Leonel wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
What did it mean for Camelot to integrate with Earth's Fold of Reality? Did that mean that its history was becoming Earth's history? In that case, would there be changes to the current normal Zones of Earth? Did it mean that Camelot was descending onto Earth? In that case, did that mean that Earth was gaining new citizens? Or potentially enemies in the demons?
Leonel couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening. He couldn't wrap his mind around just how a fairytale could become a part of real life.
But, now that he thought about it, hadn't he been interacting with them all this time? How were the people of Camelot any different from real people? If Leonel had to differentiate them between the people of Earth… he really had no ability to do so.
As though this wasn't already confusing enough, Leonel had no idea how he had passed the hidden quest requirements. He had done nothing to this point to work toward that goal. In fact, if he thought about it, he was really stupid for having not at least questioned the dictionary about it first. It was just that he was distracted by learning this new magic system and all the drama that had come with it.
Leonel shook his head, completely ignoring Modred for the time being.
"What requirements did I meet to cause this?"
More than anything else, he was the most curious about this. Actually, it might have very well been possible that he wasn't the one who met the requirements at all. After all, there was still Monet, Violet Rain and Little Nana here. Even though Little Nana had been booted from the trial, she was still one of the Zone participants and Leonel had left her alone for a long while already…
[*Ping*]
[Replying to Seed, there are two requirements that need to be met: Awareness and Acceptance]
Leonel felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.
These two requirements seemed simple enough, but the longer he thought about it, the more impossible they seemed to be to fulfill.
Awareness alone seemed easy enough. Just telling Modred that a world like his existed might be enough to fulfill the requirements of this first prerequisite. But… what about Acceptance?
How could you possibly get someone who was born and raised in Camelot to both be aware that there were other worlds and accept their existence? In truth, even if someone wanted to accept this, it might not necessarily be possible.
The only person in this world one couldn't fool was oneself. It was not possible to make oneself think something one didn't want to think or feel a way one didn't want to feel.
Let's say, for instance, that Leonel was told that a Metamorphosis was coming before it descended. Let's say he was also told that he and everyone else who managed to survive would gain amazing powers beyond imagination. And, let's say that it was his father who told him all of these things and warned him to prepare or else it might cost him his life.
Leonel might want to believe these words. After all, they came from his father. If he couldn't trust the man he trusted the most in this whole world, then who the hell would he trust?
But even if he wanted to believe… could he?
At that time, Leonel would have known nothing of the world but what was right in front of him. On top of that, he would have been raised in an environment where science and research was above all else. How could he so easily throw all of these things to the back of his mind to accept what sounded like a nut-case's rantings?
This was what it meant to gain Acceptance. Modred not only needed to be Aware another world might exist, but she also needed to Accept to her very soul that it did.
After coming to this understanding, Leonel couldn't help but chuckle. This fourth trial might have been exceptionally cruel, but it actually did him a massive favor. If it wasn't for living Leonel's life from start to finish, how could Modred so easily accept the truth?
Leonel took a deep breath and calmed himself, looking up to see Modred's playful gaze.
The Trial's rumbling continued and seemed to only intensify with each passing moment. It left Leonel feeling disoriented and a bit dizzy. This seemed to remind him that there was much more he had no idea about.
"How is the integration happening?"
[*Ping*]
[Camelot will form its own satellite and orbit around the core of Earth's Fold of Reality]
Leonel raised his brow. He knew that 'satellite' was a technical term astronomers used. It described both artificial and celestial bodies that orbited a planet. Did that mean that Earth was getting another moon?
What did this mean for Earth? What would it do to the already volatile political climate? How would The Empire react? What about those hidden families? The Slayer Legion?
Leonel felt a massive headache coming on.
But something felt off about this continuous rumbling. Leonel subconsciously felt as though something was hindering Camelot's progression.
"How long will this take? And does this mean the Zone trial is over?" Leonel asked.
Modred blinked her pretty eyes. Zone trial? She seemed to be very curious about this. What did it mean exactly? This little toy also seemed to be quite interesting.
[*Ping*]
[…]
Leonel was stunned. The dictionary wasn't answering? This was the first time this had happened. What did this mean?
Just when Leonel wanted to ask again, the rumbling reached a peak.
Leonel's vision blurred and swam. He felt his entire body being forcefully ejected. It felt as though his body had been sucked into a blackhole, stretching into a thin line that was pulled out of his current reality.
BANG!
Leonel crashed onto something hard, but his vision was still too black to see anything.
However, what he did see when his vision cleared left him stunned.