Chapter 93: The Mechanics of Denial and Cosmic Synchronicities

Contrary to his blunt words, the fingers sweeping from the nape of my neck down to my shoulder were gentle, as if trying to calm me down. Taking a slow, steady breath, I looked back at Delwing. He remained slumped on the floor, his face buried in his palms, looking as though he wouldn’t move until I gave some kind of reaction.

“It’s a game. It’s a game, not reality. I’ve been anxious watching you since last time, but seriously, don’t over-immerse yourself.”

“……I’m not that overly immersed, you know.”

“Looking out for other people is fine, but there’s no need to do it for game characters.”

Sephiroth’s words were merciless. His tone felt strangely like he knew the real me. Of course, that was impossible, but……

Still, hearing him say it made me feel a bit better. Without realizing it, I really had been getting sucked into the lore. Wow, I actually was over-immersing myself……

I lightly slapped both of my cheeks. Get a grip, Chae Un-ha. There was no need to get this deeply invested in a story made of ones and zeros. Watching my display intently, Sephiroth suddenly tugged on my arm.

“What?”

“Watch how I do it.”

“Uh, what?”

With that, Sephiroth stood right up and aggressively nudged Delwing’s shoulder.

“Hey.”

“……W-What is it?……”

“Stop crying like you’re the biggest victim here. At the end of the day, you couldn’t even protect the mermaid you liked and just hid in the back, didn’t you? The mermaid is already gone, and we’re the ones who have to carry out her final wishes. Hurry up and get to the point before we go home listening to your depressing love story.”

“I’ll take over from here.”

I had completely forgotten. This guy was a literal thug inside Zelphia.

It took a good bit of coaxing and soothing on my part to bring a stunned, intimidated Delwing back to his senses after Sephiroth’s threats. At any rate, Sephiroth’s aggressive push must have worked, because Delwing stopped crying and stopped pouring out his tragic history. Instead, he brewed some tea, placed it strictly in front of himself, and took a small sip from the steaming cup.

“I apologize for showing you such a pathetic sight.”

“It’s fine……”

“You better be sorry,” Sephiroth cut in bluntly, being equally rude to humans and NPCs alike.

“The day before I was separated from Lady Ignas, she gave me a hint,” Delwing continued, ignoring him. “She said that if anything should ever happen to her, she would give her heart to the people who freed her from her suffering.”

“I see.”

“Thank you for freeing Lady Ignas from her pain.”

Delwing bowed his head deeply. I instinctively started to bow back, but stopped myself when I remembered Sephiroth’s warning about over-immersing.

“Never mind all that, just give us the main point. What do we use this heart for?” Sephiroth demanded.

“It can summon the pearl that was hidden away within Lady Ignas’s residual thoughts. And if you infuse the power of the heart into that pearl, you can gain access to the hidden Four Seal Temples.”

“The Four Seal Temples……”

“Do you know them?” I asked.

Sephiroth gave a brief nod. “Of course I do. They’re legendary locations—the Temple of Fire, the Temple of Water, the Temple of Wood, and the Temple of Lightning.”

“Huh. The names are surprisingly classic.”

“I thought they were just mythos that existed strictly in the background lore. I didn’t expect them to actually appear here,” Sephiroth muttered, lightly rubbing his chin.

Meanwhile, Delwing kept speaking. “However, to summon the pearl hidden in her thoughts, there is one final thing you must do.”

“What is it?”

“On the last day I saw Lady Ignas, she said the pearl could only be obtained if her revenge was fulfilled. Which means…… you must kill Lord Doltek.”

“Ah. Well, that’s easy.”

Delwing had delivered the news with extreme gravity, but that was exactly the trigger Sephiroth and I had been waiting for. Sephiroth looked especially thrilled. Jumping up from his seat, he called out to me in a significantly brighter voice.

“What are you waiting for, Beulli? Let’s go.”

“What do you mean let’s go right now……”

“Trust me, fighting Doltek gives the absolute best feedback. There aren’t many monsters in Zelphia that give a satisfying mechanical rush like Doltek does, you know?”

He looked ready to dash out the door, so I hurriedly stood up as well. Following behind him, I couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned for Delwing, who was staring down gloomily at his tea. Even if I told myself not to get over-immersed, the story felt so vivid that my heart compelled me to add one last word.

“Um.”

“Yes?” Delwing looked up.

I spoke quietly. “The fact that she told you all of this means Ignas trusted you, after all.”

