PART 3
Alicia White.
Yggdrasil time [20:45]
Outer regions | Designated Location Point 64: The Lake Tritonis.
'Wh-What… Is that thing?'
Her eyes widened at the sight of the moon. Despite the numerous players constantly moving and blocking her view, it was hard to deny that the moon almost resembled an eyeball — white with large elongated green iris and red vines spread across its shape. More frightening, Alicia witnessed its iris move, sending an uncontrollable chill down her spine.
Liu noticed where Alicia's gaze had landed, and she hurriedly explained, "That thing... We don't know what that thing is, but its behavior is similar to that of a moon, and well, the Moonfollowers have named it 'moon'.”
“Are you calling that thing, that unknown being, a moon?” Alicia raised her voice, frightening everyone at the table. “Since when do we give an unknown being, an anomalous entity the same name as a place?”
Liu stammered, "W-we don't know. The decision to name it 'moon' was made by the control team and the Moonfollowers."
Alicia sighed, feeling the dull ache in her head as she inquired, “Shin is part of the control team, yes? And the Moonfollowers are a dispatched unit of the Frontier Exploration Association, correct?”
"Y-yes!"
"Who are the others?"
Liu began recollecting their names from her memory bank, and naming them, “Prince Shenie, Princess Vanessa, Princess Abigail, Prince…”
Alicia nodded as she listened to the familiar names spoken by Liu. She was well-acquainted with all of them. It would be impossible not to, considering they were practically royal and had always interacted with each other during New Year's and Solaris Feva events.
“Um, the decision was made 5 hours after the game began. At that time, there were not many royals who had reconvened for decision-making.” Liu added.
“I see.”
“To be honest, we currently don’t possess any information from the control team and the administration department regarding the finalization of the name.” Liu commented, “The native of Yggdrasil, I mean, the citizens of Ornella, named it ‘Quietus’ for the eye.”
'Quietus? Why that name?' Alicia grew even more confused, it showed in her expression.
Suddenly, Alicia was dawned by a realization, she spoke devoid of emotion, “By any chance, was the group dispatched by the Frontier Exploration Association renamed to be the Moonfollowers, or was there Originally a group named the Moonfollowers?”
Alicia was struck by a sudden realization and spoke devoid of expression, “Was the group dispatched by the Frontier Exploration Association renamed the Moonfollowers, or was that the group’s original name?"
“There was one announcement made in the real world. I can recollect they were hired specifically because of their name. Although there were other excellent administrative groups, the Moonfollowers were only average in their administrative abilities. However, Prince Shin had made his decision.”
'Moon, moonfollowers… Shin, you bastard, you named a moon to your name.' Alicia thought, 'What is your obsession with moon these days.'
Suddenly, a loud cracking sound echoed in the distance, followed by a large roar. Alicia turned her head towards the source of the sound and spotted Lake Tritonis. In the distance, though unclear at sight, there was no denying the sight of a large patch of ice breaking into numerous pieces.
"Eh??" Christine makes a dumbfounded noise.
Raising a brow, Alicia urged, "What is it?"
“The two armies under the command of Arako and Escobar, were stationed on one of the anchor bases of the Tailgate. It appears they attempted to cross the lake by creating an ice bridge, but it cracked and failed.”
Curious about the situation, Alicia rose from her seat and walked to a wider view of the Lake. Within, there was an iceberg and ice was constantly being made. Straining her eyes, she could make out numerous dots of lights moving around the waters and ice, presumably the Seekers.
As Alicia gazed longer, the scene grew increasingly bizarre. Fireballs shot into the sky and bolts arced downward. A small patch of ice moved at an astonishing speed compared to the rest, a huge fire was seen behind it as though using it to propel. Numerous dots of light ascended into the sky before plummeting into the lake’s depth, creating an otherworldly spectacle she could never witness in the real world.
‘Those are… Players? I assume?’ Alicia wondered.
“It would appear they are moving towards our location. Did they decide to come here to escort me?”
“Well, n-”
Christine interrupted Liu, exclaiming, “Um! Well, the Moonfollowers have decided to recall the Expedition armies to make final adjustments at the nearest Intersection base. The armies in the south were supposed to act as your escorts, but now that you're here, they want to finalize the armies before advancing to the frontlines."
