39 - Eden, A Land of Wonders

Eden, The Edge

Seijuro gasps, only to realize the pain she expected is no longer present. Instead, as she finds her vision covered in darkness and her limbs constricted tightly by something, Seijuro fights against a sudden injection of panic.

The game… She's still in it, right?

She spawned… She must've.

Forcing herself to release calm, controlled breaths, Seijuro takes a moment to reorient herself. Beyond the discomfort of being confined, it is clear to her something is different about her body.

Species… Tutorial mentioned something about species… When it was talking about skills?

Seijuro attempts to move her mouth, though it produces something akin to a clicking noise rather than the expected curse she willed it to.

Insects… Fucking hells. She supposes it should've been obvious, in retrospect.

Strangely, Seijuro feels as though she should be panicking more, or, at least, screaming in outrage regarding the ridicule of her situation. However, as her thoughts seem clear enough, her emotions appear muffled, not quite inaccessible, but less intense than they should've otherwise been.

Which is to say, she only sort of wishes she could strip Dave naked and drag his body across the concrete for a couple hundred meters... Something to be done eventually, rather than now.

More importantly, if she has spawned as an (and she can't believe she is about to consider this) insectoid, then her cage must be an egg.

…A fucking insect egg.

Big enough for her whole body…? Or is she, perhaps, now insect-sized?

Once more, Seijuro expects a wave of panic and anger to assault her thoughts, yet they remain almost painfully clear. Oh, she feels an urge to release herself, almost instinctual in nature, but nothing like what she'd have expected from a human in the same situation…

Well, staying still won't lead her to anything other than boredom, and perhaps eventual starvation.

And so, at last, Seijuro pushes against her constraints, surprised to find that they give away fairly easily… And even more surprised to find that, once free, she has nothing but air to stop her fall.

…Once on the ground, Seijuro clicks her mandibles in annoyance.

The fall was short, and the gooey contents of her egg enough to break most of the impact. Still, she could've been much higher, and assuming she was near the ground was an oversight.

Seijuro glances up, taking in the cluster of eggs spread throughout the cave's ceiling in groups of three or four as they glow a faint shade of green, outlining the growing creatures inside.

…Knowing she died after falling from her own egg would've made Tutorial's day, wouldn't it?

As she stares into the dripping, fractured thing she appears to have spawned out of, Seijuro releases an internal sigh.

Now, how bad could it be?

A blink reveals eyelids that are simply wrong, though a quick inspection confirms she still has the right number of limbs, as well as a merciful lack of weird appendages.

All in all, as she rises her new body to a standing position for the first time, Seijuro still feels mostly human, bypassing how light…

Its carapace's weird texture…

Having only four fingers…

Being pitch-black in color…

And how her vision seems to split weirdly sometimes…

Okay, just roll with it. Since she doesn't intend to play the game for much longer, it shouldn't matter anyway.

Having hardened her resolve (and decided to ignore everything not immediately solvable), Seijuro performs a first scan at her immediate surroundings, taking in the small cave as well as her two dozen or so brethren who have yet to spawn.

Besides a crack in the wall, possibly leading toward some sort of main cave or even the outside world, nothing jumps to Seijuro's attention as being particularly relevant.

Well, there's the crack, and how real everything feels, from the disgusting texture of the goo covering her body to the stone underneath her feet and the soft green light given by the eggs… If anything, Eden feels almost too real, like a dream she's all of a sudden conscious of.

Except it doesn't seem she's about to wake up.

Certainly, an impressive feat of technology, albeit a fairly worthless one.

Releasing another internal sigh, Seijuro wonders what to do from here onwards. If Dave is to be believed, the insect basin should've led her to a place near the Abyss, Eden's equivalent to the land of the dead, and their first guess as to where she might be able to find her mother.

Infuriately sparse in details as he might've been, Seijuro doubts the man had the guts to lie to her.

Which is to say, first, she must pinpoint her location in relation to the Abyss, before, in Dave's words, "burst open its doors".

