Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン 1. Prologue: A World of Danger

The room was cluttered with the components of the MindSync, the console consisting of a tinted auto-reactive glass pane for the face with a framework of lightweight aluminum wiring and carbon fiber housing and a thick wire that plugged in for electricity and another cable that reached a stand where the game cartridge was placed. The helmet that looked like something out of a science-fiction movie was, in fact, the next generation game console, the MindSync, allowing the player to enter a synchronized mode where signals were intercepted from the brain and inputed into the game, sent into the server and into the virtual avatar, the whole process taking just under a quarter of a second.

The MindSync was the brainchild of someone known only by the scientific, gaming and international community as, The Primordial. A scientific genius, no one knows who he really was, only that he managed to create a full, three dimensional game with all the five senses working near-perfectly. His genius also led to the improvement in medicine, allowing doctors to virtually go about a procedure before actually performing it on someone.

In any case, now that the clutter was cleared away, my best friend, a rather hyperactive boy named Alex, was lying down with the MindSync already in effect, like his presence had already left the room as he lay there, unmoving, the cartridge of Dystopia Online already plugged in and whirring away in its housing.

"Your welcome." I sighed, not bitterly, but rather than staying, I had to get home, I had two more to set up at home and, with the finality of a coffin lid sliding shut, I closed the door, said goodbye and left his house.

My feet pushed down on the pedals of the bike, my ragged breathing echoed in my head as I rode the bike down the railway, which probably wasn't a good idea.

Now, I'm your average student, getting average grades except for my science classes which usually earns me a failing mark. I had several friends, none too special, absolutely none of the opposite gender.

I swerved out of the tracks as I heard a train approach, I was not much of a daredevil and running my old bike along the tracks was about the bravest thing I did. Problem was, it nearly got me killed as my bike caught in the rails and threw me forward. "Are you freaking serious?!" I yelped, rolling under the tracks and kicking my bike out of the way, the underside of the train less than a hair's breadth away from the tip of my nose.

As most could probably tell, I have the worst luck in the world. Now, it seemed to enjoy tormenting me as I lay there, delighting in giving me yet another heart attack. It wasn't just events, lotteries, games, even clothes and pets, fate seemed content to let me suffer most of the time.

The train passed by a few seconds later, I shakily got to my feet, grabbed my bike, and rode off the tracks and onto the asphalt of the main road's Bike Only lane. My bad luck was trying to get me killed again as an ambulance swerved onto the lane, "Oh shi~" I started, wrenching the bike sideways, avoiding a collision, but ended up sprawled on the sidewalk while the convoy of ambulance sirens blared to my right. "That would've been sad, an ambulance killing someone . . ." I sighed, looking at the wrecked wheel of my bike where the first ambulance had glanced it.

I rounded the corner, now pushing my poor bike along the remaining distance to my house. It was about eleven fifty that evening, almost midnight. Which reminds me, my sister is the exact opposite, she had fate on her side. Which led my train of thought to the two copies of Dystopia and the two MindSyncs at home, just waiting for me to put them together.

The day she brought it home, I sighed, instead of the second prize of the game, she came home with both First and Second prize, which consisted of one set of the MindSync system, my mother being happy to provide money for the second, and two copies of Dystopia Online, the first ever Virtual Reality game released.

Dystopia Online's first press release met with enthusiasm by the general public, because obviously, everyone wanted a copy of the first virtual game in existence. Problem was, the game's first actual beta test came with a hundred copies, we were unaware so I wasn't able to convince her to join and get a copy because she was insanely lucky that way.

I intended to enter quietly and wake Erin up as soon as I finished setting up the MindSyncs, but lo and behold my luck held, which seemed to cancel her luck out most of the time because, she was exiting the bathroom at the exact same time I walked into our room, her slender form just barely covered by the towel wrapped around her torso.

Fresh crimson spread from both our necks to our faces as soon as I met eyes with her, "Y-y-you pervert!" she yelled, throwing the nearest thing that came to reach, a hardbound copy of the dictionary, where it found its new home in my face, but the searing pain was nothing compared to the utter embarrassment I was feeling at the time.

Now, my mother was blissfully ignorant of these fights, either because of my sister's good luck or my horrible luck. "S-sorry." I muttered.

Ten minutes or so later, the two of us lay on our separate beds, both of us wearing the headgear of the MindSync System. "Seriously though, how did you get both prizes?" I asked her, glancing at the clock, midnight, meaning it was thirty minutes after the start of the game, we'd log in until six thirty so we could still get to school the next day.

She giggled softly, "I don't know, just lucky I guess."

I pressed the button on the outside of the visor with a thumb, listening to the whirr of the helmet and my world disappeared in a flash of light.

**Welcome to**

**Dystopia Online**

It was written in large, blocky writing, I watched as green plains rolled below me rapidly change into a charred wasteland. "Whoa." was all I could mutter before the scene ended and I stood before a door.

**Username:**

**Password: ********

I debated on the username for what seemed like an eternity. Ezekiel, so I typed in Destiny, my second name, even if it was a bit girly, I had grown fond of it and tended to use it as my character name on those few times I was dragged into playing online games by friends. I skipped through a screen, which I would probably later regret, but I finished logging in and after a brief flash of light, I stood in the center square of a large, paved square, a fountain merrily gushing out red water, at least, I hoped it was red water.

I clenched and unclenched my hands getting the feel of the avatar, I looked down and now regretted skipping that one screen . . .

"Ezzie! Where are you!" I heard Erin call out from somewhere, footsteps echoing behind me as a girl drew closer in the dark light of the full moon that still shone above.

"E-Erin?" I stuttered, looking at the girl who's voice sounded like Erin. She sounded the same, but the voice that left my lips came at an unnaturally high pitch. "What the?" I muttered, the confused look on my face must have appeared funny because Erin was now laughing uncontrollably on the stone floor, her shoulders heaving and her form shaking with mirth and a single tear ran down her cheek.

I was definitely blushing right now, the heat in my cheeks was probably visible in the near pitch-black of the night. I had no idea if blushing would actually create this kind of heat in my cheeks or if it was just the game's high specs exaggerating, because I have never actually seen Erin cry while laughing. "I-it's not funny." I stuttered, completely flustered.

"S-s-sorry." she laughed, softer this time, as her fit died down. "I can't help it, you, a girl?" she continued to shake with her laughter.

I dragged her to a window and I regretted it immediately afterwards for the rest of my life.

I was dressed in a dull blue-green shirt, slightly worn with a leather chestplate over it. A single shoulder pad of worn metal rested on my right shoulder, connected by a strip of leather to the chestpiece, where I would hold my sword I guessed, as I was right handed. I felt the heavy weight of something on my back and reached up and grasped the cold leather handle of a sword, drawing it with a flourish, admiring the simple grace of the light weapon. My eyes traveled lower and I frowned at the slight bulge over my chest, but God forbid if I was actually wearing . . .

A skirt, dark grey that reached to my thighs, hung from my hips. "You're kidding." I groaned. A belt of wide leather was secured around my waist from which hung a pouch of dark brown leather and inside was a handful of brightly polished bronze coins. A screen popped out and the words Money: 250 Ag appeared.

I moved to the features, a pair of almond shaped eyes were a bright green in color, my brown hair reached my shoulders in a large ponytail. My skin was a light shade of brown, not tan but not white. "You're so cute Ezekiel." Erin said thoughtfully.

"Don't say it like that." I replied, it was then I noticed, her character's avatar looked exactly like mine. "Great, from fraternal twins to identical twins." I sighed.

"You two, it's dangerous to be on the streets after dark!" an armored guy called, waving from an inn while two others kept watch from the second floor. "Get over here!"

"Arthur! I see one! On the roof!" one of the players, a girl, cried. I followed her finger and laid eyes on, what I thought was a ball of fur, as it leapt from its perch on the roof towards me.

I dropped to the ground as the thing, a writhing mass of fur and claws, flew over my head. I drew my sword, something told me that this thing wasn't friendly. "Erin, get ready." I said, the high pitched voice squeaked and caused me to let out a small groan, I really needed to control my pitch.

Erin blinked, nodded, drawing her own sword and adopted the same pose as me; feet apart, body lowered and the sword held out in front with both hands. It bounded forward in short jumps, teeth and claws extended, tiny red eyes flashing daggers at me. I swung my sword up in a vertical arc, feeling fur and skin part, jarring my arm as it stopped when it bit into bone.

It struggled for a while before wrenching itself free to lick its wounds as it charged towards Erin, who's sword had nearly dropped when it charged up at her. Her sword lifted at the last second for the tip of the sword to catch the thing by the leg, drawing black ichor as it scampered backwards once more.

Seeing other Nightmares beginning to appear, me and Erin cautiously moved back in a guarded crouch, the swords still raised to guard against the berserk spheres of furry death. I backed up against Erin as the Nightmare charged again, this time, it had no way to escape as Erin's sword flashed, sending its snarling head flying into the air.

