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CHAPTER 3: AWERENESS
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A small grass area. Close to midnight
The night was peaceful. One was able to hear the crickets, the night birds and the soft blow of the air.
Perfect for a night gazing activity, something that an earthling can't have anymore.
And at this place, a man has arrived, riding in his pony.
He dismounted and sat in the grass, observing for the last time the beautiful sky and stars.
He was starting to doubt again.
But he knew he has to do it.
Considering the situation, soon he will become a liability rather than help. And there was no way for him to become a waste of resources.
"I have to do it"
Those black thoughts have been swirling in his head for a long time, and the conclusion was the same.
It was sad, but very logical.
He has to think on the other ones too.
So immersed on his thoughts he was that he failed to register someone calling him and the steps on the grass closing by.
"Finally found you"
The one calling him was a girl in her early twenties riding an ostrich like bird, big enough to be used as a mount.
She dismounted quickly and rushed to the man, partly worried and partly angry at him.
She has guessed very quickly what he was up to.
"Really?! Just like that?!"
"I have told you already, I have nothing to provide to the League anymore. Just look at me! My strength is failing. I can't be an effective guard anymore. And I don't have the stamina to be a good far-"
"ENOUGH!"
The silence of the area made a big echo of a not particularly loud shout.
"That is not enough reason to leave like that"
"You are too young. You aren't aware of how the time passes. And how cruel is with the older ones"
"And you are not understanding how cruel you are being with the ones that care for you!"
The fifty something years old man lowered his head
"I know they will understand"
"And I know that you are lying. To yourself especially"
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The man was angry. Very angry
He was making his mind about the grim decision to make.
And this girl suddenly botched everything.
The worst of all? She was right.
In a small part of his mind he knew that he was making a cruel decision, and his family will never forgive him.
Trying to give them a future… and being very selfish at the same time.
"I have no reason to be angry at her. He doesn't understand the horrid fate that awaits the elderly. But she is completely right at the same time"
He slowly let go of his anger and faced her.
"Listen, I know that you are a stubborn mule, and there is no way that I can make you change your mind right now, but please… not tonight" She stretched a hand to him.
He was defeated, having to admit at the same time that he lacked the will, courage, guts or whatever it required to do the deed.
"I am a coward? Moreover, having been defeated that easily shows how weak minded I am"
He relaxed his face muscles
"No. That's denying that she is far more mature than most of her peers. She can convince a man much better than me with mere words"
"Ok girl. Not tonight"
He took her hand and got up, cleaning his cloth of the dust and dirt of his clothes.
"Am I feeling relieved? Wow, how weak minded I am. But still…"
He was wondering how he managed to get in that place.
Of course, his mind set won't change in any way just for a few words, but his weak resolve was crushed.
He had become fatalist, thinking the worst, and predicting grim future ahead.
It wasn't that uncommon really. If one observes how stuff has been developing now, is not rare to become pessimist.
Still, having been stopped that easily just showed how desperate he was for a helping hand.
Whatever it was, he should stop thinking at least for now. And focus on the girl who suddenly hugged him very tightly.
"You are doing something very inappropriate, lass"
"Don't care. For this night I have adopted you as my uncle. And you need a hug"
The older man couldn't help but smile, and returned the hug.
"Was all that a bit of desperation? Still, it's lingering there. Why I can't do it? It's the best. For all. I must do it."
He took a deep breath
"Not today old man, you promised"
He released the hug, and looked up at the sky.
"Stupid weak indecisive me"
"I know that things are horrible there, but please don't give up yet" Came the optimism of the girl that botched his misadventure.
She looked also at the sky
"Ok, now that I managed-"
She stopped suddenly, because something called her attention
The elder looked at where she as facing. And became dumbstruck.
What they were seeing was something that could only happen in fairy tales or fantasy books. Only the Sorcerer Kingdom of the far west could make such colossal feats of magic.
They looked at each other, and the unspoken "let's go see what is that" order was given.
