The time they spent unconscious was short-lived. When they had come to, they found themselves sprawled out on the ground. The moment they opened their eyes, the first thing both Players noticed was their eyes squinting from the brightness of the overhead lights. The lights actually felt bright. The second thing they noticed was the absence of a Heads-Up Display.

"What is wrong with my headset? Why do my eyes hurt? Why aren’t we logged out?" Goren was the first one to speak.

Asriel's eyes widened. “My eyes hurt too!”

He shielded his eyes with his left hand. He felt some relief… odd.

“Wait a minute…” Goren said as he touched his face. He made some noises with his mouth, prodding his face with both hands as he did. He exhaled, sending forth a puff of steam in the process.

“Why is steam coming out of my mouth?! And why does my avatar's face feel real?!”

Asriel stared slack jawed at his friend. He brought his own hands to his face and performed the same vocal tests Goren had done. Feeling for himself what Goren had described, Asriel’s mind finished processing what he just heard.

“Your voice, it doesn’t sound like yours anymore!”

Goren spoke whatever words came to mind. He could hear it for himself - the voice he had was noticeably different. He looked back at Asriel.

“Yours too! It sounds different, like mine!”

The two took some deep breaths. They had to calm down. Every breath Goren took, steam came rushing from his mouth.

“Wait a minute... I can breathe fine now... without coughing!”

Goren took several more breaths, steam issuing forth like a kettle every time. He tried breathing only through his nose, and the same thing happened there. It was not a trick of his brain. He could breathe easily now. He did not feel any scarring in his lungs. In fact, he felt better than ever.

“I don’t feel ill anymore!” Goren exclaimed, “And I can smell!”

Asriel’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yeah! On both counts!”

Asriel sniffed the air. He could smell the plants in the air. Their guild base was a palace filled with plant life, as one would expect of one named after Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture. There was also the smell of stone, marble, and the other materials that made up the guild base.

His eyes widened even more. “I can smell too!”

This wasn’t a feature in Yggdrasil. It was one of the game’s intentional limitations, so that players would be able to tell reality from virtual reality.

Goren began pinching himself. “Ow!”

“Checking to see if we’re dreaming?”

“Yeah! And since I haven’t woken up, I don’t think we are.”

“Do you think this is some kind of bug or glitch?”

Before Goren could answer, a voice rang out.

“My lords!”

Neither of them knew who it belonged to. They turned their heads and were taken aback by what was approaching. Or to be more precise, who was approaching. It was a squad of the Demetrius Elven Guard.

“My Lords! Are you alright!?” The squad leader said, the weapons of the squad at the ready.

What the fuck?

“Uh-” Was all Goren could say.

Asriel was too stunned to speak, his mouth agape.

“We heard you were in distress and came as soon as we could.”

The NPCs can talk!? And move of their own volition!? This was never a thing in YGGDRASIL!

Goren turned to look at Asriel. He was staring at the group of elves.

Goren turned his head back at the squad. He had to answer them.

“Uh, n-no, everything’s fine! We…”

What should I say? What would be a believable lie?

…

Fuck it, I’ll tell them the truth.

“...actually, something made us fall unconscious. We’re not sure what.”

The elves’ eyes widened. They grit their teeth.

Is that actual emotion? They look upset. Wait, why do they seem… alive?

“Understood, my Lords.”

The squad leader turned to his squad mates. “Men, we’ll be guarding the Supreme Beings from now on. Until we find out what has caused this catastrophe, we won’t be leaving their sides.”

Supreme Beings?

The elves nodded in unison. “Yes, sir!”

They encircled Goren and Asriel, their weapons pointing outwards.

Asriel snapped out of it. “What is going on?” He blurted out.

“We’re protecting you, my Lords. We won’t let such an incident occur again.” Said the squad leader.

Asriel leaned over to Goren, covering the side of his mouth with his hand before whispering.

“(How are we even talking with them like this?”)

Goren brought his own hand up.

“(I have no idea. Do you think this is a prank the devs are pulling on us?)”

“(Maybe. But it could also be that we’ve been brought over to YGGDRASIL 2.)”