**Congratulations**

**Loot: 275 Ag / 125 Exp**

**Nightmare's Claw x 2**

**Tattered Fur x 1**

I gave out a small sigh as me and Erin ran to the safety of the inn as more of the Nightmares charged towards us, fangs flashing and fur flying as they stormed towards us, I almost panicked and dodged before they were stopped by a barrier saying Inner Area: Protected

I gathered my wits and whispered to Erin, "It'd be awkward if I said if I was a guy. Play along with me and say I'm your twin."

"But you are," she replied nonchalantly.

"You know what I mean." I sighed, stepping forward into the light of the inn and the gathered players, almost all of whom were guys."H-hello. I-I'm Destiny. This is my sister Erin." I said, giving a slight bow.

"Arthur." the warrior from before said in a voice that lingered between teenage hormonal imbalance to deeper voice of maturity, he seemed to be about eighteen or nineteen.

Arthur was a medium built guy in a suit of half-plate armor. His chest was covered by a piece of rigid metal with a gorget to protect against slashes to the neck, leaving him free to twist and move, his lower torso was covered by metal studded leather like a roman legionnaire's skirt. Between the armor joints, I could make out a red tunic woven from rough cotton. He wore khaki pants with a large leather belt, on his back hung a scabbard where a steel crossguard and a handle of leather ended in a octagonal pommel of dull metal. He had dark brown hair, held back by an armet of leather that encircled his head and had two flaps that went down the side of his head with slits for the ears. From the little skin besides his face, I could make out the body build of a basketball player, lean and fit. His eyes were like electricity, darting from gold to bronze to yellow as the light flickered. A thin mouth which was, as of now, curled in a smile and small nose completed his features.

"I'm Lance, that was some awesome swordplay there, you two!" Lance grinned, sticking a hand forward which I shook rather timidly.

Lance was larger than Arthur by about three or so inches, his shoulders broader and his skin a shade or two darker, he seemed to be in the same age group as Arthur, about seventeen. Unlike the more lightly armored Arthur, Lance sported full body armor, his chest covered by the dull grey metal with interlocking plates covering his lower torso and his shoulders had matching pauldrons with each having a blue trim and the silver base on his left shoulder was graced with the picture of a gold sword with a pair of unattached blue wings. He wore dark grey cargo pants and sported leather boots with buckles of silver. He sported a large spear made of dark, polished wood and a large metal blade was shaped into a triangle with the larger end narrowing until it attached to the shaft of the spear with a length of plain metal acting like a crossguard. He had clear brown eyes that reminded me of coffee beans and his black hair was cropped slightly short.

"Name's Dune. You two were great out there." the third member of the group said, extending a lightly armored hand, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Dune was younger by them by far, about my age, fourteen or fifteen at the most. He still had the softer curves of childhood rather than the harder lines of adulthood. He wore baggy khaki pants and a loose tunic of the same shade, like white cloth was soaked in tea. His feet were covered by a pair of supple leather boots and he had a quiver of arrows on his back and he held a longbow of polished light wood in his hands. He had sandy colored hair and a light tan of coffee-and-milk, his blue eyes had a mischievous glint that made you want to say, 'Stay away from that, you might break it.'

"I'm Gorge." the fourth guy said, a brief smile crossing his face as he turned to face me.

Gorge seemed to be about sixteen, with intense violet eyes and dark brown hair. He wore a suit of full armor akin to that of a medieval knight, fully covered by the plates of metal that covered his body from neck down and turning him into the classic knight-in-shining-armor. He bore a large tower shield made of wood bound in iron. He also had a longsword on his back, the scabbard covering the blade but a steel crossguard and a handle of leather ended in a octagonal pommel of dull metal were visible behind him as he stood to allow the last member of the group to sit.

"E - Emma." the girl answered in a nervous whisper.

Emma looked about fifteen or sixteen, her light red hair was tied back in a braid and her blue eyes shone like a pair of gleaming sapphires. She was dressed in a blue knee-length skirt outlined in gold and a blue tunic covered her top, a simple metal vest protected her chest, the sleeves reaching to her wrists and were trimmed in white clouds. She wore a pair of closed slippers and a staff of polished wood ending in a slender metal head, like that of a sword, a pike, rested in her hands.

"When did the two of you arrive? I didn't see either of you during The Announcement." Gorge asked, eyeing the doorway where a small horde of the Nightmares was now growing in number. "Why were the two of you outside at night, don't you two know how dangerous that is?"

"We logged in about twelve forty, so we missed whatever announcement, why?" I replied, tilting my head a bit and watching the vacant expression turn to horror on their faces, which would have been funny if not for the same feeling of disbelief in all of them.

"So why?" Arthur gaped, mouth open and disbelief on his face.

"Why what?" I asked puzzled.

"Why the hell did you log in?" Dune finished Arthur's question.

Okay, now I was confused, why on earth would I not log in? "Why not, we spent good money on the game, why wouldn't we?" I asked puzzled, looking to Erin for an answer to the strange question I had.

"Let me explain." Arthur sighed.

The world as we know it, reality, is gone. In it's place is this land of darkness called Dystopia. The ten thousand players and the one hundred Beta Testers are the only humans here, the rest are either monsters or non-player characters called NPCs. There is a massive tower that reaches high into the sky and according to several players, another that delved deep into the earth. The man who trapped us in the game, a psychopath who went by the name Primordial, stated that the game would end and the remaining players set free once the underground and sky towers were cleared by slaying the bosses atop each tower, which would be incredibly difficult because the tower defied logic by looming like a single pillar, reaching high into the sky. Meanwhile, down below, a massive pit of darkness awaited us, God only knew of the hellish landscape that awaited us below. Lastly, if we died, meaning our health points dropped to zero, our avatars would be deleted from the server and with that, our very existence as well.

Out of my lips escaped three words, "Are you serious?!"


	2. Chapter 1: No Way Back

Barely a week had passed since we were thrown into the hellish nightmare of Dystopia Online, though I guess the name itself was reason enough not to play.

I stretched my right hand out, still unaccustomed to the feminine curves of my features, swiping down and scrolled for the skill menu. It read something like this:

Skill Slots: 2

Skill: One-Handed Straight Sword 5

Skill: Scout 4.

I clicked a help button and scrolled down to the One-Handed Straight Sword, "A warrior's proficiency and worth in battle is his training with his sword, the sword is an extension of your arm, not a tool, but a constant companion in your struggle for victory. The One-Handed Straight Sword is the basic tool of a warrior, able to cut and thrust and slash with the sureness and balance required for parrying. The Skill aids in your natural ability, augmenting the power of your strikes on a sub-conscious level, you may not feel the difference, but the Skill aids in reaction time as well, forcing the game to slow down in a particular radius for the battle, allowing a split-second reaction to turn into a second that can be spent countering or jumping back." I muttered, reading through one more time before continuing onto the scout.

"The ability to track and hide, the Scout skill is an invaluable asset for people in the field, allowing you to search for targets and at the same time, provide a warning if anything approaches you. This skill also sub-consciously boosts your reaction time as well as your sight and hearing, allowing you to sense enemies with unerring accuracy and seek out invaluable weak points in a single enemy's defense or, at higher levels, weak spots in an enemy formation and their names and health. This skill is primarily used by light to moderately armored and armed adventurers." I finished, closing the menu before standing.

Bending down, I dusted off the skirt I was wearing, "I might never get used to this." I sighed to myself.

The game of death had taken its toll on the panicked crowds that dashed for the safety of houses, buildings or anything that protected them from the horrors that the night brought. I learned through a button in the options menu that, over the course of a single week, about one hundred people had already died. Though the number seemed small, the simple fact that a good number of the already limited population's lives had prematurely been extinguished in a single week, those lives that were snuffed out, was truly terrifying.

Erin sat beside me, playing with a strand of hair before asking, "Hey Ezekiel, d-do you miss being a guy?" she blurted.

Honestly, I had expected the question. "Well, yeah. Being a girl is certainly different, it gives me a different perspective, since we'll be stuck in this game for a long while. It's really different from being a guy, with you not really caring about what other people think about you, as a girl, I feel more self-conscious and shy." I replied, looking out the window to see a small butterfly perched on the windowsill. "I'm so confused, part of me wants to get back to the real world, but another part of me exists solely in this world."

"Still, it must be hard to adjust. The way people treat you, the way you think and act. I heard that it isn't good to change your gender in-game because it'll have adverse side-effects on your mental health or something." she said thoughtfully.

I put on a smile, it was good to hear that Erin cared. "It's alright. Besides, it's not like I'll be stuck like this forever." I replied, giving her a brief hug. "We'll get back. So we need to get stronger. I'm not losing to this game, are you?"

She shook her head, a quiet fire of defiance burned in her eyes, "No, never. We'll get home." she amended, standing and moving to the open window. "We've got no choice, I guess this was a one-way trip from the beginning." she continued, staring off into the wide, grassy fields with a distant, forlorn look in her eyes.

