Episode 9. We Are Team? (2)
The statue shattered. At the same time, the game glitched out. No, that phrasing creates a pun with "shattered," so let's reword it: The statue broke into countless fragments, and the game erupted in noise.
This situation is wrong.
The remnants of the shattered statue simplified in form before seeping into the ground and vanishing. It felt like unnecessary elements were being tidied away out of sight. Strange noise filtered through from beyond the voice—a piercing beeeeep that echoed throughout the entire cave, its source impossible to pinpoint.
Aiden scanned his surroundings to trace the noise's origin. Static crackled... zzzt-zzzt. Were his eyes and ears failing him, or was something truly amiss? He couldn't be sure in that instant. The phenomenon unfolding before him was too unbelievable.
The cave walls were wrong. Their shape hadn't changed, but the colors had shifted, and everything felt off. Turning to the right, the black stone wall that had faintly reflected light was now drenched in deep pink. Even though it was clearly a wall, its curves and shadows had vanished. Like paper slathered in paint, it was simply pink.
Looking elsewhere yielded no better sight. To the left, lines appeared as if the wall were cracking or shattering. Was the cave collapsing? Was this merely Sephirah's mentioned "escape" taking effect? If it was the former, that might be preferable. Anything else, and he had no idea how to interpret this state.
"Ah... mister, did it work?"
Claire spoke cautiously. Deep down, she believed it had succeeded in some way. A massive change had swept the area, so they must have accomplished something.
Opening her eyes again, the giant lizards that had threatened her stood frozen, as if time itself had halted for them. She dodged a claw inches from her throat and thrust her cane sword into it—the wound appeared, but there was no reaction. Were they truly immobile? She stabbed every reachable spot, hacking away, but even in death, the lizards didn't twitch.
They had stumbled out of danger.
"The statue did break. Whether that's right, though..."
"Whaaat...? It'll be fine, right? Look at those lizards—they're wounded from my stabs but not moving. Maybe if we just head out like this, we'll find a fresh, green forest waiting."
Claire pointed her staff at one of the lizards that had menaced her. From the moment the statue shattered until the two regrouped, the creature—frozen mid-stride with one leg raised—hadn't budged. The threat had vanished without reappearing.
"Fast Travel."
Unable to use FAST TRAVEL during combat!
Unable to use FAST TRAVEL from this location.
But the voice still restricted Fast Travel. The combat reason made sense—if the lizards were technically alive despite not moving. The issue was that this place remained a "no-escape zone."
"So it's not over yet."
"Huh? What's not over?"
"We can't leave just yet."
"...It's not resolved?"
Aiden nodded and showed the back of his hand. The pattern, which shifted forms each time, now formed a circle slashed with a line.
"It stopped working since we got trapped here."
"Oh, the teleport... Yeah, earlier today. What's with it?"
"Still busted."
"Huh? But according to that, it should be usable now..."
Claire's view of the situation shifted. How could anyone call this normal? Even in a world of unknowns, she should have sensed something was wrong. A whole wall—not a living thing—blanketed in pink, emitting noise. How was that "going well"?
"...Maybe."
Just then, Claire spotted someone pondering before the pink wall—Sephirah, who had herded them into this mess and dictated their moves.
"She might have pointed out something weird..."
"You think Sephirah lied?"
"Wouldn't put it past her? She's no ordinary person, and she's the only one who knows how things work."
"Hm..."
It seemed plausible to Aiden too. Sephirah had used player-only knowledge to escape earlier that day. Was she pulling the same stunt? Probably not. He didn't know her motives, but physically, she needed others' help. Low stamina, but she could summon words anytime. She exploited escape routes in corners and blind foes with tricks against monsters. Imperfect—boastful yet fearful. She wouldn't deceive someone who intrigued her. Or rather, he wanted to believe that.
"We'll see how it plays out."
"So we're asking her after all. Ugh..."
Claire disliked Sephirah. But no choice. To check what she was doing, Claire approached Sephirah alongside Aiden.
"...It's glitched. A bug? Graphics tearing like this hasn't happened since the old days."
As they drew near, her voice carried. Sephirah was muttering her thoughts aloud, like last time. Was it intentional, or did she truly believe they wouldn't hear?
"Dumping it on the NPC? Normally you'd clear all monsters first... Then just block this from the start."
Her mutterings were harder to grasp than the day's earlier words—too many unknowns. Still, she seemed aware of what happened but not why.
As Aiden moved to call her name from behind...
Crack.
A hard snap echoed. Not unfamiliar—everyday, unpleasantly neutral. Just stone breaking. From above Sephirah's head.
