The Power of Anticipation

Nervous tension.

Have you ever noticed that the only difference between a socially awkward moment and relaxing silence between friends can be dictated by the addition of anticipation?

It's odd, anticipation that is, it's like a weight that threatens to crush the soul, but it also signifies hope and so many other moments that are hard to comprehend.

I can see Mallory and Gwen talking in that strange way that couples do, the one where a lot is expressed behind head tilts, the shrugging of shoulders, and glances my way. Well, that last part isn't always the case, but it is currently the case. Their glances show me that I am currently the center of their conversation. The worst part is, I know exactly why they are gesturing towards me.

They give glances to Penelope who just so happens to avert her eyes away from the power couple when they look at her. Meaning they are all in on it, whatever this event is, the sad part, I don't know what they are exactly focused on. Okay, this is bad, as I apparently can't even lie to myself thanks to my pixie powers all but telling me that I know this is a lie.

While I cannot definitively state what all their nervous apprehension is about, I can guess, and my thoughts are that it is about my lack of turning in a particular quest. A quest that the world all but handed me on a silver platter, as if in anticipation of something far greater than myself.

Yes, I have been giving out quests to people over the past few months, but it seems that the system is willing to give me daily quests. Basically, making it so that I can power up at an astronomical rate. It doesn't help that I can also feel the system's minor influence of events and operations. There has been a frenetic pace to my life for a while, and this day was no exception. While I had enjoyed the idea of being able to run around and partake in everything that I had missed over the past month, I couldn't help but feel that it felt all too scripted.

Then I remember the reason why it felt so scripted, while I was away, I would dream. In those dreams, I was here for a day, and I would run around, doing everything I could, then I'd have to stop and repair a dying world. Only to then pass out, sleep, rinse, repeat.

There was something to that process, but I couldn't tell what exactly.

I was missing something, a key piece that seemed to link everything together in one coherently wrapped package. Like a present waiting to be unwrapped. Of course, this present was one I had to find the pieces to assemble by myself in the dark, giving up countless hours of sleep in the process to complete, only to then gift-wrap it and return to myself. Does that make sense to anyone? Me either. Yet, I knew this was the case, somehow.

Finally, when it looked like Gwen and Mallory were about to argue violently with their eyebrows as to who would go first and talk, I finally decided that I couldn't take it anymore. Their anticipation was clearly ruining the mood, at least my mood. Which again took this from being a nice enjoyable moment with family and friends and suddenly made it all weird. Like when that one uncle comes over for the family bar-b-q, you invited him out of courtesy, and he finally showed up in a pre-stained Hawaiian shirt. The look that was complete with shades on top of the head, covering hair that had the tips dyed blond.

"I know what you are going to ask me about," I cut into their otherwise silent argument that was close to looking like a new form of dance. One that only involved headshakes and movements above the shoulders to execute.

Both paused their silent conversation, looked at each other, then turned to face me as one. It was odd their symmetry and their almost choreographed movements. Like two sharks that realized the fish they thought was a rock begins to move like a fish again.

"You do?" Mallory asked, her tone curious more than anything.

"Yes, I do, I know I need to do my Daily Quest turn in before midnight which is going to happen in a little over an hour now," I reply.

There is a pause as Mallory hears the words she is expecting and then nods her head like she is expecting me to go on. Again, testing out my hypothesis I stay silent and can feel how these next few seconds turn from comfortable silence between all of us, to steadily increasing tension thanks to anticipation.

For a moment I wondered if this is a power, the power of anticipation. Would it be a superpower? If so, what would it do? I know with Mallory's Killing Intent she can just stare at people and cause their body to seize up, reducing their overall Attributes and Skill efficiencies by up to half. Yet, what could the power of Anticipation do?

The fact that I haven't felt the world click into place in my mind tells me that this is not a structured power. That or if it was, I have not done enough to earn it? For a moment I think about what the power of Anticipation could do. Could it get people to lose their nerve and speak first or more openly? Basically, forcing people to ramble on to fill the otherwise deafening silence. Then just as I had that thought, I wondered if I was using my own power of Anticipation against myself, causing my mind to wander while still being nearby. This would explain a lot, if it was real.

I pause, again momentarily waiting for the world to chime in and let me know that I had unlocked a power that would unlock every teen's worst nightmare, the ability to induce sweaty palms, the yips, or other natural phenomena just by remaining quiet.

"So?" Mallory cuts in, her words tearing me away from what I thought was clearly a power. But maybe this one would be considered too overpowered to quantify. For a moment I think about adding to the already mounting tension by repeating her question, but ultimately I decide against that and instead stick with what I believe is the point she is trying to get at diplomatically, at least diplomatically for now.

"You are asking why I haven't done it?" I asked.

"Yes, not saying that you have to do it this second, but is there a reason why you haven't done so?" Mallory continues.

Hearing that question, I wonder exactly how much her Guild Master's tab tells her about the quests that I've completed.

"Rather than answering that question, can you pull up my ongoing quest tabs and tell me what you see?" I ask rather curious about whether my assumptions are correct or not.

