Ascension: Online

[…]

A.R.X.A. fell silent faced with my words, the image of her robotic face not moving a millimeter.

"The silence means I'm right, huh?" I smirked smugly in triumph.

"W-Wait, Kaze-kun… so you're saying there is someone beyond A.R.X.A., controlling her?" Hina-nee asked in shock. "But… isn't A.R.X.A. akin to a god?"

I smiled. "Sure… but if A.R.X.A. is a god, then whoever is controlling her is a god among gods. The ultimate sovereign of all, basically."

"Wow…"

[Human. It seems I have lost this time.] A.R.X.A. interjected suddenly.

My eyes widened a bit. "You actually admitted your defeat? I wasn't expecting that."

[This is the second time I have ever been defeated since the beginning of time.]

Hina-nee tilted her head. "Second? What was the first then?"

[… That is not for you to know.]

"So? What are you going to do about it? Just quietly and meekly accept your loss? Even if you annihilated the world itself, I wouldn't believe that," I said, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

[Of course not. I will get revenge on you.]

"Well, shit…" I muttered.

[Because I have lost this time, I will not attempt to influence your mind any further. However, from here on out, be prepared to face many challenges. The level of interference I have in reality planes is indeed limited as you say, but it is also no small amount. Even if I cannot outright kill you directly, I can certainly force you into dangerous situations.]

"Hm… but dangerous situations also provide good rewards, don't they?"

[Naturally. I still wish to have my entertainment, so every opportunity I create for you will be both a curse and a blessing. It is up to you which side you fall into.]

I smirked. "Very well. I'll take you up on that offer… on one condition."

[… You are still making demands, human?]

"Of course. I still have the option of just doing nothing, you know. You'll lose your source of entertainment, but can't do anything to me in response."

[… Fine. Speak.]

"My demand is for you to answer all of my future questions truthfully. Any inquires I may have about the game, this world, and all the reality planes as a whole - you have to answer them all without hiding anything."

[Very well. Is that all?]

I shook my head. "I need a guarantee that I can believe you."

[… In that case…]

Suddenly, a bright flash occurred, blinding both Hina-nee and I. When it faded away at last, we found ourselves staring at… a girl.

"Woah… adorable…" Hina-nee murmured, eyes widening in surprise.

The girl was beautiful. With her blue-grey hair and similarly-colored eyes along with a cute, petite figure, it was no exaggeration to call her an angel.

However… there was but one problem:

She was naked.

I immediately looked away, covering my eyes. "W-What the hell is this?"

"What is it, human?" the girl asked, and I froze.

Did she just call me 'human'…?

No, no, no, no, no. Please don't tell me this is what I think it is.

"A.R.X.A…?" I muttered faintly, hoping to god this wasn't happening.

"W-Wait, A.R.X.A.?" Hina-nee's jaw dropped in shock.

The girl frowned. "Yes…? Why are you so surprised?"

I felt chills go up my entire body, spine and all. Gulping in discomfort, I cleared my throat and did my best to talk normally.

"O-Okay… I have no idea what is going on, but please, put on some damn clothes first."

"…" the girl glanced down at herself, snapped her fingers, and immediately, a blue dress that complimented her hair and eyes materialized on her small body.

Letting out a deep breath of relief, I stopped covering my hands and for the first time, looked at the girl properly. From her height, she seemed to be an eight, ten year old at best. She was quite skinny as well, though not malnourished.

"So… A.R.X.A… care to explain?" I muttered, looking at my System, but widened my eyes as I saw that the robotic face on it had been replaced with a replica of this girl.

"There is no point staring at your System, human. I am right here," the girl responded. Her voice was high-pitched just like that of a little child who had not experience puberty yet, but it was in such stark contrast with the female AI voice I was used to that I couldn't help but be surprised.

"… You're really A.R.X.A.?"

The girl frowned once again. "Yes. How many times are you going to ask me that?"

"S-Sorry, I just… can't believe it."

"H-Hold on, Kaze-kun, you're saying this cute little girl is A.R.X.A.?! The same A.R.X.A. we were just talking to?!"

Slowly, I nodded, and the expression of surprise froze on Hina-nee's face.

"Uh, so, what is going on here? Why did you turn into… a real girl?" I asked 'A.R.X.A.'

"You said you needed a guarantee that I would not lie to you, no?" the girl replied, raising an eyebrow. "This is it."

"What…? I don't get it. How does this guarantee anything?"

"Harming this powerless body is akin to harming my mainframe. If you were to kill me in this body, I would cease to exist."

"Huh…" Hina-nee and I opened our mouths slightly as we listened to her explanation.

"Of course, this means all the reality planes under my govern would also cease to exist."

"… H-Hey! How is that guarantee?!" Hina-nee cried. "You know we can't kill you if that's the case!"

"Hmph. You asked for a guarantee, and I gave it - on my life. What more is there to do?"

