The Final Desperation

Amid a serene forest, where the last traces of winter snow gently drifted by, stood a cozy cottage of moderate size. Life was peaceful here, as this place was secluded from the troubles of the outside world. Docile animals treated it as a paradise devoid of predators. There was everything one could want in a remote getaway.

On this tranquil day, the cottage windows swung open, releasing wafts of warm air into the wild. A pristine hand, as flawless as snow, reached out and dusted off the month’s worth of gathered grime. The cold season was approaching its end, and the inhabitants were transitioning into their spring routines.

A fair head of a young girl poked out of this opening and scrutinized the dirt beneath the ledge. Her brows wrinkled with exasperation as she scrubbed the area with a wet cloth.

"Always so dirty. Just what is causing all this tar to build up?" Snow White wondered to herself.

After finishing this task, she shifted her attention to the interiors, humming a little song as she diligently worked through her list of chores. Among all her housemates, she was by far the most attentive to cleanliness. She could not stand the sight of any residue, while the others were content as long as the interiors were functional.

This didn't surprise her, as her housemates spent most of their days outside the cabin, working on their mysterious jobs. For some reason, they refused to share the details, often claiming she was too young. In any case, they always reeked of heavy smoke when they returned deep into the night.

This smell had permeated their entire being, becoming almost synonymous with their characters. Snow White had tried several times to remove this odor but eventually surrendered to its pervasiveness. She grew used to the stench and accepted that she would always have chores to do. Such was the trouble of being the only female in a house of eight.

At this moment, a soft knock sounded from the door. Snow White put down her tools and answered it.

An old lady with an elongated nose stood at the front, carrying a woven basket with an immaculate apple. The old lady looked up from her hunchback and politely asked, "Can you tell me the way to the closest village? I seem to have gotten lost."

Snow White pursed her lips, trying to recall the faint path she'd traversed years prior. After a few moments of struggle, she flashed an apologetic smile and explained her troubles. "I'm sorry. I can't remember."

"It's okay," the old lady comforted her. "It was rude of me to show up unannounced anyway. To make up for this, let me give you this apple."

"You don't have to," Snow White politely declined. "I wasn't much help."

"No, I insist. It'll take me a while to find my way. By then, this apple would have spoiled. Instead of wasting it, I might as well give it to you. You are so fair and kind-hearted. You deserve this treat." The old lady held out the fruit with expectation in her eyes.

Snow White hesitated briefly before taking the apple.

"Go on, take a bite. It tastes best when it's ripe. You won't get the full experience if you let it sit for too long," the old lady urged her.

Snow White stared at the apple, admiring her reddened reflection and the firm texture against her fingertips. How could a fruit be so perfect and supple? What circumstances had created this enticing jewel? These questions swirled in Snow White's mind as she brought the apple up to her mouth.

"Let’s just take a bite, even if just to get her to leave," she thought.

A satisfying crunch followed as Snow White bit off a piece and lightly chewed. But a few seconds in, her face warped with shock as strength faded from her body. She collapsed, a stream of drool flowing from the corner of her mouth, and looked up at the old lady, wondering why she wanted to harm her.

A maniacal grin stretched across the old lady’s face, releasing crackling laughter as she reveled in her success. That was the last image Snow White saw before everything went dark.

"Yes! Finally! Finally dead! NO MORE COMPETITION! I've fulfilled my duty. The kingdom is safe!" The queen screamed, a little too happy about her murder.

Genji appeared behind her at this moment and interrupted her celebration. "I recommend dismembering the body or cremating it. You always want to ensure the target's dead before you leave."

The queen paused, turned around, and asked, "Is that necessary? I've already poisoned her."

"You’d be surprised at how many ways people can resuscitate. Better to put in the effort now than regret it later."

"If you say so," the queen replied with a light frown and pulled out a thin dagger.

 

---

 

Half an hour later, Genji and the queen left the premises in blood-stained clothes. With each step, the crimson fluid wafted off them and gathered around Bruce's sheath form.

