The World Reborn
WWW
"Hm… mmm… wha…?" Haseo opened his eyes, finding himself in a dimly lit room… no, he was outside, lying in sand. Wind blew sand into his eyes, and he groaned in annoyance. "Where am I?" He stood up, wiping sand from his… wait; he was wearing his PC's white clothes, not his pajamas. He looked around, finding he was alone. "Hello?" He called out, receiving no answer. He decided to start walking, trying to find where the hell he was. "Maybe I'm just dreaming."
He heard something. A low growl maybe.
"Who's there?" He walked faster toward the noise. The growling was getting louder. "Hello?" Haseo repeated. Finally, he saw something like a giant in the darkness. He ran to it now, seeing the giant in more detail. Thin, white, disembodied limbs, rounded horns, eight swords behind him like proud wings: "Skeith." Haseo recognized his avatar.
"Haseo." Skeith acknowledges his master in a deep, booming voice. "I understand you have questions for me." Before Haseo could speak, the sand started to circle around the two of them. Haseo covered his eyes, and when he opened them again, a man with long, silver hair and horns stood before him instead. "It will be easier to talk like this, yes?"
"Uh, yeah." Haseo never knew that Skeith could become like a human, and a handsome one at that. "Was I in R1?" He got right to the point.
"Indeed." Skeith answered.
"How do you know that?"
"I was in the first World, as well. I was different, then." He smiled. "You were not so different than you are now."
"You knew me?"
"Of course. I was intrigued by you and your desire for strength. I devoured you, Haseo."
"What?!"
"I am the reason you have no memories of the first World. If your whole being was in my World, I would have annihilated you completely."
"You… you bastard! It was your fault?!" Haseo couldn't believe it. "And now?"
"When you came to the new World, I was thrilled. This time, I was able to use you in a different way. I still wanted to… help you, I suppose."
"Help or use… which is it?"
"Hm… both." Skeith closed his red eyes. "You have always used me, correct?"
"Um, yeah well… I never knew…"
"That we could speak like this? That we could learn to understand each other? I was hoping you would have found out sooner, Haseo."
"Like I would have! You're not…" Haseo stopped himself. Not real? Then how was he able to steal my memories? Tsk, how do I even know he's telling the truth?
"If you're that curious, maybe you can ask some of your friends, like Yata or Endrance. Ask them if they know… Sora." The sand started blowing up into the air, and Skeith was fading from Haseo's sight.
"Wait! I still have more questions!"
WWW
Netslum Tartarga
"Damn, what a dream." Haseo rubbed his head thinking about his dream of Skeith last night. He headed to the Serpent of Lore, wanting to confront Yata about his dream and what it meant.
"Haseo, I was just about to send you a message." Yata said as the silver-haired boy entered the lair. WRAI was there too, hovering around her father.
"Do you know Sora?" Haseo cut to the chase. Yata looked surprised.
"I told him to talk to Skeith." WRAI smiled.
"I see." Yata nodded. "Yes, I knew your past self. You haven't changed much; you're just as much a brat now as you were then."
"Hey!" Haseo growled. "But… I was really there, huh?" He thought for a moment. "Was… Ovan there, too?"
"He was not." Yata answered. "He only used this place for one reason."
"To be with his sister." Haseo knew. He thought it was nice that he and his sister could be with each other here, but now… "We need to find them."
"Agreed." Yata nodded. "Please take WRAI and someone else and collect three more pieces."
"There's four left, right? Why don't we just get them all today?" The teen asked.
"The last one will require more time and special instructions." WRAI explained. "Who are we taking with us today?"
"How about Kuhn this time?"
"Great! Let's go!"
Θ Clever Genius's Moon Raven
"Jeez, I was wondering when you'd invite me!" Kuhn teased. "And to be with such a lovely lady is a pleasure."
"Why, thank you!" WRAI smiled. "Someone has manners." She scowled at Haseo.
"Here's the Sign." The Adept Rogue completely ignored her. "Let's go in." WRAI touched the Sign and they were sucked into a portal, coming face-to-face with a Winged Regret. This one was very thin and made whispering noises. This time, WRAI would use a Grimoire for battle.
The outbreak of battle
As the battle finished, the three ended up in Wald Uberlisterin with a new feather in hand. WRAI sent it to Yata.
"Do you know the significance of this place?" WRAI flew around. Kuhn opened his mouth to speak. "Ah-ah, Haseo has to answer."
