Chapter 43: 3 Trials
When Chi logged in and yelled out, she quickly closed her mouth when she saw Ryu lying there with his eyes closed. Nergal was lying on his stomach, sound asleep. Chi had no idea what time Ryu logged in at but just seeing him peacefully resting like this caused Chi to smile. She tiptoed over to him and squatted down next to him. She gazed at his handsome face with her head propped up by her hand. "In real life, I have Yuki, and in this world, I have Ryu. Even if these two are my only friends for the rest of my life, I would be content."
Chi, not wanting to bother Ryu's rest, laid down next to him and cuddled right up to him. In Soul Fusion Online, sleep was possible since everything was connected to the brain. So seeing people sleeping in game was a normal thing. But because the body was in a sleep state in real life, sleeping in game was not necessary. Some just did it because the area they might be in is peaceful or maybe because of an in game relationship, where the two lived far apart. Whatever the case maybe, for some, it was a relaxing activity.
An hour of in game time passed, and Yuki woke up from her nap. She felt something heavy at her side and looked down. She found Chi hugging her tightly. Chi's head was resting on her chest, Chi's arm around her waist, and one leg on top of her legs. "This girl is taking me for a body pillow." Yuki chuckled. She reached down and scratched behind Chi's ears causing Chi to stir awake. Chi raised her head, a bit of drool dripping out of the corner of her mouth. "Mmm… Ryu?"
"You're awake?" Yuki asked.
"Mmm…" Chi answered as she slowly got up. She was too groggy to care about the fact that she was hugging Ryu just now. "Sorry, have you been awake long?"
"No, I just woke up myself. But it really amazes me that even sleeping is possible in this game." Yuki replied as she gently picked Nergal up off her stomach and placed him on her head. She felt Nergal pawing at her head, seemingly annoyed about being moved before settling down.
Chi stretched a bit before staring up at the mountain in front of them. "We are climbing this today?"
"Yeah. This was the mountain I saw that had something on top of it. I want to check it out before looking for the exit to this place. If anything, the place we are headed could be the exit." Yuki replied. She also looked up at the mountain that seemed imposing with its peak hidden in the clouds. "Let's get going then..."
The two began their trek up the mountain. There were no set paths, so they had to make their own. The area they were currently in was just an incline that slowly went up. No trees could be seen, just large rocks and dry, cracked ground. It took an hour of climbing before they finally came across something strange.
"Seems to be a staircase embedded into the side of the mountain." Yuki looked at the stone cliff that had been chiseled away and had broken steps that were carved out of the cliff face. "Chi, make sure you are extra careful."
Chi nodded her head as she answered: "Mmm..."
Each step had to be taken carefully as the stairs themselves were crumbling away from the age of time. When these stairs were created, no one would probably know. But Yuki could guess they were at least a few thousand years old, at a minimum. This treacherous climb took a few hours, in game time. A few times, both Chi and Yuki almost slipped off. But because they had each other and were supporting each other every step of the way, they were able to keep going.
When they reached the top step, Yuki and Chi were met with a large cave entrance staring back at them. To the sides were nothing but sheer cliffs and nothing visible to hold on to, to keep climbing, so Yuki could only assume they must pass through this cave in order to proceed further.
"Ryu, are we going in?" Chi was already clinging to Yuki's arm, causing Yuki to chuckle.
"We have come this far. We might as well continue on. There was no visible exit where we came in, so this is our only option for the time being." Yuki explained. When she looked around yesterday, she saw nothing but wasteland except the glimmer at the top of the mountain. She could only hope her assumption was right.
"Ugh… It's dark, though!" Chi complained. She hated dark places the most! They reminded her of her own life. The days she spent in the castle where she was alone. She was a princess without even a single maid or person to talk to unless she was being given lessons. Even the room she lived in was dark and lonely. She had come to incorporate dark places as the same as that room, a dark and lonely place. Even at night in her new apartment, she always had a light on. When she was finally able to go to college and escape the castle, she couldn't have been more excited. But alas, she still felt that same loneliness. That was until she began playing Soul Fusion Online and met her first real friend, Ryu. Because of him, she was able to muster up the courage within her to talk to Yuki and make her first real life friend. But staring at the dark cave still made her feel uneasy. This unease even made her want to take a few steps back.
"It will be fine." Yuki intertwined her fingers with Chi's when she sensed Chi's hesitations. She squeezed Chi's hand to show that she was not alone. "Let's go."
Chi looked at Ryu's smiling face and somehow felt that things would work out. But when they finally stepped into the darkness, they felt like they passed through a kind of thick film. It was almost the same feeling one would get if they stabbed their finger into jello. What awaited them was a small well lit room. And within this room was a young woman that seemed to be in her twenties wearing ancient style white robes standing there smiling at the two.
"To think two lovers would be the first to come to this place after so many millions of years." The young woman spoke before either Yuki or Chi could say anything.
Chi blushed as she quickly waved her free hand as she stuttered: "We-we are not like tha-that..." After saying this, she covered her mouth and quickly looked at Ryu's expression. But all she saw was his normal expression that showed no hint of wavering at all. She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. But when she thought this, she suddenly asked herself why she would feel disappointed if Ryu did not react to her words just now. That was when it finally dawned on her… 'Do I like Ryu!? No, no, no… He's just a friend and an in game one at that. But... ' She glanced back at him. The gears in her mind were spinning so fast she was starting to feel dizzy.
Yuki wasn't paying much attention to Chi. Right now, she was keeping all her attention on the woman in front of her. She did not know what to make of this woman. She did not know if this was the boss of this area or not. So right now, all her attention was on making sure she could react in time in case the woman attacked.
The young woman giggled as she looked at the two in front of her. One was on guard, while the other was having some kind of internal debate with herself. "A very interesting couple indeed. Now then, young man, you can relax. I will not attack you. You have come to my mystic realm. A realm I created millions of years ago. Unfortunately, this realm now is nothing but a dried husk of what it once was. In the beginning, when I first died, I could keep the entire realm flourishing with monsters, flora, and fauna. But now, as the years passed and the power left in my soul remnant began to fade. There is nothing left except the palace at the top of this mountain. In there, you will find many ancient herbs and many legacies that I have created myself as well as my inheritance, which is just right for a couple like you.
"What that is, you will find out in due time as long as you pass my trial. Normally I would have the two of you take on this trial as you are, but since my time is almost up, I will make an exception and help you out. The items I will be giving you will only be temporary and can only be used within my mystic realm, but they should be handy for what is to come. Through the array behind me, you will be given 3 trials. Each trial is a trial to test how much you trust and rely on each other. But let me make one thing clear. If one of you dies…. You fail and will be kicked from this mystic realm. There are no second chances. "
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