Swallowing hard at the sound emanating from the trees, Number 25 slowly raised her head. A woman with skin as pale as the moon stood there, clad in a simple dress that perfectly mirrored the abyssal dark of her hair. Her brilliant purple eyes roamed over Number 99.

  "Um... Who are you?"

  "You're not a player, are you?"

  "Why aren't you answering?"

  Those striking eyes shifted, locking onto the frail soul seeking an answer.

  ".........."

  "What... I, um... I can't understand what you're saying."

  Number 25 stood helpless before the alien tongue directed at her; the sheer unknowability of the woman's intentions twisted in her gut. After observing 25 for a moment longer, the woman shifted her speech, tuning into a shared frequency the girl could comprehend.

  "You truly are exhausted, aren't you... my poor girl?"

  Accompanied by 25's timid gaze, the woman began to walk with ethereal grace, emerging from the trees to press her bare feet against the courtyard's frigid marble. Agitated by the stranger's advance, 25 lashed out, her voice breaking into a shout:

  "Hey... Stay back!"

  The woman halted her steps. As she waited in silence, her eyes began to glow.

  "You shouldn't raise your voice to your elders, should you? I."

  "How did you... Aghk!"

  Unable to finish her sentence, 25's body convulsed, her fingers spasming involuntarily. The words died in her throat before they could escape, shoved back down by a crushing pressure around her neck, violently denying her lungs air.

  Only when her face began to turn a mottled purple and involuntary tears streamed from her eyes did the woman in black release her. Coughing up the syllables that had choked her, 25 gasped frantically for breath, unable to stop her agony from dissolving into salty tears.

  "I hope you learn from this mistake, my sweet girl."

  The aura radiating from the woman eclipsed even the pitch-black night of Kirola, crashing down upon 25 with immense weight.

  "Won't you?"

  The mask of politeness she wore in her voice fractured for a split second as she honed her entire focus onto Number 25.

  "Y-Yes! I'm sorry."

  With 25's submission, the woman retracted that oppressive energy, slipping her mask seamlessly back into place.

  "Incredible... Smart girls like you... How amusing."

  Taking a few more steps, the woman in black turned her attention to the black sword plunged into the marble. With those majestic eyes, she gazed at the blade as if looking upon an old friend. Finally reaching the weapon, she slowly extended her right hand toward the hilt.

  "No, that's danger—"

  Terrified of angering this eerie entity, 25 sealed her lips, falling into a dead silence. She was mortally afraid of her, yet her mind gnawed at the possibility of whether this woman—judging by the horrifying energy she exuded—actually possessed the potential to tame that savage metal. Pausing at 25's reaction, the woman smiled, as if to soothe her. Then, she brought her hand to the hilt, gripping it tightly, and hoisted that mass of black metal into the air, liberating the suffering soil of Kirola.

  As the black sword's purple runes pulsed in a rhythmic flash akin to a heartbeat, she brought the weapon close to her lips.

  "........"

  As she whispered to the blade in that unknown tongue, 25 watched the spectacle in pure astonishment, dying to know the identity of this woman who wielded such a lethal weapon as if it were a mere toy.

  "I see you're overflowing with the parasites of this unknown world... Wait, let me help you."

  Bringing her left hand to the cold steel, the woman rubbed the metal with her fingers, causing black dust to crumble and fall from the dark blade.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Better, isn't it?" she said, slowly loosening her grip on the hilt.

  The black sword vanished back into the void.

  "Um... Can you help him?"

  With the fluttering butterflies of hope in her chest reflecting in her eyes, Number 25 waited in nervous excitement for the woman's answer.

  "Ah, my sweet girl... Your soul... Your soul has been truly wounded, hasn't it? Don't worry, he always finds a way... Yes, he always does. He's someone very special, isn't he?"

  "So... will he wake up?" Number 25 asked, shifting her eyes to 99.

  "Do you know, my child? The most beautiful lights are born at the break and the death of the day."

  "I... I don't understand."

  Indifferent to 25's confusion, the woman turned her head back, gazing out toward the horizon.

  "Dawn is breaking."

  Looking toward the horizon, Number 25 saw nothing but the endless dark of Kirola and meant to turn her head back to the woman, but the lady in black had vanished in an instant, just as she had arrived.

  Left alone with her unanswered questions, 25's eyes welled up with tears, just as a familiar warmth planted a gentle kiss upon her cheek. When she turned her head back to the horizon, dawn had begun to break, slowly bringing an end to Kirola's era of darkness.

  As the light reflected in the tears brimming in 25's eyes, the murmur of a familiar voice brushed against her ear.

