MMORPG: Rebirth of the Mortal Online - Chapter 235

Chapter 235: Deepening Bond
Step, step, step.

Walking down the long, rocky steps, Lady Yu made her way down, with Adam following right behind her.

They were clearly heading down, way down like they were heading to the core of the world.

These steps seemed to never end, but soon, the bottom was in sight.

It was very dry all the way here. The rocky ceilings, steps, and walls had cracks, and through those cracks, the dirt fell like miniature waterfalls, creating a constant dusty haze in the air.

After reaching the bottom, they came across a gate that was so tall it seemed to belong to giants. It was made out of twisted metal and had a color of rusty red.

Adam’s eyes widened open.

This was his first time being here, and even though he was supposed to do the ceremony in his past life, he never came all the way to here.

This place was very guarded, and only a handful of people had access here. It was the entrance to the Holy Room.

“You’re here.” Kanari was standing by the gate, knocked his fist against it, and stared at them with a piercing gaze.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

‘The Holy Room is a very important ceremony in every holy maiden’s life, but yet here she is, about to do it with a stranger.’

He didn’t know how to feel about it.

‘Even I am closer to her than he is, so why did she choose to do the ceremony with her? Why not with me or Kyle if she wants to do it so badly?’

“Thank you.” Lady Yu said to him and approached the gate. “Kanari, you may leave. We’ll be unavailable for a couple of days.”

“Yes, my lady.” Kanari bowed and started walking up the steps that led back to the surface, but he couldn’t help it and turned around again to look at Adam.

‘What’s so special about him? S-ranker, yes, but she rejected the King when he wanted to do it with her, so her choice wasn’t regarding his status. There’s something deeper in the play here.’

Kanari narrowed his eyes and walked away.

‘I never expected her to do the ceremony because of the Curse of Men. She would have to spend several days alone with a man, and she wouldn’t be able to handle that with her curse. This means, maybe the curse isn’t activating with Adam?’

Lady Yu touched her chest and took a deep breath.

The Curse of Men was acting up when Kanari was here, but it was all gone now.

When she turned to look at Adam, instead of feeling the curse acting up inside her, she felt her face turn warm, and it felt like there were butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

“You’re alright?” Adam asked.

“Yes…” Lady Yu nodded and turned to the gate. “We must touch the gate together and open it together.”

Adam nodded and placed his hands against the gate. When he tried pushing it open, it didn’t move an inch.

Lady Yu put her soft hand over Adam’s, helping him push gently.

It was a gentle push, but the gate still opened slowly.

It opened enough to fit through.

She took Adam’s hand, and they walked through the gate together.

After crossing past the gate, they stopped holding hands, and the gate closed behind them.

The world beyond the gate was dark and lifeless. There was nothing there but silence.

However, then, as if someone flicked the lightswitch, light descended down upon them, and instead of the place being lifeless, now it was very vibrant with clouds of colorful butterflies fluttering around.

The ground was soft as it was made out of clouds, and the place had small hills, also made out of clouds, and the ceiling was a beautiful shade of blue, mimicking the sky above.

When they took a breath of the air, it smelled like fresh flowers and honey.

“This is the Holy Room.” Lady Yu spun around with a smile on face and made her dress twirl around here. “This is my first time being here. It was impossible to enter this place alone, and you can only enter with your holy partner.”

“When will we be able to leave?” Adam asked.

“Once the ceremony is over.” Lady Yu said. “The moment we walked through the gate, we got locked in. The ceremony must now be completed before we can leave.”

“I see.” Adam nodded. “What do we start with?”

“I’ve only read about the ceremony, but no one has done this in my lifetime.” Lady Yu paused, looking uncertain. “I guess we need to learn it together.”

“We should get to know each other, don’t you think so?” Adam sat on one of the clouds, smiling.

“Ah~” Lady Yu blushed and nodded. “You haven’t introduced yourself yet, right?”

“My name’s Adam Palestar,” Adam said. “Other Worlder.”

“You have family?” Lady Yu asked.

“I… sort of.” Adam scratched the back of his head. “Little complicated. I have uncle, though.”

“Mm, I see.” Lady Yu smiled warmly. “You can ask something from me.”

“Do you have a family?” Adam asked.

“The church is my family,” she said. “The pope is my father figure, the bishops are my brothers, and the congregation is my extended family.”

“No real family?” Adam asked.

“If you’re asking who gave birth to me, I don’t know.” She said. “I’ve only known the church since I was born, and I am happy with that.”

“I see.” Adam smiled. “We’re in the same boat. I don’t know my father and mother. They died when I was very little.”

“Oh…” she looked softly at him. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine. I’ve learned to live with it.” Adam said. “Sure, I’ve wondered how they were, but I’ve accepted that I may never know.”

As the conversation went on, the invisible connection between them grew, and the bond, which was extremely important in the ceremony, deepened.

“The war… Are you scared?” She asked.

“Scared…” Adam repeated, his voice trailing off. “Not yet.”

“Yet?”

“I’ve been nervous. This is something one can’t prepare for.” Adam said. “I haven’t felt fear yet. Its because it is not the fighting that I am afraid of, but the war is a very ugly thing, and fear might come from the uncertainty of what is to come.”

“You don’t feel uncertainty now?” She asked.

“I know how the war will start with.” Adam said. “The battle will ravage the city and burn it all down. It’s just the opening of the war. It’s the middle and ending part of the war that worries me.”

“You want strength to fight the war,” Lady Yu said. “I should’ve asked this before we came here, but are you a reckless person? Do you jump into the jaws of death often?”

“I promise to be more cautious.” Adam said with a chuckle. “Some of these players think that the war is about who can have the best K/D, but that’s not the case.”

“K/D?” Lady Yu tilted her head at the term she didn’t recognize.

“Ah, it’s a gaming term.” Adam scratched the back of his head. “It means some people join the war just to kill as many people as possible. Whether it is for experience points or to just have a bet with their friends. Those kinds of people die first.”

“Are you that kind of person?” Lady Yu asked.

“I honestly used to be,” Adam said. “I wanted to be recognized. I wanted the respect of my peers, so yes, I jumped into the jaws of death more times than I want to remember.”

“Mm~” Lady Yu hummed in response. “I also promise to be safe. Our lives are connected with a single thread, and it’s not only you who has to be careful.”

“Mm, I believe in you.” Adam said with a smile.

Lady Yu returned the smile.