056 FINDING TRUE LOVE
"There's… nothing here," she observed, glancing around the empty realm.
"Yes, this space holds nothing, and yet, in a way, it contains everything in the Realm of Sins," Santa said, his voice calm.
"Why did you bring me here?" Yun-Yun asked.
"I'm afraid your adventure in the Realm of Sins has ended, this is where all players who end their game stay," Santa replied sadly.
"So, I can go home now?" she asked hopefully.
Santa shook his head. "Not yet. You haven't completed your final quest."
"But you promised I could return if I completed your crazy quest—I'd even agree to all the strange limits on my magic!" she protested.
"It is all because of your ascension quest", Santa said.
"I don't care about ascension anymore."
"Only by ascending to the peak of magic can you return to your real world", Santa said.
In the Realm of Sins, magic rose through tiers: from Mula to Svad, Man, Ana, Hatta, Ajna, and finally Sahasra.
Reaching the legendary Ana tier was a profound achievement, granting semi-divine power, but few ever made it. For Yun-Yun, her ascension to Ana was blocked by an extraordinary quest—she must find true love.
Yun-Yun remembered the day the Dungeon Master, Santa, had given her this seemingly impossible quest.
"Yun-Yun," he said, "Your ascension quest is simple. You must find true love to break your ascension curse—one that would seal your magic and turn you mortal if unbroken."
"Is it like in the fairy tales, where a prince saves a cursed princess?" she asked.
Santa nodded. "Yes, but unlike Earth's tales, a great calamity will strike you and your prince if your love isn't true."
"True love? That's impossible. It doesn't exist," she'd replied, skeptical but still accepted the quest. "I want to go home."
Then her mind returned to the present.
Santa observed her. "I am sorry Yun-Yun, your journey has ended."
"I faced a snow dragon and a mighty Rakhsasa before, I didn't die then, I won't die now," Yun-Yun protested, defiance flashing in her eyes.
"I choose to roll the dice for an exception."
Santa smiled. "The rules do not allow for exception when you are already dead."
"I don't care I demand an exception."
Santa paused to consider before adding, "but you did fulfill a part of your quest. You have discovered your true love when you offered your life to save him."
"I wasn't thinking straight. What was I thinking?" she replied with her face red with flushing.
"That's what happens when you are in love. You do not think logically. Here Roll the dice again."
Santa handed her six-sided dices, and Yun-Yun cast it with hope.
To Santa's surprise, the dice settled on a six.
"You're the luckiest roller I've met," he said. "Always a six. Quite remarkable."
"Does this mean I'm alive again?" she asked.
"Indeed. A six grants you freedom from any penalties or calamities—even death," he replied.
"Then, when can I leave this nothingness?"
"Be patient your resurrection will come", Santa said.
Suddenly, dice began materializing out of thin air, each one spinning before landing on six. Santa's eyes gleamed with a knowing smile.
"What are the odds?" he mused. "It seems your true love is calling out to you."
"What? How? He is not from my publisher space?" she asked, bewildered.
"The Realm of Sins works in mysterious ways. People from different worlds and dimensions are recruited into this world by the Publisher or the new Systems", Santa explained.
"What does he want? Is he alive? He suffered Destiny's Retribution too", she asked.
"He is still alive if he can contact you here", Santa said and added, "And you have received a gift from him."
"What kind of gift? I've never received anything from the game before", she said.
"The gift came from your true love. This is the key to your resurrection," Santa said, summoning a small, enchanted box before her.
"What's inside?" she asked.
"The Pill of Resurrection—the only item that can bring you back to life."
She raised an eyebrow. "You're giving this to me? For free? I already have my exemption."
Santa shook. "No, no, not me. Your true love gave it to you. Your exemption wouldn't revive you, it merely opened the doors across the Systems to enable a delivery to you. Use it now."
"He would give me such a powerful item? What about himself?" she wondered, her heart melting.
"He will survive if he could send you the Pill of Resurrection across magic Systems."
Yun-Yun's heart swelled, touched by the gesture. She glanced at the magic box, her choice clear.
"Nevermind, Accept," she said, tracing her finger in a 'tick' on an imaginary paper to confirm acceptance.
-----
As Yun-Yun opened her eyes, she found Leo's worried face hovering above her.
"Yun-Yun, are you alright? I thought you were dead," Leo said, relief flooding his voice.
They both looked rough, their clothes singed and torn from the powerful lightning strike they'd endured only moments before.
"I thought both of you were gone," Dassa remarked, looking between them.
"I was, actually dead," Yun-Yun said, sitting up. "But then I got resurrected."
"It was the Pill of Resurrection I gave you," Leo explained.
Yun-Yun looked at him, wide-eyed and appreciating. "How did you get your hands on the most powerful magic in this world?"
"It was a reward for defeating the twin bosses, Madame La Rosa and Lusifar," he shrugged. "And now, I somehow ended up in charge of this fucking realm. I have no idea what to do with it."
"This world just keeps getting fucking weirder," Dassa muttered before asking, "What actually happened during the final battle? Why did Lusifar turn against us?"
"If I'm not mistaken, Lusifar was somehow leeching on my Black Cock artifact. He tried to feed off the power of my empowered lust to be eventually resurrected," Leo replied.
"I told you before you have demonic magic in you, it's dangerous harboring Lusifar's demon magic," Yun-Yun pointed out.
"How would I know empowering him by sacrifice will revive Lusifar", Dassa was on the defensive.