The World Reborn
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Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation
"Here we are!" WRAI looked around. "Ah, it's beautiful, isn't it? Even the sound of the waterfall is amazing."
Haseo remembered Atoli saying something like that. He looked over at her, and she gave him an uncharacteristic smirk. "Yes, I agree with you." She said. Haseo rubbed his head, feeling like a bit of a jerk for back then.
"There's the Sign." The fairy knelt down before the Tri-Edge mark. "This is where Ovan's 'piece' is. I'm going to remove it from the Sign."
"If that's all you need to do, then why bring us?" Haseo asked.
"Well, removing the piece might not be so easy." WRAI took her hand and placed it on the red mark. Suddenly, it began glowing viciously as the ground shook along with it. Haseo and Atoli tried to keep their balance. "Just as I thought. Get ready."
"What?" Haseo watched as a giant bird-like monster appeared in front of him, making a horrifying screeching sound as it prepared to attack. "It… kinds of looks like…"
"Corbenik." WRAI finished his thought. "These monsters represent Ovan's feelings toward his actions as 'Tri-Edge.'"
"That scream… it sounded so painful." Atoli said, holding her head in pain. "I can feel it."
"So, he actually felt bad doing that, huh?" Haseo mused, picturing the horror that took place in this spot.
"If we defeat it, we can get the piece!" WRAI pulled out Dual Guns, customized to look like hearts.
"How did you get guns?" Haseo pulled out his own.
"Special privileges, remember?" She smirked. "It's coming!"
The outbreak of battle
"Phew, that was a little rough, huh?" WRAI put her guns away as the other two did the same thing.
"Hey, what's that?" Haseo saw something floating down from where the monster was. "That's the 'piece,' right?"
"Uh-huh." WRAI let Haseo hold it for a moment.
"It's a blue sphere… with a feather inside?"
"Remember when Ovan helped you during the final Cubia battle?" Haseo's head shot up. "This is what he left behind, and they found the Signs and buried themselves inside."
"How the hell do you know all of this?"
"Father told me. I didn't have the pleasure of seeing it myself." She shrugged. Haseo clicked his tongue. "Well, give it here. I'll take it to Father so we can analyze it. We'll call it a day." She held out her hand. The adept rogue was a little hesitant to give it to her and nosy Yata. What were they going to do with Ovan's consciousness? "We want him back too, you know." She felt what he was thinking. He sighed and handed the feather to her. When she took it, her tattoos were glowing just like earlier when she took the Epitaph seeds.
"Uh…" Haseo tried speaking. "No, never mind. Let's just go."
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The Next Day – Netslum Tartarga
"So, is it what you were looking for?" Haseo asked Yata and WRAI in the Serpent of Lore.
"Yes." Yata answered. "We believe there is a piece of Ovan in every sign."
"So, that's…"
"Nine." WRAI did the math for him. "Minus the one we did yesterday. The ones that are portals, like the one in Coite-Bodher that leads to Megin Fi, count as one."
"So, this might take a while, huh?" Haseo groaned. Suddenly, he heard Yata snicker quietly. "What's funny this time?"
"This is why I admired Ovan." The Macabre Dancer smiled. "He always thought ahead with his elaborate plans. He practically handed these pieces to us, knowing full well that we would try to revive him."
"So, he set all this up?" The boy crossed his arms. "What if something bad happens, then?"
"I don't think there's anything to worry about in terms of system or player danger. It's all a matter of using our minds to solve his riddle."
"Rat bastard…" Haseo sounded angry, but he couldn't help but smile. That's just how he is, I guess.
"Well, shall we go get more pieces?" WRAI asked excitedly.
"Yeah." Haseo invited WRAI into his party, and he noticed none of the other Epitaph users were logged in or available. "Hey, is this a secret mission, or anything?"
"Yes, this process is confidential. However…" Yata paused. "You may invite Shino, if you like."
"But, her level's still kind of low…" Haseo was worried about her.
"Don't worry; she won't become a Lost One again." WRAI smiled. "Besides, Clerics always block and stay away from danger."
"Yeah… alright." Haseo chose to invite her. "Let's go to the Chaos Gate."
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"Hello, Haseo." Shino greeted him, eyeing his new friend.
"This is WRAI. She's gonna help us bring Ovan back."
"That's wonderful." She bowed. "Thank you very much."
"No problem, it's my job!" WRAI said happily. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"We need to fight monsters to get pieces of Ovan." Haseo explained. "So… just be careful."
"Of course." Shino smiled. Haseo still seemed worried.
"Let's hit two signs today." WRAI accessed the Chaos Gate. "Let's go to the Morrigu Barrow Wall and Hulle Granz Cathedral."
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Δ Hidden Forbidden Bulwark
"Hey, do you guys know the story of this place?" WRAI asked as they approached the wall.
"Yes." Shino spoke up. "This wall blocks the way to heaven from the humans. It's guarded by Folset."
"It was guarded by Folset." WRAI sounded upset. "One of our goals is to bring him back here and recreate heaven."
