The World Reborn
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Yata stood in the Serpent of Lore in Tartarga and looks across the Eternal City of Mac Anu. He took a deep breath.
"It's time…" Yata pushed up his glasses. "For the gods to be reborn." He punched in some keystrokes and carefully pressed enter.
A blue warp spiral appears behind him, revealing a beautiful girl with strange heart-shaped signs on her legs, sides, arms, and forehead. She wears a pink and orange, unevenly cut top and skirt, midriff exposed, with ballet slippers on her feet. She has matching colored fairy-like wings, and does not stand but floats in place. Her red hair is half-up in a bun, and her long bangs fall around her light pink eyes, which currently look blank.
"It's time for you to bring the World back to the way it was." Yata turned to her and touches her head gently. "Welcome home, WRAI." Suddenly, she blinks and looks at Yata with affection. She opens her mouth to speak.
"It's good to see you, Father."
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Haseo sat in the pews of Hulle Granz Cathedral. He sighed and looked at the Tri-Edge sign that scarred the altar. "When is CC Corp gonna fix that?" He thought, wondering if Piros the 3rd would do anything about it or the other signs. They were ugly, and not just because they marred the data, but because of what they stood for: sorrow, pain, shattered memories, buried trust… Ovan.
Footsteps echoed in the church and came closer to Haseo. He heard them but didn't bother looking; he already knew who it was. "Sitting here all alone?" Shino stood next to her friend, her hands behind her back and leaning down to see Haseo's eyes.
"I was just… thinking."
"Thinking, eh?" Shino sat next to him. "About someone in particular?" She pried, already knowing the answer.
"Ovan." He said. "About the last thing he said to me in the Forest of Pain."
"I see." Shino said simply, wanting him to just say everything on his mind.
"I just can't get him out of my head. And everything he's done… I don't know. He's just haunting me."
"Hm." She nodded. "He does have that effect on people."
"Yeah." They sat in silence for a few minutes, the two staring at the glowing mark. "I think… I should look for him."
"Really?" Shino raised an eyebrow. "You seemed hesitant, there."
"Well…" Haseo rubbed the back of his head. "I want to find him, but then I don't, you know?" He sighed.
"I think I understand." She closed her eyes. "You and Ovan were always like that."
"The only thing is…" He stood up. "I don't know where to start looking. If he wasn't in the Cubia Core, and he wasn't in the Forest of Pain, where could he be?"
"Hm…" She stood as well. "I don't know, either, but I'm sure your friends are willing to help."
BING BING
"Huh? A short mail?" Haseo read it out loud. "Come to the Serpent of Lore in Tartarga. – Yata." He cringed. "Dammit, is he spying on me again?"
"Sounds important." She said. "You should go."
"Won't you come too?"
"… I think you should go alone." Shino smiled and went to the door.
"But…" Haseo followed after her. "Ovan's your friend, too."
"Haseo…" She gave him a hopeless smile. "Let's go back to town."
"Uh- alright."
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Haseo warped to Netslum Tartarga alone, and tried hurrying to the Serpent of Lore when he ran into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Said his attacker.
"Why don't you watch where you…" Haseo looked up to see Atoli. "A-Atoli!"
"Hello, Haseo." Atoli dusted herself off.
"What're you doing here?"
"Mr. Yata called me."
"He did?" I guess this isn't about Ovan after all. He thought.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm fine." He said. "Let's go see Yata."
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"You're late again!" Pi yelled at Haseo.
"!" He jumped in surprise. He looked around and saw the other Epitaph Users. "Why are we here?"
"You should know that more than the rest of them, Haseo." Yata said sarcastically.
"You heard me talking about Ovan?" Haseo got a little pissed that the weird guy was watching him.
"More or less." He answered. "This concerns all you Epitaph Users."
"This had better be good, Yata." Haseo crossed his arms.
"Impatient already…" Yata turned around in his dramatic way. "Hello, everyone. I suppose you think that The World is perfect now that AIDA and Cubia are gone."
"Is there some other virus, now?" Kuhn asked.
