A Necessary Task

Akiol entered his room.

Sitting on his bed he stared at the ceiling. The shadows of the blades from the fan rotated.

He was in deep thought. After meeting 'god' he began wondering about his own future. Was there really a point in continuing this? Why must he and his party stop Horizon's Origins? Was his fate purely meant to save the world and travel to the next in need?

Akiol hadn't told the rest of the party about his meeting. He himself wasn't sure on what to do. So instead of plaguing his party members, he would figure out a plan first. This was his job as party leader after all.

Moving his head over and looked at the headset. He frowned as a thought crossed his mind, was the better headset merely a marketing scheme?

He shook this thought away, it didn't matter right now. He picked up the headset and stared at his reflection. He saw James instead of himself.

Akiol hesitated for a moment before putting on the headset. He had plenty of time. No need to bother himself with questions that provide no answers. For now he shall see what happened with his avatar.

. . .

Akiol's eyes opened to see endless white. He felt like he was floating, yet he was unable to move. His senses felt fuzzy, almost suppressed.

A voice spoke, "You're not supposed to be here. . . I shall send you off."

Before Akiol could speak up his surroundings changed. He then fell and hit the ground. Akiol flinched from the fall, it hurt. He hadn't expected it to hurt.

Getting up he examined his surroundings. The floor was white, the rest was a pale blue. Akiol frowned, he didn't know where this was.

'Hey!'

Akiol looked around, yet the origins of the voice couldn't be found

'Hello?'

The frown remained on Akiol's face, he couldn't tell where the voice can from.

'Above you!'

Akiol looked up, a kid was floating above him. They were thin, clothed in basic white clothes. A pair of shorts and a basic shirt. Their hair was pitch black, making the person looking at it unable to tell if it was hair or not. Their eyes were different, the iris was a deep blue and purple. Several dots of white decorated it. If one were to look closely it would seem like their eyes are a window into space.

The kid floated down and landed gently. Their height was barely half of Akiol. They reached out a hand, "We finally meet like this!"

Akiol took the hand and shook it out of confusion, "Stars? Is that you?"

The kid nodded, "Mhm! It's me!"

"You. . . have a human form?"

"Not form, at least not yet. More like image? Or would illusion fit better?"

"Why are you like this?"

"Like what?", Stars asked while slightly tilting his head.

"In. . . a human form?"

"Oh! Well your consciousness is in quite the predicament. Your body is in worse condition, but someone is working on that."

"So where am I?"

"Hmm, I guess you could say it's my special place? Us upper four have our own conscious as you know. However we can bring people in here and speak to them like this! I made it a bit more. . . friendly? I know you might not be in the best shape. So I simplified it."

Akiol understood his circumstances and sat on the floor, "So, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well I am really mad at you right now. But, you aren't in the best condition. I don't think it would be best if I yelled at you right now."

Akiol smiled faintly, "I'm alright I guess, just don't be too loud alright?"

Stars nodded, "You almost died. Seriously, despite you being one of the blessed."

Akiol held up a hand, "And I am going to stop you there, what do you mean by blessed?"

Stars scratched his head, "It's not blessed exactly. More of a title, you bunch are unable to truly 'die'. I don't know why you cannot truly die by normal means. Originally I thought it was similar to the Crimson Immortals, but it doesn't seem to be so. So I decided to blame it on the gods or something. So, I named you blessed."

"I see, so I almost truthfully died."

"Exactly! Then what would have happened to me? What happens when you truly die when I am absorbed? I got really scared!"

"I'm not dead though."

"You got close!"

Akiol laughed lightly upon seeing Stars' angry expression, "I tend to not dwell on the past when it comes to close calls. It can really shake you up when you notice how close you were to death."

"You sound like you experienced it before."

"I have survived quite a bit of experiences have I not?"

"I guess. . ."

Akiol held up a finger, "Now, I want to ask you a question. A few actually. First, what are the issues with me wielding you at my current state?"

