Transmigrated Into a Cannon Fodder Phoenix, Stuck With the Ice Dragon Chapter 56: Twenty - s

"Argh..."

It’s been two days since the incident with the rogue and the weird silver mist thing at the Caelora Garden.

I had paced the sa ten steps across the room so many tis I was starting to believe I’d leave a mark on the floor.

Left, right, turn, sigh. Repeat.

The silence was unbearable. The machine that looked like air-conditioning humd like it was mocking , and the giant window showed nothing but perfectly boring skies. Everything outside looked like it had been polished to death, you know... no noise, no chaos, just... perfection. The kind that made want to scream.

I plopped down on the couch and groaned into a pillow. "Ugh. How does Lucian live like this?"

No answer, of course. He’d left hours ago, probably off doing sothing important like scowling at people until they agreed with him. anwhile, I was trapped here like a decorative plant, well obviously, one that couldn’t even photosynthesize.

I kicked my legs aimlessly, then sat up and stared at the ceiling. "Maybe if I start a fire, soone will show up," I muttered. Then quickly added, "Kidding. Totally kidding."

Still, the silence stretched on.

I frowned and glanced around the room. "Maya? Yoo-hoo... Maya... Lucian’s not here... just saying..."

Nothing.

I waited a bit longer. "Maya, co on. Don’t tell you’re still sulking with ."

Still nothing.

I groaned again, louder this ti. "Oh, so you vanish for days and now you’re giving the silent treatnt? Wow... I will file a complaint about this to... err..." I frowned, rolling my eyes up, trying to rember the word. "Technicion?"

Silence.

"Oh—uh! I rember! Programr!" I declared proudly, pointing at the ceiling. "I’ll file a complaint to this book or system programr and ask them to make you loyal, huh!" I crossed my arms and squinted around the room like I could guilt her into responding.

Finally, a faint chi echoed in the air.

"You cannot..."

I gasped. "Oh, she speaks!" I placed a dramatic hand over my heart. "I thought you died of disappointnt."

"I can’t die Miss Vale..."

I clicked my tongue. "You sound cold, still mad?"

Maya was silenced for a while even its hologram stayed still and did not even blink.

"My job here is to lead you to return to the world, but if you don’t want to listen, what can I do?"

"Ouch... you sound sulking..." I said, tilting my head. "Did I hurt your—uh—feelings? Wait, do systems have feelings?"

Maya’s hologram flickered once, the faint blue outline of its form shifting. "Emotions are inefficient. I process data, not sentint."

"So... yes," I said imdiately, grinning. "You’re totally sulking."

Its hologram blinked this ti, a slow and deliberate one that sohow managed to look offended. "Miss Vale, I suggest you not proceed with this matter because I might say sothing I’ll regret," Maya finished stiffly, its voice glitching for a split second before returning to its usual calm tone.

I sat up a little straighter, eyes widening. "Wait... did you just threaten ?"

"I don’t issue threats," she replied smoothly, though the faint flicker in her projection betrayed her irritation. "I issue... advisories."

I gasped. "You’re definitely sulking."

"Miss Vale—"

"No, no, it’s okay," I interrupted with a dramatic wave of my hand. "You can admit it. You’ve been ignoring for days, and now you’re emotionally unavailable. Classic behavior of a sulking... whatever you are."

"I am a narrative integration unit," Maya said flatly.

"Which is basically a fancy way to say you care about the story," I said with a teasing grin. "And since I’m in the story, you care about ."

"That is... an inaccurate interpretation."

"But not a wrong one," I countered.

Its hologram flickered again, almost like she sighed. "My job is to ensure the continuity of the world’s narrative. If you deviate too far from the intended flow, everything collapses."

I tilted my head. "So... did I already deviate too far?" I asked, even though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

Maya’s hologram pulsed faintly, its form flickering like it was processing a thousand ways to tell sothing I didn’t want to hear.

"You’ve gone beyond the deviation threshold, Miss Vale," she said at last. "Your assigned objective is no longer achievable."

I looked at her hologram. "So... what would change? And why wouldn’t it be achievable? I already made Lucian fall for , right?"

Maya went silent again. The faint hum of her projection filled the room before it finally spoke.

"You sound confident, Miss Vale," it said. "But you do rember, don’t you? You need to die for him in order to return to your world. Yet, it seems like you no longer want to go back."

I blinked at it, then looked away, pretending to study the ceiling. "You make it sound like a cri to change my mind."

"It is a deviation," Maya replied evenly. "Your objective was simple. Make Lucian fall in love with you. Die for him. Return ho."

"Yeah, I rember the recruitnt speech," I muttered. "But things changed."

Its hologram tilted its head slightly. "You changed."

"Isn’t that what people do?" I shot back. "Grow, learn, fall for ridiculously difficult n with control issues?"

Maya didn’t even blink. "You speak as though this is reality."

"Well, it feels real," I said quietly. "The air, the people, the way he—" I stopped myself. "Everything feels real."

"It is designed to feel that way," it said softly. "That is what makes it dangerous."

I let out a dry laugh. "You know what’s really dangerous? Going back to a world where I don’t matter. At least here, I get to be soone."

its hologram pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat made of light. "Soone dood."

"Soone alive," I corrected.

It was silent for a mont. But then, "Miss Vale, you cannot stay in a story that was never ant to hold you. The longer you remain, the weaker the balance becos. The world will start rewriting itself to remove you."

My brows furrowed. "What do you an?"

Maya’s hologram pulsed faintly, its tone even and precise. "I told you before what happens if you abandon your task, didn’t I?"

I hesitated. "You said I’d... cease to exist."

Its confirmation was soft, robotic and it didn’t make it easier to hear.

I forced a small laugh, hoping it would make its words sound less terrifying. "You make it sound like I’d just... evaporate."

"That is not an inaccurate description," she said calmly.

I blinked. "Wow. Comforting as always."

"Comfort isn’t part of my function," it replied.

"Yeah, you’ve ntioned," I muttered. "But co on, Maya, you can’t honestly expect to just... die again. I barely survived the first ti!"

"That survival was a mistake," she said, and for the briefest mont, her voice glitched, the hologram flickering sharply before stabilizing again.

I frowned. "A mistake? You make it sound like I broke sothing by staying alive."

Her eyes flickered. "You disrupted the natural sequence. Every deviation has a cost."

"Then I’ll pay for it," I said quickly. "If it ans I get to stay."

"You misunderstand," she replied. "It is not a price you can choose to pay. It is one that will claim you when it decides to."

I shivered despite myself. "You make it sound like the story’s alive."

"Stories are alive," Maya said simply. "They consu, they adjust, they rewrite to preserve their shape."

I swallowed, trying to ignore the unease curling in my stomach. "And if I don’t die for Lucian...?"

"Then both worlds will reject you," she said softly. "Neither will have a place for your existence."

I stared at her, feeling the weight of that quiet threat sink in. "You’re saying I’ll vanish everywhere."

Its gaze didn’t waver. "Completely."

I swallowed hard. "How long do I have?"

Maya’s hologram pulsed, the light shifting faintly across its form. "You need to finish your task in no more than twenty Chapters."

I blinked. "Twenty Chapters?"

"Yes."

I threw my hands in the air. "How am I supposed to know how long twenty Chapters are?!"