Chương 19: A Somewhat Expected Companion

By the time Gloria finally began leading the strange pair she had somehow accumulated away from the ruined arena, she found herself wondering precisely when a simple adventure had transformed into this. She had entered the cave expecting little more than a quick quest before continuing toward Ara, yet she was now leaving with an adventurer who had discovered her identity, a raid boss following only a few steps behind her, and enough questions to occupy her thoughts for several lifetimes.

"Lady Echidna," Iris began, slowing her pace as she glanced back toward the goddess, "after everything I have witnessed, I admit I am surprised. Now that the seal has been broken and you are free to go wherever you please, do you truly intend to leave these caverns and accompany Lady Gloria?" Echidna answered by nodding with such enthusiasm that Gloria briefly wondered whether her head might tear itself free from her shoulders.

"There is little reason to question her decision. Echidna possesses considerable strength, and having someone of her power beside me will prove useful in whatever lies ahead." She turned her head as she spoke, meeting the goddess's expectant crimson eyes before adding, "I want you at my side, and that is where you shall be." Iris nearly stumbled at that.

A sudden warmth spread across the Archer's cheeks as her eyes darted between Gloria and Echidna, evidently interpreting the declaration in a direction that had not even begun to cross Gloria's mind, while Echidna reacted with an entirely different kind of delight. Her expression brightened so completely that the exhaustion vanished beneath it, and she pressed a hand against her chest.

"Yes, Mighty Gloria! Echidna understands, and she would be honored beyond measure to prove herself useful to you in any manner you desire!"

"Good," Gloria answered, offering a satisfied nod before returning her attention to the path ahead.

"I expect much from you." Those words only caused Echidna's joy to deepen, while Iris's blush became considerably worse, though Gloria remained blissfully unaware of the misunderstanding unfolding behind her.

'Wait... can she actually leave? Bosses never left their areas in DDO unless they glitched out.'

"You are certain that you may leave this place freely?" Gloria asked.

"The seal upon your chamber has been broken, yet there may be further limitations connected to the domain itself."

"Echidna possesses no such weakness," the goddess replied, drawing herself upright as some of her former pride returned to her posture.

"This domain became Echidna's prison only after the False King defeated her beyond its borders. Echidna had begun extending her influence into the surrounding lands when he appeared, and the battle that followed drove her back into the heart of this place." Her lips twisted with disgust as she remembered the defeat, though the expression quickly softened when her gaze returned to Gloria.

"The prison has now been shattered. Echidna may remain, depart, or extend the boundaries of her domain according to her own will."

"Good," Gloria replied, her voice carrying the same authority as before, even as delight rushed through her so suddenly that she nearly forgot to keep walking.

'A raid boss... I actually have a raid boss as a companion! This is so unbelievably cool!' Raid bosses stood just beneath the greatest monsters DDO had ever created, with even a single one often proving more valuable than an entire party of players. Echidna's level had fallen drastically, but her unique skills and boss mechanics should still place her above a fully maxed-out player, and quite possibly above two of them fighting together.

Gloria herself had likely become the strongest existence DDO had ever produced, particularly while the remnants of the administrators' final enhancements continued empowering her body, which made using her own strength as a point of comparison rather pointless.

Her excitement faded slightly as she remembered the spectator channel from Judgment Day, where the players she had defeated continued watching the battle, spamming enormous L's, calling her boosted, and demanding that the administrators remove her enhancements. Gloria had recognized many of their names only minutes after striking them down, which meant they had remained perfectly alive until the servers closed. Meaning… she had not truly killed anyone during that battle.

Everything she remembered pointed toward the transformation occurring only after the shutdown, and although she possessed no proof that the people behind those avatars had returned safely to their families, she needed to believe they had. As daylight appeared at the end of the cavern, part of her wished they could have stood beside her and witnessed the impossible beauty their shared game had become.

'I hope the real them went home that night... and I am sorry they will never see this.' If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The three of them finally stepped beyond the cave and onto the vast field outside, where grass rolled beneath the wind in long green waves and the afternoon light stretched across the land without a single stone ceiling to contain it.

Gloria remained absorbed in her thoughts as she continued several paces forward, barely aware that Iris had been speaking beside her until the Archer's voice rose enough to finally break through the distance she had placed between herself and the world.

"Lady Gloria, did you hear anything I just said?" Gloria stopped and turned, finding Iris watching her and looking a bit frustrated.

"Do forgive me," Gloria replied, inclining her head with a dignity that concealed how completely she had ignored the girl.

