"Apologies, but I need Eldrian over here." Ziraili stated, her tone definite. It was clear that she would brook no arguments on the matter.
And yet, as she reached for Eldrian's shoulder, someone appeared between them. A dwarf. One covered in flames. The heat emanating from him was on the same level as the magma... was. The magma, much like most things inside the room, had evaporated upon Ziraili's appearance.
"Lady Ziraili." Amnur said, cautious. Naturally he was. This was the first time he ever met a god in the flesh. At most, he had talked to a few in the realm of souls. Like the magic abyss, the easiest realm to access while living.
Boran, naturally, was struggling to understand what was going on. However, he knew that the lady who had suddenly appeared inside the forge was no ordinary person. The power that had escaped from her body, for just a second, had been enough to nearly kill him.
Honestly, Boran was astonished that Eldrian was still conscious. Solvi, after all, was unconscious, and from the grimace on her face, it was clear that the damage she had sustained was quite serious.
"I apologize for breaking our unspoken rule, but I can no longer stand by and accept what is happening."
"But a god acting—"
"I will not interfere in the war. However, I cannot allow things to continue as they are. I understand why you choose not to interfere, but without help, he will die."
Eldrian had no idea what was going on, but that proclamation certainly caused him to freeze. He did not need to ask. Clearly, Ziraili was talking about him. 'But why? What is going on?'
"I see..." Seemingly defeated, Amnur moved to the side. And the next second, Eldrian and the goddess were no longer in the room.
"Wha—what just happened?" Boran croaked, his mind racing, trying to keep pace with what was happening.
"It appears the end is closer than we thought." Amnur sighed, turning to his apprentice. "Let us forge that weapon."
"Ah? Are you su— Alright!" Exhilarated to have Amnur's support, Boran threw all distracting thoughts out of his mind.
—
The next thing Eldrian knew, he was some place strange. Somehow, it reminded him of his soul. But at the same time, he knew it wasn't the same.
'No way, is this—'
"That's right. This is the core of simulation." Ziraili replied, her words sounding like thunder to Eldrian. The familiarity immediately told him the state of this place. In fact, it told him the truth of the entire world, the entire galaxy. Of ANW and all the lives inside of it.
"ANW is a soul world?" While Eldrian framed it as a question, he was certain of his proclamation. Yet, his mind failed to accept it. A part of him knew it was possible. In fact, he had hypothesized that it might be just that. He had even planned to experiment more on the topic after saving the kingdom.
To have that information suddenly throw right into his face. Well, it certainly threw him off balance with some force.
"Indeed. However, it is not as fragile as yours." Those words hurt. It reminded Eldrian of Two's death, of how he had nearly died at the hands of a spell called Devour.
It reminded him how his soul world had lost its reality. No longer containing much, if any, substance.
Sure, when he aimed for Tier 6 he had fixed some of it, but it was still not back on the level it had been before. That was why Eldrian still refused to heal his right arm, why he still used the prosthetic, and why he was still not ready to move on.
His wounds had yet to heal. And he felt they would never truly do so. The scars would remain forever.
Ziraili knew this, and knew that it was not good for Eldrian to remain stuck on the past. Thus, "Good luck."
"Huh?" Shocked by those words, Eldrian turned around. Only to find that Ziraili was no longer next to him. The next second, a beast appeared.
"Graarrr!" it roared and charged. Blinking before Eldrian and slamming him with its tail. Sending him flying—right into the barrier of this space.
Unlike his soul, this place wasn't large. Sure, it was the core of the entire simulation, but it was only as large as a courtyard—in dome shape. It being small did not mean it was lesser than Eldrian's soul world. In fact, Eldrian couldn't even entertain the thought for a second.
After all, this tiny core supported not just the entire massive Gaia. It supported the entire galaxy around it. The stars in the night sky aren't illusions. They actually exist.
Eldrian didn't know their reason for existence, but he had seen some destroyed planets in outer space. Way back when he had appeared there when trying to enter ANW without a headset.
Naturally, Eldrian's didn't even think of this. He was desperately dodging the beast's attacks. It looked like a drake, but it had a slender build. More like a salamander. And it was quick.
How fast was it? Fast enough for Eldrian's agility of 1.2k to only barely follow its movements. If he didn't focus, it looked more like a blur.
"Fine!" Shouting to calm himself and motivate his fighting spirit, Eldrian reached out to his inventory. Only to be stunned when nothing happened.
Next thing he knew, he was stuck to the barrier like a pancake. Coughing blood, certainly more than a few ribs had been broken.
The beast didn't let Eldrian rest there. Before Eldrian could even conquer the pain, it threw a ball of something black or dark purple at him.
The sizzling as it splashed on his side informed Eldrian that it was at the very, extremely acidic. The pain as his flesh melt finally made Eldrian realize just how much danger he was in. He even saw bone in his left arm.
But... he couldn't understand what was going on. Why would Ziraili try to kill him?
Eldrian was sure she wouldn't. She had mentioned if she remained inactive—which Eldrian didn't think she was—she was helping him plenty. Yet, she had said he would die as things were now.
Racking his brain to figure out what was going on, Eldrian tried to appraise the beast's stats. Yet, even mana sense didn't work. In fact, Eldrian realized with a shock that there was no mana in his surroundings.
"No way—ucrk!" A pancake again, Eldrian finally realized just how strange this area was. He thought he was still inside the system, at the very least. But, from what he had just tried, he knew that was not the case.
Heck, he never even realized how far the system that Ziraili controlled existed. It was crazy to think about, now that he did. Her power... it was far more impressive than he ever realized.
'Then why—' Unable to complete the thought, Eldrian dodged as the beast threw a slew of earthen spears at him. Only to find it was a diversion. Behind it was more of the acid liquid.
Desperate, Eldrian summoned a wind barrier. And blew himself away.
Looking back, he realized his instincts were right. The barrier was gone. Easy as pie. Had he relied on only it, he would be little more than bones right now.
As Eldrian tried to assess his own stats, trying to gauge how much damage he had already taken, he froze. 'Wait, no way. That can't be blocked too!'
Chills ran down his spine. Fear grasped his heart.
'Does that mean... I can die? Like, for real?'
As if reading his thoughts, the salamander/drake smirked.
'Whatever! I can still use magic! I won't lose!
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