GLITCH

The Return

"[Knight's Assault]!"

"[Lotus Flame]!"

"[X-s***h]! HAH!"

Three skills were activated at once, destroying most of the Glitches. I glanced at the two individuals who are now beside me.

"Edward, Sen! Thank goodness you guys are here."

"Yes, it's been a while, isn't it?" Edward said, composed as ever.

"Hello, Sven! I saw that skill of yours and wow! It's much bigger than my [X-s***h]!" Sen cheerfully said with a pose.

These guys are polar opposites.

"What did you guys do ever since?"

"For me, I got to train to enhance my firepower. Sen and I were able to conquer a Glitch loop just by the two of us."

"Yeah! I can't afford to rest and let my blades rust even for a moment. How about you Sven?"

"Let's see... I got to be with Rylai for a while before we part for she'll be going here and explore this place."

"Ah, yes. I've seen what had happened in Crystal City."

"You did something courageous, Sven!"

While we're still chatting, a [Razor Wind] was about to hit Sen but I managed to parry the skill, making the skill dissipate.

"You saved me, Sven! Thanks, bud!"

"Thank me later. We need to focus. I'll deal with the Aero Morph. I got a score to settle here."

There's no mistaking it.

It's my former best friend, now a friend, and has a more sinister look on her.

"Sven! Let's play!"

"Sure! What will we play?"

"It's a tag! You'll be the tag!"

"Eh, that's unfair. You would just turn into the air and I can't tag you..."

"You're such a crybaby."

"I-I am not!"

"Oh, yes you are. You're getting teary-eyed. Boo-hoo."

"Ah! Come here!"

"Eh, wait! I haven't turned into wind yet!"

Everything that we did before... I treasured it. I think you already suffered enough. This time, let me end you and put you in a peaceful rest.

She seems to be unresponsive, and her stare is blank. Did they rob her out of her consciousness?

"We'll leave her to you then!"

"We'll wreck the giant bones!"

The brothers went their way to their targets. I could only glance at them as I heightened my alertness. This is getting troublesome. But...

"As your former best friend, I'll end your suffering. I'll save you now, Wenn."

Instead of the cocky attitude she has shown to us during our battle in Crystal City, she lets out a horrifying shriek.

"Here I come, Wenn!"

She holds out her hand forward and then my body automatically responded she released an attack. I jumped backward and saw that the previous spot I'm in got a dent on the ground.

My grandmother's lessons saved me a lot even before this. It was at that time that Rylai came to our home and even slept. The morning came, and as I'm about to get outside to train, I saw grandmother drinking hot coffee in the kitchen.

"Grandma."

"Oh, my. Good morning Sven. You're out for your daily routine, eh?"

"Yes. I... I want to train some more to stop relying on Rylai."

"Hey, what's with that pitiful look on your face? You want to protect everyone, right? What's wrong with relying on someone?"

"I'm starting to become too dependent on her. I need to train some more."

"Ohoho... That I can understand. Ah, as always, you can't rely on me since I can't pull my punches."

"Ah, yes I understand. Oh yeah, Grandma, do you have something at hand that I could use for reference? Like a skill perhaps?"

"Huh? What are you saying? You already have the potential. You just need to nurture it. But if you want some clues so badly, let's go outside. Rylai's still sleeping, so let's go somewhere far away."

We went outside. It's still cold out here. My Grandma then asked me to close my eyes, a shimmering light came out of nowhere, and then she said, "It's done. Now, do your conditioning."

I am confused about what she just did so I asked her. However, instead of a straight answer, she cryptically answered my question.

"The level shall be reached, the skill shall be obtained", Grandma said with a smile on her face.

Grandma Lucy... I'll make sure to put this skill to good use. And this time, I'll do my best to defeat Wenn and put her to rest.

"[Knight's Assault]!"

I unleashed another [Knight's Assault] at her, only to miss after she changed back as the wind. This will be troubling.

If that's the case then...

I ran towards the location I wanted to and Wenn followed me while trying to hit me with a barrage of wind pressures.

"[Knight's Code: Rogue]!"

With this mode, my speed drastically increases. I sprinted then stopped at a certain point after ensuring that she hit the mark.

Yes, I'm at the spot where I cast three Static Discharges. It paralyzed her and with that, I hit her with the side of my sword.

I just can't do it. I lack the resolve. I thought I already steeled myself. Why...!?

•••

"Would he be alright, brother? Sven, that is."