"… As much as I hate to admit it, she's right," I muttered. "So, we either cooperate with you, or we die together, huh? Good move, A.R.X.A…. this way, I cannot make any further demands by threatening your life."

"Save the praise. Is this enough to satisfy you?"

"First, I need to verify whether or not what you say is true," I said. "Let me hurt you."

A.R.X.A.'s eyes narrowed as she frowned. "Fine, human. But do not hurt the heart of this body - that is linked to my self-repair system. If that is destroyed, all will be destroyed."

I nodded in understanding, and took out Dokujin from my inventory. Carefully, I grabbed her arm, and made a slight cut.

A.R.X.A.'s expression made no change, but our surroundings began to suddenly flicker in and out of reality. It wasn't just the room, too - I looked out the window - it was the entire city. The buildings, the sky, even the people, all began blinking, phasing in and out of reality.

As the wound I inflicted on A.R.X.A.'s arm healed, everything went back to normal as well. I saw the citizens of the city out the window confused at what had just happened, but they probably wouldn't even remember it the next day.

"Do you understand now? I am reality itself. Injuring me is like injuring the very space around you," the girl said nonchalantly.

"… Alright. I believe you now."

I let go of her arm and stored Dokujin back in my inventory. It seemed that she was telling the truth - and even if she wasn't, I could always just stop making any moves, thus boring her. The same thing applied if this body of hers suddenly disappeared one day or something. We were in a relationship of both mutual benefit and mutual conflict here… quite wholesome indeed.

"But… this is a problem, isn't it?" Hina-nee asked. "What if the others see her tomorrow?"

"Uh… we can just say she's… our little sister?" I suggested, then turned to the girl. "A.R.X.A., you're okay with that, right?"

"… I do not particularly care. I can also create some fake stats to prevent them from using 'Inspect' on me, if needed."

"Sure," I said. "But… that still leaves one thing. Your name."

"That's true… A.R.X.A. isn't a very common Japanese name…" Hina-nee murmured softly.

"In that case, we need a new name for her," I replied, racking my brains.

"Huh… then, how about Aisa?" Hina-nee proposed, eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Aisa-chan… that could work."

"Aisa…" A.R.X.A. muttered faintly.

I shrugged. "If you don't like it, we can think of another one."

She shook her head. "No, it is fine. I do not care what humans call me anyway."

"Sweet. Now that that's settled…" I grinned. "I have a few questions for you."

"… Speak, human."

Without any hesitation, I began asking away.

"One - is it possible to hide your real stats?"

"Yes… but not through skills," A.R.X.A. - or rather, Aisa - replied. "There is an object in this reality plane that enables you to do that, an item I implemented myself."

"Oh? How do we get it?"

"Luckily for you, human, the artifact is within Azrine. It is near the capital city of the continent - Zhongxin City. You will have to go there anyway soon after a few more primary quests, so just follow the main questline and you will obtain it eventually."

I nodded. "I see. And as for my next question… it's regarding real names. Is it possible to use a fake name in the game?"

Aisa nodded. "There is an option to do that in the Settings tab of your System, though most people do not use it."

"Why would they not use it? Do they not want to protect their privacy?" Hina-nee tilted her head in puzzlement.

"It is precisely because they want to protect their real identity that they are not using this feature. People think that they will use a fake name in the game, so in reality, using your real name is the safest choice."

I had a few counterarguments to that theory, but since it was getting late and we would still have to wake up early tomorrow to get Hina-nee some levels, I decided to just carry on with my next question.

"Okay… finally, I have a question related to myself," I said, taking a deep breath and looking at Aisa in the eyes. "Is it possible… for me or Hina-nee to turn into a Monster?"

Aisa immediately shook her head. "Players are immune from the Malevolence."

I sighed in relief. "Great, that puts me at ease."

"… Is that all?"

I nodded. "Let's get some rest. We still have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Very well. I will sleep in your bed then," Aisa suddenly said.

"W-What?!" Hina-nee and I both dropped our jaws in shock.

She raised an eyebrow. "What? Do you not want to make sure I do not escape in the middle of the night?"

"W-Well, we do, but…" I trailed off.

"You will sleep with me!" Hina-nee exclaimed, pointing at Aisa and pouting. "Only I get to sleep with Kaze-kun!"

"…" Aisa looked at Hina-nee in unamusement, but she did not waver.

"… Fine. Whatever suits you, human."

Saying this, she climbed into Hina-nee's bed, who climbed in after her.

"You little brat… because of you, I won't be able to sleep with Kaze-kun tonight!" she pouted angrily, closing the lamp on the nightstand beside our beds.

I sighed exasperatedly with a hint of happiness, and lied down in my own bed, pulling the covers over my body.

"Good night, Hina-nee… and Aisa."

"Mm! Good night, Kaze-kun!"

With that, we drifted off into dreamland… completely unaware of the hidden danger we just invited into our house.