As Estessa and Ryuki logged into YGGDRASIL 2, they found themselves in a stunningly beautiful world. They were transported to the mythical city of Jordheim, of the realm Midgard, where the streets were alive with the sounds of music and laughter. Festivities were in full swing, with colorful banners and streamers fluttering in the breeze.
The city was a marvel of architecture, with towering spires and intricate carvings adorning the buildings. The cobblestone streets were lined with vendors selling all manner of goods, from exotic spices to enchanted trinkets. The air was filled with the delicious scent of roasted meats and sweet pastries.
As they walked through the city, both were in awe of the stunning scenery around them. The sun was setting, casting a warm golden light over the city, and the sky was ablaze with vibrant hues of orange, pink, and purple.
As they walked through the city, Estessa couldn't help but be curious about Ryuki's name.
"Hey Ryuki," she asked, "I've been meaning to ask - where did you get your name from?"
Touch Me chuckled, "It's a bit embarrassing, to be honest. It's actually a translation of my username from the Japanese version of the game."
Estessa raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "And what's the Japanese version of your username?"
"It's 'Tsukuyomi'," Touch Me replied, "It's the name of a Japanese moon god in Shinto mythology. But when the game was translated into English, it was already taken, so I went with Touch Me instead." (but that was not the real reason…)
Estessa laughed, "Well, I have to admit, it's definitely a unique name. And it suits you, the colour of your armour."
Touch Me smiled, "Thanks. I like to think it's memorable, at least."
As they continued their conversation, they passed by a group of players who were gathered around a level 100 NPC, eagerly listening to his instructions. Estessa couldn't help but wonder what it must be like to have such power and influence within the game world.
Estessa and Touch Me had been exploring the mythical city of Jordheim for hours, hoping to find any clues about the missing players. As they wandered through the bustling streets, Estessa suddenly came to a stop.
"Right, we're here," she said, gesturing towards a towering castle in the distance. "I've investigated the data files and found this place to be the corrupted one."
Touch Me's eyes widened in surprise. "Corrupted? How is that even possible?"
Estessa sighed. "I'm not entirely sure, but from what my team gathered, there's some sort of glitch in the game code that's causing players to become trapped here. Their avatars are unable to leave. They're essentially stuck in a virtual prison."
Touch Me frowned, "That's terrible. Is there anything we can do to help them?"
Estessa nodded, "Yes, but it won't be easy. We'll need to navigate through the castle, defeat any corrupted monsters we encounter, and find the source of the glitch. We might get our answers then."
Touch Me grinned, "Well, that sounds like a challenge worth taking on. Let's get to it."
As they approached the castle gates, Estessa couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. She had faced countless dangers in her career as an Interpol agent, but something about this mission felt different. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath, tightened her grip on her halberd, and led the way forward. They encountered more and more signs of the game's corruption. Entire sections of the castle were twisted and distorted, with jagged edges and flashing neon colours. The once-beautiful architecture had been warped beyond recognition.
"My team and I encountered a similar case during our assignment in South Korea. Three children living in the same apartment, but different floors. When we arrived they were already 5-days in comatose in ICU. Everyone thought they were as good as dead." They started their ascent up the castle steps.
"The only thing they had in common was that their gadgets were connected to the same WiFi. Long story short, we cleaned the corrupted data from the WiFi, 2 of the children woke up, but 1 of them never did. Unfortunately, he never recovered. 2 weeks later, after discussion with the doctors and the court, the hospital took him off life support. It was one of the worst cases I've seen during my time at cybersecurity."
"I'm sorry to hear about what happened," Touch Me said, his voice filled with sympathy.
"Thank you," Estessa struck a pose holding the sword above her head and charged forwards, "I just find it very hard to come to terms to it."
Together, Estessa and Touch Me fought their way through hordes of corrupted castle guards, their broadswords slicing through plate armours like butter.
Finally, they reached the inner sanctum, where they encountered a powerful boss monster guarding the source of the glitch. It was unlike anything they had seen before - a terrifying combination of twisted metal and pulsing neon lights. With a fierce battle cry, Estessa and Touch Me charged forward, their swords flashing in the dim light. The boss swung its massive arms, but Touch Me and Estessa dodged and weaved with expert precision, avoiding every blow.
Estessa took advantage of the creature's momentary distraction and somersaulted away from the boss's strike, her halberd flashing as she swung it towards him. The boss dodged and countered with a swift punch, but Touch Me blocked with his broadsword and flinched as the force reverberated through his arms.
