Second World

2004  Chapter 2004. The Fate of the World

Jack was brought to a chamber where Thaergood was waiting. Thaergood quickly briefed Jack about the ceremony. Jack's role was pretty short but critical. He simply had to wait beside the throne while Jeanny walked the path marked by the red carpet. After that, he would transfer his sovereignty to Jeanny, and Thaergood would announce the new queen.

Jack went to the throne room with Thaergood after the briefing. There, he saw many familiar faces, both natives and outworlders. The sovereigns of other countries except for Liguritudum were present. They didn't bring many followers except for Four Winds and Nova. The cost of using the zone portal for natives was too expensive, after all.

Most of the comrades who trained with Jack at Chris' secret garden were there. Even David, who was running reconnaissance in Liguritudum, came back for Jeanny. The only ones missing were John, Wilted, Red Death, and Leavemealone. Jack already knew Wilted did not attend this coronation, but he expected to see John there. He sent a message asking for John's whereabouts. John replied by saying he would be late.

Before long, Jeanny came out wearing the heavy armor version of the regal outfit. Though she had better legendary-grade armor, this set of regal outfits still made her look dazzling.

The ceremony proceeded the way Jack remembered when he was coronated, except no Goddess Serenity in this coronation. He thought it was fine. It was good to have the divines to lean on, but it was better if they solved their own matters.

When Thaergood gave the signal, Jack accessed the monarch system and transferred his sovereignty to Jeanny. Thaergood then crowned and announced Jeanny as the fourteenth sovereign and the first queen of Themisphere. Everyone applauded. Thaergood started calling the attending nobles and Themisphere's guild leaders to come forward and swear fealty.

After long hours, the ceremony was finally over. Jack heaved a sigh of relief. He was now a free man.

A feast was held after the coronation. Jeanny and Jack mingled with the crowd at the feast. Everyone congratulated Jeanny. Some familiar with Jack congratulated him for his freedom. They also never stopped asking about the tiny blue dragon perching on Jack's shoulders. Many tried to pat Darmos, so much so that Darmos decided to hide inside his hidden Dimension.

"Where is Haon?" Jack asked Domon.

"He went with Wong," Domon answered.

"Really? That is a surprise, and you are not jealous about it?" Jack teased.

Domon chuckled while shaking his head.

"They returned to level 30 a few days ago using the Growth Aid Agency's service under the Valley of Tempus. They told me they would travel the world together. Cleo joined them. I propose Haon join them as well."

"I'm surprised he accepted," Jack uttered.

"To be honest, me too," Domon said. "But this is good as well. He should go out and see the world. I have taught him all I could."

Jet came and joined their chat. Not long after, Nova and Jeanny came. Jet remarked, "Wow, mother and daughter each ruling one country. Maybe a dynasty is in the works?"

Domon knocked Jet's head for his remark. "Don't mind him. I believe you two will work your best to secure the prosperity of your nations."

"That is my intention," Jeanny said.

"After this is over, we need to talk about what to do with Liguritudum," Nova said. "With that viper sitting on the throne of a neighboring country, I don't feel safe."

"I agree. We should send force as soon as possible," Four Winds added.

"I can't. You must understand. I have almost no force," Thelgrun said.

"Me as well. I'm sorry," Aldryth said.

They turned to Arlcard, who was silent throughout the conversation. Responding to the gaze, Arlcard said, "I suppose I can lend a hand."

"Hello, everyone!" A voice drew their attention. It was John.

"You are finally here. Everything is over already!" Paytowin scolded.

"It's just a ceremony. There is no need for me to be here," John returned. "On the contrary, I have something I need to show you. Please come with me, everyone. And by everyone, I mean our group from Chris' secret garden. Well, Domon, you can come as well. We are going to use the teleportation chamber."

"Where are we going? We are in the middle of a feast," Steve complained.

"It's just a feast. Jeanny will throw it again for you tomorrow if you want."

"No, I won't," Jeanny said.

"Everyone just shut up and come with me!" John walked out of the hall after saying that.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Jack shrugged and went after John. The others followed. Jeanny told Thaergood to take care of the guests before she went out as well.

