[i]"Shit. I’m talking. Like, really talking. God, look!"[/i]

Upon observing Kaz's surprised remark, Kirishima moved her hand to her mouth for confirmation. Contrary to what she had expected if she really was in YGGDRASIL, the first thing she felt was the sensation of her hand touching upon her chin. However, several senses did not exist in YGGDRASIL, and touch was one of them.

Although she was at a complete lost at whatever was happening to them currently, several theories floated to the surface of Kirishima's unusually calm and rational mind:

[b]Theory #1.[/b] The developers of YGGDRASIL had accidentally released the successor to YGGDRASIL, a more advanced version with additional senses. That would explain the suddenly increased realism of their surroundings as well as the seemingly lifelike behavior of the NPCs' behaviors. The flaw with this theory: No mention about a YGGDRASIL 2 had been mentioned in any communication from the company. They were very clear that YGGDRASIL was to be shut down and no further releases were planned.

[b]Theory #2.[/b] The YGGDRASIL developers had gone rogue or otherwise insane and trapped all players inside the game for whatever reason. That would explain why the Log Out, Contact GM, and every other system interface was currently inaccessible. However, that would not explain the sudden increase in realism of their surroundings. The flaw with this theory: it was based completely on past fictional stories about virtual reality MMOs and several anime shows and movies were created based on this exact scenario. The probability of the fictional death-game virtual MMO scenario was nearly zero.

[b]Theory 3#.[/b] Everything around them was completely real. The Palace of Whispers was a real fortress, she was an actual Android, and Kaz beside her was an actual Revanant. And before them, was an actual master illusionist, a shapeshifting master assassin, and an incredibly powerful insane vampire. So far, there was no evidence to disprove this theory, although what could not be explained was "how" this situation came to be.

Further evidence to support Theory #3 became apparent when Kirishima realized just how calm and rational her mind had remained in this situation when she would definitely be panicking and screaming, or at least some sort of anxiety like Kaz had shown.

But there was none. Despite the completely bizarre scenario she had found herself in, she felt perfectly calm. In fact, she quickly realized she didn't feel much of anything at all, other than her physical senses. Had she really become her YGGDRASIL character, an android?

[i]“Holy shit!”[/i] Kirishima heard Kaz exclaim as he had just used his hand to pat the red-eyed Erzsebet on the head. Glancing towards his direction, Kirishima caught sight of a creeping grin on Erzsebet's bloodied lips as the crimson glow in her eyes flared out.

In an inhumanly quick movement, Kirishima grabbed out at Kaz and swiftly pulled him back away from Erzsebet as one would quickly yank a friend out of the way of an incoming bus. As Erzsebet's creator, Kirishima knew certain things about the vampire that Kaz did not.

First, was that from what she observed, each of the NPCs was behaving exactly as she had written in their character descriptions when she created them. First, Erzsebet was designed to be incredibly dangerous with a mind on the verge of complete insanity, therefore her behavior had to be considered unpredictable and likely dangerous. Second, if the NPC's numerical statistics had carried over to this "new world", then she and Kaz were standing before the strongest NPC contained within the Palace of Whispers.

As the single strongest raid-class NPC, Erzsebet was designed to be strong enough to single-handedly defeat several hundreds of fully-equipped and well-coordinated level 100 players without any additional support. Not even the entire guild of Seekers of Fate could defeat Erzsebet without at least some preparation and strategy. However, in their current state of ignorance and confusion, the probability was essentially zero.

[color=8882be][b]"Kaz, listen to me very carefully - you do not want to be that close to Erzsebet, never mind patting her on the head!"[/b][/color] Kirishima quietly whispered to Kaz's ear, hopefully out of earshot of the other now very lifelike NPCs.

Looking back towards Erzsebet, half-expecting for the vampire to leap and attack them at any moment. However, Erzsebet had not even taken a step forward from where she stood. Instead, she was tenderly rubbing the spot on her head where Kaz had patted.

[b]"Oh, to be granted a loving touch from a of the Supreme One!"[/b] A crazed wail escaped from the vampire's lips as her speech derailed towards unintelligible muttering about being "blessed", "undeserving", and several mentions about "Supreme Ones". By "Supreme Ones", did she mean Kaz? By the plural "Ones", did she mean to include Kirishima?