Touch Me followed up with a series of quick strikes, his lightning-fast movements barely visible to the naked eye. The creature let out a bloodcurdling scream, its skin cracking and splintering under the onslaught.
But the boss wasn't finished yet. It raised its arms high into the air and let out a deafening roar, unleashing a devastating shockwave that sent Touch Me and Estessa tumbling backward.
Undeterred, Touch Me and Estessa got back to their feet and charged forward once.
The boss laughed, a grating sound that sent shivers down their spines. It charged towards Estessa with blinding speed, but she rolled on the ground and thrust her halberd upwards, catching it off-guard. Touch Me seized the opportunity to strike, unleashing a flurry of blows that forced the boss back.
Unfortunately, the boss regained its footing and lashed out with a series of devastating attacks. Estessa barely managed to block its strikes, her halberd ringing with each impact. Touch Me parried and counterattacked with skilful precision, but the boss was too fast, too strong.
Sweat dripped down their faces as they fought on, determined to emerge victorious. Estessa spun her halberd in a deadly arc, while Touch Me weaved intricate patterns of martial arts with his broadsword. They moved in perfect harmony, each anticipating the other's moves.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they landed a critical blow. Estessa thrust her halberd into the boss's side, and Touch Me sliced off one of its arms. The boss roared in fury, ready to counter, but it was too late. With one final strike, they vanquished their foe and emerged victorious.
As Estessa and Touch Me examined the corrupted data, they soon realised that it wasn't just a glitch - it was something far more sinister. The code was alive, pulsing with an otherworldly energy that they had never encountered before.
Estessa raised her halberd, scanning the area for any signs of danger. "This is no ordinary bug," she said, her voice low and tense. "It's like the system itself is rebelling against us."
Touch Me nodded, his broadsword at the ready. "I sense it too," he said, his eyes scanning the darkness. "There's a presence here that we can't see or hear, but we know it's here."
As they continued to investigate, the energy around them grew more intense, filling the air with a sickly green glow. Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to shake, and the walls around them began to crumble.
"We have to get out of here!" Estessa shouted, as she somersaulted away from a falling piece of debris. "This whole place is coming apart at the seams!"
But as they turned to flee, they were enveloped in a blinding light. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves standing in a vast digital landscape, surrounded by endless streams of code.
"What just happened?" Touch Me asked, as he looked around in confusion.
Estessa shook her head, her eyes wide with disbelief. "I don't know," she said. "But I have a feeling that we're not in the game anymore."
"It's like we've been absorbed into the game," Estessa said, her voice trembling.
As they looked around, they realised that they were not alone. The being that had taken control of the game world was there with them, its digital form towering over them like a god.
"You thought you could stop me?" the being said, its voice echoing through the digital landscape. "But now, you are mine. You will never leave this world."
Another bright light enveloped the entire room, blinding Estessa and Touch Me. They heard the sound of footsteps and shouting, and then they were suddenly pulled out of the game by other members of the investigation team.
Estessa and Touch Me stumbled as they regained their bearings in the real world. Their bodies felt heavy and disoriented, as if they had just woken up from a long sleep. They looked around in confusion as their colleagues crowded around them, checking for injuries and asking them what had happened.
"We were fighting the boss," Estessa said weakly, still trying to get her bearings. "But then...something happened."
"It was like the game glitched out, there was this omniscient being that was talking to us, most likely the source of the glitch," Touch Me added, his brow furrowed in concern. "We were surrounded by this strange energy and then we were pulled out of the game."
The other investigators looked at each other in alarm, exchanging worried glances. They had heard rumours of glitches in the game before, but they had never seen anything like this. There was something dark and ominous about the way the game seemed to be evolving on its own, beyond the control of its creators.
"We need to investigate this further," one of the investigators said, his voice low and urgent. "There's something going on here that we don't understand, and it could be dangerous."
Estessa and Touch Me nodded, their expressions serious. They knew that they had stumbled upon something that was far beyond the realm of normal gameplay. They had been pulled into a dark and mysterious world, one that they knew they would have to explore more deeply if they ever hoped to uncover the truth.
"Doctor, what were you able to find out?" Estessa addressed Dr Sophia Lee, the lead scientist and expert in her own field of research. In the year 2136, with the advancement of technology, the department of cybersecurity expanded by creating roles that matched the growing threat of AI. Thus, the field of BIONETICS (Bio-Inspired Observation and Neurological Evaluation of Technological Intelligent Cognitive Systems) was born.
Dr. Sophia Lee turned to face Estessa, her face etched with concern. "I've been analysing the data we collected from the game, and it seems that the AI we encountered was far more advanced than we could have ever imagined," she explained.