A knock at the door shook us from our reverie, Arthur poked his head inside and I instinctively drew the sword at my hip, "Oh, it's you Arthur." I sighed, sheathing the blade while Erin stood in shock for a while. Emma gave a small snore from the bed before sitting up and rubbing an eye with her hand.

He seemed to notice that: A. Emma was still half-asleep or B. Me and Erin were still rather unpresentable. Either way, after that realization, none of us took it well when a guy, even if I was one in a girl's body, decided to enter the room unannounced. "Get out!" Erin yelled, throwing the nearest unbolted object, a book, at Arthur. Why did this seem so familiar? Oh right, the same scenario had taken place barely a week ago in the real world.

"S-sorry!" Arthur yelped, ducking to avoid the projectile and scampered down the stairs. I could hear laughing from below as Arthur was probably being interrogated by the other boys, '_I'm definitely going to give him a piece of my mind_.' I thought rather glumly, remembering that I had been in a similar position a week ago.

Emma had gone downstairs ahead of us, giving me and Erin some time in silence for her to calm down and for me to reorganize my thoughts. '_When Arthur opened the door, I felt so insecure, so vulnerable . . . Why?' _I thought, just getting more and more confused with each passing thought. '_I felt like I couldn't breathe, I started feeling so awkward, like I might trip or collapse.' _

"Hey Ezekiel, are you okay?" Erin asked, poking my cheek, snapping me from my reverie, my body tingling where her hand had touched me, the warmth staying a second longer before disappearing.

"Eh? Oh, no, I'm fine." I assured her, though I myself was not reassured. '_I'm a guy, is this the side-effect that Erin had spoken of? My mind becoming more feminine? It's so confusing. Should I apologize for my actions or should Arthur?'_

Erin and I headed downstairs, my eyes glued to the floor, questions still roiling within me. "Good morning!" came Dune's cheerful greeting, which I returned with a weak smile.

The smell of food on the table snapped me from my reverie, "Oh, uh, good morning." I replied, giving a more sincere smile this time as Emma plopped a pot, with a soup that was steaming and the scent made my mouth water, on the table. "Ah, that smells good." I gaped, wiping some of the drool that started to form on my lip.

We ate in awkward silence, Erin glaring at Arthur and me avoiding everyone's gaze as my mind began to wander once again, '_What do I say, my tongue feels like lead, I can't speak, so nervous . . .'_

Arthur's voice made me flinch, "So, what do you make of all of this?" he asked suddenly, tapping my shoulder, probably because I was spacing out.

"Eh, ah!?" I yelped, jumping backwards, but realizing I was still on the chair, it toppled backwards with a clatter and I fell with a thud, landing on the brittle timber of the floor. "Ouch." I mumbled, rubbing my sore tailbone and sitting up to be hit by the door swinging open suddenly.

Everything went by in a daze, strong arms grasped me and carried me upstairs, '_W-who's this? We're zeroes and ones, data inside a computer, but this strength, this warmth, it's real.' _I though groggily, my head still thudding like a drum and my eyes still blurry with tears from the sudden impacts.

I was lowered onto a bed, soft sheets rustled as I was vaguely aware of yelling, I think it was Erin. '_So tired, I'll sleep a bit first.' _I sighed inwardly


	3. Interlude 1: The Dream

Opening my eyes, I was falling, darkness around me, stars blinking by as I fell into a pool of black water. I drifted down into the darkness, black bubbles escaping my mouth, made visible by sourceless light that gave everything a dark and depressing feel. I tried to move my arms, but they stayed in place, as if I was chained to an invisible chunk of wall that fell with a slow yet unrelenting motion.

Music, a quiet, sad melody began to play in the midst of the darkness, it filled my ears and I turned my head to catch the source, a door floated in the darkness, polished dark wood gleamed and no water entered the open doorway. I could see a calming blue light flood from the door as I drew closer. It reminded me of a candle I saw through blue glass, the glitter of the glass now the sparkle it cast on the black water, the candles still unseen but there all the same.

I touched down, landing softly onto a red carpet trimmed in gold, looking around. My body was soaked, the black water pooling as I stood there, listening to the music as the darkness of the corridor stretched onwards in either direction.

_"Hello, child."_ a voice in the darkness called, beckoning me forward, to follow the blue light. _"I know of you, Ezekiel." _the dark, loud whisper resounded in my head, while it felt like something was playing basketball with my heartbeat, hammering against my chest with the speed of a piston in the inner workings of a V8 engine. _"That which you hate."_ it continued in its unnerving, yet strangely calming voice, the music in the background now reaching a blazing crescendo as the smoke from the candles floating above coalesced and formed the distorted, yet unmistakable image of Primordial, the man behind the madness, who had already murdered hundreds of innocents in his twisted game. _"Yet, at the same time, I know of that which you can not loose."_ it spoke, this time in a more calming, gentle voice, like a mother trying to soothe her restless child, which is how I felt, like my own mother, no doubt worried sick about me and Erin as we fought for our lives in this twisted reality. The faces of Emma, Arthur, Dune and Gorge as well as Erin and my mother, the blurred images flowed around me in a tidal wave of nervous guilt and insecurity. I watched a person die, his armor bursting into a multicolored spectrum of glass while the look on his face spelled out the horror in his mind, his own body vanishing in a mist of disintegrating light, being deleted from this world and real life forever.

_"There is a way to end it, the suffering you and your kind endure within Dystopia." _the voice offered, now silky, like the words of a master orator, conviction and strength were behind these words. _"Come with me. Together, we can free your trapped souls from this abominable limbo."_ with this announcement, the voice changed, from the distant, cold yet calming voice, it reached a higher pitch, warm and friendly, yet empty, as if suffering had been all this voice knew in its existence. "I will be with you every step of the way." a familiar voice beckoned behind me.

I turned, and as I did, the last vestige of thought had left as I gazed upon, what I thought was, an angel. She had light brown hair that dropped to the small of her back, she had inquisitive mossy green eyes that seemed to ask an unasked question. She wore a long white dress that covered her from neck to ankle, she had a necklace of a thin gold chain with an ornate silver crucifix made of interwoven silver filigree. She had skin the color of porcelain and her size spoke of youth, she was probably no older than ten or eleven._"_This game, as you humans have created it to be, is an extension of your collective consciousness. The method is different, but the fundamentals of arriving here is the same._" _she said, giving a small smile before beckoning me to follow.

We headed down a hallway, floating candles gave off a blue glow while the sad music continued to play from the darkness around me, the only visible way across the darkness was the red carpet. "What do you mean by arriving? Isn't this just a game?"

"That is not for me to say. You humans take pride in discovering things for yourselves, but I can warn you about this; Your consciousness is your life, death here is truly death in the land of reality." she replied, continuing down the red carpet, reaching a door of polished blue stone, elaborately carved with swirls and as I looked closer, they formed a tree.

"Do I step through?" I asked, though the answer did not actually provide answers when the words escaped her lips.

"The choice is ours, Ezekiel of Earth. Forward lies a path from which you cannot stray, the path of the Seraph, the guardian. Backwards, away from here, is safety, the protection of common sense and reality." she said, gesturing to the large gate. "But it is also yours, this burden, once taken, it can not be taken away. You humans have a saying, until death do us part, well, this is the same, for only in death, will duty finally end." she finished, extending a fragile looking hand to me.

I did not hesitate, taking the small, delicate hand and she disappeared in a flash of light, becoming a small pendant on my neck as the room disappeared and I fell through space again.

'_I'm ready.' _


	4. Chapter 2: The Not So Great Escape

I stirred, blinking at the sudden influx of light. Around me was Emma and Erin, as well as a girl I had never seen before. "H-how long was I out?" I groaned, my voice back to the higher pitch of my female avatar, but I felt a change going through me, like my mind was becoming more like a girl, more self-conscious, more self-aware.

"About an hour, but must I apologize for Dirk's rash actions." the girl bowed, long silver hair hid her face as they swayed to a stop.

"I-it's okay." I smiled.

I looked around at the assembled group, in a corner was Lance, spear in hand and peering through a gap at the door. Arthur held a torch in one hand and his sword was ready in the other, checking the other door and gave a thumbs-up. My Scout skill had told me that Gorge and at least one of the other players, dressed in what looked like a hooded cloak, were upstairs. I sat up, shaking the last vestige of sleep from myself as I slid off the bed.

"We need to leave." Arthur said, readying his sword and extinguishing the torch, bathing the room in darkness. I pulled the hood of my traveling cloak over my head, since the game began, many players had joined into a huge guild called Imperial Knights and they were trying to drag all the players, usually by swordpoint, to join their crusade to complete the game, most of the deaths were from their stupid rush tactics that got them strung out and killed. Our group, numbering ten in all, were part of a class called the Between, because we were between the group who didn't fight and those dragged into the swelling ranks of Imperial Knights.