"Not quite." Yata pushed up his glasses. "I wish to return The World as it was originally told in the ancient history. The Lost Grounds will become vibrant, the Gods will be restored, and mythical creatures will roam freely. I call this new project, 'The World Reborn.'"
"You called us here for this?" Haseo snarled. "The World's fine the way it is. If there's a real problem, then you can call me."
"But it will help bring Ovan back." An unknown voice echoed through the room.
"Who was that?" Atoli asked while everyone looked around.
"Hmm." Yata snickered. "Allow me to introduce my daughter." He looked above him, and the strange, tattoed fairy appeared, floating in mid-air with sparkles around her feet.
"Daughter?" Pi was shocked. "I… didn't know you had a daughter, Master Yata."
"My name is WRAI! Nice to meetcha."
"Her PC has features that aren't available to the public." Endrance mused. "How is that, if she's not an Epitaph User?"
"My father gave me 'special privileges.'" She explained briefly before floating over to Haseo. "So, this is the hero, huh?" She smirked. "Not what I was expecting. He's kind of girly-looking."
"E-Excuse me?" Haseo was dumbfounded.
"You're speechless? I thought you'd be more fun."
"Sh-Shut up!" Haseo flushed in anger and embarrassment.
"That's enough, WRAI." Yata smiled. "WRAI is going to help revive Ovan."
"Wait… do you mean… you know how?"
"I'm afraid not. We will have to investigate."
"But, there is a way…"
"Yes. If we could awaken all the Lost Ones, than we can awaken him."
"And when he wakes up, we can rebuild The World." WRAI said. "Simple."
"Pardon me…" Atoli spoke up. "But is there a reason we need to rebuild The World?"
"Good question." Yata replied. "Eventually, without a restoration process, The World will collapse." They all made a gasping noise.
"Can't you just reboot it if it does?" Kuhn said.
"No, we would have to rebuild the game from scratch… if everyone playing at the time won't become Lost Ones, that is."
"What? Why didn't you say so earlier?" Haseo yelled. "Even admins?"
"Possibly even admins and users who are not playing." Yata said.
"Every player who's ever set foot into this World is connected to it on a spiritual level." WRAI folded her arms. "And even if the game was to be rebuilt, it would be nothing like it is now."
"Alright, fine." Haseo finally agreed. "Let's just find Ovan first."
"Great!" WRAI nodded. "Here's my address. Please invite me and someone else to come with us."
"Okay…" Man, I really want Shino to join us, but she's not strong enough yet… "Atoli, would you mind?"
"Not at all." She smiled cheerfully.
"Alright, I'll meet you at the Chaos Gate." WRAI smirked before flying through the bridge door without warping.
"Wha? How'd she do that?" Haseo said surprised. Yata just smirked.
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"Jeez, it took you long enough to get here." WRAI was impatient.
"Sorry, but I can't fly through walls like you can."
"I'm here!" Atoli ran up behind Haseo.
"Great, now first thing…" WRAI flew over to him. "Gimme the Epitaph seeds."
"Why?"
"Because I said so." Haseo gave her the seeds. When she took them, her heart-shaped tattoos glowed red. "These aren't just pieces of each Epitaph User; they're also pieces of Ovan."
"Really?"
"Uh-huh!" She smiled. "And they're pieces of you, too, and all the Epitaphs. They are all connected to each other. Ovan's consciousness is scattered throughout The World, and what we must do is find the pieces and put them together. What I'd like to know is where Ovan would spend most of his time."
"The Creator's Room is the first thing that comes to mind."
"That's where we're going last." WRAI stopped glowing. "That's where most of him is, I think."
"You have a great plan." Atoli said.
"Believe it or not, I know more about The World than my father does."
"How old are you?"
"Not as old as you!" She smirked. Haseo grumbled. "Come on, tell me Ovan's favorite places."
"Um, well…" He thought for a moment. "Arche Koeln Waterfall."
"Perfect, let's go there, then!"
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R&R so I'll make more! I hope you like! –Taru-chan