The Ancients World

Chapter 278: Sad Discoveries

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I don't know what Sally is thinking about learning this new information. I showed her and Amelia the stats on The Witness, but that isn't the same as seeing this. It's quests that are about her and rewards for completing them. I hope that she doesn't think the only reason I'm doing any of this is because of the rewards. "This is amazing..." I look at her in surprise. She has stars in her eyes as she reads the information about her. "There is so much information about me!" She has an excited tone, and I can say that I didn't expect this reaction in the slightest.

I'm kind of thrown for a loop here. "Revenge Against the Elven Kingdom and Dark Truths. Fitting names for them. Are the objectives that say it's up to me accurate?" I nod my head as I'm starting to get over the energy she has. "That's so cool! I get a say in how we finish these quests! Is that why you said that I'm in charge?" I nod my head again, and she continues reading the information. "Do all new people have this? Why does it say player's quests at the top of the page?" I didn't think she'd see that small detail.

It's something that is too complicated to explain, but I can give her a rough idea. "That's what we are called by this power, the system. We are players. To all of you, we're new people. Both are true, but we still come from a different world, as I explained before. How we came to be here is far too complicated to explain but in simple terms. We created a way to come back and forth between our world and this one. That was until we got stuck, and we can't return." She looks at me with a face wanting to ask many questions.

She may not know what to ask next. I just unloaded a lot of new information on her. "This is all really awesome, Cera. I'm afraid that most of it wouldn't be believed. I know you're not a liar, though. I know that you're telling me the truth and if this is what you say. Then this is the truth. I wonder who the rest of the people will react... What does the NPC next to my name stand for?" Another thing that's too hard to explain right at the moment. The system still views the people of Gaia as NPC's, but they're much more than that.

She's waiting for a response, and I'm trying to find the best way to word this without confusing her. "You know how wizards and armies use golems and puppets." She slowly nods her head. Golems and puppets that are used in armies are like the traditional NPC's that used to be used back in the 21st and 22nd centuries. "They follow a strict set of commands, and they can't expand more beyond that. Having limited intelligence and will. That's what an NPC is to the system." She looks at the holographic screen with a look of being insulted.

She is being compared to a dumb soulless tool like a golem or puppet. I'd be offended, too, if someone did that to me. "Why doesn't this system thing change that? It's obvious I'm not like a golem or a puppet. Is this thing's definition of a soulless entity different than ours?" That's a great point to bring up. The system is actually marking her as a Non-Player Character, which is technically right. No native of Gaia has the same powers and access to the system as us players. Since I'm a player, it will identify Sally as an NPC since she isn't marked as a player.

She looks at me to answer her question. "Well, I might've half explained it to you. NPC is an abbreviation of the term Non-Player Character." She looks at me in genuine confusion. I point towards the word player on the holographic screen, and she looks. "The system identifies me as a player. Any creature that doesn't have access to the system and isn't a player is labeled a Non-Player Character. The system's definition of NPC doesn't mean you're dumb like a puppet or golem. It means you don't have access to the system, and you're not a player." She tries her best to understand.

The concept is rather hard to wrap around if you're just being introduced to these terms. "That makes some sense. Since I'm not like you, a player, I'm automatically labeled as an NPC?" I nod my head with a smile on my face since she's got the basic idea. "I'm surprised there is so much to still learn about you new people, or do you prefer players?" We as a group don't really mind either. No one is going to bother explaining the math and science of how we got here. So there is no point in explaining or correcting anything. It's not like it's necessary.

I make the screen disappear with the wave of my hand. "Now you know more than any other person that's native to Gaia. What do you think of all this anyway? I know it's a lot to take in, but those are the differences between us, it was simplified greatly, but that was the basics." She stays quiet as she closes her eyes and puts her head in a tilted pose to think. She's taken it all rather well, but some of the things that I explained are hard to accept. They're really out there in terms of possibility to her. This world isn't nearly as technologically advanced as earth.

She opens her eyes and has a calm expression. "It answers a lot of questions that I had, and it's also given me so many more. My main concern is your lifespan... While elves live a long time, we're not immortal... You're the son of an angel and a player... For all I know, you're going to live forever..." I don't know how to respond to that immediately, but I get a grip, and I hug her. The reversal in age for players does suggest something akin to longer lifespans. Even immortality. None of that has been confirmed or denied yet, so I'm not sure.

I stop hugging her and pull away. I lift her head to look into mine. As we stare into each other's eyes, Sally's eyes wiggle a little, and her blush spreads across her face. "I'm not sure about immortality... I do know that when we die, we're brought back. This is something that'll be answered with time. If I am immortal, I promise that I'll find a way to make you immortal too." I don't like the thought of spending eternity without Sally. This is a maybe too. I don't know if I am immortal. Nowhere does it say I'm immortal.

Everything that's happened to us players suggests otherwise, though. Older players sent back to their physical primes, and when we are killed in battle, all we do is revive and lose a level. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm not sure I'd want to live forever..." My blood runs cold as I hear her say that. "I've already over a hundred years, and sometimes I think life is overrated... After meeting you, those thoughts have changed, but I'm not sure I'd want to live past 700 years..." The exact details in elves' lifespans vary, but many say for every one human year. It's 10 to 20 for an elf.

I'm quite speechless after hearing that. I never thought Sally wouldn't want to live forever with me if there was a chance. I have to ask a very important question. One I've neglected to ask. "Sally... Have you ever thought about taking your own life... Have you ever tried..." It's not a question I like to ask, especially with a person I've grown to love very much. She looks down at the floor, and tears slowly fall. That's all the answer I need. I pull her back into a hug, and I feel like never letting her go. Sally has been suicidal in her past, and it makes sense given how hard her lives been.

I rock her side to side as she slowly cries. I can't help my own tears from welling in the corner of my eyes. The thought of Sally killing herself makes me feel empty and hollow. "I'm sorry, Sally... You've been through so much in your life... Thinking about something like that isn't uncommon..." I don't know what else to say. So I speak from the heart. "You should be proud, Sally. You fought those thoughts, and now look at where you're at." She hugs me harder as I say those words. She overcame those demons in her head, and now she's stronger than ever.