CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT

Is there a satisfying answer anywhere out there?

~

Leaf had no idea what the System Message meant

But Sky had some idea of why it may have been sent

"The System wants to kill Twig and because we're both nearby

It seems we both somehow managed to catch the system’s eye”

Sky looked down in horror and frustration at her feet

overwhelmed by feelings of resentment and defeat

But Leaf seemed to be search for some kind of hint or clue

"Isn’t Twig the only one, why did the screen say ‘Two’?"

Core Message

Don't you recognize a dungeon core when you see one?

Anyways, it looks like my long boring life is done

Why'd you have to and mention that nuisance’s name

Well, I guess my time was coming one day all the same

Twig looked back at both his friends with fresh tears in his eye

He'd wanted so much never to endanger Leaf or Sky

The world around them began shaking, loosening the stone

The echo of the caverns was like one long eerie groan

Sky rushed forward, wrapping both her arms around her friend

Trying to believe somehow that this was not the end

"I'm sorry" was all Twig could find the strength to say to Sky

"We did our best" was how she chose to say one last goodbye

Leaf had gone around them to inspect the stone that glowed

Disregarding how the room seemed ready to explode

“This rock feels more like a monster than a fancy rock

And I’m pretty sure it just used a red message screen to talk”

Sky and Leaf were briefly distracted by his remark

Such a random question was like a light in the dark

But there was no more time to think about the rock’s nature

A force appeared around Twig that would end his adventure

As the force encased Twig, Sky was helplessly pushed back

She tried to resist but she hit the stone wall with a crack

Twig cried out in pain from within the blue cloud of light

Unable to move, never mind putting up a fight

Sky screamed out but couldn’t take a step toward her friend

But then the light around Twig started to distort and bend

The light grew more intense around the glowing rock as well

Leaf looked on in fear from near the wall where he too fell

Leaf and Sky felt like a lightning bolt had filled the room

There’d could be a more oppressive feeling of such doom

And then when it felt like Twig was about to disappear

The light all quickly faded and the cavern air was clear

The room was dark, so Sky quickly cast light magic to see

Surprised to see Twig standing beside the stone awkwardly

“Did I get deleted…?” Twig asked as his young voice shook

Shifting his gaze as if he was unsure where to look

Core Message

No, you didn’t get deleted, you’re still here, aren’t you?

But I don’t think the System did what it set out to do

I’ve seen updates happen before but this one was strange

Normally it takes less energy to make a change

As if it was just waking, the weird stone lit up again

Like it did when Twig first came, but not as bright as then

Sky cast healing spells and analyzed Twig just in case

But what she saw put an annoyed expression on her face

~ xxmx: Txxx ~

xxxxx: xxxxxxxx

xxxxx: Pxxxxxx

xxxx

[x]

xxxxx

[0]

xxxxx

[x]

xxxxx

[x]

xxx

[0]

xxxx

[x]

xxxxx

[x]

xxxx

[0]

Xxx xxxxx xxx xxxxxx xxxx xx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxx

Xxxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxxxx xx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxx

Xxxxxx xxxx xxx x xxxxx xxxx xx xxx xxxx xxx xxxxxx

Xx xxx xxxx xxx Gxx ox Txmx, xxx’xx xxxx x xxxxxx xx xxxx

“Well, at least it’s still the same nonsense it was before

I have no energy for surprises anymore

That last line does almost seem possible to read though

Maybe it’s a god’s name, is it one that you might know?”

Twig looked at his screen while recovering from the shock

Wondering if there were some code that he might unlock

Then he realized he really could read just one part

Three words that he should have recognized right from the start”

Core Message

Don’t say it again, you fool, the System can still hear!

Mention of it would cause any normal person fear

Wait though, there’s another System Message on the way

I’ve never heard of so many of them in one day

System Message

Update failed, the soul entity: “Twig” unsupported

Additional realm instability reported

System cannot alter state of local entities

Searching for a way to remove instabilities

Twig, his two friends, and the stone all saw the same blue screen

But only the stone seemed to have a clue what it could mean

But even though Twig seemed to have recovered from the light

The stone was clearly struggling to burn even half as bright

~