As for to how, exactly, she'll find her mother by doing this…

One thing at a time.

A character screen, or some sort of interface… She should have something like that, right? Most games seem to, even VR ones. For as little experience as she has in them, Seijuro knows at least this much.

Seems as good a place to start as any.

However, as Seijuro opens her jaws to attempt a command, she realizes the glaring problem regarding her current situation.

…Insects don't exactly come with functioning vocal cords, now do they?

And, upon realizing as much, Seijuro's first action in the world of Eden is to facepalm.

…Perhaps mental commands will still do the trick?

'Interface.'

'Character screen.'

'System, open interface.'

'System, open character screen…'

Seijuro frowns. Considering Tutorial mentioned nothing of the sort, perhaps Eden simply doesn't support character screens?

Instinctually, if not for a mental or verbal command, then she should…

Seijuro waves her hand, focusing her intent as she mentally commands, 'Interface!'

User: Seijuro Aston | Species: Dryghr | Level: 01 | XP: 0%

Strength: 50(50) | Agility: 70(70) | Sturdiness: 40(40) | Stamina: 99/100

Skills: Dark Vision 7/10, Acid Resistance 4/10, Poison Resistance 4/10, Clarity of Mind 4/10, Creature of Darkness 1/10, Acid Spit 1/10

Active Quests: None

Dryghr…

Seijuro nods to herself as she inspects the information presented before her by a holografic hovering screen, though she is immediately disappointed to discover that focusing on particular words or phrases presents no additional information… And neither does clicking on them, as she finds by having her hand penetrate the wall of text several times.

At least, most of it seems fairly straightforward…

She can only assume Clarity of Mind is behind her current lack of panic or anger, and the rest, with the obvious exception of Creature of Darkness, seem self-explanatory enough. As for her stats, Seijuro has no comparison to measure them against, except for being fairly sure she is currently weaker, slower, and lighter than before entering the game.

Well, enough stalling.

By waving her hand again, Seijuro quickly discovers her interface is easily dismissible. Then, a glance at her surroundings reveals her brethren still asleep, her cave just as empty, and, seeing no better option, Seijuro heads for the crevice.

It's a close fit…

Carefully, Seijuro squeezes herself in with small sidesteps, the previously distant howling of the wind now obvious against her earholes and body, growing stronger by the second.

At least, she supposes, her carapace prevents small scratches and bruis-

As the wind grows abruptly deafening, her steps find but air and her fall is only stopped by a last-second effort to grip the wall, Seijuro clicks her mandibles in annoyance several times.

Of course the floor of her crevice would open up before anything else did…

Still, Seijuro quickly realizes her hands and feet now seem to easily grip onto stone, allowing for an easy descent toward the hole she almost fell through, followed by an even easier ascent on the other side… Where Seijuro stops, stunned.

That's… Just what…

Though no longer funneled, the wind still whistles rather loudly in its travel throughout the abyss spreading seemingly without end from the wall Seijuro finds herself attached to.

Darkness, endless and impenetrable, permeates all directions Seijuro is able to turn her head toward… Except for the piece of wall of her immediate surroundings.

E-easy…

Holding onto her stony perch as some sort of lifeline, Seijuro stares at her open surroundings in astonishment.

Should… Should she climb up, and find a vantage point to orient herself…?

Or… Should she climb down in search of some sort of floor…?

However, before Seijuro is able to reorient herself, something under the howling wind catches her attention, something that, after focusing on, she realizes…

…Wings!

Scurrying along the wall, Seijuro quickly attempts to reenter the nearby crevice she exited through as she spots something rapidly approaching, many sets of eyes, an extended claw, and…

…Jerking awake, Seijuro quickly removes Eden's headgear as she throws it against the couch's opposite end.

Heart thundering against her chest, the princess attempts to breathe deeply only to realize she's close to hyperventilating, her skin sticky with cold sweat.

'Warning, user levels of distress reaching critical levels! Contacti-'

"C-cancel that! I'm f-fine!"

