Jax appeared right in front of Author and touched his forehead. He reached into the data of Author and forced the files of his soldiers dying, their last moments, into his mind. Especially Kyle's.Author dropped to the floor and began to convulse. He grabbed his head as he tried to get it out of him.Jax focused back on the container and placed both hands on it. His health bar shook as the system stirred into him. His skin stretched to its maximum limit and his muscles constricted. The pain was like ice and fire merging and exploding inside him.He pressed his lips thin, trying to hold back the pain. But at some point, he couldn't hold it back and he yelled into the air.All those systems that Author had accumulated, from every player he had stolen them from, from every part of the game he had cheated on, Jax took it all. Everything entered into his body, systems upon systems, colliding into each other.Jax could not even recognise himself. All his senses mixed, fracturing into one pi

Mira did not say more. She merely watched as Jax stood up. He stretched and cracked his knuckles."As long as we are together, that's all that's necessary. We'll take the fight to who's earned it in due time."At the back of his mind, a part of him knew speaking with Alina again would save more stress. Having used System Sight to read the data of the current location, the place turned out to have been discarded. It meant the Substrates were not there anymore.Jax needed to update his mapping structure but he was being hard-headed.The next day, it was morning when the team set out. Jax and Mira continued their conversation on the liberation of NPCs, joyous at the news Orin received that morning from one of the NPCs back at the Old Ruins.They now had a new Watcher. Eldric could now be relieved of his duties and this new Watcher would protect them and keep them safe. They were also rebuilding the Old Ruins.And Eldric had left them one very important thing. A device that kept the Old R

The walk kept going for a long time. The entire team were exhausted, and the realisation that they were simply following a stranger sank into Jax's head all of a sudden."Everyone, stop."Mira groaned. She caught her breath and held her hand out to emphasise that she was still alive.The young NPC turned back and faced the group. "What happened?""Where are you taking us?""To the Watcher." He replied. Jax sped through the air, appearing in front of him within seconds. He stared into his eyes and read his data.That was the conflicting part. He did not look like he was lying. His heart rate was normal, and for free NPCs, they were just like Players. If they had something up their sleeves, Jax would sense it.This young NPC was rather harmless. But Jax could not just trust him based on that even if his instinct did not feel threatened."We can't just trust you. You're not telling us anything, and you want us to k

Bright green light hummed peacefully inside the tunnel. Everyone had just arrived at the centre of the tunnel where the relics were. The view was amazing, small stones scattered around, illuminating the place. And they were the only source of light."This is so beautiful." Mira said slowly as she wandered about.Everyone had even forgotten the scary sound they heard earlier, courtesy of the beauty of the place, except for Jax who had System Sight scanning every spot just to be sure that they were safe.He did not let himself falter, not even for a second. The rest of the team looked around the place.Now it was time for them to figure out the main reason why they were there."Look at that." Zephyr said aloud, calling everyone's attention.Forge was the first to go to the spot. There were old sigils, scriptures, and archaic books that had torn from the time they had been forgotten down there. The walls had the town's cultural dance and activities carved into them, and it carried the ol

The realisation knocked the air out of Jax's throat. His mind went blank, but then he fixed his gaze back on the team and recollected himself.In the end, he needed to be strong for them. He could not allow his emotions to crush him down again. He only wished Forge had listened. Now, they had to move on. There were little NPCs they still needed to save.Just as Jax wanted to gather everyone, he caught Zephyr moving towards the door again, and Jax sped him out of there."Don't do it." Jax warned with a clenched jaw, pressing his lips tight.Zephyr's eyes watered. His emotions were spiralling out of control. It reminded Jax of his past self. How he had felt that day, and how it led to months being taken away from him."I can't just… he couldn't be gone like that." Zephyr broke down. He sniffed and Jax held onto him, trying to comfort him."I'm sorry. He was a hero to the end." Jax said then he turned Zephyr around. "But this was why he sacrificed himself. For the future of your town."Z