Unwakeable Dream

Half an hour had passed. Verona trudged forward. On his back, Momo, still sleeping soundly, seemed undisturbed by the world around her.

Maya followed beside him. The path stretched before them, winding through the dense Belnaros Forest. The sun was still bright. Foliage brushed against their legs as they pressed onward.

With each passing moment, Verona's strength waned. His SP, the energy he used to enhance his speed, was nearly depleted. Maya, too, showed signs of exhaustion. Verona's "Soul Link" skill allowed him to combine and share his SP with Maya, enabling her to endure much longer despite her limited SP pool. But even then, despite Verona’s high SP bar, there were limits to what they could bear.

"I think we need a break," Verona said.

Maya nodded in agreement. Seeking respite, they stopped beneath the shade of a massive tree. Careful not to disturb Momo's slumber, Verona gently lowered her to the ground. Maya settled beside him, her gaze fixed on the vast expanse of the forest. The fatigue in her eyes mirrored Verona's own weariness.

They had given up trying to wake her up. Both Verona and Maya had tried many times before and failed.

Unable to shake the concern that plagued him, Verona broached the subject that lingered at the back of his mind.

"Can you recall her now?" he asked.

"Still can't.”

Ever since Momo appeared, Maya had been unable to recall her companion back to the spirit world as was possible with other spirit-type companions in the game. The inability to do so left them puzzled.

Verona and Maya assumed that the cause behind this was the debuff that had inflicted Momo: Disturbance in the Spirit World.

Unfortunately, besides its name, the debuff icon displayed three question marks in its status, offering no additional information about its effects or nature. Such an occurrence was unprecedented in the game. Verona speculated that it was also a product of the phenomenon they found themselves in.

However, Momo was not the only one with such a strange debuff.

Verona and even Maya had the same mysterious debuff icon as well. He had noticed it when he first looked at his buff and debuff icons during his interface scramble. It had a different name and no additional info inside it.

The Uncertain Times–as it was called.

Not even Verona’s extensive game knowledge recognised it.

Whatever it might be, nothing could be blamed except the expansion pack. The more Verona realised, the more he knew that his knowledge about the game’s mechanics was slowly eroded.

The clues they had witnessed thus far only scratched the surface of the truth. The unexpected changes had far-reaching consequences, and Verona couldn't help but wonder what lay beyond their current understanding.

It was not the only thing that he had found so far.

The fatigue they had felt during the journey, the lack of monsters they had found,

"I wish we still had the Skip Journey feature," Verona said, a hint of longing in his voice. "It would make this journey so much easier."

Maya nodded in agreement. "It's hard to believe that it's no longer available to us," she remarked.

"Just like the logout button," Verona added, frustration evident in his tone.

The Skip Journey feature had once allowed players to teleport to major cities and other important locations within the game. Its removal had made the journey to Delphiron had to be done on foot.

Phelmane Tree, which they had encountered earlier, was supposed to be one of the landmarks where they could have used the Skip Journey feature. However, Verona and Maya realised such features no longer existed, adding to their growing list of mysteries.

Maya turned to Verona, breaking the silence that had settled between them.

"Do you ever wonder how this place became so real?" she asked. "What made it this way?"

"I've thought about it, but I'm not sure. It can be anything,” Verona said. “At this point, it could be something crazy, Celestial Arts might tap some… godly technology, or maybe they have some secrets behind them that can’t be processed by logic. I don’t know–but how we ended up here is still unanswered."

“Nobody knows.” Maya nodded, her gaze fixed on the horizon. "It feels like we've been transported to another realm entirely. Like a dream that we can't wake up from."

"I don't think we can call this a dream anymore."

To distract themselves from their growing concerns, Verona reached into his inventory and retrieved an SP potion. It appeared magically in his hand, and he inspected the yellow liquid before opening it and drinking it down.

Maya asked, "How does it taste?"

"It tastes like water." Verona shrugged.

He glanced at his SP bar and noticed something interesting–an opaque yellow bar on top of it, probably indicating the maximum SP he could obtain from the potion. He observed it and realised the mechanics of the potion had changed, shifting from an instant replenishment to gradual regeneration.

"We'll have to wait until my SP is fully restored," Verona explained.

"Why?" Maya asked, still not fully understanding.

Verona then shared his discovery with her, explaining the change in the potion's effect. Maya was surprised as well.

"So, the HP potions might have a similar effect as well…?" she asked.

"Probably," Verona replied. "And I've also started to feel tired here. It's not just us imagining it."

The fatigue from the journey was also unexpected. Verona and Maya had realised and discussed it during their trip, but they finally felt it.

As Verona and Maya sat beneath the tree, the forest grew quieter as if holding its breath. The occasional rustle of leaves and the distant chirping of birds were the only sounds that filled the air–their loyal companions amid their loneliness in the forest.

Verona gazed at Maya, his eyes filled with concern. "We've come so far yet still haven't encountered any other players. Monsters are also scarce. So far, we can only find the Spasling birds. It's as if the world itself is deserted."

"It feels weird, yes. This forest was supposed to have a lot of monsters around. But we're walking in uncharted territory now. The old rules no longer apply."

Verona only replied with a nod, and they both fell into silence. It took several minutes until his SP was replenished. Without saying any words, he carefully carried Momo on his back again, ready to continue their journey.

They resumed their trek through the forest. The weight of their thoughts mingled with the whispers of the wind. It took another rest before they finally reached the outskirts of Delphiron.

In the pastures, there were people on the road.

Many of them.