“What do you mean by Frontlines"
“The labyrinth is full of mysteries. We refer to the frontlines as the main force that contributes to the totality of exploration; it helps maximize the efforts to search for new land and resources.” Liu elaborated.
"I see."
Suddenly, a holographic window appeared before Alicia. It was a notification that she was being featured in a livestream, showing a name called ‘Erwin’, but her avatar was currently being filtered. Deciding to ignore the distraction, Alicia looked up at the sky and noticed numerous flying Seekers heading towards the incident. She then averted her gaze back to Liu.
"Since the army is commanded by Escobar and Arako, both highly competent people, I guess there's no need to worry," Alicia remarked sarcastically. "Why don't we exfil back to Orothon?"
“A-Absolutely!” Liu confirmed hurriedly, glancing at the sky as if issuing commands.
As the people above flew by, their movements were swift and almost frantic. Alicia’s gaze shifted towards the sword impaled on her shoulder, the blood around the wound had been washed away by the water. She commanded her augment to prepare her body for separation, deciding to free herself from the sword.
Alicia raised her burnt hand, which had recovered with flesh covering the bones, and there were no scorch marks on her body. She willed her fingers to move, albeit slowly and stiffly.
Alicia thought to herself, ‘It’s enough,’ as she wrapped her bony fingers around the hilt.
Alicia pulled the sword from her shoulder, the augment cells separating the sword from her body and sealing the wound before its removal. No blood flowed from the gaping wound.
However, the sword was heavier than expected and slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground with a loud thud. As it fell, the bones in her fingers bent and broke, causing them to bleed, but the bleeding quickly ceased.
“A-are you okay?” Christine asked, her voice filled with concern. “Are you really certain you don’t want to receive nutrients?”
“Yes. ‘Tis but a flesh wound.”
Suddenly, the skin on Alicia's forearm began to stretch downward, as if tearing away from her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she watched her flesh rip apart, and her arm which pulled the sword out fell to the ground.
“Y-You’re not fine!” Christine screams.
“Y-Your Divineness!” Liu hastily removed her coat, causing her bow to fall to the ground. Disregarding her usual manners, she pressed the coat against Alicia’s now-open wound on her shoulder, tears flooding Liu’s eyes as she frantically muttered under her breath, “Please don’t die!” repeatedly.
Alicia’s voice rose as she moved away from Liu, declaring, “I am fine!”
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Liu's weakened knees gave way under her, causing her to collapse onto the bloodied ground without support. Christine moved in to assist Liu, but before she could act, Alicia spoke firmly, "I. AM. FINE. Before you panic, look at my wound."
Snapping back to reality, they looked at Alicia’s shoulder, which had already stopped bleeding.
“I appreciate your concern, but this is no trouble for me.”
“B-But…” Liu insisted.
"No buts. It will heal. Give me a few hours, and I'll regrow my hands," Alicia said. "If anything, we should start retreating to Orothon so I can recover."
Alicia looked at the sky. Numerous people had stopped to witness the event, but they began to move when Alicia glared at them. She sighed internally. 'I didn’t expect my hand to fall off just like that... or rather, for a stone sword, I didn’t expect it to be that heavy.'
“!!”
Suddenly, Alicia heard a distant scream from above. She turned her head and saw a fast-moving shadow in the sky. Straining her eyes, she made out a Seeker with wings heading towards their location.
“ALIIIIIICEEEEEEE!”
As the figure approached, Alicia recognized Vanessa’s figure fluttering her wings with haste. The familiarity of Vanessa's figure overlapping the avatar left Alicia with no doubt of her identity. Alicia could sense Vanessa’s desire to dive into her, evoking a desire to dodge, but she hesitated, knowing that Vanessa would injure herself upon landing.
Alicia’s fate was sealed. The moment she braced herself to her sister, Vanessa collided with her, the force of the impact pushing Alicia to the ground, causing the two together to tumble, and Alicia’s back scraped against the stony ground.
Alicia suppressed her voice. Vanessa, however, was hysterically laughing, “AHAHAHA!” amidst the spinning world.
