Soul Corruption

Itsuki woke to worried faces hovering over him. His body felt wrong, like something fundamental had been damaged. The wound from Kenji's blade had closed, but black veins still traced patterns across his chest.

"Thank the goddesses," Olivia breathed. "We thought we'd lost you."

"How long?" His voice came out rough.

"Two days," Clara answered. "We've been trying everything. Nothing removes the corruption."

He tried to sit up, wincing at the pain that shot through his soul. Not his body, his actual soul. The debugging vision activated automatically, showing him the damage.

[SOUL INTEGRITY: 67%] [PERMANENT DEBUFF: CORRUPTION] [ALL STATS -30%]

"Itsuki," Rina said quietly, "who was that? He called you brother, but..."

He looked at his companions. They deserved the truth.

"That was my older brother, Kenji. From my world." He took a breath. "I need to explain something. In my world, there was a game called Astral Caliber. I played it every day for three years, learning every system, every strategy. Then one day, a voice told me I'd been chosen as a hero. That the game had been a test, a proving ground."

Silence.

"A test?" Clara's voice was carefully neutral.

"To find someone worthy of being brought here. This world is real, has always been real. The game was just... a mirror of it, a way to train and evaluate candidates." He gestured around them. "You're all real. You always were. I just didn't know it while playing."

"That explains so much," Olivia said slowly. "Your knowledge of systems, your ability to see the underlying structure. You were trained on a simulation of our world."

"Exactly. When I was transported here, I became my game avatar, but Kenji had already banned my account out of spite, leaving me permanently at level one." He touched the black veins on his chest. "And now this."

Maria had been unusually quiet. Now she spoke up. "Master is Master. Maria doesn't care where Master came from. Master saved Maria, gave Maria purpose beyond just being a manor decoration."

"You're right, Maria," Itsuki said. "You're all more than what you might have seemed at first."

Clara stood and walked to the window, looking out at the sky. "So to you, we were just characters in a game?"

"No," Itsuki said firmly. "Maybe at first, for a moment. But you're people. Real people with real feelings, real pain, real dreams. This world is real, regardless of how I got here."

"Your brother seemed quite upset about your success," Olivia observed.

"He always was competitive. I never realized how much he hated me for it." The betrayal still stung. "He said he wished I'd died at birth."

"That's horrible," Rina said softly.

"But he's dying in our world, apparently. That's why he couldn't maintain his form here." Itsuki struggled to his feet, testing his reduced capabilities. "He'll be back though. He promised that much."

Clara turned from the window. "So what now? You're weakened further, we're heading toward an unknown dimensional anomaly, and your brother might appear at any moment to finish what he started."

"We get stronger," Itsuki said simply. "All of us."

"Master can barely stand!" Maria protested.

"Which is why I need all of you." He looked at each of them. "Olivia, your magical knowledge surpasses anything I learned from the game. Rina, your innovations go beyond any predetermined patterns. Clara, your combat skills are real, not scripted. And Maria, you're more than what you were programmed to be."

"You want us to protect you?" Clara asked.

"I want us to protect each other. To become the strongest party this world has seen." He managed a smile despite the pain. "I might be crippled by bans and curses, but I can still share what I know. Help you all reach your potential."

"Why should we?" Clara's question wasn't hostile, just practical.

"Because whether I'm from another world or not, we're friends. We fought together, saved each other, shared meals and laughter." He met each of their eyes. "That's real, regardless of origins."

Olivia stood first. "Well, I still need to study your unique abilities for my research. Can't do that if you're dead."

Rina jumped up next. "And I need to figure out how someone can project between worlds! The technical applications are incredible!"

Clara sighed but smiled slightly. "I suppose someone needs to keep you all from getting killed. Besides, you promised adventure."

"Maria will always stay with Master!" Maria declared. "Even if Master is weak and broken and can barely fight anymore!"

"Thanks for the confidence boost," Itsuki said dryly.

"Master is welcome!"

Despite everything, he found himself laughing. Then they all were, the tension breaking.

"So," Olivia said once they'd calmed, "Crystalport still?"

"Crystalport," Itsuki confirmed. "The dimensional breach might be connected to how travel between worlds works. Maybe we can find answers about Kenji, about the transport system, about everything."

"And become the best adventurers in the process?" Rina added with enthusiasm.

"That too."

Clara helped him stand properly, his weakened state obvious. "You know, most people would have lied about being chosen as a hero."

"Most people weren't transported into their training simulation and immediately handicapped by their jealous brother."

"Fair point."

As they prepared to leave, Itsuki felt the weight of his compounded debuffs. Level one, banned from progression, and now soul corruption reducing his already limited capabilities. But looking at his companions, he felt hope.

They were real people who chose to stand by him despite learning the truth.

"One more thing," he said as they reached the door. "The game version I trained on? It was from three years ago. This world has kept evolving. So while I might know historical patterns and basic systems, you all understand the living world better than I do."

"Finally admitting we're smarter than you?" Olivia teased.

"I'm admitting you're natives to a world I'm still learning is more than just code and mechanics."

"Good enough for me," Clara said.

They stepped outside together. Four women and one weakened man from another world, setting out to face a dimensional anomaly while growing stronger together.

[PARTY BOND STRENGTHENED] [NEW OBJECTIVE: OVERCOME LIMITATIONS] [WARNING: SOUL CORRUPTION REMAINS ACTIVE]

The road to Crystalport stretched ahead, full of uncertainty.