Reenactment of Ruin (4)
To be honest, the community for Lost Elder was surprisingly active for a game dominated by veterans.
It had a welcoming atmosphere where anyone could ask questions and receive a warm response.
Thanks to the sheer scale of the game, the strategy boards remained lively even twelve years after its release.
It had become a sort of culture for veterans to kindly answer any questions posted by the occasional newbie who wandered in.
The typical insular and exclusive vibe of veteran-dominated communities was nowhere to be found.
But...
That was only true for general strategies.
The high-ranking players, especially those obsessed with maintaining their spots, never shared their core strategies.
Well, I was no different.
Crucial information had to be kept to oneself.
That was the only way to protect one's rank.
Of course, now that we were transmigrated into the game, all of that had become meaningless.
That was why Strawberry Latte had spilled all the secrets he thought only he knew as soon as he arrived here.
"I know it too."
"Pardon?"
"How to speed up the True Name Awakening of the Feather Sword. I know that, too."
But I knew everything.
I knew the strategies Strawberry Latte guarded as his personal secrets.
I knew the core information other rankers hid as if their lives depended on it.
No, it went beyond simply knowing.
I refused to stay within the established boundaries; I pushed the rewards to their absolute limits.
When others thought one hundred was the maximum, I extracted one hundred and fifty. I always looked beyond the given limits and strove to reach them first.
And now, this aquarium in the Rashutku Imperial Palace would serve as the turning point to reach "beyond" once again.
"We are here."
The voice of Emperor Aurelius broke my train of thought.
Looking up, I realized we were standing before a massive arched entrance.
Intricate carvings symbolizing the sea were etched into the white stone structure.
Hummmm, hummm!
The inside of the entrance was blocked by a transparent veil.
A barrier shimmering like a giant soap bubble sealed off the entrance from outsiders.
Aurelius gently raised his hand, and the barrier rippled like water before slowly fading away.
The entrance to the aquarium lay open.
"You have done well, Aurelius."
"..."
Aurelius bowed his head respectfully.
Yet, even after paying his respects, he did not move. He simply stared at me with a hesitant expression.
Naturally, I already knew what words would come out of his mouth.
"Sir Gaon."
Sure enough, Aurelius spoke up.
"This may be a shameless request... but there is one thing I wish to ask of you."
"Speak."
"I intend to take my subjects, flee far away, and carry on our lineage."
Aurelius's voice trembled.
"Even if the empire falls, I want to show my descendants one day. I want them to know that this brilliant nation did not collapse because of the twin emperors' mistakes. And I want them to see how beautiful and great the legacy we built together truly was."
Catching his breath, Aurelius added softly,
"If it is possible... when that day comes, would you and Sir Pean be willing to help us?"
I nodded.
"I will."
"...Thank you so much."
Aurelius bowed deeply.
I quickly brought the conversation to a close.
"There is no time to linger. Take your subjects and leave for safety immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Aurelius turned around.
Despite the urgency of the situation, he had guided us all the way here. His retreating figure gradually vanished down the corridor.
"Let us head inside."
"Yes, let's."
Step, step.
I walked into the aquarium alongside Pean.
A faint blue light seeped from the end of the narrow passage. With every step we took, the light, which had been nothing but a tiny speck, grew larger and larger.
And finally, the moment we reached the end of the corridor—
The space opened up dramatically, revealing a massive chamber.
Ah...
A gasp nearly escaped my lips at the sight.
A colossal dome made entirely of transparent glass was filled with deep blue seawater. It gave the illusion of standing right in the middle of the ocean.
White marble pillars supported the blue expanse, and colorful fish swam gracefully between them.
From the ceiling of the dome above, a mysterious blue light rippled downward. The light refracted through the water, painting the entire chamber in fantastical hues.
It's far more beautiful than it was in the game.
It was grander than any spectacle I had witnessed in this world so far.
Just then, Pean spoke with a gentle smile.
"It must be a truly beautiful sight."
"..."
"The sound of the water is so quiet and serene. The resonance spreading beyond the surface. The smooth movements cutting through the currents."
He paused for a moment to catch his breath, then added with a light chuckle,
"Even without sight, I can feel it. I can feel how beautiful this place is."
"..."
"Still, at times like this, I can't help but think how wonderful it would be if I could see. Ahaha."
Well, I shared his regret.
If the situation weren't so urgent, I would have taken my time to admire the surroundings...
"It is magnificent, isn't it, upapa?"
"...!"
At that exact moment, a voice echoed from a corner.
Pean flinched and whipped his head around.
Even he had failed to sense the speaker's presence.
"That is..."
In a corner beneath the water tank...
A figure sat huddled there.
Soft pink skin. Slowly moving gills. A small mouth that seemed to wear a perpetual smile.
And round, glassy eyes completely devoid of life.
An axolotl.
The pink salamander, commonly known as a 'wooper looper', was hugging a fishing rod while staring at the tank.
