CHAPTER 1 – TIME MAGIC

Rain drops upon a puddle of mud. But a roof keeps those within it safe. A sound and blurred vision of a young woman and another, smiling full of laughter as she enters a large capsule-like device. It’s a technology that allows one to enter a virtual world on the other side.

[Siola]: “Hahahaha…”

[Rosa]: “… everything… yeah?”

[Siola]: “Mm! See … dinner.”

‘If I can say something to myself in the past…’

[Rosa]: “Sure… won’t… me?”

[Siola]: “Rakuri… Kurira… too…”

[Rosa]: “Awww… kaaaay…”

‘I shouldn’t play it.”

‘No.’

‘I should’ve stayed dead.’

White perfect teeth, that solid appearance extends to her gums and back. Puffing her cheeks before smooching like a fish. Her dark brown eyes narrows as she inspects for the slightest imperfection on her face excluding her freckles. Her short wavy hair brushed by a tall dark-haired lady who is lovingly gives her raspberries.

[Siola]: “You know, Realism Mode integration really doesn’t cover about anything on this body other than… you know, feeling? Like have you ever go to the toilet with this body? You’ve seen them around, I’m sure NPCs use those, but what about us?”

Snatching the mirror and turns her around. The dark-haired woman pinches Siola’s cheek, puffing and pouting it as she gazes upon that fish-like mouth.

[Rakuri]: “Does it matter?”

Kissing that silly face, that mouth, and that cheek.

[Siola]: “Hunyumnyumnyum.”

[Kurira]: “Get a roooooooooom, you two. And what the hell was that noise, Siola?! Did you turn from skeleton to a duck back there?”

[Siola]: “Shut uop, you cyborg! And watch out for the clouds!”

Maneuvering the grey-white dragon, they manage to avoid the clouds by going above it. The rider chuckles in confidence as her metal hand rotates 720 degrees. Her eyes sparks silver and white as the cracks on her face glows in the same color. In the reflection of her eyes lies an image of a floating island slowly being processed.

[Kurira]: “That the one?”

Siola stood. Her eyes narrowed before her wide smile is formed.

[Siola]: “Isolated Realm of The Unknown.”

Sensing the presence of a visitor, the inhabitant swarms the landing area bringing swords and axes. A deformed creature of all kinds, thousands of them. Kurira scans the threat, their weapons and capabilities, before descending unto them with the dragon firing a breath of chilling frost, freezing a large number of them before taking a flight.

Swords and axes flying but none of them damages the dragon. But more and more creatures appear from the tomb to a point that the landing area overfill with some of them are falling off. However, they are not the only one that is coming out of the tomb. A much large creature, indescribable in nature appears with all of its tentacles piecing and eating the smaller creatures.

[Kurira]: “You’re up.”

Siola jogs as she creates a body double, and take a dive straight towards the center of landing area below where the large creature awaits. The two body swirl towards it with hand casting a sign.

[Siola x Malevolent Shadow]: “Phantasmagoria!”

Powerful kinetic force brought it down, stunning it.

[Malevolent Shadow]: “Starfall Annihilation.”

[Siola]: “Hah! I like the idea!”

In unison, their grin widened.

[Siola x Malevolent Shadow]: “Nebula!”

They disappear. In the sky above, a large meteorite approaches the landing zone and standing above the meteorite is the two body of Siola, riding on it. With a wide smile, they crash on to the landing area, creating a massive explosion reaching the entire floating island. When the dust settles, it reveals the massive damage to the island, but then suddenly, it repaired itself in an instant, leaving only the debris above. Siola takes Siola’s hand to descend, but once again, the denizens of the realm appear in drove once more.

Frost breath by the dragon as it flies by, it descends besides Siola as Rakuri and Kurira joins her side. They stride confidently towards the swarm. Kurira conjures a portable mechanical case which houses a number of weapons. Rakuri takes from it a bow, the two Siola takes a staff each, and Kurira grabs herself a minigun weighing a couple hundred kilos.

