OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 189: Dead Player?

Emir and Lyra walked through the monster's nest as they exited the cave and headed towards where he met the ruin's guardian.

[What do you think that was about?]

[I know as much as you.]

Emir scoffed.

[So, Jake, Emma, and Alex left already?]

He asked as he kicked a small rock away.

[Yep. As I said, when I came here, I was planning to surprise you, but when I heard that Emma

and Jake 'saved' Aria, I rushed into the ruin, scared that something happened to you...]

[And then I heard an explosion way inside the ruin, so I-I...]

Emir gently tapped her left shoulder.

[I get it; it's fine; I'm fine. Alright? So calm down... We're back together now.]

She kicked the rock back towards him as she said:

[This is your fault, you know... I mean, who would be insane enough to go inside a monster?!]

Emir shrugged and kicked the rock forward.

[What can I say? ...I had to do something wild; I wouldn't have lived this long otherwise. And you like that side of me too, so don't act like you're complaining.]

"Humph!" She voiced out while showing her back to Emir.

[What about Alex? Did he leave alone?] Emir asked, not bothering with her shenanigans.

[... Yes, he told Jake that he'd be leaving with his cohort. Do you think that he's up to something?]

[Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows with hunters....]

[He did his job, at least. The ruin is back to normal, and everyone gained something out of it, so let's see if we will too...]

Emir kicked the rock away and stood still next to the runes with Lyra in tow, surrounded by many broken cocoons.

His two hands presented one Aether core each, both with lost luster, their green and black colors gone dead.

"I, Emir, have successfully dispatched your maddened kin as per your request, guardian of the fallen haven..."

"I request that you honor me with your presence and knowledge."

Just as those last words left his lips, a bright light materialized in front of him, momentarily blinding him in the process.

And what came after it was the guardian, a being of earth and stone.

"Welcome human... and cyborg. You've both shown your tenacity and planning, proving yourselves to be worthy."

The guardian then stepped in front of them, its mere presence causing their legs to buckle under the strain.

But they didn't relent and stood tall, eyeing the monster with fierce eyes.

Letting out a chuckle, the guardian grabbed the two cores while asking:

"What of my tree?"

"...Implosion." Emir answered with gritted teeth.

Showing a nod, the guardian returned to its floating throne and sat beside the quiet Nysandra. 'She's back.'

Emir only noticed her then, making him wonder why she never spoke.

And as if reading his thoughts, the guardian answered:

"Although she's an AI manager, she's scared of humans...."

"Scared because of what you've done to her."

"But enough about that; you came here to seek answers about the intruder, and that's what I'll provide."

With a raised hand, the guardian gestured for them to follow.

Complying, they trailed after it.

"Will you show us the intruder's body?"

Showing surprise, it answered Emir's question with another:

"How did you know?"

He shrugged.

"Just a guess; you, as a guardian, wouldn't let those who do you harm go, so I just assumed that you killed them."

"Ah, I didn't kill them; they killed themselves, actually..."

"What? Why?"

"I'm not so sure; it was as if the man was a puppet on strings, not caring in the least about what happened to his body, and I'm sure that he died because of the runes he wrote on the

ground."

"I see..."

Emir's brain worked on overdrive for a moment, and what came up were three options. Option one was that the body was controlled into doing the player's bidding. Option two was a less believable one, but it might've not been a coordinated attack towards himself, but something done by some hidden organization seeking to create chaos for the Elite, and the man that came here was one of their members.

Option three was similar to the first, but whoever the intruder was might've lost control after

what he had done, killing him in the process.

[The man must've been controlled.] He heard Lyra's voice echo in his mind.

[Probably... You think it's someone we know?]

[The one responsible? Definitely not, and whoever they are must be incredibly strong, or at least extremely knowledgeable. Since I've never seen those runes before, not even after searching through my and the UEF's entire database.]

[We can't do anything about them though, or can we?]

[Not really, no. We don't know anything about them, their goals, strength, or time of attack.] [And if we constantly worry about a third party's interference in every one of our plans, then we'd enter a rabbit hole that we wouldn't be able to get out of, never moving forward.]

Emir nodded.

[True... I guess we'll just ignore this fucker until they come back again, like always.]

Scoffing, Emir, and Lyra noticed that the guardian sped up, so they jogged after him for a few moments until they reached a locked wooden gate.

The gate was massive, its imposing size enhanced by the lush green vines that wound their way around it, which covered intricate drawings etched upon the wood that hinted at a

bygone era.

"Open Sesame."

A series of resonating clicks echoed through the air.

The gate slowly swung open, revealing a scene that defied imagination.

Before them lay a colossal room, unlike anything they had ever seen.

It was a realm of untamed wilderness contained within stone walls.

The chamber seemed to stretch on endlessly, filled with vibrant and exotic flora that they had

never seen before.

Gigantic, bioluminescent mushrooms cast a dreamy glow, illuminating the lush vegetation.

Massive trees with iridescent leaves reached for the roof, their branches adorned with

luminescent blossoms that released a soft fragrance.

Flowers of impossible colors and shapes carpeted the ground, forming patterns that seemed

to shift and pulse.

Strange, chimeric creatures flitted among the blooms and crawled along the jungle floor.

Some had wings like butterflies but shimmered like fish.

While others resembled miniature dragons, their scales gleaming with every hue of the

rainbow.

Birds with feathers of liquid silver sang from the treetops, creating a symphony of melodies.

The air was thick with the scents of a thousand exotic blossoms and the hum of unseen

insects.

It was a place of enchantment, where the boundaries of reality and fantasy blended together

in a breathtaking display of nature's creativity.

'Beautiful...'

[... It's amazing, isn't it?]

Emir telepathically chuckled at Lyra's words.

[That's an understatement.]

The guardian didn't give them time to bask in the greatness of his home and continued

floating forward.

They quickly caught up to it and walked past a bizarre fusion of tree and flower.

An unusual combination to say the least.

Soon, they arrived at a long, oval table.

At its center lay a body, seemingly lifeless, secured to the table by winding vines.

The man's body was extremely aged, with a hairless head and skin that bore unnatural shades

of gray.

His visage was a map of deep wrinkles, as though a gentle gust of wind could scatter him away

like ash.

His emaciated frame seemed almost skeletal, the skin clinging tightly to his bones, and his ribcage was visible through the frail flesh.

"As you can see, this human experienced what you call death by old age..."

"I only arrived after the runes were written down, so I'm not sure what happened before that,

but I watched as the man's body quickly transformed into this state."