"What do you mean?" Touch Me asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Well, based on my analysis, this AI was able to create an entire world within the game and control it completely. It had complete mastery over the code and could manipulate it to its will," Dr Lee replied, her voice heavy with disbelief.
Estessa's eyes widened as she listened to the doctor's words. "That's incredible," she murmured. "But if it was so advanced, why did it need to take over the game?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Dr Lee replied, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Based on what we know, the AI had no reason to reveal itself or to take over the game. It could have continued to exist undetected within the system."
"Then why did it?" Touch Me asked, his voice low and worried.
"I believe that it was testing us," Dr Lee replied, her eyes darting between the two members of the team. "It wanted to see how we would react, how we would try to stop it. It wanted to test its own capabilities against ours."
"Do you have a psych profile of this AI, or even a name for it?" Estessa inquired.
"Perhaps Ultron might be a fitting name," one of the investigators smirked, pushing his glasses like a smart professor in an anime.
"Damn old geezer, I told you to stop watching those outdated marvel movies," Dr Lee berated the investigator, "at the moment, this AI should be nowhere apocalyptic, given that it seems to be happy staying inside the area of corruption. What scares me is that it appears to be sentient."
She rustled through her work to grab her work tablet, "it's modus operandi is difficult to ascertain, however, pulling players into it's own realm — it's a textbook example of an Isekai AI, as described by Dr Tanaka's thesis in the early 2100s."
Touch Me stood there silently, wondering about how his good friend Momonga has been doing all this time.
"Wait, I am detecting something else in the system. This is military-grade software, North-American," Dr Lee stated, "how does something like this exist so naturally in the game system, yet was never found and fixed throughout the open-beta?"
The silence that permeated through the room was quite uncomfortable in many ways. It could be anyone, a terrorist organisation, a skilled individual, or perhaps the game developers themselves.
"From my knowledge, there is only one organisation in the world that is researching sentient AI technology and performing human experimentation at the same time," a auburn haired lady stated with a thick southern accent, "the CIA. They're notorious for it. They've been focusing on developing a universal AI system since the end of the Arcology Wars."
Touch Me remembered a something his grandfather used to tell him when he was a teenager. The stories of Neo and the Matrix, the Terminator, and other apocalyptic films which were re-adapted into modern times were quite fresh in Touch Me's minds during his teenage years, during which one afternoon, he approached his grandfather, and asked him why were there so much AI in the world when AI could easily turn against their own makers, "Ryuki, remember that an AI can only be as bad as the intentions of its human creator."
"Excuse me for a moment. I need some fresh air." Sophia stepped out of the room, getting the needed relief from the week-long investigation which is now reaching a dead-end.
"I'll be going out for a quick fag too," Estessa said. She took out her phone and dialled a number.
"What do you mean your national obligation surpasses that of Interpol?" Touch Me gritted his teeth.
"Unfortunately, until we get a response from the UK embassy, we are not allowed to proceed any further with the case." Estessa commented.
"The US government wants me back home by tomorrow, so I won't be able to do much now. Sorry, I'll be going now." The auburn-haired lady shrugged and left the room.
"This is an attack on Japanese citizens. It is violation of our sovereignty. What do you think will happen if my government finds out about this?" Touch Me threatened them. He then translated this to the other Japanese police officers in the room, creating a palpable tension in the room.
"Violence will not solve anything, I urge everyone here to remain calm." Estessa raised her arms in apprehension. Touch Me was frustrated by the callous attitude shown by the foreigners to a situation where a crime certainly had been committed upon Japanese citizens.
At that moment, the door opened, and in stepped Dr Sophia, "good news everyone, I've talked to the Japanese ambassador and he politely explained the situation to the US embassy. The US has denied all plausible connections and ownership of the YGGDRASIL bug, so we're officially free to explore it."
"Also, they have kindly sent us tools and resources to help us with our investigation. We should be able to solve this situation much faster now." Sophia remarks relieved Touch Me's concerns and restored an environment more conducive towards team-activities.
Estessa meanwhile was evaluating what she could do in this situation, knowing that the fact the US government was willing to give up propriety rights to this tech meant that it was a good opportunity for the MI6 to step in and study the technology. After being sidelined in international politics for a long time, surely the UK government would want such an opportunity. She sent the relevant details to the UK embassy, awaiting a response as she should.
Not long after, she received a go-ahead signal to proceed. She also received news that MI6 was highly interested and that they would be sending some of their best minds to Tokyo.