Escape - Chapter 33.2
Chapter 33.2
It wasn’t there.
He had given interviews immediately after logging out. The Escape community, naturally, was in an uproar. A new district discovered after a year! Players were buzzing with excitement over the uncharted territory. He planned to capitalize on this by releasing items to aid underwater travel. Which meant his manufacturing guilds were working overtime. Which, in turn, meant Eric was busy.
“I went to see him on the day of the operation, you know, so he wouldn’t be bored, but he was gone. Even his military bag—everything.” Bruja said, snapping her gum.
Eric smacked his forehead, a pang of regret hitting him. He should have seen this coming. If Adeline was suspicious, her companion, Luce, was unlikely to be a normal player.
His gaze drifted to a neatly folded white handkerchief tucked away on his desk. The one Adeline had given him in the Serpent’s Lair. He still couldn’t understand why he hadn’t thrown the thing away.
A powerful NPC claiming to be human. Eric scoffed, thinking about what the handkerchief represented. Sleep deprivation was making him delusional. He tried to focus on the fact that he had been fooled by a mere AI.
“…Her shadow?”
“What?”
“Did she have one? A shadow, I mean.”
What the hell is he talking about? Bruja stared at him, bewildered. Never mind. Eric waved his hand dismissively, already anticipating the answer. He had bigger problems to worry about than some mysterious man. More importantly…
“Any word from Shade?”
Shade’s eye.
It couldn’t be true. It absolutely shouldn’t be. But according to the last report he’d received…
“Yeah, he’s blind.”
Bruja confirmed his fears succinctly. Eric groaned.
“That’s impossible.”
“I agree.”
“What’s Escape’s official stance?”
“Denial, of course. But honestly, I’m inclined to agree. Physically losing an eye? I doubt that’s even possible with just a headset and a capsule.”
“But she was the one who slashed Shade’s eye. And afterward, he… actually lost his right eye.”
Bruja shifted her weight, crossing one leg over the other, a thoughtful expression on her face. Silence descended on the room. Finally, she spoke, her voice laced with weariness.
“Honestly… I think it’s more likely he did it to himself. Stress-induced, maybe.”
“Self-harm?”
“Yeah. I mean, his guild fell apart like that, so it must have been a shock. It’s something the subconscious could definitely do.”
It wasn’t an illogical argument. In fact, considering Shade’s unusual attachment to his guild, it was entirely plausible.
Besides, in-game injuries had never affected players in the real world. If they had, the game would have been shut down long ago. In fact, some countries still refused to officially authorize the game due to its realistic nature. Which meant players from countries like Canada and Australia were all playing illegally.
So why did he have this nagging feeling of unease?
A sense of foreboding washed over Eric as he skimmed the medical report Bruja had handed him. Laceration caused by a sharp metal object.
“By the way, Eric, you’re from Northern Europe, right? Sweden, was it?”
“Norway.”
“Ah, same difference. You all speak the same gibberish anyway.”
Eric briefly imagined Bruja’s reaction if he’d said the same thing about Spain and Italy. He decided against it. Bruja’s reputation for living up to her nickname (bruja, meaning “witch” in Spanish) stemmed not from her abilities, but from her temperament.
“Anyway, why the sudden interest in my nationality?”
“People are freaking out about the lore, but Midgard and Jormungandr don’t mean anything to me.”
The theory that the new district was Midgard was already gaining traction. Considering the Serpent’s Master, it seemed certain. Norse mythology. A familiar tale to him, as natural as breathing.
“It’s Norse mythology.”
“Yeah, I know that. So explain it to me.”
“Midgard is the realm of humans in the myths. Jormungandr is a giant serpent that encircles Midgard. After being cast into the sea by the gods, it’s said to lie at the bottom of the ocean, its tail in its mouth.”
So what? Bruja’s raised eyebrows spoke volumes. Eric sighed wearily.
“According to the myth, Jormungandr doesn’t move from its place at the bottom of the sea.”
“Huh? But it moved. It caused that storm during the battle and disappeared.”
“Exactly. That’s what’s got people so riled up.”
“Why?”
“Because Jormungandr is prophesied to rise from the sea at the end of the world.”
The end of the world. Bruja’s eyes lit up at the provocative words. Which meant…
“Are you saying… the game’s ‘ending’ is there?”
“Yes. We’re expecting the remaining districts to be in the ocean, not in the labyrinth.”
The thought alone was enough to send hardcore players into a frenzy. An uncharted sea, a new world beyond the labyrinth. In Western European terms, it was the Age of Exploration.
Bruja whistled, pacing back and forth across his office. She seemed incapable of staying still. In moments like these, she was the spitting image of Gato.
“You two are a perfect match.”
“What?”
Eric shook his head and gestured for her to leave. Bruja’s expression darkened.
“If you’re talking about my partner, you’re dead meat. We’ll settle this without our ranks.”
Even that was a female version of Gato. Eric responded by pointedly returning to his paperwork.
If the game’s lore was based on Norse mythology, there was something else he needed to consider.
Ragnarok.
The apocalyptic battle in Norse mythology, the war between the gods and the giants.
“I need to increase the number of weaponsmiths in the guild,” Eric murmured to himself. If his suspicions were correct, war was inevitable.
Though who would be the gods and who would be the giants in this story, he had yet to determine.