"The patrol left, let's go." the man in the black cloak, who I assumed was not Dirk, said, slipping out without a sound as we followed, moving though the darkness of the first floor, no Nightmares since the town had become an Inner Area a day or two after the game had begun, creating a safe zone for players who didn't want to fight.

We moved in silence, the cloaks muffling our movements and the glint of the metal of our weapons. I heard armored marching as the man held up a hand, pointing left and right and the party dispersed, Erin, myself, Dune, Emma, the silver haired girl, the black cloaked man and a boy who looked about thirteen hidden beneath a cloak who I presumed to be Dirk while down below, Arthur, Gorge and Lance dove for the nearest house.

A few tense seconds passed, the armored march had disappeared around a corner and darkness and silence returned. "Go." he hissed, dropping down and we continued our escape, each of us unwilling to be dragged into the rough politics that had risen into a monarchy, with a man named Gladius taking control.

The exit gate was in sight, a small patrol of five men were stationed outside the gate, the Nightmares visible at the edge of the pool of light afforded by the large bonfire. "No way we're sneaking past them and the Nightmares at the same time." I whispered to the black hooded man.

He showed no sign of listening as he headed into the light, the five men tensed, but relaxed when he pulled off his hood, revealing someone I thought I'd never see again, before me, in the black hood, was my friend that got me into this mess in the first place, "Alex?"

He flinched, "Not now." he hissed, turning back to the men, giving a nod and they parted. "We need to go, now." he said, starting down the road towards Iron Valley, a small valley with a village that was a hotbed of freelance players that had evaded being dragged into the Knights, was where we were headed next.

Our circus of a group continued in silence, wary of the terrors that the night brought, torches brought out once we had left the city limits and we were once again bathed in the flickering orange glow of naked flames. _'Everyone in this world looks the same as in real life, why am I the only one unchanged?' _I asked myself.

_'It's because you yourself have changed, isn't it?' _the voice from before spoke in my head, and for some reason, I had already expected it, like its been there my whole life.

_'So you weren't just a dream, mind telling me your name at least?' _I asked, sidestepping a rather large stone I had not noticed a while back. _'I mean, if you're going to be working with me for a while, I should at least get to know the other voice in my head.' _I amended, looking around at the dark scenery, drab and cold, the howl of the wind chilling every unexposed patch of skin.

_'We don't normally go by names, but as a human, I was once known as Dream Under Starry Night.' _she replied.

_'Uh, right, did you have a nickname by any chance?' _I sighed inwardly, what a complicated name for a voice in my head. _'If you don't, I'd be happy to think of one.'_ I finished, ducking to avoid a tree branch.

_'Nickname? As in, what humans would call loved ones?' _she asked timidly, like a young child exposed to something for the first time. _'A man, before he betrayed me, he gave me a name, but I have long since renounced it.'_

_'Oh, and what might that be?' _I asked, sub-consciously urging her to finish her train of thought.

_'I was once known as Aria.'_


	5. Chapter 3: The Ambush and the Red Angel

We passed through the Whispering Woods in the dead of night, each of us holding a torch, bathing our group and the surrounding dead trees within a pool of orange light. On the lookout, my Scout skill now level sixteen, I had spotted another flickering glow, two blue shapes were backed up against a large number red blots.

"Arthur! Monsters to the right, two players by the waterfall!" I yelled, without waiting for his answer, I kicked off and ran into the forest, Erin following closely in my wake. I kept my sight trained on the two players, the indicator flickering from blue to yellow. "Faster!" I cried, urging myself to run even faster, feet flying, I vaulted over the wave of monsters with Erin close behind me, landing in front of the two players.

I could see the five green blots and three blue blots, representing friends and fellow players respectively, running through the thicket of bushes to reach us. The light of their torches was barely visible behind all that foliage and I estimated five minutes or so before they could come in range to attack.

"Erin, with me, we need to hold them off for about five minutes." I said to Erin, who had drawn a pair of midnight black scimitars, courtesy of her insanely good luck and several unlucky Nightmares.

Drawing my sword, with my free hand, I reached behind me and unslung the wooden buckler, holding it out in front of my chest, Erin beside me, blades held out, the one on the left held parallel to her body in front and the right above her head parallel to the ground.

The first monster charged, my Scout skill's Observe feature naming it Midnight Wolf, howling with bloodlust, it threw itself bodily against my shield, knocking me to the ground. Its black fur stank of blood as its drooling mouth was inches from my own, red eyes hungrily glaring at me.

I swung my sword in an arc, feeling metal part flesh as the wolf yelped and scrabbled backwards, blood splattering against the dark earth while beside me, Erin danced with a large, bipedal lupine creature, the Observe dubbing it Lycan Warrior.

I saw several more in the crowd of wolves, tall, feral warriors in rusty half-plate with snarling wolf heads bearing ornate swords made of a dark, non-reflective metal with a wolf's head moulded into the crossguard, like the sword's blade was coming out of its mouth. Each also bore a second blade or a tower shield of blackened wood bound in metal with strange marking in the center depicting a silver wolf swallowing the moon.

It lunged at Erin, sword aimed at her chest, the black metal absorbing the light of the discarded torch's flames, like a shard of darkness bound in the shape of a sword, swallowing light and bringing forth darkness.

She dodged it with the barest of margins, the black sword sliding across the flat of her stomach, missing by a hair's breadth, even as her other blade arced around the shield, describing a crescent as it cut into the left arm of the Lycan Warrior.

A pair of wolves charged at her even as I was facing off against a pair of wolves with a Lycan charging at me as well, harsh howl on its lip. I quickly brought my shield down on the first wolf, bashing it in the neck between the collar and the head, dropping it after a harsh crack of breaking bone resounded from the fallen wolf and decapitated the second wolf with an upward arc of the sword, the snarling head twisting in midair.

The Lycan Warrior's sword impacted me with the force of a Midnight wolf barreling into me, with a muttered curse, I fell into a perfect split, the sword arcing less than an inch from my face. I pivoted, using my hands as a fulcrum, I twisted my entire body in a sweeping motion, kicking the Lycan's feet out from under it, causing it to fall with a growl as Erin dispatched her own warrior with a swift stab to its chest, the blade exiting for a brief second before pulling it out and blocked the wolf as it clamped down on her sword, forcing her to let go and plunge her remaining scimitar into the wolf's neck, pulling out the scimitar and grabbing the second as the wolf slumped to the dirt.

Then, it all went to hell rather quickly, because the cavalry had arrived, literally. For our side, Emma, Arthur and the others burst from the foliage, weapons at the ready and a whirlwind of icy wind flew from the tip of Emma's staff, dropping the temperature to near sub-zero along the front of the horde of wolves in a blizzard that would put winter to shame, turning most of the wolves into unfortunate ice statues. Arthur's scythe was a blur, spinning in rapid arcs, cleaving wolves in two as Gorge and Lance charged, arrows arcing from the trees as Dune fired off arrow after arrow into the frenzied wolves, the girl with silver hair, Alex and Dirk followed close behind Gorge and Lance, the girl bore a long, thin saber that flashed like a bolt of lightning as she stabbed the wolves with deadly precision, Dirk bore a pair of small repeating crossbows, dispatching the wolves that the girl had incapacitated with a single shot to the head, Alex bore a pair of wrist-mounted serrated blades, leaving jagged wounds with every punch.

For the enemy, it was a pair of big wolves, I'm talking car sized canines with fangs the size of Erin's scimitars. On each of their backs was a Lycan Warrior in burnished full plate, massive lances of dark metal in their right hand and a tower shield of black wood. They roared their rage across the ambush site, a cry to battle and of uncontrollable rage. As one, they lowered their lances, presented their shields and charged.

Ducking, I avoided the first one's lance, twisting to the right to avoid the other. Erin parried the second's charge, but the force of its charge knocked her flat on her back, forcing me to raise my shield and intercept the blow that would have skewered her, bouncing off the rim of my shield, it left a long deep cut along the length of my left arm.

I fell to the ground, arm throbbing with pain, I gasped as cold air touched the exposed muscle, like thousands of tiny needles piercing me all at once. The Lycan Knight's mount reared up, preparing to run me through as I convulsed on the ground, clutching my left arm as blood flowed freely, before Lance's shield covered the three of us behind its bulk, "You two shouldn't go running off like that." he smirked as the shield shuddered from the blow of the wolf's claw as the lance glanced over the rim of his shield, impaling itself in the ground less than an inch from my face.

A cry of pain echoed behind me, turning, I saw one of the two players, a boy, jumping in front of a Lycan Warrior's sword. The sword's arcing blow would have taken the life of the other player, a girl, had he not jumped in the way. "No . . . not again ~" I trailed off, a single tear rolling down my cheek. In my mind, the first death I had witnessed was still painfully clear, the look of horror on that person's face as he slowly vanished in a disintegrating mist of light.