Goren furrowed his brow.

“(I don’t think so. I think it’s more likely that we’re being held captive in some sicko’s virtual world for ransom.)”

“(If that’s the case, we could be freed from it soon. But what if none of that is the case?)”

“(If not, then how do we prove or disprove any of it?)”

Asriel smiled.

“(I’ve got an idea. I’ll check if this is some kind of new DMMORPG right now.)”

Asriel stepped towards the closest elf in the squad and turned him around with both hands.

Before anyone could ask him what he was doing, he grabbed the elf’s pants with both hands and pulled down as hard as he could -

- revealing the elf’s nude lower body.

“Woah! What the fuck!” Goren said, shielding his eyes with both hands.

Asriel’s face blushed bright red as he realized what had just happened.

In YGGDRASIL, performing 18+ actions like this would immediately get one’s account banned for life. The fact that Asriel wasn’t forcibly logged out right after had proved to the two of them that this wasn’t YGGDRASIL, or even YGGDRASIL 2 they were playing right now. However, it was quite the interesting way to prove it. The pantsed elf looked down at himself and saw Asriel’s hands still holding onto his pants. He turned to look at Asriel.

“I-I didn’t know you were so eager to see me like this, my Lord.” He said, blushing. The other elves couldn’t help but blush too.

Asriel wanted to die. He let go of the elf’s pants and stood up straight again.

“Hahaha!” A laugh rang out.

Asriel turned to see the source of it. It was Goren, who was hunched over laughing his lungs out. The Skin of Gaia slipped his grasp and fell to the floor. The blush on Asriel’s face intensified.

“T-this is not funny!”

Goren could only laugh harder. “I-it def-definitely is!”

The laughter went on for several minutes. The more Asriel told Goren to stop laughing, the more Goren laughed.

“I’m serious!”

“I-I know-know you are! Which makes it-it funnier!”

Asriel sighed. He turned back to face the elf.

“Could you… please put your pants back on? I’m sorry for pantsing you.”

“O-of course, my Lord! It’s fine, don’t let it worry you!”

The elf did as ordered. Asriel looked around at the other elves.

“I want all of you to forget what just happened.”

The elves stood at attention.

“Yes, my Lord!” They said in unison.

“Good.”

Asriel turned back to Goren. He had stopped laughing for the most part, but it was clear he could start laughing again at any moment.

“Are you done?”

Goren straightened himself out, a smile on his face. “Yeah, I’m done.”

“Good.”

“Why was that the first thing that came to your mind?” Goren’s smile widened.

“I don’t know. It just did.”

“Did it prove anything to you? Besides the fact that they have genitals?”

“You seem so calm for somebody who just saw what we both saw. On a POP who shouldn’t even have any!”

The words Asriel just said began to sink in for both of them.

Why do the elves have genitals? They were never designed to have any.

Neither of them had designed the Demetrius Elven Guards. They were simply generic elves that automatically spawned as part of the guild base’s dungeon defense system. But they knew that the devs would never design creatures to have genitals. Visible or otherwise.

Wait a minute.

Has this somehow become real?

The two made eye contact, the same thought having occurred to both of them.

“Are we even in the same world right now? Like, are we even on Earth anymore?”

Goren looked down at Skin of Gaia, still lying where it was dropped. He reached out and grabbed it, gasping once he laid his eyes upon its surface. Asriel stepped over to him and looked down at the map.

“What’s up with the map?”

The World Item, which once displayed all of the Nine Worlds of Yggdrasil, no longer showed any of the in-game locations. In its place was a map of a strange new world. An entire world map, with continents, rivers, lakes, seas, mountains, cities, and more.

“When did this happen?!” Goren shook the World Item several times. “Is this even the same World Item?!”

Asriel shook his head in disbelief. “It looks somewhat like the online pictures of Earth back before the pollution.”

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

Goren turned to look at his friend, then turned back to the map, processing what he just said.

“Yeah, it does like that.” He said. He touched the item experimentally and found that it functioned just like it did back in Yggdrasil.

“At least it still works. But all these places are new.” He said, handing Skin of Gaia to Asriel.

