It was Night back in Dream City. When we finally logged out of XCalibur AOP 2, we noticed some changes in Dream City that were very hard to ignore. The City seemed much brighter than before we began the game…though it had never really been gloomy.
"I see…the Dream Knights have already began to take action utilizing the data we generated by playing the game" I had said when we had rowed back to the dock.
"Yeah, the city looks different. The changes are rather drastic. It's difficult to believe all of this occurred within the short period of a week. It feels as though we've been playing for ages" Concordia noted.
"Dad did say though Dream Knights work in the Dream World, our success is measured by progress made in the Real World. At times like this, I feel glad that I'm a Dream Knight" Saito admitted.
"True that sis" Ariel agreed.
"But the progress made is far too outstanding. There are trees here that weren't here before and fully grown ones at that leaving out all the new buildings and general changes in Architecture. It's almost as though Dad and the other Dream Knights have been time leaping" Keiran noted.
"Hey…you think that's possible?" I asked Keiran.
"There are Time Knights amongst the Dream Knight Forces. Our experience in XCalibur AOP isn't exactly 'normal' either. We've basically played across multiple eras in Human History in the space of roughly a Week. It's hard to doubt some Time Travel isn't at work" Keiran said.
"Well…it's either that or some manipulation of Time Waves. Well, it's best we avoid vexing ourselves with needless worries for now" Mitsuki said.
"Besides, things seem to be getting better instead of worse. That's good right? We should prepare to face the next level" Arlene said.
"If the previous level was focused on the Rise Of Civilization which was mostly a Social Event, the next ladder up Abraham Mothers'-Laws Needs Theorem is all about Esteem Needs. It's one stop short of completing the Game" I noted.
"Five Elemental Rings huh? I can pretty much guess what we'll be up against next" Keiran said with an amused laugh.
With that, we said our goodbyes to one another and each went to our respective homes.
When we finally arrived home, we were all so tired we went straight to bed. We had enjoyed playing the game and we were happy to see how our time spent in it aided the Real World.
"Dad and Mom told us once that occurrences in the Dream World are symbolic of occurrences that are about to occur in the Real World. They must have translated that into the Geographical Transliteration Legend Scale (GTLS). That would mean that XCalibur AOP 2 isn't exactly a Virtual World but rather a Virtual Mirror Of The Real And Dream Worlds" I thought seriously. "That would imply that all our activities in XCalibur AOP 2 are the equivalent of actual Dream Knight Missions".
Finally, I shut my eyes. When I opened them, I appeared in the presence of my Gramps, the Nightmare King.
"You appear to understand XCalibur AOP 2 a bit better now" my Gramps said.
I nodded.
"So there really is some Time Manipulation involved huh?" I asked.
"Not exactly. We're not trying to change history yet in some ways we are" my Gramps said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"This might be a bit tough to explain. I intended to explain it once you unlocked the Final Seal. It might have made better sense to you then. Let me try and simplify it. Imagine there is a huge realm at the centre of existence with Twelve Gates. This realm is where everything good comes from and the Gates lead to countless other worlds categorized into Seven Great Realms. Then one day a very sinister force finds a way to infiltrate this world and corrupt the positive energy flowing from it turning the energy into poison and in so doing greatly amplify all the evil in the countless worlds connected to this realm. What would you do?" my Gramps asked.
"I'd shut off the point from which all the positive energy flows to prevent the evil force from corrupting the source of everything good and turning all the Worlds into a true nightmare" I said.
"Exactly, that there is how to fight the venom of a serpent's bite. To seal off the blood flow, bleed out the venom and buy time until you find a cure. That is what you did when you fought off the Basilisk. You were literally curing the venom of a serpent's bite. Fine then, you succeeded in sealing off the venom but now the patient is in a perilous state. It's literally a battle of Life And Death, what would you do next?" my Gramps asked.
"I'd feed the patient everything that amplifies Vitality and in so doing take back their Life while fighting off their Death" I answered.
"That is also the right answer. Give the patient a diet of Balance. That…is the concept behind Justice. To tip the Scale Of Life in their favour. To do that you'll have to begin to diminish the influence of the sinister force while amplifying the influence of the Source Of All Good Things and there lies the answer to your question. We must diminish the sinister force's influence without actually altering any event that led to something good in the future and at times good can be born out of tragedy. That…is the tricky part. To eliminate the malice without eliminating the potential good born from it" the Nightmare King said.
I smiled.
"I see. Well then I suppose you should explain the next Seal to me" I said.
"The next Seal is 'The Seal Of Ryugaeia'. It is also known as 'The Seal Of Endurance' or 'The Seal Of Beckoning And Destiny'. Its release words are;
"What is a heart or rather, who is the Heart
So fragile that it can be rended apart
One part strong, one part weak
Broken He appears, but wholeness He seeks
Origins and Endings, two contradictory ideals
But brothers they are and as one they feel
Strong and weak,
Broken and Whole,
Add one more element, when these two become One
They beckon to Him, the Heart
For when Human meets Divine, He will be born,
The Heart that Destroys Armageddon…and His name is…Benedict!"
My Gramps said.
"To complete the next level, you and your comrades must carry all the wishes and weights of the five fragmented continents up the Mountain Of Olympus" my Gramps said.
I sighed.
"Figures" I said.