"Never mind his decision. What we need to do is to destroy them all. It's our responsibility as Glints. Go, destroy the Skeleton Generals, I'll take care of that Griffin."

"On it!"

I chose to fight the Griffin since its affinity is weak to my usual element, fire. My brother Sen immediately runs to the skeletons. This might be a Glitch loop. His skill set is better than mine when dealing with those. I'll make sure to wrap things up to catch up with my brother and assist him.

The Griffin squawks like crazy.

It seems to be pissed off and headed straight towards Sven, who's currently busy fighting against the Aero Morph. I stopped its tracks. I'm not an i***t to allow whatever it pleases.

"I'll be your opponent. [Red Prison]."

A prison made out of the fire, spherical in shape, came out of nowhere and imprisoned it.

[Red Prison] is a fire-based skill that traps anything and even anyone inside, in exchange for half of my total mana pool. It's costly, but it's worth it.

"It seems about to attack Sven while he's fighting against it. However, I'm not an i***t to allow you to interfere. Stay in my prison and slowly be engulfed by my flames."

"SQQUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAWWWK!"

This will be over soon. Wait, my brother.

•••

"Hah! Take this!"

I swirled around the giant enemies and cut their advances. In the end, these big guys are just human bones but have gigantic sizes.

"Is that it!? You are all pathetic!"

I spammed my [X-s***h] and obliterated several skulls.

"Hmm? What are these Glitches are thinking? Aren't they just passing through? Am I trivial to be a target? Screw that! ORAAAAAAAH! Your opponent is me! [Agility]!"

As the name implies, [Agility] is a skill that greatly boosts my movement speed. I recklessly destroyed their foot.

"I don't deserve your attention, eh? Then screw you a lot! I'll never let you get past me. Come!"

•••

"L-look at those guys. Aren't they too young?"

"Y-yes. And yet here we are, some chicken cowering behind such remarkable teenagers."

"I wish to help them but..."

"Yes, I lack the power to help them. They're just simply too strong."

The other Glints near the castle were murmuring their lack of confidence in battle. Even after seeing a remarkable battle, their morale is still down. Of course, even I flinched after seeing that Glitch that is now devouring the Cerberus. This is something I've never seen before.

Just what is happening?

There's a lot of things I want to talk to the chairman about but for some reason, I never got a reply. Is something going on in the AGA that even I, a member of the board, don't know about?

"Ma'am...the castle is...!"

"What the...?"

A green substance started flowing from the sky just above the castle. It slowly takes the form of a sphere and envelops the castle with it. From the main entrance comes Nexus Vanguard, a Fallen. He's being considerate of us to cover the red crystal on his chest with a cloak (where did her get that, anyway?).

"Nexus! Is this your doing?"

"Yes. It's the strongest barrier I could think of. Those who are outside the barrier, please let them in."

"Nexus, do you perhaps know what's that abomination devouring the Cerberus right now? Its name is the Guardian of the Fallen Blood Curse."

"You might not believe it, but it's the same guardian that was inside Licht's Fallen Blood Crystal."

"What!? Then why is it here!? And what happened to Rylai!?"

"She did something to allow us to get out of the crystal. As for what happened to her, I don't know—"

"You don't!? That's not a proper explanation, you wretched fool!"

Nexus could only lower his head in silence, as I'm trying not to vent my anger on him.

Rylai...she might not be my real niece but she's someone I've taken care of when she was a little child. This isn't about my duty as a Valkyrie anymore. This is about the fear of losing a family.

I turned my back to Nexus. I can't face him.

I mustn't.

"You. Tell those Glints that this barrier will protect them. I'll rest here for a moment."

"Y-yes ma'am! R-right away!"

I sat down on the floor. Even if I try to act tough, what I did earlier against that brawler or whatever he is is now taking a heavy toll on my body. It's not the physical aspect but rather, my brain is experiencing heavy stress due to forcing myself and removing my limiter.

"Are you alright—"

"I am not. Please, Nexus. Go to Licht and tend her instead. I don't want to vent my anger on you."

After a moment of silence, footsteps behind me could be heard. I turned to see his back as he slowly walks and eventually vanished from my sight.

•••

AGA, Yellow City

December 2, 2500

05:51 PM

"My, why are you getting so heated up?"

"I could say the same thing to you."

Why is he here? This bastard of a person appearing here would mean that he'll eradicate this place.

I won't let him do that. Not in my watch.

