While everyone in the room were contemplating there next course of actions.
Ryan was having a bit of his own problem.
His system... it stopped responding.
’System! Damn it! This can’t be happening, not now!’
He had carefully considered his situation. His mission in this world was simply to conquer the heroines – a task that gnawed at him with unspoken doubts. He’d been led to believe he was on a retribution mission, enduring so form of karmic punishnt. Surely, that should entail sothing more severe than re "torture"? Conquering these heroines, while undoubtedly difficult, didn’t feel like enough of a penance. Was this truly the sole reason he’d been yanked from his own world and deposited in this one? So many questions swirled in his mind, a tangled ss of confusion.
Pushing those doubts aside for the mont, he couldn’t help but consider the possibility that the mission might already be a success. After all, he had Lyra, Scarlet, and even Emily, whom he suspected to be a heroine as well, all seemingly under his wing. Shouldn’t the system have acknowledged so progress by now? Why hadn’t it made a single peep about the supposed conquest?
The silence gnawed at him, a chilling realization settling in his gut. Reaching out to the system for answers only yielded a terrifying truth. "It... no longer responded." A cold dread washed over him. Sothing was terribly wrong, far worse than he could have imagined.
Frustration bubbled up. ’Damn it, just respond, would you!’ he roared internally.
A voice, familiar and distinct from the system or l, echoed in his mind. [He won’t,] it rumbled.
He flicked his gaze towards the blue-haired girl, finding her returning his stare with a disconcerting smile.
’How can you be talking without "talking"?’ Ryan demanded in his mind, utterly bewildered.
[It’s an ability I possess, but that’s not the pressing concern at hand,] the voice replied.
’...’ Ryan trailed off, unsure how to proceed.
The voice cut through the silence. [You’re trying to communicate with that pesky system of yours, aren’t you?]
’How... how do you know about its existence?’ Ryan stamred, his mind reeling.
[There are few things in this world I don’t know about,] the voice stated cryptically.
’So you also know--’
[That you’re not from this world?] the voice interrupted.
Ryan’s breath hitched. ’...’
[Yes, I do.]
’What are you, really?’ Ryan pressed, a new wave of questions forming.
[Soone you don’t need all the details about right now. But just like you might have guessed, I’m not from this world either.]
’...’ Ryan remained silent, absorbing this bombshell revelation.
The voice continued, its tone laced with a hint of amusent. [The system lied, Ryan.]
’What?’ Ryan gaped, his mind struggling to keep pace with the unexpected information.
[But it wasn’t exactly a lie since it truly believed it,] the voice clarified.
’You’re not making any sense,’ Ryan protested, frustration mounting.
[The system was rely a program created for a singular purpose,] the voice explained patiently.
’And that is?’ Ryan demanded.
[Them...] the voice trailed off, leaving Ryan hanging.
A mont passed before understanding dawned on him. It was referring to the girls in the room – the supposed heroines he was tasked with conquering.
’I don’t understand,’ Ryan admitted, voice tight with confusion.
[The system promised you a return to your own world after the conquest, didn’t it?] the voice prompted.
’...Yes, it did,’ Ryan confird, piecing together the fragnts of truth.
[But was there ever any sign of progress on this supposed conquest, all the while you were, well, getting to know them?] the voice inquired, a hint of amusent creeping into its tone.
’...No, not that I know of, after all, my mories are all gone,’ Ryan admitted, a heavy weight settling in his stomach.
[There’s a reason for that mory loss,] the voice revealed.
’I know, it had sothing to do with that god or sothing who trapped in a fake reality,’ Ryan muttered, recalling the fragnted mories he possessed.
[No,] the voice countered.
’Huh?’ Ryan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
[Emilia never took your mories, it was Owen.] The revelation struck Ryan like a physical blow. ’What?!’ he exclaid, his expression frozen in shock.
The voice continued, weaving a tale that filled the gaps in Ryan’s fractured past. [When you first arrived in this world, Owen instructed you to conquer these heroines. But because of your... well, let’s say obsession with "her", you refused to ...pursue the heroines. That’s when Owen implented the system and the life penalty to keep you focused.]
The pieces clicked into place. It all made a horrifying kind of sense.
’Who is she?’ Ryan pressed, the mory of a certain pink-haired girl flashing in his mind.
[I told you before, there are things you don’t need to know just yet. You’re still too fragile.] The voice held a hint of sothing akin to concern.
’...’ Ryan remained silent, processing the avalanche of information.
Driven by the will to survive, you tried getting close to them all, the voice continued. But with ti, your resolve waned, and you resigned yourself to your fate. Owen couldn’t afford that. You were a crucial piece in his grand sche. That’s when he intervened. He saved you from a near-death experience, but in the process, stole your mories. It was a perfect plan. All he had to do was bring you back, and without your mories, you’d be desperate and compliant, ready to carry out the mission. But then, sothing unexpected happened. Emilia managed to steal a fragnt of your soul.]
’This... why, why was he so desperate?’ Ryan stamred, his voice barely a whisper.
The voice hesitated for a mont. [...I can’t tell you, not now at least.]
’So, is this part of his sche, the world falling to ruin and going back in ti, to another world?’ Ryan pressed, a sliver of hope flickering within him.