Asriel tested it as well, zooming in and out and panning over to a nearby mountain. Surrounding the mountain were various cities, each of them with their own displayed names and short descriptions as to what they were. He clicked on one of them, and the map zoomed in, giving a bird’s eye view of the city of Inveria. It looked abandoned.

“It says this city called ‘Inveria’ was abandoned 200 years ago. Doesn’t say why, only that it was the capital of the ‘Kingdom of Inveria.’”

“That doesn’t sound like a place in Yggdrasil.” Goren said. Suddenly, he came to a realization.

“I’m gonna take a look outside!” He shouted.

Asriel realized what Goren was doing.

“I’ll go too!” He shouted in return.

Goren sprinted towards the front door, the same door they were trying to open before blacking out. The elves moved out of the way as he sprinted. He pushed the doors open, and was immediately greeted by a change in scenery.

The bright sky and greenery of Alfheim was nowhere to be found. The dense forest that the Palace of Demeter was hidden within was nowhere in sight. In its place was a land devoid of life

Asriel appeared at Goren’ side, the two of them staring at the environment they found themselves in.

After a few moments of silence, Goren put an arm around Asriel’s neck and pulled him in close, before speaking. He had a smile on his face.

“Well, we definitely aren’t in YGGDRASIL anymore.” He said, chuckling.

“...And maybe Earth as well.”

Asriel replied.

----------------------------------------

Palace of Demeter - 5th Floor (Aeterna)

The Astral Keep

Day 1 - 1:44 PM Demeter Standard Time

The journey back to the Astral Keep of the 5th Floor was a quiet one. Goren and Asriel didn’t know what to say to each other. They were still processing everything that had happened. The elves, still encircling the two, followed them to their destination.

What determination they have, thought Asriel. They’re not gonna leave us so easily.

As they walked, Asriel had an epiphany.

“Hey, you know how you expel steam from your airways every time you breathe?” He asked.

“Yeah?” Goren replied, a whisp of steam exiting his mouth as he spoke.

“It’s probably because you’re a Knight of Muspelheim. Doesn’t that class of yours have Fire Breath?”

Goren thought about it. “That makes sense. But it was always an ability I had to activate with my console.”

Asriel nodded. “You probably can’t shut it off anymore. Maybe without a console, it’s just always gonna stay activated.”

Goren pressed his lips tightly together and filled his mouth with his breath, his cheeks growing round. He then blew the air out, a long stream of steam floating out and upwards. He watched as the hot air disappeared from sight.

“You’re probably right.”

The group approached the Gate to the 1st Floor at the end of the hall, located inside a golden arch, created to be obvious and beautiful, so that invaders would immediately know where to go. Their guild, like all guilds, had to adhere to the rules set by the developers and enforced by the Ariadne System, a program that continuously analyzed the layouts of guild bases and penalized guilds who attempted to make their bases extremely difficult or impossible to traverse, such as by adding excessive obstacles, making doors too small to pass through, adding nothing but dead ends and no actual way to reach the heart of the guild base, or creating extremely long and winding corridors. They had to appease this program when designing their guild base, lest they get massive fines every single day.

This Gate was one of several permanent portals, serving as the primary means of transportation between Floors. As teleportation was blocked by magic, invaders would have to rely on these Gates to dive deeper. Only those who had a Ring of Chiaroscuro, like Goren and Asriel, could freely teleport around the guild base (to preset locations only) without needing to rely on the Gates.

They would have the elves use the Gate while they used their Rings of Chiaroscuro, because the carrying capacity of their rings would not allow all of the present elves to teleport with them if they chose to use it. The elves made it clear that they would not leave their side anytime soon, even when the two had ordered them to do so. They were too concerned with their safety to obey the order to leave.

“Let’s see if these Gates still work.” Goren said.

“Let’s do it.” Asriel replied.

They ordered their guards to go to the 5th Floor right away. When they refused, they said that they would be using their rings to teleport to the same location. They complied, reluctantly stepping through the Gate. The two activated their rings and instantaneously teleported to the 5th Floor.

