Novel SkyGardens [Ch. 9]

SkyGarden
Tags: Reincarnation, Game-to-reality, Romance, OP MC
Links: Personal Website | Webnovel
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Prologue​

Spoiler: Click to read

Rolling across the vast sky, was a strange storm. A vortex of swirling clouds that were considered the greatest mystery of all just trailing behind the Primordial Age. This storm always followed a set route, with no deviation to it. It also never faded. Documented since the beginning of time, it was something every scholar in their youth had thought they could solve. Even with such fame among the ruling class and it's scholars, no one knew what was inside, only that, something was inside of it.

It appeared to be an overly large storm that was calm, but once you penetrated the inside... It was a raging storm that even a Demon King would mostly lose its life in. Only one person had managed to get a glimpse inside and make it tell the tale. A high-leveled Mage known as "Mythos" That was all he managed to remember. Having lost his mount and critically wounded, he died having only saying

"There's something large in there... Something grand.."

No one knew how he managed to almost make it, but many tried for years after. Some failed and returned to seek other courses of research. Others... Never returned. Until one day, the storm dispersed with a large explosion of wind.

What was left in a large opening in the sky, was a floating island.

Ö
Many years ago,

A floating island, about the size of all of New York combined. It had the shape of a massive upside-down mountain. This island cut through the clouds like an icebreaker. To the west on this island, was a landing dock for flying mounts as well as a teleportation archway. Trailing inwards was a massive flower garden with many exotic plans and common ones. Many ponds and even a lake to the south-west of the flower gardens. From the north to the south, a mountain range hugged the eastern edge of the island. This mountain cradled a huge white-stone elven-styled city.

On this Island, under the night sky were thousands of people had gathered in the largest festival. This was the SkyGardens in the Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Game called Fallen Kingdoms: Eos. All of them were eating and drinking while in a large flower garden with hundreds of stone planters, home to many exotic plants and common plants. Stone Golems walked around, handing out food and drink. Many string lings zig-zagged above them all from wooden posts as tables were placed next to the planters. There was plenty of music and laughter among them all.

In the center of all these festivities, was a circular black-starry night granite platform. Overlooking this festival was a lovely girl about eighteen, sitting in a throne style chair. Snow-white hair tied back, golden eyes, fair skinned and rosy cheeks. On either side of her was a man and woman in their later eyes, who looked similar to her. These were her parents. As they spoke to each other, they had somber expressions. It didn't impact the festive mood for the others as they all revealed in the mood.

Person after person came up and gave hearty speeches, tear-filled recounts and some of them downright made a fool of themselves. All of them though were welcomed with great cheers, because this festival, was a festival of life. All of them came to celebrate the woman sitting on that throne. Avery Bailey, the most beloved player. This was her final day to life. Everyone here was to celebrate her.

This was a journey that started two years ago when she was, but a fledgling teenager. Full of life and dreams. All of which was cut short the moment she had collapsed at school. For four long months, she had been in a coma fighting for her life until the doctors had been able to stabilize her in an experimental medical unit that sealed her away from the rest of the world. What happened? How did this happen? Why?

It wasn't until four months after her episode, did the answer somewhat get revealed. A very aggressive form of cancer. It was a new one, that had spread throughout her body. It was terminal. From that point on, her parents would venture to the ends of the earth to find something. Anything. To save their only child. Blood, sweat, and tears. Pray and black magic. Everything and anything. To the point of almost falling into bankruptcy. In the end, the doctors managed to get her into an experimental medical unit.

It was called the Virtual Reality Housing Medical Pod or VRHMP. It was designed to keep the body sedated while keeping the mind active in virtual reality. Thus allowing her to interact with friends and family while being locked away from the world. Thus, her never-ending life inside Virtual reality would be spent for the next two years.

On that end, Avery was actually a founding member of the game "Fallen Kingdoms: Eos" or FkE. She played religiously as she was almost the most active player in-game and on the forums. Most people would know who she was if they dedicated some time to the game. Like people invested in the game knowing who were the top ten players on the leaderboards. Avery was an unofficial mascot of the game. So when this person had disappeared for almost five months, it started a storm within the community.

In the end, no one could find out. Of all the players, only three of them knew her in real life. To which neither of them had spoken about it. It wasn't until after that time frame did she reappear, but.. different. The once happy-go-lucky girl had become a recluse. After not speaking to any other players for a week, she left a single thread on the forums. A post detailing the situation that had happened, how she was told she would die in a couple of years and a single wish...