A message popped up, Extra Skill: Unlocked

Extra Skill: Vengeful Seraph

Sub-Skill Unlock: Before the Grave

Sub-Skull Unlock: Inferno Storm

On instinct, I raised my hand, Aria's voice echoed within the corridors of my mind as I recited something that I did not know, yet I got the strange feeling it was something Aria had learned as a mortal. "_Divinum fons vitae, aquis creationis, sarcirent vulnera mea_." I whispered, a ball of azure light flickered into being in my palm, the soft blue light pulsed and I felt a soft heartbeat emanating from within.

The sphere leapt from my hand and sped towards the vanishing form of the player, hovering over him before vanishing in a bright flash as I watched my own life leach out of my health bar, my precious indicator of life vanished little-by-little as the painfully bright sphere glowed even brighter, like a new star, exploding with the words: Resurrection Successful

This time, I raise my hand toward the sky, a crimson glow around my battered form, filling me with unbridled hate, my mind began to fog as I whispered something that battered like a hurricane against my mind, escaping my throat with every gasping breath I took; "_Benedictus inferno, descende de supra, et consumet universa semitæ tuæ!_" I gasped, letting the words roll over my tongue.

All the rage I held in my heart boiled over, coalescing in an immense sphere of crimson fury as the heavens lit up with a blast of ruby lighting, arcs of flaming energy arced out of the sphere, moulding their forms into spears, swords, halberds and hundreds of other weapons I had no name for.

The remaining Lycan Knight, who's head was taken off by the expert swing of Gorge's maul, tottered over to a fallen flaming sword, bursting into flames as it drew close, the remaining monsters vaporized in the next instant, a flaming tide of weapons destroying all in their path as I floated in the heart of the maelstrom, my hands clutched to my ears to keep the whispering voices out. "Get out of my head!" I cried, throwing a flaming spear to where a face had surfaced, battered and broken, a skeletal face, cold, dead hands reaching up at me. The hands moved with a slow, certain outcome, clasping like a vice around my thin neck, choking me with those cold hands.

I blacked out.

When I next awoke, I was in someone's arms, his voice far away, but close was his strong heartbeat amidst the chaos of the ruined clearing. "Destiny! Wake up!" he sobbed, through my closed eyes, I could see that my health had diminished to about one percent, almost invisible, but I was still here, and my head hurt like I had been hit by a truck.

I attempted to stir, my body moving slightly, "Dune! You idiot, move back!" came Emma's voice as I felt a cold sensation run through my body as she recited, "Heal!" followed by the feeling of a hot bath and a cold shower at the same time, I watched as my health bar slowly regenerated, filling up, but my body remained weak.

My eyes fluttered open to Dune's concerned face, while crammed into my peripheral vision were Erin and Emma. I gave a weak smile, "So, what did I miss?" I tried to joke, my voice coming out in a weak, dry cough.

"Don't talk, just rest." Dune said awkwardly, flashing a nervous smile as I drifted off for a second time.


	6. Chapter 4: Timberwind

My eyes fluttered once more, opening to the morning light streaming through the window. I glanced to the side, Erin was asleep by the bedside, arms crossed before her with her head resting on it, tilted to the side with a grey wool blanket pulled over her shoulders. Beside her, Dune let out a small snore, right arm around Erin's shoulder, left arm used as a pillow, also asleep. Emma was asleep on the chair opposite my bed, head lolled to the side, mouth slightly agape and also asleep.

I shrugged off the blanket, my arms were crisscrossed with bright pink skin, evidence of scars, my clothes were tattered ruins, myself covered only by the blanket, I opened the inventory, the drops of the last battle still in a separate screen.

Congratulations

Loot: 102,563 Ag / 120,000 Exp

Lupine Blade

Battlemaster's Gauntlets

Wolf Fur x 31

Bleak Talons x 8

Silver Ingot x 12

I took another look at my level, the words Level 7 flashed below my name. Scrolling down, I read through the list of now available skills, numbering one new slot along with another sub-skill for Vengeful Seraph, which, for now, I was unwilling to tamper with. One-Handed had received two additional sub-skills, while Scout received two as well, which was filled out with Mapping and Identify

In the end, I chose Light Armor and Blacksmith as my next two skills, adding One-Handed Longswords and Parry to my One-Handed skill. I scrolled down and equipped my sword, telling myself that I would go find a good set of clothes in town.

The sword on my back weighed considerably more than the old sword I had lost, I stood, drawing the black edged longsword, feeling its weight rest in my hand. The sword had a snarling wolf's head as the crossguard, the blade extending from its snarling mouth, twin rubies shined with a crimson inner glow. The grip of the sword was shaped like a bone, white metal wire wrapped around it and ended with a circular sphere of polished red glass as a pommel clutched in a webbing of silver filigree.

I took Dune's arm off Erin, because I didn't want Erin to go berserk over a boy touching her, before waking the two up with a shake. "You're awake!" Erin cried, throwing her arms around me in a bear hug.

Dune's eyes shone with barely restrained joy as he grinned from ear-to-ear. "Nice to have you back." he said, giving me a high five, which I returned with a brief hug to both of them.

"Glad to be back."


	7. Chapter 5: Forging a Sword

Since this game of death started a month ago, I had been constantly on the edge, just a hair's breadth away from death, I was constantly on guard from betrayal. Yet, Timberwind seemed to be almost normal in comparison to Blackstone City. The town itself had a few buildings, a general store, a blacksmith, an inn and several small stores that sold everything from alcohol to something called a lute.

I headed to the clothing store, desperate to get out of the rags I had escaped in, since my armor had long since been destroyed by the freak firestorm that I had somehow summoned by saying something incoherent and losing my mind, which had turned into a bit of a joke among us.

Entering the store to a loud chime of bells, the female NPC store owner greeted me with a bow and a smile. "Hello, what can I get for you?" she asked, a screen popping out and I scrolled down the list for a good long while.

I eventually chose and walked into the changing room, much to the dismay of male players, there was a short delay between taking off clothing and reequipping, where you were only wearing underwear, so I took no chances with the creepy stares of the male players as I headed to the changing room.

First on was a pair of camo cargo pants and a belt bag of brown leather to act as a belt because I liked baggy pants and their ability to hide my shape from staring players. Next came a loose green cotton shirt with sleeves that reached my wrists and an outer coat that reached to my knees and held an assortment of pockets and space for me to keep random stuff or potions for easy reach. Under the jacket, I wore a sweater of green wool, because this place was insanely cold and for some reason, I kept catching colds even if was impossible because it was only a game.

Next, I slid the Lupine Blade into the sheath on my back, the bottom end of the sheath reached mid-thigh and I exited the changing room to head for a blacksmith and some new armor, because I couldn't wear clothes when fighting for my life, no matter how cliche it may seem.

I still had a good hundred thousand or so from buying my clothes, looking around, I visited the nearest blacksmith and took inventory on his wares. The blacksmith himself was a gruff, green skinned orc with a topknot of black hair and piggish features to him, giving him a primitive and threatening look, like a monster out of one of those fantasy movies. "Yes? How can I help you?" he asked in perfect, if saturated with an accent somewhere between medieval europe and native american, english.

"I-I'd like to buy some armor?" I replied, more of a question to myself than an actual request, but the orc took no notice, waving me into the shop towards a set of stairs that spiraled downwards.

The spiral staircase opened to a long, low corridor, large enough for me to reach up and touch the ceiling of rough hewn stone as I was led along an aisle of light armor. "I have some of the finest armor this side of Mt. Storm, I think you'll find this most impressive." he said, another shop window opening as he spoke.

I scrolled down, comparing the relative weight of the armor and the price as well, because some of the stuff here reached into the five digits. After a fashion, I had selected a chestplate of green-grey steel that covered my upper torso from my neck to just below my ribs, pauldrons of dark leather with a plating of green metal adorned my shoulders and clamped down on the fabric of the cloak, keeping it from swinging forward and tripping me, attached by strips of leather that snaked under the chestplate and under the pauldrons on the front. I also bought a pair of sturdy, brown leather boots that reached my ankles.

Noticing a forge, "Can I use your forge?" I asked, turning to the intimidating form of the orc.

"Of course, do you know how to use it?" he replied with a question, raising an eyebrow when I slapped myself on the face. "Didn't think so, but tell you what," he sighed, pulling up at the suspenders that hung from his massive frame, "I'll teach you what I know, but it'll cost you." he grinned, hand outstretched, a screen popping up demanding ten thousand Ag.

Well, I had no real way out, "Alright." I sighed, pressing the accept button and watched as one fourth of my remaining money disappeared with a chime. Immediately, I saw the message, Blacksmith level up: 347 and Free skill points: 13. I opened the menu, bringing the blacksmithing tab into view. Among the numerous numbers of sub-skills, I picked: Decoration Lv. 1, Reinforcement Lv. 4, Elemental Enhancement Lv. 4, Armor Smithing Lv. 1 and Weapon Smithing Lv. 3.

