VRMMORPG: Dragomancer Reborn



"If it was just that much, do you think you would get all the effects?" The unknown person spoke. 

Arthur was surprised by the unknown person's response but tried to rationalize it.

"The pain does seem an extreme cost for it," Arthur said after thinking for a bit. 'Though it was unexpected.' 

"But you were informed about it." The unknown person responded.

"Huh? I was… no I wasn't." Arthur denied.

"Before you got the class, were you not told of the suffering and burden you would have to bear?" The unknown person questioned.

"That… wasn't that just supposed to be for the sake of dramatic effects?" Arthur was now in a mix of confusion and fear.

"Nothing… I say nothing, in Morpheus Online is without reason." The unknown person said in a serious tone. "Everything you do, speak, and hear matters." It clarified.

"Why… why would it be like this just for a game?" Arthur said in frustration.

"Do you still think this is just a game?" The unknown person put forth an unbelievable concept.

"What kind of a ridiculous question is that?" Arthur scoffed. "Of course it is." 

"Then do you think just anyone can come back to life and return six years into the past?" The unknown person shocked Arthur, this time to his core.

"How did you…" Arthur was feeling really afraid now. 

That was a secret that he had decided to take to his grave, thus now that someone knew about it, he was feeling highly unnerved.

"How do you think you might have returned?" The unknown person asked instead. 

"I… I… I don't know… some lucky? A God took mercy?" Arthur didn't know what to answer.

He hadn't thought much about his regression either. To him, the mere fact that he was able to live again was enough. It didn't even matter to him if all he had seen was a dream. Simply the chance of being able to achieve his goals was mesmerizing to him.

Arthur had taken everything that had happened to him as an axiom and hadn't questioned anything.

"C-can… Can you tell me? Do you know why?" Arthur now started to think that this unknown person knew a lot more.

"Of course, that is why I am here." The unknown person replied. "Let's start from the beginning… I am Zaddreus. Or rather, I was called that once." 

"Zaddreus…" Arthur repeated wondering if he had heard of it before or not. 

"Let me tell you about your return first… The reason behind your return is your predecessor." Zaddreus revealed.

"My predecessor? Like the one who had the Dragomancer class originally?" Arthur inquired.

"Yes, him." Zaddreus confirmed. "His actions were what allowed you to return to your life 6 years in the past." 

"B-but… how?" Arthur questioned. "And why me?" he also asked.

"How he did that is something you need to find out on your own." Zaddreus didn't answer this time.

"Why can't you tell me that?" Arthur questioned. 

"Because I do not know… or rather, this 'instance' of me that you are speaking to does not know." Zaddreus answered.

"Instance… you mean there are more of you?" Arthur questioned in doubt.

"There are yes. And you need to seek them out." Zaddreus answered.

This gave rise to more doubts in Arthur's mind. 

"Wait, aren't you here to answer my questions and tell me everything? Then doesn't it make sense to have one 'instance' do all of it?" Arthur expressed his doubt.

"If it was possible, I would have done that too. Your words are not wrong." Zaddreus stated. "But there are limitations I cannot overcome either. While I cannot tell you how your predecessor turned back time, I can assume you can tell it did not come at a small cost." He revealed.

This gave Arthur a lot to think about.

'Just what kind of cost would one have to pay to turn back the time? Their life? But then they would be turning back the lives of billions of people. Would that cost be justified?' Arthur continued to think, but couldn't come up with an answer.

Zaddreus read through his mind and knew that he was going on the right path.

"For now you can assume that the cost was great… Greater than you could think." Zaddreus replied. 

"But then… why did he choose me?" Arthur asked.

"The answer to this is simple… he didn't." Zaddreus dropped a stunning fact.

"Wait what!?" Arthur was shocked. "But only I seem to be the only one being able to remember everything." 

But as soon as Arthur thought that, another terrifying thought presented to him.

"No wait… it can't be… There are more people that remember?" Arthur asked in a trembling voice.

"I can allay your fears here," Zaddreus said in a calm voice. "You are the only one who remembers." He confirmed.

"But then… what did you mean by I wasn't chosen?" Arthur inquired.

"The original plan was to rewind the time for everyone, with the small hope that a few people might remember it. Remember the life that they had lived." Zaddreus replied.

"And I was the only one that managed to do that?" Arthur reckoned.

"Indeed… we do not know if it was luck, or something else. But you were the only one who managed to retain your memories." Zaddreus stated. "What's even better though, is the fact that you knew about Morpheus Online as well as the Dragomancers." He added.

"Yeah… even if others had their memories, there was no guarantee they would have played Morpheus Online. While a lot of people do, not everyone learns everything about the game." Arthur muttered.

"Correct. We simply hoped that they would join the game. As long as they did, I would naturally sense them and try to find them." Zaddreus explained. "But you made the task easy, you directly appeared to obtain the Legacy of the Dragomancer." He said, a hint of joy within his voice.

This was the first time Arthur was sensing Zaddreus express any emotion.