"Why don't we go?" Lucan spoke, not looking at Kaelren.
"With you? After that?" Kaelren asked, coldly.
"Look, I didn't know… he sacrificed people, okay?" Lucan replied quieter than usual.
"...I don't know, Lucan. I did trust you, at first."
Lucan sighed softly, following after Kaelren as he started walking away.
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[ "How much longer until all the data restores, Aurel?" ] Covis asked the higher level Vylnari curiously.
"There's still halfway to go. It's best you go tell your human about this."
Covis sighed. A malfunction in the system isn't something that usually— or ever, happened. The system was always being monitored. By higher or lower Vylnari. If a malfunction were to happen, it wouldn't be like it was. Unsolvable, the cause unknown. Covis turned around, floating his way back to headquarters.
[ 'When was the last time a malfunction happened? No one has kept track for that long…' ] Covis thought, a rather tense expression on his apathetic features.
It wouldn't be until Aurelius— Aurel's twin, turned to Covis that he realized he wasn't supposed to be slacking off like this.
Covis backed up, immediately vanishing. He teleported.
[ 'That was close.. If Aurelius caught me in time I would've been the end of me.' ]
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"Vex I swear—" Lucan started, but was cut off short.
"It's Kaelren." He coldly interrupted
"Vex, come on, I swear I didn't know, okay? Ezekiel— I didn't even know that was his real name." Lucan tried convincing Lucan that he was trustworthy. The blonde couldn't care less whether he called Kaelren by his first or last name.
"...You didn't care to tell me there was a Level 50 monster there either?" Kaelren was pissed— he knew Lucan meant well. He could tell Lucan was being genuine. But he didn't know how to feel. He had only met Lucan.. 3 days or less ago? Kaelren couldn't keep track of the days… Though It felt something like 2-3 days.
"That… I didn't know they gave people away to keep it in check. I just thought it was well kept.." Lucan admitted, sighing softly.
Kaelren looked away. He arrived at his room, done walking with Lucan.
"Just.. leave me alone for now." Kaelren requested, but gave no time for the blonde to respond.
He instead walked into his room, closing the door behind him. Kaelren sighed.
Covis sighed too.
Kaelren glanced at Covis who was in his room. How sudden. Indeed he was right though, Kaelren had gotten kind of used to it.
"You've been away for a while.." Kaelren spoke. This time, it was vice versa. Covis was a little startled, as he wasn't sure where he teleported himself off to.
[ "Boy… Kaelren, You've caused a mess. I've been away because of a malfunction in the system. And that's also why you haven't been seeing much messages from the system." ] Covis sighed, explaining to Kaelren with a slight frown.
"The system..? Oh, that.. stuff.. I don't really care. As long as it stays out of my sight.. I'm fine."
Kaelren plopped himself onto the bed.
"It's about time I asked the bunch of questions that I have for you."
Covis raised an eyebrow, floating closer, hovering at bed level.
[ "Which would be..?" ] Covis asked, waiting for Kaelren's reply.
"About.. the five Ervyll's. They aren't just myths, are they?" Kaelren asked, looking Covis dead in the eyes.
[ "...I never stated they were— Just for your information." ] He replied a little threatened.
"...They.. Are they born together? Or separately in different eras?"
[ "Well… together. There are five chosen. In the era of Loiren though.. There was an error." ]
[ "I'm sure you know he has already passed and is in his grave. Having said that, he was supposed to win the fight with the Drakophoros. You know who a Drakophoros is, right?" ] Covis asked, now floating over the mattress.
"Yes… I do. Didn't Loiren win? And I tried to ask him, but limited time cut in when he was about to answer; "Aren't the Drakophoros the good ones?"
[ "The Drakophoros? Oh no.. Kaelren, where did you hear this? And.. What do you mean by 'Tried to ask him'? He's dead." ] Covis asked, eagerly awaiting Kaelren's answer. He was intrigued. Kaelren was a mystery to Covis. He was a narrator, sure, but he didn't know everything about everyone.
"I… Spoke to him through dreams. Every time I go unconscious or sleep, I meet him. I don't do it willingly— hell, I don't know how I even get there. But.. We've become good :dream friends'..? And he shared some information with me last time." Kaelren revealed, crossing his arms.