So they rode their respective mounts and went closer to the event.
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+++B+U+U+J+A+C+K+++
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Alkor' Ziggurat, Arkandia's Guildbase
Six Floor's Throne Room
…Jotunnheim?
Still baffled by whatever had happened seconds ago, the angels were unsure by how to proceed.
"…dad…"
"…yes…"
"…what…that…"
The experience was strong, intoxicating, penetrating. Something entered in them and showed all of that.
"…maybe… we were that… dragon?"
The father could only agree with that. It felt so real.
He decided to rest his head in his hand, tapping the floor with the staff on his other hand.
He then realized-
"Soichirou!"
The shorter angel reacted, waking up from his confused thoughts.
"Have you realized? We are still here!"
"Yes we are here, so what is the prob-"
He immediately became very aware of what he meant: They were in their base, everything was there and they still were connected to the game.
"Why?"
The shutdown time had passed already, but they weren't logged out by force. The clock was still workin—
"Something is wrong…"
His HUD was gone. No health bar, MP bar, status screen, nothing.
The clock was still there… in a way. Not like the digital display, but…
"There wasn't any advertise about a beta demo of YGGDRASIL II. Could it be that it glitched instead?"
"Dad, your voice…"
Soichorou was somewhat confused by his father voice. It sounded… heavenly? Glorious? Regal? He couldn't stop thinking that the voice was worthy of a superior being.
"Your voice too" His father answered
"Is that really different?" He suddenly realized that his voice sounded very angelical. And also like the teenager that his avatar was.
While intrigued by the fact that their voices sounded very different, they also realized that everything looked real.
Far too real actually.
The chandeliers, the orbs, the stone floor, the carpet…
They also could feel their equipment wrapping around their body and the fact that they were actually holding their weapons in their hands became obvious.
Also…
"No, this can't be right. Those two NPC are looking at us?" Soichirou could see the NPC staring at them and not being completely static.
Their heads were moving albeit very subtle, and their body language screamed concern for them.
Especially the face of the mist elf, which suddenly has became very expressive.
"Those two are really watching us? Why do I feel being observed…" whispered the guildmaster.
"I don't know dad, but this shit is becoming too real. I knew that staying too long in the dive gear can confuse the senses, but we are getting too deep in the machine now" Soichirou whispered back.
"…yeees…. let's log out immediately!"
He immediately pressed the air with his index, the usual method of summoning the console…
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...nothing…
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He tried again several times.
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"…this…is not working"
"Same here dad!"
"…what is going on?..."
It has to be a glitch. There was no way that they tried to cyber kidnap both of them. That was considered a major cybercrime and was dealt with utmost priority.
The VR helmet that almost all people connected themselves when using the dive gear made sure that those crimes were bound to fail. The nanomachines allowed to immediately record every dive gear activity. So chances of a crime like dad were limited and in constant decay.
Then…
"GM call!"
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…nothing…
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"CHAT!"
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nothing
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The guildmaster tried again, this time looking at his son.
"CHAT!"
The younger player felt a weird feeling, like an attempt of… intromission? Into his head
[CHAT]
"Who's there?! Is that you shitty devs?!"
"Do you hear me?"
"Dad?, Is that you?"
"Yes, and it looks like the chat system works. Well, at least private chats" He realized something "Your voice sounds normal".
"Yours too"
"…ok, at least the private chat system works . So…."
[CHAT OFF]
He looked up, trying to…well…"target" the shitty devs
[CHAT]
"ARE THERE ANY SHITTY DEVS OUT THERE?!"
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….nothing….
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"You know that you are committing a crime for getting us trapped us here. So let us log out! IS NOT FUNNY!"
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…nothing…
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The CHAT function reached nowhere, seemingly.
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Now they were getting REALLY worried. Something has really malfunctioned, and their senses are hypersensitive to everything in the dungeon.
The lights of the chandeliers, the hardness of the floor, the sturdiness of their weapons (mace in case of Soichirou, staff for his father) and for the taller angel, the crystal throne.
