Death... and me
chapter-2045

The gate continued to open as dust from countless years fell off the joints. It took almost an entire minute just for the many mechanical locks inside the gate to be taken care of. Finally, the gate opened as the twins' group watched from outside. It's just that they didn't expect to hear a question as soon as it happened.

"How do you know my name?"

Rean and Roan were surprised to see the owner of the voice. "A... cat?"

On the other side, a black cat looked at them with suspicion in his eyes. It was truly a cat, be it in size or appearance. It also had no cultivation. However, there was a problem. Even after traveling in the Realm of Gods for so long, they had never seen a cat before. Sure, there were races that had similar traits to cats, but they were often Demon Beasts with strong bodies or Humanoid Races with some fur and cat ears. As for a real cat, that was a first.

Rean and Roan had never thought much about it. After all, cats were breeds from back on Earth where Spiritual and Divine Energies don't exist. It was normal for them to not be anywhere as strong as the ones found on this side of the Universe.

The cat was also surprised to hear Rean and Roan's words. "You know cats? That shouldn't be possible... There are no cats on this side." Still, he quickly regained his composure and repeated his previous question. "Forget it. So, who sent you here? How do you know my name?"

Rean looked at Roan, who nodded at him before Rean began to talk. "You say that we know your name, but we don't. Could it be that your name is Sesame?"

The cat narrowed its eyes before nodding. "That's correct. Other than my master, no one was supposed to know I was here. Let alone know my name. Where did you hear the name Sesame?"

Rean scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, I didn't call your name. Instead, Open Sesame was supposed to be a secret password to open a cave in a story from back in my home. I was frustrated that we weren't able to open the gate regardless of the methods we used. That reminded me of that story, and I just shouted the same password out of helplessness."

"A story...?" The cat didn't quite believe it. Still, it had been countless years since he last saw any living being or any being at all. "What was the name of the story?"

However, before Rean could answer, Roan intervened. "Before we continue, will it be a problem if you let us inside?" Well, Roan wasn't expecting the cat to let them enter. But then again, he and the others were ready to rush inside if the cat refused. After all, if they didn't take this chance, they would be trapped in front of the gate forever.

"Sure, come in." Surprisingly, Sesame didn't seem to care and simply invited them inside. "Come with me."

Naturally, the twins' group didn't waste time and passed through the gate. As soon as they did that, the Soul Gem System's Voice echoed in Rean and Roan's minds.

[Universe Foundation Fragment Detected!]

[Due to the division of the Universe, the fragment fell into the Underworld. This fragment was then used by a time and space displacement artifact capable of surpassing even the strongest beings of the Universe in its power of manipulation of Space and Time.]

[New Quest Available: Acquire the Artifact or the Universe Foundation Fragment contained inside it.]

[Reward: 500000 Destiny Points.]

[Warning: After the Universe Fragment is acquired, the system will receive an update. Destiny Points will only be accessible through quests. On the other hand, quests will give much higher rewards. Any Destiny Points used in an upgrade related to the previous system will be reimbursed.]

[Time Limit: Unlimited.]

[Failure Conditions: Leaving the Swamp of no Return without the Artifact or the Fragment inside it.]

[Failure Penalty: 500000 Destiny Points.]

The twins were happy at first when they heard that there was really a Fragment in the Swamp of No Return, even more so after seeing the reward for acquiring it. However, they were taken aback by the system's warning and fell into a dilemma. They had made a lot of points through the Destiny Chancing Rewards, and they had even bought an upgrade that extended the sensorial range of this method. Sure, the system said it would give back the Destiny Points used, but was it worth it?

'Sister Orb, what's happening here? Why did the system suddenly decide to change?'

[That you will have to ask Soul Gem himself. But from what I can see, this upgrade wasn't something that was added now. It had always been part of the system's upgrade plan. Perhaps Soul Gem himself wasn't expecting you to be close to acquiring four fragments this early.]

Roan narrowed his eyes in response. 'That's weird. We got close to a fourth fragment before, our father's one. If detecting the fourth fragment was a requisite for this system's warning, why didn't it do the warning when we met father?'

[That's because the system didn't detect the fragment in your father's possession. At the moment, you two only know that your father has a fragment, but the system hasn't felt its presence at all. For the system, it was the same as not knowing about it.]

'I see...' Roan had to admit Sister Orb was right. Turen had never brought out the fragment in his possession when they talked. And they knew it was being used to keep the dimensional realm aperture inside the Temporal Gap. That was most likely the reason why Turen didn't show it to them as it was being used.

Sesame noticed that the twins' stopped for a moment and asked back. "What are you waiting for? Come in already. Otherwise, I'll close the gate."

The twins quickly put that matter to the back of their minds and followed Sesame.