A lump in her throat, her eyes riveted on the stairs at the end of the corridor, her breathing calm as if she were holding her breath, her body tense and refusing to move forward: it was clear that my sister was very apprehensive. And who could blame her? We were going into a place of unknown dangers, risking our lives far more than in the city.

At the time, I didn't know how right I was, just as I hadn't grasped the true power of beings revered as gods in the lower world. To calm my apostle's anxiety and my own at the same time, I could only scrutinize the map in The Book, making sure one last time of our current location.

But no matter how often I peeled it back, the map was clear: we'd arrived at our destination. All we had to do was climb those mysterious stairs at the end of the corridor, of which I was left with only vague memories each time, and we could finally set off on the adventure of a new world. We couldn't turn back now, especially if we wanted to reach the top of the World.

All I could think about was the day of the famous discovery and the new function of The Book. I had to admit that, for once, it comforted me. It was a good thing I'd chosen to keep The Book, even though, on reflection, it had chosen me. I'd had no alternative but to take it unless I wanted to meet my death prematurely, and that was my only reproach against him.

I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. I stared absent-mindedly at the books, bored by the fact that I needed to make more significant progress in translating them. The more I examined the books, the less hope I had of understanding their pages. There were simply too many languages and no dictionary between my language and any of them.

As the years went by, despair grew within me, for I had no long-term plan to get out of this world and my weak condition. I had no illusions that, in this World, I was just a vulgar insect that could be crushed without consideration by the powerful, without them even paying attention.

And I didn't want to die amid general indifference unless perhaps someone brought me a painless, even soothing death. But was my wish even possible? At what point was I capable of considering a death soothing? Did my intimate definition of death even allow for this? So many answers I couldn't answer.

But just as I was getting depressed about my future, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of a tool whose unearthly light was beating like a heartbeat. Intrigued, I asked my apostle to move closer and closer to the enigmatic tool until I understood. I'd already seen these contradictory lights on the geometric engravings of the massive stone columns in the room where I'd met my sister... or rather, her cold, inert body.

And I'd seen them again in the flames The Book inflicted on those unworthy of touching it. I could only understand the link between these three elements without much success. In any case, the common element, the superimposed colors whose sole purpose seemed to be to give me dreadful nausea and a deep headache at the mere sight of them, remained elusive in its meaning.

The only observation I could make was that, like me, my sister seemed affected by the sight of this disturbing light, albeit to a lesser degree. So the mystery remained, and it was only much later that I was finally able to fully understand what these lights were trying to remind me about my past, our pasts, and the World and the System.

Even if they remembered their origins, the Refuge, and everything associated with it, as witnesses to Time, they would always remember. But to deepen this conversation, I'll tell you about the link between these lights, which seal within them both the most incredible mercy and the most extraordinary cruelty, and the immemorial place, the Refuge. But that's for another day, so let's get on with it.

Despite these lights' effect on me, my thoughts could only remain riveted on their transcendent beauty. It was indeed one of the most beautiful things I had been given to do in my modest life. And now I'll only have the opportunity to see it one last time. Don't you know, my dear System, that this is your fault? But that's okay because I don't blame you anymore.

I didn't know how long I'd been staring at this marvel, this beautiful duality that should never have existed simultaneously. Two states seemed to exist simultaneously, something so crazy and dizzying in what it implied about the reality of the World. I could only see the key to one of the World's secrets in these lights. And to be perfectly honest, I was not far from the truth.

On the other hand, I knew that this phenomenon must have absorbed my mind for a very long time. Long enough, in any case, for my sister to call out desperately and for me to realize that her eyes had been away from the luminous tool for some time already since we were in a completely different corner of the room now.

So this was what was happening if I ignored the pain in my mind... It was truly terrifying, I thought, feeling cold sweat even though I had nobody. I'd have to be careful next time and stay focused on the violent pain this phenomenon induced.

This time was to be the charm, and after convincing my apostle in a fierce debate, we found ourselves again near the tool with the unknown function. I watched warily as the lights pulsed with an eerie, icy white and a warm, radiant black.

The lights seemed to come from another world, as did his tool in the shape of two superimposed hourglasses, one vertical and the other horizontal, whose point of intersection was little more than a dot, making me wonder how the overall structure didn't collapse under the effect of gravity. Thus, the overall shape was that of a cross with disproportionate edges.

What's more, the cross itself floated on a column whose engravings resembled the indecipherable language of The Book. Three other columns encircled the cross on all sides, each twisting as it approached to connect to it via its edges. The overall structure was so imposing that I wondered why I'd never noticed it.

Even ignoring the beauty of the light, I couldn't ignore the calls of the black-and-white glowing cross. As it approached, I felt the same attraction as with The Book, the same desire to get my attention and the hope of connecting to me, to my Void. And it was a genuinely unsettling feeling, a unique experience in an equally incomparable life.

In the depths of my being, I perceived it. In the depths of my memory, I understood it. In the depths of my bowels, my Void prepared. And finally, from the depths of Our Will, we decided. Instinctively, being on the same wavelength and having united our wills without realizing it, we finally knew how to fulfill the wish of this abandoned tool, this lost cross, this part of Us.