A wish to enjoy her final days with everyone whom she played with over the course of the years on this game. A wish to spend her final days laughing and smiling. Of course, Avery herself was oblivious to the amount of fame she had on the platform. It wasn't until she posted that did it blow up in her face. Everyone from people she hadn't spoken with for years to even new players had come to her. All of them willing to try and answer her wish. At this moment, the one and only event that ever mattered in a game was created

"System Announcement: [ Avery's Star] event has started. All previous events will become active as soon as one is completed. End-game will be available after the last event is completed."

In the end, they managed to complete all of those events. Avery reached the apex of the game along with other players during that time. The game developers even released new content such as player homes, guild bases and floating Islands that could double as both. With everyone's help, Avery managed to complete different homes, bases, and even the largest floating Island in the game, SkyGardens. A memento to be left in her wake what she called it.

Slowly throughout this period of time. They laughed and cried. Many of them reminisced of their journeys in-game, no tale was too small nor too large in Avery's eyes. She was happy that so many people hold a special place in their heart, even if was for something small. Slowly, days turned to months and months turned into years. Avery had told them all the most hard-breaking of news on a beautiful, spring morning.

"They told me that in a few weeks... I would start to go through organs failures one by one until one of them killed me. They also gave me an option to be put down, like when you put down your old dog... I took it. In two weeks, I'll finally be ending our adventure. So let us go out with a bang.."

Avery sat on her throne in mithril-plate armor that had was rather feminine with a large paw print on the chest. She wore it nicely as she gave her greetings to the last person to come toast her. Above her head was a timer, a timer counting down to the moment she would die. Overlooking people drinking, laughing and fighting. It was like some old outdoor bar filled with ruffians, but it brought a smile to her face. As people were swept up in the mood of the festival, the timer was left with only thirty seconds.

A large bell rung out, quieting the festival goers. Only then did their expressions begin to tighten. It was the moment they are were waiting for and dreaded. All of the GMs stood up with one of them stepping forward.

"I know we have fulfilled Avery's dying wish now, down to the last letter, but we the Game Masters will not tolerate such a farewell. This is going to be a Warriors send off. A goodbye fit for a god!"

With that, light particles quickly gathered and formed a staff in his hand. He slammed the butt of this staff onto the platform and the night grew brighter as thousands of stars streaked across the sky as the timer hit zero. The crowd that had once been quiet had started to become loud with cries, many crying out farewells while others stayed silent.

Suddenly, stars began to streak across the sky. Thousands of them as every let out surprised voices. A truly befitting night sky for her.

"Thank you, everyone, for granting me this.."

The woman, Avery, who had been quiet the entire time had finally spoken up, tires streamed down her eyes as she could feel her mind starting to fade away until a man sitting at the table directly in front of her, her closest friend slammed the table.

"Fuck this Avery! Stand your ass up and go out like a warrior! With a smile and laughing in the face of death!"

He stood up from the table, pulling out a blue sword from its sheath and pointed it towards the sky, letting out a mighty battle-cry. Stomping his foot like a war drum. At first, people were shocked. After a few moments though, one by one. They all joined in. Staffs, wands, and daggers; Warhammers, glaves, and spears; Short swords, long swords, and everything in-between. One by one, weapons were pointed to the sky as if challenging death itself as the battle cries reached the heavens. It was the game's custom to do before a raid...

"Avery, you damned girl! Go on and raid the next boss for us! Don't worry, we'll all be right behind you, hahaha!"

The war cries became even louder than before. Avery's parents who were also shocked joined into the shouting. They helped Avery stand from the throne and pull out a long double-edged sword that was silver and blue. The sword of Gaia, the sword of the game's last boss. The Demon King. And with the help of her parents, raised it towards the sky as her body slowly became weaker.

"Everyone... Thank you... I'll be going ahead now. Don't make me wait too long though or I'll take all the loot, haha! You guys, make sure to level up some more, I can't be the only one to be doing all the damage!"

With these final words, the crowd went silent. Avery's mind began to darken, her arm began to slowly lower the raised sword before it eventually lost grip of it. As the sword clattered on the granite platform, so too did her body slump over. Her parents caught her body and slowly laid her down.

Then another battle cry rang out from her friend...

"To Victory, Avery!"