"What?" Haseo was confused. "How can you bring back something that was never here in the first place? Isn't this the way the game was made?" He gestured towards the great wall.
"Folset is in the system somewhere." WRAI argued calmly. "We must coax him out of hiding. I'm sure he'll be happy to…"
"Happy?" Haseo was frustrated. He was sick of people thinking this game was real. "If it does exist, then it's just an NPC! NPCs don't feel anything!"
"!" WRAI gasped in surprise at Haseo's harshness. At first, she looked angry, but then she shook her head and smiled. "I… I guess you're right. NPCs don't feel, huh?" There was an awkward moment of silence.
"Let's just do this." Haseo went over to the wall.
"How does this work?" Shino asked.
"All I have to do is touch the sign and the monster will come out. Father installed a program on my PC to allow me to do it." WRAI carefully and gently touched the sign. The ground began to shake. "Here we go again!"
A similar-looking bird-monster morphed out of the sign. This time, instead of a scream, it let out a fierce evil laugh.
"This one's laughing?" Haseo queried. Did you enjoy PKing this one, Ovan?
"Let's do it, Haseo!" Shino sounded excited. WRAI, instead of summoning twin guns, brought out heart-themed fans instead.
"Are you an Adept Rogue?" Haseo asked.
"Sort of." WRAI stood in a fighting stance. "It's coming!"
The outbreak of battle
"That was tougher than the first one!" WRAI said. "I guess it'll just get harder from here."
"Ovan does like to challenge me." Haseo looked over at Shino. She was crouching over and breathing heavily. "Shino, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, just a little tired." She smiled, then gave herself a Noble Drop and healed herself. "Good as new."
"…" Haseo knew Shino was exhausted. She was in a damn coma for six months and just woke up a month ago; she hasn't healed properly.
"Can you handle the next one?" WRAI asked her.
"Absolutely." The piece from the monster floated down beside Shino. "Is this Ovan?"
"Yeah, some of him, anyway." Haseo sighed.
"You know…" She took the feather in her hands. "I can feel him. He's waiting for us." Haseo smiled. Shino was always able to understand that man, even though no one else could. It actually made him kind of jealous. I still can't understand you, Ovan, but one day, I'll catch up.
"May I have it, please? I'd like to send it to Father." WRAI asked nicely. Shino nodded and handed her the piece. The fairy's tattoos glowed as she took it.
"You can send that to him from here?" Haseo asked. WRAI smiled and nodded. "You're full of surprises."
"You ain't seen nothing yet!" She flew ahead to the Platform. "To the Cathedral!"
Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground
"This place gives me the chills. It's so haunting!" WRAI shivered. Haseo silently agreed. This was where Shino became a Lost One all those months ago by Ovan… he wondered if Shino felt that way, too. Probably not; she's pretty tough, emotionally speaking, and she understood that he didn't mean to hurt her. "So Shino…"
"Hm?"
"Why did you choose your real name as your PC's name?"
"Wha-? How do you know…?" Haseo was getting sick of WRAI's "knowledge."
"Haha, it's okay, Haseo." Shino laughed. "It was uncreative of me, wasn't it? Well, I just couldn't think of anything interesting. I'm just… Shino."
"Well, that's okay, you're being yourself."
"Did Yata tell you that?" Haseo asked annoyingly.
"No." WRAI smirked as she fluttered around. "I have access to your personal data. I know everyone's real name."
"What? They gave YOU access?"
"Everyone in CCCorp has access." WRAI explained. "I know the day you signed up, your birthday, everything you put in the system on your first day. But I'm just killing time, now. Let's just go defeat the beast."
The music became louder as they entered the lonely church, slowly approaching the alter. "Will you also bring the goddess back here?" Shino asked. WRAI's expression became enraged.
"No." She tried to stay calm. "She never belonged in this church in the first place, nor does she ever want to return to The World. She made that quite clear, didn't she, Haseo?"
"Oh… yeah, I guess." Haseo tried to remember. "She said the fate of this World lies with the players."
"How stupid." WRAI snarled. "Without proper regulation from her, this World became a place for PKs and data irregularities." Shino and Haseo were surprised by her angry voice. "Well, we are going to fix that." She flew to the sign and touched it. This bird monster was slightly bigger and more colorful than the past ones, and it didn't make a sound.
"This one is silent." Haseo noticed for himself. Shino… were she and Ovan expecting this encounter?
"Let's fight!" WRAI summoned another new weapon; this time, it was gauntlets.
The outbreak of battle
"Nice work, guys." WRAI took the piece. "That's enough for today. Get some rest!" She was mainly speaking to Shino. "I'll see you tomorrow, Haseo. Bye-bye!" She flapped her wings and flew away quickly, leaving Shino and Haseo alone. Shino was very tired again.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Haseo put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, I'll be fine." She smiled as usual. "I will go get some rest." She turned on her heel to leave. "Haseo…"
"Huh?"
"Just remember…" She put her hands behind her back. "Everything that happens in this game is real in this World."
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Taru-chan: Yay, it took me awhile to finish this chapter. I'll try getting the next one done quicker. I hope the delta signs appear on the page. Please R&R!