The Infinite Bk. 02 Ch. 08

Noah set her on the bed and attacked her with full force. On her back, she was left grabbing the blankets while her breasts shook as if the earth was quaking. Her legs were spread, her toes curling and stretching. The look on her face, overwhelmed and intoxicated, was one of euphoric subjection. As soon as he pulled out, she rolled onto her stomach and raised her ass as an invitation, like he and she were beasts in the wild. Her fluffball tail twitched in anticipation, and she was close to begging.

He took her from behind, attacking with precise savagery that broke her body and mind. Everyone had their preferred intensity level and a sexual resonance frequency, and Noah could isolate it like a master thief cracking a safe. He had been vigorous with Tin and casual with Beth, but Bella needed it hard. She put on the airs of a seasoned courtesan and had the skills to back it up, so to make her crumble and melt in his hands, he needed to prey on her without mercy. He slapped her ass, pulled her air, and pounded her slit, with her body welcoming him like a flower opening its petals to take in the sun.

She held onto the bed like she was lost at sea, clinging to whatever would keep her head above the smashing waves. Her whole body rippled as Noah slammed into her with twists and swirls to stir her up. As she had learned with Noah, it was not a matter of when she'd cum, but a question of how many times. She went limp as endless climaxes rolled through her, powerful enough to start a stopped heart. Finally, Noah moved onto the bed and hefted his cock next to her face. Trembling, she gathered her strength to finish the job.

She sucked him off with love and dedication while Noah, his hand between her legs, stroked her clit and played with her plump lips. Like her nipples, how he played with her clit would cause different reactions with her rabbit ears. She shuddered from his touch, strong as always but giving her only pure pleasure.

Now it was Noah's turn to cum, and Bella put in her best efforts. She sucked the head voraciously while jacking him off. She saw the subtle twitches that not even Noah could hide. She opened her mouth and let Noah fill it like a specimen cup. She rolled his semen around in her mouth, showing it to him, wanting him to see her swallow it.

Noah didn't praise her, at least, not with words. Instead, he stood up off the bed and pulled her over so her legs were hanging off the edge. He left her clit to his thumb, with his ring and middle finger probing her depths. There was no introduction, no build-up; he simply went straight for her G-spot in a continued assault that almost appeared painful. The noises she made and the look on her face were like a sexual seizure. He was so fast and forceful, and it just became more intense. His other hand was around her throat, not choking her, simply keeping her from moving around.

The sound his fingers were making inside her, the squelching and splashing, was unmistakable. Drops of liquid lust were starting to land on the floor. Bella was arching her entire body while she made half-hearted attempts to stop him. She was cumming harder than ever in her life, and it terrified her, feeling as though her sanity would be washed away by the clear liquid soaking the bed. She desperately grabbed onto him and bent her body like a demon was being exorcised, her voice drawing people's attention outside while she squirted like a fountain.

Once the storm between her legs had run its course, Noah finally let her go, and Bella, jittery and spasming, slid off the bed and slumped to the floor, kneeling in a puddle of her own nectar. There was a hysterical smile on her face, though it was wet with tears, and the noises she was making were a mix of crying and laughter. Noah crouched down and lifted her chin. No words were spoken, but the look on his face and the glimmer in his eyes was all he needed to comfort her. He wiped the tears from her cheeks, and she clung to his arm as though afraid he'd leave.

"Can I have a hug, please?" she asked, barely able to speak.

He embraced her, with Bella holding onto him until her fit ended and her body calmed. Noah lifted her and set her once more on the bed so that she could rest. That last climax had robbed her of all her strength. He sat beside her, his hand caressing her cheek.

"I don't know how I can keep doing this job after that," she murmured. "I'll always know what I'm missing out on without you here."

"Well, I'll be attending the academy, so I'll be nearby. If I can get time off, I'll come visit."

"I don't know if I can wait that long."

"You can, you will, and someday, you'll have forgotten all about me. You'll retire, find a husband, and be happier than you ever thought possible. We'll pass each other on the street, and you won't even recognize my face or remember my name."

"Why would you say such a thing?"

"So that you'll enjoy the present and look forward to the future. Life is too short for you to pine after me."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then got dressed and left. He had rested up, but was starving after a light breakfast and no lunch. He went back down to the parlor. "How's Daniel?" he asked, approaching the bar.

"Rita said she's done all she can do, so he's out of the woods, but he still hasn't woken up," said Lucius.

Noah huffed. "I might know something that'll snap him out of it."

He stepped out into the streets, where the activity was winding down as the sun started to dip. Tomorrow was the festival, so there was a lot of excitement in the air, even as the late afternoon sun began closing shops. Noah perused the stalls and tents selling food and filled himself with an early dinner. He even stopped at a bakery for honey cakes to indulge his sweet tooth and put some sugary fuel in the tank. Even now, his taste buds cried out for processed foods. He also stocked up on potions in preparation for the night. His final stop was the familiar harp maker's shop.

"Ah, it's you," the old man said. "Your crazy friend came here yesterday, but I wasn't sure I'd see you again."

"Is it finished?"

"You bet, and I must say, I'm pretty proud of this beauty."

He slipped into his workshop and returned with the completed guitar in his hands, and even Noah was impressed. The woodwork was excellent and grafted perfectly to the carapace Noah had donated. Much of Daniel's old guitar survived the transplant, and a line of runes was carved above the pickguard.