The crowds sprung to life again, yelling out that battle cry. Letting our their emotions so that the heavens would think twice before slighting her in the next life. That cry was the last thing she heard as a grin spread softly across her face, ear to ear. Her body slowly began limp and her parents disappeared to deal with the aftermath in the hospital. Then three beings appeared next to her. Her NPC followers.

They lifted her up with magic as her body levitated three feet above the ground and they began to walk towards the large city to the east. One by one, the players began to kneel as she passed by. This percussion continued past the large white-stoned walls of the city. Even NPCs were out in the street Kneeling. This continued on until they reached her player-castle up at the highest part of the city.

Back in the gardens, a large star fell on the now empty platform. A blindingly came out for a split second before it disappeared and in its wake, was a large white-wood tree. stood almost twenty stories tall, with dark blue leaves and faintly glowing flowers. It was a Divine cherry blossom tree. At the base of the tree, there was a statue of Avery, in her final moment of glory enshrined. Then a prompted came out for everyone.

[Avery's star has fallen. Even the gods mourn her passing. In the spot she took her last breath, they leave behind the Divine Primordial Cherry Blossom tree. A shrine has been erected in her exact spot, showing her final glory.]

[Avery's Star: Fallen titled given to all players]

[SkyGarden's city, Heart's Rest, closes it's doors to all, but her followers. From this day on, only legacy guild members and Avery's NPCs will have access. The Gardens will now become a public area for high-level players. Low-Level players may access this place for certain quests only and during events.]

[Global GM-M: Goodnight Avery, may more victories come your way in the next life...]

With this, her festival ended, leaving behind a shrine to her celebrating her life in-game forever. As a valiant warrior, with the love of the gods. One by one, players left the island and the stone golems cleaned up the mess and fixed the gardens. From the gardens to the city, not a player was left. Their hearts were wounded so they left to catch their breath...

An eerie silence took the island as darkness began to engulf the island, the NPCs in the city looked up with worried hearts. Something they never felt before, like a fog clearing away. They began to feel things, think things. they didn't bother to question why this was happening, only worried about the darkness that washed over their beautiful island...

Ξ
Unbeknownst to the GameMasters, their scripting ended with them only taking her to her castle and nothing else. Strangely, they too began to fell a sense like the wool over their eyes was pooled away. They looked with pain expressions at their former master. Her beautiful face looked like it normally did. Even still, they had all their memories from before till now. They knew she was gone. They didn't know what to do as their world was torn apart.

Two men and a single woman grieved silently, unsure of what to do. The city below stirred with fear and uncertainty, but they didn't care. Their one and only master had passed. They thought. 'Maybe this world should crumble too...' as they wept. For who knows how long they grieved. It only stopped until an unknown figure stepped out of the darkness did they all stand at attention, ready to pull out their weapons.

"I did not come to fight young ones... I came with to offer a solution regarding your master.."

It was on that day, a God descended to answer their prayers. Looking back, it may of been a Devil, but to them. It only mattered most if their master came back to them. This was their final thoughts as they heard the solution, quickly acting upon it. The God only looked out over the city with a faint smile, but it was like a smiling devil.

On this day, Avery's soul was snatched away from heaven...

[Mutliple titles granted]

[God Jen'Kuo has granted you a second wind.]

 

Awaken ​

Spoiler: Click to read

​

Before Avery was an overwhelmingly large Festival of Life. They were celebrating her life. In the way of doing things by customs, the normal practice was to celebrate it after they had passed. That was thrown out the window today though. Having seen the future through Tarot cards and mythical back-alley seances, she found out the day of her death. This was the joke she told often. The truth though was far darker. Having recounted, Her doctors had given her a time-frame for when things would start to break down in her body. By the grace of recent laws and the Hospital's blessing, she was able to pick out the day she would have her "Medically Assisted Suicide".

Her doctor had entered the guest VR chairs in the room next to hers along with her parents. There, the hospital had mocked up a calm park for them all. There were a few NPCs walking around as they all sat on the park benches. There the "talk" was given, while Avery sat on a swing distance away. Even though Avery wasn't apart of the first talk, she knew what was going on by the hysterical crying from her mother.

She was able to mentally prepare herself by the time they talked to her. She was already at peace. Her parents could tell, but it only made it worse for them. The doctor had then laid out the charts for her while being supportive, but she only cut him off and asked: "when".