The level window floating above the axolotl's head was completely masked with question marks.
It was the exact same situation as the blacksmith guardian deity I had met in the Sanctuary of Flame.
Indeed.
He was one of the Great Ones... an Elder, one of the ancient gods who governed this world.
"This is the aquarium I built for the Rashutku Empire, upapa."
"..."
"..."
The axolotl opened and closed his mouth as he watched the marine life swim leisurely by.
Among them were creatures that stood out. Though they had not yet awakened as Divine Beasts, their potential was on a completely different level compared to ordinary fish.
The axolotl's expression as he watched them was entirely dry. Although the corners of his mouth were turned up, no emotion could be read on his face.
Knowing his true identity, I bowed politely.
And for perhaps the first time since falling into this world, I spoke with formal respect.
"I greet the Creator of the Twelve Divine Beasts, the one who hides truth beneath the shell of youth... the Owner of Potential and Regeneration."
"...?"
The axolotl turned his head toward me.
A faint spark of interest began to flicker within his lifeless eyes.
"Upapa. You are far more polite than I had heard."
The Owner of Potential and Regeneration.
An ancient god referred to by players as 'Upa-pa'.
He was one of the few Great Ones who possessed the authority to create Divine Beasts.
Despite his cute appearance, Upa-pa wielded immense power even among the Elders. He was just as dangerous as he was powerful.
...However, Upa-pa was a deity who had completely perished by the present era.
Which meant he could only be encountered within Tarosk's nightmare.
Anyway.
Compared to the other Elders I had met so far—namely, the Owner of Flame and Blacksmithing or the Owner of Life and Earth—Upa-pa had a bit of a stubborn, old-fashioned streak.
When dealing with him, regardless of whatever role I was playing, I had to show absolute politeness first.
Otherwise, he would scoff and refuse to speak with the player altogether.
But...
Something is off.
Upa-pa's response was slightly different from what I had expected.
...More polite than he had heard? Me?
This was a line I had never heard before.
In an instant, various thoughts flashed through my mind.
Every Elder I had encountered so far had seen right through me. They had reacted knowing from the start that I was a transmigrator who had fallen into this world from the outside.
If so, who was Upa-pa's comment directed at?
The me from the original world? Or the me who had been integrated into this trial of the past?
I need to find out.
I had to determine whether Upa-pa was an avatar of the Elder connected to the celestial realm at this moment,
Or if he was merely a dummy constructed as part of the trial.
Only by distinguishing between the two could I move on to the next step.
"Ahem!"
As I was lost in thought, Upa-pa cleared his throat and spoke again.
"Welcome to the aquarium I built, upapa."
"..."
"It is a world destined for ruin anyway, so struggling is meaningless. It would be wiser to just quietly watch the fish like me before disappearing."
Resignation was steeped in Upa-pa's voice.
It was a helpless, lethargic tone, as if he had let go of everything.
It was an attitude that accepted the end of the world without a single shred of emotion.
This is...
It was a familiar line.
It was the script Upa-pa uttered when playing the game.
Dummies within a trial only acted according to set patterns. And the current Upa-pa was reacting exactly as I remembered.
Thus, I chose one of the options that used to appear on the game screen and spoke it aloud.
"Why do you not follow the other Great Ones and leave the lower realm?"
"..."
Upa-pa fell silent. As always, his face remained devoid of emotion.
"Well,"
Before long, he spoke in an indifferent voice.
"I don't particularly have any lingering attachments to this life, upapa."
"..."
"Did you know? The others are truly filled with greed. Even though I warned them so many times, they ended up dragging in those 'beings from another world' and brought things to this state."
Once again, the familiar lines repeated.
The moment I heard this, I was certain. This Upa-pa was not the real Elder.
He was a replica created to reenact the past.
In other words, nothing but a dummy.
In that case...
My direction was clear.
I could push forward with Plan A, the first strategy I had prepared for this trial.
"Why do you have no attachments to life?"
Upa-pa muttered in a dejected voice,
"I've lived for too long, upapa."
"..."
"Everything is predictable now. Every day is the same, and there is nothing new anymore."
"..."
"The others couldn't bear this boredom either, which is why they summoned those 'beings from another world,' only to end up facing this disaster."
I replied quickly,
"Then I shall become your 'something special.' So please, follow the others and depart for the celestial realm."
"...?"
The axolotl paused and stared blankly at me.
Then, as if finding it absurd, he let out a scoffing laugh.
"Who do you think you are, upapa?"
"..."
Up until my ninetieth playthrough, this dialogue was the end.
This point was the absolute limit a player could reach. No more choices or dialogue options could be entered.
Upa-pa would scoff and go back to blankly watching the fish. The encounter with the ancient god always ended in vain like that.
However...
...From the moment I acquired this item, the story changed.
Slowly...
I quietly pulled something out from my coat.
At that exact moment—
"...!"
Upa-pa's eyes went wide.
"Th-this is...!"