Alternate World | Cave of Purgatory

"Ugh- 〈it hurt!〉" As we walked inside, the sudden pain enveloped our head. 

Clutching my head, I try to remember what happened after we fight Bakunawa but there's this feeling of my memory not returning. 

"What…was…that. I don't know what happened. 〈I feel like…. our mind and body fused.〉" Meiko, who has now recovered, put both of her hands on my shoulders.

"W-w-what? 〈Don't ever do that again. It's disgusting.〉" 

"...." Flopping in front of me, she slowly returned inside me. 

"Meiko? 〈.....〉" I try to feel her inside of me and I recognize a pale darkness near me. 'Is she Meiko?' 

Trying to touch it, my mind forces me to wake up.

《Skill 〘Split〙 have been deactivated. Racial skill have now been regained.》

'My racial skill is back and I'm all alone here.' Staying still, I have come to decide on my own that someone from above is playing on me. 'Fate really is twisted…' 

Wandering around and trying to observe the surroundings after a few minutes, I arrived at the center of the cave. The sun shines through the middle while an item is in the middle of it. Its appearance is similar to an orb with ornaments rotting away. 

While the ornament and the area around it crumble and rot, the orb doesn't. It made me wonder how sophisticated the game seems to be. 

Going through the orb, someone blocked my path.

".... 〈...〉" Looking at his appearance, a hat similar to a captain in a pirate crew, a golden ornament on his neck and jewels on his wrist. His eyes that will captivate a woman's heart together with his naked body. Unfortunately his expression seemed to crumble after I beat him together with Meiko.

".. Why are you blocking my way, Bakunawa? 〈I-i forgot something about the 'wish'...〉" Confused, I take a step forward while he does a backward. 

".... 〈He-hey, stop that. Hey-!〉" Continuing, he is now near the orb and eventually tells me what it is. 

'What's with this dragon? Get out of the way already!' 

"Is this the wish? 〈Ah- Yes- I mean no, it is not.〉" Glancing back at him with a deadpan expression, he flinched and tried to hide behind a pillar. I eventually grabbed it.

ーー❖ーー

Creator's Wish 

Rarity - Lost 

An item lost in history. It's said that it has the power to communicate and ask a wish from the creator similar to a holy grail. Through time, it eventually lost its power. For some reason, the item didn't crumple after the first usage that should have been activated. 

Though, it has a way to regain it back after using a unique characteristic of two elements that signify life and death. 

Item Effect - Meet the creator and have your wish granted. 《Lost due to usage of a certain guardian》

One-time use only

ーー❖ーー

'Ah. I see now… The fact that he's scared and trying to block me is because he or someone uses it. Maybe him since he said no one has come here for 500 years.' Putting it back on its place, I ask the dragon.

"Who used it?" No response came to me from the pillar.

".... I ASKED YOU WHO USE IT! 〈I-its me…〉" Making an angry tone, the dragon faltered on his word before giving up. 

'Yep, he used it.' I sighed, and it looks like my thinking is right.

"Why did YOU use it?" Asking him, he burst. 

"W-what? You think you're the only one who doesn't feel solitude. While history never happened yet, I live in a cozy and warm place together with my family and people. Then something shit happened, suddenly all the places started to go to war." 

"After I was renowned as one of the strongest sea lords and was beaten by someone I feared. I have been forced to protect this place. THIS PLACE. Making me all alone in this wretched place. 'I want to fight together with my tribe' or 'Why can't I just leave this place?' All those thoughts flowed in me making me feel solitude and loneliness after time passes through but... I still uphold my responsibilities. All for the sake of that 'prophecy', binding me to this place." 

"Hearing my tribe died after those years, I succumbed to slumber to hide my pain. Now that 500 years ago have passed, it still lingers. That's why, I asked my Creator hundred years ago after I heard they die for them to be reborn… to be anew! It's been granted and now I… I'm still here…. all alone waiting for someone to kill me..... How pitiful, I say." Hearing him burst into frustration, I was shocked. 

'Now I see why the orb has been used up.' Catching his breath, he looked to me straight in the eyes. I see it, pure blue… all sadness, regret, frustration after being alone after all these years.

"I see…." 

"If you still want your orb, you can have it for all I care. After that, kill me so that my soul will be able to escape this horrid place." Sitting down near the pillar, the dragon only awaits my decision.   

'Still what should I use it for….' Grabbing it once again, I realized that a skill can try to give it energy. 

'Ah- I forgot due to this all happening, one of my racial skills seemed to fit the condition.' 

'Then I hope this will work.' Activating my skill, Divine-Demonic Manipulation, the orb shakes before glowing brightly, consuming me before disappearing in the place, 

Realizing that, the dragon can only mutter "I see.. the prophecy is true." and shake his head and wait for Nephalem's arrival.

---

Ryuji's POV | DragonRevival's Corp 

"Sir! There's an anomaly on location number 97." The door opened, coming from an employee, I shifted to him. 

"What? I've been told by the team that set it up that it shouldn't be discovered yet." Seeing my confusion, the employee answers. 

"U-umm…" Fiddling, I stop him.

"It's fine. Take your time." Waiting for him to control his breathing, the employee straightened. 

"Ah- Yes. A User seemed to be separated from the rest of the group that should've been at a fixed point. For some reason, she was transported to another location causing her privilege to be maxed. What's more interesting is that the player has doubled herself." 

"What?" Hearing Ryuji's voice, Akina and Ayumi silently observed.

'How is that even possible? Is it a bug?' Composing myself, I let him continue.

"Yes sir. Hence, it has become a pain for us to interfere. Even our AI 'Cato' has solved that last player's casualty. Though, AI 'Cato' still hasn't interfered with this anomaly." 

"Should it resolve it?" Asking an obvious question, the employee shook his head.

"Sir. The AI 'Cato' deemed it not an anomaly but as a player too." 

"Interesting. Don't let it leak. Also, for your work. You'll get a bonus." 

"Ah- Yes! Thank you, sir!" Closing the door, Akina looked at me. 

"Dear, is it really safe?" Questioning my collaboration, I nod. 

"Me and Christine have come this far. The pain he/she'll get from the damage is limited and cannot be converted in real life. Similar to a dream, if he/she dies, it will be only a nightmare. Depending on the pain setting, the brain will make it similar to it." After my explanation, Akina can only nod her head. 

"It's not Aniue… right? Otou-san." Looking at Ayumi, he felt unsure what to say. 

"I certainly hope so…" Looking at the monitor. I can see that the players are enjoying, exploring, and testing the waters of the game.