“……”

“Ignas told me to look out for you.”

“Ah……”

Delwing let out a low, ragged gasp. He curled inward once more, sobbing uncontrollably as the dam finally broke.

Glancing back at the sight, Sephiroth murmured, “Our Beulli is always so incredibly nice to everyone else.”

“That’s because you’re a complete terror. I’m only mean to you.”

Even after my sharp retort, Sephiroth remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Usually, he would have fired back with some absurd nonsense. His sudden silence made me feel oddly tense, and I stole a quick glance at him.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing really.”

His reply was simple and dry. But I didn’t let my guard down. Knowing him, a dry answer was usually just a prelude to something entirely bizarre. Case in point:

“Beulli-ya.”

“Yeah?”

“You should start treating me better. Before you end up regretting it.”

What kind of nonsense is he spitting now?

The remark didn’t even warrant a scoff. For what possible reason would I ever regret not treating Sephiroth well? Sure, we had been playing together for quite some time now, and it would probably feel a bit awkward if he wasn’t around, but it definitely wasn’t enough to cause deep regret.

……

Well, whatever. Either way, it wouldn’t.

“Me? Regret not treating you well? I’d sooner regret not treating the rest of the world better before I ever regret not being nicer to you.”

“Well, if you say so.”

I braced myself for a longer, more drawn-out argument, but luckily his nonsense stopped there. As he fell silent, a quiet stillness settled between us.

……Is that it?

It felt incredibly strange for Sephiroth to back down so easily. Normally, he would have bitten onto my words like a dog and dragged the argument out three times longer. Why was he shutting up now? Is there actually something going on?

I certainly didn’t think he was going through anything profound, but another thought crossed my mind. What if he was planning to quit the game?

Of course, like I told myself earlier, it wouldn’t be a tragedy if Sephiroth stopped playing. There were plenty of other players to party up with. Honestly, if you think about it, dragging him around had kept me from experiencing a normal playstyle anyway. So, him leaving might actually feel like pulling a bad tooth—a total relief.

But human emotions can’t be sliced cleanly down the middle like a piece of radish. Even if it didn’t strictly matter if he quit, since we had already started this hidden quest together, wouldn’t it be better to see it through to the end? It was true that the thought of a partner I had worked so hard to sync with suddenly vanishing left me feeling a bit empty.

“……Are you about to quit the game or something?” I cautiously floated the possibility.

Peeking at his reaction, I watched Sephiroth’s helmet tilt to the side as he turned his gaze toward me.

“Why? Are you suddenly getting worried?”

“……Not really.”

“Do you want me to keep playing with you?”

“I literally just said that’s not it.”

A playful, amused tone began to bleed back into Sephiroth’s voice. Belatedly, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Great, now I’ve made things awkward. It wasn’t like I absolutely needed him around. I had only asked because of a tiny, passing thought, but……

I hurriedly shook my head, but Sephiroth’s voice chased right after me.

“Beulli-ya. Do you know you are an absolutely terrible liar?”

“No, I’m not.”

Awkwardly cutting him off, I rubbed my dry face in frustration over the grave I had just dug for myself. I shouldn’t have said anything. His ego was already massive enough as it was, and my question had probably just inflated it even further. I couldn’t allow that.

“I didn’t say it because I desperately need you or anything.”

Despite my firm declaration, Sephiroth remained completely unfazed.

“Really? That hurts my feelings. Your hyung thinks the game won’t be any fun without our Beulli from now on.”

“Isn’t that just because you won’t have me around to tease for entertainment?”

“That’s what you call love, you know.”

“……”

The absolute most horrifying part of all this was that I had actually gotten used to his nonsense. The goosebumps that used to cover my arms when he talked like this barely even formed anymore. In fact, I was reaching a point where I could accurately predict his next line in my head.

They say humans are creatures of habit, but did I really have to adapt to this?

Meanwhile, Sephiroth looked like he had somehow boosted his own mood. He even started humming a cheerful tune. It wasn’t a popular pop song either, but a classical piece. It was the exact same melody I had heard playing inside Na Eun-hyeok’s car.

Classical music. It was a bizarrely out-of-character combination. He looked like someone who hadn’t listened to a single note of classical music in his entire life.

“Do you even know what song you’re humming?”

“Beulli-ya,” Sephiroth said, completely ignoring my petty jab.

“Want to grab lunch together tomorrow?”

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