I headed to the forge, Hephaestus, as I learned was his name, beside me. I lifted the hammer from the anvil, feeling its cold weight in my hands. "Now, picture what you want to create in your mind's eye, let it guide your strikes, allow it to shape the metal to your will." he said, lifting a similar hammer and bringing it down on an ingot that appeared from nowhere, glowing cherry red as he struck it, forming a wedge, then rapidly folding it into a bar, lengthening it once more and breaking off a quarter of the blade and forming a crossguard by reheating the metal in the forge and reheating the bottom to create a seamless cross of metal, the excess reheated in a crucible and poured to create the handle. He picked the glowing sword up and thrust it into a barrel of brine, creating a huge cloud of steam and he picked up the resulting blade and slid it into a scabbard, hanging it onto a rack beside other swords of similar make.

He gestured me to begin, I approached the anvil, pulling a silver ingot out from my bag, placing it within the inferno of the forge. A window popped open, a list of available enhancements and weapons were arrayed before me. I pulled out the Lupine Blade and laid it out on the anvil, selecting the Holy Quality from the list, I pulled out the silver ingot and set to work. First, the system carried me away, raising my right arm, holding the ingot out with my left arm grasping a pair of tongs, I hammered the ingot into a sheet of metal before I quickly moved on to the sword itself, drenching it in the molten flames of the forge, I quickly created a hollow indent along the flat of the blade, filling it with the molten silver before hammering it closed to work its way through the various valleys on the metal's surface, flowing like water into the imperfections, swiftly freezing and forming a swirling pattern on the surface of the blade.

I took the newly finished blade and thrust it, like the orc, into the trough of water, emitting another cloud of white smoke. Giving the sword a swing, I admired the blade's unusual edge, like a midnight black sky with stars flickering across its surface. A small smile crossed my lips as I read the name to myself, "Stargazer"


	8. Chapter 6: The Voice of the Forest

A ripple went through the gathered crowd, a phalanx of Imperial Knights in full plate armor and spears forced us together, like animals facing their slaughterers. "This is insane." I muttered, weaving through the crowd followed by Emma and Erin, because Dune, Gorge and Arthur had split our small group into two teams of three, agreeing to meet up on the outside in a small village south of Timberwind called Zenith.

We slipped out of the crowd, ducking under a cart barring exit to larger players, "We can't just leave the other players here." Erin complained, sneaking beside me as we hid behind a low wall just outside the square.

"They just want the money, they can't feed an entire army with their extorting the non-combatants back in Blackstone." Emma replied, her light tread behind me as I had taken the extra precaution and unequipped my metal armor in favor of stealth for this breakout. "They can't keep an entire group of players locked down here, we'd never complete the game that way." she continued, reaching the high wall that protected Timberwind from the outside.

We moved in silence, sliding climbing pitons and hand picks from our sleeves and beneath our shoes. "Erin, you first, get over the wall." I said quietly, glancing over my shoulder at the only entrance to the narrow side-street we were currently hiding in. "We'll move on and meet you outside in four minutes."

She nodded, pulling her left arm back and letting the pick sink into the rough, cobblestone walls before pulling her right foot back and slamming the piton on her foot into the wall. "See you two in a bit." she smiled, beginning the ten foot climb to the top as Emma and I continued onward.

I glanced back after a few minutes, watching as Erin deftly flipped over the wall and fell over the side. Nodding to Emma, she began her own climb in the same way as Erin, with her right arm's pick wedged into the stone and beginning her own climb. "You know where to go." I said, pointing left at where Erin would be waiting. She nodded briefly, before continuing her own climb.

A yell went up as Emma reached the top, "Someone saw me, run!" she yelled as an arrow arced over her head, she got the message and dropped over the side with the rustling of cloth.

Escape would not be so simple after all, I ran. _'This sucks.' _I sighed to myself, opening the menu and reequipping the chestplate, I slowed down just a bit, but I'd rather be slow than get skewered during my climb.

Reaching my own destination, I dragged the picks clear and, giving myself a running jump before clinging onto the wall for dear life, I began my climb.

Inch-by-inch, I climbed ever upward, reaching back and striking the stone once more, I had less than a foot to go when the first arrow hit, striking the small of my back, it would leave a bruise but thankfully bouncing off my armor. I winced, pulling myself over the wall. I flattened myself against the top as arrows whizzed overhead.

As the last arrow fired, I dropped, tucking my body into a ball, I unequipped my and clothes as I took a dive in the freezing moat.

It felt like my body was on fire, the warmth sapped away as I swam to the edge of the moat and, after breaking free, I hid behind a tree and brought out a towel from my inventory, thankfully dry, as the inventory didn't really get wet, I reequipped my full armor and clothes and set off for the meeting point in the forest.

The forest was deathly quiet, the sound of rustling leaves and the occasional yelp of a passive animal was my only company as I headed ever forwards. _Shi? Shi qui ne? _I heard around me. I drew Stargazer, bathing the deep twilight of the forest in the pale starlight of the sword. "W-who's there?" I croaked, pointing my sword at everything that moved.

_Shi? Shi qui ne? _the voice whispered once again, "Who the hell are you?" I cried to the emptiness, breathing hard, my heartbeat almost audible from the sheer intensity. "Where are you!" I yelled, pulling a torch out and lit it in my trembling hand.

Soft footsteps echoed behind me, a pale, tiny girl emerging. I sighed with relief, relaxing, until the girl came into focus, or rather out of focus as her form shifted in the light of the torch. "W-who are you?" I croaked, collapsing to the floor with my eyes wide. _"I-I'm cold, so cold." _the little girl whispered. The girl's name came into focus Wandering Shade.

A notification appeared on my menu, Quest Start: Spirit of the Forest. "I'll be back." I promised the girl, who had leaned back against a tree beside me and had closed her eyes.

_"Find it, find him, save me." _she whispered in her dull echo of a voice before closing her eyes once more and went to sleep.

I ran through the forest, using Stargazer to slash apart the branches and brambles, the quest indicator guiding me through the dark woods. "Erin, Emma, where are you?" I whispered to myself as a looming maw erupted in front of me, Quest Location: The Devil's Cairn it read on my quest log. "Oh, perfect."

"Destiny? Where are you?" I heard Erin's voice call from behind me, her voice dragging, as if she was far away.

"Erin? Emma? Where are you two?" I cried back, listening to my voice bounce across the trees and into the receding darkness. "I'll be waiting for you two in Devil's Cairn." I continued, opening the menu and sending the map data to Erin, with the message You'd better hurry

As if summoned, a few seconds later, Erin, with a silent Emma in tow, both sopping wet, emerged from the tree line to stop in front of me, panting. "Hey, you'd never guess what we just saw!" she yelped as she skidded to as stop.

"Let me guess, a little girl called Wandering Shade found you, creeped you out and sent you on a quest here." I replied sarcastically, sitting down and throwing Emma and Erin a towel, sighing because the two were still wet from their dip in the moat, but from the way the two blinked back at me, I could almost foretell their answers. "No way, don't tell me."

"H-how did you know?" Erin asked puzzled.

I rolled my eyes, honestly, Erin could be quite dense when the situation actually called for common sense sometimes. "Didn't I just say so? I met a little girl in the woods, the name over her head read Wandering Shade, she spoke, I ran here, you two came along and now I'm thinking of how insane this whole situation is." I huffed in exasperation.

"Well, if that's the case, we should help her, even an Npc would have feelings, right?" Emma replied thoughtfully, turning towards Devil's Cairn. "I mean, I'm sure brother and the others wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer." she smiled, unslinging her staff and chanted "Light in the night, eyes that can't see, open now to darkness, show the path before me." she chanted, a soft, white and yellow glow radiated from the tip of her staff, forming a sphere of light in the air as it levitated an inch or so above her head.

"Neat trick." I mused, unsheathing Stargazer and unslinging my buckler, attaching it to my left forearm. I led the way into the darkness within Devil's Cairn, we moved in a circle of dull grey light, watching the shadows within flicker and dance at the lazy pulsing of light emitted by Emma's staff.

"Hey Destiny, I know it's rude to ask, but, what's your real name?" Emma asked as we moved deeper within, encountering nothing but the chilling silence of the interior, skulls grinning from the floor and walls at regular intervals.

I blinked once, "It's Destiny," I said simply, switching my first and middle name for the express purpose of maintaining a false identity, all but Erin knowing the truth. "Destiny Hunt" I said weakly.

She blinked once, "You used your actual name?" she inquired as we reached a large, spherical room, descending twelve steps and forty forward, we stopped.

"We're here." I said, holding the sword tightly and gripping the buckler's handle, feeling the cold wood in my hand as we moved forward. "Stay close." I whispered, starting forward and walked past the arch and stepped into the heart of the cairn.

Instantly, the walls seemed to shift, flowing like water and fell in a red rain towards the center of the sphere as we looked on in a mesmerized stupor. Slowly, almost painfully, the rain stopped, pooling below us in a pool of bloody water, I could make out a still form on the dais at the center of the room, a quest marker identified it as the body of Wandering Shade. "What are we supposed to do?" Erin asked as Emma sent the light spell to the sky, hanging like a miniature sun above a firmament of crimson sky as I shuddered. The pool had convulsed, spitting up a massive blob that landed in front of us with a drowned out thudding noise.

