size.]

"Is it true that one of his parents is a Messenger?"

[I am afraid I do not have information regarding that. Perhaps you can ask her yourself.]

"Riley Ross."

"..." And almost as if every inch of his bones started to vibrate, Riley could feel the very air itself tremble as a loud, almost deafening voice reverberated throughout the entire plateau of Ahor Zai.

Riley then very slowly looked behind him, only for a shadow to creep over him as he saw something silver blocking the view of the expanse of space above him. Riley had only seen Tedi once, and now that they were in the same space, he finally realized how massive she was.

Even if Riley maximizes his height with his size-altering abilities, he probably wouldn't even be as big as Tedi's toes.

Riley then looked up, only to see an endless view of silver—and he was probably only looking at her leg. Messengers were bigger than planets, while Tedi was as big as an entire continent. One would really only realize how large something like that truly was when it is right in front of you…

…and right now, Riley was just probably in front of Tedi's silver toe, which probably would have been the only thing that fit if Ahor Zai did not adjust its size to cater to her.

"Are you able to hear me, Tedi?" Riley placed both his palms in front of his mouth like a megaphone.

"I can hear—"

"Can you hear me now?"

[!!!]

The very air itself started to tremble as Tedi suddenly moved as she covered her ears. How could she not, when Riley's voice suddenly seemed like it was shouting right in front of her ears?

"Please do not scream, Riley Ross. My hearing works differently than yours."

"I did not scream, Tedi. It is one of my abilities."

[I will be adding that information to the Codex, Riley Ross.]

"Go ahead, Ahor Zai," Riley just nodded as he heard Ahor Zai's words, "You have already answered most of my questions, you deserve to know more about me."

[Thank you.]

"The two of you seem close," Tedi's words once again vibrated in the air. Her voice wasn't exactly loud, no—it just felt like it existed in the very air itself.

[Riley Ross has been very kind to me, Former Elder Tedi.]

"I could see that," Tedi sighed, causing a blast of wind that almost blew Riley away,

"But how many times do I have to repeat to you that you do not need to adjust your size, Zai?"

And as soon as she said that, her toe which was as large as an entire city started to dive through the gray ground without any resistance.

[I do not like you passing through me like that, Tedi. I would appreciate it more if you just decrease your size, you look bigger than the last time you were here.]

"Do not mind Ahor Zai, Riley Ross. I believe whoever programmed it added too much humor into it," Tedi's body continued to fall into the floor, causing Riley to slightly squint his eyes from the ever-changing scenery in front of him.

[If you are really that insecure about your size, then you could have just asked me to make you a body.]

"No one is insecure about anything."

[12,435 questions. That is how many times you have checked my memories if there is any data you can use to help reduce your size.]

"That is sensitive information!"

The entire plateau of Ahor Zai quaked as Tedi's continent-sized body stopped phasing through the ground; lightly slamming her hands which were the size of an entire country on the empty parts of the plateau.

[What are you doing!? Don't you know how expensive it is to repair me!?]

"You're self-healing!"

"Hm…" Riley placed his hand on his chin as he watched as Tedi and Ahor Zai started their almost endless banter.

According to Riley's knowledge, Norinlads do not really possess any emotions and creatures that rely solely on logic; and yet right now, two entities that are not supposed to have any emotions seem like they were even more human than Riley.

"I heard that the way the Norinlads' minds work is closer to that of an AI," Riley then intruded into the conversation as he raised a finger, "Is that why you are able to speak to Ahor Zai as if you are friends, Tedi?"

"A friend? Why would I be friends with a machine?" Tedi let out a loud harrumph as her body once again started phasing down through the ground; until finally, all that could be seen on the plateau was her colossal head.

[True. At the very least, I am programmed to actually have emotions. You are just pretending to have one—so tell me, which one of us is really closer to a machine?]

"You are. You were literally created–Never mind. There is no use arguing," Tedi shook her head, causing her long silver hair to almost fan out and cover the entire plateau.

"..." Riley also felt strands of her hair, which were almost as wide as a bus, pass through him. He had felt this sensation before when he fought with Bounty Hunter Kerrigan; but now that it was passing through his entire body, he could finally describe how it felt.

It was like a wave of water, but not in the realms of reality, but in the realms of dreams—that is what it felt like.

"Riley, we need to talk about Nothing. I gained some valuable information regarding it."

And as the two finally calmed down with their words, Tedi once again started phasing down through the ground,

"Meet me in the basement so we can talk privately."

"I promised Ahor Zai that we will be included in the conversation, Tedi."

"...Fine. We need its knowledge in the first place, we'll talk in the Library," and with those words, Tedi finally completely burrowed herself into the ground. And without even a second later, the ground beneath Riley's feet separated from the rest of the gray landscape as it carried him back to the basement.

"..." And as the hovering platform flew him to wherever the library is now. And as he got farther and farther away, he started to see Tedi's entire body—which was curled as she just floated in Ahor Zai's basement.

"Is she not going to follow us to the Library?"

[She is already there.]

"..." Riley didn't really know what Ahor Zai meant by that. But still, he just shrugged as Ahor Zai continued to escort him to the library. And after what seemed like a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the library.

And there, a human-sized Tedi waited for him. And judging by her gray skin, and her feet that were directly connected to the floor, her body was created by Ahor Zai.

But she wasn't alone, however—the red goo that was Ahor Zai's memory core was gone. And instead, a red humanoid the size of a large bottle floated in the air.

"Riley." Tedi did not really let Riley process their new bodies as she approached him as soon as he entered,"

"One of my people found this in the Unknown," she then said as she handed some sort of stone tablet to Riley,

"I believe it's connected to Nothing."