System Programmer

Thanks to Eric, the ice around the coffin melted rapidly. The old man's body was soon free. His previous pained expression had been replaced by a peaceful face. The aged figure was still unconscious though and appeared to be in a deplorable state. He probably had only a few minutes left to live.

While his body was dying, his soul seemed to recover. The figure on the boat opened his eyes, slowly redressed himself and sat on his knees. He looked around examining the state of his soul world. The Hydra may have vanished but the pollution it had brought into his sea was still there. Finally, he turned toward Catherine and Joshua.

"I'm infinitely grateful for what you have done. Without you, I would have been trapped here until my soul was completely consumed," he said while bowing his head in gratitude.

Catherine was about to say something, but Joshua was faster and yelled while agitating his arms like crazy:

"You're welcome, Sir but… WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? We're literally ten kilometers below the surface. What the hell were you doing here all alone trapped in an ice coffin?"

Catherine heard the question and nodded, this was more or less what she wanted to ask. Joshua had been a bit more direct.

The man was a bit surprised but answered:

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"My name is Damien Lippi." he started.

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Upon hearing this, Catherine let out a gasp in surprise. Joshua was much calmer and merely said:

"Well, I suppose there was a 20% chance that was the case."

"What do you mean?" Damien asked.

"As far as I know there are only 5 summoner families in Cestor. So there was a 20% chance you were a Lippi."

"I see, I suppose you're correct. From which family do you hail from, young Lady?"

Catherine took a deep breath and said:

"I'm also a Lippi, my name is Catherine."

"Oh...."

Clearly not expecting this, Damien was speechless. The two Lippis stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, until Damien did a step forward and embraced Catherine in a clumsy hug.

"I'm glad I got to see a member of my family before the end," he said.

"Sir, according to the info we have you went missing over 400 years ago on a secret mission. What were you doing here?"

"Has it really been this long? I've lost track of time centuries ago. The mission was supposed to be a secret but, it no longer matters I suppose, I'll answer your question. I was ordered by the king of Cestor to come down here and find the mythical lost country. He gave me a team of squad members and sent us on our way."

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...…

...

Joshua facepalmed. Catherine almost did as well, Joshua was rubbing off on her, but she still contained herself at the last moment.

"This kingdom is ruled by a bunch of morons," Joshua finally said.

"What do you mean?" Damien was confused.

"We were given the same mission as you," Catherine explained.

Upon hearing this, Damien's expression grew grim.

"... Catherine, turn back now. Your life is not worth whatever the king is asking of you," he said.

"We're not doing it solemnly for the king," Joshua clarified, "We have our own reasons to go down there too."

Honestly, if it weren't for the Crow, Joshua would probably have tried to convince Catherine to fake her death and leave for another country or come up with another stupid plan. Anything would be better than what basically was a suicide mission.

"So, you're not turning back… At least, allow me to warn you of what's up ahead. My group managed to reach the ancient ruins intact. Trouble came once we started to explore the place. One evening, we heard some bizarre music playing. I don't know what happened but my Guardian got corrupted that day, turning it into the monster you just fought. It devoured my fellow teammates before trapping me in the ice, then roamed down here for a few centuries."

Some bizarre music that made the spirit turn berserk? Neither Joshua nor Catherine had any idea of what it could be but they would be careful. Joshua just hoped it wouldn't be some terrible rap music, he hated that style.

The boat had reached the island they started on in the meantime. Since Damien was about to die, it wouldn't be wise for Catherine & Joshua to remain in his soul world. Damien wasn't afraid of dying. He should have died centuries ago anyway. He examined his soul world, about 20% of it had been damaged by the Hydra. As Catherine & Joshua were about to leave, he decided he had one last thing to do to thank them. He gathered the few amounts of strength he had left and surrounded his body by a blue aura. Suddenly the world started to tremble, Joshua was familiar with what was happening, it was similar to how his soul world changed when he ranked up. Outside, the party saw Damien's face grimace in pain while even in the soul world, his soul projection fell on his knees.

Catherine realized what he was doing and yelled him to stop, but he ignored her. Cracks appeared in the part of his world that had been corrupted by the Hydra. A loud sound was heard as part of the world suddenly shattered in pieces. With a final push, Damien pulled the fragments to him, and they were now floating above his head.

"Wow Sir, calm down! Have you lost your mind?" Joshua asked upon seeing pieces of the world fly all over the place.

"Ha! I could have fixed my world if I had time, but keeping such corrupted parts for my next life is a bad idea. I might as well get rid of them."

"What are you going to do with them?" Catherine asked.

Damien smiled and suddenly sent all the floating fragments inside the tunnel linking his world with Catherine's.

"Once destroyed, those fragments are pure water energy again. Take them and get stronger. It's all I can do for you as thanks."

Catherine knew that even destroyed, those fragments could have been kept in his next life. Rebuilding what he had just lost would probably take him at least a decade of training.

"Thank you, ancestor Damien," she said bowing.

"Don't mention it. Now leave, I'm gonna pass away very soon."

They nodded and entered the tunnel. Once they emerged on the other side, Catherine closed the passage.

Joshua popped out in the real world and observed Damien. Catherine had kneeled beside him and held his hand firmly. The old man slowly opened his eyes one last time, looked at her with a smile and let out his last breath. She gently closed his eyes and just stood next to him.

"Let's give her a moment," Joshua said and asked the others to follow him.

Seeing the other members of the group confused, Joshua explained what had happened in the soul world. After learning the man was Catherine's ancestor, they left her be for a while. Everyone was tired due to the battle so they decided to look for a place to rest. The cavern they were in was pretty vast and humid, so it took them a while to find a good spot to set up camp.

A few hours later, they were all gathered around a campfire. The twins had managed to catch some fish in a pond, bringing a bit of variety in their recent meals. It was very late by now so most people were already sleeping, the events of the day had taken their toll on them.

Catherine had remained very stoic since she had joined them carrying Damien's body. She had asked if they could give him a grave and no one objected. It hadn't been easy to dig, but they had given Damien a final resting place.

As for Joshua, the events of the day had left him with much to think about. Once everything had calmed down, he had vanished into his own world. When he finally came out, everyone but Catherine was sleeping. He wanted to talk to her but preferred to do so in private so he went to find her next to the lake in her world. She had gathered the soul fragments Damien had gifted her in one area, they formed a large mount. One of the fragments was in her hand and she looked at it with both intrigue and an air of melancholy. Joshua sat next to her and waited. She ignored him for a while but he didn't seem in a hurry to talk so she tried to focus on the fragment, with little success.