"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 Ryderâs 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.
[Itâs 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? Wonât that mean I get the Ruler of Time as well? But heck! Wonât I die of old age? Will I just keep going back in time to relive my last day again and again?" Ryder muttered.
[Immortals canât die,] Janus said
"What immortals! Iâm just a mortal human! We get old, and we die," Ryder said in an annoyed tone.
Janus didnât 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.
"Itâs the night!" Alice replied.
"Ah, right. I lost track of time, I guess," Ryder said with a wry smile on his face.
"Whatâs the date?" Ryder asked.
"Right, you wouldnât even know the date. Why would you? Itâs not like you care for your family more than your game," Alice said as her glare intensified.
"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, Sheâs so cute even when sheâs 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, Iâm sorry. Iâll never go inside for so long unless absolutely necessary. Please donât be angry," Ryder again apologized as he saw Alice looking at him.
"Why would I be angry? Itâs 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 Iâll 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. Itâs not always that I get the chance to hang out with such a beautiful girl. Letâs have fun tomorrow," Ryder said, smilingly.
"Sure," she said casually as if she didnât 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 itâs from the real world? Do gods really exist?" Ryder inquired.
[Itâs quite ironic to hear the question coming from you,] Janus said. Ryder could feel that Janusâ tone was somewhat unusual.
"You know, Janus, I feel like you have become more human-like after the upgrade. I feel like Iâm talking to a real person and not the system that you always felt like before the upgrade," Ryder said in a low voice.
[Maybe Iâm 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 youâre more human-like than I thought," Ryder muttered.
[Or maybe Iâm 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 didnât reply, and Ryder didnât repeat his question. He had realized that maybe Janus didnât 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.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Janus replied, [Yes.]
"Interesting. Can you help me find them?" Ryder further asked.
[No, I canât 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.
[Itâs 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 canât comprehend what you say," Ryder said with a wry smile on his face.
"Anyway, I can turn back time when I need to. Iâm 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 didnât explain what that is?" Ryder asked.