----------------------------------------

Arriving at the Lighthouse, the building that housed the Gate to the 4th Floor, the two stood in place for several minutes while they waited for the elf POPs to arrive. The squad of the Demetrius Elven Guard eventually made it to the 5th Floor without any problem. From there, it was only a short walk to Equinox Cathedral, within which was the grand stairway that led to Astral Keep.

Upon their arrival at the front entrance of Astral Keep, the group was greeted by the members of the Ennead on patrol.

“Howdy, Lord Goren, Lord Asriel!” Said the soft-spoken leader of the team, the level 100 Half-Golem named Aiden. He knelt on one knee before the two Players.

Goren? Asriel? The two Players thought.

Goren brought his hand up to his mouth to cover it, then leaned in.

“(It sounds like they only know us by our usernames.)”

Asriel brought his hand up to his mouth as well.

“(Interesting. Should we tell them our real names?)”

Goren shook his head.

“(Let’s not. It would confuse them. If this is some real world and not an elaborate prank, we shouldn’t use our real names while we’re here.)”

“(Gotcha.)”

They returned their hands to their sides and turned their attention back to Aiden. He had the appearance of a slender humanoid with metallic skin that was covered in spines, like those of a cactus, dressed in the attire of a cowboy. Asriel gave Aiden a southern drawl and cheery disposition when he created him because he was inspired by a singing cowboy from an old movie he saw. On Aiden’s hips were two revolvers, magic guns that fired arrows made of mana rather than regular bullets. So long as he had sufficient MP, he would never run out of ammunition. In addition, he does not need to reload or cock the hammers of his revolvers. Quite an advantage over regular firearms.

Behind him, knelt the others of his team, all of them level 100:

Beefcake, a male Chaugnar barbarian who wore a leather jacket and other biker attire with a battle ax on his back.

Br’r, a male Harengon who holds the title of ‘World’s Most Powerful Illusionist’, and wears jester attire.

Bulldozer, a male Homunculus monk who loves theater and is dressed and acts like a professional wrestler.

Gasbag, a male Half-Golem minimum and fighter with a balloon-like body and has a high-pitched voice like one would get from breathing-in helium. He can change the size and shape of his body to get into places nobody else could fit into.

Gloria, a Succubus bard who wore gear that accentuated her beauty and disarmed those who would do her harm.

Quick Foot, a male Homunculus ranger who spoke and dressed like a Native American from way back when and had a passion for carving wood sculptures.

Visor, a male Skeleton Warrior who piloted a white Power Suit and dual wielded submachine guns.

And finally, Zenith, a male Angel cleric who acted and dressed like a superhero and wielded a longsword.

“What brings y’all back to the Astral Keep so soon? Do y'all need us for somethin’?”

Aiden’s faceless head was lowered, but remained pointed in their direction. Goren and Asriel were stunned, but they quickly snapped out of it.

It seems all of them are alive now. Interesting. The thought had come to the both of them.

“N-no, we were…” Asriel tried to think of something to say.

“...just going for a walk!” Goren finished for him.

Asriel sighed in relief.

“Ah, good thinkin’, m’Lords! A walk is always good for one’s health!” Aiden said happily.

“...unfortunately, something happened during our walk.” Asriel started again.

“Oh?”

“Yes. We momentarily lost consciousness and… found ourselves on the floor when we… had come-to on the Surface.”

Aiden’s eyes widened. As did the rest of the team’s. They looked genuinely shocked.

“What?!” The entire team said in unison.

“It’s true. We ran to them as soon as we heard the commotion.” Replied the leader of the elf squad.

The Ennead got to their feet in the blink of an eye and crowded around Goren and Asriel, who raised their hands in an attempt to keep them from getting any closer. They all had worried expressions. At least, those who could show emotion or whose faces weren’t covered did.

“Are you feeling well, my Lords?!” They exclaimed in unison. They were designed to fight perfectly as a team, after all. Speaking in unison sometimes was a result of that.

All of them crowding around Goren and Asriel made the two Players uncomfortable. They felt claustrophobic. Especially since the Ennead continued to ask questions about their health, speaking over each other.

