After waiting for Lilia to regain normal use of her legs, the trio stood in front of The Worlds Gate. Fate and Neo sat down to listen to Lilia’s lecture on the new skill. However, the lecture was rather short, and the way to learn the skill was easy. The skill was called [Mana Circulation], a rather self-explanatory name. Circulation of mana was something that should have been natural to Fate and Neo, as avid readers of fantasy material; however, during the time LOWG was a game, circulation of mana was never practiced. It was known that mana existed as something similar to a ball inside the brain, but mana was never withdrawn except for spells. Both Fate and Neo had above average control of mana, so they were able to roughly move their mana throughout their body without causing harm. This didn’t give them the skill, but with more practice, they would soon be able to gain the skill.
“Thanks Lilia,” Neo thanked Lilia. “I feel rather stupid that something like mana circulation never popped up in my head despite the intense exposure to fantasy settings.”
“Yeah,” Fate agreed with Neo. “As a devout follower of fantasy games and books, I have let my cult down. I must repent for my sins.”
“Cult…?” Lilia wondered aloud dazedly.
“Huh? You don’t know about the Fantasy Cult from Earth?”
“How uniformed are you?”
“How would I know something from Earth?”
“Tsk tsk, Lilia you have disappointed me.”
“You have let us down.”
“What are talking about?”
“The Fantasy Cult’s power spreads far and wide!”
“All men recognize the Fantasy Cult as the true power of the world.”
“What are you talking about?!”
““We’re kidding.”” Both Neo and Fate said at the same time.
“Wha-?!”
“So? What now.” Neo avoided questioning.
“I’m curious as well.” Fate joined in.
“Oh, right.” Lilia quickly composed herself. “Master wants you two brought to him, now that you know about the situation. He’s currently in a different plane, so I need to bring you there myself. I can’t bring you right to him, so you need to follow me when we go through. Don’t use skills or magic, do not go far from me and do not touch anything I don’t allow you to. You also need to be very careful, as the people there might come for us, seeing as how we’re from a different plane. Though we could easily get rid of them, it’s best not to provoke them. Understand?”
“… Why do I feel like you’re my mother?” Fate asked Lilia, astonished.
“Yeah, you’re being real motherly.” Neo added.
“It’s just because I care.”
Saying that, Lilia turned around and raised her hands. The Worlds Gate lit up, and it’s surface rippled. The ground rumbled and sound of space crackling came from the Gate. The Gate energy turned chaotic and spread across the hill, causing some flowers to bloom and others to wither and some to mutate into different species. The blue film that was in the middle of the Gate split open, revealing a black space. Lilia turned back to the two astonished players and held out her hand.
“Come, to the other side of the Gate.”
The two gulped, and grabbed her hand, walking into the darkness.
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~The other side of The Worlds Gate~
“Where is thi- *Bleurgh*!” Fate threw up.
“Oh… Oh God… *Bleurgh*!” Neo threw up.
“Oh come on you two, it isn’t that bad!” Lilia said joyfully.
“Says the she-demon who move through it freely! *Bleurgh*!”
“Screw you! *Bleurgh*!”
“Hahaha! You guys are funny.”
““FUCK YOU! *Bleurgh*!””
~Apologies for the delay~
“Normal people get sick when they go through the Gate, you know.” Neo scolded Lilia.
“Well, Master didn’t throw up when he came through though?” Lilia reported innocently.
“Well, your master is not us!”
Neo was viciously scolding Lilia for not warning them about the aftereffect of traveling through The Worlds Gate, while Lilia took the scolding without batting an eye. Fate was extremely affected by the travel, and was still recuperating. Eventually, the scolding ended and Neo helped up Fate, who was still unable to stand steadily. Lilia, as promised, lead the way to her master.
The Worlds Gate here was once again on a hill. However, this hill was surrounded by a giant man-made wall, unlike the Gate of Ionis, which was protected by natural obstacles. On the wall were many lights that shone brightly. Vague figures could be seen on the wall, but, with it being night here, it was too dark to see them clearly. On the other side of the wall, sounds of rumbling and shouting could be heard. To Neo and Fate, the rumbling sound was exactly like an engine. Both of them convinced themselves otherwise, but upon seeing the other side of the wall -which they had stealthily slipped through- they changed their minds instantly.
“Oi, Lilia?” Fate said queasily.
“What is it?” Lilia asked back.
“Isn’t this Earth?” Neo substituted for still couldn’t talk easily.
“Yep.” Lilia answered.
“This is something you should tell us first. I mean, it’s our homeworld after all.”
