Red's Perspective

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A glimmering ball of light flew around me as if it was a firefly illuminating my head. But the luminance never nestled on me as it kept buzzing around my figure.

"Hello! What are you doing?" I asked the bright sphere, but no one gave me an answer.

After a few seconds, the round gleam fluttered away from me, motioning me to follow its figure. I had no other choice but to heed the light's instruction as I proceeded to the endless road.

I didn't even question this eerie place, despite this darkened realm. All I knew was that I needed to follow this lustre, hoping it would lead to something special.

"Wait! Come back!" I called out, but the light did not listen.

It even razed away from me like a machine that the dwarves would have created. But I never gave up and pursued the radiance, wishing that I could touch it at least once.

But the distance never shortened, even though I ran for a few miles. That brilliance slowly faded away every time I took my steps forward. And within a few seconds, my body finally reached its limit. My legs begged for some brief rest as I gasped for some gallon of air.

"D-Don't leave me!" I cried.

However, the light never heard my voice. Within a few moments, that glow disappeared, leaving me alone in this world.

Upon kneeling on the ground, the floor shook my balance. Fortunately, I was already kissing the floor, or else I would have fallen right now.

"What's going on? Where am I?" I asked.

I should fight the Kraken and its minions under the ocean. I finally conjured the lightning element out of my hands….

But even after achieving those feats, the world gifted me this obsidian realm. And the light that symbolized my hope vanished before my eyes. It was as if my dark age would come in my way…. soon.

The sounds of someone coming rendered inside my ears, warning me about a dangerous occurrence. But despite these threats, my legs refused to stand on their own, considering the energy I lost while chasing for that light.

"So, you're finally here, Red."

A familiar voice echoed through my ears, paired with the footsteps stomping in my direction. As I raised my head, a figure of a man dressed in silver armour greeted my eyes.

"You… You're the one from my dream…."

That dream was a nightmare worth forgetting, since it had Match dying before me. But since my mind only created that false phenomenon, I never really thought about it. Now that I witnessed this soldier for the second time, I needed to be cautious.

"This place is not a dream, Red. All of this is part of the game. And I have the power to show you scenes that the game developers know," the soldier exclaimed. "It's a scene that will happen soon, once we meet. I am coming for Wolf and you. My father wants to hunt you down."

Those words that the mysterious knight struck a nail inside my head, telling me that this world and mine remained unchanged. I struggled to believe the knight's claim, considering I did not know this person…. or NPC.

"You're…. Hiro, right? That's the name you introduced yourself to me…"

His name lingered inside my head. How could I forget when he was the one who killed Match in my nightmare? I tried preparing myself for the worst, waiting for him to come by throughout my trip. But the man named Hiro never showed up in front of me.

After a few days, Hiro finally revealed himself inside this realm.

"So you remember me. Father will be proud if he finds out you know me!" Hiro said, while circling towards me. "And since I'm running out of time, I might as well tell you my real name. Hiro is also my name. But it's just my in-game name and not my real name. And I believe you know these terms, right? You're an NPC who has a mind of its own, just like you. Your presence also spreads around Code. Some NPCs have already teamed up to fight the players! I can't wait to kill them! Just like you killed those leaders to stir up this death game."

"Then what is your real name?" I asked, while getting to the point.

I clenched my fist after hearing the latter part of HIro's sentence. I could only guess that this boy knew I was the person behind the curtains. And thanks to the revolts of other NPCs, the players outside this game had no other choice but to eliminate all NPCs.

If I were the one who created this game, I would have done the same thing.

"My name is Clement Asimov. That's the only thing that you need to know…. for now."

After saying his ultimate words, Clement raised his sword and slashed it against the darkened wall. As soon as the blade collided with the black entity, the barrier shattered into a million shards, destroying this place.

"We will meet again, Red. After taking that obelisk from Alice, we will meet again."

Those were the last words spoken by the knight before disappearing at my fore. The world around me slowly became distorted as it hauled me into the abyss.

I desperately tried freeing myself from the black hole, but my efforts never rewarded me. After a few seconds, I accepted my fate and awaited where the vacuum would lead me.

...…

After the battle against the Kraken, I became unconscious and left my body to drown. But as soon as I breathed my first breath, my body became alive again. It only meant that someone had saved me underwater. And if I was still alive, it only served as one thing….

We won the battle against the sea creature defending Wonderland.

"Mmgh…."

My mouth groaned in pain as I twitched both of my fingers. Dozens of leaves wrapped around my body, which kept me warm for the time being.

Upon opening my eyes, the crisping sounds of wood burning from the flames entered my ears. When I slid my eyes sideward, the image of Match and Ryoshi sleeping together welcomed my eyes.

"Thank goodness you're okay," I whispered, while staring at Match.

I wanted to caress her with my hands, but my body refused to answer my calls. I could only wait for my body to rest before doing anything else.

"You're finally awake."

A recognizable voice called out for my attention. That person came from behind, but my body could not shift at my rear. Fortunately, that sound came not from an enemy I needed to fight.

That noise came from someone I already knew.

"Okami….. Did you save me? Did you save Match?" I asked straightaway without beating the bush.

Okami sat in front of me and the campfire while preparing a bowl in his hands. Before answering my questions, he took a spoon and filled the cup with boiling soup. After stuffing the container, Wolf went towards me and offered me the dish.

"You need to eat or else your body won't make it. Right now, Match's spell is the only thing that's making your body temperature rise."

"Rise?" I asked, unsure what he meant.

"Since you drowned underwater for a long time, your body reacted differently. Ryoshi was talking about homeostasis or some shit about you being cold. But in the end, he explained to us we need some resistance against this wind. Match cast a fire spell around you, which was the last mana she had stored inside her body," Okami continued. "You also lost a significant amount of mana. Match had to transfer her arcane to you right after the battle. Match also said that she nearly replaced all of your money using her capacity. And that transferred mana is the thing that kept you alive."

"Isn't that bad? Draining one's mana is something that she always tells me about," I retorted, hoping to touch Match beside me.

But my hands never extended as I wanted, considering the aching muscles pulsating my entire body. They hindered them from doing anything.

"Well, lucky you, the worst did not happen. Ryoshi also remembered something which saved both of your lives. And tonight, that girl slept like a log. After what happened, I'd bet she got tired. So Match needed rest and hit the sack before anyone else could," Wolf said, while looking at the skies. "How about you? Do you feel any pain or difficulty in breathing? Ryoshi said I should ask you these questions and wake him up if you have any."

I shook my head and answered. "I could feel the throbbing pain around my limbs. But besides that, everything's good."

"How about you? Aren't you tired after transforming into your first form and battling against the Kraken?" I continued asking Okami some questions.

"I am. Those two are just as wasted as I am. But I can't just rest because I want to.. Sometimes, I have to sacrifice some things so I can protect everyone, like you."