'…Command accepted.'

Realizing she's shaking, and her teeth clattering, Seijuro quickly rises and heads toward her bathroom, ordering the lights on and her shower set to hot.

As her heartbeat gradually slows down under geysers of warm water, Seijuro finally realizes she never took off her underwear.

She laughs.

Something about the absurdity of it all, about the wet pieces of clothing sticking to her skin, about the fact she, as an insect, of all things, experienced death not five minutes prior…

She laughs, and laughs, and laughs…

Until her knees have hit the ground, and her tears have grown dry…

Seijuro doesn't how long she stood kneeling; Her thoughts mercifully emptied, for once.

Glancing toward her wrinkled finger... Obviously, more than a minute or two.

"…Off."

Seijuro rises, removing her soaked underwear as she forces her weakened legs to lead her toward the closet, where she grabs a clean towel, dries herself, and shoves the closest piece of clothing through her head, before walking in the coach's direction once more.

Eden's headgear feels cold to the touch, though she doesn't hesitate.

"System, connect."

'Command accepted… Creating link. Please, make sure to remain comfortable and still while the dive happens, Miss Aston. Connection may be terminated at any moment.'

…The vision of a smiling Tutorial as she opens her eyes surprises Seijuro not in the slightness.

"The first death is by far the worst of them. Many don't return after experiencing it, and the ones who do tend to wear a different set of clothing…" The creature snorts. "Humans, so fragile."

"…My species cannot speak."

Tutorial blinks. "…Sorry. No take-backsies."

Of course.

"…Is there a way to access some sort of map in the game?"

"Of course! Most main cities should have cartographers and such. I'm sure they'd be happy to provide you a map for the right… Well, in your case, I suppose it might be faster and easier to simply kill them for it rather than attempting communication."

Seijuro closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and faces Tutorial again.

"Your existence is complete and utterly pointless. I hope you realize as much."

The creature pouts, averting its gaze. "You're the one who selected the worse spawn," it murmurs, "It's not my fault."

Seijuro sighs. "Just send me back. I'll probably be seeing you again soon, anyway."

"…You're going back? So soon?"

"Do I have a choice?" Seijuro murmurs through clenched teeth.

"Well… No, not really, I suppose."

Performing what Seijuro is convinced is a needless flourish, Tutorial points toward some sort of statue to have appeared out of thin air, so worn out Seijuro can barely recognize an insectoid form within the stone shape.

"Touch the statue, and it'll inform you of your death penalty."

Reminded of her previous experience, Seijuro stares at the object suspiciously.

"Don't be shy now, it won't bite."

After throwing an almost obligatory dirty stare in Tutorial's direction, Seijuro decides to approach the statue, placing her hand against it… And almost immediately clenching her teeth from the splitting headache she's assaulted by.

However, unlike previously, this time the pain seems to gradually decrease, soon allowing Seijuro to make out the whispered gibberish underneath it… For all the good it does her.

"Am I… Am I supposed to understand any of this?!"

Tutorial simply smiles.

Containing a curse, Seijuro removes her hand from the stone, immediately cutting whatever connection she seems to have created by touching it.

Frowning, Seijuro inspects the statue by walking in a slow circle around it, though she gains no new insight by doing so.

"The statue, what is it?"

"Your patron God, of course."

…Of course, it says.

"And, since I can't communicate with it, am I to assume this is another challenge?"

Tutorial shrugs. "It's a part of the game. You're free to understand it as a challenge if you wish."

Communicate… Why not. She might as well give it a try.

Taking a deep breath, Seijuro places her hand over the stone piece once more. This time, she is ready for the pain, and even as she flinches, Seijuro forces herself to focus upon the invasive whispering voices…

'Who are you?'

At first, there is no response or perceivable change. But gradually, the voices lower in volume and intensity, allowing Seijuro to release some of her tension.

'Who… Who are you?' she asks again.