Over the course of the day, she dealt with the unstoppable march of time. Each minute ticked away was one minute closer to death for her. She honestly could have dealt with it, but seeing her parents deal with it made it hurt far worst. It wasn't until she found herself alone in the VR's mid-way room. A pitch black room with only a single light coming from a single floating screen. It was the room you'd come to before choosing your next destination. She found herself huddled on the floor. Her face buried in her knees as she let it all out...

On the screen was the video-feed of the camera that was above her bed. It pointed towards the observation window across from her. There was a microphone on the other side that she could turn on and off so people could talk to her. There, her parents were pleading with the doctors to replace her organs with theirs. It wasn't the first time, but it was always a resounding no. Her cancer would just destroy those organs too. She felt she had the best parents in the world. It was such a shame she wouldn't be able to spend her life with them.

Avery thought how cruel reality was as she looked at her mother's pained face. Her father's hopeless eyes. These two beautiful souls undeserving of watching their child slowly die before them. Avery thought about how it felt to be a parent to go through that. She would never have a child, a family of her own. She had asked her father what it felt like.

"As a parent who loves their child... all I can say is... Your child is supposed to bury you, not you bury them..."

Avery could get faint nuances in his words. It still didn't convey how much it tore them apart. She never really got to live in their world. She was barely a teen before she ended up in this virtual prison. She was barely exploring who she was as a person, making friends. She still was wondering what toys she would get for Christmas. That was until this cancer had struck her. Slowly eating away her. It was then her parents joined her world. Looked at it. How this virtual world managed to give their child the freedom she had lost.

After that day, Avery had picked a nice winter day on Christmas Eve. It was a day before the earliest projected day she could die. Having been given options, she chose the one she gave her the most freedom. The freedom to die on the day she wanted. In the grand scheme of things, it was meaningless. It was the only silver lining she had thought... That was when she posted to the forum, notifying the one place she felt free...

Δ​

The day she was to die was a roller-coaster of emotions, but she was content. Her parents were allowed to VR-dive while side by side in her room with all their hands linked together at Avery's request. The doctors allowed it, seeing as she'd die before her immune system could fail. With that done, on Avery's final day, they did whatever she wished. It was a strange day for her, how she could be the happiest, but the saddest at the same time.

Even though she still had lingering regrets and wishes, she kept them to herself. Everyone had come together for [Avery's star] event. Her parents came along on adventures. Her dad became a father figure to many while Mother... Well mothered others. Soon, many people would only call them Father and Mother. Even those older than them. It was like one big family when they came around.

Back at the festival. It was a worldwide festival. From the City of Beginnings to the Fallen Kingdoms of the Fey races. All took apart, players and NPCs alike. Until the moment of truth came. As the master of the SkyGardens and subject of the festival; Avery sat in the throne of honor. Her parents at her side. The Gamemasters also sat close by with her good friends. the whole festival had gone on without a hitch. That was until the timer had reached zero. Her good friend Gerald, "TheSharkySharkShark", stood up and yelled at her.

"Fuck this Avery! Stand your ass up and go out like a warrior! Laughing in Death's face with a smile!"

Avery wanted to laugh at him. It truly was like him. He was a man in his mid-thirties and his own child. He often preached the principals of a man and also of being a warrior. Gerald and Avery had been friends since the beginning of the game. She and her parents met him at an IRL Meet, held at a convention. He truly was a principled man and so was his son. "Look forward and face your problems. Even if you're crying!" Avery wanted to face-palm herself. This was also something she thought about doing, but having let the depressing thoughts get to her; she didn't.

She wished with all her heart. That she could live just one more minute. One more hour. Just one more day. Avery held that wish, deep inside her heart. Burning it into her very soul. She joined in their war-cries and defiantly looked up at the beautiful night sky. The shooting stars reflecting in all their eyes. She tried to hold her courage until the last moment.

As she felt her body lose it's strength and her mind become hazy, she felt a deep fear in her heart. She never really felt it before. Sadness. Anger. Regret. Those were not foreign feelings but never fear. Every step of the way, she never was alone. Her beloved parents and friends. Other players and even NPCs. Right now though, as death slowly came. She would be entering the unknown alone. If there was life after death, she would be going at it alone. Maybe Heaven, maybe hell. She didn't know what was coming next. She felt true fear grip her.

"Mommy... Daddy... Don't leave me... Please..."

That was her last thought she had when the darkness took her. A cold sensation enveloped her with one last thing reaching her.

