Chapter 1 ~The Last Gate part 3~
It was a pure, blinding yellow light. Rae rushed back after giving a halt to her dragonfly catching. Slowly, the light lost its shine and morphed into a little girl. She had those black hair and eyes just like a South Asian would have them—more precisely, an Indian. The length of her hair was the same as Rae's, and her complexion was pale, like that of a hospitalized patient. The surprising thing was that, that she was fair, unlike most Indians. She looked at her surroundings, then at herself.
"I didn't think that we would get to see a skill in human form," Rae muttered.
"Me too," replied Lea. "Hello…" She greeted the girl while moving towards her. The little girl looked at her.
"A…Ah…Ack! Ugh…Ahem, H-Hello?" She said, looking surprised that she was able to say something.
"Are you having trouble speaking?" Lea said while patting her head. The girl nodded, then lifted her hands and groped Lea's belly. Something this indecent, you won't expect it. Both of the hunters were dumbfounded.
"Pardon?"
"Hey! What on earth are you doing!? And you! Why are you saying "pardon" like some saint!? Hands off, girl!" Rae snapped.
"A-ah s-sorry! I didn't mean to!" The little girl backed off.
"No problem. You have poor eyesight, right? Take your time to adapt to your new environment." Lea said while smiling. And the girl nodded. She blinked many times and walked around while touching her throat and making those "ah, "ack," and "ahem" noises.
Lea again sat down on the velvet grass, and Rae joined her.
"That's why I told you not to show your navel!" That day isn't so far when you get groped by a man! Rae was enraged.
"Stop it. She is just a child with some disabilities, and it's just a crop top that I'm wearing. And the man you're talking about would probably be my husband." Lea talked as if nothing had happened.
Lea was excited to see a humanoid skill, moreover a Heavenly Rank. She must be very powerful to have that insane rank.
The little girl came forth, disrupting Lea's thoughts.
"I'm okay now, but I still can't see anything clearly." She said
"That's enough. Can you describe how I look now?" Lea said.
"Uhm, you have dark hair, but I'm sure it's not black, and your face looks faceless. You are wearing a knee-length long-sleeved black coat, a sleeveless white mock neck crop top underneath, and... black high heels?"
She answered everything correctly. But she still can't see their faces…
"Fantastic! Then it means that you see everything blurred? Anyway, now describe me." Rae said excitedly, taking an interest in her.
"The hair colour is a shade of pink, and the face is unclear. The dress is a net-sleeved, knee-length pink frock. You are wearing a brown cloak, just like a mage, and red shoes. Oh, I think you somehow look like Little Red Riding Hood!"
"Amazing!" Rae said. "Oh, but you haven't introduced yourself yet," Lea added.
"Oh, yes, I forgot. Myself Author. I'm the author of this world. Or I should say that I've written this world by myself."
W-What…?
As soon as Lea heard that sentence, something inside her felt weird.
"H-Hey, both of you…" She felt her inner organs stretching and shrinking. That pain was immense.
"I… I'm suddenly feeling nauseo-"
*cough*
She coughed out blood from her mouth. Both Rae and Author were confused. Looking at this horrible and confusing situation, Rae tried to treat Lea with her healing magic while crying continuously. The author closed her eyes and sat beside Lea, holding her hands. For half an hour, she coughed up blood. Her white crop top was soaked red. Drenched in her blood, she tried to wipe herself, but it only made her hands bloodier. Lea panted crazily and then eventually collapsed.
"I think she is sleeping now," Author said while relieving a sigh.
"How can you be sure!? And get away from Lea! You're too suspicious." Rae, who was angry enough to burn the whole forest, shrieked at her. She summoned her staff and swung it. It was both to protect Lea and attack Author.
Author gritted her teeth. Rae was just a mere character that she made by herself and she still dares to bear her fangs in front of her creator. Nevertheless, Author didn't let her anger do something violent.
"I can't do any harm to her even if I wanted to because I'm a skill and I can't hurt the one who's using me, so just rest assured." Author scoffed. Rae's staff disappeared, and she sat beside Lea.