"Depending on how well it works, I might start making more."

"Something tells me it'll work," Noah said as he received it.

He was no stranger to playing the guitar, and even while out of tune, the feeling and sound of the strings invoked a pleasant nostalgia. He was even tempted to keep it for himself. Noah handed the man a stack of silver coins. It was a pricey investment, but Noah was feeling hopeful. He returned to the Knight's Sheath with the guitar and a bag of food, and Lucius stared with a raised eyebrow.

"Is that the "guitar" thing that Daniel kept yammering about?"

"That's right. If this doesn't wake him up, nothing will."

He went into the back room, where Daniel lay like one of the dead. At least his wounds had all been mended. Noah pulled a stool next to the cot and began tuning the guitar. He had learned and relearned how to play countless times, along with numerous other instruments, but he hadn't touched a guitar since his previous life, and eighteen years was long enough to leave him understandably rusty. He tried multiple times to force his fingers to remember moves they had never made.

He started strumming with a coin serving as a pick, laying out the opening to 'Stairway to Heaven'. He mumbled the lyrics, having little attention he could divert from the strings. Daniel talked about memorizing songs, prided himself on nothing but his skills, and if that were true, then hopefully, he would have burned this song into his soul. Daniel began to twitch and make small utterances, like a dog dreaming of chasing squirrels. Finally, he opened his eyes.

"Your timing is off," he said with a dry voice that was barely audible.

"Well truth be told, I'm better on piano, but that project will have to wait for another time. Here." Noah passed him a waterskin. "Welcome back." It took all of Daniel's strength to sit up and take it, and his hands were clearly stiff. Nevertheless, he drank nearly half of it in one huge gulp. "How do you feel?"

"I'm pretty sure there is more water than this up my ass."

"You probably aren't the first person to use that phrase in this building." Noah held up his hand. "Follow my finger with your eyes. Again, probably a common phrase here."

"What, they teach you this in health class?" Daniel asked while trying to keep his gaze steady.

"That's right." He gave Daniel a brief checkup and found no serious health concerns. He'd have to buy Rita a big bouquet of flowers. "What happened?"

"I was on my way back from the harp guy. Remember that dude that Lucius threw out? He found me, beat the shit out of me, and tossed me into the sea. He had already given me a shiner earlier, but Rita fixed it."

"Well you're lucky to have survived. There is no telling if you'd just get sent to another world."

"Whoop-de-fucking-doo." Daniel laid back and covered his eyes with his arm. "I should be dead. I wish I was dead. I did what you said, trying to live clean, trying to change, but no matter what I do, I end up right back here, waking up after getting curb-stomped. No matter how many times I turn, I just walk into something painful. I don't want another life, and I don't deserve it."

"Since when do people ever get what they deserve?" Noah looked down at the guitar and continued playing. "Whatever you did, your sins can't reach you here. Here, the past exists only in your mind."

"Bullshit."

A few moments passed, and Noah's playing improved. "I didn't actually die in a school shooting. It was suicide."

Daniel was left stunned. "You're shitting me. Why?"

"You know exactly why. You know why I did it, why others do it, why you want to do it. To spare you a long story, I simply didn't have any connections in my own life. There was nothing I cared about. Where I lived, the members of my family, everything I would miss out on; they just didn't matter to me at all. Life was just a game, and I was a player surrounded by NPCs. I didn't even hesitate or leave a note. I'm probably the last person who should be giving you a pep talk or the 'life is worth living' speech. All I can say is that dying won't help you.

I don't know why or how we ended up here, but you and I died, and what changed? Are you any happier than you were in your old life? Better? Worse? You're lying here, the literal living proof that death can't solve your problems. So do you believe that doing it again would work? Trust me, dying has yet to change me for the better, but this world has given me new possibilities and chances I didn't have in my old life. I'm willing to hope that those new possibilities will lead me to the answers I seek; same for you."

Daniel was struggling to hold back tears. "I don't care about answers. I already know everything I gotta know... and I know... that I can't live like this anymore. It's just not worth it anymore."

Noah stopped playing. How? How could he make him understand? This crying child? How could he make Daniel, who had barely lived his life, feel the weight of what he wished to surrender? How could he get him to appreciate the time he had? Noah had experienced it all, the greatest joys and sorrows that life could give him, and he knew how much power a single second held.

Within every second was the potential for a catastrophe or a miracle, changing lives and worlds. Despite being cursed with infinite life, he understood the value of time more than the mortals who had so little. He knew the power of a single moment, the possibility it brought. He knew how briefly human life flickered, a mere grain of sand in the hourglass of time, but it was filled with so much potential.

"You think yourself hopeless because you have no power to change your world or right your wrongs, but you have more power than you could ever imagine. You think you have nothing to live for, but that is because you're blind to a universe full of beauty and sensation, filled with countless things to devote your life to.

To live or die is a choice you have the power to make, but whatever reason you come up with, that reason only exists because you believe it does. It is you that decides what affects your life. The power to find happiness is already within you." He handed Daniel the guitar and a sack of food. "The only true meaning is the meaning we create for ourselves, so if you want a reason to live, create one."

Noah got to his feet and left Daniel there. He had done all he could. Only time would tell whether he got through to him. Besides, night was falling.

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