" " " " " "To victory Avery!" " " " " "

Their cries reached her. Her heart felt warm, sending that sensation away. Fear... Fear no longer gripped her...

Δ
After an unknown amount of time, Avery felt something again. She had been stuck in limbo for what could have been a second or maybe a century. She felt like she was floating, suspended in darkness. It was cold and unwelcoming. She felt like she was a bodiless soul. It wasn't before long she saw her life. Then Dreams. Finally, they all became nightmares. Things repressed in her heart came out to haunt her. For a while, she was sure she was in hell. She could feel her sanity slowly break.​

Then nothing. The abyss returned and that, in itself, was its own hell.

Just before she felt her entire being slip away into the darkness, she felt new sensations. The feeling of having limbs. She felt they slowly twitch. For a while, she felt each twitch becoming more powerful.

It was then she felt like the darkness was just a sea. She felt which way was up and down. She concentrated on a certain spot she felt was the surface. Without rest, she tried to reach out towards that spot. Minute after minute, hour after hour. Maybe year after year. She never lost focus. Until one day... A light broke through.

She felt the freedom of her limbs again and shot forward through it.

Splash! Shhh! shh! * [ For extra immersion -> theme music + repeat <Spotify>]]

Her upper body exploded through the surface of a faintly blue-glowing water. The liquid gushed over the edges all around her as she managed to cling to a low wall. Holding onto for dear life she tried to breathe, but couldn't. For a few moments, she convulsed before being able to puke out that liquid. She gasped for air the moment her lungs were emptied out. It was a sweet, sweet sensation. Cold crisp air entered her lungs. It didn't feel like hospital air, but it wasn't that artificial feeling of the VR world.

Pushing it to the back of her mind, she wiped away the liquid over her eyes. What greeted her was a white-stone floor, covered in a deep ocean-blue liquid. The wall she was clinging too was a wall of an above-ground pool. Inside the pool was the same liquid that faintly glowed. Taking a few minutes to compose herself. Her body felt exhausted just from pushing herself out of the liquid. Every muscle screamed in protest, but she stubbornly clung to the pool wall.

Looking around the room, it felt familiar. The walls were the same stone as the floor but hand carvings of deers and plants. The room had poor lighting, but it looked like an Elven Bathroom. She noticed that there were no windows in there and the only light source was coming from the liquid in the pool. There were also a few benches stacked into the back corner of the room, caked in dust. Just ahead of her was an archway leading into another room.

After getting enough rest, she heaved herself out of the pool. Her bare skin was so pale, her veins could be seen. She didn't pay attention to her body though. Stumbling across the floor, she managed to reach the archway and peer in the next room. It was a bedroom.

Peering into the room, it was a circular room with a ten-foot-high ceiling. Immediately to the left was a large window with a bench ledge to sit on. Circling the room, there was a wardrobe with large doors and a desk. Armor stands and weapon stands. There were also different artworks on hung on the wall. There was even a bed, but all of it was covered in dust. The room was all too familiar to her.

"My.. home in... Eos?"

Be it a nightmare or a dream. She was in her room in FkE. Walking into the center of the room, she knew where everything was. Taking a quick glance around, everything was like she left it. The dust was caked on like it hadn't been touched for such a long time. Walking over to the wardrobe. Avery wiped away the dust stuck to the left door. Under the dust was ornate paintings of nature. Taking in the familiar sight, she opened both the doors revealing a clean interior. None of the dust touched the contents inside.

There were several sets of loungewear and casual clothes hanging. Her eyes scanned over the contents before a mirror hung on inside of the left door caught her attention. Her eyes caught the pale naked figure that was her. Every vein on her body was visible but slowly faded at a noticeable pace. It took a few minutes before the veins were no longer visible and she looked normal. Rather, being that this room was in Eos, she looked to life like.

The person looking in the mirror wasn't her real body, but her character from FkE. A feminine face with a fair complexion. Two golden feline-like eyes and long lashes. Her cheeks were slightly rosy. Her like snow-white hair cascaded off her head onto her back falling behind a petite female's body with ample breasts. An almost hour-glass shaped body with decent sized hips and toned thighs. Her body was definitely a beautiful, but it's charmed laid in the subtlety of its portions. She liked it that way, rather than it be extreme as the other character. She stood about five-five and overall was adorable.