“Uh, y-yes! We’re fine now!”

Shouted Asriel over all of the noise. That seemed to have ended the barrage of questions for the time being.

“Yeah, we’re fine.”

Added Goren.

“What do we know about th’ event?”

Aiden turned to the elven squad leader.

“Nothing, sir.”

“Darn it.”

“My apologies, sir. We wish we had more to tell you.”

While Aiden continued to speak with the squad leader, Gloria turned her attention to Goren. She leaned in close to her creator, her face nearly touching his, her worried eyes focused on him. She stood there, not saying a word for several seconds, as she rubbed her chin.

“Lord Goren, I have noticed that your cough is gone. Are you no longer ill?” Gloria asked. Br’r, Gasbag, and Beefcake - the other three NPCs that Goren created in the team - joined her, curiously studying him.

“Ill?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes! You had been coughing for quite some time now.”

How does she know this? Did somebody program her with these ‘memories’? This doesn’t make sense.

Goren did not have time to ponder. He had to answer.

“Uh, yes! My illness has indeed left me. I am once again at top physical form.”

Goren smiled at that. It wasn’t a false smile. It felt like his illness really had left him.

Gloria’s face lit up, as did the others. That seems to have made them forget their anxiety.

“What wondrous news! We should celebrate your good health! Both of yours, my Lords!” Squeaked Gloria, straightening her posture as she clapped her hands together.

Aiden nodded enthusiastically. He raised the brim of his hat with his pointer finger.

“I wholeheartedly agree. We should throw a party in y’all’s honor. But, we should still look into what happened today.”

Goren and Asriel gave each other a look.

“We appreciate your concern, but we don’t think that is necessary.”

Aiden shook his head.

“My Lords, how could we let this incident go? It is only right we look inta th' matter as soon as possible.”

Asriel sighed internally.

“Alright, if you insist, start the investigation.”

Goren decided to speak up.

“If possible, could you do it after the party? I’m curious as to what you’re planning for us.”

The faces of the team lit up again.

“We’re planning only the best for you, my Lords!”

Gloria squeaked again. Her smile was warm.

This is going a bit too fast for my liking, Asriel thought.

“For now, we would like to take a small break before the party takes place. We wouldn’t want to be unprepared and unrested for when the time comes.”

Asriel gave an excuse. While he and Goren were genuinely pleased at the idea of having a party, they needed some alone time to process all of this.

The Ennead looked excited.

“Ah, good thinkin’ m’Lords! We’ll give ya all the time ya need to prepare yourselves for the celebration!” Aiden bowed his head.

“What would y’all like to eat fer th’ party?”

Goren and Asriel looked at each other. Asriel motioned for Goren to speak, so he did.

“We’ll let you decide!”

Goren managed to improvise.

The faces of the Ennead lit up further. They all bowed their heads.

“Yes, my Lords.”

They said in unison.

“Who should we invite?” Aiden asked.

“Would it be alright to invite all of the Floor Guardians?” Goren asked Asriel.

Asriel shrugged. “If the Area Guardians can watch over the Floors in their absence, then I don’t see why not.”

Goren nodded. “Gotcha.”

He turned back to Aiden.

“Have the Floor Guardians join us for the party. They should enjoy the festivities as well,” Goren replied.

Aiden nodded. “Understood, Lord Goren.”

Aiden turned to face his team.

“Listen up! We’ll throw the Supreme Beings the best party Demeter has ever seen! Each and every one of ya will give yer all so that our masters can enjoy themselves to the fullest!” Aiden turned and pointed to the Gate with his dominant hand. He waited for the rest of the team to make their way towards the Gate before he came along.

“M’Lords, we’ll send for y’all when th’ time has come!” He said before he disappeared into the Gate. The Ennead bowed their heads to Goren and Asriel before stepping through the portal.

The two watched them leave through the Gate before turning back towards the Astral Keep. Before they could open the gates themselves, two members of the Demetrius Elven Guard rushed over and pushed the gates open themselves, holding it open for the two Players. Goren and Asriel gave polite nods at the two as they passed through, the gates closing behind them.