"Temper, temper... Geez, you're still young compared to me. You'll get wrinkles you know."

"Spare me the chitchat. State your business."

"Oho? Now that's what I want to hear. I know you're the strongest, so I prefer it if you'll stay here and not go to Maiden's Shroud City. I need to discipline two of my children, you see. I don't want you to interfere."

"And let the Glints die? I'm not insane like you. Scram, I don't want your frickin' face here."

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. I'm your great grandfather, show me some respect."

"The only respect you'll receive from me is respect for the dead after I kill you right here, right now."

"Whoo, scary! But, would you like me to kill all of your subordinates here while we're fighting? As far as I'm concerned, I could kill a lot of civilians too while I'm at it."

"Tch. Don't include the civilians, you treacherous scum!"

"So, we have a deal, right? Haha, my great-grandchild, I expect nothing less. Thank you for being considerate. If you ever leave this facility, all people of Yellow City shall perish."

He vanished without a trace, as I slammed my fists on the table out of frustration.

"Dang it!"

•••

"Hurrah. Now that I finished that Skeleton General, I'll proceed to the Blue Town— Guh!?"

What just happened? It's like something was ripped out of my chest. It disappeared almost instantly though, making me wonder what was that just now.

Hmm?

RYLAI LUX, Death Vessel Level Unavailable

Death Points: 3/4 Mana Points: Unavailable Rage Points: 0/1000

Strength: Skill in effect. Numbers unavailable.

Dexterity: Skill in effect. Numbers unavailable.

Constitution: Skill in effect. Numbers unavailable.

Intelligence: 10 + 10 Int stats per 1000 stats points from each stat

Rage Gauge: x1 when moving in combat, x2 when attacking and/or defending

Now when did my Death Points decrease by one? All I did was...wait a minute.

[Abysmal Void] /on cooldown/

- A wide AoE skill that has a larger scale than GraviCoil, but centering around the caster. The targets of the skill could be narrowed down, to exempt the non-targets. This requires a Death Point to be used.

"... THAT skill requires a Death Point to be used? Now, this wasn't here before. Did I somehow miss it or it's just some kind of hidden information? This skill of mine's pretty shrewd."

Thank goodness it has that long cooldown. I might spam it if it doesn't have one.

My Death Points replaced my Health Points, so I assume that if it reaches zero, I'm dead.

I'll take extra precautions this time.

•••

BLUE TOWN (Alternate Plane)

???

"Okay. Finally, I'm here."

Blue Town...the town so lively in the real world that I can't tell if this place truly replicates the town.

Oh well.

I wandered around and looked at a certain building. It is where Sven and I stayed for the meantime. I chuckled upon seeing this and remembered the things we did in here. It feels so nostalgic, being in here and all.

"Rylai, you seem excited upon coming here."

Ah. I cleared my throat and stated while staring at him with my blank expression.

"I think you're mistaken, Sven."

"Eh…"

"Nevermind that Sven, let's go and find a place where we can stay in the meantime", I said as I started to walk ahead.

"Ah! Yeah…!" he exclaimed while he catches on my pace.

We then headed inside the Cosme Lodge, one of the lodges in this town.

"Good morning to you dear guests, welcome to Cosme Lodge. My name is Raymond Gates."

"Thank you for welcoming us. Say, do you have two available rooms please?"

"Please wait a moment as I'll check if there is", Mister Raymond looked upon the stash of keys in their lodge.

We're inside a lodge a few meters away from the town plaza. Sven is busy mesmerizing the decorations. I guess he's one of those people who love art.

When we're still looking for a place to stay, Sven had asked me something out of shyness of sorts.

"Are you sure to let me accompany you?" Sven asked while hesitating.

"Yep… I'm super sure about it. Don't worry about the expenses."

"Aren't you annoyed? I'm just nobody. Also, you already gave me an exclusive G-watch and your Tech Sword. Any more than this is—"

I stopped walking forward to see some stalls. Instead, I returned to return to Sven's side. I faced him and flicked his nose.

"Excuse me? To me, you're not a 'nobody' Sven. Remember the time that we exchanged our contacts? You're my friend. What happened to your past that made you in this state anyway?" I nagged as I placed both of my hands on my waist.

"Well–"

"Actually, I don't care. I don't care what happened in your past. I want you to please be mindful more of your present. Unlike your past which seems gloomy for you to be this pathetic. I mind you that your present will be accompanied by me and the others, so don't be a freaky worrywart will you?"