The thought then occurred to Kirishima that perhaps the NPCs were not hostile towards Kaz and herself. But the thought that they would be worshiped by her creations was completely unexpected. She had to confirm that they were loyal, at least to her.

[color=8882be][b]"Gwydion, Mercuria, and... Erzsebet,"[/b][/color] Kirishima began speaking towards the three NPCs before her, trying her best to put forth the most authoritative voice she could despite knowing absolutely nothing about their current situation other than the few theories she had come up with.

[color=8882be][b]"There is something I want to know from each of you. First, who am I to you? Second, to whom do you serve?"[/b][/color]

The hooded Gwydion was the first to step forward, already bending at the knee which he rested his arm upon as he lowered his head.

[b]"You are Lady Kirishima, my master and my creator. I, Gwydion, your Master of Illusions, exist to serve your will and that of the Seekers of Fate."[/b]

The second was Mercuria, who calmly strode forward in her thin robes of fine white silk. She too stopped beside Gwydion and took on the same kneeling posture.

[b]"Lady Kirishima, you are my one true master, the one who has granted me the gift of existence and to serve your will and that of the Seekers of Fate."[/b]

The third and last was Erzsebet, who actually seemed to become somewhat more tranquil compared to her characteristic insane state, came forward and knelt before Kirishima and Kaz.

[b]"Lady Kirishima, you are my creator and the only one I will ever call my master. I exist only to serve as your instrument of chaos and destruction."[/b]

If Kirishima was indeed still human, she would have undoubtedly recoiled in pure shock at the NPCs' fervent display of worship before her. To their eyes, she and Kaz were, in Erzsebet's own words "Supreme Ones", whom they regarded like gods.

However, it was somewhat calming to finally put to rest her previous concerns about the loyalty of the three most powerful of her creations. Now that she no longer had reason to regard the NPCs as a possible threat, she now had the opportunity to turn her attention to the surroundings beyond the Throne Room, and even the walls of the Palace of Whispers.

In this situation which she knew nothing of, knowledge of the unknown was of paramount importance. Before she could proceed with figuring out a plan to return to the real world, never mind if such a thing was even possible anymore, she had to learn whether or not there were any threats that existed in this strange new world, and whether or not she and the others at her side could defend against them.

But first, she had to establish whether or not there were any other Seekers that were still within the Palace of Whispers. If there were any Seekers that chose to spend their last moments in YGGDRASIL alone, then perhaps they were brought along to this new world as well. And if they were alone, they were likely to be scared and worried about being trapped.

Although the Contact GM function failed to work, perhaps the normal Message skill could successfully reach any other Seekers that were also brought into this world.

Not completely sure how she would activate such a skill without the assistance of a system interaction menu, Kirishima hoped that concentrating her mind on the concept of a "Message" skill would be good enough. Sure enough, in her mind, Kirishima could almost feel an invisible strand of her own consciousness reaching out into her surroundings, as if probing for something to reach out to it.

[color=8882be][b][Message: Guild][/b][/color]

[color=8882be][i]"This is Kirishima to any guild members within the Palace of Whispers. If you can hear this, please do not be afraid. We have gathered within the Throne Room and are here waiting for you. Please come here as soon as you can, we have much to discuss about our current situation."[/i][/color]

Imagining the strand of consciousness being severed, Kirishima ended the transmission, which she hoped would reach any guild members close by. With the concerns about her fellow Seekers now dealt with, the next issue was about the security of the Palace of Whispers, both within its walls and outside.

Kirishima then looked towards the three NPCs before her, who had all risen back to their feet and were waiting on her attentively as if expecting orders.

Kirishima knew that she would be safest with Gwydion by her side, knowing that with his highest Karma rating out of the three NPCs, he was the least likely to turn against them. Mercuria was a complete mystery as her facial expression remained constantly neutral and lacking emotion, so the probability of her betrayal could not even be estimated. Erzsebet carried the most red flags in terms of safety, and she could not be trusted to venture too far away from the confines of the Palace's walls due to her unpredictability.