The sensation of power emanating from their gear, the room features and specially the gigantic banner behind the throne was not comfortable at all.
And seeing the NPC downstairs looking at them, visibly worried, were creeping them to no end.
"No choice left dad! We log out forcefully of the dive gear, sensorial derangement be damned!"
"I'll go first! EMERGENCY LOG OUT! ID 550067! EJECT!"
…nothing…
"EMERGENCY LOG OUT! ID 550074! EJECT!"
…nothing…
Fear started to crawl in their hearts and skin, realizing the possibility of being trapped there was very real now.
"THE HELL WITH THIS!" Soichirou snapped, pushed the left side of his head and made a pulling maneuver.
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+++B+U+U+J+A+C+K+++
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The physical ejection system was the latest safety upgrade of the dive gear, and universally agreed that it was the most important: While cyberkidnapping is very dangerous and capable to literally trap a person in a computer program, the system allowed a chance to escape the dive gear.
It worked by overriding the synaptic connection with the computer and allowing to move their real body to reach a certain lever that forcefully shut downs the chair and allows the user to disconnect
The problem with this maneuver is that, aside of the sensorial derangement, is also a severe case of migraine and neuronal overload, with the risk of getting permanent nerve damage.
This was a dangerous maneuver, so the system was programed automatically to make an emergency call to the authorities in order to get the affected one to the hospital and report the incident immediately.
By one touching the left side of the head s/he becomes capable to feel the dive gear and reach the level
But…
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+++B+U+U+J+A+C+K+++
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…nothing…
There it was, the final proof that they were trapped in the game.
Desperation rose very quickly and the fear that had been simmering suddenly erupted.
"wha….this is…..WHAT THE HELL IS GOING O- WHOA!"
Soichirou didn't realize that he had been taking steps closer and closer to the stairs, and in the last one he stepped into air.
However, he managed to not fall, because in his desperation he unconsciously flapped his wings, managing to regain equilibrium and stable footing.
The recovery of balance helped to calm a tiny bit.
And then…
"My lord, are you all right?"
"Are you hurt, young lord?"
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Soichirou froze in place. The two NPCs were talking to him.
THE TWO NPCs WERE TALKING TO HIM!
And that was not the worst of it.
The mist elf 's face looked really worried, and eager to serve. Such ability to express facial emotions was unheard of.
And the body language of both NPC was too complex to code.
They looked alive
Far too alive.
They had also appeared in front of him almost immediately, something he took some time to realize.
"Please young lord, if there is anything that I can do for you, let me know" came the beautiful voice of the war lady.
Both angel players were completely dumbfounded. NPC weren't that complex. This was not possible. Managing to develop that complexity requires a huge amount of processing data, something that YGGDRASIL lacked (and most computers, in fact)
[CHAT]
"Dad, whats going on?"
"I don't know, looks like something has glitched and the AI…. OK I HAVE NO CLUE!"
"…but they are reacting to us" Soichirou pointed at the NPC, who immediately showed their respect: both kneeling immediately "…let me try something".
[CHAT OFF]
He approached both of the NPC and called them
"Rodoph! Kurenai!"
Both NPC raised their heads
"EMERGENCY LOG OUT! ID 550074! EJECT!"
Both NPC looked at him. Clearly they didn't understood the eject command
"…well, in that case…"
"I need a GM contact. Log out is not possible"
"If there is a small chance that the YGGDRASIL engine is still left there, maybe there is a way to contact them. Or at least access some of the commands"
At least that was Soichirou expected
However…
"My apologies my lord, I am unable to understand your request. Please forgive me for my deficiencies" answered the mist elf .
"If there is anything we can do to rectify our mistakes, please let us know. We will do anything" came the beautiful voice of the war lady.
The players looked at each other
[CHAT]
"…dad… am I… having a conversation with the NPCs?!"