Vanessa looked down and saw Alicia lying on the ground. She was covered in dirt and wet from head to toe, with bloodstains on her clothing. There was even a gash on the back of her head, blood flowed to her crimson hair.
Alicia’s face remained stoic as she remarked, “My, My, Vanessa, quite energetic, aren’t we?”
Alicia’s heart swelled with satisfaction as she watched Vanessa’s wing flapping energetically, a joyous smile brightening her face. However, Alicia kept her expression tamed.
“Yes! I am! I finally got to meet you after 15 hours in the game!” Vanessa replied, “Where were you? Did you die or something and make a new avatar?”
"The protocol ended up taking much longer than I anticipated, and I found myself stuck there for what felt like several accelerated hours."
“OH~, I really forgot to tell you about the new protocol. My bad, I should have informed you.”
“That is alright. No need to worry about it.”
Alicia had heard that Vanessa selected Aurelia's race, but she bore no resemblance to any jellyfish. Alicia speculated that Vanessa might have assumed a new form by absorbing the blood of a winged race from either a monster or another player. Alternatively, Alicia wondered if Vanessa was already an Aurelia but her appearance showed no difference from her real-world appearance.
Upon closer inspection, Vanessa’s avatar closely mirrored her real-world appearance. She had short, wavy pink hair and light red eyes. Her wings, which were almost twice her size, were a shade of red on her feathers and wore clothing fitted for adventuring. But she didn’t seem to be carrying some sort of weapon.
“W-Wait! Y-Your hurt!! You don't have any hands! M-Medic! We need Medic!” Vanessa panics, tears flood her eyes.
“I’ll be alright. This wound is nothing I can’t handle.” She said stoically.
“No… Nooo. This can’t be! You can’t die!”
Alicia felt Vanessa’s tears fall on her face, she didn’t want to worry her sister at all, but seeing her sister’s distressed appearance pained her. She desired to offer comfort and security, but without any arms, it felt impossible.
‘She will not be reasoned with words.’ Alicia thought.
Glancing at her surroundings, the Crimson Code was watching them, awaiting any orders, while the other wing race that had landed were quietly sneaking glances.
‘I guess that’s to be expected.’ Alicia thought, ‘Even though I made her a Royal myself, I still have the last word.’
Several people were waiting on the premises to be called, but due to the current situation, it would be impossible for them to enter unless otherwise specified.
Having no choice, Alicia prepared her throat and began to sing a lullaby,
“Dear, dear, hear me with your ears,
Light is here for you to see.
Dear, dear, what do you see,
Is it me, or the night that you fear?
Come, my dear, sing with me,
Don’t let fear come near.
Dear, dear, just hear my heart,
For you, my dear, you will be safe with me.”
Perhaps hearing Alicia’s singing, the crying Vanessa stopped and listened with wide-eyed astonishment. Vanessa noticed her sister’s softened and relaxed facial expression, a stark contrast to her usual emotionless and stiff demeanor in the real world.
*Hiccup*
‘How long since I heard her sing?’
‘How long since I sang a lullaby?
After finishing her lullaby, Alicia remarked, “Even though you have grown so much, you still cry… And stop whenever I sing.”
Hearing so, Vanessa’s eyes flooded once more as if a dam had broken.
“Oh, dear me.” Alicia muttered before giving her orders, “Christine, raise Vanessa. Liu, on me.”
Following her command, Christine lifted Vanessa, while Liu carefully assisted the Divine to stand, while other Seekers handed a chair to the two royals. Throughout, Christine wiped the tears from Vanessa’s face.
“The bleeding has stopped. Take a moment to check before your tears blur your eyes.” Alicia suggested.
Vanessa glanced at Alicia's disheveled appearance, then turned to the other seekers, pointing her fingers and saying, "You, you, and you—take care of the Duchess and make her presentable, ok? And you, with the tail, put nutrients on it and offer it to the divine."
“Vanessa, I dislike cannibalism.”
“But if you don’t, your body will recover at a much slower rate. It’s not producing the same amount of A cells in the real world, is it?”
“Regardless.”