It was unlike her real body, withered husk. Some hopes came true for her. She made this character when she first joined and she always wished to look as beautiful like this. Now she was. That was her silver lining here. This world was real now. She was no longer some empty husk of a human waiting to die. Reaching inside, she pulled out a crop-top muscle shirt, cargo pants, and boots. All black. After dressing herself, she looked in the mirror again. Her features looked nobler. One could say heroic even. A gentle heroine?

Closing the wardrobe, she walked back to the window and looked out. Just below was the courtyard of the hybrid Roman-Italian villa with elven architecture, resting on the side of a mountain. It was a beautiful property that would be liked to those million dollars vacation homes. Now it was neglected and in disrepair. Vines, moss and other plants had overtaken most of the room top and grew up the pillars. Beyond laid a city, Heart's Rest.

What she saw only made her heartache. hundreds of buildings of similar architecture had fallen into an even worst state than her player home. Bushes, trees and other plants had overtaken the city. Many buildings had given into time and were turned into rubble. Many were in different states of collapse. Only a few looked habitable. It appeared abandoned for centuries. She found herself unsure of what to do.

She ran her hand through her hair. Then again. Then another time. She then started pulling her hair in frustration. All these things were happening and no one was here. She could tell just from how bad everything was here. She sat on the dusty floor, her back against the window's wall. Softling crying out for her parents and her friends. Someone.

≡​

After a while, she felt better, but her eyes were red. She pulled herself together and let her mind rest after processing everything done so far. She felt fatigued, but better now. she stretched her upper body before bring out her status with a thought

Chime~

<———————————————————>
N@$% @$(#)@

A@e

S@(#@)(*$(*$(#

@#()($)#()$#$#*($#@*(*#@)(#@

+ =+ +=++=_____-___-_

<———————————————————>
[Current status display no compatiable with current World-System.]

[Displaying status from the last record.]

[Error, last record is currently blocked. Attempting again.]

The chime came out along with a holographic status screen that floated in mid-air in front of her. It was distorted. It struggled to keep it from before it closed. It made Avery feel sick to the pit of her stomach. Suddenly she threw up to her left the remaining liquid from earlier. Avery's sight blackened as she feebily supported herself. Her whole body protesting the sudden change before a wave of relief washed over her. Her earlier fatigue disappeared.

[Expelled remaining substance "Corruption" from the body.]

[Record retrieved. World-System data not available. Displaying unformatted record.]

<———————————————————>
Name: Avery Bailey |" FemmeFoxtrot "

Health: [Error] / 100,000 [+400,000]

Mana: 100,000 [+ 1,000,000]

Body Status: Strength [+500], Agility 500 [+500], Vitality 500 [+500], Wisdown 500 [+500], Constitution 500 [+500]

Level: 1,000 [Maximum level]

Age: 1,000 + [ System maximum numerical reached ]
Adventurer rank: SSS+

Home: Sky Gardens - The Keep.

Skills: [Error - Record corrupted]

Followers/Pets: Pets - Fenrir [High-MoonWolf], Athena [High-Sundragon], and Jessin [High-SilverLeopard]

Titles: > Showing recently earned titled

[Friend Of The World] - Majority of Players have tagged your username, +100 fame

[Conqueror] - Defeated the Demon King and dealt the most damage. +100 fame

[Avery's star - Fallen] - Witness the fall of the world's most beloved person and made their last wish come true - Adds a statue of Avery's character to Homebase's build menu.

[God's Mercy] - Beloved by all, God has heard your wishes granting you another life in a new, yet familiar world - Reincarnation in Eoos, the world the game world is modeled after.

[Second Wind] - God purges the world of reincarnates, but your loyal followers have managed to save your comatose body in an unknown substance. The origins of this substance are not of this world... - Alastair's Plague immunity

[Keeper of the Hearth] - While you have been long away, your legend has lived on through many ruins and historical records. You've been thought of as the Hearth Keeper, Mother of the flame. - 1,000+ fame, worshipped by wayfarers, explorers, and people who live on the road. [Includes pirates, bandits, etc.]

[Icon of Heresy] - You're viewed as a pagan Symbol by the Religion of Alastair, religion of the Holy Empire- 1,000+ infamy

<———————————————————>
Avery let out a sigh of relief. This world seemed to retain game-like functions, but opening the status screen left more questions than answers. Of course, it answered why everything looked the way it did. Very few races lived long, and even fewer lived more than a thousand years. Those who could surpass five-thousand were only races of the high meadows. It wasn't one race, but many. It was a place were lower races could begin their journey towards immortality. Such as a MoonWolf. They lived no more than sixty years. A mutated one can live up to five hundred. A High variant ascended into the thousands.