[Kurira]: “Heh.”

It ramps up before unleashing a bullet hell towards the entrance of the tomb, each bullet can pierce the smaller denizens of this realm up to 8 times. Her boots transformed as it lights up, bigger, weightier, allowing her to take steps while firing her minigun. However, the target number continues to increase and that causes the dragon to assist. Instead of a widespread breath, it fires a condensed laser that freezes everything it touches. But even that too is not enough as a larger, much stronger creatures appear from the tomb. Crashing the formed frozen wall, it absorbs Kurira’s bullets, but then the two Siola aim their stave at them.

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[Siola x Malevolent Shadow]: “Psionic Lance.”

Powerful force of kinetic power piercing through the entire enemy lines, stunning them. That’s when Rakuri holds her bow and aims it at the entrance of the tomb.

[Rakuri]: “True Art of Volatile Dark…”

Lightning surges through her bow as she draws a spectral arrow forming from its energy. Black energy scatter at the tip of the arrow.

[Rakuri]: “Death Storm!”

Swirling blast of dark energy, ever growing, taking everything in its path. Clearing the way for them to advance. Kurira grabs a backpack filled with ammunition for the minigun from her case before it disappears, leading the group to steps towards the tomb. Rakuri faces her dragon.

[Rakuri]: “Return, Laliadainmma, I’ll call upon you once more when the need arises.”

The dragon bows before flapping its wings and takes flight away from the island. Rakuri rejoins the others as they enter the tomb. Corpses of the enemies suddenly disappear without a sound. Siola snatches her malevolent shadow’s stave, sheathing it to her back as the body double turns into magical energy which itself returns to Siola’s body.

[Siola]: “Wait.”

[Siola]: “We’re here.”

‘I had the opportunity to turn back. The number of choices I could’ve made. To enjoy life, to bring happiness to myself and the others.’

[Rakuri]: “Okay, what do we do now?”

[Siola]: “I get the feeling I should go in there alone.”

[Rakuri]: “Heheh, trying to hoard all the power for yourself now?”

[Siola]: “Read my mind there. Haha…”

‘Something kept gnawing at me. Nudging me towards this path.’

She marches onward.

[Kurira]: “You sure they’re not gonna spawn again?!”

[Siola]: “Uhh, I think so!”

With each step she took, her footsteps glowing in golden white. Her hands feel chilly the further she walks towards a dead end. Before long, she doesn’t even feel a presence behind her for the presence and body of her companions are no longer there. Panting, she tries to calm herself down as she continues onward but no matter how far she walks, the dead end never ends.

*Huff *Huff

[Siola]: “Alright.”

She closes her eyes for a moment. The next scene she sees is not that of a golden structures or walls or even grounds. She’s standing in space, amidst the stars. It’s dark.

[???]: “You have returned… Siola.”

An enormously gigantic divine creature with a ghastly appearance. 6 angelic wings with a crown-like horns over its head. Two golden white arms with sharp armors. Golden white energy radiates in excess. Its head resembles that of a mythical goat, even its eyes.

[Siola]: “Kita.”

[Siola]: “I keep considering the possibility of this, but I guess it wasn’t the god himself who brought me back to the past. I kept asking why me, but then from out of nowhere, I see my friends who’s supposedly doesn’t know me yet, suddenly said my name out loud without me even introducing myself.”

[Siola]: “Was it you, Kita?”

Its head turns, its eyes shifting towards her.

[Kita]: “You’ve known it for longer than you wish to admit, oh Devotee of the Great End King, or is it Mage of the Abyss, now?”

[Siola]: “I don’t have the title for either of them, Kita. Just answer me.”

[Siola]: “This whole thing, this world is a game. I cage myself in a metal box so I can come here and have fun. I died, with a bullet to my brain, and yet I’m still here standing three and half years before that happens. Is this whole thing coded in you? You were just supposed to be a pet summon I can use so I can cast that Life Distortion spell, but what the hell is this?”