A gaping maw opened along the thing's midsection, tendrils of hardened blood threw themselves at us as the fight with the Blood-Born began. I had barely registered as, on reflex, I turned to the side to avoid the first tentacle, sidestepping and lopping it off with a hiss as the construct came into contact with the pearly metal of Stargazer's blade. Doubling back, the tendril now grasped at my leg, attempting to drag me upwards, hissing once more as Stargazer's blade met unholy flesh.

Erin was beside me, ducking and weaving while parrying the tendrils' thrusts with the flat edges of her scimitars. She dragged her left arm in an arc and the black-edged blade bit into the tentacle, sending droplets of black blood flying into the air as the blade left a deep slash down the length of the tentacle and avoided the next thrust.

Emma stood behind us, surrounded by a tempest of icy wind and crackling lightning leapt from the tip of her staff, hacking like a knife into the tentacle, the metallic tang of blood hung heavy in the air as the lightning vaporized the blood and the icy wind froze the droplets like glittering rubies.

The Blood-Born let out a bellow, regurgitating its last meal onto the floor, six ironclad skeletons rose from the crimson murk, grinning skulls glaring back at us. Skeletal Warrior the names above their heads pronounced, their skeletal faces leered at us, red eyes gleaming from beneath their horned helmets, drawing broadswords and axes, and as one, they charged.

The first met its end as I swung Stargazer like a bat, arcing to meet the first as I struck it with the flat of the blade, sending the first grinning skull sailing away and kicked its staggering body back into the muck with a deft spin.

I raised Stargazer on reflex, meeting the second's axe mid swing, leaving a gleaming notch on its head as I raised Stargazer and swung it again, cleaving through the left upper arm of the skeleton as it raised its other hand in a swing of defiance, opening its mouth in soundless agony. The axehead whistled down, glancing off my pauldron before I swung my sword around in a brutal arc, cleaving through the tough iron like paper.

A third skeleton's head flew beside me as the midnight black scimitar sang through the air, followed by an iron shod boot, sending the skull clattering away as the foot impacted with a loud clang of metal, sending the second toppling into the drink as a tentacle grabbed me by the leg and hauled me upwards, which was a good time for me to remember that, in my haste, I had reequipped the spare skirt I had carried along just in case. "Why now!" I yelped, feeling the gravity kick in, I held up the front and just barely managed to keep Stargazer from slipping from my sweaty hands. I flipped Stargazer into a reverse grip as the Blood-Born's mouth rotated to face me, swinging upwards, the reverse grip combined with the twist just got Stargazer into reach of the outstretched tentacle curling around my leg, carving through it like it was made of sand, exploding and with a flip, I was back on my feet.

Emma fired off another bolt of lightning, charring the nearest skeleton and bouncing off to impact the fifth in the chest, sending it reeling before a fast whack from her staff knocked it off balance as it spun head-over-heels into the bloody murk to join the other skeletons.

The last skeleton toppled over a second later, cleaved with an X-shaped slash from Erin's twin scimitars and the scattered remains were kicked into the pool of blood.

Now, it was us versus that thing again as Emma fried a skeleton attempting to clamber back onto the walkway as I charged headlong into the field of writhing tentacles, feeling them brush briefly before they were torn asunder by the assault me and Erin put up, fighting back-to-back as we forged onward, Emma's magic arcing overhead and picking off one tentacle after the other with precise bolts of lightning.

The final few tentacles fell to Erin's whirling blades and the Blood-Born convulsed greatly before exploding in a shower of gore, spraying the nearest foot or so in a pool of blood, which, unfortunately, included us. "Ugh, that's disgusting." Emma complained, shaking her arms and watching as blood flew everywhere. "It'll take forever to clean this out."

Quest Update: Voice of the Forest a message read. Soft, pattering footsteps resounded as the Wandering Shade ghosted into the room, "You did it!" she smiled, "You freed me." her tiny, pale face seemed to glow for a second before she disappeared, the tiny body on the dais convulsed briefly, sitting up, she turned and smiled. "Thank you." she said simply, standing and moved towards us. "This way." she said weakly, pulling me along by the sleeve and motioned for Erin and Emma to follow. Her name had changed to, it now read, Hope.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we left the strange room behind and followed her towards another set of doors.

Hope remained quiet for a while, looking up, she smiled softly, "It'll be alright, I'm taking you back." she replied, opening the doors and pointing upwards at a set of stone steps that spiraled upwards into the stone.

I looked up, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, "How cliche." I sighed.

Giving another smile, the girl replied, "Climb."

An hour later, my head finally saw light, the bright shine nearly blinded me as I ascended the final few steps towards the surface. "Finally!" I gasped, collapsing onto the ground as I clambered out of the hole, which happened to be a dry well. The ground below me was grainy and was slightly damp, above, a red sky burned overhead, heralding the coming of night and the monsters with it.

"We need to move, where's Zenith?" Erin asked, looking down at the girl, who was now shivering slightly at the cold kiss of the wind on her pale, bare skin. "You cold?" she asked.

The girl nodded, "Zenith is there, to the north, beyond the two mountains." she replied, pointing to a dull glow in the distance, about a kilometer away from our current whereabouts, she shivered once more, hugging herself as the wind picked up.

I frowned, "Here, something to keep you warm," I said, pulling off my own cloak and wrapped it around her petite form. Indeed, the weather had taken a turn for the worst, almost like Primordial was laughing at our sad attempt at freedom.

In any case, we ran, under the cover of the storm, towards the light in the darkness, towards Zenith, towards what little sliver of hope I still held in this dark world.


	9. Chapter 7: Zenith Ablaze

I looked on in horror as we drew closer to the city, "Those aren't lights, that's fire!" I said, gritting my teeth, the cries and howls echoed up to meet us as we drew ever closer towards the city, vaguely, I saw several players at the gate, barring the way with shields and spears.

"Th-that's Lance!" Emma yelped. I looked closer, towards the player in the front, wielding a tall, stout spear in one hand and a massive tower shield in the other, crouched behind his shield as archers behind their wall fired into the gibbering tide, was Lance.

"How do you intend to cross?" Hope asked, the little Npc girl followed us as we crept close to the crest of a hill, I saw a tall hill about a meter to my right and I got a rather idiotic idea.

"Bones, bones everywhere." I heard Erin mutter as she stepped on another bone, breaking it like a twig as we passed under the cover of darkness. We followed Hope as she led us to, what she claimed, was a sewer entrance into Zenith.

The ground was hard and unyielding as we slid down the crest of the hill, I was sure that I would have gathered a huge array of bruises by the time we came to a stop. To my wonder, no bruises appeared, but I was seriously sore by the time we hit the sewer entrance, which was oddly empty.

The smell hit me like I had run into a brick wall, in other words, it smelled like something died then its remains were stewed and fermented, then eaten and barfed up before being stewed again. "God, it smells down here." I groaned, covering my nose and mouth to, unsuccessfully, block the smell that was as of yet still assaulting my poor nose.

"That's an understatement." Erin grumbled, the top of her shirt pressed to her nose to, also unsuccessfully, block the smell. The grimace on her face would have been funny if a similar one wasn't plastered onto mine at the same time.

Emma, being a mage, had conjured a swirling sphere of air around herself and Hope. Her eyes met ours and I could have sworn I saw a glint of mischief before expanding the sphere to cover the four of us.

The labyrinthian maze of tunnels and tributaries wound on forever, dripping murk fell from the ceiling in a rain of brackish water that would get blown away by the sphere of air, but as we traveled further, Emma had to alternate switching the sphere on and off to rest herself under the strain of magic.

Beside us, smaller pipes ran like roots, snaking into the river of black water to our left as we turned another corner, all sounds of the conflict above were lost in the dark tunnels. I heard a brief splashing and turned to see that rocks were beginning to dislodge themselves from the ceiling as a brief but powerful roar echoed behind us, probably several dozen tunnels away, but Hope turned and I saw her blanched face.

"Run." she said simply, before grabbing Emma's hand and left us to follow in her tireless pace, our feet slapping lightly over the damp stone as the roar followed us again.

We entered into a room filled with broken pipes, poisonous water spilling from the open pipes like blood running from cut veins as they pooled. Hope grabbed Emma and led her, skipping across the small lake, motioning for us to follow her erratic pattern that led us to double back as we hopped from stone to stone, almost slipping into the opaque liquid as a third roar drew closer, vibrating my eardrums and sent my heart into a desperate tap dance. Right, left, forward, right, we skipped, never stopping for long as we reached a solid island in the middle of the sea of acid.