The pain immediately intensifies once more, but, with it, it brings the image of a comet of green light, traveling through space among a sea of exploding stars, companied by an intense feeling of sadness and rage.

Seijuro doubles over herself, even as she manages to maintain her hand firmly placed against the statue.

'That… Was that intentional?! Something you wanted to show me?!'

'Home.'

Seijuro blinks. Among the whispers, she thought to-

'Home. HoME. HoMe. HomE. home. HOme. HoMe. Home. HomE. Home. HOMe. hOMe. HomE. HoMe-'

'STOP!'

Nearly falling, Seijuro abruptly steps back from the statue, her teeth clenched and ears ringing as she stares at it in annoyance.

Having a thousand screeching insect voices inside her brain was almost worse than dying. If only she could have a talk with whoever thought this stupid game was a good idea… Oh, wait. She can. And she'll enjoy it very much.

"So? Did it talk to you?"

As it hovers nearby with an innocent expression, Tutorial gives Seijuro the smile of a proud mother staring at its cub's first walk.

Seijuro flips her.

Tutorial laughs. "I'll take that as a yes. Go on, give it another try!"

And, despite her instincts of self-preservation demanding the opposite, Seijuro takes a deep breath, then places her hand upon the stone once more… And blinks surprised once the expected headache never arrives.

Greatly reduced in volume, the whispers are now mere murmurs, as if afraid of expressing themselves any more than necessary.

'Okay… Let's try this again.'

Immediately, several voices begin speaking at the same time, some in languages she doesn't even understand, and Seijuro has to clench her teeth as she attempts to make sense of the whispered words which quickly increase in volume in an attempt to drown one another.

'Kin. death. murdEr. ReasoN. Ho-'

'Stop! A hive mind, that's what you are, right?! Speak one at a time!'

'…Many.'

'Difficult...'

'Try.'

'Must.'

'better?'

'Now.'

Though still nearly incomprehensible, the voices do lower in volume once more, allowing Seijuro to catch enough words among the madness to make sense of them.

'Yes. Much better. Thank you.'

'we.'

'help.'

'How.'

'yoU.'

'After you summoned me… Do you remember that? I died. And I'm told you can't simply resummon my… Avatar? Without a price. I'm ready to pay the price.'

'pRice.'

'YEs.'

'Though.'

'WE.'

'many.'

'No'

'Need.'

'pricE.'

'Does that mean… You can just summon me again? No price needed? No punishment?'

'YEs.'

'…Yes.'

'yeS.'

'but.'

'StrENgth.'

'LoSt.'

'Still.'

This… If Seijuro understood correctly, she'll still lose XP from dying, but she won't have to wait before respawning, which she can only assume is a species perk.

'Well… I'm ready to go back now. And I'll do better this time.'

'WaiT.'

'we.'

'HeLp.'

'You.'

'HelP.'

'MissiOn.'

Before Seijuro can protest, several images flash through her vision; Two swarms, engaged in an endless battle for supremacy; A chasm, filled by darkness almost palpable; A desert of black sand, extending as far as the eye can see.

The pain nearly draws a scream out of her… But the emotions accompanying the images, tears.

Fear. Rage. Resolve. Purpose.

'Now.'

'Go.'

'Kin.'

'And.'

'Show.'

'them.'

'Our.'

'Pain.'

Seijuro screams, a scream which is transformed into a shriek as she finds herself tearing against the walls of her egg, then falling, and only stops once she hits the ground as a mass of twitching limbs.

…Seijuro clicks her mandibles in annoyance. Clearly, she'll need to have a conversation regarding the fragility of human minds with her patron God at some point.

Rising, Seijuro inspects her surroundings as she realizes her new spawn is nearly identical in nature to her previous one, immediately perceivable as different only by its obvious lack of a second broken egg.

'Interface,' Seijuro commands mentally while waving her hand.