"Hey… By chance, do you know what's happening to her?" She said, finally showing an ounce of trust in Author.
"No. But I feel like... No, never mind. It must be my imagination." Author replied while caressing Lea's face. "Anyway, let's just wait for now."
***
"Ugh…"
"Lea!" Rae cried.
"Uh, what happe- ah… It hurts…" Lea sat up slowly, pressing her palm against her chest to relieve the pain. Rae helped her sit up.
"Owwie..." She again grunted.
"You were coughing up blood all of a sudden, which continued for half an hour. After panting hastily, you were unconscious for another hour. Author wiped all the blood from your skin. We were so worried! Do you know what's happening with your body?"
"..." Lea looked puzzled.
"I think your body will become weak, seeing the amount of blood you've lost." Author commented.
"I think so... I feel weak. But it is strange because, on the other hand, I feel more powerful than before too." Lea laughed while clenching her fist. "I'm feeling all right now. Let's continue our conversation from before. I have many questions about that."
"Yes." Author smiled.
The three of them sat on the grass, making a circle.
"Now tell me what you meant when you said that you've 'written' this world," Lea asked.
"It means just how it sounded." The little girl said calmly.
"Then what would happen to us now? Can you tell?"
"No, I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know you nor Rae."
"How can you not? You said for yourself that you've written it, then how can you not know your own characters?" Lea said angrily, losing her patience.
Author shuddered. She was slightly trembling.
"Hey… Lea, let's calm down, okay? She's just a chil-"
"Is it my fault that I don't see your faces clearly!? Is it my fault that this gate appeared before its designated time!?" Author shouted and burst into tears. Well, what you'll expect from a child. She stood up and tried to run away but Rae caught her and made her sit again.
"Both of you just stop it!"
Hearing Rae they just calmed down silently.
"Do it calmly." She ordered.
"So you won't know our future unless you see our faces?" Lea said while glancing at Rae.
"Yes. I can't tell what will happen unless I recognize that character. It's common sense." Author said while slightly looking at Rae.
"Stop sneaking glances at me. I'm going to catch some more dragonflies. Don't think that I'm not watching and hearing you. If you made another hassle again then I'll make sure to feed you those dragonflies that I've caught up till now." Rae said, whose ruby-coloured eyes were glistening. This was enough for them to sit obediently. Then she went happily.
"Next. Why this gate is named <The Last Gate>?"
"Because it is. This Gate was supposed to appear after all other gates. So by then, I would have gained my eyesight and remaining memories." Author said while nodding.
"Oh, I see. Wait, what? You don't even have your full memories!?" Lea said surprised.
"Shh! Rae will hear us!"
They both looked at Rae, who was standing on a rock by the stream, and staring at them blankly. Then a smile appeared on her face…
"Is everything alright~?" She said.
That pure smile of hers scared both of them.
"Y-Yeah! We're kicking it off quite well!" Both of them said, hugging each other.
"Oh Yeah? That's good." Then she got to her work.
"Such a scary face…" Author said sighing.
"Don't say anything bad about her! She said that she can hear us and when she says something then she definitely means it!"
"Oops. Sorry."
"Leave it. Answer my next question. When the quest arrived, it said something about the destruction of Hiraeth. Is it going to happen?"
"It would have if everything went according to my writing. I'm sure that I have created this world but I don't have memories of it at all. It's very strange."
"Yes. It is very strange. Do you think that other gates will appear like usual?"
"I guess so. This gate was designed to appear later but it has appeared now. But I think all the gates will appear as usual. Now I'm going to tell you all the information I have. Listen carefully. I'm going to leave the things that I've already said.
Firstly, I know that I've created this world and I'm aware that I've created more than hundreds of them other than Hiraeth. Any question?" Author asked.
"Do other worlds also have someone like me?"
"No. I'm sure I've never created anyone like you or Rae. Secondly, I'm getting information about myself and Hiraeth bit by bit. Any question?"
"Oh, so what are you getting now?"
"That I'm older than 1500 years." Author scoffed.
"Pfft! You? 1500+ years old? Well, that's good grandma." Lea was trembling from holding her laughter.