"Ah. Yes…I see…you're not like them…you have a noble heart after all", Sven muttered while looking on the ground and having a gentle smile on his face.

"What did you say? I can't hear you."

"Nope. It's nothing", Sven said before laughing.

"Hey! Tell me!"

"Nope. No can do."

I kept on reminiscing during that time that the receptionist and Sven were worried about me.

"…ma'am? Excuse me, esteemed guest...?"

"Rylai, are you okay?"

When I came back to my senses, I was grabbed by my shoulders by Sven as he keeps shaking me back and forth.

"I wah I wah will wah will wah never wah be wah fine wah…"

I wonder where he is right now? I hope he is okay. Anyway, where's the enemy? The Madmen Glitch loop should have appeared as fast as the other Glitches I've encountered so far.

"O-original..."

"Huh? Alter!? What's wrong? Did something happen outside?"

"You must save them!"

"Save who?"

"Please see it to yourself. I need to rest."

"H-Hey!"

Alter, my alter ego of sorts, turned to dust and clings to my body.

Eh, but... I didn't finish the training yet.

"Finish this Madmen Glitch loop, and you can go."

"Very well. Thank you for your service, Alter."

•••

CAVE OF SILENCE, Underwater – Roid Ocean

December 2, 2500

6:03 PM

"What is that creature? I've never seen anything like it before."

"Yes, Doc. We're currently confirming it now."

There's a Glitch that could devour an already high-tier Glitch like the Cerberus? This is such a marvelous sight!

"Marvelous..."

"Doc?"

"Don't mind me. Did you find any clues?"

"It appears that we don't have sufficient data to confirm its identity."

"So that means that we have zero information of what that is?"

I... I want it! I want to know what it is!

I want to recreate it! An artificial Glitch with that caliber... Ah, that's superb!

"Doc! Vlad and Dubes are back! Dubes suffered from serious injuries. Vlad, on the other hand, only suffered light ones."

"Dubes, huh? How did the Executioner almost got executed?"

I went along with my underling to the infirmary. I saw Dubes who's unconscious, and Vlad who's repeatedly clenching his fists.

"What happened out there?"

"Good afternoon, Dr. Rendezvous. I apologize for our sorry selves", Vlad greeted me as he bowed gently. "It seems that there is someone there that can incapacitate Dubes. As for me, I was paralyzed by another person."

Hmm? That couldn't be my great-grandchild, right? He's smart enough to know that my Mantle can destroy everything I wanted.

"One of them is a lady in her twenties and the other is a teenage lad."

"Oh, I see. You guys better take some rest."

"Thanks, Doc."

•••

???

???

Ugh, where am I?

"Princess! Please don't stroll too far from the palace! Her Majesty the Queen will be mad at us if we stray too far!"

"Oh, come on Venom. You're with me. What could possibly go wrong?"

"B-but, Licht, what if we'll get caught?"

"Don't worry Nexus, Venom is with us! He's my best butler! He can kick some monsters out of the way!"

Isn't that my younger self?

"Huh? Why is this part of the forest so dark?"

"Princess! Let's go back! We must not go in that part—"

"Come Venom, it will be fine!"

"B-but Licht... What if there's something in there that Venom couldn't handle?"

"Don't be a coward, Nexus. Let's go! A new adventure! Yay!"

Ah yes. This is the time that I got this stupid curse.

"Wow! What is that pretty crystal doing here?"

"P-princess! Don't touch that!"

"Eh? Don't be so stingy."

If only I could go back in time and stop myself from touching the stone...

"Gyaaaahhhhhhhh!!!"

"Guuuuhhhhhhhh!!!"

"Princess! Sir Nexus!"

All I felt at that time was extreme sorrow and pain. But most of all, I regret my decision.

When I came to, I found myself lying on my bed surrounded by court mages, and sitting on my bed are my parents.

"Are you alright?"

"Thank goodness, you're alright!"

"M-mom... Dad... Sorry... I'm so sorry..."

I kept on crying that day while being embraced by my parents, with my chest being exposed with a red crystal embedded in it.

Everything around me went black. I curled within the darkness, trying to defend myself from something that I don't know existed to haunt me. Or is it my delusion? I could only cry helplessly while crying out my late parents.

"I'm... I'm so sorry, dear mother and father. I've been a fool. I hope that even in my foolishness, I guided the nation well."

"Eh? Is that you, Queen Licht?"

Huh? Who's there? It's a familiar voice.