Little remains to me today of the exact way in which we had connected this artifact. Ironic since it was the most essential event of that day. In fact, much to my chagrin, the Void and I were in such a state that the memory couldn't register appropriately in our consciousness. And so I found myself with a card appearing in The Book.

It was as if The Book displayed the data contained in the tool with the two hourglasses. In the end, was this its actual role? An artifact displayed information from other artifacts, seeming to indicate that they formed a whole, which had been separated by some unsuspected means for some unknown reason. Was my aim to bring them together? I could only ponder this question for a long time.

Nevertheless, the strangest part was undoubtedly the disconcerting ease with which I had asked my apostle to open The Book straightaway as if my being had access to knowledge from a source before I was born. And this knowledge, unknown to my conscience, continued tirelessly to guide me in my choices, whether I wanted to or not, transporting me to a future incomprehensible to my reason alone.

And so, with map in hand, we relentlessly traversed the corridors and halls for days, weeks, months, and even years. Of the ten years we'd spent at the Refuge, we'd spent three walking through this disproportionate labyrinth. And even then, based on the areas I could make out on the map, it was only a tiny percentage of the whole vastness of the Refuge.

Indeed, the entire map was inaccessible to me due to a lack of authorization. And unlike the System, I needed help to see the beginnings of a way to increase its authorization level. Was there some kind of Refuge's system? How did it work? Was there a Status as for the System? Could it be displayed? Was it even functional?

A series of new questions I could answer at a later date. But not right now, because first, I had a happy goal to achieve that would end our ordeal. And that was an understatement, for by the end of our interminable walk, we were exhausted, Systalia's gait similar to that of a zombie. Our minds were disconnected from our surroundings.

Now, the exit was revealed to us, and we could only express sincere relief as anxiety rose within us at the sight of our next challenge, at the sight of the stairs at the end of the corridor, at the sight of these last ramparts separating us from these unknown lands. From now on, more than ever, we had to be ready, for our lives would once again be at stake.

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It wasn't long before we reached the top of the stairs. As we cleared the confusion caused by our lack of memory of our passage up the stairs, we stepped through the door, which opened automatically as we passed. Indeed, if the first time we'd had to push the door open manually, the following times, this was no longer the case.

Fortunately, with my apostle's current physical strength, we'd still be there in a minimum of a thousand years. All joking aside, my sister would never have been able to push the door open on her own, and we'd undoubtedly have had to stay outside. And that would have been a rather unfortunate consequence, given that we'd either have had to find another habitat or try to open it anyway, at the cost of nearly dying in the best-case scenario.

However, we were in neither of these cases; since we had entered the Refuge, the doors were more alive as we approached, as if we were recognized as tenants of this place. In any case, I couldn't help making a link with the level of access to the information on the map, confirming that the level of authorization influenced various functions of the Refuge other than the artifacts.

And it was with these thoughts that we timidly stepped outside, as a shrill noise manifested itself in our minds, a sound that seemed to come from within our very beings. At this nameless cacophony, my sister had no choice but to fall to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks as her mouth twitched in pain.

My situation wasn't much better, as I had to fight with all my might just to keep my sanity from being swept away by the intense and continuous pain. In any case, I was conscious enough to see the System message that appeared:

╚>〘 ⚠ ❢ Violation of a System’s law 〙

『 You have entered outside your Civilization's zone.

Please return immediately to the authorized area, where drastic measures will be taken.

Attention, one minute is given from the reception of the message for the execution of the sentence!

The sentence for violation of a System’s law is death.

Sorry for the inconvenience and have a nice day!

This message was sent automatically. Please do not reply.

Civilization System AI support. 』

Despite the overwhelming pain, my thoughts remained coherent enough to try and decipher the mysterious message. And unfortunately for us, the message's contents didn't sound very encouraging, if not alarming. Indeed, we had less than a minute before our death, or in other words, only a minute to get up and take refuge behind the door.

Nevertheless, the situation was looking terrible, as my sister totally collapsed on the floor, unable even to communicate with me. Moreover, my mind reached its limit; as my consciousness drifted away from the outside world, time no longer had meaning. Was it a second? A minute? An hour? A day? A year? A millennium? Or even my whole life? The only certainty was that time no longer existed.

Everything was a haze, and only an eternal instant could exist, for here, there was no difference between a second and the whole of my life. Here, all durations are blurred together like a kaleidoscope. Moreover, the differences between time and space gradually unraveled to form a single entity, space-time, at once unchanging and inconstant. And in this place, everything seemed ethereal and ethereal. Everything except...

Except the Void, shining in all its splendor in this unreal place. I wanted so much to get closer to it, to its Reality. More than anything, I desired to stop this dream to join my Void. An Void of my own, the expression of my frenzied being. After all, who said the Void had to be a quiet river? No! The Void was turbulent in its very nature, more so than any other Fragment. Fragment? What was that?

To my chagrin, I knew little more as unconsciousness gripped me with its claws. And so it was that it took us a long time to awaken from our rather uncomfortable sleep. Even though I had nobody, I had the unpleasant feeling of having a headache. And so did my sister, who was struggling to reveal herself because of the pain in her head.