"…looks like…"
[CHAT OFF]
It was weird to have a conversation with an AI like a real person. Even the most advanced AI, although very capable, were clearly behind what humans could do (their ability of passing the Turing test being not enough). Despite the impressive technology progress, true conscious or sentience was still unreachable.
Anyway, the guildmaster decided to give a try. A small test shouldn't make anything worse isn't?
"Rodoph, Kureani, who am I?"
"You are Leoric Shakuras, the supreme leader of the Arkandia's guild. The one who took the mantle of leadership when Lady Persephone travelled into the void for the last time".
The answer of the mist elf confused both players. He had identified correctly the current guildmaster and the previous one, but he did that in a very different way from the preprogrammed answer codified in him. The fact that he did that in a very energetic and solid way made their heads spin.
"What the heck he meant by "travelling into the void" anyway?"
"And who am I?" asked Soichirou
"You are the young lord Aidan Shakuras, the one and only heir of the Arkandia's guild. The one who saved me long ago from my cruel destiny, and the one who has my complete and absolute devotion, my young lord." Answered the war lady.
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Ok, this was getting ridiculous. Was this some kind of kingdom and was he the crown prince of the Arkandia guild?
"What did she meant by "cruel destiny"? And why she is still staring at me?!"
"And who are you?" asked the guildmaster at the elf.
"I am Rodoph, grand chancellor of the Arkandia's, created by the will of the great leaders to be the overseer of Alkor."
[CHAT]
"Dad, what is going on?! Is this some super advanced form of roleplay?!"
"…well, technically, he's right. Looks like the NPCs think that they are what they were designed to do in the game. Or… maybe they ARE what they were designed to do…"
"So, that means that we, the guild members, are the great lords that created everything?!"
"..seems…"
"Still, the main question. Are they… alive?"
"…seems…"
"…let me make a little test"
[CHAT OFF]
"Kurenai"
The lady immediately raised her head
"My lord?"
"Ok, now I can going into the fire. I hope I react properly"
"Can you please take out your mask and helmet?"
"Or course, young lord"
She immediately took of her mask and helm, revealing the supernatural beauty behind it.
Fair skin, beautiful golden lupine eyes, shiny silvery white hair and two white wolf ears that added an air of mysticism to her already inhumanly beautiful appearance.
"Beautiful…" he couldn't help to mutter.
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Rodoph eyes got wider and looked immediately at his peer. Leoric eyes widened, looked at his son and then to Kurenai, before returning to face his son with a small smirk.
And Kurenai shuddered a little. She still made an attempt to show herself dignified and very professional, something that was impossible considering that her tail was waving softly but very happily.
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He had screwed up. Totally. FUBAR.
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His idea was to analyze closely her reactions, how she moves, she behaves. Even trying direct contact in a scientifically way.
The only thing he managed was get mesmerized by her (now completely alive) supernatural beauty, and his brain could only process her looks.
"You are an idiot~… You are an idiot~… You are an idiot~…"
Still, considering that they still were seen as the greatest authorities of the ziggurat, he tried to regain composure and save what little face remained.
"… EJEM! Kurenai! Rodoph!"
"Yes"
Fortunately, their demeanor turned serious again, partially relieving Soichirou/Aidan of his embarrasement.
"Leave this room. No one is allowed to enter until we say so"
"At once"
They saw both of them bowing their head and left the room.
However Kurenai's white tail was waving happily again, all the way until both left the room.
Almost immediately a joyful laughter was heard
"DAD!"
"Sorry. But this was too funny!" He laughed again.
The young player hated himself for that reaction. He wasn't going to deny that he has gotten quite fond of the wolf NPC, so he already expected that he was going to react to her.
But to display that monumental level of idiocy…
"When you finish laughing, I'll like you to help me analyze what the heck are we going to do now!"
"Ok ok, I'm calming down"
Indeed, it wasn't easy to process all that happened until that moment. First, they were stuck in the game or so it seemed. Then, they were stuck in their avatar bodies. And lastly, the NPC were alive.