"Queen Licht! It's me!"

A person steps forward, dimly illuminating in the dark.

"Huh? Rylai?"

•••

BLUE TOWN (Alternate Plane)

???

"Blast away you creep. [Norm]. Beta."

My beloved Tech Gloves Beta substitutes and blasted the Glitches with thrice the damage I dealt before against these Glitches in real life.

Everything at the straight line was obliterated. If this were the real city, I'm pretty sure that the citizens will be furious.

At a moment's notice, everything around me went black. For some reason, however, I'm glowing. Did I have something like bioluminescence? Great, I'm a firefly now.

"Ugh...what the...my body is screaming in pain! What happened when I'm not around!?"

When I came to, I'm standing, albeit barely, just next to a deep crater within a large hall. Of course, I could see it thanks to the fact that I became a bioluminescent bug now. I could faintly see it but yes, it's a large hall. The ground here is a mess. Is this a battle my body was involved with?

Huh? Did I just hear a sob? Someone's crying!? Uwah, don't tell me I'm in a thriller game! I-I'm not prepared!

"I'm... I'm so sorry, dear mother and father. I've been a fool. I hope that even in my foolishness, I guided the nation well."

Huh? That voice...where is she? Oh, there she is!

"Eh? Is that you, Queen Licht?"

Yes! It is indeed Queen Licht! Did I somehow finish this and save her?

"Huh? Rylai?"

"Yes, I am Rylai. Let's get out of here. I think that portal above is our ticket home."

I grabbed her wrist but she insisted on staying here.

"Is something wrong?"

"Am I... Am I worthy to be saved?"

"Huh? Of course, you are. Your city needs you. You're their queen."

"But..."

"No buts. Didn't you see those happy faces when they saw you protecting them? Remember that time when you interfered with the battle to ensure that there'll be zero casualties? They are so happy telling me about how great of a leader you are! So don't just sit here and be depressed. Whether you are worthy or not, it's not my opinion that would matter, it's your loyal subjects like Venom! Get up, and let's get out of here!"

She chuckled upon hearing my words. She may be laughing at me for being stiff at talking motivational speeches. Sorry about that. I don't know how to do it well!

"You are correct indeed. Perhaps I'm rusted to the extent that I lost the motivation to live. Let's go Rylai, and if it's possible...would you be my friend?"

"I'm just an ordinary person though?"

"Status doesn't matter in friendships."

"Heh. Now that face of yours suits you more. Let's talk more about a lot of things later."

The two of us chuckled and went to the portal. A shimmering light covered us as we went through and the next thing I knew, I'm falling from the sky.

"Oh, I'm falling to the ground. Great!"

WHY THE HECK AM I HERE!?

I looked below and saw the city in ruins. What just...?

Isn't that the Cerberus? And what's with those tentacles?

GUARDIAN OF THE FALLEN BLOOD CURSE Level 1000

HP: 60 600 600 / 60 600 600 MP: Infinite

Strength: 74 000

Dexterity: 500

Constitution: 9 999 999

Intelligence: 9 999 999

SKILLS:

[Conceal / ACTIVE]

- This conceals the user’s stats and skills, based on the user’s own will.

[Beam Force Barrage / ACTIVE]

- This is the evolved skill of Beam Force. The user releases orbs and hits the opponent after a delay. The target style is areal.

[Life Siphon / PASSIVE]

- It is a skill that allows the user to drain the foe’s HP upon hit by a basic attack or a skill.

[False Strike / PASSIVE]

- It is a skill that damages the opponent if a basic attack or a skill doesn’t hit.

[Locust Swarm / ACTIVE]

- A skill that summons a swarm of locusts to attack. It could also be used as a distraction.

[Tentacle / ACTIVE]

- A skill that spawns a tentacle to deal damage to the enemy.

[Doom Rage / ACTIVE]

- A skill that toughens the user but drains the HP gradually.

[Self Destruct / ACTIVE]

- A double-edged, last resort attack that obliterates everything and everyone within a specific area.

[Shared Fatality / PASSIVE]

- When a fatal hit has been received, this skill grants a 70% chance to give the 30% of the user’s sustained damage back to the opponent.

[Fallen Forge / PASSIVE]

- Each damage dealt with the bearer of the skill would be granted with extra defense.

[Fallen Sharpness / PASSIVE]

- Each damage dealt with the bearer of the skill would be granted with an extra offense.

