Hello there my lovely readers. It's been a while. College is easing up a little bit I can start writing in smaller bits again.

Spoiler :

Those of you who has read Operation Re:Code would find some of the words here familiar. Actually, it makes me wonder why no one has said anything yet so far x.x

* * *

Chapter 29: The World is Beginning to Move

My body feels so high on cloud nine it’s ecstatic. What a wonderful bed this is alright. Slowly, once that warm feeling has subsided, I open my eyes.

“Huh? Where am I?”

White space. Wherever my vision lands, there’s nothing except for this untainted purity. What in the shaz is going on? As I ponder my head for answers, the recent memory streams back into my head. Oh, that’s right. There was that blinding light that came out of nowhere.

I push myself up into a sitting position. “Fia?”

No answer. There’s nobody else but me here after all. Not even Laura who took the [Dragon Killer] sword away. It’s not like I need the sword anyways. As long as Fia returns to me without a scratch, she can have the damn sword all she wants.

That aside, what is this place? I’m worried about Fia, but there’s no use worrying if I can’t get out of here. I stand up and check my status screen; everything seems to be working fine. Great.

I pull out a mythril sword from inventory and begin my walk. This all-white place is giving me the creeps, as if there’s a damsel in distress waiting for me at the end of this never changing hallway.

Still, there’s gotta be an exit here somewhere. I’m all in for scenarios like that, but this one is screaming for me to get the hell out. Sorry, but another pretty face is just not worth it to get myself in trouble.

As I continue, I come upon a book resting on top of a wooden table. I pick it up and view the contents. What a surprise. Signed by the name [Jude], it’s a journal written in English — my mother tongue. But how so?

Brushing the complicated stuff aside, I begin to read the first page.

It was predicted that this world would end after reaching a whole cycle of 1000 years.

The world will restart along with its residents.

It had always been like that.

The God of Destruction will descend and rip this world a knew.

That was the prophecy.

But it was said that a single blacksmith broke this cycle.

He contracted many spirits.

Forged many artifacts.

And created the sword that will slay God.

Upon completion the sword was named: “Dragon Killer.”

The fight for freedom lasted many years.

It destroyed an ancient civilization and mankind’s advancements gone along with it.

After many hardships, sacrifice, and solitude the blacksmith won.

However even the legendary sword wasn’t strong enough to defeat God.

Legend says The Blacksmith sealed God into the deepest part of the Demon Continent.

And before his final years he left his mastery inside a magical gem.

This very same gem was cast into the ocean, forever losing the method to replicate his artifacts.

He left his legacy to prepare for that fateful day.

So that one day a young man like myself can continue what he started.

Now another cycle of 1000 years is fast approaching.

Can the denizens of this world stop their inevitable destruction?

Or will this world once again reset to zero?

The journal’s intro ends with an interesting question I hurriedly flip it to next page. It talks about various artifacts in an alphabetical manner and how they were created. Just in case, I check into [Firebrand], as it’s the sword that I’ve used the most.

Firebrand - The Vanquisher -

A double-edged sword forged from the fangs of the Demoness Tirade. From the moment I had seen that beast of a woman, I knew she was the perfect component to seal Viviene’s undying flames. The gems were allocated on the hilt to replicate a sword found in the royal palace. However, this will be its perfect counterpart, as this sword would announce the birth of a new King and his upcoming kingdom. The casualties were severe, unlike any who had seen before, but the fight is just beginning. With the help of this sword, I hope he would lead his kingdom to prosperity.

“Seven gems to represent the seventh month: Viviene.” Unfortunately after that, most of the pages were torn off there’s basically nothing left for me to read. Such a cliffhanger!

At the same time, it makes me wonder if the first page refers to that very same sword that I had. What’s their connection?

“It’s the very same sword from the legends: The sword of Promise,” says a feminine voice out of nowhere. Reaching for my sword I cautiously turn around, wondering who that person is. Standing over there is a girl — a beautiful girl with pale white skin, long green hair and hazel eyes.

“That sword is like a limb; a missing piece,” she continues. More confused as a result, I narrow my eyes at this suspicious girl. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not your enemy,” she says in her defense.

“And why should I trust you? You could be a dragon underneath that pretty face for all I know.”

As if my words were annoying, she blows a sigh while scratching the back of her long ears similar to that of an elf. “True. Now isn’t the best time to appear after all, but I know of a few things you might be interested in knowing. You want to return, do you not?”

I see no other choice I withdraw my animosity. “First of all, I want you tell me: where am I?”

“That’s a little hard to explain, little one.”

“Then make it so it won’t be hard. If not, this conversation is over.”

She sighs again. “Kids these days… I hope that you haven’t forgotten that if it weren’t for me convincing my Jude to spare you, you’d already be dungeon nourishment.”

This girl is high on something. Wait… “Jude? You mean the guy who wrote this journal? Where is he right now?!”

I need to see him, speak to him, and maybe then, I can finally find a way back home!

The girl then responds to my excitement with a shrug. But as I wait for her to open her mouth, bright light emits from somewhere, causing me to reflexively shut my eyes and turn away.

The next instant I open my eyes, I see the clouds beyond my broken ceiling, straight past the floors of the other rooms above me.

“I’m back?”

A sudden rumbling noise erupts heavenward as I stand up, as if lightning would strike from that black mist slowly enveloping the blue sky. Curious, I jump out and watch the scene on top of the inn’s broken rooftop. Bystanders, both young and old, litter the streets as far as I can see.

The mysterious black mist spreads across the entire city, engulfing Saphir in a temporary darkness without the sun’s light. People begin to murmur among themselves while others start to dash off to seek sanctuary.

Something is coming. I don’t know what, but I can feel it.

The wind howls ferociously, and as the rumbling grows louder and louder, monsters — as I see them — sporting two large wings on their back emerge from within the mist!

As a response to this sudden invasion, loud, frantic shouting booms from the people below.

“Run away!” someone shouted.

The streets suddenly turn into a stream of bodies, swallowing the smaller percentage who decide to run at the opposite direction. Cries after cries echo as I jump across the rooftops; each one of them are being devoured or killed on the spot — it’s a total disaster everywhere I look.

But this is no time to observe. Fia — I have to find Fia!

* * *

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to rate and review~