Mallory pauses and stares at me for a second but then realizes that the ball is now in her court. If she wants to dissipate the growing anticipation, she needs to at least find answers.

Oh, that's it, the way to lessen anticipation is with knowledge. The more you know, the more you can predict what will happen next, and thus erode or at least partially negate the powers of Anticipation? I think to myself as I wait with bated breath for the system to respond.

Nothing.

Yeah, I was kind of figuring that would be the case. Even if these are the laws that surround the anomaly that is Anticipation, it is not a power. At least not one that likely should be weaponized. For a moment, I get the mental image of this being just a subset of Lust, and how succubi must use Anticipation as part of their powers. That of course brings up a whole bag of nope, that I don't want to deal with. So yes, I now realize why Anticipation is not a power by itself and will likely drop the topic there.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

By the time I run through this mental gymnastics of what are powers by themselves and what are not, I see that Mallory's face went from being completely vacant as if staring at a mental screen for a moment. Followed by a look of confusion, and finally a look of contemplation. It is with this last glance that she looks at me and beings to talk.

"You've completed a few quests today, but they are all still showing as active as well, and with an error message next to them," Mallory states as she stares at me.

Hearing that, I nod in agreement. This was good as it gave me more insight into the level of visibility that the Guild Master had in the quests of those around them. Not only could they see the open quests, what the requirements for completing said quests were, but also the completion percentage, as noted by her saying I should turn in my Daily Quest. Then she could also see the fact that my previous quests for the day were all just hanging there, ready to be closed out.

"Okay, so what's the problem?" Mallory asked, concern in her voice as she began to see the reason for my hesitation.

"I need to re-synchronize with the server," I admit.

With that everyone pauses and then looks at each other, then back to me.

"Okay, we don't have much time, but would this be an escalated support ticket?" Mallory asked. Then as if hearing something ridiculous Gwen pipes in.

"You know there aren't any support staff anymore. Heck, my ticket from months ago is still waiting to be processed." Hearing Gwen's comments, Mallory paused and seemed to come to a form of agreement.

"Yeah, for a while I thought you were being groomed to be some sort of custodial guardian of the server," Mallory stated dismissively.

Hearing her words, I could all but feel them glowing with golden intention and truth. Confused by her revelation that just got dropped on me, I felt like I just got hit with a haymaker, "wait, what?"

My articulate reply to such a comment. A comment that was quickly dismissed by Mallory with the waving of her hand, "nothing, just forget about that. It is clear that this is not the case, especially with you now having been abducted by aliens for a month."

Then with that Mallory turns to Gwen and begins to actually talk, well, half talk, have interpretive dance.

With them preoccupied, I turn to Penelope who has not left my side this entire time.

"Wait, what is this about a custodial guardian?" I asked.

Hearing my words Penelope paused and then just shrugged, "it's a theory that has been gaining traction. That the way the server could save money on hiring moderators was by having internal people basically police the server themselves. People like you."

I paused trying to mentally grip this idea, as it did sort of make sense in that whole cultist vibe feel, but it also didn't make sense.

"Wait, how are we losing money? Doesn't everyone's retirement go to pay for this?" I asked.

"Initially yes, but there are laws that are being passed that will effectively end retirement benefits for people who do not vote within twelve years."

"How is this the first I've heard about this?" I ask.

"You don't have any contact with the outside world do you?" She asked. I of course shook my head thinking that those seven points for a flaw, that meant I couldn't receive hate messages from the outside world, suddenly looked like a bad investment.

There is another round of silence, but this is the calming one as I take a moment to try to mentally digest the information that my brain is trying to process.

"How long has this bill been in the works?" I asked.

"The funding had lack of support staff has been steadily decreasing for years now, which was when most support tickets began to have a delay. This was also around the time when the Legrand Empire really began going wild with their attacks, knowing that they would be able to conquer an entire territory before tickets could be even read or reacted to," Penelope answered.

This was odd, as I distinctly remember there being multiple minds working in the background a few months ago. "Did they cut the funding for the AIs as well?"

"From what I can tell, yes," Penelope replied. Suddenly I felt bad about lashing out at that one entity that always tried to stop my actions from succeeding. This would also explain why it has become increasingly easier for me to force changes to happen to the world. The safeguards and handrails that had been in place to prevent such actions were now gone and replaced by loose scaffolding and the equivalent of "Do Not Enter" signs.

As we are speaking, I think I can almost feel the presence of the system staring at me. I turn to face in the direction and nothing, my Angel's Sight still shows the same three hundred and sixty degree view of everything within the World's End territory lines. Yet, I swear not four feet away, I can feel the presence of the system staring at me.

"Is there something important that happened today?" I asked.

"Yes, the vote to repeal retirement for elderly that are not around to prove their lives is up for vote and has already passed the House and is expected to be pushed through the Senate rather quickly," Penelope stated.

Hearing her I could see that this would be a huge blow.

"This would negate your pension?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've been here more than twelve years, meaning my retirement funds would be freed up to be spent elsewhere."

This suddenly got very dark, not with anticipation, but with an emotion that was fueled by anticipation, that is Fear. Yeah, okay I get it, Anticipation is already covered from multiple angles, no reason to make it, its own thing. I mentally huff at the system.

