Moving to Floor Number 3

The blizzard is strong however, a loud banging sound echoed from the lower floor of the castle occurred. Cleo who was startled managed to balanced herself from almost falling from stumbling feet while the ground shakes. The walls from the room trembles and dusts from the ceiling falls on her face. Her eyes watered when speck of dirt entered them as she blinks fast to get them out.

Another commotion happened from below making her heart beat madly inside her chest.

'What was that?' she asked herself nervously reminiscing that the castle only stands from the frozen sea and any big explosion will make it sink again.

Soon enough the system drops her a message thus bringing her more discomfort as her eyebrows furrowed. She frowned.

[Congratulations Cleo Sky! You have successfully passed your mission! The system will then provide your transportation to the third floor.]

"What transportation?" she murmured, confused.

From the days she stayed inside the second floor, she clearly remembers that the mode of transportation is through snow mobile. Another shaking snaps her away from thinking other matter. She glanced at her rifle.

"Return," she muttered trying to return her weapon back to her storage.

To her luck, Cleo's weapon disappeared like a bubble—returning its existence to her storage.

"First, we must exit this castle before it falls," Ron whispered behind her.

"But how about Apricity?" Cleo asked as she eyed Ron over her shoulders.

"If you ask it my way, I 'll leave her body behind, but knowing you, I'm sure you'll bury her properly," Ron responded, frowning.

As soon as the shakes stops, she stands up and carried Apricity's body in her embrace. Ignoring the foul smell, Cleo embraced her tighter as they exited the room. Apricity's body is very light—not normally light but almost weightless, an indication of her body's great suffering and malnutrition.

Cleo bit her lower lip hard that she could taste her own blood as she hugs her body tightly.

"Emergency exit is on the other wing of this floor," Ron announced while running ahead of her.

Ron took a glance at her since she was not responding to him. Her mask always hides her expression away, but her emerald iris can be seen from those holes gives nothing but the gaze of someone who's forcing herself from too much—Too much of what? —he cannot determine…Too much anger? Grieve? Guilt? Or perhaps desperation…Ron could not determine. A mere apparition like him could never understand emotions from others aside from his own. He returned his focus to the pathway in front of them shrugging away his own worries.

Faster than he expected, they reached the stairs.

The walls were starting to crack and more dust scattered in the air as both of them started coughing.

"Is it safe for us?" Cleo asked in between her coughs.

"Yup," Ron answered nodding his head in the process.

Cleo's breathes are uneven since she was breathing in her mouth the whole time.

"Klyde Rivers and Ayaz must have started their battle right at this moment," Ron began during their run, "You heard of him right?" he asked taking a peek on her.

"…I do," she replied in a flat tone not giving Ron any hints of her emotion at the moment.

Everything is crumbling, while the castle is slowly sinking and shattering from the loud explosion and collision happening from the battle, Cleo started to feel lightheaded from the shaking ground. Narrowing her eyes, she forced herself to run in a faster motion.

"Mister Lee used his system for teleportation, can I do the same?" she questioned out of breath.

"No—it's against the main system—his system altered the algorithm and now his system has been eradicated," Ron muttered.

"But why? What's the ground of the main system for doing so? —what's this algorithm anyway?" Cleo questioned having a tone of impatience.

"I'll explain later, for now, let's escape! What's your plan for her?" Ron muttered eyeing the corpse in her embrace, "For now, let's hurry up," he continued to say before returning his gaze in front of him.

Cleo lowered her gaze and stared at the corpse for a few seconds before she gives back her gaze to their crumbling pathway. Glancing at Ron from time to time, she knows he will be angry when she offers her suggestion at this moment, but she needs to try.

Apricity needs to rest in peace with her father.

"I'm taking her back to her home," Cleo declared.

"Pardon?" Ron commented, "Castor's house has been blown away!" he exclaimed in incredulity.

"I know I sound ridiculous but Apricity deserves peace! Let's recover her father's corpse as well and let's bury them together," Cleo replied ignoring his statement.

"—I don't understand the state of your mind right at this moment Cleo Sky but I hope your sanity is still intact!"

"My decision is final!" she argued.

"Fine!" Ron refute.

Right after the turn and sprints from the stairs, they finally exited the castle. Reaching a distance away from the hopeless place, a loud explosion occurred pausing them both. Cleo stared at where the explosion happened, though it was not really clear from her vision because of the heavy snow, a white figure leaped from the ruined walls of the castle—having no doubts for her, she was a hundred and one percent sure that it was Ayaz.

"Cleo!" Ron called her, "C'mon!"

"Right!" she responded and started to run again.

"When I scout this place I have discovered a good terrain perfect for a shortcut—it's only twenty minutes away at Castor house!" Ron instructed.

"No level three monsters?" Cleo questioned.

"Yes!" he responded.

The snow is getting thicker and heavier, and each step made her feel like she is stepping in quicksand. Apricity's lifeless body is freezing, and Cleo is very cold. The strong and awful odor, and her sweat was mixed in the air that she chose to breathe using her mouth again in order not to inhale the scent. Every moment they are getting away from Ayaz castle made her headache worse.

