Elegy from Another World

While Kawi and Noriljohn were experiencing a clash of values ​​with the player representatives, another dialogue revealing the cold, hard nature of the world was taking place at another "service point" not far from Utopia.

Zoimem, the ancient silver dragon, now lay prostrate in her majestic dragon form, her green vertical pupils fixed on the player representative before her, dressed in casual attire and seemingly out of place in this world. Her voice was low, filled with disbelief and accusation:

"Say it again... the meaning of my existence, my duty for millennia... is it merely to protect that dragon egg that will never hatch?"

"Uh, well..." The player representative scratched his head, a smile that was more awkward than guilty on his face. "According to the backend records... it seems so. I heard that initially they planned to design an 'Ancient Dragon's Nest' raid instance, with you and those eggs as the BOSS and key items. But later, it seems that the project budget was exceeded, or the planner changed the design, and that raid instance plan was shelved. And then... hehe, I guess they missed it when cleaning up the database, and 'forgot' about you there."

He spoke of it casually, as if he were talking about an old toy that had been accidentally left in a corner.

"Forgot...forgot?" Zoimem's massive dragon body trembled slightly with rage. Her long life, her solitary guardianship, all her perseverance, all stemmed from a single, low-level management error? A profound sense of absurdity and fury, utterly negated, surged within her.

"Roar—!" She let out a deafening dragon roar, filled with the humiliation of being mocked. She opened her huge mouth, and the dragon breath that distorted space was about to burst out, shattering this frivolous "messenger of the gods" into pieces!

However, the next moment, the player representative merely frowned somewhat impatiently and waved his hand casually.

Zoymem felt an irresistible force of law instantly envelop her. Her condensed dragon breath was forcibly extinguished, and her massive dragon body was pressed firmly to the ground by an invisible force, unable to move even a single claw.

"Tsk, why are you so quick to attack?" The player representative curled his lip, his tone carrying a hint of admonition. "Know your place, will you? No matter how powerful you are, you're just a rather complex string of code. Eliminating you is just a matter of moving a finger."

As soon as he finished speaking, the player representative twitched his finger and snapped it.

To her horror, Zoimem felt a bizarre change taking place in her body! The massive dragon's body emitted a blinding white light, and its bones, muscles, and scales were decomposing and recombining in an incomprehensible way. A strong sense of being peeled away swept over her, and a few seconds later, the white light dissipated, and she found herself standing on the ground, no longer prostrate.

She looked down at herself—the dragon claws that once tore through giant rocks had become a pair of fair and delicate human hands; her body, covered with hard scales, was wrapped in a seemingly ordinary cloth dress; she tried to let out a dragon's roar, but only managed to squeeze out a soft whimper from her throat.

The player representative looked at her new appearance with satisfaction: a girl with long silver hair, emerald green eyes, a cool temperament, but a petite and delicate figure.

"Yes, that's more like it!" The player representative clapped his hands and commented, "In today's game market, giant monster bosses are no longer popular. Players find them too oppressive and not 'approachable' enough. On the contrary, this kind of seemingly weak but story-driven girl character is more appealing, easier to produce merchandise, and also easier to add some... uh, emotional storylines."

Zoimee raised her trembling hand and touched her unfamiliar face, feeling the fragility within this body so different from the destructive power she once possessed. Through the blurred reflection in a puddle beside her, she saw her current appearance—a delicate doll, seemingly fragile and easily broken.

So... even my existence as a dragon is unnecessary? My value lies solely in whether I am "pleasing"?

Overwhelmed by immense grief and despair, she was plunged into despair. A thousand years of perseverance had become a joke; even her proud form had been easily stripped away, replaced by a mere shell to please others. She could no longer hold back; tears streamed down her newly formed, emerald eyes like broken pearls. She wasn't crying because she had lost her power, but because of her very existence—utterly objectified and arbitrarily altered.

"Hey, why are you crying?" The player representative sounded annoyed. "It's just a different form! The data isn't lost! So noisy..."

He found the crying jarring and instinctively snapped his fingers again.

Zoymem's crying stopped abruptly—not because she had stopped grieving, but because she found herself completely unable to make a sound! Utter terror widened her eyes, and tears flowed even more fiercely, yet she could only sob silently. She had been deprived even of the right to express her grief.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Just then, another player representative, who seemed to be of a slightly higher rank, strode over and kicked the first representative in an annoyed tone. "The higher-ups are watching public opinion closely, emphasizing the need for a 'humane' approach to the Awakened Ones! What are you doing messing around here? What kind of nonsense is this, turning her mute? Do you want to get punished?!"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, boss, I'll fix it right away!" The player representative was startled and quickly snapped his fingers again.

Zoemem coughed suddenly and realized she could speak again. At the same time, she felt a familiar sense of power filling her petite body again—the player representative had synchronized and transferred her dragon power data.

"Alright, alright, stop crying," the senior representative said, softening his tone as he looked at Zoemem, who was still weeping. He completely misunderstood her pain. "Didn't we return the power to you? This form looks much better now, much more agile than that big guy. What's there to be sad about?"

They simply don't understand... they never will. Looking at these two "gods" discussing "user preferences" and "management regulations," Zoimee's heart turned completely cold. She stopped crying, but with her tear-filled yet icy eyes, she gave them one last, profound look, as if trying to etch this absurd scene into the depths of her soul. Then, she turned and, with her newly grown, slender legs, ran away as fast as she could, fleeing this place that suffocated her.

She ran aimlessly, and after what seemed like an eternity, she finally drifted back to that familiar place—Utopia, no, it should now be called the Draenor. At the entrance, she encountered Edseysis, who appeared to be on patrol.

Upon seeing Zoim's new, tearful human girl appearance, Edessis was visibly taken aback. But after listening to Zoim's choked, halting narration, a complex and understanding expression appeared on her face, a fusion of Edes and Cesis.

"I understand how you feel... Although we've had different experiences, I think the painful merging I (Edes) and Cesis experienced was perhaps also thanks to these high and mighty 'players.'" She reached out and gently patted Zoimem's trembling shoulder. "This world, in the end, is just a game to them."

Zoymem raised her head, a resolute flame burning in her emerald eyes: "Edsis, are you... preparing to leave this place?"

"Yes, I will follow Lady Licia."

"Take me with you!" Zoe Mem's voice was resolute. "I must leave this fake world! I don't want to stay a moment longer!" She paused, a bitter and self-deprecating smile curving her lips. "Besides... look at this body, so small. When I move around in the base, at least I won't have to worry about breaking the ceiling or the equipment anymore."

Edsey looked at her and gave her a gentle yet firm smile: "Alright! Welcome to our team, Zoimem."