80: Destiny
"Hah, home sweet home," Ryder smiled as he put the Divinity Glasses to the side and got off the bed.
He walked to the washroom to wash his face as he had been like that for over a week.
As he took water in his hand and brought it towards his face, he noticed the bracelet in his right hand.
He just stood there frozen as the water seeped out of his hand.
"What the absolute fuck! Janus! What the heck is happening here! Why do I have that bracelet here with me?" Ryder let out loud. His voice was so loud that it even managed to escape his room.
Alice was still in her room when she heard Ryder's voice.
"Did he finally decide to wake up?" She said as she put the box of Divinity to the side.
As she saw her brother so engrossed in the game that he refused to come out, she had decided to try the game herself as well. She went out and brought one for herself to see what it was actually about and to find Ryder inside.
She stood up and left her room.
<It's bound to you. What did you expect?> Janus replied.
"How can an item from a game come to the real world! It must be your doing!" Ryder accused Janus.
<All you need to know is that this bracelet is as real as it can get. Now that it has found you, it will never leave you,> Janus answered.
"But this is a cursed item! My poor soul!" Ryder wanted to cry, but no tears came out of his eyes.
"Wait a minute? Won't that mean I get the Ruler of Time as well? But heck! Won't I die of old age? Will I just keep going back in time to relive my last day again and again?" Ryder muttered.
<Immortals can't die,> Janus said
"What immortals! I'm just a mortal human! We get old, and we die," Ryder said in an annoyed tone.
Janus didn't respond. Ryder was about to repeat his question when he heard the knock on the door.
He came out of the washroom and walked towards the door.
He opened the door and found Alice glaring at him.
"Oh Alice, good morning," Ryder said, smilingly.
"It's the night!" Alice replied.
"Ah, right. I lost track of time, I guess," Ryder said with a wry smile on his face.
"What's the date?" Ryder asked.
"Right, you wouldn't even know the date. Why would you? It's not like
"I, ah, I had to do something important in the game, sorry for not coming out," Ryder apologized.
"Hmph, the dinner will be ready in half an hour; come eat with me, unless you want to go back to your game," She snorted as she turned back and left.
"Sigh, She's so cute even when she's angry," Ryder chuckled as he walked back to his washroom and finished washing his face.
He left his room and walked to the dinner table.
"Come on. I said, I'm sorry. I'll never go inside for so long unless absolutely necessary. Please don't be angry," Ryder again apologized as he saw Alice looking at him.
"Why would I be angry? It's not like you ever spent such quality time with me," She snorted as she began eating.
"How about we go shopping tomorrow? I need some new clothes, and I'll get you some as well," Ryder suggested.
"Really?" Alice asked in surprise; a glimmer of happiness was clearly visible in her eyes, but she quickly recovered her expressions.
"Of course. It's not always that I get the chance to hang out with such a beautiful girl. Let's have fun tomorrow," Ryder said, smilingly.
"Sure," she said casually as if she didn't want to show her excitement.
"Great," Ryder said as he began eating as well.
He walked back to his room after he finished eating.
He fell to his bed as he began observing the bracelet of Immortality.
"Janus, you said that the bracelet is not the game item? Does this mean it's from the real world? Do gods really exist?" Ryder inquired.
<It's quite ironic to hear the question coming from you,> Janus said. Ryder could feel that Janus' tone was somewhat unusual.
"You know, Janus, I feel like you have become more human-like after the upgrade. I feel like I'm talking to a real person and not the system that you always felt like before the upgrade," Ryder said in a low voice.
<Maybe I'm just waiting for the opportunity to screw your life again,> Janus chuckled.
Ryder was stunned as he sat up abruptly.
"You can laugh?" Ryder asked in surprise.
<What do you think?> Janus asked sarcastically.
"Sigh, you really shock me sometimes. I guess you're more human-like than I thought," Ryder muttered.
<Or maybe I'm more god-like, just like a certain someone I used to know,> Janus replied.
"Who? Were you with another host before me?" Ryder inquired.
Janus didn't reply, and Ryder didn't repeat his question. He had realized that maybe Janus didn't want to talk about that.
"Anyway, you said that all the bracelet unsealing fragments are not in the game world. Did you mean that they were in the real world as well?" Ryder changed the question.
Janus replied, <Yes.>
"Interesting. Can you help me find them?" Ryder further asked.
<No, I can't find them, but they will find you,> Janus replied.
"Why? Do the fragments have a sentience that can help them track the bracelet?" Ryder inquired.
<It's more complicated than that. Just think of that as your destiny that a certain someone wrote for yourself,> Janus answered.
"Who would that certain someone be?" Ryder asked.
<You,> Janus answered.
"Sometimes I can't comprehend what you say," Ryder said with a wry smile on his face.
"Anyway, I can turn back time when I need to. I'm quite excited about my life, despite that curse," Ryder said smilingly.
He suddenly remembered something as he asked, "Oh right, You said that I would get an Exp System in the real world after your upgrade. You didn't explain what that is?" Ryder asked.