Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 57: Ch55. RE: [World Quest] (13) - Lament/Warning

Chapter 57: Ch55. RE: [World Quest] (13) - Lament/Warning

The rain felt cold against Sarissa’s skin, washing away the blood and ash that clung to her like a second skin. Her grip on her sword tightened as she looked down at Miles, his bruised, broken body kneeling before her. The firelight flickered in his exhausted eyes, reflecting something she couldn’t quite place. Resignation, maybe. Or relief. And as suddenly as the storm began, it stopped, leaving the world around Sarissa and Miles drowning in deafening silence.

"Do it." The words echoed between them, heavy, final. Sarissa’s breath came in ragged gasps, her entire body screaming in exhaustion and agonizing pain, her mind reeling from the fight that had nearly ended her life.

Her blade was still burning, embers dancing along the edge, waiting to finish what she had started. But she couldn’t move.

"You..." Her voice cracked, breaking the overwhelming silence that devastated the battlefield. "You were helping me, weren’t you?"

"Observant, as always." Miles chuckled, making a hollow sound, before tilting his head up to look at her.

Sarissa’s fingers twitched. She had felt it.

Not only in the small shifts in battle, in the way her flames had bent, not just in response to her power, but to something else. To him. He had been resisting the Hatter’s influence, just enough to give her an opening, just enough to let her push him back.

And yet, he had also been helping her even before the Mad Hatter appeared, by pushing her beyond her limits, forcing her to use everything she had, and then some more.

"How strong are you, really?" Her voice barely above a whisper.

Miles exhaled slowly, the shadow of a smile splitting his lips as he was about to speak, but then he froze.

His body twitched violently, his shoulders jerking backward, as though an invisible force had yanked him from the inside. His fingers clenched into claws, his breath came out in sharp gasps, and his pupils dilated.

"No-" His mouth moved, Miles’ voice stammering. "Do-it!"

The sound that followed wasn’t human.

A low, guttural snarl tore from Miles’ throat, his body arching unnaturally as shadows burst from within him, writhing and twisting like living things. The Mad Hatter’s form emerged, coalescing from the darkness, its jagged grin stretching wider than ever before, its hollow eyes locking onto Sarissa.

"I’ve had enough of this game of yours, kid."

Sarissa barely had time to react before the Hatter lunged.

Her instincts screamed louder than she’d ever felt before. Her body moved before her mind could catch up. Flames erupted from her hands as she drove her blade forward.

The world seemed to blur, time stretching and snapping in an instant. The moment her sword slit the thing’s head in a clean, swift motion, a sharp, shattering crack split the air.

The Hatter fell silent at once, and then, Miles’ body convulsed before her, a loud, ear-piercing shriek erupted from its throat.

A sound unlike anything Sarissa had ever heard. A scream of rage, of betrayal, of something ancient, furious and boundless. Shadows lashed out in every direction, clawing at the ground, at the rain, at reality itself. But it was already too late.

Little by little, the Mad Hatter’s body vanished, disintegrating like something ancient catching up to time. Not long after, Miles’ body was all that was left.

"Thank... You..." His lips moved. Soon after, his original body disintegrated, too.

And for the briefest of moments, Sarissa’s eyes went wide as she was finally able to perceive Miles’ features.

Medium, raven-black hair, olive skin covered in bruises and cuts, dark-brown eyes, and a smile that at the same time warmed and broke Sarissa’s once cold heart.

It was not like a normal death in The Glitch, not like the others, where the player’s body remained to serve as nourishment for the earth and food for the monsters. His form broke apart, unraveling into specks of light and darkness, his flesh dissolving into the rain like ink in water. Sarissa could only stand there, breathless, as silence ensued.

The wind died. The fire dimmed.

And then, the voice came.

Low. Cold. Seething.

"I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the world, even if it costs me everything... and I’ll kill you for having betrayed me." Sarissa turned around with her blade raised, dead tired, but ready for whatever came her way, but there was nothing. Only the echo of the Hatter’s voice, its warning echoing in her mind long after the last trace of Miles vanished into the storm.

Sarissa blinked, shaking her head. The rain was gone. The battlefield was gone.

She was no longer standing in the ruins of that night. She was back in the War Room, staring at the map spread across the table, the ink barely dry from her last annotations.

A knock at the door had taken her out of the stupor.

"Come in." She exhaled sharply, running a hand over her face before straightening.

The door creaked open, and Shinji stepped inside, arms crossed, his usual expression unreadable.

"You look like hell," he noted, his gaze flicking over her. "Daydreaming again?"

"Something like that." Sarissa scoffed, rolling her shoulders before shrugging.

"Someone’s here to see you. Says it’s about the [World Quest]." Shinji lingered for a moment before stepping aside.

Sarissa’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that someone finally reached level 50 and was able to help them figure out how to put an end to this shit show?

’No.’ She shook her head, letting out a deep sigh. ’Me. Not us.’

The emotions she felt during that regression still lingered, although she was forcing them back, little by little. This was not time for games, and happiness was nothing but a mere illusion for the weak to cling on to.

Wordlessly, she turned toward the system window that appeared before her. The blue screens blinked to life in front of her, their eerie glow casting a shadow over her heart.

Two quests.

[World Quest]

[Sands of Time]

Sarissa sighed, rubbing her temples as exhaustion weighed on her shoulders. One path led forward. The other... To something unfinished.

The memory of the Hatter’s voice echoed again.

"I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the world, even if it costs me everything... and I’ll kill you for having betrayed me."

Sarissa clenched her fists.

"Let them in," she muttered, closing the system window. "Let’s see what they have to say."