Chapter 29: The Everett Stone

When I discovered that Alchemy & Alloy wasn’t just a game but a real world, where if you die, you stay dead, I made my sole objective clear: find Jarrod, then get out of here.

Every step through this nightmare felt like progress toward that goal. And finally…it paid off.

I dropped my weapon and pulled my best friend into a hug. He was alive. Judeth would be so relieved to hear this.

“I’m so happy to see, dear friend,”
“Ditto bud,”

But when I looked closer, I saw how rough he had it, bandages wrapped around his arms, scratches across his face, wounds layered on wounds. He must have gone through hell.

"Man, you’re a walking soldier," I said. "All this, and you’re still standing."

He smirked. "When I look at you, I wonder if you picked easy mode while I got extreme."

"Jarrod… this isn’t a game. This is real."

"I’m aware of that."

Katarina placed her hand on my shoulder. "I guess you reached your objective."

I smiled faintly.

But Jarrod’s eyes shifted behind me, toward Diana.

"Hey, buddy… you do realize Weiss Shi is standing right there? And why does it look like she’s wearing fewer clothes than before? Don’t tell me you cut her mask and her outfit."

I froze, staring between Diana and Jarrod. "No, wait—that wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything, I swear. C’mon, Diana, back me up here!"

He raised a brow. "Diana? First name? Since when are you two close?" He waved it off. "Never mind. I need to talk to Lady Merewyn."

Merewyn was slumped against the wall, Diana tending to her wounds.

Jarrod pulled something from his pocket, a stone cartridge, the same kind we got from the Golden Eggs to enter Ashalondaria.

"Can you tell me what this is?" he asked.

Katarina spoke first. "Let her rest. She’s been through enough."

But Merewyn lifted her head, weak but firm. "Do not worry. There’s no time for me to rest." She took the cartridge from him.

I frowned. "Jarrod… how did you even get that? We left ours in the pods."

He explained while Merewyn examined it. "It was from one of the dead players. This thing—it’s attached behind our necks. I think this is what brought us here."

Merewyn nodded. "You’re absolutely right. This stone is no ordinary stone. It’s called the Everett Stone—a relic that links worlds together."

"You mean… ours and yours?" I asked.

"Not just one," she corrected. "Many."

She spoke like a teacher lecturing, her voice calm but heavy. "No one truly understands how they work. Only one person ever succeeded in linking two worlds. But that person is long gone."

"Then Takayuki Schneider…" I muttered. "He must’ve found a way to use the Everett Stone to connect both worlds."

Diana narrowed her eyes. "But how did he even get one?"

Merewyn’s gaze darkened. "It is said that once, the universe was whole. Then came the Great Explosion, splitting it into countless realities. But fragments of that original world remained—Everett Stones. Each one connects to another reality."

"So these Stones already existed… in our world," I said.

"Indeed."

"And that’s how Takayuki communicated here. But… why? For what purpose?"

She lowered her head. "That, I unfortunately I couldn’t remember, My thoughts are as scattered as leaves in a storm. But he sent over a thousand players to their doom. And I—" her voice trembled, "I was part of his scheme. Niobeorth seized my body, made me his puppet. I was supposed to summon travelers, and when they died or succeeded, send them back unharmed. But I had no control…"

"…Like you were part of the game’s code," I muttered.

"Game’s code?" Katarina asked, confused.

I raised my HUD. "Even if this world is real, its system still works like a game. It’s like the world itself doesn’t know if it’s real… or fictional."

Merewyn’s eyes lingered on me. "Then perhaps that, too, is the work of the Everett Stone."

"So… we’ll never know the full extent of this thing?" I asked.

"Not impossible," she said softly. "It only needs a deeper understanding."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

"What the hell’s going on?" Jarrod asked.

"This has to be Adrian," I muttered.

Katarina shot me a glare, clearly not happy. "You need to stop blaming him. Adrian wouldn’t betray us. He’s fighting to stop Niobeorth. For god’s sake—my sister, his fiancée—he wanted to kill Niobeorth for taking Alina hostage. Why would he betray us? Do you think he’s so twisted he’d make a deal with Niobeorth?"

Before I could answer, Durgan spoke, his voice heavy. "Unfortunately, my child, I think Mr. Glitchwalker may not be wrong."

Katarina’s eyes widened. "How could you say that?"