After a moment of thinking and failing to get an answer, Soichirou/Aidan decided to break the silence.
"At least looks like that everything is alive, and works, like YGGDRASIL"
"Yes, and without a console isn't?"
"As you saw, I gave an order to the NPCs without a command console and they obeyed. Moreover, the order was not only atypical by YGGDRASIL standards, but relatively complex, sort of. No way that was possible in YGGDRASIL. And…" He decided to move his wings, albeit it was a clumsy attempt "I can move them. I don't need to think too much on it"
He decided to make a bigger effort, and the result was his wings flapping, less clumsy.
"It's like I knew how to do it, but I have to remember how. Like I haven't used them much"
His father got up from the throne and did the same movements. His first attempts were... well… comical. But he got better eventually.
"Yes, looks like you are right".
"Can we fly?"
Soichirou decided to make an attempt at flying. However, he ended crashing in the walls of the throne room, his mace flying from his hands a bit far from him.
The NPCs entered the room
"Young lord, are you all right?" Kurenai entered, with a clearly worried look on her face. Soichirou/Aidan had trouble staying cool, his pride being wounded, but he mustered the strength.
"I'm fine. Please stay outside until we call you" Soichirou/Aidan attempted to calm Kurenai, who, seeing her master unscathed and standing up, breathed in relief. "No one should enter until we decide it"
"Understood my lord. We will be waiting outside in case you need us" Rodoph delivered the fallen mace to his young lord.
He was very uncomfortable touching the weapon of his lord and master, because it IS the weapon of his lord and master. But it was the most appropriate action at the moment.
Soon the NPC exited the room.
Both angels realized immediately that hey had forgotten a critical element regarding the NPC.
"Son… are we sure that the NPCs are still loyal to us?"
"Well… yes? I mean… they called us the supreme leader and the heir respectably"
"I think is too early to take the loyalty of the NPCs for granted."
"At least those two are clearly loyal to us"
"But the loyalty of the others? Son, this is no good. If some of the NPC behavior has changed, we can be in a lot of trouble"
"Yes, you are right. Now I think that is very important that we learn to use our bodies before something happens. I wouldn't want to use Kurenai and Rodoph as permanent shields if the worst comes to pass. They can't take all the other NPC in any way"
"Then we need to practice more"
First, they decided to leave their weapons in the throne, very aware now that their flying test could be very exciting.
And Soichirou/Aidan was very eager to try again. His wounded pride won't allow him to stay calm.
"Ok, second try"
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+++B+U+U+J+A+C+K+++
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Kurenai and Rodoph were outside the doors of the throne room, a bit worried about how their lords were behaving.
She had a little bit of joy for having been called beautiful. However, that didn't lasted long. And the noise they heard from inside the room made them very worried.
Although reassured that no problems were having their lords, the worry was growing inside their hearts.
"What is happening to the lords?" Kurenai was unable to hold her concern.
"Easy Kurenai. Getting emotional won't do any good. We need to get a cool head and process"
He knew that he had to calm his peer immediately. He was very aware on how close was she to the young lord and how overly concerned could she get when there a small possibility of the young lord getting injured or having problems appears.
Of course, everyone in the ziggurat had a lot of devotion and were very worried for the well being of their masters.
But regarding the well being of the young lord, Kurenai was in a league of her own. Which was completely understandable, knowing their history and how she came to Alkor's ziggurat.
And now, thanks to the little angel blunder, the very spread rumor that the young lord also has feeling for Kurenai became more solid.
"I don't think I can. Did you saw how the lords were…not themselves?"
"Be careful with your words" Retorted angry at what implied his peer. "Sadly, at much as I hate what you are saying, I have to agree with you"
"They looked like they didn't knew where they were, who they are, what they were… I'm sorry but I don't understand what is happening" She never liked seeing her young lord worried, angry or sad.
She had experienced before some of his sadness and anger, but this was very different.
