"Runa!" Abby cried. She sat up, gasping for air.
As she opened her eyes, her surroundings slowly swam into view. It was no longer the Japanese school hall surrounded by fire; she was in the cold, wet, dungeon-like game lobby again.
Abby felt like a fool. Of course Runa isn't here! Why would she be here? She is supposed to be with the NPCs! Why did she even try that…
Suddenly, out of nowhere: "Ding!" The cute shape of a child materialized in the air. Abby noticed that as she progressed, the system's form started becoming clearer and clearer. She remembered that, at first, the system was just a little blob of blue flame.
"Hello~ :3 So… How are you?" The system asked in a tone that sounded almost like it was mocking Abby.
"Terrible!" She answered. "What else did you expect!? Also, if there is nothing you want to say that is HELPFUL, please leave and send me to the next world!"
The system was a little shocked from the sudden change of tone. "Ok, ok! You don't have to shout at me. The~ poor~ lil~ system~ But, there is one thing I need you to do before the next mission. You have to buy another item from the system shop!"
Abby rolled her eyes. "Whatever, just show me the options."
The system teleported her to the shop. "Good news, my dearest host! There is a new item in our shop! It is… One trustworthy friend, but now it is everlasting!"
Abby snapped to attention. "I want it!"
The system seemed delighted by this even, though there was no reason to. "Of course you want it~ Here you go!" It threw a cute token to Abby, which she barely caught. She stared at the nine-tailed fox with infinity symbols replacing its pupils.
"Is that all? If that's all, just send me to the new world already!" Abby crossed her arms.
"All right! As you wish, my favorite host~ Your next world is called "The Long Lost Princess of the Pyramids." The system vanished, and Abby's vision turned dark again.
After god knows how long, Abby slowly came to again. She squinted against the hot, dazzling midday sun, struggling to open her eyes. She tried to support herself into a sitting position, only to find her skin burning against the sand beneath her. Some minutes later, Abby was finally able to sit up as her eyes finally adjusted to the blinding sunlight. She looked around, trying to find somewhere to go, but all she could see was the endless desert.
Slowly, tiny silhouettes appeared atop a sand dune near the horizon. "People! Finally!", she thought, jumping up and down and waving excitedly.
"Hello? Anyone there? Can you guys help me?" One of the figures looked like they spotted her, and informed the rest of the group. After a brief but animated debate, they decided to head toward Abby.
As the procession approached, Abby saw their faces clearly at last. One of the girls looked just like someone she knew who was very important to her. Yet, no matter how hard Abby tried, she just couldn't remember who it was.
Recovering from the initial shock, Abby realized that they were looking at her weirdly. "Is there anything wrong?" They continued staring at her silently. The girl who had felt familiar gently took off her coat and laid it on Abby.
Abby looked down in confusion before her face turned a dark crimson in embarrassment. She was wearing a bright red crop top with a translucent dress that resembled the dresses that dancers wore in Ancient Egypt.
She sighed. "Do you have any spare clothes I can borrow?"
Unfortunately, they did not. "I guess I'll have to make do for now," she thought.
"Can I please join you? I need to find my way out of the desert," Abby pleaded.
"We'd love to help," the girl said, "but we're also stuck. A big sandstorm last night made us lose our way. You're welcome to come with us, though!"
After some discussion, they decided to continue the group's trip to find some water or human inhabitants in the desert. On the way, Abby found out their names. The oddly familiar girl was Runa, the big tall man with a mask was called Manjiro, and the two girls that looked weirdly alike were Polina and Vicky.
They kept walking, the hot sun beating down on them relentlessly. Their food and water supplies were getting low; they were getting more and more tired, and the time was passing by so fast they couldn't even catch up to it.
Just as they were about to finish their last drip of water, they crossed over yet another sand dune, and suddenly, there it was: a village.
Well, calling it a village might be a stretch. It was tiny; there were only five houses and a heavy fog surrounding it. Even though Abby felt there was danger, she still followed the group and went in anyway. They stepped into the central square. The second their foot touched the circular pattern on the ground, lines of light on the floor lit up. It was clear that it was a spell of some sort. They felt the floor crumbling and the wind around them quivering, making them close their eyes. But after a moment, the expected falling sensation didn't come. In its place was a cool breeze.
Opening their eyes, they found themselves in a big palace. The whole place was shining with the gold and diamonds that glittered on the walls. Before they had time to admire the view, a gust of wind whooshed by, flinging sand into their eyes. When the storm passed, they were shocked to find themselves in the middle of a bustling crowd of people. They wore simple kilts and dresses made of white linen, with dark kohl around their eyes.
"Ding!" The system popped out of nowhere. " How are you doing my bestie~" it said, winking at Abby. "If you are confused what the HELL is happening right now, LEt me just tell you~ You are in the past, like thousand of years ago where the lil ✨cannibal princess ✨of Egypt lived~"
Abby felt uneasy. "The cannibal princess?"
