That night, as I slept, I found myself in my Gramps' and Granny's presence in the Castle Of Nightmares.
"Looks like you heeded my Summons San" my Gramps said.
"What is it you wish to talk about?" I asked.
"From this moment on, you'll release the Seals by playing XCalibur AOP 2! Union Of The Worlds with your comrades. You are allowed to spend time in the Real World since you've mastered at the very least your physical strength. I'll now impart to you the words needed to release the Third Seal. The Third Seal is the Seal Of Ferren and has Wisdom as its theme. Its release words are;
"Night to Day, Day to Night,
Rai will remain without Light
Locked in sleep, sealed in silence,
He will lose his Heavenly Right
In endless darkness shall he remain,
Bound with Seals Of Just Indignation
Till the Tears Of A Pure Maiden Rain
To release him from eternal damnation".
These words are the centre of its focus;
"I sought out the worthy but was rejected,
Then returned to my abode.
Undergoing a Second Quest,
I found those I never sought
And they accepted me
And with them I dwell"
My Gramps said.
"To put it in simple terms, the requirement for mastering this Seal is a thorough comprehension of the Libra, Leo And Taurus Systems. I will oversee your training as well" my Gramps said.
"I see, it's all going to be about Integrated Signs huh? Thanks a lot Gramps" I said gratefully.
"There's no need to thank me. When you began to release the Ancient Seals, you began as an individual however, the closer you get to releasing the Final Seal, the lesser the themes will focus on Individualism and the more they'll focus on Society" my Gramps said.
"Hey, Gramps…if the Game was fashioned according to Abraham Mothers'-Laws Needs Theorem, then the next level…is about…" I paused and gulped.
"Indeed, it is as you suspect. In the next level…everything you've learnt so far will be interpreted…in terms of…combat!" my Gramps said.
"Figures…the second level in that Scale is all about Security" I said with a smirk.
"Yes, you will finally enter the Warring States Era or Feudal States Era. Technically, this isn't a spoiler since you already saw it coming" my Gramps said.
I opened my eyes. It was morning. After freshening up, I went downstairs to eat breakfast with my family.
"It's a new day. Hope you had pleasant dreams last night" Ariel said.
"More like the Nightmare Of Nightmares…in a good way" I said.
They laughed.
"Gramps huh?" Keiran said.
"Uh huh. We're finally entering the Feudal States Era. The game is indeed designed according to Abraham Mothers'-Laws Needs Theorem" I said.
"I've informed Concordia who informed Mitsuki to inform Arlene to inform Ciella that we'll all be meeting at the Game Studio" Saito said.
"That's exactly what this level is going to be, a Chain Combo Of Integrated Signs!" I said.
Everyone burst into laughter.
We headed to the docks. There we met Ciella, Concordia, Arlene, and Mitsuki. I steered the canoe that had Ciella and my siblings aboard. Keiran steered the canoe that had Concordia, Arlene and Mitsuki aboard. Eventually, we found ourselves on the second floor of the Pendragon Boutique.
"Hey, you guys" we exchanged greetings and sat down to talk about our previous experiences in the Game.
As expected, everyone had already figured out what the next level of the Game was going to be.
"The Feudal States Era huh? Well, we'll need to actually play the Game to figure out how to beat that level" Concordia concluded.
"Fortunately, we can log out at any time to discuss our progress" Saito said.
I stretched a fist forward.
"You guys, no losing until we beat the final boss. If these are Dream Knight Duties, then we need to treat them with the same level of seriousness we assign to actual Missions. The failsafe is that the Dream Knights can complement for our failures" I said.
"No true gamer starts a game with the thought that they'd lose a battle. Of course, not every battle is won at the first try, but that's why we learn from our losses" Concordia said as the others knocked their fists against mine.
"Sure thing" they said.
Next, we picked up our VR Headsets and placed them on our heads. The Console was turned on.
"XCalibur AOP 2! Union Of The Worlds Chapter 2! The Feudal States Era! You defeated an ancient Basilisk and healed a Native Chief of your various continents. As a token of appreciation, his entire Village decided to migrate into your land to live under your protection and your Village began to flourish. However, you went into a deep slumber and slumbered…for Four Hundred Years! Starting from the moment your slumber commenced, the Weaver Of Calamity commenced a Revolution Of Degeneration and knocked the entire World into a Dark Age of steep decline. Your lands were raided and your people were taken captive. Gambling on the slim hope that you'd one day return, they performed a last great deed of valour. They carried your body and marooned it on a nearby island so that it would not be taken captive. In their various prisons fortified by the Weaver Of Calamity's Army, they cried for help. Their cries rang through the Gemini System…and awakened you. It's time to reclaim your land and your people!"
My Dad's voice said as we burst out of the Glass Coffins that preserved our Avatars.
Our people had been keeping our Avatars alive through the Cancer System's 'Channeling' Functionality. I smiled.
"Impressive, our people are. Keeping us alive in spite of their captivity. Talk about a Nation on fire that escapes without a single burn" I said with a smirk.