This time, they seemed to be unable to recognize themselves.
She always lamented the fact that she was unable to express herself, act herself and be closer to the young lord. Something in YGGDRASIL always prevented her doing that, unless she received a direct order from her lord.
She was always happy with every order received, because it meant interaction with her lord.
And now, now that she finally was able to move freely, unbound by the rules or laws of YGGDRASIL, she discovered that she was unable to do anything to help. Mostly because she couldn't understand what was going on with them.
"Do you think that something happened? In fact, do you feel that something happened?"
The question snapped Kurenai from those thoughts.
Suddenly, the worries that were seen in the great lords became logical. In fact, something could have happened. Something that only the great lords could have detected.
Finding necessary to perform some tests, Kurenai made some movements, stretches and made a vertical jump, reaching a height that no human could be able to. Not even half of it.
Then she proceeded to use her naginata. She started to do some movement with it, imagining fighting imaginary opponents.
Basically a kata, with the naginata.
Her movements were graceful, but very deadly, worthy of a supreme master of the weapon.
"Well, my body feels normal, like always has been" she said, seeing the puzzled face of his colleague, after seeing her doing all that.
The elf also made some movements, and checked his equipment and went through the pages of his book, reading the arcane letters and numbers. Something impossible in the game, considering that the book actually was an offhand item made to boost stats of any magic user PC or NPC. Only meant to be a solid object in YGGDRASIL in the shape of a closed book, it has become now a real magical book.
But for Rodoph, everything was normal.
"My equipment, given by the grace of the great lords, is still working as usual"
He also took some time to examine his misty aura and if it was working properly. And found nothing strange.
However, he decided to try something
[Reinforce armor] [Protection energy: negative] [Water veil]
Rodoph's body shone as the magic buffs took effect. He also could feel the magic energy wrapping his body, and to what degree exactly they were working.
"My magic works normally too"
Kurenai decided to use some of her skills
[Skill: Eye of the wolf] [Skill: Greater reflexes]
Kuranei felt hoy her body strengthens with the activation of the skills. The common sensation that always occurred each time she used any of them.
"My skills work too"
She decided to confirm if her item box was working. So she took off her mask and helmet and put them inside.
"The item box works too"
Then Rodoph took some steps away from Kurenai. And…
[MESSAGE]
She felt something in her head that could only be described as a phone call (for us at least, how NPCs interpret that is a very interesting question). So she put her middle and index finger into her side of the head.
"Who's there?"
"Kurenai, can you hear me?"
"Yes, loud and clear" The voice of Kurenai resonated within the head of Rodoph
"Message works too"
[MESSAGE OFF]
[Fly]
Rodoph left the ground, and hovered gracefully to his previous spot.
"I don't have any impediment when using any of my spells"
"And my skills are having the exact effect I expected to have. The item box is fine too"
"Maybe… maybe there are other things that changed. Some that only the great leaders understand". Rodoph was sure that the problem was something unfathomable for mere creations like him. The more he replayed the events in the throne room, the more it made sense.
"Tell me Kurenai, are you sure that you have no idea of what the great lords are worrying about? You, of all of us being the only one capable of leaving the sacred ziggurat, having spent the most of the time with them, must have a clue of what is worrying our lords."
"Well… honestly I'm not sure" Kurenai was trying to remember her time spent with the young lord, but most of that was questing in order to make her stronger.
" What I remember is the supreme leader Lady Persephone complaining about some entities called "Shi-Itheidev" that destroyed one of her chances to get more power. She explained about a "convenient lag" and about… gaming accounts?"
"…Yes, strange terms…"
"Well, I was angry at the moment at those entities who mocked out the supreme leader. But for some reason, they let go of their grudge rather quickly"
He wanted to ask more about those entities, but considering that the great lords considered the offense not important, and the fact that there were more pressing issues, he decided to leave it for later.
"…ok. What else?"
