Utopian System

The memories still swirled around them, fragments of that final deal with Dionz, the moment she chose to forget rather than face the consequences of caring.

"I am a divine being," Nala insisted. "I'm not supposed to…"

'To what? Love? Because that's what this was, wasn't it? You fell in love with him and it terrified you so much you literally erased it from your mind.'

"That's absurd! I was merely... conducting research."

'Oh please,' Zara's consciousness radiated skepticism. 'You spent a hundred years pretending to be "researching" I got bored of that, probably then spent millions of years pretending humanity was beneath you because you couldn't handle the truth.'

"The truth?"

'That you're capable of love. That you're not just some perfect, untouchable divine being. That maybe, just maybe, humans aren't as inferior as you want to believe.'

The memories showed Memory-Nala's tears as Dionz prepared to take her memories. The raw pain in her expression was undeniable.

"This has to be some trick," Nala argued. "Some manipulation of memories to…"

'To what? Make you look human? Make you seem capable of actual feelings? News flash, you're in MY body.'

"This doesn't change anything," Nala tried to assert, but her voice lacked conviction.

'It changes everything! You've spent all this time judging humanity, testing us, deciding if we deserve to exist, when the real reason you've been so harsh is because you couldn't handle your own feelings!'

♢♢♢♢

Dionz kept creating and dismissing butterfly holograms, each one slightly different, as if he couldn't quite focus on the task at hand. His mind clearly wrestled with something larger than mere challenge explanations.

"These butterflies," he started again, forcing himself to concentrate, "they manipulate magnetic fields in ways that... that..." He glanced at Elio.

"You're doing it again," Elio pointed out.

"Right, sorry. Butterflies. Manganese. Focus."

Emberg and Poison Stinger exchanged looks that clearly said, "He's lost it."

"The thing about manganese," Dionz tried once more, "is that it enhances magnetic properties, much like how these butterflies... these butterflies..." He stopped, frustrated. "Do you ever feel like you're missing something obvious? Something right in front of you that should make perfect sense but doesn't?"

"Is this about the challenge or something else?" Elio asked directly.

"Both? Neither? I don't know anymore." Dionz ran a hand through his hair. "The challenges are straightforward. But there's something else, something about memories and colors and patterns that I can't quite..."

He pulled out the note, stared at it, then tucked it away again.

"The manganese challenge will give you another 10% boost, this time to magical control. You'll need to..." He paused again.

"Should we maybe take a break?" Elio suggested.

"No, no, we need to keep going. Time is... time is important. I think. The note said..." He caught himself.

"Never mind what the note said. Manganese butterflies. One million of them. They'll try to trap you in magnetic fields while launching combined attacks. Your enhanced damage output should make it manageable, but watch out for their field manipulation abilities."

He squinted at the hologram. "The patterns they make, they almost look like..."

"Like what?"

"Nothing. Everything. I don't know anymore." Dionz dismissed the simulation with a wave. "Just... be careful in there. And if you see any unusual patterns in their magnetic fields, anything that reminds you of something you can't quite place..."

"You want me to tell you about it?"

"Yes. No. Maybe?" The god seemed to struggle with himself. "Just... remember what you see. It might be important later. Or it might be nothing."

Elio studied the god's troubled expression. "Does this have something to do with why you asked about my favorite color?"

"Everything has to do with everything else," Dionz replied cryptically. "Or nothing does. That's the problem with memories, they're either all connected or none of them are real, and I can't tell which is worse anymore."

"You're not making any sense," Elio said.

"I know," Dionz agreed sadly. "That's what worries me."

Despite Dionz's increasingly erratic behavior, Elio had a challenge to face.

"And Elio?" Dionz called after him. "If you see that particular shade of blue anywhere in there..."

But Elio was already entering the challenge.

The manganese mountain revealed itself differently than previous challenges. The very air seemed to shimmer with magnetic distortions, creating visual patterns that shifted and flowed like liquid geometry.

The barriers presented a new type of obstacle, not solid walls but rather magnetic fields that could redirect and amplify their own attacks back at them. It required careful timing, waiting for the patterns to shift into configurations that would allow safe passage.

When they reached the chamber, the million butterflies awaited them. As they moved in swarms, the magnetic fields they generated began forming complex geometric shapes.

"Watch the patterns," Dionz's warning echoed in Elio's mind.

The first wave of butterflies launched their attack, the sheer number of enemies meant they needed to maintain constant pressure. Hour after hour, they fought through wave after wave of butterflies, their enhanced capabilities making the task manageable if time-consuming.

When the final butterfly fell, Elio found himself staring at the dissipating magnetic patterns, trying to capture what felt so significant about their structure. But the feeling faded with the patterns themselves, leaving only a vague sense of having missed something important.

As they emerged from the portal, Elio wasn't sure what would be worse, finding Dionz still obsessing over colors and memories, or having the god act as if their earlier strange conversation had never happened.

But as they materialized, Dionz's attention was elsewhere, his usual theatrical demeanor replaced by intense focus on the white cube in his hands.

"Something's wrong with the system," he muttered, more to himself than to Elio. "The subconsciousness should have activated by now, should have punished us for breaking the rules..."

Elio, still analyzing his enhanced stats, looked up. "What do you mean?"
Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire

"Every time we've helped humans too directly in the past, the system stopped us. It's a fundamental rule, gods can't interfere beyond certain limits. But now? I've removed my chains, given you divine corruption, practically handed you the tools to break the game... and nothing."

"Maybe the system's broken?" Elio suggested, but Dionz shook his head.

"No, it's more like... like it's allowing this." He studied the cube again. "My note warns about memories, insists on waiting for maximum level. But why? What happens then that's so important?"