User: Seijuro Aston | Species: Dryghr | Level: 00 | XP: -50%

Strength: 45(50) | Agility: 63(70) | Sturdiness: 36(40) | Stamina: 89/90

Skills: Dark Vision 7/10, Acid Resistance 4/10, Poison Resistance 4/10, Clarity of Mind 4/10, Creature of Darkness 1/10, Acid Spit 1/10

Active Quests: Kill, kill, kILL!

…It seems being level 1 didn't spare her the death penalty, after all.

Seijuro glances toward a crack on the wall which she now knows is most likely to lead her to a very premature death. Still, despite her hesitation in regards to repeating her previous actions, her options aren't exactly any different than before.

She could… Try to awaken her brethren?

No, there's no guarantee they'll be of any use as newborns, or that she'd even be able to awaken them in the first place.

As for her Skills…

Seijuro opens her jaws, attempting to spit as she would as a human… And, to her surprise, a ball of acid almost immediately shoots against the nearby wall, where it releases a cloud of green fume.

Seijuro blinks. Well, it seems you don't have to shout all of them, after all.

Immediately attempting to replicate the feat, but realizing she can't, Seijuro is instantly disappointed. Perhaps something to do with the skill being at a mere first level?

Knowing how often she's able to shoot them might be important, Seijuro decides, starting to count the seconds as she stares toward the slightly melted rock wall and taps her foot impatiently.

At ten, Seijuro tries again, being no more successful.

At twenty, another failure.

At thirty, she still finds no success, releasing an internal sigh. She can't believe people do this for fun.

At forty, and then fifty, Seijuro feels a weird build-up at the back of her throat, though still, nothing happens until she reaches the count of fifty-four, and another ball of acid is finally shot forward.

Staring at the pool of green acid, Seijuro nods to herself, clicking her mandibles.

Considering she didn't start to count immediately after the first shot, it is safe to assume the skill's cooldown is a full minute, at least while being at level one. Later testing shall reveal if its cooldown will remain the same or not.

Should she also test for a possible variance?

Seijuro shakes her head, glancing toward the cave's crevice and the soft whistling of the wind heard from within it.

Her little experiment gave her an idea, and if her hypothesis is correct…

Rather than giving herself time to change her mind, Seijuro walks toward the gap, then squeezes herself in.

Surprisingly enough, Seijuro finds the small fissure to be no more comfortable than its predecessor. However, despite taking small, careful steps, soon the howling of the wind grows louder against her earholes, bringing her movements to become even more careful...

Until, after a particularly sharp turn, Seijuro finds herself staring into the dark abyss outside, just as oppressive and impenetrable as she remembers it to be.

Alas, fortune favors the brave, and Seijuro has never been one to allow her fears to overwhelm her.

Quickly, yet carefully, leaving the relative safety of her crevice, Seijuro immediately begins to count, sharpening her hearing even as the wind presses against her body, threatening to overpower her grip.

Five…

Ten…

Fifteen…

Twenty…

Her eyes search through the dark frantically when, almost imperceptibly, beneath the wind, Seijuro notices the noise of fast-beating wings, just as she remembers them.

Quickly scurrying back inside before the noise could grow any louder, Seijuro holds her breath until the noise disappears completely.

Around twenty seconds… But no guarantee of consistency. The creature (creatures?) could notice her faster, or slower, next time.

Nevertheless, she'd be probably taking a safe bet in assuming they'll always notice her eventually… Whatever they may be.

This time, as she crawls outside and begins to count, Seijuro focuses her gaze upon the wall, rather than the darkness surrounding it… And, to her surprise, immediately spots a myriad of holes along the gigantic surface, some small, some much larger, though the closest one is still at least half a hundred meters away from her current position, being a small depression she's almost certain is still big enough to allow for entry.

Could she make it? With her current climbing speed?

Well… In truth, she simply doesn't see any better options…

The familiar, growing noise of fast-beating wings brings Seijuro out of her thoughts. Needless to say, she doesn't wait for them to approach before hiding again.

This is it. She'll have to give it a shot… And if she doesn't succeed, she'll have to hope for a closer entry point next time.