"It's here." Hope said quietly, hiding behind Emma as a fourth roar, like the call of lightning, shook the world as I glimpsed a serpent slide from the main river and into the pool, displacing the floating stones and reared up before us. "It's the~"

Shard of Erebus the name announced, glowing beside its head as four titanic health bars as wide as a person and as long as two spears filled to the brim with burning green life, flickered under its name as it gave a piercing screech, like a banshee's wail.

I readied Stargazer, its blade flickering in the orange light of torches. "You failed to mention the giant snake that lived under here." Erin grumbled to Hope as she readied her own swords. Emma stood behind us, whispering rapidly, almost breathlessly as her staff began to crackle with lightning and a corona of arcing electricity spat from the top as she readied her spell.

Fast as a bullet, the serpent dove under as the first bolt of lightning fired from the staff, smashing into the far wall with a hiss of steam as the lightning vaporized rock and water into a cloud of acrid smoke.

I darted forward as the surface began to heave, stabbing Stargazer into the head of the Shard of Erebus as it reared up, glancing off its armored head but leaving a small chink in its carapace. "Erin, attack the same place, weaken the armor. Emma, keep it busy!" I yelled as the serpent reared up and slammed into where I was just standing.

Erin nodded in the corner of my vision, flipping over a sweep of its tail, she slashed a pair of crosscuts into the flat of its tail, causing it to rear up and roar as I brought the sword once more on its undefended head and it flinched as a lightning bolt impacted its stomach, leaving a sizable crater about the size of my fist as it threw me back, barely denting my health as it dove back into the water.

"Hope, get Erin and Emma to the other end, I'll hold it off for a while, but you need to get them out." I said, pointing to the far end of the lake then back at the little girl.

She nodded, "Promise me this, don't try to be a hero." she said quietly to me so that only I might hear. "Come back to them, they still need you.". Then to Erin and Emma she said, "Follow me." she motioned, leaping onto the next rock as the Shard of Erebus broke the surface of the water, landing on the barren rock like a dragon facing off against the knight in shining armor, with the only difference of me being covered in grime and filth, a dent in the chestplate that made it difficult to breathe and because that knight was in fact a girl.

The Shard of Erebus looked little better, the crack I had landed onto its head was dripping with the murky water and chips of its armor was falling off the tail from where Erin had struck. It still looked very imposing, several dozen meters of long, muscular, black serpentine body ending in the head of what looked like a cobra, with massive fangs of gleaming ivory protruding from the curve of its mouth, neck flaps flaring as it hissed at me.

I glanced back for a brief second, to see Erin and Emma as they leapt across the remainder of the rocks and I brought the crossguard of Stargazer to eye level before turning it so that the flat of my blade covered my face and I drew it down to the right in a swift arc. "Come on lizard! Let's finish this!" I yelled as the serpent landed with a thud onto the stone island, barely twenty meters in any direction. "Sorry Erin." I whispered quietly to myself as I lifted Stargazer and brought it back for a thrust.

The first strike met the serpent head on, biting through the tough chitin and burrowing into the soft meat of its neck, it thrashed about, knocking me sideways as I used a protruding rock to stop my slide and kick back for another strike, feeling Erin's eyes on me as she looked on helplessly as the serpent's next strike sent a wave of corrosive water over the rocks, cutting off any means of escape and I thrust Stargazer into its left flipper, severing the muscle and leaving it hanging lifelessly from its torso as it hissed at me.

I ducked an overhead sweep and swung Stargazer upwards in a crescent, shattering chitin before rolling and jumping back. Lifting it once more, I let its right flipper descend before I sidestepped, leaving Stargazer to lop the offending limb off before twisting and slashing off part of the armor protecting its tough, leathery flank.

"Now you can't leave either." I grinned to myself as the Shard roared in agony at the loss of another limb before breathing a stream of corrosive fluid, glancing my left arm and I ripped the gauntlet off before it could come into contact with my hand as I gripped Stargazer in a two-handed stance and lunged forward, burying the blade into its underbelly just where Emma's shot left a fist-sized hole and it cracked as I dragged the blade upwards and outwards, leaving a sizable rip in its armor.

Backpedalling, I dragged Stargazer into an overhead loop before lopping of the end of the Shard's tail, letting it thump to the floor before vaulting over and slamming Stargazer to the hilt in the thing's tail before withdrawing, but not fast enough as it lashed its tail and dislodged both me and Stargazer, me falling less than an inch from the edge as Stargazer clattered at my feet, I felt bone snap and cried out as I glanced back a final time, Erin had her eyes wide open, a small stream of tears barely visible over the watering pain I felt, Emma had wide eyes as well, tiny hands clamped over her mouth as Hope tugged on them to move on as I saw the sad look in her eye that said, _'You didn't keep your promise.' _before turning and leading the two.

I pulled Stargazer upwards, but the raw power that the Shard wielded knocked me skyward, smashing into the far wall, I turned and ran as the serpent hissed its mournful dirge. "Oh God, Erin and the others think I'm dead." I said with slight chagrin in my voice as I ran, hearing the Shard behind me as I scrambled up the ladder that loomed before me, rusted metal groaning despite my lithe and light body, which still took some getting used to.

Emerging from the sewer, I found myself staring at hell; wounded players lined the streets, calling for healers and crying for water, some were still, but since they hadn't disappeared, they were still alive and fighting. Several players ran from cover as a winged form approached the wall, landing with a dull thud and the harsh crack of stone, a large, bipedal creature, a minotaur with bat wings would be the most apt description, its fur like midnight and its eyes like burning coals, swinging a massive two-handed axe, scattering players in every direction.

Scrambling forward, I knocked the axe aside, keeping it from hacking into a cowering player as the axe clanged into the stone beside me. Hearing shouts, I jumped back, fellow players forming a shield wall behind me, archers readied bows and loosed them on a barked command from someone in their ranks, filling the street with a hail of arrows that pattered harmlessly against the players' shields, skewering the winged minotaur and causing it to bellow before taking to the skies and disappearing in a bank of dark clouds.

Satisfied, I continued on, wandering through the streets as players forced their way backwards as a massive rhinoceros with, "I-is that a midget?" I deadpanned to myself as I watched a tiny creature bounce up and down on the saddle, which, for a death game, seemed oddly out of place. In any case, I charged the midget-riding-rhino, which turned out to have horrible stats, because, in an anticlimactic end, it reared up and was eaten by the Shard of Erebus that appeared out of the ground.

Which led to another amazing thing, "The monsters are retreating!" a cheer rose up from the wall as the Shard gave me a wink, which was extremely out of place before disappearing with a hiss into the tunnels. I sat there in shock, "What just happened?!" I cried to the heavens.

Pain flared up in my arm and I blacked out, descending into the darkness in my mind once more.


	10. Interlude 2: In Hell's Birdcage

My eyes fluttered open and a light weight in my chest stirred, instead of Dune, Emma and Erin gathered around me, Aria was sitting on my chest, face less than an inch from my own, gazing at me with a curious expression, along the lines of confusion and intrigue. "Oh, you're awake." she said, sounding not the least bit happy or surprised by my sudden appearance. "That was some fireworks display."

"W-what happened?" I asked, sitting up after she had gotten off my chest and sat on a white stone bench a few paces away. I looked around, the dull grey background was filled with veins of molten fire, dripping off the stalactites to pool in massive puddles on the scorched earth. Carrion birds with magnificent red and gold plumage sat atop stalagmites or perched on rocky bluffs, eyeing the pair of us with hungry stares. "Where are we?"

"To answer your first question, the Vengeful Seraph had awakened, I pulled you out of your body lest he wrest hold and destroy your mind. Second, this is my prison, somewhere in the underground tower." she answered, looking around, I noticed that we were in a large, silver prison, like a birdcage, the floor was carved marble, cool to the touch and there was a simple bed and a carved wooden desk of dark wood as well as a chair of the same make.

"Prison? You're a prisoner here?" I asked, still confused, my head spinning from the throbbing pain a few seconds earlier. "W-why?"

She nodded, "It's complicated, but the simple version would be that someone close to me rebelled against the overlords of this plane and seeing as there is no one else here, I am the only survivor. I was not truly part of the uprising that resulted in Dystopia, but I was a bargaining chip, they trapped me to get to the leader and killed him when he came to rescue me." she said, as if reading from a book, no emotions showing as she spoke. "He was such an idiot, always going on about equality but it was futile, because our people, the Seraphs, are but pawns in a game that has stretched out over hundreds, if not thousands of lifetimes." she said.

"So I'm trapped here too?" I asked, still looking out over the charred wasteland.

Aria shook her head, "No, you are currently under the effects of Astral Projection, a secondary trait of the Seraph. Your body is currently resting in the Windfall Inn on the first floor, Midgard, in the town of Zenith."

"Will I ever see you in person?" I asked, the room blurring before me.

She gave a sad smile, "Perhaps, but first, concentrate on reaching the second floor before anything else. I'll see you soon, I hope." she whispered, hands clasped together at her chest when a real smile crossed her lips for a brief second before my world turned into glass and shattered. "Good luck."


End file.