  "25... No, I... You're alive."

  "99!"

  ***

  "What a show! Number 1 and 99—these guys were the stars of the night, weren't they?"

  "They absolutely were. But compared to 99's unpredictable power, Number 1 has stepped even closer to resurrecting the Goddess with Flora's support... Tell me, if Number 1 revives the Goddess, could we see an early finale between the two right here in the very first game?"

  "Perhaps... But don't forget, that woman talking to 25..."

  Choking back his words abruptly, the announcer stared blankly into the camera for a moment before turning his head to his colleague. Without dropping their forced, plastic smiles for a single second, the duo engaged in a rapid, silent communication with their eyes alone, before whipping their heads back to the lenses.

  "Ah, well... Number 66! How could we forget? I think she was a player who absolutely deserved to advance to the next rounds... She even got a lot of buzz in the comments, didn't she?"

  "Dug her own grave a bit though, wouldn't you say?"

  "Haha! True, but she's definitely going down as one of this year's most unforgettable characters."

  "You never know, of course... In God's Six Hours, you can fall into someone's shadow at any given moment."

  While the announcers continued to host the game, pandering to the cameras, a woman was storming furiously down the sterile corridors, drawing ever closer to the Control Room.

  "Doctor, you can't go in th—"

  "Out of my way!"

  Displaying zero tolerance even for the guard's voice, the Doctor shoved him aside and threw the double doors wide open. The abrupt intrusion instantly drew the attention of the crew and the Chief, who sat alone at the far end of the facing rows of monitors.

  "Doctor, your presence here is strictly prohibited! Return to your post immediat—"

  "Drop the formalities!"

  The veins in the Chief's neck bulged momentarily as he stiffened at the interruption, while the Doctor continued to unleash the words she had been fiercely sharpening.

  "What the hell is that woman? She's not an NPC, I know that, and she's sure as hell not a player!"

  "The situation is entirely under our contr—"

  "Drop the recycled bullshit, old friend."

  Massaging his eyes under the crushing weight his old friend had just dropped on him, the Chief struggled to keep his fury from leaking out. Meanwhile, not a single murmur escaped his crew; they were all silently praying not to be burned in the crossfire of this duo now baring their fangs.

  "Look... We don't know what the hell she is. We tried to eject her..."

  "So you succeeded, seeing as she's gone."

  "No. She left of her own free will."

  "Her own free... Haha! Her own free will, is that it?"

  The Doctor began to pace in involuntary circles near the entrance, throwing her head back to stare at the stark white ceiling. She muttered to herself, cursing everything.

  "Doctor, before you entirely lose your mind, wouldn't it be better if you explained exactly why you are here?" the Chief said.

  "Why am I here? Oh, I'll tell you, my old friend! While the vitals of Number 99 are plunging and spiking like a rollercoaster, an unidentified entity manifests itself right in the middle of this high-tier game. Tell me, does a tragic event absolutely have to occur on live broadcast before you take action about anything?"

  Unable to endure the woman bearing down on him any longer, the Chief's nails dug into his palms, yet he continued to meticulously control the volume of his voice.

  "If..."

  He pointed a trembling index finger at his old friend. He drew a deep breath, trying with all his might to reign in his rage.

  "If Number 99 were in any mortal danger, the system would have forcibly extracted him. You know this damn well... my friend!"

  "And what about his mental health? How that woman even manifested—"

  "Enough! There is no room for weak wills in God's Six Hours! Besides, your beloved 99 has already begun moving with 25. Have no doubt, Doctor, I will take your words into consideration only when you are absolutely certain about our players' vitals... Now, you do not have clearance to be in this sector. Get out. Immediately!"

  "You..."

  Abandoning her retort as her phone relentlessly vibrated in her pocket, the Doctor turned and swiftly vacated the room. After marching down the corridor for a bit, she pulled out her phone; the caller was her assistant.

  "Please tell me you have good news."

  "Yes, well... Number 99's vitals suddenly returned to normal, Doctor."

  "Hell... They just returned to normal, just like that?"

  "Yes, Doctor. I couldn't figure out how, they just instantly—"

  "Fine. Keep your eyes glued to him regardless."

  "Understood, Doctor... Um, about that woman in black, I mean..."

  "They don't know a damn thing."

  "Understood, Doctor."

  Halting in her tracks, the Doctor hung up the phone and, fueled by the sheer rage of failing to comprehend these anomalies, drove her right fist straight into the wall.

  "Ah!"

  Feeling the stinging throb of the punch radiate all the way down to her toes, she massaged her pinky finger. Spewing the filth inside her into muttered curses, she resumed her march back to her office.