Genji followed the sound of flowing water and reached a nearby river, where the queen washed off her disguise. Then, she sprinkled the anti-detection powder on their tracks before changing her shoes. Everything connected to the disguise had now been shed. As long as neither of them talked about it, no one would be any wiser about the queen's malicious side.

They realigned their compass and began their journey back. Due to the strange directions leading to the cabin, the return trip required them to take a different path.

They crossed a few benign zones until they arrived at a small house made of stone. Two other realm members were present ahead of them. Genji recognized one as an attendee of his information session two days prior.

The realm members glanced back at Genji before entering the house. A barrier sprung up around the area, blocking all exits. Genji led the queen forward and spied on the interiors from a side window.

A young girl in a frilly blue dress with long, golden curls stepped into view. She approached the dining table where three soup bowls sat. She took a sip from the biggest one and whipped her head aside.

"Bah, too hot," she exclaimed, sticking out her swollen tongue and reaching for the medium-sized bowl.

She swallowed this one without hiccups, but her frown remained. The girl reached for the last bowl, and her eyes instantly lit up upon trying it. Then she chugged the entire contents before letting out a satisfied burp. She rubbed her stomach in a circular motion and looked at the realm members who had previously entered the house. "I've had my meal. How about you two?"

The realm members didn't respond, opting instead to scrutinize the interiors. After two weeks in this world, they knew better than to follow the zone's flow. The only problem was that they couldn't figure out how to break through this situation.

"I'll take that as a no. Come on, eat. We can't go anywhere otherwise." The girl propped her head on both arms and stared dreamily at them. This silent exchange lasted several minutes, but the team refused to budge.

The girl narrowed her eyes, and an oppressive threat began to form. The message was clear: either drink the soup now or face the consequences. The realm members realized they couldn't delay any longer and distributed themselves along the table. They deliberately slowed down their actions to buy time, but their minds drew a blank.

Left with no choice, they chugged the soup. Right as they finished the last drop, the bowls slipped from their hands and shattered on the floor. The man who drank from the biggest bowl clenched his stomach and crumbled in pain. His entire body felt as if it was boiling from the inside. Magma coursed through his veins, inflicting paralyzing pain upon him. His skin ripped, and his blood left scorch marks on the ground.

Meanwhile, the other person's skin turned deep blue, and frost condensed around him. It was so intense that droplets of water formed on Genji's fingertips, despite being outside the house.

'Extreme heat and cold. There's no easy way to endure this. It shouldn't kill them, but it will cost them a lot.'

The two explorers writhed in pain and shakily reached into their storage space. They brought out their strongest consumables and used their effects to tide through the pain, buying time until the effects subsided. Several minutes later, their temperatures returned to normal, and they pulled themselves up.

The girl, seeing this, clapped her hands happily. "Great! Now that we've eaten, let's play." Then she skipped out of the room.

The two exchanged bitter looks and followed with wry smiles that looked worse than crying. Genji and the queen readjusted their positions to get a clearer view of the next room.

There were three rocking chairs in sight. The girl plopped down on the biggest one and rocked back and forth. After a few moments, she jumped off and rubbed her sore rear. The surface was way too hard for her liking.

The next chair caused her to sink into the padding, almost enveloping her face. She dug herself out, tried the final chair, and contently closed her eyes. Ah, perfect.

The explorers exchanged another glance before making their choice. The one who drank the cold soup picked the hard chair while his partner cautiously reclined on the soft one.

They leaned back, and the trap within the chair activated. Metal bars formed around the armrests of the hard chair, locking the victim in place. The person struggled to break free, but the material refused to budge. Then, metal spikes pierced his organs from behind, inducing a mouthful of blood. This chair was a torture device that resembled an iron maiden.

Meanwhile, the person in the soft chair struggled to breathe as the cushions smothered his face. No matter how he fought back, he only sank deeper into the material without pause. It was almost as if he were falling into another dimension hidden within the cushions. Eventually, he disappeared altogether, becoming one with the chair.