[color=8882be][b]"First, we need to establish an understanding of our current surroundings before we can decide our next course of action. Mercuria, I need you to leave the Palace of Whispers and patrol its surroundings. I need to know what is out there, and if there is anything that can pose an immediate threat to us. If you encounter any intelligent life, do not let yourself be detected under any circumstances. Do not interact with any people that may be out there. And Erzsebet, I need you to establish our current state of security within the Palace of Whispers. Patrol its halls and determine whether there are any invaders present or anything that can pose a threat. Under no circumstances are you to attack any of the Seekers."[/b][/color]

All three of the NPCs bowed their heads forward in acknowledgement of the orders they were each given, and with the exception of Gwydion, each of them turned to exit the Throne Room and soon vanished from sight.

Now Kirishima had the confirmation she needed that this was no longer YGGDRASIL or anything that could be the result of a virtual MMO company gone rogue. Even the most advanced virtual MMO in existence could not produce any kind of AI able to follow the verbal orders she had just given. In YGGDRASIL, each NPC could only perform actions that they were specifically coded to do. In YGGDRASIL, Mercuria was designed specifically to assassinate high-threat caster-class players and could not be ordered to perform actions other than attack a target or prepare to ambush in a specific location. Likewise, Erzsebet was programmed to always stay within the boundaries of the Throne Room area to act as the Palace of Whisper's final boss. Now, each one of her creations truly acted as if they were independently-thinking living beings, although they seemed to regard her and Kaz as "Supreme Ones" on the level of gods.

The final task now was to establish whether she was still able to utilize magic and other abilities from YGGDRASIL in this new world. If she wasn't even able to cast a single magic spell, then she was truly hopeless to defend herself against anything.

Kirishima then proceeded to give Gywdion his orders.

[color=8882be][b]"Gwydion, use your Illusory Sphere spell to create an environment suitable for a large-scale battle. I would like for us to test out the full extent of our abilities."[/b][/color]

[b]"Of course, my Lady, it will take only a moment."[/b] Gwydion bowed in response as he proceeded to raise a hand in preparation to cast his spell.

[b]"[Illusory Sphere - Create Endless Battlefield]"[/b]

What happened first was the sight of the Throne Room rippling wildly, as if everything around her had been submerged within water and she was just noticing the water for the first time. Eventually, the ripples within reality began spreading, merging everything around her into one chaotic mess of shapeless colors.

And then, as if swept by an invisible painter's brush, the swirl of shapeless colors formed itself into an entirely different scene. 

Kirishima found herself no longer surrounded by the vastness of the Throne Room, the cool breeze of wind rushing by made this fact incredibly obvious. Green grass was now beneath her feet instead of tiled floors, stretching in all directions as far as the eye could see. Where there were ceilings was now the endless expansiveness of a blue sky, lightly covered with approaching grey clouds.

It was truly was an endless battlefield.

[b]"[Summon Greater Legion of Shadow]"[/b]

With Gwydion's second magical incantation, a bright white beam of light shone down from the illusory clouds above, sweeping horizontally across the endless grasslands. 

As the beam of light passed, Kirishima could see new figures appearing upon the vast battlefield. Each figure was covered with heavy black plated armor and armed with a dazzling array of weaponry - swords, spears, bows, shields. Each of their faces were obscured by a matching black plated helmet with a thin eye slit that revealed nothing but darkened shadows.

[hider=Greater Legion of Shadow]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/j6WAjVV.jpg[/img]
[/hider]

[b]"Behold, a truly mighty army worthy of testing the strength of the Supreme Ones. Although each soldier is but a forgery, make no mistake, within this Illusory Sphere, their illusory blades are as deadly as blades of forged metal."[/b] Gwydion's proud voice boomed over the sound of the light gust of wind roaring across the newly formed battlefield.

Although Kirishima's facial expressions displayed no visible reaction to this new sight, inwardly, she could not help but ponder whether or not she was ready. Her passive racial skill, [b][Analyze Target][/b] automatically activated as she carefully inspected each soldier within the walled formation in the distance. Their figures were each clearly outlined by a red colored overlay, indicating they were hostile.

[color=8882be][b]"Each of these soldiers is an NPC, with levels ranging between 60 and 80. Their numbers... is difficult to determine. I'm counting five thousand, no, six thousand, seven..."[/b][/color] Kirishima said aloud to Kaz and whoever was also gathered nearby.

