Woke Up to Find the Game I Made Came True

After what felt like an eternity, Ye Bai regained consciousness from the darkness. She struggled to lift her eyelids before finally opening her eyes wide.

The first thing that greeted her was the gloomy sky of the Divine Realm.

At least it wasn’t nighttime when she arrived in the Divine Realm—she wouldn’t have to worry about encountering undead creatures the moment she woke up.

Compared to her last visit, perhaps due to her increased strength, Ye Bai could clearly feel that the effects of traversing the Divine Realm had lessened significantly.

Then, a faint sound reached her ears. She propped herself up and looked around.

A gray-and-white donkey stood beside her, chewing something stealthily. The sudden movement of Ye Bai sitting up startled it badly.

"...Burp!"

Half a loaf of bread fell out of Autofis’s mouth.

"So it was you all along!"

Ye Bai checked her backpack—sure enough, one loaf was missing from the five stacks of bread she had brought.

During her time back in the Myriad Realms, she had even wondered if the missing bread was lost during the crossing into the Divine Realm… Now, the truth was clear—she had overthought it. It was this guy’s doing!

"Hee-haw~"

Caught red-handed, Autofis let out an awkward yet oddly polite bray.

"I did warn it," a familiar voice chimed in. Ye Bai turned and spotted the eerie paper-cut figure on the same white stone wall she had left before.

"Lord Bai Ye, I’m delighted to see you return."

The paper-cut figure placed its stick-figure right hand over its chest and bowed slightly, its tone brimming with unconcealed joy. "It hasn’t been long, yet you’ve grown even stronger."

"I’m glad to see you both right away too," Ye Bai replied with a smile, unsurprised that the paper-cut figure, who could perceive 'information,' noticed her advancement in rank.

The Divine Realm was still an unfamiliar and dangerous high-level zone for Ye Bai, so running into familiar companions right after arriving instantly put her at ease. She had assumed she’d need to search for Autofis and the paper-cut figure this time, since they couldn’t possibly stay by the mark waiting for her indefinitely…

At that thought, Ye Bai paused and cast a puzzled glance at the two.

"Wait… Did you two just stay here the entire time after I left?"

"Hee-haw," Autofis responded, though the sound didn’t seem like an answer. Instead, it bared its teeth and tugged at Ye Bai’s cloak, making its demand crystal clear—

More bread.

"..."

Ye Bai sighed and handed the donkey another loaf before turning her questioning gaze to the paper-cut figure.

The paper-cut figure didn’t answer directly, only offering a gentle smile. "Waiting is an act filled with hope."

Oh no… They really did stay here the whole time!

Ye Bai’s mind conjured up an image of the paper-cut figure and Autofis standing guard by the water-drop mark day and night, waiting faithfully. A pang of guilt stabbed at her conscience—she felt like some scoundrel who’d swindled a wealthy heiress (the Dragon Tongue Whistle and the Codex of Death) and then vanished.

'I’m ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‍the worst…'

Tormented by self-reproach, Ye Bai channeled her guilt into action, feeding Autofis another loaf before addressing the paper-cut figure. "I came back this time specifically for the mission you mentioned earlier. We can set off now! Um… Do you know the way?"

The Abyss lay deep beneath the Divine Realm in a sub-space, accessible through multiple surface entrances—though first, they’d need to leave the current Sky City.

Sky City was the territory of the ancient dragons. Even the underground regions beneath it were occupied by their dragonkin vassals, leaving no room for other factions. The same applied to the domains of the other apex races. Most of the Abyss’s land entrances were located in the contested zones between these major powers.

However, the Abyss’s entrances existed as spatial rifts, meaning they weren’t entirely fixed and could shift locations.

Unfamiliar with the current state of the Divine Realm, Ye Bai needed the paper-cut figure’s guidance on which entrances were viable.

At the mention of the mission, the paper-cut figure perked up, its tone cheerful. "Of course! For the Abyss, there are currently three entrances: the rift deep within Mount Slock, descending through the territory of the subterranean dwellers, or the Abyssal portal left behind by the war in the Emerald Forest."

Hearing the last option, Ye Bai blinked in surprise. "The Emerald Forest war? The Abyssal faction clashed with the high elves?"

"Indeed," the paper-cut figure nodded. "The ballads tell of magma scorching the emerald, and the forest losing its former peace."

The Abyssal race truly lived up to their reputation as battle maniacs…

"How did it end?" Ye Bai pressed.

"The war dragged on for a long time. Eventually, the Abyss retreated, and the Emerald Forest sealed itself. But the portal from the war remained, impossible to erase," the paper-cut figure explained.

A stalemate, then. Ye Bai analyzed the three entrances, her teeth aching at the thought—none of them were easy. Mount Slock and the Emerald Forest were both far from Sky City, and their environments alone were perilous.

The subterranean dwellers’ territory was the closest—just leave Sky City and find an underground passage leading downward. But the dwellers were far from pushovers. Pack hunters with formidable individual strength aside, Ye Bai’s Perfect Mask would let her blend in as one of them, so that wasn’t the issue.

The real problem was the dwellers’ infighting. Influenced by the Abyss’s chaotic energy, internal brawls were routine. If some bored dweller took a swing at Ye Bai, the Perfect Mask’s effect would break.

Just then, the paper-cut figure added, "Besides these conventional methods, there’s a better way into the Abyss."

"Oh?" Ye Bai raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Without beating around the bush, the paper-cut figure said, "If we can find cultists who worship the Abyss, I can alter their summoning ritual to send you in instead."

Ye Bai froze, then her eyes lit up. Normally, the ritual would summon Abyssal creatures, but recalling the paper-cut figure’s ability to rewrite magical text—and its restored power—reversing the summoning wasn’t impossible.

"Where can we find these Abyssal cultists?" she asked.

The paper-cut figure was ready. "Autofis and I found a ritual site east of here. We can take you there."

"Good. Let’s go now."

Ye Bai wasted no time, ready to depart immediately.

Then, she turned to Autofis.

Autofis also turned to look at Ye Bai.

"How about it? Want a ride?"

"Eeeh!" Autofis pawed the ground five times.

Ye Bai understood immediately: "Five is too much. Two, save the rest for later. You know how much I’ve got on me."

"Eeeh eeeh!"

In the end, after bargaining down to three loaves of bread, Ye Bai mounted the now-compliant Autofis and headed east as the paper figure had suggested.

Halfway there, Ye Bai suddenly realized something... If he’d never left the spot, when exactly had the paper figure and Autofis discovered the teleportation array?

No wonder Autofis had been noncommittal earlier.

Close call—he’d almost been gaslit by that paper figure! That guy... what a sneaky little tea master!