"…"
"Third, about the constellations. The quest must have mentioned that the constellations are watching you but they never did. They would have if you were really clearing the last gate of Hiraeth. Anyone would be obviously interested when someone's decision can change the fate of Hiraeth. But someone from outside manipulated it and the last gate appeared now. Any question?"
"No. I think I understand everything now… I think the system for this gate was also pre-designed that's why it wasn't answering us earlier." Lea said, nodding.
"Fourth, I think I was sealed in this gate and it was planned such that if someone clears the <The Last Gate> they will learn the truth about all the peculiar things that are happening, like the emergence of gates, and of course, I would have been the one to tell them. But a certain someone has cleared it too soon and because of that I haven't regained all of my memories." Author looked at Lea.
"Is it my fault that it appeared too soon!?"
"Oh~ Did I mention your name~?" Author sneered.
"You-!"
"How are you two doing?" Rae popped from somewhere.
"W-We're good, right Lea~?"
That scared the living soul outta me!
"Y-Yes definitely!"
Do skills also have souls!?
"The conversation sounded quite amusing, so I came back!"
"Y-Yeah let's continue. Lea, please check my status window. You'll see something more surprising than me." Author said with a serious look.
"Oh? Okay." Lea swiped her fingers in the air and a blue box appeared.
_________________________
<Skill Window>
Name- Author [Heavenly] (skill's name can be changed)
Age- 1500+ (system can't calculate the definite age of this character)
Constellation Sponsor- None
Title- Omniscient Reader's Incarnation (Heavenly), Creator of Hiraeth (Heavenly), Mass Genocider (Heavenly), Innocent Slaughterer (Heavenly), Master of Arielle (Heavenly)
Skills- Character List (Heavenly), Fake Prophecy (Heavenly), Assassin's occupation (B-Rank).
The remaining skills haven't been awakened because of the lack of Humanoid Skill's memories.
Overall Stats- {Vitality Lv. 50} {Physical Strength Lv. 10} {Agility Lv. 60} {Mana Lv. 80}
Other Information- Starting now the skill [Author] can age like humans, live like humans and eat like humans. Hunters can see the skill but Ordinary people can't. The skill can float in the air freely if the user grants permission.
____________________________
"What the--I can see a meaning behind the [Omniscient Reader's Incarnation] and [Creator of Hiraeth] titles, but why in the world do you have a title named [Mass Genocider] and [Innocent Slaughterer]? Moreover, their ranks are also Heavenly! Just what kind of evil deeds did you commit!?" Rae screamed.
"I don't know. The memories about this haven't reached me yet. Even I don't know a thing about these heinous titles." Author shrugged.
"And what's with those crazy levelled stats? But at least I can win a physical fight, I guess." Lea laughed.
"You sure can. Lastly. Check your status window, Lea. I bet you'll see something more shocking than my titles."
"Oh Yeah? I also haven't checked. Your name must be added to my skills list. Let's open it." Lea was excited to check her status window and when it appeared…
"Holy! My window turned Golden! Is this because you are a Heavenly Rank skill Author? Wait… B-But my R-Rank…"
Lea's excitement didn't last for even 5 seconds. As soon she saw her rank her face turned pale.
~Somewhere else in Hiraeth~
A female figure was watching the broadcast of <The Last Gate> live.
{Hmm~ Looks like our little girl's seal has been broken. Well, I manipulated the gate so I knew this was going to happen. This is great. I was bored anyway. My love, are you listening? Zecora? Oh I forgot…}
Her voice which sounded mature walked towards a white coffin which was embedded with beautiful gemstones. Someone was sleeping in there, a strikingly handsome man. Not sure if he was sleeping or dead.
{Zecora… If you don't like this casket, I'll make a new one just for you… I will revive you for sure…}
I guess he's dead.
{So, please… Just, please… Don't leave my side… You're the only one I have… Everyone's already dead…}
She wept while clutching the coffin.
~ To be continued.
-My fav lines-
That I'm older than 1500 years.
Pfft! You? 1500+ years old? Well, that's good grandma.