Ali sat atop the gruesome mountain of corpses, his gaze drifting up toward the sky of Tokyo. The air was thick with the pungent stench of blood, gunpowder, and death. It was a chilling atmosphere, yet it seemed almost serene to him, a familiar reminder of the chaos he often found himself in.
Step. Step. Step.
The sound of approaching footsteps broke the eerie silence. Ali turned his head to the left, toward the direction of the auction. His eyes settled on the white-haired player from earlier—Tempest. The young man walked toward him, carrying a two-litre bottle of water in his hand. Without a word, Tempest gestured with the bottle, silently offering it to Ali, who raised his hand to accept the gesture.
Tempest tossed the bottle effortlessly into the air, and Ali caught it with ease. Without hesitation, he unscrewed the cap and began drinking deeply, the cold water soothing his parched throat. Meanwhile, Tempest took a seat on the ground, right beside the base of the corpse pile where Ali had made his throne. There was no need for words between the two players. They sat there in silence, their attention shifting toward the horizon where the soft hues of the sunrise began to bloom over Tokyo's skyline.
In the distance, the faint yet growing sound of approaching ambulances and CCG trucks could be heard. The emergency vehicles were drawing closer, no doubt racing to the scene in an attempt to rescue the wounded and recover any bodies they could. But for Ali and Tempest, the battle was long over. They were simply waiting now, waiting for the final notification from Paradise that would signify the conclusion of the world event.
Time seemed to stretch as the minutes passed. Neither of the players spoke, lost in their own thoughts as the sky continued to brighten. Then, as expected, a squad of CCG soldiers arrived at their location, weapons raised and ready for action. But their efforts were in vain. Before the soldiers could even take aim, Ali and Tempest vanished in a sudden flash of blue light, the teleportation whisking them away. Their time in the world of Tokyo Ghoul had come to an end.
Ali opened his eyes and found himself floating in space, surrounded by streaks of white light that resembled shooting stars. It was an experience much like when he had teleported with Veska, but this time, there was something different. A black window, the customised interface of Paradise, hovered directly in front of him. Unlike before, he found that he couldn't close it, no matter what he tried.
"Please choose a name for yourself for other players to see."
The interface's message appeared on the interface, asking Ali to select a nickname before his reward could be issued.
'A nickname, huh?' Ali mused silently. Memories of his past flickered through his mind. 'Back in my world, I had many names… God's Hidden Child, Death from the East, The Blessed Curse…', After considering his options, Ali smirked and finally decided. 'I think I'll go with this one'.
With a steady hand, he typed in the name.
"ALI."
A new prompt appeared on the screen:
"Confirm name for other players to see. It cannot be changed."
Ali glanced at the message before casually pressing the confirmation button. "Yup," he muttered aloud.
The interface responded immediately, bringing up a new notification:
"Congratulations on participating in the World Event and completing your personal mission."
A detailed list of Ali's achievements appeared, and he skimmed through it with interest.
"Personal Mission: Kill members of both factions (130/10)."
"Reward for completing personal mission: 0.5 attribute point."
"Reward for doubling the goal of personal mission: 1 attribute point."
"Reward for further exceeding the goal of personal mission: 110 Paradise Coins."
Ali's free attribute points quickly updated from zero to 1.5, the numbers neatly displayed in front of him. 'According to the grey booklet, a player can increase attributes by a minimum of 0.1,' he recalled. His eyes shifted to his Paradise Coin counter, now updated with his newly earned currency. 'When I left Paradise, I had spent all of the coins I had. I got twenty-two from killing other players in Tokyo, and with the extra 110 I just earned… Hmm, not bad'.
"PC: 132."
Just as Ali was about to close the interface, it expanded again, presenting a new notification in bold letters.
"Please choose your reward from the World Event."
The message shrank and moved to the top of the interface, allowing three options to appear beneath it. Ali studied them carefully. The choices were: 1 attribute point, the hammer quinque, and the longsword quinque.
"All three are interesting," Ali mused aloud, his voice thoughtful in the empty expanse of space. "I haven't used any attribute points yet, so I don't know exactly how much of an improvement 1 point makes. But from the reward value in the personal mission, it seems significant, and it would complete my requirements for advancing to the next level of Paradise." He paused, glancing between the options. "The sword and the hammer are both solid weapons, and I wouldn't mind using either."
His fingers hovered over the images, but after a moment, he made his decision. Ali raised his finger and pressed on the image of the red longsword, the same blade he had wielded during his destructive rampage in the world of Tokyo Ghoul.
With his reward chosen, the interface closed, and the white streaks of light around him accelerated. The world around him shifted, and the next moment, Ali found himself back in his modest apartment in the Slum. He exhaled slowly and sat down on the bed, the weight of the recent events still fresh in his mind. His eyes flicked to the time displayed on the interface, and his jaw tightened in surprise.
Only three hours had passed since he had ventured into the alternate world.
'This isn't good,' Ali thought, his brow furrowing in concern. 'If what the grey booklet said is true, then the passage of time in Paradise compared to other worlds is unpredictable. It mentioned that some might stay in another world for years, only to return and find that mere hours or minutes have passed in Paradise'. He mulled over the implications, realising that this inconsistency could pose serious problems in the future.
Ali looked down at himself and noticed that his clothes were fully intact, restored to their original state despite having been shredded to pieces during his brutal fight with OWL. 'They were all restored except for the armoured vest and mask', he noted, recalling what the author of the grey booklet had written. "The most impressive attribute of the Paradise system is its sensibility".
He opened the interface again, and his gaze fell upon the image of the red quinque—the same one he had just selected. With a simple press of the icon, a faint blue light materialised in the air in front of him. Ali closed the interface, watching as the light solidified into the black handle of a sword. He caught it mid-air before it could hit the floor. It was unmistakably the handle of the longsword quinque, though the blade itself was missing.
Ali inspected the handle closely, running his fingers over its smooth surface until his thumb brushed against a small button. Curiously, he pressed it, and in an instant, the longsword sprang to life. The blade grew out of the handle, forming the same red, muscle-like structure he had wielded in Tokyo Ghoul, pulsing with raw power. It was an intimidating sight—anyone who faced it would feel their courage waver.
'I guess they got rid of the whole suitcase thing and just gave me the handle', Ali thought with a wry grin. He pressed the button again, and the sword quickly retracted into the handle. Satisfied, he placed it gently on the bed before peeling off his clothes and heading to the bathroom for a much-needed shower.
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