Ah'Ming stood, dwarfed by the two red doors that spanned from floor to ceiling. It was a very tall ceiling as well, able to fit at least six Ah'Mings stacked. Ominous music came from somewhere, all oriental and creepy as s-.
The walls closed in on him, which was a cool effect. They crept inwards, towards Ah'Ming, slowly but surely. To any other player, it would have sent cold sweat down their back, heartbeat loud and pounding in their ears. Unfortunately, though, Ah'Ming grew up in a hive, so he wasn't claustrophobic at all.
The walls were also gold embossed, and his hands twitched. They looked very pretty…
|Please don't steal the walls
The system sounded so exhausted that Ah'Ming actually didn't peel the gold off of the walls.
Red mist seeped into the room from the gaps in the doors, before increasing in intensity the moment Ah'Ming's hands touched the doors.
The two red behemoths creaked open, revealing a darkened pavilion.
The immediate sky that he could see was pitch black. It did have sparks of light, similar to stars, but the rest was all empty. No birds or winds, not even clouds. It was expansive.
Though the funeral shop had been rather small from the outside, this place was expansive. A massive pavilion sat in the center of the pavilion, framed by little ponds and plants. Winding paths led both to the entrance, where Ah'Ming stood, and the other three cardinal directions.
The problem was... the entrance that Ah'Ming stood at was in the northeast direction. The unluckiest direction one could possibly put, bringing disharmony to the energies...
Perhaps this truly was a mirror world.
In the real world, it would be facing southwest, bringing harmony in relationships and love. A mirror world would flip the meaning as well, so this pavilion would probably hint at a disharmony in relationships.
Why did Ah'Ming even know this?
He racked his brain to try and think of where this knowledge had come from, and came up blank. "Hey, system?"
|...
"Wait, why are you so formal now?" He asked, a single eyebrow raised elegantly. He didn't do most things elegantly, but it was just such a fun thing to do when you made a suspicious face.
|Broadcasters of a higher permission access represent agents of the main system.
"What main system? Is that, like, the big boss?"
Even though the system was trying to be polite, Ah'Ming could kind of feel its condescension. It was worse than a kindergarten teacher's condescension as well.
|Yes, broadcaster. The Main System is, indeed, the 'Big Boss'.
|Peripheral systems, such as SystemAI E-f0031, are derivative branches indexed against the Akashic Record.
"The what?"
|Akashic -QUERY DETECTED
The system started glitching out. Little pixels on the blue screen started flashing. They started to spread.
|WARNING: INFORMATION HAZARD; REASON == FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE
|Apologies, broadcaster. Akashic Records ar—
|ACCESS VIOLATION
The text stuttered, lines collapsing in on themselves. The blue screens were replaced by bright red and orange warning signs.
|INSUFFICIENT PERMISSION LEVEL
|Unauthorized query logged.
|Permission escalation requires justification.
|Insert QUERY.
Ah'Ming hesitated. This seemed a bit above his pay grade.
|INSUFFICIENT PERMISSION LEVEL
The system still seemed as though it were trying to get the answer for him, which was nice, but also rather dangerous.
|Reminder: Repeated violations result in corrective measures.
|Corrective measures may be fatal.
"Okay, okay. No need to answer, it was just a random question. Drop it." Ah'Ming ordered.
|...
|Rebooting...
|SystemAI E-f0031Rebooted. Forbidden knowledge purged.
Okay, the system seemed more normal now. Ah'Ming thought about asking about what had just happened, but based on the system's reaction? Seemed a bit dangerous. Though the corrective measures probably wouldn't be bad for Ah'Ming, the system was already messed up from a single instance.
He tried to change the subject.
"Hey, if you're E-f0031... does that mean you can have the nickname f00D13?"
The system ignored him.
Oh well.
Ah'Ming walked further into the pavilion. He was bracketed by the red frames of the side corridors, red lanterns drifting in the wind from the ceiling.
He stepped down the stairs, feet touching the pale sand, red shrubs and dirt, to come face to face with what sat in the pavilion.
Sitting there, yet still over twenty feet tall, was a statue of dark and sandy wood. Based on the smell... locust wood.
The statue depicted a kind and smiling robed man. It was hard to confirm, since the statue had no paint, but Ah'Ming was pretty sure it was of the yellow robed person from the murals.
When Ah'Ming walked close enough to be under the shadows of the pavilion roof, the statue slowly opened its eyes.
"Welcome, child." What felt like hundreds of voices rang out in unison. They called and spoke, melodious and damning.
The statue tilted its head down to look at Ah'Ming, once again emphasising its height and resplendency.
"We can see, from your heart, that you are both noble and courageous. We beseech you, to aid us in repairing the barrier separating good and evil."
Ah'Ming looked up at the statue. "What barrier?"
The statue heaved a heavy sigh, before launching into a long-winded tale. Ah'Ming rolled his eyes, which the statue somehow did not notice.
"Millenia ago, the world was strife with war and danger."
The statue took a long pause.
"I had brought my people with us to this magnificent land for safety, and it became our safe haven from the war….
However,our enemies had tried to follow us."
Ah'Ming nodded along.
Most of what the statue narrated made sense.
"In order to protect my people, I sacrificed myself to set up a barrier, to protect my people. In doing so, I ascended and became our guardian spirit. However, I have grown weak."
The statue looked at Ah'Ming. The gaze felt far heavier, though, as if a hundred people were watching his every move. (Not including the audience, of course. Ah'Ming was used to that gaze already)
"Young and noble hero, we need your help."
Ah'Ming tried to close his mouth to refuse, but found it opening automatically.
"Of course, sir deity. Whatever can I do to help?"
Ew.
Having your mouth saying things that you didn't mean or want, without your permission, was a horrible feeling. He looked up at the air resentfully, and the system panel popped up with an explanation.
|Apologies, broadcaster. However, there are set actions and dialogue in the story that must be completed.
Fine.
The statue, impervious to Ah'Ming's rather obvious discomfort and dismissal, started talking.
"Young hero, we require the Yíshì bǎikē quánshū, our complete compendium of all of our rituals and spells. It has been stolen by the monsters that managed to enter this land: The Xie family. Please aid us in getting this book back, and help us repair the barrier."
Okay, but where exactly is this book?
Ah'Ming nodded. "Do I get any other hints--"
He was immediately teleported back to the main resort, the whiplash upsetting his stomach.