"My thoughts carried me rather far from the present. What were you asking?" Iris released a sigh.

"Considering everything you have learned, I suppose I cannot blame you for being distracted, but I was asking whether it is wise for Lady Echidna to accompany us so openly." Echidna's eyes narrowed immediately.

"And why would it not be wise, child? Do you believe the presence of Echidna would bring shame upon the Mighty Gloria?"

"No!" Iris answered so quickly that the word nearly collided with Echidna's accusation, and she raised both hands before the goddess could find some deeper insult hidden within her hesitation.

"Quite the opposite. Someone of your power would surely attract attention the moment we encountered anyone capable of recognizing you, and I doubt Lady Gloria wishes to announce her presence to everyone." Gloria considered the concern for only a moment before deciding that it was reasonable, though perhaps not as serious as Iris imagined.

"Tell me something, Iris. Before entering these caverns, had you ever heard Echidna's name or encountered even a single tale that might have led you to recognize her?" Iris hesitated before shaking her head.

"No, but I am hardly an all-knowing scholar, Lady Gloria. My knowledge of the Golden Age is greater than that of most adventurers, yet countless books remain beyond my reach. There may be people who know precisely who she is."

"Your caution possesses some merit…" Gloria admitted, turning slightly toward Echidna.

"You need not trouble yourself over such an insignificant matter," Echidna said.

"The creatures born after the Golden Age possess little reason to remember Echidna, for ordinary mortals who encountered her rarely survived long enough to preserve an accurate description. Only the Supreme Beings could have carried such knowledge forward, and even then, recognition would require more than a forgotten name." Her expression shifted into one of satisfaction as she lifted a hand toward her face.

"Regardless, Echidna is perfectly capable of concealing her appearance whenever the need arises." The change began within her eyes, the solid balls of crimson changing and whitening until only the irises retained their blood-red color, each one cut through by a narrow black slit. Her pale hair darkened from the roots outward, turning completely black as the long ponytail loosened and flowed down her back in a straight curtain, while her height gradually diminished until she stood only a little taller than Gloria.

Iris stared without attempting to hide her amazement.

"Woah..."

"Excellent work," Gloria said, stepping around Echidna just enough to inspect the transformation from another angle.

"That is an extraordinarily useful ability to possess." Echidna's lips curved into a delighted smile.

"Your praise honors Echidna, Mighty Gloria, though such a minor transformation is hardly worthy of it." Only then did Gloria notice how empty the field had become. The carriage should have been waiting nearby, yet only flattened grass and several broad tracks remained, while both the vehicle and the Flyght that had carried it were nowhere to be seen. Iris followed Gloria's gaze and gave another sigh, this one considerably more resigned.

"Unfortunate, although hardly unexpected. Between the battle, Lady Echidna's recovery and everything we discussed afterward, we must have remained inside the cave for more than two hours, perhaps closer to three. The driver warned us that he could only wait for an hour and a half."

"I suspected as much," Gloria replied, feeling no real disappointment now that she could see the world stretching before her.

"How long would the journey require on foot?"

"Ural is still relatively close," Iris assured her.

"Assuming we maintain a steady pace and avoid unnecessary detours, we should reach the city within two days." The answer pleased Gloria far more than Iris could have expected, since reaching Ural meant spending two full days crossing the fields and forest ahead. The grass surrounding her was more alive than anything that had existed near the gray streets of her former life, while farther ahead stood a vast forest whose trees blended into a deep green wall stretching across the horizon.

Walking for two days should have sounded exhausting, particularly to someone whose old body had considered a journey to the nearest store an unreasonable demand, yet this body possessed strength beyond anything she could properly measure, and the opportunity to travel through an actual forest awakened a childish excitement she felt no desire to suppress.

'Forget the carriage!' Gloria thought, already imagining the strange plants, animals and hidden paths waiting beneath those trees.

'I get to spend two entire days exploring all of this!'

"Ural..." Echidna murmured, drawing Gloria's attention back to her. The disguised goddess glanced toward the forest before giving a confident nod.

"Echidna remembers that settlement, and although its borders may have shifted during her imprisonment, its location remains known to her. Do you wish to travel there, Mighty Gloria?"

"Yes," Gloria answered, turning toward the path that stretched across the field.

"From Ural, we shall cross the Narrow Sea and continue toward the Elven lands, where I intend to meet my old comrade."

'I really, really cannot wait to hear what Ara has to say about all of this.'