“But I want you to hug me?”
“You can hug me.”
“No, I want to be hugged, not hug.”
“I am granting you the privilege of embracing me. Not just anyone in the universe gets that opportunity. Aren’t you glad?”
“But I’m your sister, though? I can hug you anytime I want?”
“That’s a given.”
Alicia stood from her seat and walked confidently in front of Vanessa. Liu, attentive to the Divine’s every move, cautiously positioned herself, ready to lend support if needed.
Alicia said, “Come.”
Vanessa displayed a pout and glared at Alicia’s confident smile before finally agreeing with a nod. Then, she embraced Alicia in a hug.
Moments of silence filled the area, and not even the surrounding Seekers made a sound. Suddenly, Vanessa perked up and said, “It seems like the airship from the Promus base has arrived.”
The roaring sound of stretched wind reached Alicia’s ears. When she turned her head to the sky, following Vanessa’s gaze, she saw a small ship levitating in the air.
“Well, let’s go!” Vanessa declared as she tightened her arms around Alicia.
Alicia’s dumbfounded voice let out an “Eh?” before she was lifted into the sky.
Despite the ship's altitude being only slightly above the tall trees, it was still high enough to leave an athari disabled if they fell.
Vanessa’s wings created a thunderous fluttering sound as she carried Alicia towards the ship. Meanwhile, Alicia gazed at the vessel, which resembled primitive ships from the ancient era, vastly different from the real world.
Similar to the ships on primitive planets, this vessel used wooden raft boats with cloth sails for navigation. In her estimation, it was roughly 16 meters in length and 7 meters wide. Fragile as it looked, as if a gust of wind could easily tear the boat apart.
It didn’t seem to be equipped with weapons, and the people on the deck were visible as there didn’t seem to be a roof to hide under. Vanessa landed on the empty upper deck gracefully, but she didn’t let go of Alicia, instead carrying her in her arms as she strode to one of the seats with comfortable sheets.
Vanessa gently laid Alicia on the seat, offering her a comforting lap pillow. Alicia couldn't help but mutter, "Hey?" in confusion.
“Shush, you should rest. I won’t let you do whatever you want if you don’t.”
Alicia nodded to her words, thinking, ‘You're demanding right now.’
“What hurt you so bad in the first place? I wonder what you had encountered in the deathpen.”
“The Crimson Code should have reported what I had seen.”
“Crimson Code? Oh, the one that discovered you. Let me check then.”
A Seeker ascended the stairs to the upper deck, carrying a silver plate laden with numerous Ketl fruit, and then placed it on a nearby table within hand's reach.
“What the hell? What kind of monstrosity did you ever encounter.”
“I don’t think you wanna know…”
“Uh-huh,” Vanessa mutters as she feeds Alicia a berry. “It must have been difficult.”
“Indeed, it was a handful situation.” Alicia humored.
Suddenly, Vanessa swiveled her head towards someone approaching the upper deck. She glared at the person as if sending a warning, but the person merely shrugged before turning away and leaving.
The other seeker had a pair of deep blue wings and eyes, and wavy blonde hair. Seeing their interaction, Alicia couldn’t help but ask, “Who was that?”
“Erwin,” Vanessa answered, “He’s part of the broadcasting department of the expedition, the same department as I am. Oh, right, have I ever told you about the expedition?”
As she spoke, Vanessa took a towel from her bag of holding and started cleaning Alicia's bloody hair and wiping dirt off her skin.
Alicia sighed inwardly, “You haven’t, but Crimson Code has explained the essential things that I am supposed to know.”
“Ohh~ Should I give more information then? “
“No need.”
“I see,” Vanessa replied in a carefree tone.
The airship’s engines roared once more, as a voice echoed from the opposite deck, “THE AIRSHIP IS MOVING, THE AIRSHIP IS MOVING!”
Hearing so, Alicia couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Is it not possible to communicate internally? Why shout?’
“Should I invite the Crimson code, by the way?” Vanessa asked, feeding another berry.
“Do as you like.”
“Okay, I'll have someone get them.”
Vanessa becomes silent for a moment as though giving orders to other people through thought. Finally, she mutters, “Done.”