"Well…" Kurenai started to smile "I remember the great lords praising me about my growth of power". Then she got anxious. "Lord X-Tra was complaining about me because I did a "steal kill" on a powerful enemy".
"Steal kill…". Suddenly Rodoph got very angry "You snatched a glorious kill from one of the great lords?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"
"I DIDN'T KNEW! HOW COULD I HAD KNOWN?! AND BESIDES I NEVER MEANT THAT!"
Kurenai released herself (rather easily) from the grip that Rodoph, unknowingly, made to her.
Nearby, some manservants heard the yells and approached the throne room doors.
They were sent away by a wave of hand of Rodoph. "I hope they hadn't heard anything."
"Listen, Lord X-Tra was mad at me for that. But what baffled me is that the rest of the great lords was laughing and some of them praised me for achieving a victory" Then Kurenai blushed a bit "The young lord was so proud at me."
Rodoph was completely confused about what he had heard. While he could understand that the great lords made fun of each other, it was weird for an NPC to be the source of the fighting.
After all, they are here to fulfill the will of the great lords, not be a reason of infighting.
"It's still strange"
And he took note of another detail that added more weight to the rumor of the young lord Aidan and Kurenai having feelings for each other.
"What else?"
"Eventually lord X-Tra forgave me. He approached me one day that the lords gathered and said that he didn't held anything against me. Especially because my "steal kill" allowed them to discover an unexpected racial power that only beings like me could access".
Now that was interesting. He knew that Kurenai was different, but not to the extent of being able to access a unique power. He always thought that the great lords themselves gave her that special power.
"Looks like lord X-Tra doesn't hold any grudge anymore" Rodoph finally relaxed. He had to admit that without the young lord backup, she would have gotten into serious trouble.
But it seemed like no consequences were after that steal kill, so he eased up.
"Still, she has to be very careful from now on. She won't have another stroke of luck or benevolence"
"Please continue"
But Kurenai didn't heard him. Currently she was lost in her thoughts. She was remembering how everyone was teasing her beloved young lord about how close he was to her.
He usually got angry and told everyone to shut up.
"But he never denied that" Was the little detail that make her extremely happy.
She was blushing. And her tail was waving happily.
"KURENAI!"
Rodoph managed to wake her up from her daydreaming
"Anything else Kurenai?"
"Well…" She took a moment to think a bit more. "What I also remember is that the great lords usually talked about "logging out". Sometimes they didn't returned to Alkor's and simply travelled to the void in the spot".
Kurenai turned pale almost immediately. She soon realized what was happening in the throne room
"No"
She fell to her knees, tears of fears starting to form in her eyes.
"No, no no no. Please no, NO!"
"Kurenai!"
"THEY CANNOT LEAVE US! THEY CAN'T. THEY CAN'T!"
"GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, KURENAI!"
He shaked her by the shoulders. The movement prevented her desperation to grow, allowing her to attempt to get reign of her emotion.
The noise attracted the manservants from before, this time accompanied by some maids, all very curious about what was going on.
They were immediately shooed by a very annoyed Rodoph.
He didn't wanted to admit that he was also very scared of the possibility of Kurenai's fears becoming true.
But he had to stay composed. Of course, it was very difficult already. And having to calm down Kurenai, who is always very emotional regarding anything about the young lord, turned that into a very daunting task.
"What if they are trying to return to the void? What is they want to leave us?! No no NO!" Kurenai lost control of her emotions again.
"Calm down!"
"No young lord, don't leave, DON'T LEAVE!"
"ENOUGH!"
He gave her a very loud slap to her face.
The hit to her face, combined by the fact that RODOPH of all people had gone physical on someone, shook her enough to try to restrain herself.
She started to take long, deep breaths in order to try to calm down.
"I took a huge risk there. She could have snapped with me and a huge battle would have ensued" Rodoph shuddered, very aware that in a close space, Kurenai could have demolished him.
The slap also showed how much lack of control he had at the moment "How unbecoming of me" He could only mutter.