The hand shackles on the hard chair unlocked, releasing a bloodied man on the verge of death. In his desperation, he managed to retrieve another healing consumable and narrowly survived.

*Yaaawwwnnn* "I'm sleepy. Let's go find a bed," the girl said, entering the next room with droopy eyelids.

Like before, this room contained three sets of furniture. But this time, the girl immediately chose the middle bed and fell asleep, leaving behind a comically big bed and a pitifully small one.

The injured man considered his options and chose the small bed. At least this way, he could quickly escape when the trap activated. However, this only sounded good in theory, as the moment his back touched the mattress, an irresistible force acted upon him.

"Too big," a mechanical voice announced. "Cutting down to size..."

Horror swept through the man as he realized what the words meant, but it was already too late. Only his torso was on the bed, with all other limbs hanging off. These limbs, including his head, were considered excess weight and promptly severed. Blood splattered in a gruesome sight, leaving only a torso that perfectly fit the bed.

The queen gazed upon this in shock, unable to comprehend the sudden death. Suddenly, the girl's eyes snapped open, and her body lurched upward to stare into the queen's soul.

"More guests! Welcome, come on in," the girl said with a scary smile. That was the last thing they heard before a spatial force swept over them.

When they adjusted, they realized they were inside the kitchen, where the first trap had occurred. To make matters worse, only the poisoned bowls were replenished, while the safe bowl remained empty.

The queen began panicking upon realizing this. "No. No. What do we do? What do we do? Are we going to die?"

"Calm down," Genji said. "It's not like we don't have any hopes."

"You have a way to save us?!"

Genji rolled his eyes. "Even if I don't, freaking out will only worsen our chances." He approached and examined the bowls. Although the contents were the same, their sizes were drastically different. The largest bowl seemed big enough to hold all three bowls of soup.

'It's almost like it's intentional. Let's try it.'

Genji poured the small bowl into the big one and mixed the contents. Once homogeneous, he reapportioned the mixture and handed it to the queen. "Drink up," he commanded before gulping down his soup.

The queen was at a loss for what to do but eventually followed when she realized Genji was unharmed. With a shaky heart, she finished her serving and anxiously awaited the pain. To her relief, only the opening of the next room greeted her.

They walked through and entered the room with the chairs. Like before, only the problematic ones were left. Genji sized up the props and devised a possible countermeasure. He picked up the hard chair and threw it at the soft one. A loud crash sounded, and the chair frames splintered. Genji repeated this act until he shattered both chairs and retrieved some normal cushions from his storage.

"Sit down," he said, throwing one to the queen. She absentmindedly obeyed, and the door to the bedroom opened.

"Impressive," the girl said as they entered. "I didn't expect you to see through the crux so quickly."

"That's the benefit of watching someone else test the traps. Honestly, we were quite lucky to arrive when we did."

"Yes, but how will you deal with this room? There are no tricks you can play here."

"Really? Well, I beg to differ." With those words, Genji burst into action, grabbing the girl and chucking her into the largest bed. The next moment, he appeared beside the queen and flung her toward the middle bed.

"!!!" Both ladies released surprised yelps as they soared through the air, unable to react to Genji's abrupt actions. Right as they were about to land, a red sheath swirled at the last bed, completing the trio.

"All beds have been occupied. Making adjustments..." the same mechanical voice announced.

"Too big. Stretching up to size." The voice delivered the girl's verdict. Following that, a stream of light acted on her body, forcibly expanding her to such an extreme that she lost her humanoid shape and became like taut hide. Meanwhile, Bruce received the same ruling, but his liquid body was unharmed from expanding.

In the end, only the girl suffered critical damage from the sudden act. Genji waited for the light to fade before flash-stepping to her. Shadow flames and cutting intent wrapped around his saber as he descended onto the middle. His blade punctured a large hole through her stomach, causing the tension to snap and the girl to split in half in a painful ripping process.

