"Children are told scary stories about me so they will not venture into the forest... adults tremble at the mere mention of my name..."
"Ahem, sorry, what were you saying? I got a bit distracted... I just remembered that Arendelle also has its own version of an enchanted forest."
"..."
The woman simply gave me a look that could annihilate someone.
"What? I am not joking, there really is an enchanted forest there. I just have not been there yet." I shrugged and pulled out my laptop from my inventory. "So... all the troubles of that kingdom are because of you, and that is why they all hate you?"
"All the troubles of the kingdom are because of the king." She corrected herself with such venom in her voice that it could poison entire oceans. "A selfish, despicable, and treacherous paranoiac. I was a fool..." Her gaze shifted away from me.
"And no one tried to overthrow the king?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at Maleficent.
"Everyone fears his wrath, and the army is completely loyal to him." The woman smirked. "So let me ask you something... why should I not throw you out of my domain, traveler? Or perhaps enchant you..."
"...why?" I asked, putting extra emphasis on the question.
"One must maintain a reputation." She allowed herself a smile, which was somewhat unexpected. "Besides, you still have not answered how you know me, traveler." Her eyes lit up with a magical glow, turning into a threatening shade of orange.
"It is not exactly a secret. I am a traveler... a traveler between worlds." (clarified meaning) I smiled.
"Hmm, either you are boldly trying to deceive me, or you truly believe your own words." She stepped closer. Roots began to slither toward my feet like snakes, but I simply jumped... three meters up and landed on my hoverboard.
"Let us skip the binding games, we barely know each other." That came out more nervous than I expected.
"So in another world, as you claim, I am known?" she asked instead.
"Well, more like interpretations of you. The point is, there are countless worlds, and just as many versions of ourselves. So I knew about you from stories in my world... basically fairy tales."
"Nonsense!" she snapped louder than before, and a visible aura surrounded her as the trees seemed to bend away.
"Oh, I agree it sounds worldview-breaking... but you should get used to it. I got used to my world being destroyed, along with its entire multiverse... so this is not that strange. There are other worlds similar to yours, so what? You have magic and enchanted forests everywhere."
"Do not toy with me, traveler. I am beginning to regret not binding you with roots and handing you over to the kingdom's soldiers..."
"And how would that make you different from them?" My question clearly threw her off.
"I am Maleficent... a dark fairy, and I do not care about your life or the lives of others..."
"And what about Aurora?" The moment I said it, I realized I messed up. A massive root shot toward me at high speed, bursting from the ground, but my reflexes let me dodge by tilting the hoverboard.
"Easy, I just asked!" I fired a stream of water, slicing through a wave of thorny roots and branches before they could turn me into a neatly wrapped cocoon.
"Alright, I will come back when you cool off..." I pulled out the portal gun and opened a portal elsewhere, disappearing from the furious fairy's sight. "Yeah... looks like she has already fallen into extreme overprotectiveness over the girl... or young woman? How old is she even now?" I muttered.
Only then did I notice a tiny problem.
"So... where exactly am I?" My spider-sense was tingling. Not like in my world where I constantly felt death closing in, but still... this place was dangerous.
Around me were metallic walls, a long corridor, various posters, and blood smeared across the floor. It felt like I had stepped into the future... or rather, a horror movie set in the future.
"Ishimura..." I read from one of the posters advertising some kind of drink. "Hmm, sounds familiar..."
At the back of my mind, an uneasy thought scratched, making me uncomfortable. The blood stains and the constant sense of danger were not helping either.
"Kraah!" Without my spider-sense, it would have caught me completely off guard. Something dropped from the ventilation above, a creature with long, spear-like limbs instead of arms. My brain instantly connected the dots.
"No way..." My magic water weapon sliced the creature into dozens of pieces (clarified wording) as I flew aside on my hoverboard, already preparing to open a portal and get the hell out of this damn game.
But...
"You have got to be kidding me..." Through a nearby window into space, I saw a ship approaching. Looks like I was at the very beginning of the story.
"Necromorphs, huh... let us see what you can do against a giant mech."
In an instant, I stored the hoverboard and summoned Gundam, appearing inside it. The place where I had stood exploded as the mech burst through the ship, rising to full height. I had already adapted somewhat to controlling it, and once again I gave System Zero a target - appear near that spaceship.
"Son, you are doing the right thing... I am proud of you..." My mother's familiar voice echoed in my mind.
"Interesting... is that System Zero or the local mind-breaking artifact?"
I spoke out loud while Gundam rapidly approached the ship where Isaac was. A thought-command, and I connected to their communication systems. Thanks, System Zero.
"Alright people, turn around and get out of here. Ishimura is a dead zone controlled by an alien artifact humans tried to study. It messes with your minds and creates monsters that attack people. Necromorphs. They have already wiped out everyone on the ship. And yeah, Isaac... sorry, but your girlfriend is dead. Ask your friend next to you to show you the full video she left. She... ends her own life in it." (softened phrasing slightly while preserving meaning)
I said to the stunned crew, then turned around and raised Gundam's weapon. I gave System Zero the command to destroy the ship, and it immediately began analyzing. Soon, Gundam aimed at the engines and fired several powerful shots, piercing straight through the hull. Moments later, the ship began drifting toward the planet below, still held by its massive extraction beam.
"Ishimura is a Planet Cracker-class ship..." (clarified term) designed to extract resources from planets. Without engines, it was inevitably pulled down along with the chunk of the planet it was holding.
"Well, Vic did a good thing. Vic can leave now." I opened a portal beneath myself inside the Gundam and stored it just before teleporting.
"Where did I end up this time..." My curiosity was still overflowing.
I liked how quickly I solved a problem that Isaac would have struggled with throughout the entire game... I basically saved his mental health. And mine too, by leaving almost immediately.
Actually, I mostly enjoyed the stunned looks on their faces... maybe I should jump between worlds and mess with some people.
Honestly, without Gundam, I could not have done much... maybe that needs to change. I think I have more or less recovered from the stress I went through, and it is time to think about something more substantial than just one type of magic from Terraria.
One idea immediately came to mind - the Ring of Wishes from the anime Overlord. It has plenty of limitations and game mechanics, as far as I remember, so it is better to wish for something not too extreme. For example, getting Infinity Stones from Marvel probably would not work... but gaining knowledge of most, if not all, spells from that world? That might actually be possible...