"Wait a second Kurenai"
He faced to the empty hall
"GET OUT OF HERE! THIS IS MY LAST WARNING!"
As expected, the maids and manservants that weren't supposed to be eavesdropping disappeared immediately.
"I really hope that the only things heard were my screams and the slap. If something about the great lords travelling to the void for a last time… Damn, I can only hope for the best right now."
"Kurenai I'm sorry" Rodoph helped her to get up. "But it's not guaranteed that they are going back to the void isn't? They are… analyzing…everything..."
"I-(sniff) I'm scared! (sniff) I'm sorry."
He whipped the tears from her face, already red by the crying and desperation (no physical sign of the slap by the way, she is a tough warrior class and he is a mage)
"It looked like they wanted to go to the void. But-" She took a deep breath "But my heart tell me that the young lord is going to stay here".
Desperation started to rise again in her heart
"But what if I'm wrong? What if… if…"
Rodoph immediately put his hands on her shoulders.
"Of all of us you have been the far closest to the great lords. And if you feel that the young lord is going to stay here, then I believe you."
His words managed to calm down a bit, enough to recover a façade of professionalism.
"Honestly I have the small suspect the great lords aren't leaving us. However, I prefer to confide in your intuition. After all, your bond with the young lord is stronger than what he has with his own creations".
"We'll have to wait now"
"I know" Kurenai managed to get a more serious tone and physical language, even when deep inside she still was a mess of nerves.
"Now I hope that no one disturbs us. Or try to disturb the great lords"
He was wrong. Someone was coming at full speed…
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Surrounding the ziggurat, a thinly, transparent veil of floating snow swirled very slowly and constantly, giving the impression of a mystical building. Inside were located figures that constantly appeared and disappeared, merging with the snow. Those figures were lesser snow elementals, and visually were a mix between fairies, pixies and raw snow given life.
In YGGDRASIL, this was a mere cosmetic effect that gave the dungeon an enigmatic visual appearance (and not-so-coincidentally had the added effect of camouflaging it from long distances)
However, arriving to the New World brings miraculous changes to everything regarding YGGDRASIL.
From the perfect fusion between the players and their avatars to the NPC given life and backstory according to the player's creation whims.
Some things worked as usual, some things worked the way it was supposed to be according to the lore, and some stuff ended working in ways no one could predict.
Those were one of them. The arrival to the New World granted life to them. Being mere cosmetic effect before, now they had became level 1-10 POP, very aware of their existence, surroundings and place on the hierarchy of the ziggurat.
The transport also added the effect of giving them memories of Jotunnheim. Memories of how many people tried to invade, how the environment was and how it was modified as the time within YGGDRASIL passed
But now they realized that the cold, snowy area of YGGDRASIL was nowhere to be found, replaced by a temperate hill terrain.
They didn't know what happened, or what could have caused that. But they knew that something was wrong.
Very wrong.
And they were very sure that neither them or the ziggurat should be in a place like this.
Their masters had to be informed. Having been the sentries of the ziggurat for who knows how long, they knew that this was unnatural.
So some of them were sent to some parts of the walls of the ziggurat. Places were lamps were posted…
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Trivia
Earth of 2138 is actually less technologically advanced than it could be. The society formed as a result of the unbelievable levels of contamination, the extreme social gaps that resulted in the creation of arcologies, the survivalist mindset permeated in people and the crippling pessimist and fatalism have destroyed the spark of curiosity that was a major catalyst for innovation in humanity
The current scientists are mostly more concerned with delaying the inevitable death of the human society and just receiving and transmitting the existing knowledge rather than producing new.
No wonder why true sentient AI was not reachable yet.
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Author 's Notes:
Hello! Buujack here! Third episode freshly released!
This chapter is longer than the ones before, and from now on, I'll try to keep the length of my chapter around this one.
I'll try to flesh out some of the character and a lot of a world. I'm a fan of worldbuiding, so if you are a fan of it too, you will enjoy the later chapters.
Well, have a good day!