As Dimm, Minxx, and Khobba delved deeper into the forest, following the southern cardinal movement, with Dimm in the middle, Minxx began to narrate what she knew about Korr'Tai.
'My tool of knowledge,' Dimm thought.
***
Every crisis had begun with a bug in the game, from the outside world, stirred into motion by a mistake, and was proposed to come to an end by an unusual.
'A bug? A mistake? And an unusual? Hmm...all representing uncertainty,' Dimm thought as he gulped down what Minxx continued narrating.
The way the bug entered the system was not recorded, so no knowledge of it is known. But history has it that this bug introduced more gods to the game.
The record had it that Korr'Tai was the god of power and judgment. But he wasn't just what he claimed to be; he was the creator and the only God of Ellipse at the time, even before these five other gods surfaced.
When Ellipse was birthed, it was never meant to be a prison-like game or a playground of torment. It was a new realm of choice, where the Players sought to define their purpose and discover new things, which is the reason the only means of entry then, had been through reincarnation.
"Not the type of reincarnation in this current day, in fact, the instruction termed it reincarnation but the process is transmigration," Minxx emphasized.
"So, Khobba transmigrated?" Dimm asked, turning his gaze to Khobba.
"That's what it seems like," Minxx replied.
"Alright, then what happened?" Dimm asked, to stir up the discussion.
"The other gods, the unknown gods that had appeared to rule the game changed. Greed, pride, and control twisted them. They turned this realm into a cycle of death, and even enforced that every teenager on earth, the real world must be involved."
"It was at this time that the instructions for participation were changed," Minxx explained and paused due to interruption.
"Wait, wait," Dimm interrupted. "I'm not sure it was enforced... because some of us wouldn't have participated if we didn't—"
"Don't even mention—" Khobba interrupted. "You know I was trying to offer help."
"Of course, I won't deny the fact, but, you still didn't inform me before I ate the chocolate," Dimm argued.
"I would have. Your hunger didn't allow you to—" Khobba was interrupted.
"It's okay," Minxx interrupted calmly. "The gods of the game had enforced it with the help of the government."
A bill was passed, and an industry was introduced. This industry became in charge of inventing the game card, which is now the new means of entry, and a fluid attached to it.
This game card together with the fluid was distributed to all industries in charge of products commonly used by teenagers. To ensure effectiveness, this fluid was injected into these products.
Dimm now reasoned and understood why it had to be in the chocolate Khobba gave him. But, he still had doubts that this story told by Minxx was false.
"How did you know all these when you became a victim of this evil practice after all their plots were through?" Dimm asked.
"A letter," Minxx replied.
Dimm's brow furrowed. "A letter?"
"Yes. Korr'Tai left a letter, along with the scroll which you revealed its content. Unfortunately, this letter is nowhere to be found," Minxx complained. "And it is said that this letter contained another vital information..."
"Hmm. This is getting more complicated than I thought," Dimm commented. "Well, continue with your narration."
The fake gods of Ellipse, having succeeded with their plan, saw Players as beings who no longer have souls seeking redemption or a second chance. They saw us as entertainment, fuel, and—
"Wait," Dimm interrupted. "The government, what could be their possible reason for accepting such an offer?"
"Well, a maximum amount of the game's revenue was promised to the government. This revenue was initially allocated to the Players themselves upon success, but each of these shares was transferred to the government," Minxx explained.
"Are you trying to say that the government also had a hand in this?" Khobba asked.
"Yes. The officials tried their best to make sure none of their children became a candidate. Hence, on their own, they stopped their children from getting in touch with other teenagers, and consuming things originally meant for teenagers."
"But, my parents are officials," Khobba wanted to argue, but Dimm interrupted.
"Maybe there weren't real officials, maybe there were just civil servants or—"
"They were government officials. I'm very sure of that," Khobba stood firm with her claim.
"Well, I did keep my comment," Minxx said.
"Alright," Dimm turned to Minxx. "And Korr'Tai?
"He resisted all the practices," Minxx said, her voice breaking.
Korr'Tai built the Seven Clans with the motive of bringing balance, with each clan serving as a guardian of an ideal. He coded free will into this realm's very system, and here comes his mistake.
The Queen mother of the elves, as at the time when the creator was alive, confirmed having fought beside him. According to her, Korr'Tai was always cloaked in starlight.
But before this fight ensued, Korr'Tai was believed to stand before the Council of his fellow Divines. He accused them all of exploitation, cruelty, and of breaking the code which they swore to uphold. The code he developed.
"For him to stand before all of them as the creator, the gods should have feared him," Dimm said, tilting his head as if he wasn't sure.
"They did," Khobba chipped in. "I mean, if they didn't, why should they kill him?"
Minxx looked at Khobba with shock. "And how did you know the gods were behind the death?"
"I read books that contained the history of this game. One of them had mentioned that the gods are giving in their best to uphold the legacy the main creator had tried to uphold since he was dead," Khobba cited.
"I see. Well, Korr'Tai eventually died. And yes, you were right, he died in their hands," Minxx confirmed.
The silence between them grew heavy, save the sound of hooves and rustling leaves.
"They bound him with the Chains of Null—a forbidden program that strips a divine of their power and memory. They erased him line by line until only a single flame of his consciousness remained—hidden deep in the ruins of what used to be his stronghold. And when he vanished… balance shattered."
Dimm blinked. "So, that was the Fall of Korr'Tai?"
"No," Minxx said softly. "The Fall happened when his last command—a final protocol—was triggered."
She turned to face him, her eyes now shining with something deeper.
"It was a prophecy: A Chosen will rise. He will not be bound by old rules, nor broken by corrupted gods. He will unite the Clans, reclaim the lost code, and finish what I started."
"And before he vanished, he left a system he was secretly working on. A system that will go against most rules of this game."
"Korr'Tai thought the system would choose someone who could remember what it felt like to be powerless, yet still dream of power," Minxx then turned to Dimm. "You speak like a Leader, Dimm… but only time will tell if you'll lead us to salvation—or to another Fall."
Dimm acted like he paid less attention to these last words as he bent down to observe a mark on the ground.
"What are these footprints?"