'My head feels like a bucket of bricks.'
Alex groggily opened her eyes, adjusting herself to the stinging ache. She had been content listening to their noisy bickering, but Avery had to open her mouth.
'Either Isaiah saw nothing or is lying, but more importantly, what does all this mean?'
Her attempt at awakening any connection to magical energy failed with the fire item, but she unintentionally used said mystical energy to kill the beast without knowing how or why. The deity surely knew what she did and may have even had a hand in it. Alex's eyes narrowed slightly.
If it was the deity's ploy, which was the most likely scenario, Alex was determined to decipher her intentions. If no external factors were involved, she would attempt to decipher the symbols and ascertain their purpose. In that trance-like state, she was semi-lucid. Her mind and body did whatever it pleased. She felt like she was both in control and not.
As she traced each symbol, she gained an understanding and surging energy from the symbol swelled within her. When she spoke, it was the meaning of each symbol. As for the last symbol that she had drawn on the beast, it was a symbol from the book she had deciphered during her trial in the library. The moment she fully understood the meaning behind a symbol from the book, she would forget both the symbol and its meaning. Then, during her trance, she remembered a page from the book. All of this was certainly not a coincidence. Doing things she had never done before and locked memories hinted that someone or something was toying with her. She was uncertain, but it was a likely option.
And the deity would have to clarify the situation soon.
She lifted her aching head with great difficulty and assessed the state of her teammates. All of them looked much more composed than before. Since they were in a room made from a fireproof material, the fire did not reach them and they did not succumb to fear in the face of the beast.
Everyone faced her in silence, presumably expecting an explanation or something similar. Alex did not bother herself with that, though. Instead, she left the couch and went to the healing pad. The distance was not too great, but every step was arduous, yet she refused to express her pain.
As Alex let the refreshing waves of the healing pad crash over her, she abruptly realised her white hair cradled her completely. Splaying around her and reaching her knees, Alex's silky white hair cascaded down freely. Alex's eyes widened in shock, her hands inspecting her face, searching for wrinkles and any sign of external aging.
Her hands only felt smooth, supple skin, exactly as before. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that her body had not aged. The fifth stage would be impossible without an agile body.
Thankfully, she had previously tied her items to her waist with a strip of cloth, copying Damien. If not, she would have lost all her items, ruining her plan for the fifth stage.
Alex stepped away from the healing pad and faced her team members. She was unwilling to share what she had done, especially since she was unsure of its significance.
"Alex?"
"Are you telling us what happened?" Dahlia sounded both curious and tentative. Everyone else gave Alex curious looks, except Isaiah who was stone-faced.
"If you mean the hair, then I don't know."
"Just admit that you're not human." Isaiah finally spoke. His tone was playful, but Alex detected a slight edge. She could not tell if he was joking or not.
"I'm a regressor. I've lived this life before and that is why I can exploit all the secrets, but my appearance reverted, which is why my hair is white."
Alex's answer was met with even stranger looks and a look of mock scorn from Isaiah. They soon stopped questioning her and talked idly to pass the time.
°°°
"Why isn't this over yet?"
"More people have to die first. Are you trying to tell people to die faster?"
"So, how long do we have to wait? I'm hungry." Alex gave Damien a dirty look for daring to mention hunger.
She just shared her surplus food supplies and bottles of water with the rest of the group, leaving only a necessary amount in her storage cube. She was unsure whether she could access it, anyway. Damien ate the most food, yet he dared to ask for more.
"Hey Alex, what's the fifth stage going to be like? I'm tired of killing people." Maria was right, killing people at such a young age was tiring and difficult in the psyche- for sane people, anyway.
"We won't have to kill any humans, fortunately."
"Please don't act like you care." Isaiah, as usual, had to butt in, shamelessly expressing his unnecessary thoughts.
"A few weeks ago, we were normal high school students. Now look at us, discussing death over canned food."
"I was in university."
"I was about to complete my IB."
"That wasn't the point." Charles belatedly realised that crazy people surrounded him.
Before anyone could say more, a familiar screen flashed in front of their faces. Alex quickly stuffed an item into her mouth as a safety measure.
[Congratulations, you are an excellent ruler. You conquered your setting, invaded another setting and killed the time-limit beast. Each of you receives a reward of 10000 shards and a 5th stage pass. ]
Gasps and expressions of shock escaped her teammates as they read the message in front of them. They believed killing such a creature was impossible. They immediately turned to Alex, their eyes displaying a variety of questions she could not answer.
Discussions were not in question as they each disappeared into bursts of glowing particles, and the lively atmosphere vanished, leaving an empty room behind.
°°°
Alex found herself on a familiar platform, surrounded by a sea of crimson.
[By using the 5th stage pass, you will skip the 5th stage directly. If you choose not to use the pass, you will gain 2000 spirit shards.]
[Would you like to use the pass?]
•YES• •No•