[color=8882be][b]"Final count: seven thousand, five hundred soldiers. Average level: 70. If this was still YGGDRASIL, I would say that we could handle this without any problem. However, I don't know whether we still retain our powers and abilities from YGGDRASIL. So, we need to proceed with caution. In the event we are unable to use our magic to defend ourselves..."[/b][/color]

Kirishima did not finish her sentence. It was obvious what the consequences were if they were unable to use any magic from YGGDRASIL to defend themselves against this summoned arm summoned army. While Kaz, as a melee-focused fighter, could manage to stand a chance against this army equipped with melee weaponry, Kirishima was a mostly caster-type build, and a poorly optimized build at that. Even if she was to bring out her Fallen Angel Scythe, she did not possess the means to withstand a prolonged close-quarters battle.

Now, if she could just find a way to access her character's inventory...

Acting more on instinct than anything, Kirishima did the first action that felt natural to reach for one of her stored weapons. Feeling her hand pass through some sort of empty void, Kirishima's hand easily found the object it was searching for: her most trusted weapon and the pinnacle of her achievement in YGGDRASIL, the Divine-Class Linearizer Mk II railgun she had constructed from a rare and expensive magical staff weapon. Her fingers quickly found and wrapped around the weapon's grip, pulling it out of the void that served as her inventory space in this new world.

The weapon carried some definite weight to it, but with her enhanced android strength, Kirishima pulled out the full length of the magical railgun, using her left hand to help support its weight. This was the first time she had actually felt the shape and weight of the weapon she considered her greatest invention, as YGGDRASIL never featured the sense of touch within the game.

Finding the switch that controlled the weapon's firing modes, Kirishima absentmindedly flicked through each one: from semi-automatic to burst-fire, to fully-automatic, then back to semi-automatic. Looking at the fully assembled NPC army in the distance and quickly confirming their vastly superior numbers, Kirishima flicked the switch back to "automatic".

[color=8882be][b]"Gwydion, we're ready. Let us begin."[/b][/color] Kirishima spoke to Gwydion with a glance as she balanced the length of the railgun against her shoulder, then lowered it in the standard two-handed grip.

[b]"Very well. The battle begins - now."[/b]

At once, the entire assembled formation of soldiers moved together as one, first a single step, then two, then as they built up speed, they burst forward into a charge.

As billowing clouds of dust were kicked up by their movements, Kirishima positioned the sights of the railgun to her eyes. Using the flood of tactical information provided by her [Analyze Target] passive skill, Kirishima took note of each individual soldiers positions, speed, and distance. She could already feel the accelerated processing of her android mind sift through all the data at a rate that would easily overwhelm her normal human self. 

The flood was immense and utterly indescribable in mere words. Although she did not truly understand how she was able to perceive all this data and successfully understand it, she could feel her mind already beginning to prioritize each of her targets.

The first priority target had already fallen as she pulled the Linearizer's trigger, unleashing a stream of mana-charged projectiles that let out a loud [i]"buzz - hiss"[/i] sound as it charged up and fired. Then the second, the third. The barrel of Kirishima's weapon jerked from side to side as she lined up each of her targets, each pull of the trigger taking down at least one target each time, sometimes several if they were bunched up close together.

Within the first ten seconds of battle, she had already counted several hundred of illusory warriors downed by her weapon, which continued unleashing annihilation in projectile form towards the assembled army of thousands.

[color=8882be][b]"[Linearize Magic: True Void]"[/b][/color]

With Kirishima's magical invocation of her signature spell, the Linearizer suddenly surged with magical energy as the True Void spell manifested itself into projectile form. In YGGDRASIL, the True Void spell was a high-tiered area of effect magic spell that was normally ineffective against players with a moderate amount of resistance against Dark-type spells. However, against woefully-equipped players and non-boss type monsters lower than level 80, it was capable of instantly killing its target.

Pulling upon the trigger to unleash the Linearized spell, a projectile of pure darkness shot out from the railgun's two-pronged barrel directly into the center of the incoming line of soldiers. Upon striking the first soldier, the projectile silently expanded into an encompassing shadowy sphere that effortlessly swallowed up several hundred other nearby soldiers into a dark void, which instantly shrank back into nothingness, leaving behind a sizable gap in their formation.

For the first time since she had arrived in this new world, a very human thought suddenly crossed her mind.

[i][color=8882be]Hey, this is actually... pretty fun.[/color][/i]