[Flames of Corruption / ACTIVE]

- This allows the user to cast flames that could burn the opponent. Anyone hit by this skill would receive additional damage from the next attack.

[Light Barrage / ACTIVE]

- This skill ejects multiple piercing lights to the target. Each light ray deals damage. Additional damage would be according to ten percent of the intelligence.

[Light Maiden / ACTIVE]

- Summons light maidens.

Status Condition:

[THE CORE’S AID]

- The status would be doubled.

[DEVOUR]

- Devouring a Glitch to remove status defects. [50%]

Now hold it right there.

That Glitch is crazy! It's even devouring the Cerberus of all Glitches out here!

Let's check my stats.

Please be the same as when I discovered you...

Please...

RYLAI LUX, Death Vessel Level Unavailable

Death Points: 4/4 Mana Points: Unavailable Rage Points: 0/1000

Strength: Skill in effect. Numbers unavailable.

Dexterity: Skill in effect. Numbers unavailable.

Constitution: Skill in effect. Numbers unavailable.

Intelligence: 10 + 10 Int stats per 1000 stats points from each stat

Rage Gauge: x1 when moving in combat, x2 when attacking and/or defending

Skills:

[SWITCH (Main / ACTIVE)]

- A skill that switches the skills set. It allows switching between Norm, Gravity, and Death.

(Sub Category)

A mode that enhances basic attacks, as well as offensive and defensive options of trinkets.

[Pulse Grave]

- A skill that halves the damage received and damages the attacker by half of the damage taken.

[Ability Exhaust]

- A skill that reduces the stats and limits the effectiveness of skills to a certain extent. Could only be used once per year.

A mode that grants certain skills. Special Perk: Abysmal Void

[Pellet]

- A non-damaging skill that nullifies buffs and amplifies nerfs. Could only be used once per person in a day if it hits directly. Could be overlapped with another active skill.

[Gravity Seizure]

- A non-damaging skill that always makes a foe flinch. If used periodically, the effect lessens. The lessening of effect will be lifted after forty seconds.

[GraviCoil]

- A skill that allows the enemies around it to get dragged within the sucked space. The targets of the skill could be narrowed down, to exempt the non-targets.

[GraviGrasp]

- A non-damaging skill that pulls non-living things towards the caster. Clones are also included.

[Abysmal Void]

- A wide AoE skill that has a larger scale than GraviCoil, but centering around the caster. The targets of the skill could be narrowed down, to exempt the non-targets.

A mode that grants certain skills that could only be used with Rage Points. Special Perk: Death Touch.

[Death Scythe]

- A scythe that could be used upon reaching 100 Rage Points. 100 Points is enough to use a normal Death Scythe. The more Rage Points (up to 500) used, the better the damage and damage penetration.

[Death Pulse]

- A skill that unleashes a mid-ranged pulse attack that deals damage based on five percent of the enemy’s current health bar. Could only be used again after a ten-second cooldown. It consumes 50 Rage Points per shot.

[Death Touch]

- A skill that instantly kills the enemy by touching. It consumes 1000 Rage Points.

[Soul Read (Main / PASSIVE)]

- A skill that allows to peek at the target’s stats.

[Death (Main / PASSIVE)]

- A skill that prohibits using skills with mana. The stats and level indicator, as well as its mana points, be removed.

All right!

My Death Points is back to four, and my precious skill got a cooldown reset!

Now, there's no need for me to hold back, right?

"[Switch: Gravity], [Pellet]!"

A cute little orb shoots from my index finger which was pointing at a certain point. I seconded it with the skill that could be used to eradicate those small fries.

"[Absymal Void]."

•••

"Ma'am, Her Majesty the Queen is starting to gain consciousness."

"That's good to hear. Now I could ask her if she saw Rylai."

I headed straight to the secret chamber of the throne room and there I found a now conscious queen with Nexus offering his lap to serve as a pillow.

"Mmm..."

"Licht! Licht, you came back!"

"Yo, queen. You're finally awake. Sorry for interrupting your reunion."

"Huh? Who are...I see... That brooch on your chest... You're from the Anti-Glitch Association, I assume?"

"Indeed. Now, let me ask you something. Where is Rylai Lux?"

"Don't worry, you'll know soon", Licht said while staring at the ceiling.

No...

Perhaps she's staring at the sky?

What happened next is phenomenal.

The area became dyed with purple. With just this, I immediately recognized the caster. My tears started flowing on my cheeks.

She's back.

She's finally back.

"It's Rylai!"