The voice remained silent, a heavy silence that stretched on for what felt like an eternity.
’What does he hope to accomplish, can you at least tell that?’ Ryan pleaded.
Finally, a single cryptic word echoed in his mind: [...HIS return]
’Who?’ Ryan demanded, a knot of dread tightening in his stomach.
The voice gave no response, only a weary sigh.
Ryan slumped back in his chair, defeated. "Sighs," he muttered, the weight of the situation crushing him.
A chilling chuckle echoed in his head. [Don’t worry, it will all make sense in ti.]
’Yeah, I’m pretty sure it will,’ Ryan replied, his voice devoid of conviction. ’But... I quit.’
The voice sputtered in surprise. [What?]
’I. Am. Done,’ Ryan declared, his voice firm for the first ti since this mind-bending conversation began.
[But you can’t, if you stay here you’ll die,] the voice warned.
’Then I die,’ Ryan said with a grim determination.
The voice trailed off, seemingly stunned by his defiance. [...Very well,] it conceded at last. [You want freedom, don’t you?]
’I do,’ Ryan confird, a flicker of defiance igniting in his eyes.
[Then I give it to you.]
Ryan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ’Huh?’ he stamred. ’You said this is like his world, so shouldn’t he be able to notice?’
[Yes, but as of the mont, he’s distracted by sothing else,] the voice explained.
Ryan narrowed his gaze. ’And this "sothing else" is?’
The voice hesitated. [Not sothing you need to know about. The thing is, this is the best ti to do it, but the choice is still yours.]
’So... after I successfully conquered the girls, what did he plan to happen?’
[Sothing....]
’Haa!’
’But if I die now what happens?’
[He would realize it, but quickly retrieve your soul, that’s if he still have enough power to do it,]
’Wait, but was he aware of this creatures infiltration?’
[He realized... but there was nothing he could do... I said it before, and I am saying it again, this creatures are too powerful, even for a god, plus he is already weakened,]
’What weakened him?’
[To be more specific, it was protecting you that weakened him,]
’This... this is just getting more confusing by the second,’
[You see, no god really owns a realm, they rather assert ownership for being the first one to arrive there,]
’So?’
[He found this realm and forcefully reincarnated you, but... you weren’t safe. The others could find you, so, he hid this realm as a whole...] the voice explained, trailing off as if the task itself was monuntal.
Understanding dawned on Ryan. ’Thereby draining him,’ he finished the thought.
[Exactly,] the voice confird.
’...Exactly what does he want from ?’ Ryan pressed, a sliver of hope flickering within him that perhaps this convoluted situation had a purpose after all.
The voice hesitated for a mont, then spoke cryptically. [...I only told you all this because the plan he had no longer stands, but our intentions still align, so I cannot tell you.]
’... Wait! If he did find this realm on a whim like you said, then why is he so determined to get together with these girls?’ Ryan demanded, the pieces finally clicking into place.
The voice chuckled, a hint of amusent creeping back in. [...Quite observant, fine, I will tell you. These girls were all... reincarnated.]
"What?!" Ryan exclaid, his voice laced with shock.
[Yes... but they don’t have their mories yet. That was also supposed to be a part of your mission, to help them rember.... Only you can, since you hold the essence...] the voice trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.
’What’s that?’ Ryan pressed, his curiosity piqued.
[Sothing...] the voice replied cryptically, dodging the question.
’Ha! Fine, tell how you plan on giving my freedom,’ Ryan said, a weary sigh escaping his lips.
[I will take you back to the origin of these creatures, the first invasion that brought them this power. Now, I won’t force you to stop them, I don’t really care, either way it would be fun,] the voice offered nonchalantly.
’So I get to do whatever I want?’ Ryan clarified, a sliver of hope flickering within him.
[Yes... But these girls will be coming too. I see you have no real emotions for them, which is truly unfair given what lengths you went to make them fall for you, excluding the pink-haired one, that is.] The voice’s tone turned pointed.
Ryan flinched, a pang of guilt twisting in his gut. ’...I do,’ he mumbled, the lie feeling heavy on his tongue.
[What you feel is not real, you are only deluding yourself. But you know the truth,] the voice prodded.
’I... I don’t... know,’ Ryan stamred, his voice filled with uncertainty.
[The truth is... you unconsciously crave attention and care, so when you got it eventually, you made yourself believe you were really falling for them. For that to truly happen, there has to be a bond, a bond that both parties should share, but you don’t have that.] The voice laid it bare, stripping away Ryan’s self-deception.
’So what happens now?’ Ryan asked, the weight of his choices settling on him.
[They will be going, and I will erase their current mories, that way a true bond can really be ford, and perhaps, you will be able to make them truly rember. The decision will be all yours to make,] the voice concluded.
’Why?... what are you doing this?’ Ryan questioned, a sliver of hope flickering within him.
[I said it before, I am doing this for HIM,] the voice declared cryptically.
The blue-haired girl then turned to the others. "Have you all made your choice?" she asked, her gaze flickering between them.
But none of them responded, their eyes fixed on Ryan, waiting for his lead.
"I am going," was all he said and the others responded alike.
"Then make your wish,"
"But it will only co true if your mission is a success," she smiled.
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