"YeS the ✨CaNnIBaL PrINceSS✨" the system said with a mocking tone.
"That makes me feel creeped out." Abby looked toward the end of the hall then felt someone pulling her.
"Who are you talking to, Abby?" Polina was looking at her, her face worried but her eyes looked oddly blank.
"Oh, was I talking? I didn't realise." Abby felt awkward and looked away toward Runa. Something about her just calms Abby down. Feeling Abby's gaze, Runa turned to her and gave Abby a reassuring smile.
"What's wrong?" She asked. Abby shook her head forlornly. Runa nodded in understanding and patted her shoulder. Abby smiles back gratefully. Suddenly, they hear a loud scream in front of them.
"Intruders!" a guard yelled. That made everyone look at them. A great confusion followed as the crowd shouted in fear, jostling to get away from them while a brave few attempted to get closer for a better look. Several guards armed with spears stormed toward them with furious looks on their faces.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in the royal palace?" The largest of them all demanded.
"We are just merchants who lost our way and wandered in here by accident," Runa answered in a polite tone. "We are very sorry to cause all this trouble, we will be leaving in a minute."
"No, there will be no need for you to leave!" the tallest guard shouted out, and before any one of them could react, the guards grabbed each one of them. "Bring them to the princess! She will be happy to get an extra dessert." They approached a large golden door, which looked like it led to the owner of this luxurious palace. Diamond flowers and emerald leaves creeped over the heavy marble door on gold vines. It swung open ominously, revealing an even bigger room. This time, the walls were all covered in gold; huge pillars stood on each side as window frames, golden silk curtains hung between them, swaying in the breeze. In the middle of the room was a big sofa-like throne shaped like a pyramid. A girl lounged on top, or rather, in the sofa, practically sinking into the cushions, with her limbs flung haphazardly over the sides. She turned her head to stare at them as they walked in.
She was drop-dead gorgeous. Her bronze skin seemed to almost glisten in the sun and her eyes were a piercing green. Her lips were like delicate flower petals; when she sat up, they saw her extraordinary figure, slim but most certainly not weak arms, a tiny waist that could hook a man's heart in seconds, her proportions even better than a supermodel. Compared to her, even Manjiro looked plain, Abby mused silently. "Wait, that's weird," she thought. "How would I know what he looks like? I've never seen his face before."
"Welcome my dear guests!" the princess seemed to notice them and walked down from her throne. She headed straight for Abby and grasped her hands affectionately. As the princess leaned closer, Abby thought she detected the faint smell of freshly chopped meat making her furrow her brows in disgust, but it disappeared in an instant and was quickly replaced by a pleasant floral scent that was somehow also metallic. "It's probably because the whole place is made with gold and other precious minerals," Abby thought.
"Hello my beloved, just let me tell you how ravishing you are. Oh, how lovely it is to meet you today! It's like I want to keep you with me forever." She looked like she was so attracted to Abby's presence, as if it was the best thing she ever experienced; her eyes lit up with a faint red glow and deep down you could spot the deranged glint of bloodthirstiness.
"It's nice to meet you too," Abby said, not sure how to answer. She was really shocked by how this princess acted, but a voice inside her told her to get close and that the princess was harmless. It was like a siren's song, strong and controlling, and soon any of Abby's own suspicions were drowned out.
The princess cradled Abby's face as she brought them eye to eye, their breaths mingling together. Strangely, Abby didn't feel warmth from the princess. Every breath of air was like being drenched with an ice-cold bucket of water. She shivered a little, not entirely from the cold, a distant part of her suddenly aware of the fog clouding her brain.
Watching Abby's eyes gain focus, the princess' brows briefly creased in displeasure, but soon the expression cleared from her face and it was once more smiling.
"So, my beloved, what is your name?" The princess asked with an eerie voice that clung onto Abby like soft hard dragging her down, but where? Before she could answer, the princess exclaimed: "Oh, how unsophisticated I am~ Silly me, I forgot to tell you my name! It's Amunet," her misted gaze hardened imperceptibly. "Don't forget it!" This was the first time she spoke with a hard tone.
Numbingly, Abby answered, "Of course I won't forget. My name is Abby." She had a faraway look in her eyes and her voice was weirdly robotic.
"Abby huh? What a cute name." Amunet seemed delighted. "Come, I would love to show you my garden. It's beautiful there, I'm sure you will love it." She leaned back, then blew a cloud of smoke at Abby. Within the second, her knees buckled under her and darkness shrouded her vision. She heard someone call out her name.
"Runa!" Abby's mind shouted. Then she saw fire, fire everywhere around her, ashes like thousands of stars that formed the shape of a girl. But, before she could react, everything blacked out.