Chương 97: Chapter 96

After the System came in, it quickly started accounting for everything that Nina had, hoping that she had obtained everything required in order to leave. First, it looked at the divergence points. Seeing that the divergence points were at 158 out of 1, 000, the System paused lightly. It wondered if Nina had saved or changed the lives of four important individuals. The System shook its head. There was no time for this.

It needed to calculate how much the conversion would be in order to transfer the divergence points into a monetary amount. Seven hundred million divided by 1, 000 would give 700, 000, and when multiplied by 158, it would give a value of 110 million and 600, 000 monetary value. The System set that aside. The next thing it needed to calculate was the Will to Live value. Seeing that the Will to Live had remained at a constant positive 13, the System sighed inwardly.

Good thing nothing bad happened while I was gone and Nina continued to wish to live. Now it needed to do the conversion. Seven hundred million divided by 200 gave 3, 500, 000, and then, multiplied by 113 for the accumulated Will to Live value, it gave 395 million and 500, 000 monetary value. Adding it together with the other value the System had obtained, which was 110 million and 600, 000, gave a total of 506 million and 100, 000 monetary value.

That was the total value the System had accumulated from those two categories. Now the System brought forth the monetary value that Nina had accumulated over time, hoping that she had, in fact, gained money during this period. Looking at the accumulated monetary value, the System saw a number: 289, 900, 000 The number made the System pause slightly. It had not expected Nina to accumulate so much in such a short period of time. But this was not the time to dwell on it.

It quickly added the amount it had obtained to the amount it had just converted. 506, 100, 000 + 289, 900, 000 = 796, 000, 000 The System realized that the host had not only gone above and beyond the required monetary value, but had done so perfectly. It did not need to convert the lives Nina had remaining into monetary value. It felt happy. But the moment it stepped out to tell the host the good news, it saw Nina clutching a card close to herself. The card looked to be half dissipated.

Tears were flowing down Nina's face as she slowly repeated:"No, please... please, no." Seeing this, the System knew that since the host was currently unstable, it meant that it had been a little too late. However, nothing irreversible had happened yet. But in order to reach the host, it couldn't approach her while she was in a state of excitement. … Nina had been watching Elias's montage happen. She saw everything go into reverse. She saw his courageous spirit when she had been away with the System.

She saw how he stayed to help. She remembered his banter with Lily and the others. And she saw everything. She saw how he had created the contract that had been placed upon Abellina. He had created a pathway that led to the relationships she had now. She saw his relationships with Mr. Hemmingsway. And she knew that there were only a few more scenes that had yet to appear before he was gone. But she couldn't do anything.

Even though she had brought the card out into the real world, she could clearly see it dissipating in front of her. No, please don't go. Please, please stop. Just stop. I can't. Please. Tears fell down her face as she repeated those words in her mind over and over and over, clutching the card closer to her chest. Please. She didn't know how long she remained like that. She only knew that the scenes continued disappearing one after another, each one taking something with it that she couldn't explain.

Then, at some point, the montage stopped. Nina didn't notice at first. Her mind was too shaken, too focused on the card in her hands and the final scenes that should have been appearing. She continued staring at it, waiting for the next scene. Nothing happened. She waited longer. Still nothing. It was only after what felt like an eternity had passed that Nina finally realized something was wrong. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

The card hadn't changed. She blinked. Looking down, she saw that the dissipating edges had stopped. Her fingers tightened around it. Why? She looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed. There was no indication of what had happened.

"What is happening?" Nina slowly stood up, still holding the card close to her chest, and began walking. She didn't know what she was looking for. She simply needed to move. As she walked, she eventually found Seraphina, who, due to the mist, had been separated from her. Nina stopped. Seraphina was completely frozen. For a moment, Nina simply stared at her. Something about this was fundamentally wrong. Then she noticed it. A slight movement in Seraphina's eyes. Nina's expression changed.

"Seraphina?" She called out. There was no response. Nina stepped closer and tried to touch her. The moment her fingers were about to make contact, a chill ran down her back. She slowly turned around. Behind her stood the System in its true form: the beautiful night sky.

"Host, it is time." Nina stared at it, confusion still clouding her mind. A System panel appeared before her. At the very top, it showed that she had succeeded in obtaining the monetary value she needed. She had, in fact, obtained 796 million monetary value.

"That doesn't make sense," Nina said quietly.

"I'm sure I was nowhere near this amount." The System didn't say anything. Instead, a breakdown page appeared in front of Nina. She stared at it. As she read through the numbers, her hand slowly tightened into a fist. She understood. She understood how the value had been accumulated. But even after seeing it, she couldn't bring herself to care. Not right now. After some time, another thing appeared in front of her. A list of choices. One was to remain in this world. Two was to return to her original world.

And three was to allow herself to rest forever in a peaceful sleep, never to be awakened ever again. Nina's eyes lingered on the third option. For the first time since the System had appeared, her expression softened. Her heart was drawn toward it, the thing she had always wanted but could never achieve due to the System restrictions. She only had to choose it. But as she was about to pick it, she remembered Seraphina's words from before they stepped into the Calamity.

I don't care how you do it, but whatever you do, you better not end yourself. This is the last step.

"The last step." Nina repeated the words subconsciously. Her hand stopped. She slowly turned to face the frozen Seraphina. She knew that, for some reason, even in this frozen state caused by the System, Seraphina was still somehow conscious, but she was unable to speak. Nina looked at her for a long moment. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know whether Seraphina was right. She didn't even know whether she wanted to keep going. Then her eyes drifted downward. Toward Elias's persona card.

