The Beginning Of The Game...

⋘ The constellations have been thinking about your proposal. ⋙

"Oh? They have finally contacted me." Matthew smiled upon looking at the screen in front of him.

⋘ However, it seems that there's a bigger problem than that. The world is currently under "fusion", and trouble will come. ⋙

"Huh?" Matthew's eyes widened.

Currently, he was on the way back to the academy, after all, their visit to the Hero Association had abruptly ended due to Yumiko's actions.

Matthew was satisfied with that, because he now could take a break from all those annoying people who wanted to pry into his abilities.

But now, seeing such a strange message from the constellations themselves...

"I want to retire from this world..." He pressed his buttons in annoyance.

"Tell me about it..."

⋘ Due to the world's fusion—! ⋙

"Wait a second... Why is the world even fusing in the first place?" Matthew asked right away.

⋘ The outer gods have invaded our "nebula", and because of that, the world is going to be fusing with the outside. ⋙

⋘ Because of that, the world you're currently in will become a playground for us constellations where we can intervene, not physically, but now we can do much more things. ⋙

⋘ Also, before you ask, everyone who has a contract with a constellation should know about this fact. So, pretty soon, maybe in a few minutes, there are going to be news all over the world. ⋙

"I see... So, what exactly will change?"

⋘ That... maybe the entire power system, or even the world structure. Because, this world is going to be specially put in the main "nebula" of the entire multiverse. ⋙

"What? What will happen to my powers then?"

⋘ Nothing. You'll keep them, but the "system" that everyone has access to will change. ⋙

⋘ There's also a high chance that the difficulty of becoming a constellation will increase exponentially and perhaps even become almost impossible. ⋙

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

⋘ Previously, we, constellations, had most of our power sealed because we were in a low-level "nebula", but now that we're going to the central "nebula", we'll be able to use all of our power, which also means that the "requirements" to become a constellation will increase by a ton. ⋙

⋘ For example, if previously the requirement was to break through the S++ rank, now the requirement would be to break through the SSSSSSSSSSSS++ rank, if that even existed. ⋙

⋘ However, like I mentioned before, the power system will change, and the grades of the weapons will also change to the main "nebula" type. ⋙

"So, what exactly is this game...?"

⋘ You remember that joke that you made in the first few days that you arrived at this worlds? ⋙

"What joke...? That one where I said that maybe towers would fall from the sky?" Matthew spoke with a thoughtful expression.

⋘ That one... ⋙

"Don't fucking tell me..."

⋘ Yes, that is correct. That is exactly what will happen, but it is not a tower like the [Tower of Trials] or any other tower like that from those novels you have read. ⋙

"Then... what kind of tower? Like in SAO or something?"

⋘ Oh... great guess, actually. ⋙

"What do you mean by that!?"

⋘ Well, if you had read the entire novel, you would know what would have happened. ⋙

"Wait what!? This happened in the novel?"

⋘ Of course. I mean, just in the 49th chapter, Stacy had already acquired B+ Magic, the author needed something to slow down the progress, so he created this game of constellations and outer gods. ⋙

"That just makes me more confused... If Nyx made me come here just so I could meet her... how do the constellation's powers work?"

"Besides, how did she have enough power to transfer me here?"

⋘ The constellations have mentioned before that each constellation has a power "grade", which defines the weakest to the strongest. Both Nyx and Gaia are rated as one of the strongest. ⋙

⋘ It's imaginable what they can do. ⋙

"Then... why is Earth so normal?"

⋘ That's simply because Earth's galaxy, "the milky way", is an "useless" galaxy. It doesn't support any kinds of energies, which means that constellations wouldn't be able to talk with the mortals there even if they wanted to. ⋙

⋘ However, Nyx sacrificed a bit of her own power so she could transfer you to one of the galaxies which could support any kind of energy, and here you are. ⋙

⋘ Before you ask, the author of the novel you were reading, or this world's novel, was a god. So, that's the reason the novel you read before exists as a world. Because, that "god" wanted it to be like that. ⋙

"Doesn't that mean... that he should be pretty angry at me? Like, I literally changed the whole plot of his dear work."

⋘ He's dead now. Don't worry about him. ⋙

"Huh?"

'They totally did something about him... ahem.'

⋘ No, we did not. ⋙

"What!? I need some damned privacy..." Matthew mumbled in annoyance.

⋘ This world was basically his whole dream, and that's why, even the outer gods are invading it. Because, that same god sacrificed all of his powers, so all the events he wrote would happen. ⋙

"I guess... it makes sense?" Matthew furrowed his eyebrows.

"However... everything about this world will change... What will happen to every faction?"

⋘ If it really follows the novel's path, the world's factions will remain the same. However, everyone will get weaker, and the world will open the path for more people, which means that the "awakeners" will increase by a huge amount. ⋙

⋘ You can think of it as a recreation of the world, but now, all the constellations and outer gods will have access to this world, which they did not have before. ⋙

"In other worlds, more trouble... One last question: What will happen to my personal 'system'...?"

⋘ He'll remain with you. However, the system's structure will change just as the world will. ⋙

⋘ Well, now prepare yourself...⋙

⋘ The game of throne's will begin! ⋙

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"Attention! We were informed by the constellations a few hours ago that there would be a significant change to our world!!"

"Everything will be altered, including the weapon, class, and skill grades, as well as the power system."

"And more especially...! The chances of awakening will increase dramatically!"

As the TV talked about this huge change coming to the world, Matthew was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He had already called the Death Hand's Society and did everything he could to get ready for this new... thing happening.

"Sigh..."

Chirp...?

"I just don't know, Lua... Everything's about to get even crazier than it already is." Matthew let out a big sigh, gently stroking Lua's back.

Kyooo!

"What do I mean by that? Well... the whole academy thing might get turned upside down. I'm not even sure if there'll be a Class S anymore."

Sigh...

"Humans are naturally scared of change, of stepping into the unknown..." Matthew paused as he looked at the ceiling.

Kyoo...?

"But maybe, just maybe, that fear... it's not always a bad thing. It's like when you're standing at the edge of a cliff. You're not just afraid of falling; you're also afraid because you don't know what flying feels like."

Kyooo!?

Looking at Lua, who had cutely tilted her head to the side like a lizard, Matthew couldn't help but smile as he brought her close to his chest.

Kyooooo!

"What I'm trying to say is that... the unknown scares us because it's a mirror, reflecting our deepest fears and biggest dreams. We're scared of change because it forces us to confront who we really are and who we could become."

"At that moment... we wonder what will happen to us if we didn't follow the path we took."

Kyoo...

Lua, sensing the shift in his energy, nuzzled closer, offering comfort in her own little way.

Matthew simply smiled and closed his eyes.

'No matter what comes my way...'

'I'll simply pass through it.'

'After all, I'm a selfish person.'

'And my biggest objective...'

'It's just to survive.'

'Even if I need to kill those who stand in my way.'