The New Story of Lona Falldin

Chapter 20

- You already know quite a lot about me, and I think it's only fair that you reciprocate, - the Archaeologist began, before looking me straight in the eye. - Who are you, Lona Falldin, and how did you end up on this god-damned island?

- Uh, I already told you that I'm a refugee from Sybaris, I was literally born and raised like that. - By the way, although not all of it, along with the flashbacks about the black darkness, it seems that some of the memories of the original Lona were also transferred to me.

- I did, - the Archaeologist nodded. - And I even believe that you escaped from Sybaris, however, much of your behavior betrays a native of the mainland. For example, how do you know what kind of trees should grow in a normal forest? And your knowledge of this revenge, it does not look like the knowledge of a person who has simply lived here for a long time, but rather the knowledge of a person who learned about it from a book, most likely fiction...

The more he listed the moments that aroused his suspicions, the wider my mouth opened in surprise, but most of all I was now worried about one question.

- Why do you need this? After all, these days we seemed to be working calmly and well as a team, helping each other survive, what has changed now?

- The difference is that, although we were partners, this did not impose any serious obligations on me. And now I am afraid that if you do not share with me at least such a small thing, after this task, we will have to part ways.

- Obligations? What kind of obligations could you have towards me... - Does he really think that he will have to marry me and the like?! Even though I became a girl and they even helped me accept myself as such, my mind has not changed! I still hate the idea of ​​sleeping with a man, and I'd rather remain a single maiden until I die! And children? If I want children, I'll raise an orphan, there's one I can spot not far away, and it doesn't matter that she's a necromancer. - I must warn you, I'm not interested in men in terms of relationships

- I don't know what you've imagined, but I'm not a pedophile either, to look at children. - Indiana chuckled, and then decided to explain what had prompted his questioning. - Big Momma threatened me yesterday that if something happened to you while I was your partner, my fate would not be the best, and knowing how fucked up and dangerous this island is, I'm not ready to just take on such a responsibility. Damn it, I'm not even sure I can protect myself, and you, apparently, are planning to get into more and more dangerous troubles each time. That's why I want to know who you are.

- Haaaah. - I sighed heavily, scratching the back of my head. - You see, my situation is rather unusual and most likely you simply won't believe it.

- And yet I insist on knowing.

- To hell with you, don't you dare accuse me of lying later. - I gave in, after all, Indiana Jones is simply too useful a companion to refuse him.

- So where to start. - I thought. - Although, for starters, it's worth noting that I don't know that much about my current situation.

- For example, I don't know how to explain my cat ears. - I touched the tip of my right ear for clarity, - then there are some other rather strange moments that will potentially allow me to become really strong.

- And what are these moments?

- Wait, let me formulate the thought so that it is clear to you, after all, in your time there were no computer games yet, and you are, in fact, a veteran of the Second World War, and even DnD came out much later. - The more I thought, the more I realized that explaining the essence of my system could be more difficult than if I were explaining it to a person familiar with games.

- ... you know, it already seems to me that you are now going to start stuffing me with a bunch of fantasy like time travel and so on.

- Well, almost. - I said uncertainly.

- Okay, just start from the very beginning. - the Archaeologist sighed.

- Ahem, okay. I should start with the fact that I lived in Belarus and died in 2024.

- Belarus is?

- A part of the USSR, probably, which had not yet managed to collapse in this world. - Seeing how Indiana with a raised eyebrow was about to ask a question, I hastened to add. - And don't ask me how it happened, because although I seem to remember a lot, my knowledge of history is rather fragmentary, and I don't want to mislead you with confused dates or names.

- Okay, continue your story, anyway, after the Ark of the Covenant, nothing will surprise me anymore. - Jones chuckled.

- As you say. - I shrugged. - In general, I should start with whether you are familiar with computers?

- A computer? Yes, I saw one in real life a couple of times.

- Oh, something tells me that you didn't see the computers that had a small system unit, keyboard and a slightly bulky monitor, but those that took up a lot of space. - I sighed, after all, Indiana didn't look like an old man now, and computers only went into the masses in 1975 and it's also worth noting that this Archaeologist went through two world wars. - By the way, what year should it be now?

- When I got to this island it was 1950.

- So you're already an old man?! - I exclaimed.

- I'm not that old. - Indiana grimaced a little.

- But you're at least 50 years old now!

- Let's skip this point. You better continue the story about computers.

- Um, okay, in general, gradually progress reached the point where computers became compact and so widespread that almost every home had at least one, and computing power reached a pretty amazing level and eventually they began to be used in the entertainment industry. Games were created for these devices. An image was displayed on the monitors, and players, performing certain actions, could control the characters. It was like watching a movie, only the main character did not move himself, but did what you ordered him to.

- I must admit it sounds tempting, but I still don't understand how this relates to you.

- I'm getting to that point now. There was one game. Which I played shortly before my death and it told the story of a teenage girl named Lona Falldin, who lived in a world of truly dark fantasy, at every step she was met by monsters and not very friendly people who were trying to rape or kill the poor girl, who was so weak at first that if you were not careful, a not very pleasant end would come pretty quickly, but she also had an incredible advantage. By performing various actions, including tasks, she gained experience, which, upon reaching a certain threshold, allowed her to strengthen her characteristics, be it physical strength. Resistance to magic, the ability to use this very magic and even ...

- And? - Jones said, seeing my hesitation.

- And even the ability to kill through sex. - I was finally able to squeeze out of myself.

- It was definitely a normal game. And not pornography? - He looked at me strangely.

- If you do not try to deliberately make Lona a whore, then the game is normal! - I snapped.

- Hush-hush, no need to get angry. Better tell me what's next, I already understood that the story is about you, so what happened after death.

- Well, I met an Angel, and he gave me several choices, one of which was to be in the place of Lona, whose soul was too exhausted by the number of trials that fell to her lot.

- And what trials?

- Well, as I said, she was raped and killed in a variety of ways. However, she had one peculiarity after death, she always returned to the past. If she died after giving birth to a child, then she retained part of her powers from her past life, if not, then she had, in fact, a start from scratch. So it turns out that Lona Falldin is some kind of anomaly, inextricably linked with this island.

- Of course, it was all told in a confused manner, but in principle I understood everything.

- And so you just believed it? - I was surprised.

- Of course not. - Jones chuckled. - But you will tell me absolutely everything you know, including about the future that you apparently know, and based on whether there is confirmation, I will decide to believe you or not.

- Then I will begin, where did Lona's story begin?

- Go ahead.

- Okay, it all began with...