In a lush forest, brimming with nature's beauty, a gruesome scene unfolds, marked by the scattered remains of multiple bodies lying haphazardly.
What was once a beautiful ground is now stained with blood and scattered pieces of flesh. The scene is enough to evoke a sense of disgust in anyone, but the perpetrator of this massacre stands nonchalantly in front of the orc, resembling a beautiful ant in the presence of an ugly grasshopper.
The orc in question is suspended in the air by thin wires, unable to move at all, entirely at the mercy of the girl in question - Elysia Soubuelle.
The moment Elysia entered the dungeon, she found herself in the midst of a forest, with orcs nearby who, upon seeing her, immediately sprang into action.
Orcs—a 3-to-5-meter bipedal creature—are said to be lustful, brash, and brawny. They possess a large physique with green skin, their heads resembling pigs with tusks protruding from their mouths. Orcs have big hands, large bellies, monstrous stamina, and thick skin. Primarily, they consist of close-range fighters, with some exceptions, capable of both knowing magic and being long-range fighters.
The orcs that Elysia encountered were nothing special, ranging from B to A rank, far too weak for her.
"So, this world is Edolas, and the rulers of the land are Dragons, Phoenix, Elves, Ingenari, and Cambions. The rulers of the sea are Merfolk. There are no humans in this world, assuming you don't know what they are. The world of Edolas has only one continent surrounded by oceans, and this continent is divided into 5 parts by the river flowing from the center of the world known as Azeroth – The Land of Eternal Starlight," Elysia mumbled, repeating whatever the orc told her after she politely asked him.
"What is this place, Azeroth?" she asked once again politely after moving her finger a bit, causing another cut to appear on the orc's body and making him bleed.
"I-I don't know anything about it. The rulers made sure that no one, except them, knows about it. Not even nobles will know anything, as it is a secret known only to the royalties," the orc replied while crying, unable to even scream from the pain after being threa- politely asked not to shout.
"Ah, good thing I thought about it. System, tell me about the quest." Suddenly remembering the quest, she immediately asked the system for details.
[Quest Type: Survival Quest
Quest: Drink the Juice of a Crystal Fruit
Description: There are ten types of crystal fruits, each emerging from a single tree – The Crystal Tree. After certain conditions are met, the fruits emerge from the tree, which will only last for 24 hours. After this period, the fruits lose their unique properties and become mere antique items.
Quest Duration: Infinite
Quest Difficulty: X
Chances of Completion: 0.05%]
"Long time not heard, System." After reading and hearing about the quest, Elysia suddenly spoke aloud, addressing the screen displayed in front of her.
[It indeed has been, and you are not looking in good shape.] Surprisingly, the system responded to her words.
"Well, yeah. I guess my countdown has started." She said, not at all disheartened by talking about her own end.
[The curse, suppressed by both of them, has indeed been released, and you will surely perish in 210 days if nothing is done] the system responded emotionlessly.
"Hmm, so according to your calculations, I will die in 210 days? Even if I use my powers all the time or not?"
[By not using your powers at all, not even a tiny bit.]
"Ah, such a predicament it is. Oh well, let me ask this pig something, after which we will talk, okay?"
[Just do it fast.] The system replied and went silent, not for long though.
"Now, Mr. Pig, tell me what you know about crystal fruits, and do it fast."
"O-oink, I-I don't k-know anything about any crystal fruits, miss," the orc replied, all scared, not knowing what she would do if she didn't get the answer she desired.
But unfortunately for him, even if she was satisfied with his answer, she would still kill him. And she did, by moving her fingers a bit, causing the orc to be cut into very small meat pieces.
"Now, what about my reward, System?" After killing the orc, Elysia walked for a bit and asked the system while walking.
[Which one?] The system asked dumbly.
"For not cursing at you," she shot back.
[Tch, whatever. The novel which you heard, when you were bedridden at the time when you were human and were suffering from the Physique Corrosion Curse cast by your brother in wrath, is nothing but the Universal Memory that your grandfather got because of his talent of being a seer. The memory he received was from one of the timelines, but it was from a different main timeline.]
"Meaning?" She frowned after hearing some unfamiliar terms.
Understanding it, the System said, [The Universe has its own memory, which is collected in the form of records. Those records are called Akashic Records. The future that people see, or the divination that is done, is not people actually connecting to Time but rather to the Akashic Records. Your grandfather had a great talent of being a seer, so at the stage when Planet 35423 or better known as Pegiyet was undergoing its first evolution, your grandfather got connected to one of the records. The records contained information about the six chosen individuals of the universe, but before he could delve further, the knowledge burdened him and he killed himself.]