That’s something. They thought.

They passed by decorative trees as they tread the white and black stone path to the castle they lived in. Entering the keep, they spent several minutes passing through corridor after corridor filled with traps and hidden guards. Because they were members of the same guild, the traps did not trigger.

The door to the Garden of Asgard was flung open, and held there as the two Players made their way into the courtyard they had left not too long ago.

The door to the Throne Hall at the far end of the courtyard grounds loomed over them. It felt larger than last time.

At the door to the was standing Kleran Reval, the Guardian Overseer, just where they left him. Not knowing what else to do, they made their way towards him.

He bowed his head as they approached.

“Greetings, my Lords. I hope your walk was refreshing.” He said in a calm, monotone voice that was neither loud nor quiet. His face showed no emotion, remaining completely neutral, just like all Automatons. They were programmed to show very little emotion on their faces, something that is fundamental to their race. It was why they had stationed him outside the Throne Room. Now that he was real, they felt bad about it.

“It was certainly interesting.” Said Goren.

“But we had a problem.”

The two told Kleran the whole story, minus the truth about them trying to leave Demeter forever at midnight.

Kleran’s face remained neutral, however, an almost imperceptible frown grew on his face. His eyes had also very slightly widened.

“This is a travesty, my Lords. The fact that such a thing transpired to the Supreme Beings is of great concern.”

He said, his hands folded behind his back. It was the ‘default pose’ that was written into his character settings.

The two felt strange whenever they were called ‘Supreme Beings’ by the NPCs. They didn’t feel like they did anything to deserve such a moniker. But it seemed like they would be called such a thing whether they wanted to or not.

“It’s not that serious, Kleran.” Goren said.

“What are you saying, my Lord? Two Supreme Beings falling unconscious without explanation, within the sacred halls of the Palace of Demeter, is not something that should be taken lightly. For such a thing to occur at all is unacceptable. It is our duty as your humble servants to do everything in our power to protect and serve you to the best of our ability. Launching an investigation into the cause of this is imperative.”

Goren and Asriel were taken aback by this response. Why do the NPCs care so much about them? Why the concern for their safety?

“If that is what you think is best.”

Asriel said.

Goren shrugged and nodded.

Kleran bowed his head deeper.

“Thank you very much, my Lords.”

“What do you think of our current situation?”

Goren inquired.

Kleran rubbed his chin in contemplation.

“I believe it highly likely that this ‘new world’ we have found ourselves in is related to whatever has caused my Lords to fall unconscious. The fact that the incident happened just before, or maybe during, the transport, is highly suspect.”

Goren and Asriel nodded.

It made sense to them.

“That might be it. There doesn’t seem to be any other explanation for it.” Asriel said.

“I agree.” Goren said.

Kleran lowered his hand from his chin.

“I will investigate this matter further, you have my word. Until then, what are your orders, Supreme Ones?”

Goren leaned into Asriel, and held his hand up to shield the view of his mouth.

“(You should take the lead. You’re the Guildmaster, after all.)”

He said as he playfully elbowed his best friend in the shoulder.

Asriel rolled his eyes.

“(You just don’t want to deal with people, don’t you?)”

Goren smirked.

“(That too.)”

Asriel sighed quietly.

“(Fine. I’ll do it.)”

Asriel cleared his throat.

“For now, we will take a break and rest. Later today, there will be a party in the Dining Hall in Paradise Inn to celebrate our good health. The Ennead are taking care of it. All of the Floor Guardians are invited, which includes you. For the time being, you…”

Asriel took some more time to choose his words.

“...you can continue with your current duties.”

Kleran bowed his head once more.

“Understood, my Lords. May your rest be refreshing and may you enjoy the festivities ahead of us.”

With that, the two left Kleran to his duties and made their way to their quarters. It was a quiet walk.

When the Suite Hall came into view, Goren suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Asriel asked, turning to look at his friend.

“We haven’t checked on our Guild Weapon. We should make sure it’s alright.” Goren replied.

“You’re right. I completely forgot about it.”

The two activated their rings and teleported to the 6th Floor.