“Sorry, but I though it would be a good surprise.”
“Well, a surprise it is, but it isn’t a very good one.”
Lilia laughed lightly and motioned for them to follow her. They cleverly slipped past searchlights and guards, making it outside the compound and reaching a barbwire fence. Since Neo and Fate still had their ‘game bodies’, jumping over it was easy. Lilia looked behind them to see if there was anyone following them. Satisfied, Lilia turned back and walked forward, Neo and Fate following behind. Fate, now at 100%, looked to Lilia and asked her a question.
“Where are we,” Fate asked seriously. “Country, city, so on.”
“Where?” Lilia turned to Fate. “We’re in a country called the United States of America, in the state known as California near the city of Lemoore. December 17, 2044. This is known as Area 61, or so Master said.”
““Area 61?”” Both Neo and Fate asked Lilia immediately.
“Y-yes! Well, that’s what Master said. Does it mean something?”
“No...” Neo trailed off.
“N-not really.” Fate said, slightly embarrassed.
“…?” Lilia tilted her head in confusion.
~Lemoore, California~
Neo, Fate and Lilia walked calmly down the nighttime streets of suburban Lemoore. A few cars passed by, but all of them ignored the three as though it was natural. Although Neo and Fate had been dressed in clothes from Ionis -which, by all means, would be very weird here- had replaced them with clothes that looked more modern, as well as jackets to cover up the still out-of-place clothing, as well as protect from the cold. Lilia had dressed in a heavy jacket that completely obscured her clothes. When asked why she wore such a heavy jacket, she replied that she hated the cold.
Neo and Fate looked around them, eyes filled with reminiscence. Though Fate had lived on the East coast, this was the very neighborhood that Neo grew up in and had lived in for his entire life. His parents had left to go live in Hawaii and gave him the house once he got into college. While looking around, Neo spotted his house, and was about to ask Lilia some questions; however, his heart suddenly stopped beating and his mind grew blurry. His blood flowed in reverse and rose to his throat, causing him to cough up a glob of blood. Fate turned to Neo and stared at him in shock. Lilia looked at him, her face filled with fear and surprise. She quickly rushed to his side.
“Neo! Neo! Come back to us!” Fate shouted at Neo.
“Neo, stop thinking about it! The more you think about, the more likely your body will die! Remember, this is a game body, not your real one! If you think anymore about it, you might return to your real body! If you do, this one might die!” Lilia explained in a hurry.
Neo’s lungs were clogged with lungs, so he couldn’t speak, but he heard the two and tried to direct his thoughts elsewhere. However, the task proved more difficult that it seemed, as it seemed something was pulling his thoughts back to his real body. His vision faded and his mind could hardly function, as his consciousness slowly dissipated. Desperate, Neo tried to use a skill, but the activation of it was cut short. Unable to resist, his mind was pulled away and all feeling was lost.
“Damn…” Neo groaned, finally losing consciousness.
Suddenly, feeling returned to him. However, what he felt was his back on a soft material and his body covered in comfortable material. He felt something squeezing his arm, and something like goggles around his face. He heard the familiar sound of the running VR console and the sound of footsteps. As he opened his eyes, the footsteps came closer, and more hurried. Piecing things together, he directed his thoughts to his game body, trying desperately to get back. However, it didn’t work.
“There’s changes!”
“Inconceivable!”
“How did this happen?!”
“Quickly, hurry over!”
“The mental map suddenly exploded!”
Many voices were saying. Neo recognized none of the people that were talking. He tried to move his body, but only his arms could move. His eyes had fully opened, and he was greeted by the familiar ceiling that belonged to his room. His eyes moved around, and he saw many things he didn’t recognize. Machines that he never saw before. More importantly, there were things hooked up to him that he didn’t remember using, ever.
Feeling returned to his body, and he slowly sat up, taking the VR console off of his head. The door was thrown open and men in a variety of clothes streamed in, all of them looking amazed at the sight of Neo sitting up. Neo stared at them in confusion with his half-closed eyes. He found nothing familiar about the people that stood in his room. One, who appeared to be the leader, walked forward and got down to eye level with him. Neo stared back at him.
“Is there anything wrong with your body? What happened to you in there? Do you remember what happened to you? Are there any gaps in your memory?” The man shot off questions in rapid fire mode.
“Chief,” Another man stepped in. “Your asking her too much, she needs time to recover.”
“Ah, sorry. Then, just one question. Do you remember who you are?”
“Yeah...” Neo said in a hoarse, feminine voice. “I’m… Chloe Ashfield… Female…18...”