"...Restart it?"
What needed restarting was lost in the overlapping crackle.
"Watch out—it's dangerous!!"
Claire shouted urgently at Sephirah. But she didn't react. No glance up, just stroking her chin, studying the pink wall. The jagged rock plummeted toward the player's head.
"Mister!"
At her cry, Aiden bolted. Dropping his weapon, he lunged toward the oblivious Sephirah. His steps accelerated. The falling stone slowed; other sounds faded; only Claire's voice boomed. Desperate inefficiency born of "not too late"—it kept him on time.
"Hurry!"
Creak.
The cave groaned ominously, weakening. As walls vanished into "pink," cracks spiderwebbed nearby stone too.
"Huh...?"
Moments later, Sephirah looked away from the pink, noticing the spreading fissures.
Thud!!
Sephirah was caught by Aiden and tumbled to the ground. His dive saved her—body scraped the floor, but disaster averted.
Rumble...
The cave still shook post-rescue.
"...You okay?"
"Ugh..."
Sephirah seemed fine. No cries of pain, no blood. Just a bewildered expression, as if still piecing it together—perfect, save for that.
"What the— what're you—"
Her protest cut short. Who interrupts a focused player mid-crisis without warning? Glancing down, she realized the arm holding her: Aiden's. And she'd forgotten he existed until then. During a bug, an NPC's presence was irrelevant.
"...Aiden?"
"What're you doing, spacing out."
Aiden rose slightly to his knees, looking down at the fallen Sephirah. This "player" was unpredictable. Fearsome one moment, childlike the next—before mage or player. She toyed with his wariness, matched his actions, yet lagged on immediate threats. Up close, vigilance felt foolish amid the intimacy. Like shared fond memories. He hated repeating the thought, but it persisted.
"You two, get up already."
Claire's voice shattered it. Aiden cleared his mind and extended a hand to Sephirah.
"Up."
"Y-yeah..."
Sephirah grasped it and rose. What to say? Thanks? Didn't notice? Sorry? A current NPC would comprehend and reply. But Sephirah said something else.
"You guys... can move? How?"
"How? What're you talking about."
"No, I mean, the walls are glitching out."
She pointed at the "pink" wall but caught her slip. Game bug in progress. Her pink wall was classic graphical tearing. Frozen monsters, cracked walls—all textbook glitches. An in-game NPC couldn't perceive bugs.
"Something wrong with that pink wall?"
"Why do you always say the opposite of what I think?!"
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing... Seeing is believing."
Sephirah paused, unnerved that an NPC perceived bug effects. Impossible, right? But as mere player, she couldn't think more "realistically." Just that this could be real.
...Not a bug, just looks like one?
Coincidentally, close to truth.
"Kids, sorry to tank trust, but... something's wrong."
"Never expected much from the start."
"Harsh."
"I know. Fast Travel's still dead."
"Fast Travel? For real. Should work now."
Sephirah marveled briefly that Aiden knew of Fast Travel. Then frowned at their entrapment, but smiled at events behind them.
"So, how do we get back? The magic to send us seems busted."
"No other way?"
"Not that I know. This space is designed to end here—no other exits."
"So we're totally trapped...?"
"I was thinking 'what now' earlier, but seeing that gives me a fun idea."
"That? No need to be cryptic—just explain for me and mister..."
Turning to Sephirah's gaze, Claire instantly guessed.
"Looks like skipping the lizards and hitting the statue messed up the order."
The once-frozen lizards had vanished completely. Sephirah wasn't surprised—dead characters despawn in games. But she braced for what followed.
"From similar experiences... skipping steps usually resolves by clearing everything. Same outcome: smash statue, kill lizards."
Uwa's Cabin exit—and boss fight trigger—had three sequences:
First: Slay four "freaks"—two-legged like wyverns, uniquely nicknamed monsters.
Second: Immediately after, defeat the "real" boss bursting from the ceiling.
Third and final: Interact with statue to exit Uwa's Cabin.
Pre-quest, but game's preset order.
No quest or scripted NPCs now. So maybe skip fights, resolve core? Result: this mess.
Whoosh—
Something slipped through ceiling cracks, descending to the cave floor. Massive beast with black wings cloaking its body. Front legs separate from wings—four-legged stance, vast wings filling vision. No mere lizard.
A dragon appeared, story-timed.
"We've been here too long, huh?"
The day dragged eternally. Physically separated from playmate Loqi for hours; distanced from Aiden to cool friction, now trapped together. No more lingering.
"Time to end it."
The day’s tasks neared close.