She doesn't know how many minutes or hours she was running, but at the far distance the place is getting more familiar. Soon enough, her heart wrenched from the scenery—her heart dropped from sadness to grief. The place where his house stood before—Castor Lee's home is nowhere to be seen, there we're only small and big debris from the house, ashes are scattered, and the smell of burned bodies of monsters approach her nose.

Cleo force her tears to stop from falling.

"We will be having a hard time searching for him, not with these casualties," Ron muttered as they halted.

"Nope, my mask will help us. Ron, you must stay here and watch her body for me," Cleo instructed.

"…Okay."

Moving forward, Cleo tried to reminisce every corner of Castor Lee's house. Now she missed his rude remarks and his kindness. Ashes and the burned debris wake her up like a slap from the back of her head.

'Ah, Mister Lee is very rude, I cannot deny that sometimes he offends me. Regardless, no one should sacrifice for me—no one.'

Holding her breath, she forced her tears to stop as she initiates her mask to start its job. Scanning everywhere, a few turns of her head, below some burned debris, her mask shows a notification.

[Castor Lee: Dead]

Her breath shakes as she slowly walks. Lifting the burned woods, she doesn't care if her palms get burned or grazed from the sharp shards of broken glass—And there it is—him—Castor Lee.

Ron waited for her a couple of minutes, the blizzard is already gone, but the snow remained from falling, the wind howled before he saw her walk back at him, but to his confusion, she was neither dragging nor carrying a corpse with her.

His eyebrows furrowed.

"Did you find him?" He asked after she approach him.

"Yes." Cleo answered shortly.

"…And where is Castor Lee's body?" Ron questions trying to search for a corpse.

Ron's golden iris gazed at her when she stretched her hands and open her palms. His hooded eyes widen as he saw ashes on her hands followed by loud and agonizing sobs.

"…Here…This is what was only left…of him." He heard her mumbling in between her cries.

For a moment, Ron became stupid—out of words to say. Her sobs invaded his ears making him stupid. Her devastating look—out of hope—out of life made him frustrated.

"Close your hands or his ashes will be swept by the wind!" He roared in anger making Cleo's shoulders stiff in shock.

Although he is thankful that she was wearing her mask to hide her face concealing her expression from him, her cries and hopeless voice tense him even more. Soon his gaze sharpened, his lips quivered, and formed a small mischievous smile.

"…Are you just going to cry there? Will your tears bring them back to life? Face the truth Cleo Sky, you cannot do anything, and even if you can, you don't have a choice but to let them—this is what they have chosen and you are not part of that decision! Now stand up and let's give them a proper burial." Ron announced in a stern voice.

Ron did not get any response from her, and he planned to not get any answers from her about their current situation at all. His pounding chest and his messy head cannot give any soothing words.

'She is mistaken if she thinks I can give her the comfort that she needs right now.' He thought, 'Get yourself, Cleo Sky. Stand up on your own because if you can't, then I won't either,' his inner self continued to murmur inside his mind.

Ron doesn't know how to encourage anyone. He is just a mere apparition—and apparitions do not know how to give hope. They only exist to assist and guide. He is a monster from the primary world—and how can a monster soothe a broken soul?

***

It took an hour before they buried them together, and another couple of minutes before Wonderland altered the algorithm for her. Soon, when Cleo Sky blinked, she saw herself isolated in a train station. Ron is not by her side anymore, and somehow, she was thankful for him scolding her a while ago. And she was gratified that she was alone for a moment.

To stop her thoughts, she scanned the place but never leave her post. She shifted her gaze and read the sign above.

[Second floor → Third floor]

There was no one in the station so she mustered the confidence to take off her mask. The cool air approached her wet cheeks making her relax and fell into the daze. She closed her eyes for a second before she heard the train coming. Getting back to her senses, she hurriedly wears her mask but stops midway when she saw that the train is empty.

When the train stops the door automatically opened for her. She steps inside and sits facing the opened door while her mask is within the hold of her right hand.

[The reaper acknowledges your sacrifice and permits you to name your own fragments of a system from the Main! Congratulations Cleo Sky!]

[Name: ______]

[Provide a name now, Cleo Sky.]

She sucked her trembling lips and forced herself not to cry again.

'Don't cry. Crying won't help you. Stop being weak.' She chanted to herself.

"Ah…I want to wake up," she whispered as she leaned the back of her head on the cold metal behind her. The strands of her hair are messy, some strands covered her face while the others fall back behind her. There were stains of blood on her clothes, and there are some bruises on her body.

Her body hurts everywhere.

Feeling her body aches, she gazed again at the notification.

[Name: ______]

[Provide a name now, Cleo Sky.]

"…Verity," she murmured.

[Your system's official name is, Verity.]

[You may call your system by its name to initiate it.]

She remained silent. She doesn't want to move. She just wants to sleep.

Soon, the train begins to move, and the door is slowly closing. But before it shut off, someone stepped inside swiftly like a shadow thus alerting her senses and making her tense. And before she could wear her mask again, it was late for her to do so.

Her face is already reveal to the stranger.

Cleo Sky doesn't know how to react while their eyes are completely locked on each other's gaze. She doesn't need her mask to know the person standing at a short distance opposite to her giving her chills.

Standing before her is no other than the protagonist of the game—Klyde Rivers. There was no sun, but he emits light with him. How she wished she was only exaggerating things, but Klyde Rivers—he is unearthly.