Durgan sighed. “Because of what I saw, I tell you. After that cursed Titan, Talas, was struck down—or so we thought—we were near broken, overwhelmed on all sides. I myself was at death’s door. The only one still standing, still fighting, was Adrian. None can say how he felled the Iron Titan. All we know is, he came striding out from its carcass… changed. Different. His eyes burned with vengeance. At first, I thought it was grief for Alina, taken from us. But no—the change began before that. Aye, right there in the thick of battle. Blast it, it makes no sense at all!”
He paused, his tone grim. “After that cursed day, when he fought other dark foes, he showed no mercy—none. Even sparring with our own knights, he would drive them into the ground as if they were straw dummies. That kind of change can’t be explained by grief alone. No… it felt like something darker, something else entirely. And when word reached me that Adrian was dead—and Merewyn whispered one of us bore the blood of Niobeorth—I couldn’t shake the feeling Talas had a hand in it. Aye… that Iron Titan left more than wounds on the field that day.”

"So you’re saying Talas is controlling Adrian’s body?" I asked.

"I hope I’m wrong," Durgan admitted. "But we can’t confirm anything yet."

"Then we can’t waste time," I said. "The others are in danger."

Jarrod nodded. "Then follow me, if you want to live."

Diana and I supported Merewyn as we moved. The cave was pitch-black, the only light coming from the torch in Jarrod’s hand.

It didn’t take long to realize we were stuck in this underground maze. No matter where we went, every path led to a dead end.

If Niobeorth didn’t have full control of this world, I’d basically be a god of cheat codes, immortal, unstoppable, able to bend everything to my will. But his presence is interfering with my glitching abilities.

After wandering for thirty minutes, we decided to rest. Jarrod offered to look around for a bit.

I sat down, my mind wandering to the others. Were Terrence, Serana, Aster and everyone else, still alive?

Diana leaned against the wall beside me, arms crossed, eyes distant. "What’s on your mind?" she asked, not even looking at me.

"I’m thinking about what to do next. Now that I’ve found Jarrod, I need to regroup with the others and find a way to stop Niobeorth."

"So… you’re still planning to save this world?"

"Well, yeah. It’s not really our responsibility, but we’re here now. That kind of makes it ours."

She didn’t reply. Just stood there, silent, thoughtful.

"Say," I continued, "what’s your business here, really? Before we realized this wasn’t just an open-world VR game, I don’t think you were after the five million dollars—or early access to the game. So why are you here?"

Diana stayed quiet at first. Figures. She always kept things to herself. Whatever her reasons were, they weren’t my business. To her, we were just idiots chasing money or entertainment, people who added nothing of value to the world.

Then she spoke. "I knew about the Everett Stone long before Alchemy & Alloy was even announced."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I knew Takayuki Schneider,  the creator of Onlife, the one who caused all this—was experimenting with the Everett Stone before the game existed."

"And how can you be so sure?"

Her voice hardened. "Because it was his fault my mother disappeared."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Takayuki tried to unlock the Stone’s secrets. One thing led to another, and there was an explosion. My mother was caught in it. At first I thought she’d died—vaporized. But in reality… she was sent somewhere else."

"You’re sure?"

"I saw Takayuki communicating with Niobeorth."

The words hit me like a hammer. "If that’s true, then Takayuki knew exactly what he was doing. But why? Why send 1,025 people here to die?"

"I don’t know," she admitted.

"So if you knew what he was planning, why didn’t you stop it?"

Diana answered my second question first. "Because if I tried, I’d have been banned and I would be unable to enter in Onlife and the game overall. Takayuki had full control over everyone in Onlife. Anyone who used it basically sold their life to him. If someone tried to expose his secret, they were instantly banned. I tested it myself—made others speak about his plan. They vanished immediately."

"Then why not tell someone in person?" I pressed.

She shot me a sharp look. "Would you believe me if I said Takayuki was sending people to another world where they could actually die? People worshipped him. Talking against him was practically a crime. Nobody would’ve listened."

She paused, then added quietly, "But my real reason for coming here was my mother. If Takayuki could send people to another world, then maybe she wasn’t dead. Maybe she’s here."

I stared at her. "You really miss her, don’t you? What’s her name?"

I expected silence. Instead, Diana said, "Bellarose."

"So… do you know where she is?"

She hesitated. "The only answer I have is that she’s not dead… but not alive either. Just missing."

"That’s why you became the kingdom’s scout," I realized. "Not just to track bosses—you were searching for her."

Diana nodded.

"What about your father? Someone must’ve raised you."

Her expression darkened. "I don’t want to talk about him. He left me in an orphanage in the outer circle of Omnikuro. Obsessed with finding my mother, he abandoned me. The children there became my real family, especially one boy. But… after certain events, I escaped."

For the first time, I felt like Diana had fully opened up to me.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

Then I realized, Jarrod had been gone too long.

A knot of worry formed in my chest. Something might’ve happened. I stood up. "We have to find him."