At the teleportation chamber, John had set the coordinates. Everyone entered the portal and found themselves coming out inside a ruined settlement in Liguritudum.

"What the hell, man? Why do you bring us into the middle of the enemy's territory?" Badass complained.

"Don't worry. Ronald's hold on this country is tenuous at best. Most of his force gathered at Dritzuut. We won't find opposition here," John explained.

"He is right," David confirmed. His guild members had roamed this country for a few days. The situation was indeed as John described.

"Why are we here?" Four Winds asked.

"Follow me," John said and summoned his steed. He rode the kelpie without explaining further. The others had no choice but to follow him.

After riding for some time, John stopped. There was nothing around the place but desolate land with rocks and hills.

"This place is close to where the World Throne used to be," David stated.

"There is a reason for that. That reason is why we are here," John unsummoned his kelpie and walked to a cliff wall. He touched a spot in the wall, and a large rune diagram appeared. The rune diagram flared before the wall split and revealed a cave.

Everyone threw John a questioning glance, but he simply gestured for them to follow him into the cave. The group entered. As they ventured deeper, they were surprised to find the interior of the cave changed drastically. The uneven and rocky wall made way for flat plaster walls. They even saw air duct installation, lighting, and electrical wires. The last time they saw such modern apparatuses was in the past world.

"What the hell…?" Jet remarked at the sight.

"Hey! I didn't bring you people here for sightseeing!" John called from ahead. The others slowed down due to the view.

After walking a few more minutes, the man-made tunnel opened to a cavern. At the center of this cavern was a large but strange machine. The machine seemed inactive. Chris, Wilted, and Linda were standing near this machine. The three turned to the group and greeted them with a nod.

John went over and stood next to the machine.

"This is what you bring us here to see?" Jack asked. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"This can't be what I think it is, right…?" Jeanny asked.

"Can you guess what this is?" John asked in return.

"Master's world-changing machine?" Spring Crown guessed.

John nodded.

"How do you find out where Master hides this thing?" Four Winds asked.

"He told me himself," John answered with a shrug followed by a mischievous smile. "I went and asked Honuren to let me spend some time with Master. Master spelled everything out after I used the Interrogate ability from my Staff of Mind Breaker."

"You truly like that staff, huh," Paytowin remarked.

"You bet I do!" John replied. "Anyway, he told me this thing has the juice to work one more time. All one needs to do is input the passcode and push this button."

John pointed at a large red button on one side of the machine.

"I have already inputted the passcode. If you want this machine to work, you only need to press this button."

"What will happen if we push the button?" Jet asked.

"What do you think, genius?" John asked back with a mocking tone.

"If you activate this machine, it will revert everything," Wilted answered. "It will undo the world's transformation. We will return to our past world."

"Master probably keeps this machine as a last fail-safe," Linda said. "If everything is lost or if he doesn't find this world suitable for his purpose, maybe he plans to turn everything back and look for other options."

"Well, thank goodness we didn't let him free after he was beaten back to level 1," Joe said. "He would surely come here and activate this machine if that was the case."

"So, what are we doing here exactly?" Steve asked. "Why are we not destroying this machine yet?"

"That is exactly why we are here. To decide what we are going to do with this machine," John replied. "Are we to destroy this machine, keep it just in case we need it, or do we push the red button?"

"You can't be seriously thinking about returning to the old world, can you?" Steve asked.

"If you go out and talk to the players in the capital, especially those who choose not to venture out into the wilderness, you will learn that a lot of them yearn to return to our past world. They are not used to the game system. For them to freely roam the wilderness, they must learn to slay monsters. They have a problem adapting to this lifestyle. If it is left to me, I will destroy this machine without hesitation, but this concerns the fate of the entire world. It is too heavy for me to make the choice."

"I'm surprised to hear that coming out of your mouth," Paytowin said.

"All right. I'll come clean. It's my mother who talked me out of destroying this machine the minute I laid eyes on it," John said. "We called Chris and Wilted and told them about this machine. After a discussion, we decided to call you here. The four of us agree that only one person has the most right to decide what to do with this machine."

"Jack, we will abide by your decision," Wilted said. "You will decide the fate of the world."