[ "...You do not fail to surprise and frustrate me. You aren't supposed to.. Interact with past heroes, you know that right— I'm guessing you don't." ] Covis exhaled sharply. He didn't know what to do with this boy. He's always doing something he isn't supposed to be doing.
"Well… Who were the five Ervyll's during Loiren's era?"
[ "Like said, there's five. Corvane: master of Pink fire.
Saevrin: master of Soundwaves.
Virelle: she's the master of Shadows.
Nysera: master of Gravity.
And lastly, Loiren— master of Illusions." ] Covis explained.
"And.. They aren't dead?" Kaelren spoke bluntly.
[ "Why.. Do you ask such questions?" ] Covis couldn't help but question his question. 'Are they dead'? Of course they are.
[ "Of course they are. Like Loiren, they have already perished. So has the Ervyll species. It's said that they perished after Loiren's defeat against the Drakophoros." ]
[ "Though, the last five Ervyll's were good friends, like a little friend group. There was a myth about a sixth Ervyll with powers, but that quickly faded as that myth was busted. Every civilian passed the power test, other than the five." ] Covis explained, sighing under his breath.
"Is that so? I see.." Kaelren seemed to be lost in thought. He then abruptly stood up.
< You will now be teleported to participate in a sub narrative. >
"Ah?– What the—"
Kaelren couldn't catch a break, even so that Covis felt bad for him.
< Objective: Find the ruins.
reward: The Ervyll species rebirth. >
"Seriously? Yeah.. just keep teleporting me places, maybe I'll end up on Jupiter next.." Kaelren scoffed at the system. But he took one good look at the system notification that displayed in threads mid-air.
'Rebirth of the Ervyll species? So they were actually extinct..'
Kaelren softly exhaled. He didn't have much of a choice. He glanced back at the thread one last time, sighing at the penalty.
< Penalty: Death. >
'Death, really? It's not that important. Definitely not worth my life..' Kaelren looked around.
Dirt. Rubble, patches of healthy green grass, the rest brown and dead, barely any grass at all. The Moon was out. It was night time, something he hadn't seen in what felt like decades. The stars were sparkling.
Kaelren turned around, a forest, seemingly, to his right. To his left? More debris. This place seemed abandoned. Was this still Nekropolis? Kaelren couldn't tell.
He gripped the handle of his sword tightly, and warily. This place was eerie— he couldn't tell if he was alone or not.
Kaelren walked, looking around his surroundings. "...This place is creepy as hell.." Kaelren muttered calmly.
Kaelren looked around, sighing. He had a thing for ending up in weird places, as of recently. He disliked it, somewhat.
Kaelren continued his way through the rubble, making it over and away from the concrete pieces everywhere. He looked around, engulfed in the forest. He looked around the forest. No sound. All he saw were the vibrant green trees, a contrast to the brown dead grass grown on the ground. Almost like a vibrant visuals setting in a game. But it was real— and it looked natural.
Kaelren continued cautiously through the forest, looking behind him ever so often. It felt like an endless tunnel, the leaves of the trees, sunlight seeped through.
Wait— sunlight?
He looked back, though he was too far in the forest now to see where he had used to be. He had sworn he just saw the moon. Odd, or was he just going insane?
Right now? He couldn't tell. It seemed the more like both, though Kaelren would believe it was more of the latter.
Within 30 minutes, Kaelren was deep inside the forest. Where? He didn't know. Why? He didn't know that either. How? He knew, but also didn't. When? Now, unfortunately. Who? Him. He wasn't sure if it was only him though. He had an uneasy feeling it wasn't just him.
What? He didn't know that, though he wished he did.
'This sucks. Um in the middle of nowhere, unable to locate any landmarks or which way I'm going. If that even matters…'
RUSTLE.
Kaelren heard loud rustling nearby, the trees of the forest surrounding him.
"Who's there?!" Kaelren yelled out, on edge, wary.
Kaelren's eyes widened— He swore the familiar figure almost sent him to tears, something normal amidst all the unordinary events he'd gone through in the past week.
"Nex..?" He managed to mutter quietly to the figure exiting the forest, his eyes widening slightly.