In fact, the pain was coming from the depths of our minds, which was incomparably more excruciating than if it had been our bodies. I couldn't even imagine what it would have been like if the suffering had come from the Soul. Fortunately, I didn't have a Soul at the time, and my essence wasn't precisely a Soul equivalent.

However, don't imagine that pain in my essence would be more bearable; it would be the opposite. And pain in my Void... No, I didn't even dare conceive it as a possibility, so I was horrified by the idea. I could only pray that such a situation would never arise. Why did I always make such wishes? So distressing... Well, never mind!

I calmed down and put the torments of my mind out of my mind. My thoughts returned to their former calm, ready to dissect the secrets of this World. I waited until my sister had fully recovered before asking her to take The Book in her hands. Now, everything was ready to analyze the events of the last few minutes. But nothing answered my questions, only adding to my pile of interrogations.

Indeed, during our suffering, two System messages had reached me. At first glance, the first above seemed perfectly normal, except for two elements. The first was the mention of "Civilization". From what I understood from my conversations with Systalia, the authorized zones depended on our Class, not on mysterious Civilizations, whatever that meant.

Either Systalia was right, and the message was wrong, or there was indeed a Civilization story. But the problem was that there was no mention of it in the Status, whereas if it defined our access zones, it would be a significant variable, if not the most important.

Honestly, I was utterly lost, unable to give credence to either conjecture and sensing that I was missing the central piece of the puzzle. So I moved on to the second concern of this message, the last line: "Civilization System AI support". I'd already had a message in the same style before, the one concerning "Offline mode", which also ended with a similar line: "Magic System AI Support".

The only thing the two messages had in common was that they were the only ones that were explicitly automatic and, therefore, pre-programmed in advance to engage when particular conditions were met. What if... No, that idea would have been too absurd, and I shelved it in a corner of my mind for the time being, lacking the evidence to back it up.

Especially as, if this fleeting thought were correct, my vision of the System and even of the World would have been turned upside down forever. And part of me prayed that this would never happen. In my mind, it was still too early for this moment, and I preferred to wall myself up in total denial, deciding to close this affair for the time being.

I then turned to the second message, whose existence I didn't notice until afterward, having obviously already fallen unconscious by the time I received it. Even more than the other, this message was unusable, incomprehensible gibberish.

╚>〘 ⚠ ❢ Log summary: Conflicting zones of influence 〙

『 The『 🔒 』《 Entity name blocked: A higher level of Authorization is required 》and『 🔒 』《 Entity name blocked: A higher level of Authorization is required 》zones of influence are in conflict.

The request from the『 🔒 』《 Entity name blocked: A higher level of Authorization is required 》is rejected.

The sanction imposed by『 🔒 』《 Entity name blocked: A higher level of Authorization is required 》is canceled.

Implementation of a compensatory device: Success!

Exception granted: Success!

Conditions met:

➨〖 Safe mode 〗enabled

➨〖 Offline mode 〗enabled

➨〖『 🔒 』《 Information access blocked: A higher level of Authorization is required 》〗access unlocked

➨ Authorization〖 Lvl.1 〗

➨ Force『 🔒 』《 Information access blocked: A higher level of Authorization is required 》to run when leaving authorized zone.

Update settings: Success.

Setting〖 Automatic log summary sending 〗is now enabled.

You can deactivate this setting at any time in :『 🔒 』《 Settings and options blocked: A higher level of Authorization is required 》

Sending message: Success! 』

The only information I could glean from this was that a parameter I'd never known existed had been activated and, above all, that our minds would no longer suffer from this inconvenience. And I hoped with all my heart that this would be the case next time. The only intriguing element that remained unanswered was the story of the zones of influence of unknown entities. Everything else was a discussion for another day.

I could take a deep breath, the tension of a sudden and inescapable death waning until it disappeared into nothingness, where it had belonged all along. Indeed, I hoped it would never happen again because I hated surprises, even if they didn't become threats in the end. So, I preferred an ominous but expected threat to a benign surprise.

So I closed the Status and scanned my surroundings, taking in all the beautiful sensations. Amazement and wonder filled me, for this was indeed an otherworldly setting. It was strange, but deep down, I felt a slight change of scenery. At the very least, it promised an exciting walk I hoped to retain fond memories of.

Indeed, it will be a most fascinating walk. On the other hand, as for the last part of the sentence... let's say this day has left me with an indelible memory. The rest, I leave to your interpretation.

So, with decisive steps, we were about to set foot on this new world brimming with mysteries, the beginnings of answers, more questions to drive us mad, and... our first encounters with the darkness of the World.

But by its ruthlessness, this world had radically transformed me, both for good and for ill, for the party was now over. Until now, I didn't know it, but I'd hardly witnessed the hell of this World. Here, I'll get a brief glimpse.

And what's worse, I wasn't even prepared for it, not in the slightest. So much so, in fact, that my survival was nothing short of a miracle and enough to make me believe in the existence of a God in this World. Although... If such a deity existed, wouldn't it be my Void? Isn't that so, my dear System?