Gentle giggles.

At that though, I can all but hear an enchanting voice gently laughing within my mind. That's when I know for certain that I am right and that before me is the system. Maybe one of the last either AIs left to oversee the world, or maybe the last true system administrator. Either way, I take the moment, open my third eye and stare.

And nothing.

I don't know what I exactly expected to happen, but seeing nothing, while in the realm of possibilities, was not what I expected. Before I could get too lost in this thought, Mallory and Gwen were apparently done with their conversation as they turned back to face me.

That's when I saw them both in high definition. I was not ready for the closeup, which caused me to shake my head and close my third eye and try to let my mind adjust to the sudden shift in attention from being able to see the micro level ahead to the macro level overhead.

More laughing.

This time Gwen, Mallory, and Penelope all laughed at my clear disorientation. After a moment of laughing at my awkwardness, Mallory asks the one-million-coin question, "what do you need to do in order to resynchronize yourself?"

Hearing the question, I want to deny and say that I don't know, but just as I am about to say that, I feel a tightening of my stomach as I realize this is a lie. I do know how to resynchronize.

"I need to sleep," I finally respond.

Silence.

There is an awkward pause as everyone seems to be waiting for more clarification or further instructions. Like maybe sleep while juggling burning chainsaws, or something else equally ridiculous.

"That's it? Sleep?"

"Yes," I reply still hesitant, as I don't want this day to end. Especially not if I once again find myself, there.

Then just as I have this thought, I receive a new system message.

Quest Found: Resynchronize and Begin the Final Steps: Go to sleep, resynchronize, and when you wake up you will still be here, ready for the next step of your journey. Conditions: Lie down, close your eyes, and allow your mind to shut off for a moment. Rewards: Experience, Resynchronization, Backlog of Experience still pending, conditional.

Just as I got the message, Mallory too seemed to get the same message as she paused, looked vacant for a second, then stared back at me.

After seeing the message, Mallory looked visibly flustered. Taking her hands, she placed them on her hips and asked, "what you don't like free experience anymore?"

"What?" Gwen and Penelope both asked in unison.

With that, Mallory rather than arguing just threw my quest out there for everyone to see.

Floating Blue Text.

The two paused as they read the floating text, then stopped to stare at me. Again, the anticipation in their gazes let me know I needed to answer before this got any more awkward.

"I know, I know what I need to do," I replied, "I, I just…" I trailed off.

Hug.

With that Penelope hugged me, my face pressing against her chest and I wanted to resist for a moment, but suddenly I could swear that I could feel her love pouring off of her. Not the cheap slimy love that Robi had, but the real deep true love that you could only have for a very dear friend or close personal family member.

Feeling her embrace me in such a way, I felt the tension in my body give out, as I suddenly felt so very weak.

"Shh!" She cooed gently as she slowly rocked me down until I was somehow resting my head in her lap. At which point she began stroking her fingers through my hair. With each brush and wave of her hand, I felt a wave of tension leave me that I didn't know I had been carrying.

"Fine, I'll go to sleep," I responded angrily, well as angrily as I could muster at the moment, which came out more of the mild huff of a child. It was then that I realized I was being childish, but I didn't quite care at the moment.

Chuckles.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" Mallory asked, slightly concerned.

At that I just turned my head to face her and look at her like she was mental. Fortunately, Gwen was there to voice my thoughts as I couldn't quite think of anything, it had been such a long day, and I hated to admit it, but I truly felt safe for the moment.

"She has non-twenty-four, as she's blind, meaning she never can tell if it is dark or not," Gwen replied.

At that Mallory just nodded her head, then finally stooped down to get close enough to stare me in the eyes. She had to tilt her head slightly to do so, but then she asked, "so why are you so afraid of going to sleep?"

I wanted to protest, to stretch it all out, but then finally I just gave up and answered, "I'm afraid that if I go to sleep, then I will wake up there, and you will be gone and this will have all been nothing more than a dream."

At that, Mallory looked like she wanted to chide me, to tell me to buckle up and try harder. Then she looked at me, and took a deep breath to center herself before responding, "well I tell you what, I've got nothing more important than you right now. So you lie down, you go to sleep and when you wake up, I'll be here."

"Same," Gwen replied.

"Same, though I might reposition my legs," Penelope added as she did just that and kicked her feet out to a more relaxed position. Then continued to stroke my hair.

Turning up to face her, I looked up and found myself just staring and wanting to ask something, but didn't quite feel appropriate.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Can you hold my hand?" I asked as I held up my right hand.

Chuckling.

The world bounced for a moment as Penelope laughed at the gesture but then used her left hand to hold my right. With that I turned, draping her arm over top of me, and finally forced myself to try to relax.

Mentally, I could still feel a threat looming, just waiting for me to drop my guard, but I felt safe and secure with my friends and family around.

I knew that even though I was tired, it might take a minute to get my brain to shut off completely. That's why I focused on my Meditation, breathing in, then breathing out. Then Penelope began to stroke my hair again, and suddenly I felt the world melt around me as my consciousness faded to black.

Darkness.

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