[Siola]: “Are you a dev playing an NPC here because if that is true, you don’t know how much that’ll ease my mind! So, tell me, Kita. What… is happening here?”

The creature closes its wing as it backs away slightly.

On the other end of the space is Kurira and Rakuri snacking on salted nuts. Crunchy texture, and the crumbs are sticking to their fingers.

[Rakuri]: “What do you think she’s doing over there?”

[Kurira]: “God knows.”

*Munch *Munch

[Rakuri]: “Heheh, still feels so unreal.”

[Kurira]: “What is?”

[Rakuri]: “Everything! Duh.”

[Rakuri]: “We got Dola back, we got our house repaired, you getting an NPC girlfriend. Like, this whole thing almost feels like a dream. It’s like that thing never happened.”

[Kurira]: “Well, it didn’t. At least, not yet.”

[Rakuri]: “I still think about our old friends though. Remember Scallops? You kind of left him dead in the warehouse. Supposed he’s still alive, probably gonna find our bodies there too.”

[Kurira]: “Yeah?”

[Rakuri]: “What, don’t you miss our past self? Or should I say, future self?”

[Kurira]: “No.”

[Kurira]: “We’ve got a second chance at life. I don’t wanna mop around thinking about the past when the sweet future is ahead of us. You remember that saying?”

[Kurira]: “Hope,”

[Rakuri]: “Is the thing with feathers,”

A smile on their face. Before they continue, something in their line of sight. They quickly stood and Kurira aims her minigun at the humanoid entity entering the tomb. But then it disappears instantly, and suddenly, they appear right in the middle of them. Dark hair, black sclera with unnerving orange eyes.

! {Boss Encounter}

~ {Replica, Mage of the Abyss | Level: ~10.000 | Health: 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] + 80.000 [+80.000] …}

In the presence of the entity, Rakuri cannot move an inch, but Kurira, her hand protract a large blade. Swiftly swinging towards the entity only for it to be caught by hand. Kurira’s eyes widened at the sight of the mature woman’s face. Her hand on the center of Kurira’s chest. A powerful blast that destroys a portion of the floating island, sending Kurira away. Rakuri takes the opportunity to turn around and dash towards the dead end but then, her chest is pierced by shadow hand.

[Rakuri]: “Hrrngh?! Dola, no. Siola!!!”

With a powerful force of a pull, her entire being is tossed out of the floating island. The humanoid entity, Replica, witnesses the island healed itself in an instant. She turns towards the dead ends and begin walking towards it.

[Kita]: “The world you convince yourself to be a playground and the world you never question of its existence. It is as you have presumed.”

[Kita]: “Both are a part of one, connected by the metal box of which you used to traverse.”

Siola clenches her fist as she looks at the galaxy below, unease by the truth in front of her.

[Kita]: “I have once warned you of the danger of manipulating time, and yet you have summoned me in order to do just that.”

[Kita]: “There are five souls that have been affected by your decision, yours included.”

[Siola]: “What?”

[Kita]: “The power you used, breaks the boundaries between the two worlds, and it brought you here once again—.”

The creature tilted its head back.

[Siola]: “Well, don’t stop now. What do you mean five people. Who are the other two?”

[Kita]: “Such irony, for one who has been bestowed upon the power to manipulate time is now running out of it.”

[Siola]: “Huh?”

! {New Mail}

* [Rakuri]: “Siola! Something’s coming after you! A Boss!”

[Siola]: “What the hell?”

She turns towards the creature.

[Siola]: “Kita! Let me wield you once more.”

Its head held high.

[Kita]: “We have reached great heights together, let us rise to it once again.”

Siola straighten her posture as she held her head high. Arms crossed. The creature mimics her movement. Golden white energy flows like a maelstrom, connecting the two entities.

! {Class Evolution to Chronomancer is now Available}