31 The Past Resurfaces

"I think I quite like this Administrator."

I groan. "Can you please go back to the man I first met? All brooding and quiet? You've ruined your entire character." It's easier to think about stabbing his eyes out when they aren't looking at me with affection.

"No."

I can feel his chin rest on my head, and we sit there for a few moments. I'm not sure what the hell is going through his mind, but mine is overwhelmed trying to make sense of it all.

[The System Administrator watches with stars in their eyes.]

[The System Administrator is curious why you aren't asking Gryphon Vale what he had to do to get here.]

My brow quirks. It's safe to say that the Administrator would be disappointed if I told them that I simply don't care.

"I was teleported to an empty town," Gryphon murmurs, and he sounds tired. "You weren't there, and I kept getting errors when I tried to message you. I messaged Jeniss, and she couldn't send anything to you, either. I had to fight a few waves of monsters until I suddenly had a quest pop up saying I needed to find you."

I feel a stab of guilt when I think of Jeniss being worried about me. "I woke up in a cavern like this one, only larger. I kept walking until I got here. There was a weird statue… When I touched it, the quest started."

[The System Administrator is smug.]

[The System Administrator knew you would find the god of fate's tether on the first try.]

"I had no idea where you were, but I had a few subquests appear. I had to clear them all to get clues, but two of them were dead ends, I think. Only one of them reached you. I found that out after I could message you again."

"Hmm." For a trial, it didn't sound all that hard for someone of Gryphon's strength.

[The System Administrator wishes Gryphon Vale wouldn't downplay his trial.]

A large window appears in front of us both, showing an abandoned ruin. Skeletal remains litter the area. I can see Gryphon walking. His lips are moving as he yells, but I can't hear it. Even so, I know that he's calling my name.

Gryphon's arms tighten around me. "Even though this is just a game, I couldn't help but worry. The worst case is that you respawn after a day, but I couldn't handle the thought of you dying here. Odd, isn't it?"

There's a different inflection in his words, and I realize it isn't the flirtatious side of him talking.

[The System Administrator smiles at Gryphon Vale.]

[The System Administrator thinks Gryphon Vale has stepped closer to the truth.]

[Achievement unlocked: The Ties That Bind Them (SPECIAL)]

[Achievement: The Ties That Bind Them (SPECIAL)

Description: Congratulations, Players! You have found your fated love. This pull of destiny cannot be denied. Perhaps there is a reason for it? Will your love end in tragedy once more…?

Rewards:

Title: Bride of Fate

+50 INT

+200 MP

+200 Fame

Skill: Bonded Lv. MAX (Passive)]

To the right, I can see that Gryphon has a screen of his own, though his title is different—"Groom of Fate". I've never seen a system window of someone else's before; it's a darker shade of blue.

I say nothing and continue to watch the scene before me, while Gryphon continues to stare at his achievement screen.

Gryphon is in the middle of the ruins when all the skeletons reassemble and rise. A familiar weapon manifests in his hand; a scythe made of shadow. I clutch at my chest, feeling a familiar pain.

[The System Administrator looks at you with sympathy.]

[The System Administrator sighs.]

[The System Administrator is frustrated.]

"Are you okay?" Gryphon asks into my ear, and I jerk away from him as much as I can with his stupidly strong arms holding me down.

"I'm fine." Of course I'm not fine. He murdered me with the weapon I'm seeing now.

Gryphon's sweeping through the skeletons with elegant grace, but more come. I can hear him talking, explaining it to me. "They weren't high level and couldn't do damage to me, but they wouldn't leave me alone. The real problem is about to come up."

Just as he says that, three looming specters appear, encircling Gryphon and the skeletons. "You can't kill them by normal means," he says, as the him in this moving picture tries to do just that. "It's a test of psyche." He sounds grim.

"What's happening?" I ask as the picture-Gryphon falls to his knees, only held up by the scythe he's slammed into the ground for balance.

Gryphon sighs. "They have me watch three different scenarios. They call them three fates."

"Okay…"

"They're about me, and you."

"Hmm." That doesn't surprise me, considering how weird these quests have been.

Gryphon doesn't say anything more, and I realize that I'm way too comfortable just sitting there in his lap. I've accepted it, like I have no choice, when I should be trying to find ways to escape.

After a while, I'm bored. Nothing is happening. Whatever it is, it's happening inside of his head.

"In the first one, we're in the real world. We're happy. You look just like you do now, except your hair is short."

I yawn. "Uh-huh."

"But before long, you get sick. It ends with your funeral." Gryphon's voice is tight, as if he is truly affected by the things he saw.

"It's not real, you know," I tell him. I want to kick myself when I realize I'm comforting him.

"Is it?" he murmurs, and goes silent again.

The him that I'm watching still hasn't moved a muscle. "The second…" Gryphon's voice is almost too soft to hear.

"What?"

"In the second one, you're still you, but you have blue hair."

I freeze. I'm not even sure my heart knows how to beat anymore.

"We're in this world. I'm chasing the Main Story Quest, and I was excited to get a hint after a few months. I'm with my most trusted friends, and I run into you."

My mouth is so dry, I can't even swallow. I know what's coming next. How can I not know?

"You're afraid, but you keep standing up to us. You have no idea why we're there. You're not like the others. We get a quest objective to kill you, and you try to run."

My world is going dark as he explains how my last life ended.

"And then I kill you, like it's nothing."

[You have uncovered a clue to your unfulfilled fate.]

* * *

˻˻˻ARIA LUCARIS˼˼˼

HP: 370/370

MP: 325/325

Level 9 (LOCKED)

Race: Human

Sex: Female

Class: Mage

Title: Prodigy of Magic, Bride of Fate

˻˻˻STATS˼˼˼

STR: 13

STA: 13

AGI: 13

INT: 96 (+10)

PER: 13

CHA: 15

Bonus Points: 3

Total Points: 163

˻˻˻COMBAT AFFINITY˼˼˼

ATK: 13 (+10)

DEF: 13

˻˻˻BOOSTS˼˼˼

Critical: 0.00%

Accuracy: 0.00%

Efficiency: 25.00%

˻˻˻UNIQUE STATS˼˼˼

Fame: 550

˻˻˻SKILLS˼˼˼

Active: Firebolt Lv. 2, Frost Nova Lv. 2

Passive: Free Cast Lv. 2, Mental Fortitude Lv. 2, Bonded Lv. MAX