Chapter 1242 - New Quest Available

A moment later, the twins received a message from... Sister Orb. [Alright, Master has gone back to sleep. You can go back and explore the catacombs again.]

'What?!' Wasn't that way too ridiculous?

'Fuck you! Explain everything. What happened just now? What was all that about?' the twins simultaneously asked.

[Didn't you hear? Reokkeor had one of the Foundation Fragments. Now that we have it, he went to the path of reincarnation. I thought Roan would have noticed when that happened.]

Roan nodded in response, although he wasn't the least bit happy. 'Of course, I did! However, that doesn't explain anything. You better talk about the rest. What about the Extinction Sphere? He said something about it being gone. Does that mean he got to destroy it in the end?'

Rean agreed with Roan, continuing where he left off. 'That's right! And what about the skeleton? What was he doing in this place until now? First of all, it was Soul Gem who sent us here and had us separated from Calina, Qia, and the others. Doesn't he have anything to say about that? Also, what's this about the Foundation Fragment thing?'

[Oh, that? Soul Gem already left the information behind for you. Now that you saw the Foundation Fragment, there wasn't much of a reason to hide the rest of the story anymore.]

Sister Orb then explained, [Well, if you stopped to think a little about it, you would have figured the rest on your own anyway. First, the Foundation Fragment talks about the foundation on which our Universe is built. That means both halves.]

Roan nodded after hearing that. 'That means when Soul Gem destroyed the Extinction Sphere, it also caused the Universe's separation. When we saw Soul Gem's memories of the past, he said the Control Orb was supposed to heal the Universe after the sphere was destroyed. After all, destroying the sphere also meant damaging the Universe itself. With the information I have right now, I guess the destruction of the Extinction Sphere was successful. Unfortunately, the healing part didn't seem to go according to plan.'

[See? I told you guys you'd figure the rest on your own. That's exactly what happened. Because of the Wafrol Forces, Soul Gem was only successful in destroying the Extinction Orb, but not healing the Universe. The reason he couldn't do it should be very obvious as well.]

Rean was the one to continue it from there. 'He had to run away, right? After all, how could he spend the time to heal the Universe if the Wafrol Forces were there to bother him? That's where he came up with the Soul Gem System plan after fusing his soul with the Control Orb.'

[Correct. However, as you can imagine, doing such a thing put a huge burden on his soul. That's why he has to stay in a constant state of hibernation and let the Soul Gem Orb control everything. That other part you already heard before. Without anyone to heal the Universe after the Extinction Sphere was destroyed, its foundation was severely damaged. That's how both halves of the Universe came to be. The fragment Reokkeor was carrying was one of the Foundation Fragments.]

Sister Orb continued, [You already heard in the past that to fix both halves of the Universe, it was necessary to have someone from the other side. That's why you came.]

Rean and Roan nodded in response. They did know about that indeed. 'So?'

[Before Soul Gem entered his hibernation and sent the Soul Gem System to the other half of the Universe, he entrusted a few of his closest friends with a task. They were to retrieve the Foundation Fragments so that the Wafrol Forces couldn't use it to destroy the Universe once for all.]

[As to why the fragments can do that, it's simple. The fragments carry immense power capable of influencing the Universe's already fragile structure. If you can gather all of them and use their power, the damaged foundation won't be able to hold on. Once that happens...]

'Both halves of the Universe will collapse,' Rean and Roan concluded.

[Yes. Well, you do know most of the story already, so it wasn't like you learned too much. I believe you already had your own theories as well. Anyways, that's all. Happy?]

'Happy, my ass!' Rean immediately rebuked. 'What about Qia, Calina, and the others? He could have changed their direction as well!'

[You're mistaken. Soul Gem is in a constant state of hibernation, so the system's program is what moves it. It only detected you two, Kentucky, and Celis as having any connection with the Soul Gem System, so it only brought the four of you. He said he felt Reokkeor's presence, but only subconsciously. The system did the rest.]

Roan shook his head in response, letting out a sigh as he said, 'What's done is done. However, I thought Soul Gem was gone forever. I've never heard about his soul in hibernation inside the system. With that said, I have to ask. What does he plan to do by being in there? What is his part in all of this?'

[That... I don't know. You will have to ask him the next time he wakes up.]

Roan narrowed his eyes after hearing that. 'The next time he wakes up? Alright then, when will that be?'

[I also have no idea.]

Rean couldn't help but say once again. 'Sister Orb, you're too useless! You could have asked him at least this bit before he went back to sleep.'

[Ahem... well, I can tell you this much, at least. The stronger the system becomes, the faster Soul Gem's next awakening will be.]

The twins were at a slight loss for words after hearing that, though. 'The stronger it is? Other than the Processing Power upgrade from that old quest, there isn't an option there to increase the Soul Gem System's power.'

[Oh, don't worry. More of these quests will appear eventually. Oh! Speak of the devil...]

*Pin!*

[New Quest Available: To unite the two halves of the Universe, the hosts have to gather all 14 Universe Foundation Fragments. Progress: 01/14]