Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

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Titania maintained her composure better than anyone else.

Perhaps it was her age or the many losses she had endured through her long life.

Whatever the case, she met Erebus’s eyes, urging him to calm down.

“Violence is not the answer…”

But her bright eyes revealed deep sorrow.

As a queen leading her people, she could not show that grief.

To cause fear and sorrow among them… she couldn’t.

“W-What happened?” Acorn asked. “She was… um, captured or something? M-Maybe she’s just wounded? We can heal her!”

“Y-Yeah! If that’s the case, we can do something…!” Nieve nodded. “Please don’t cry, it’s… it’s not too serious… r-right?”

“Ahhh…” Elena kept crying, unable to answer.

No response could only mean one thing.

Acorn and Nieve dropped to the floor, their eyes wide with disbelief.

“A-Ah… no… this can’t be… L-Lady Planta would never…” Acorn muttered.

“T-The tree is right there, she’s alive…! She’s…! Alive! Right?” Nieve asked desperately.

“The tree remains alive thanks to the forest. It is full of Lifeforce and Spirit Energy as the core of our Forest, which has become a small separate realm,” Titania explained. “However… I felt it three days ago. Planta’s presence… vanished completely from the tree.”

“…?”

“What?!”

Acorn and Nieve stood shocked, and Erebus glared at Titania with fury.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Erebus demanded. “WHY?! NO! NO! I CAN’T…! I CAN’T LET HER DIE AGAIN!!! NOT AGAIN! NOT AGAIN! DAMN IT!”

Memories surged within Erebus, of a distant past when someone dear to him died during the true Demon King’s rampage.

That someone felt eerily similar to Planta, as if they shared the same soul.

“Some people are getting curious. Let’s return to my castle for now… We must keep this between ourselves,” Titania said, carrying Elena, who still cried, and flew toward the castle.

Inside, Anna painfully recounted what she remembered. Elena was too distraught to speak, and Titania held her, offering all the warmth she could.

“I see…” Titania closed her eyes. A few tears fell, but she kept her composure, looking at the girls and nodding. “It must have been terrible… I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry…”

“That bastard…!” Erebus, beyond his tears of sorrow, burned with rage. “That damn Thanatos! He’s crossed far beyond his boundaries…! I’m going to rip his soul apart! I’ll rescue Planta and the others no matter what!”

“E-Erebus…” Acorn muttered. “But… how can we do that? The Netherworld is full of dangers! The nether could kill us almost instantly…”

“It’s no place for the living…” Nieve murmured, her face bleak and emotionless, her brightness gone. “We… we’re nothing… it’s over… there’s no hope… only nothing…”

“No!” Erebus roared. “Elayne restored me to life by infusing me into that giant tree! We can do the same! Think about it! If we retrieve their souls and place them in the tree, they might be reborn!”

“…!”

Everyone looked at Erebus in surprise.

What he said… wasn’t wrong!

“Even if that’s possible…” Titania said. “We’re in no condition to wage war against the Demon King of Death! Especially now that he’s grown so powerful…! What can we do… I don’t know…”

“We must tell Camilla,” Anna said. “She was counting on my mother-in-law. Now that she’s… gone, we need to inform her. We must find another strategy, another way… we have to gather forces and grow stronger than ever.”

“…” Elena stayed silent, finally ceasing her tears. “Erebus… can mom really come back if we do that?”

“I… think so…” Erebus said. “We have to try… but damn it! That skeleton bastard… he’s too strong, and he’s expanding his forces and- We don’t know what could happen next! It feels like something awful could befall us all- Ngh?!”

At that moment, Erebus felt it.

A sharp, piercing strike at the root of this world’s reality.

Then, he heard a giant gate opening.

Instantly, a wave of invisible fog rushed in all directions.

“T-The Domain of Death is here! No! He’s here already?! The gate opened ahead of time!!!”

Erebus panicked as everyone’s eyes widened.

He flew into the skies, looking into the distance.

Hundreds of kilometers away, he saw a crack in space and time, revealing a black distortion.

From there, Miasma and Nether spread, beginning to contaminate all life in this world.

The sky darkened, and undead sprouted endlessly from the ground.

“Already?!” Titania asked. “We’re not ready…!”

“He’s overstepping his boundaries! He’s defying the System…!” Erebus muttered. “But that will cost him. He won’t move as fast as he wants…! We still have time! Don’t give up, we must quickly decide what to do with what we have!”

“But first…” Titania said. “All of you must return to your world.”

“What?” Elena asked. “B-But we can help…!”

“No,” Titania said. “Planta… No, Elayne, saved your lives. Do you plan to waste them fighting right after escaping death?!”

“I have to fight!” Elena screamed, crying. “I have to avenge mom!”

SLAP!

“…?”

Elena fell silent as Titania slapped her face, making her come back to her senses.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t really want to, but I had to do that. Elena… I love you like my daughter,” Titania sighed. “But you can’t win, not now… Are you underestimating us? We are people of Arcadia; we know how to handle a threat or two! Do you think we’ll give up? We’ll fight and find a way, I promise. But you… you have a home to return to, and people to inform of what happened.”

“…!” Elena clenched her teeth but nodded, holding back tears she could no longer shed. “I know…”

“But… can we even leave?” Anna asked. “I-I don’t know how…”

“I think… maybe this?” Monica said, pressing the logout button. “Woah!”

BBZZZTTT!

Monica glitched and vanished in an explosion of bright digital colors.

Everyone stared in shock.

“W-What happened? Did she die?!” Elisa screamed in horror.

“No, I felt her…! She moved between dimensions!” Erebus said in disbelief. “Y-You have the power to move between both worlds!”

“B-But we aren’t even using the helmet…” Elena muttered. “W-What the fuck is happening?”

“Did we really merge with our avatars?!” Anna asked. “How will I explain to my mom that I look like this now?!”

“What matters is that you must return!” Titania said. “Go now, you must find a way to help us, but also grow stronger in your world… and protect it from Thanatos.”

“…!” Anna nodded. “Then I’m going!”

“Me too!” Elisa said.

Both girls quickly vanished, moving between dimensions with a strange power.

One last thing remained for Elena to give them before she left herself.

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