"What do we do now?"

"We lost control of the game. We can't update it nor the in-game commands work."

"We can't let the players knew about it. If we do that, our stock will plummet."

"Why now...*Sigh*..."

"Can we still monitor the game though?"

"We can still monitor the game, but as I said, we didn't have the control anymore."

"..."

Emperor's Destiny company. The meetings of the boards of director lasted longer than it should. They were discussing the best course of actions, because the fate of their company depends on this discussions.

One suggestion after another was thrown into the table, only to be dismissed replaced by another argument. In the end, they gave up and decided to cover up their tracks. Acting like they still had the controls of the game and announced that the phenomenon that happened inside the game, was, in fact, their doings, and stated that it was their first global quest, and let the players find out more about it.

The players and masses were fooled by it. Garnering attention from the media and also game journalists. Dive system sales boosted up and their game cards were selling like hot cakes. The company took a big gamble in their decisions.

----

Several days have passed. Yuri hasn't logged in into Emperor's Destiny yet. He was busy, coming back and forth, between his company and the hospital. The people at his company at first were stunned by their CEO appearance, his new white hair was like an attention grabber by itself. Yuri, ignored all of the attention, like his usual self, at first there were many discussion about it, but with the course of time, they accepted it because it wasn't that unusual either in Korea.

At the hospital, the doctors and nurses that were in charge of Lillie treatments were baffled by the revelations. They didn't believe their eyes and ran series of test to affirm Lillie conditions, but, all the results were saying that she was completely healed. They were shocked, and the only explanations they had that it was a miracle. Looking at the results Yuri was elated by his sister conditions that had been healed perfectly. But, even though her spinal cancer were healed, her legs still can't move, leaving her still a cripple from waist to bottom.

Yuri was heartbroken by the outcome. But, Lillie, on the contrary, still felt joy and happiness for her recovery. She didn't mind her crippled state, after living with it for almost eight years now, she was already used to it. And now, her cancer was recovered completely, she was a healthy young girl, basically, she can do anything that she dreamed of, now.

Felix also came to the hospital, he was shocked at first by the fast recovery of Lillie. He bought her gifts and threw a party just for her, in her hospital room. So-Hee also came that time, with her usual black hat and the black hoodie. Yuri was shocked at first, how did So-Hee know about his whereabouts, they didn't exchange numbers, only in-game contacts.

"What happens to your hair?" So-Hee asked while staring at Yuri.

"Ah...This...Stuff happens...Hehe..." Yuri answered awkwardly.

"I like it." She smiled sweetly.

Aside from asking questions towards him, she also told him that it was Felix that told her about the happy occasion. She blackmailed him of course, otherwise, Felix wouldn't tell a thing about it. Yuri smiled and thanked her from the bottom of his heart, although they've just met weeks ago, he considered her as a friend already, growing his small circle of friends.

It was also the first time Lillie saw So-Hee, she was puzzled at first and thought that maybe that girl was Felix new girlfriend, but after examining her up close, scrutinizing her every course of actions, she found out that So-Hee got a feeling for her big brother. She chuckled, her woman intuition about a relationship is always right, but her brother is oblivious to such things, he was left in the dark while his sister and Felix already knew about it.

The celebrations didn't last long. Knowing that the dark undercurrents of gods plan would start at any time. Yuri racked his brain about how to tell this type of crucial information. Of course, he didn't want to ruin the happy occasion, but, he didn't have any choice about it either. It wouldn't make any difference if he told the information at a later date. But, it was beneficial for them if he told this sooner.

Not only to prepare sooner, but they can also get stronger faster. He took a deep breath amidst the celebrations. His face turned serious.

"There's something you guys need to know..."

The clamor inside the room suddenly stopped, all eyes now on him. He took a deep breath once more, and scanned their faces one by one. He didn't say anything, instead, he moved his hand and opened up his inventory menu, which only can be seen by him. Seconds after, a journal was in his hands. The rest was stunned, they can't believe their eyes.

"Are you learning magic tricks?" Felix asked.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"That journal looked familiar...It looked like one of my gifts in the game..." Lillie chimed, puzzled by what she saw.

"I didn't recall that the game had any merchandise item or even a store to sell it." So-Hee wondered.

"Yes, this was one of Lillie's gift in the game. It's a genuine item from the game." Yuri emphasized.

They were in disbelief, Yuri sighed, of course, they were. If he were to see this type of situation, he also wouldn't believe what he said. Felix was the first to open his mouth, he saw Yuri serious face, in his minds he thought that Yuri wasn't lying and didn't play tricks with them, but, it's just absurd and incredulous at the same time, and he can't help to become skeptical to it.

"N-No way...You're playing tricks right?" He said awkwardly.

Felix was smiling awkwardly, but, the next second, his eyes became wider.

"Do you believe me now?" Yuri stared at him with his serious face.

The room became gaunt. Horrifying aura seeped through every nook and cranny of the brown carpeted room. They felt the chills crawling through their minds, fear, terror, and fright. They felt their hearts had been gripped, suffocating them and dragging them towards the abyss.

The item that he took out was [Ring of Lesser Despair] that Nebelstein dropped. Although it didn't affect him that much, he was quite surprised too, the effect of the item was beyond his imagination. He stored it immediately after he saw their pale faces.