Her fingers tightened around it. Nina turned toward the System. She ignored the choices. With one word, she asked:"System."

"Is there a way that I could see the outside world?" Without a word, a portal appeared, showing a roof-like view, a distant view of where she currently was. Nina stared into it. For a moment, she didn't understand what she was seeing. Then she realized. Her body was within that capsule. Beside her, sitting on a chair next to the capsule, was Emma, who seemed to be keeping watch, with slight tiredness at the corners of her expression. Nina's breathing slowed. Emma was there. She had been waiting beside her.

For some reason, that sight made Nina's chest tighten. Her hand slowly moved toward the outer edge of the portal. When she did so, she watched as, within the capsule, her hand subconsciously raised. Emma immediately noticed. Her tired expression disappeared. She quickly jumped up in excitement.

"Nina, are you awake, Nina?" The loud sound from Emma startled someone who was in the corner.

"She's waking up?" Nina's expression grew pale. Her eyes slowly shifted toward the person she had subconsciously ignored. Lily. But Lily was in a wheelchair.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I saw her hand go up."

"Wait." Emma turned toward Lily, her eyes filled with horror.

"You should hurry." Lily immediately pushed her wheelchair backward, panic overtaking her movements as she desperately searched for somewhere to hide. Nina watched. She didn't move. She didn't speak. She simply watched Lily hurriedly push herself behind a separation, a divider that, had Nina awakened at the time, would have meant Nina would never have guessed that Lily had been hiding there. For several seconds, Nina remained completely still. Her hand was still raised toward the portal.

Then, slowly, she brought it back. There was no anger on her face, only a terrifying calmness. She had spent so long ignoring certain things. The strange coincidences. Emma. Her family. The circumstances surrounding her original world. All the little things that had never quite made sense. She had noticed them. She had always noticed them. She had simply chosen not to follow them to their conclusion. Because she didn't want that conclusion to be true. But now… Nina stared at the place where Lily had disappeared.

She finally understood something she had been ignoring all this time, simply because she wished with everything she had that it wasn't true.... The silence in the space was palpable. It wasn't until the System spoke up.

"Your decision?" Nina looked between Seraphina and where the portal once stood before turning her attention to the System.

"Can I choose when I get to decide? Since there's a few things I need to do." The System looked at its host.

"Are you sure you wish to continue?" Nina looked at the last card in her hands before dropping it on the ground.

"I understand." The System, hearing its host's words, couldn't help but try to persuade her again.

"But, Host, you understand that this will be the last moment to make your choice as you. Beyond this point, I don't even know if this pathway will open again." Nina lowered her eyes.

"I understand." As she walked back to her position, the System grabbed the persona card and brought it forth, giving it to its host.

"So long as you're sure, you understand what this means."

"I have enough lives, right?"

"What?" The System paused.

"I have enough lives. I think I can survive this." The System didn't answer, but it removed the time freeze as it vanished, and Nina continued. The montage that had paused continued in Nina's mind. Despite the pain, Nina was eerily calm throughout. When Elias's montage finished, she watched as he took a life from her, leaving her with two lives. She also felt her body dissipating. Now, all that was left was a torso and head. She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst.

If Nina had kept her eyes open, she would have seen that her status window was glitching. The Calamity was trying to take over, but her name would also surface every now and then. Eventually, it glitched to the point where it seemed no one would surface. But in the end, Nina herself absorbed the Calamity, and her name remained, with the occasional glitches appearing here and there. But even so, another life was taken, leaving Nina with one life.... Nina herself felt as though she was in an endless dark place.

It was different from the time she had walked into the System space. This place felt eerily calm. She almost felt at home, as though she was the place and the place was her. Eventually, the pathway opened up in front of her. As she stepped through, she found herself opening her eyes and seeing two huge doors in front of her. One was clearly labeled Neutral Evil, and the other was labeled Neutral Good. Two doors, she thought. She turned to find someone who she intuitively knew was here.

Sure enough, Seraphina was in this strange place along with her. But she did not seem surprised by the place in front of them. If anything, she seemed curious as she subconsciously read the titles on the doors. Neutral Evil. Neutral Good. Nina watched as Seraphina walked toward the door titled Neutral Evil. But as she was about to touch it, the door switched places with the other. Seraphina, in turn, opened the Neutral Good door.

Nina, who watched the turn of events, turned to face the Neutral Evil door that had permanently made its way in front of her. Without much thought, she placed her hand on it, opening the door and stepping through. This place didn't seem to hold any hostility toward her, but it also did not seem to hold any benefit for her. But seeing the magical trick of the doors switching and presenting themselves to her, a slight interest arose in her mind.

She wondered what could possibly be beyond this door and why Seraphina seemed to be used to this area. She was sure that a moment ago they had been in the Calamity, but in this place, she felt an eerie sense of kinship as she walked through the door. She wondered where it would take them. But seeing Seraphina beside her yet again, she wondered what the point of the doors themselves was. As she thought that, she watched as a figure bathed in white light approached them.

Looking up, she couldn't fathom the majesty of this being. In the next moment, the being shrank and seemed to be of a similar size to her. She still could not comprehend the vastness of her and could not understand it. But something was telling her that she was her. She was a portion of this being. In her confusion, Seraphina's voice echoed out.

"I told you, Goddess."

"No matter how many times you try, no matter how many conditions you set, I will always strive to protect this world." She pointed toward Nina.

"I have brought her, the person you so said to be the key."

"Now, end this repeating cycle."

"And stop destroying the world."