CHAPTER SEVENTY NINE

Long awaited answers to a question not yet asked

~

Once inside, they realized the room was cold and dry

Despite the open gate, no drops of water trickled by

They stood atop the dusty floor, and Hawk released a spell

She could breath in water, but she liked the air as well

Hawk was overwhelmed at the mystery now at hand

There was so much in that room she couldn’t understand

Questions formed so quickly that she could hardly decide

She took a moment just to enjoy being mystified

The king was also happy, but he noticed Hawk’s dismay

“I know what you’re thinking, but be careful what you say

I’ve been warned myself by the System a time or two

Best not let a careless question be the end of you”

The stone, however, didn’t wait to be asked anything

Seemingly disturbed, it was excitedly glowing

Hawk could feel it scan the room with some unknown magic

With more finesse than any mage, efficiently and quick

Core Message

I’d expected just to fade away, but here we are

Since the Update, you guys seem to have come pretty far

Judging by your status screens it’s be a long, long time

I bet you don’t even remember your people’s ‘crime’

Hawk’s excitement dampened when she noticed she’d been mocked

But it was the first time that she and a weird stone had talked

“Would you tell us what you are, and how this came to be?

And why did the portals start opening up so quickly?”

Core Message

It’s almost funny how little you know, but to be fair

You may be better off just being left this unaware

Oh well though, I’m feeling generous in my old age

And I love imagining that Admin’s screams of rage

Suddenly a complex set of spells were taking shape

Creating a strong barrier which Hawk could not escape

It felt like they’d been cut off the whole world just then

And the Core, now glowing dimmer, spoke to them again

Core Message

Ouch, I should have been more careful with that old mana

Using up what I have left is a bad idea

Anyways, this barrier should keep us out of sight

The system shouldn’t pick it up if I prepared it right

Indeed, thought Hawk, it felt like they were totally hidden

Yesterday she would have thought the spell was forbidden

She touched the wall of it with one hand and it felt so weird

But once again a distracting red message screen appeared

Core Message

Okay, I don’t think I’ll survive much longer at this rate

I don’t care though, ask your questions, please don’t hesitate

Anything that I can do to piss of that admin

He’s to blame for this pitiful state I’ve been stuck in

“The System cannot hear us here, I think it may be true”

King Azure’s eyes lit up despite their old greyish hue

Hawk turned round to face the stone whose spell she thought sublime

“Very well then, tell my of the fabled God of Time”

Core Message

Curse you woman, that’s the last name I wanted to hear

It’s his fault the Admin rushed that Update out of fear

He surpassed all others in the art of time back then

I have no idea where he could be now, or when

“Who is the ‘Admin’ you speak of, is he someone strong?

And how come you’ve been asleep alone down here so long?

The gods are worried that the portals are out of control

How can we prevent them from swallowing the world whole?”

Core Message

If you don’t know the Admin, but you know that ‘Time’ fellow

That paranoid old Admin must have really let things go

From what I can tell with the senses that I’ve still got

This realms spatial integrity degraded quite a lot

“What is it that caused the spatial insecurities?

Shouldn’t the System be able to fix it with ease?”

She wanted to ask fifty more questions of the rock

But then she understood they wouldn’t have much time to talk

The glowing stone began to flicker, dimming now and then

Hawk was worried it might not reply to her again

She tried to bring the most important questions to her mind

Making sure to not leave knowledge she needed behind

Core Message

The System’s automated functions only do so much

The Admin tries to shape it, but he’s got a heavy touch

The Update that he likely used to keep us in our place

Wound up doing quite a bit of harm to time and space

“Tell me then, I know a boy who caught the System’s eye

We know his status screen is cursed, but nobody knows why

Might he be connected to the portals in some way?

Could it be because he god curses him every day?

Core Message

I’ve never heard of gods cursing a boy, so I don’t know

His status screen being altered is interesting though

Only the old gods could bestow a new status screen

But they’ve long been banished somewhere, unheard and unseen

Core Message

Tell me more about this boy, he’s ‘cursed’ is what you said?

Did his status screen reset, or did it turn bright red?

If he’s been desynchronized he’ll be dead before long

But if he’s still alive, then something must be very wrong

“His status screen now has eight slots, all though I can’t read it

Even with my strength, I only deciphered a bit

It’s still blue and resonates with mana in the air

But looks like no status screen of which I am aware”

Core Message

Eight slots you say?! It can’t be, but wait, no, there is a chance

I wish I had legs, you’ve made me so happy, I could dance

The old gods must have integrated a much older screen

This could be the biggest bug the System’s ever seen!

~