"Uh, you know how your body is slime right? Well, when you use me normally the human body would be weakened from the backlash. Small tears in the muscle and such. However since your a slime these backlashes aren't as deadly. When you use me small impurities form inside your body. If these continued to grow then your body would become unresponsive. Eventually falling apart, unable to stay together."

"I feel like these impurities are now gone."

"This is true, your old body has been. . .", Stars trailed off trying to find the words.

"It's gone."

"Yeah."

"Then, what is your limits on being able to read my thoughts and see my surroundings?"

Stars made a guilty look, "I lied."

"I want the truth now."

"I can hear most of your thoughts. However some come out distorted. I am not sure how to explain this. As for what I can see, it's like a screen. It shows stuff from your eyesight. However it turns blurry sometimes, and I cannot see."

Akiol assumed these were to hide the game factors of A World's Legacy. Perhaps even taking the rule of player property is their private home.

"So, what's next?"

Stars pointed at Akiol, "You need to grow stronger. That Crimson Immortal invoked a sacred Trial. The mark is clear. If you don't abide by it, then you'll truly die."

"Yeah, I know I need to get stronger."

"Not just stronger, you need to become far stronger. Doubling your strength wouldn't be enough."

"And how am I supposed to do that? You have seen how slow my progress has been. I can't do much."

Stars shook his head, "No, you have reached First Stage. The ways of growing stronger have been unlocked, several paths have been shown to you."

"First Stage?"

"You broke through the limits given by nature. Those who succeed in this are granted the title of First Stage."

"How many stages are there?"

"Five, but those who reached five can be counted on a single hand. Less than a hundred have ever reached four."

"First Stage huh. . ."

Stars then smiled brightly, "This also means another thing! You have reached the required minimum to wield me!"

Akiol was surprised, "You mean-?"

"Mhm! I think you're good enough to choose. Your journey has been full of battles, I am excited to see what's next. But this time I want to be a part of it!"

Akiol made a genuine smile. Stars was quite joyful, he now understood why he wanted to be wielded by someone who was cool. He was just a kid, mentally that is.

Akiol held out his fist, "Thanks then, I'll be in your care."

Stars held out his own and fist bumped Akiol, "Same!"

The world around Akiol began to crack. Stars examined Akiol before saying, "It seems like they're finished. Good luck! And don't forget me!"

. . .

Shortly after Akiol had passed out:

His core had tipped over the edge and began rolling down the mountain. A sudden vibration shook it and caused it to fall. Yet as it rolled the path it made through the snow came to a sudden stop.

In a dark stone room it lay. A voice sounded, "Child, it seems like you have witnessed the terror of above the ground. . ."

One of the stone walls moved. At this point one would realize that it wasn't a wall! Instead it was a large slime. Perhaps large was too small of a word for this slime!

It was none other than the King of Slimes!

The core hovered in front of the King, "Your treasured body has been ripped from you. Leaving your heart tossed to the side. Yet your adventures have brought you much fun haven't they? I could see it in you when you visited. You were genuinely having fun. . ."

A part of the Slime King separated, it slowly hovered next to the core, "Yet you met those individuals. Those who ripped free from the universal law of life and death. Those who had partaken in the hunt that lasted a century."

The slime began to cover the core, "You have grown stronger, blended in with the others. Met both foe and ally."

Slowly the slime began to melt into the core, "Yet even with all you had you still have fallen. Do you see it now? The horrid truth of this world. Only the strong can live happily, those beneath them are at their mercy."

The slime was fully absorbed by core. The core now began to shake violently, "So arise again child. Become stronger so you may stand at the top. Only then, could you perhaps free our race."

The core fell to the ground, slowly slime began to ooze out of it. In greater volumes than it had originally consumed, "I shall assist you. Rise again, become a Grand Slime. So I may grant you my blessing! So you may take back what was robbed of you!"