After the item was stored they were drenched in cold sweat as the aftermath. Their breathing became ragged, but the terror in their eyes still lingered, for once, they felt that they have met death itself.

Yuri saw their state and said, "Breath. Took a deep breath. Calm your minds."

His minds worked faster than before. He said it instinctually as if it was the natural course of actions. 'Huh, why everything seemed so clear now...' He was puzzled, in a split second he deduced the best possible answer for his own conditions.

His avatar merging process was done in a gradual manner. First, it was removing his body impurities, the second, was his physical state, although he didn't reach the superhuman state yet, it was slowly processed into his body. And now, the process of merging his intelligence and wisdom status into his real body began its initial process. He didn't know when will the process completed itself, but, at least he knew that his body was gradually changing.

They took one deep breath after another, calming their restless minds. The room was filled with silence. After calming their minds, they stared at Yuri. Seriousness was written all over their faces.

"H-How?" So-Hee was the first to broke the silence.

Yuri shifted his gaze towards her beautiful blue eyes, "That game, is not a game."

Felix was startled, "Then, what is that? And what happened to you? Why can you open the game interface in the real world?"

"Is...This related to that child, big brother??" Lillie asked.

Yuri shifted his gaze once more towards her sister and nod. He scanned their faces once more, and told them everything he knows. About the old man, gods plan, the game, and also the time of calamity in the near future.

The more they heard about it, the more skeptical they became. They threw a rapid succession of questions, while Yuri tried his best to answer them all. He tried his best to convince them, because no matter what happened, the only one that closes to him is his priorities first. The world can collapse, but not them, this was his resolution after contemplating his thought.

He wasn't a hero, nor he was a savior. He was only a single human, that broke away from his own fate. An immortal in the midst of primordial wars between gods.

"Then...What do we do now?" Felix asked.

"We keep playing the game. Amass our own army, and resist the gods onslaught." So-Hee chimed.

"We also can become gods..." Lillie mumbled.

Yuri perked his ears hearing Lillie mumble, "How?" He questioned while grabbing Lillie's hands. Felix and So-Hee also had their eyes sparkled by Lillie mumble, and listened closely after Yuri asked the question.

"Legendary quest, it was briefly mentioned in the lore...But, I didn't know how to get one..." Lillie answered

"Legendary quest..." Yuri memorized it in his evolving brain, and continued, "Okay! At least we got a clue how to become one. But, first, we need to establish our dominion and seize the throne."

Felix nodded while racking his brain at the same time, "We also need more people to play the game."

"You're right about that..." Yuri agreed.

"If only we can control the company..." So-Hee said.

Lillie's eyes sparkled, "AH! Big brother, you can buy it! And advertised it like crazy!"

Yuri was startled by Lillie suggestions, he looked toward Felix, "What do you think about this? You're my CFO. You make the calls."

Felix worked his brain, his miser nickname wasn't baseless. He was a savant for all the thing that dealt with money. He was a genius, revered by many corporations, he was like the savior of capitalism. Yuri brilliant decision making combined with Felix financial genius, made them an unstoppable force in the concrete jungle.

"Yes...I approve! I can see the possibilities that it can make us even richer." Felix's eyes shone with ambitions.

So-Hee was baffled by the answer, while Yuri and Lillie rolled their eyes, the greed in Felix's heart knows no bounds.

"Now, the only obstacles for this plan was the geezers in the boards, especially that old geezer." Yuri said, his eyes full of determination.

So-Hee didn't want to be left out. All this time she didn't told them her real identity, but, knowing that they were in the same boat right now, there's nothing holding her back. She plucked up her courage and said, "I-I can help advertise it too after you bought the company..." She said, while taking off her hat.

Yuri and Felix were puzzled by her actions. Lillie, on the other hand, had her eyes widened up.

"AH!! YOU'RE MS. AHN SO-HEE FROM STARLIGHT!!" Lillie exclaimed.

"Huh?? Aren't you Yang So-Hee??" Yuri and Felix were even more puzzled by Lillie reactions. Yuri tugged her sister hands asking for clarifications.

"She's an idol!! Globally famous too!! Yang So-Hee was her real name, while Ahn So-Hee was her stage name." Lillie clarified.

Yuri and Felix made the same expressions, their mouth made an o shape. So-Hee was satisfied with Lillie reactions, she felt accomplished, even though the one that she had a crush on didn't recognize her. Knowing that his sister knew her it was enough, she can slowly climb the relationship ladder through his sister first.

Yuri shook his head, he remembered the items that the old man gave to him, "Right! Make sure to check out your mailbox in the game. I didn't know what that item is, but I'm sure it was beneficial for you both."

The group chatted together until the sun hides its radiance. Felix and So-Hee said their goodbye to the siblings. After the two left, Yuri cleaned up the room, while her sister changed a set of clean clothes in the bathroom. Time passed, and the two was ready to leave the depressing hospital room. They said their goodbye to the doctors and nurses there. On their journey home, it was silent. They didn't speak any single words. Many things happened today, and they need time to process all of them.

Yuri looked at Lillie's jade eyes, 'We will survive...' He made an oath in his minds.