"What? Um…" Haseo doesn't know much about the World's history. He didn't care. It had nothing to do with him. So why does this girl keep asking these dumb questions? "Isn't it the Underworld or something?"
"Hooray! Points for Haseo!" WRAI clapped. Haseo growled. "This is where the God of Death, Cernunnos, used to live. It was built under Indieglut Lugh."
"So, let me guess." Haseo started. "If you flew up through the ceiling with your 'special privileges', you'd end up in Indieglut Lugh?"
"Wanna see for yourself?" She smiled mischievously. She grabbed the two boys and flew towards the sky while they screamed and cursed on their way up. They went through the upside down castle and came up to the sandy shore of the Dead World itself.
"No way!" Kuhn rubbed his eyes. "How is that possible?"
"The Creator was a genius, that's how." WRAI said. "He put his soul into this World. He loved it like his own child." Her hands became fists. "But that child betrayed his wishes."
"What do you mean?" Kuhn asked.
"Aura was that child. He created her to watch over and care for the people in this World. And she is no longer doing that. My father and I hate her for that."
"So you're renewing the World to bring her back?" Kuhn continued.
"No. She will no longer be in charge. She's caused enough problems." WRAI shook her head. "Someone new will replace her." Before Kuhn could ask who, Haseo finally spoke up.
"Wait, if you're going to 'bring back' all these gods, then the God of Death will be brought here too. Isn't that going to be dangerous?"
"Not necessarily." WRAI said. "Where there is life, there is death. Where there is light, there is darkness. Where there is good there is evil. Cernunnos will provide a balance. Now if he were to come back alone, that would be a problem. That's what the Forest of Pain taught you, right?"
"I… guess…" Haseo couldn't believe how insightful this little girl was.
"Alright, enough talk. Let's rock!"
Θ Thinking Innocent Life
"Hey, Kuhn?" Haseo asked as they walked through the dungeon.
"Huh?" Kuhn looked at his friend.
"Were you in R1?"
"Oh yeah. I was pretty silly then, wanting to be greater than the Descendants of Fianna and junk." He rubbed the back of his head. "That's behind me now. I just want to protect the people in this game with my powers, like you."
"Yeah…" He called it a game. Haseo thought. Hardly anyone I know calls this a game; especially after all we've been through. Sometimes I forget this is a game myself.
"Here it is!" WRAI touched the Sign and they entered another portal. The Winged Regret looked elderly and made mumbling noises. "Don't let its looks fool you!"
The outbreak of battle
"Boy, you were right, that thing was tough." Kuhn used a Health Potion to heal up.
"Save those, the next one's tougher." WRAI sent the piece to Yata. "And we're right here, the Dragonbein Range!"
"Yeah, this place has two signs." Haseo remembers how the second sign was made after Ovan PKed Pi and Atoli in front of him. "You gonna tell me the history of this place?"
"Well, since you asked…" WRAI smirked. "'Dragonbein' means 'Dragon bones.' This is a graveyard of the dragon Gwydion. He pulled the sun god's chariot across the sky. When the World is redone, the dragon will not return, but the talking Ape will."
"Talking ape?!" Haseo laughed.
"Yeah, if you answer his riddle, you get a prize!" WRAI touched the Sign. "This won't be the prize, though LOL." The Winged Regret came out of the Sign. It had a fit man's body and the winged arms and head of a bird. It cried in an upward inflection, as if asking a question.
I certainly was asking many questions here, not just to Ovan, but to myself… Haseo thought before the beast attacked.
The outbreak of battle
"OMG I'm beat!" Kuhn fell to the ground as the piece floated in front of his face. "The last one's gonna be a nightmare, huh?"
"Yes, it will." WRAI glowed as she sent the piece to Yata. "And it will be dangerous. You could fall into comas there."
"What?!" Kuhn and Haseo shouted.
"We're not sure, but it's a possibility." She waved her hands. "Everything's possible in the Creator's Room. That's how we're bringing Ovan back."
"Really? You have a plan then?" Haseo was excited.
"Yes, and hopefully it will work. You'll be briefed tomorrow. Get some rest." WRAI held Haseo's shoulders. "Thank you for listening to me today." Haseo gave her a funny look. "Well, see ya!" She flew through the gate quickly.
"What was with that?" Haseo shrugged before returning to the Netslum with Kuhn.
WWW
Hi, remember this story? I hardly did! I got inspiration to write it again after starting to view .hack/sign. So, here you go! If you want more, don't just favorite: R&R!