A few moments later, Seijuro's scanning reveals oppressive silence bellow whistling wind. Still, she forces herself to wait another minute, impatiently counting the seconds from the relative safety, and discomfort, of her hideout.

Should she wait some more and attempt to identify a solid path of handholds and footholds to climb through…?

Impatience might kill her, but then again, hesitating too much might do just the same.

One more time… She'll take another look and find a suitable path to climb through, then she'll go.

Having made her decision, Seijuro slowly scrambles her way outside… And immediately freezes as she finds herself faced by the yellow gleaming of nine emotionless insect eyes.

The creature's mouth is already open, showcasing pincers as big as her torso, and Seijuro only barely slams her limbs against the wall underneath before something hurls itself past, something she doesn't hesitate in grabbing least gravity takes its toll.

And as she is rapidly pulled toward the creature by its tongue, Seijuro aims and spits, covering its yellow eyes in green acid spit before slamming against the insect's face, somehow avoiding its mouth, and only just managing to find hold by grabbing onto one its translucent wings as the creature's shriek of agony cuts through the dark.

Thinking quickly, Seijuro strengthens her grip over the insect's carapace before tearing off one of its wings in a single, violent pull, and then another, only to have her efforts cut short as the insect hurls itself at the abyss, all the while shrieking.

Motherfucker!

As Seijuro notices the wall hurling past at increasingly unhealthy speeds, the insect's remaining wings desperately attempt to take flight while Seijuro herself desperately attempts to maintain her grip over its carapace, both being partially successful at their attempted tasks…

And then, after a particularly violent midair-roll, the creature finally stabilizes its flight, as Seijuro finally manages to regain her grip over one, and then another of its wings, placing both her legs against its carapace in a crouched position.

…Have a fun flight, friend.

Clicking her mandibles rapidly, Seijuro pulls, then jumps, and time seems to slow down as she meets the creature's yellow-tainted eyes one last time before it plummets toward the dark once more, its shriek rapidly growing fain under the howling wind.

Seijuro finds that she feels a strange feeling of calmness as her already battered body is slammed against the gigantic wall several meters below her jumping point, finding a clutch only after several moments of sliding down.

Noticing the rapid approach of multiple beating wings, undoubtedly attracted by the shrieks of their brethren, Seijuro struggles to maintain her eyes open, forcing them to search for any nearby openings she might climb inside in order to escape the approaching insects.

Move… She's got to… Move!

Spotting a nearby cave opening, Seijuro immediately scrambles along the wall in its direction, her movements sluggish despite their desperation… Until the noise grows louder, and Seijuro doesn't bother attempting to climb anymore, simply allowing her body to drop toward the cave's opening.

In retrospect, letting herself be killed might have been less painful…

Except, the pain Seijuro expects never arrives, even as she notices streaks of green blood running through cracks in her carapace and the way her left arm is bent backward. Instead, she feels lethargic, her thoughts less and less able to command her body effectively.

Still, Seijuro manages to force it to rise once more, albeit slowly and unsteadily, in time to witness the insects landing through her blurry vision, twenty-seven emotionless yellow-stained eyes meeting her own as their owners jump around the cave's round entrance with visible uneasiness.

Seijuro steps back… Once, and then twice.

The monsters don't give chase. With an ear-piercing shriek, they soon take flighty once more, quickly disappearing from sight.

They… They could've easily reached her battered body, even without the tongue attack she managed to avoid earlier.

Game logic? Are they simply not allowed to enter narrow spaces…?

Well, she isn't complaining.

Seijuro attempts to turn, only to realize her body is firmly stuck in place. She blinks.

A second try reveals that she did not imagine it. She is, de facto, stuck… In air?

No…

Something glints at the corner of her vision, and Seijuro finally manages to work through her lethargic thoughts in order to identify the problem.

Spider webs… Or something similar enough... No wonder they decided to not chase…

Were her body physically capable of, Seijuro would've smiled.

Giant spiders… As much as she would like to wait around to meet them…

'System, disconnect.'