A Game With God

Dead Outside

In the preservation room in the NTS building, Aleiya guards her friend's brain. She already fell asleep before Dr. Mishima came into the room, but she wakes up after hearing the sliding door. Her eyes enlightened to hear her dad's news.

"Dad! How was her? Can I see Ruie again tomorrow?"

"Darling, can I talk to you somewhere?"

"No! I'm here to guard Ruie. If not, she'll be lonely again."

"Okay," he said, taking deep breaths, "I can't really say there's good news."

"What do you mean, dad?" Her brows were drawn from being pulled up. She bits her lips out of worry, but the worst came to her.

"I'm so sorry, darling. She already gave up."

"No... no way. She's still alive!" She cries as she hugs the advanced technological cylinder with Ruie's brain connected in wires and covered in glass and water. The cylinder already said she's dead as it lost its power, but Aleiya can't understand complicated things at all. She keeps bragging to her dad that her friend is alive.

"There's no way she would die, right? You're the best dad in the world. You can do things for me, right? She's alive, right!?"

"There are times that one needs to choose a decision for the better of others. She chose that decision to save you and to make you happier."

"I know, but why do I feel indebted in her in a way heavier than the clouds!? Why do I regret things that I should have done? I don't know myself anymore," she said, followed by continuous sobbing from her rapid-beating heart. Her dad hugs her and pats her head with sympathy.

"We should clean up the canister now. She's already gone. We need to remove her part for us to have an increase in canister supply."

"No!" She shouted while still hugging her dad with a sob, "You're not going to remove it! I feel that she's still alive."

"Fine then," he said as he released his hug. Her sobbing stops while she looks up at her dad curiously. "You can see her again, but I need you to do something important." Her blurred eyes showered in a glimmer with her tears.

"What is it?"

Dead outside, still breathing inside. Ruie wakes up in a cave with torches. A unique digital interface came out of her face. As she sees it, her eyes dimmed and closed.

'Vindictive Framework Installed.'

"Can't you just kill me yet?"

'Error: The vindictive framework doesn't recognize the host as alive. Immortality spell detected on host.'

"Please kill me, Mishima," she said with no energy left.

'Error: Immortality spell detected on host. As an additional feature from a backup, pain detection is installed. The framework is designed to contradict the doctor.'

"I don't believe you. I can't trust you anymore. I'm tired of your games."

'Error; The framework is designed to contradict the doctor. The framework will guide its host in achieving the special quest.'

"Host? I'm dead, right? How can I be a host?" *In that way I can trust you.*

'Description: The host is considered dead in the outer world. However, a backup is made in the cloud as soon as the spell is raised. Additional buffs are added to the host after passing through the death penalty in the system. This is a rare occurrence and can only happen to 0.001% of the users.'

"If not Mishima, then who created you?"

'Description; The framework isn't made by Dr. Mishima, but the creator stored anonymous credentials. However, the framework had records of mistreatment and abuse of the doctor. The framework is created solely for that function.'

"To kill Mishima?" *I don't see him as a doctor now but as a psycho.*

'Response: Affirmative.'

"Where did my immortality came from?"

'Spell; Nunc recordarentur: A spell that records the user's data and stores it in the cloud. The spell would only work under the framework when the host has the key.'

"What key?"

'The creator assigned a key program to a special thing, either an item, a place, or rarely, a person. When the key is in the user, the framework automatically detects it.'

"Wait," she pulls out her hand from her pocket while lying down. She picks out what she got in earlier days: a ring. *So does this mean that this is the magic that triggered Mishima? This is a plan all along.* She thought. "Is this the key you're pertaining to?"

'Response: Affirmative. With the key item in hand, the host is given immortality and pain-neglect buffs.'

"Why don't you just kill me? Can't you find other players to do that?"

'Response: As of the creator's notes, the framework needs to find a host before a reset, else the framework will be wiped. Finding a host nullifies effects from the system affecting the framework. In order to accomplish the quest, a host is required.'

'Achievement: The host achieved the Inquirer title. After ten questions, the quest will be introduced.'

"What? Already!?"

'Quest: You are now under the revengeful course. Would you accept the quest?

Reward: A body vessel

Else: the dearest to you will die.'

*This framework knows how to negotiate, but this is a prize even the doctor couldn't afford. Having my body back is what I want. Who is the creator of this thing? I really hope it isn't that psycho elf. But accomplishing things given by this will make my dream come true, except dying. My brother and Aleiya is still in danger. There's no way Aleiya would've denied his dad's request of playing the game. I need to save them... before I die.*

"What is that revengeful course?"

'Response: the framework can't elaborate more details until accepted.'

"Maybe there's no choice then," she said and sighs. She clicks the 'yes' button in the interface in front of her and rests her arm.

'Quest Accepted: Do you want to elaborate the details further?'

"Why not? Yes," she said with lost energy.

'Quest: Revengeful Course

The framework will give the host series of quests to set up things in where they need to be. The chain of quests will be the initialization of the preceding quests that needs to be done.'

"I don't understand."

'Quest: Reach the other side of the end of the tunnel before midnight.

Rewards: Pain neglector.

Else: The whole area will explode.'

*What's a pain neglector? But I have no time. I shall ask later.*

"What!? There's triple of it?" She noticed that the time now is already 11:50 PM and there are only ten minutes to move. The torches in the cave lit the underground consecutively going to its end. Even with her knees numbed, she stands and starts to run like an injured person. The interface is still open in front of her. With all the torches lit, she still can see what is at the end of the tunnel. "By the way, can you tell me how long this tunnel is?" She asked as she runs.

'Response: From the host's distance, the tunnel is approximately 13 miles.'

*What!? An average human can run through 12 mph, and I'm injured. But I need to reach it before 12. I can't give up. I don't want that pain anymore. I need to hold the pain left in me.*

From an injured person, she quickly recovers from the outside, running like an athlete. But this quest isn't simple for her. Her sensitive foot is stabbed previously and has not fully recovered yet. The ground is full of stone pellets scattered in her way. She forced her mind to deny all that her foot feels and rushes towards the end. Her feet are okay physically, but she feels that it's swelling greatly. She bits her tongue, hoping that the pain would somehow go away. Nine minutes have passed, and she nearly sees a door located at the end. It's a door made of platinum with carves of red ruby in it. It reflects the torches of the cave.

She successfully reached the door, but for not long, the pain she holds goes back to her twice. Various pellets are stuck to her feet, but there's no blood. She tries to open the door but it won't budge. It just gave her the crack sound every time she turns the knob. She noticed that there's no keyhole in the knob but an eye. The framework still runs the timer. With the twenty seconds remaining, she needs to analyze the door.

*If there's no keyhole, how can I open it? The keyhole is blocked by something. Or maybe this is a puzzle I need to solve. An eye, and a door...*

An idea comes to her mind. She realized that the framework mentioned something about a key. She wrapped her hands down her pocket to find a key. There she puts out a ring. For the remaining five seconds remaining, she decides her fate with luck. She puts the top part of the ring in front of the door's eye. She hears a click inside after. In her last second, she entered the room and closed the door. She releases her breath as she hears multiple explosions and rumblings behind the door. In front of her are a sign and the things she solely needs. The sign gave her a welcome that will change her world completely.

"The game with god is now on."