[You have slain: Goldilocks, Unwelcomed Intruder]

[Your maximum exergy has increased by 30.]

[You have received 120 realm coins.]

[You have completed the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears]

[Goldilocks and the Three Bears]

Description: Three choices, only one is correct. Yet Goldilocks insists on trying them all until she finds her optimal choice, ruining the home of the unsuspecting bears. What a rude fellow!

Mission Progress: 9/3

Note: Although you have killed the intruder, the bears won't be happy to see you. You did destroy their house, after all.

 

Upon reading the last comment, a massive sense of danger overwhelmed Genji. In the corner of his eye, through the window, he spotted three bear silhouettes of different sizes approaching the front door.

'Shit! This is only the start!'

Genji immediately grabbed the queen and burst through the window. Bruce caught up with him in blood form and re-coalesced at Genji's waist.

Loud thuds echoed behind him as two large masses barreled toward the bedroom. The bears spotted the wreckage along the way, and their anger spiked, culminating in a wrathful roar.

Genji carried the queen like a rag doll over his shoulder and ran with all his might, refusing to look back. He'd solved one danger and was not about to confront another for no reason.

The bears stayed in hot pursuit, but their bulky figures struggled to keep up with Genji's dexterity. In the end, Genji stepped through the boundary without pause, much to the bears' annoyance.

 

---

 

Meanwhile, back at the cottage where Snow White was murdered, it had been several hours since night fell, and it was time for the dwarfs to return. These short humanoids hummed a happy tune, joyfully walking with interlocked elbows as they swayed from side to side. They had gotten quite drunk in their celebration of completing their most recent project.

However, this mood was short-lived as they soon perceived a smell of blood so sharp that it cut through even the heavy smoke that pervaded the cabin walls.

Alarm bells rang inside their heads as they scrambled for the entrance. Upon kicking down the door, they spotted a dismembered Snow White on the ground, devoid of all blood.

The dwarfs stared at this scene, dumbfounded, for a few moments before an agonized cry pierced through the night. "NO! How can this be?! Who could have done this?!"

Amidst their grief, a portal opened behind them, and a certain dark fairy stepped out. "So the queen has finally been consumed by her jealousy," she remarked, catching the attention of the dwarfs.

"Master? What brings you here?" they asked after a couple of seconds.

"To watch the crescendo of this play, of course. How could I miss such an exciting event?"

The dwarfs fell silent in gloominess, and the oldest dwarf asked, "Master, is there any way to save her?"

To this, the fairy responded with her own question. "Remember the mission I assigned you when I entrusted this girl to you years ago?"

"Yes. To clothe, feed, and raise her with care until she considers us family. To protect her from all harm and misery so she can live a peaceful life. Finally, we swore to be there in times of need, sacrificing ourselves if it meant preserving her life."

"And what will you do now that she's dead? Will you break your vows or fulfill them?"

At this, a sense of epiphany along with strong hesitation swept over the dwarfs. "But if we do that, we won't be able to serve you anymore. We'll betray our purpose in life."

"Do it. Why do you think I created you all? It was all for this moment."

Realization set in, followed by determination. If that was the case, they had no reason to hesitate anymore. They would happily conduct the forbidden ritual for their beloved daughter. Then, with firm eyes, they reached for each other's arms and forcibly snapped them off, revealing grey stumps. These dwarfs were not creatures of flesh and blood, but homunculi—artificial creations of alchemy and magic.

They gathered around Snow White and threw their broken arms onto her body before chanting synchronously. With each syllable, they gouged out a piece of themselves and added it to the pile. This mound of synthetic flesh grew at a steady pace and eventually buried Snow White completely.

Their life force faded with each piece they lost, but they remained undeterred. They had sworn to protect Snow White no matter what, and now they would fulfill this promise, even if it meant giving up their very lives and reviving her in monstrous form.