The mysterious entity looked at its own dimension slowly collapsing on itself. The enemies it wanted to slay had unfortunately escaped.
"Tch… it didn't work out at the end… who could have guessed they would even develop dimension-slicing attacks? This is outrageously unexpected. I should quickly head back for now. I can't stay in this space any longer, lest I risk getting caught by the gods…"
Despite its initial frustration, its temperament suddenly became calm and calculative. It was as if it was a different person altogether…. what kind of being could this god truly be?
"No matter, no matter. There will be more chances for me in the future… after all, my plans are beyond this entire charade… I won't rest until I can accomplish my goals…" he muttered.
After the entire nightmare happened, I ended up falling asleep.
I don't know how long I slept but it definitely felt like an eternity went by.
My body was reconstructed by mother, but I had died back then… technically.
As for my soul… it was close to shattering into pieces. I was sure that pain was still there, but it seems it went away. I'm pretty sure my mother did something to heal me.
As I slept, I saw my soul scape slowly reconstruct back together. Eventually, I was able to spend some time with the System, Naturia, and Ignatius now that things had finally calmed down.
I really wanted to meet everyone outside, but I couldn't wake up even if I forced my soul to wake my body up. Maybe I was put into an induced comatose through some kind of spell by mother. I guess she wants my soul to heal more thoroughly. Then again, I've read that sleeping is a good method to heal souls, so that might really be the case.
As I spent time here, I was able to talk with Ignatius, Naturia, and the System about everything that happened. I also slowly used the healing light directed at me from my mother into the System, healing her pained wounds a bit. She's technically something like an artificial spirit, so this light healed her up quite a bit.
"Phew… I feel way better…" she said with a sigh.
"Thanks a lot for helping me out at that moment, System. It really means a lot…" I told her.
"A-Ah… i-it's nothing… it's the duty of the System to help her host as much as possible!" the System said in response.
"You've grown a lot these past three years. You've developed way more, plus you're way more mature than before…" I pointed out.
"Ueh? W-what are you talking about? I-I'm a system, not a person!" she could not help but say.
The system was still a glowing orb of light, but she meant a lot to me.
"You mean a lot to me… even if you think that way. You're my friend, my partner… basically, you're my sister!" I said.
"Uwaah… i-is that so?" she asked nervously.
I hugged the System as she seemed to grow increasingly nervous and embarrassed.
"I-I'm glad… you see me … Sylphy… You're also the most important thing in my life," the System said as we hugged.
"Yeah! Y-You're quite literally my world…" the System replied.
"O-Oh… well, I'm glad… we have mutual feelings of sisterhood!" I said in response.
"R-Right! Yeah, that!" the System said after that.
Hugging the System felt rather good. Then again, I was getting tired of calling her like that. With that, I began to think about what name to give to her that wasn't just "System". In the meantime, Naturia flew around us. She seemed energetic and had gained her life force after resting up and being healed by my mother.
"Have you thought about getting another name?" I asked.
"Oh? A-a name?" she asked.
"Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted a name! Calling you System doesn't sound nice…" I said with a sigh.
"Well… how about… Alice!" suggested the System.
"Alice?! Well… that's quite a good name. Sure, Alice it is," I replied.
"T-Then… I am Alice from now on. Not just… a System!" the System, well, Alice said.
"You seem oddly happy. I guess you really wanted it deep down, didn't you? From where did you get that name?" I asked her.
"From that Alice in Wonderland book you like to read sometimes… you talked about it for like three months straight a year ago," Alice replied.
"O-Oh, right… maybe we should read some books together some more… after I wake up, that is." I sighed.
"Yeah… even with all my glitches, I'm really happy that I've been able to help you out, Sylph…" she said.
"I-I should be the one who's very thankful. Without you, I would have surely died… this glitch ended up making me unkillable!" I told her.
"N-Not exactly unkillable…" Alice said with a sigh.
"Well, whatever the case may be, I managed to do it thanks to your help… so I am very thankful." I doubled down.
"W-What about me?! Stop ignoring me for once!"
At that moment, Ignatius exclaimed. He had appeared in a small form I never thought I would see. Right now, he… looked like an egg. Yes, he was a red egg with orange patches resembling flames. There were two little cracks on the egg where two small draconic eyes looked at us…
"Oh right! I should be thankful, I guess… though you could've helped earlier, you know?" I told him with a sigh.
"I-I know that! But shouldn't I get a bit of gratitude at least? Look at me! After using all my power, I ended up in this pitiful state. I resemble an egg for crying out loud!" he cried.
Apparently, after he helped me out, Ignatius ended up looking like a small dragon egg because he used all his power or something, so I guess that's that… maybe he'll grow up into a bigger dragon soul one day. Or hatch?
"Why did you turn into an egg to begin with?" I asked.
"Well… I don't really know! After using all my power, something weird happened with me, I ended up becoming weakened… but even then, it feels odd to suddenly become an egg, right?" Ignatius wondered.
"I believe I know why… Ignatius is undergoing metamorphosis," Alice said all of a sudden.
"Metamorphosis? Into what?" I wondered.
"A Fire Spirit! He's no longer just a dragon, he's the soul- or well, the fragments of the soul of a dragon… perhaps fusing with Naturia ended up filling him with spirit energy…" Alice said, explaining the process.
So, such a thing could actually happen…