"The Six Chosen Ones? Wasn't the protagonist just him? So, who are the others?" She asked in bewilderment.
[His companions and the girl whom you have taken an interest in], the system replied in a robotic tone, making Elysia quiet.
"Okay, so they are the ones, but why didn't they have enough strength to help him, and didn't she disappear in the middle?" After some time of walking in silence, Elysia posed a question.
[The reason is simple: only the protagonist had enough help to become the strongest, while others improved with limited guidance.]
[Either way, listen up, Elysia Soubuelle.] Suddenly, the tone of the System changed.
"Hmm?"
[There are four main timelines. I don't know which main timeline this timeline is closest to, but what I do know is that in one of the main timelines, The Celestial Dragon won, destroying The Abyss, with the chosen ones all dead after getting used by him. And I can say with confidence that this timeline is not associated with that main timeline.]
"How are you so certain?"
[Because of you.]
"What do-?" In the middle of her asking, she suddenly stopped and looked at her shadow.
Suddenly, her shadow grew dark, and a shadow spike emerged out of it, narrowly missing her as she jumped before the spike could do anything to her.
The moment she landed, without stopping, she rolled to the right side, dodging a whip of shadow that came out of the tree next to her.
"Oh, light, heed my call, respond to my plea, and create a beacon to dispel the darkness,
While chanting, she kept moving, not stopping in a place lest she gets injured. With the magical word, a bright flash came out, dispelling the shadow around her, revealing a black panther with violet eyes growling at her. It seemed to have been forcefully made to come out of the realm of shadow.
"You shouldn't have bitten more than you can chew, you mew," she spoke and waved her right hand, moving her arm in the shape of claws, bisecting it into three parts.
Upon closer look, a weird type of wire made of mana was present on her fingers.
[Still liking mana strings, huh?] The system remarked after seeing her kill an S-ranked monster with ease.
"By the way, can you display my remaining time in hours to me?"
[Why, of course.]
[5032 Hrs.]
"And when I possessed this body, how many hours did I have?"
[5041 Hrs.]
"Wow, in 3 hours, I lost 8 hours of my time, huh? I think I need a bodyguard," she exclaimed in amusement.
[And it better be a female, as they do not like any male presence near you, except your brother, that is.] After hearing her, the System immediately said, fully aware of her sibling's siscon tendencies.
"Why would I have a male bodyguard? Of course, I will have a female one," she replied or stated a fact.
[Ah, I forgot you like girls.] The System immediately said after remembering Elysia's romantic preference.
[I really want to see you break all of the men's hearts after you make your debut for the first time.] The System said, fully revealing its sadistic tendencies, at which Elysia could only roll her eyes.
"Alright, just stay silent for a bit." After saying this, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath of fresh air, and suddenly a mystical energy was released from her, its origin being her head. The mystical energy spread far and wide, covering more than a thousand kilometers in diameter around her and 250 kilometers below her.
After staying like this for half an hour, she opened her eyes and looked towards the south, to her left, and started to move in that direction.
[What did you find?] Feeling curious, the System asked.
"An interesting beast whom I think I will choose as my bodyguard," she replied, excitement evident in her voice.
[Wait, are you going to make a contract?] the System asked in astonishment.
"Hmm, maybe," she replied, dismissing the System's concern.
[REALLY? WHO?] This time, the System shouted in astonishment, and rightfully so. Throughout Elysia's life, her brother and sister had gifted her many mythical beasts, hoping that she would make a contract with them. However, those poor souls could only be used by her as food, honing her cooking skills. So, it's no wonder the System was astonished by her accepting a beast as her companion.
"A Shapeshifter, but her soul is interesting. It is covered in darkness and death, yet it is not dreadful and cold, but pleasant and cool," she said and started skipping towards her destination.
"Ah, by the way, how did you infer that this timeline is not associated with that main timeline?" She asked, finally recalling her conversation with the system before she was interrupted.
Upon hearing her question, the system said in a somber tone, [Because you were not present in that timeline].
After hearing the system, Elysia stopped and asked for clarification.
[Even though Planet 35423 followed the same path as it happened in this timeline, and all the events unfolded the same, you were never born. In fact, there was not even a reaction that could describe you coming into existence. Elysia Soubuelle, in that whole Main Timeline, you were never there.]