Though that was just the lore, they were immortal in the game. It wouldn't be strange to see them fall in line with their lore settings. After checking her stats, she moved on to the other tabs. Her inventory was empty like she left it, messages were the same, and the map tab was there, but that was it. Store, guild, settings, and social had disappeared.

Swiping away the menu with her hand and got up. She tied her hair up into a ponytail before heading towards the door. Grabbing the door handle, she pushed it open into the hallway beyond. What greeted her was overgrowth everywhere, but strangely, a perfectly cut path leading towards the front of the villa. Her steps echoed as she followed it and step foot in the courtyard. The path wasn't very big. It could only fit one person walking at a time, but the plants were trimmed back so they wouldn't touch anyone walking through. Avery felt an ebbing annoyance that the rest of the plants weren't cleaned up, but she kept them unsaid.

Walking out the derelict entrance and down a fairly intact brick mountain path into the city. Avery saw many shops and stores she remembered was always packed with people. Homes of friends and guild members. Many of them were good friends of her. Now, most of those buildings held the notion that the once use to house someone. The wooden furniture rotted away and the metal ones rusted into modern art pieces. There was a small sense of loss for them all.

Avery didn't linger long after giving them a glance. The path now started to weave through thick vegetation before it made its way into the large pavilion that was the center of the town. It was the Guild Pavilion. She stopped at looked at the cathedral-like building, wondering how such a majestic thing, could fall so low. It's decrepit appearance hide its glory

Throughout the entire walk, Avery never say signs of fighting. It troubled her greatly to see that this city had become so destroyed and it was all to neglect. Looking around, many of the defensive spells etched into the floors and side of buildings to prevent attacks remained intact. Above her in the sky, the Defensive matrix shimmered slightly as it's translucent shield continued to protect the city. Already in a down mood, she decided to continue going on. On she went until she reached the city walls. Reaching the ramparts was almost a godsend. Upon arrival, Avery noticed the lands around the wall were neatly taken care of.

Stone golems patroled the floor at the foot of the wall while large Meteor Golems protected the wall as they patrolled the wall. As if noticing her arrival, the two Meteor golems walked down the rampart stairs and stood by the large wooden gates.

"Authority, Avery. Requesting order display.

<———————————————————>
Last directive: City is not to be accessed without the Authority of Fenrir, or Athena.

Issuer: Athena

Last entry: 3 weeks ago [Fenrir]

Last Exit: 3 weeks ago [Fenrir

Average: 5 weeks.

<———————————————————>
Approaching the Golems, Avery had requested the gate information. Having seen that at least one of her followers was alive brought joy to her. She had her little happiness before she issued the gate be opened for her to walk out. On the other side, was the public gardens. There were also stone golems tending to this side as well, but strangely there were men and women dressed in over-exaggerated mage robs as they carried clipboards with paper and pens. They were trailed by knights in ornate silver armor and kept a few feet from them. The all seemed to be following stone golems as they tended to the garden, but what caught Avery's attention was the large ashen-white tree that grew in the center of the garden.

Walking towards that tree, the knights only glanced at her before turning their attention back onto their wards.

Reaching the tree, she noticed how it's large canopy cast a pleasant shadow down on her. There was a cool, gentle breeze at the moment. Gave a sense of peace as she walked around its massive trunk as she examined it. After walking around to the other side, she found a statue of her likeness of that night. Her in that battle armor, crying to the heavens. It stood almost twelve feet tall, with a plaque reading

[ Avery's Star has fallen, in her wake. The gods leave behind the Divine Tree of Memories. The Sky Gardens will remain open to those who have walked with her in her last moments. After tonight, only those who've received approval from the Ancient dragon Uggdren may step foot in Avery's holy grounds. From today, only her Guild members will have access to her Lost City.

Good night Avery, may you win more battles in the next life...]

[Date of death xx.xx.xxxx]

Below it, there was deeply carved words reading...

[ She never died, only slumbered]

It appeared to be carved out by a claw if she had to guess. The statue appeared to be made out of Meteorite. So whomever did it had to be powerful. Taking in this scene, she heard someone quickly coming towards her and she felt like they didn't have good intentions...

 

2. Rabbit and Its Mother​

Spoiler: Click to read

​

Taking in the sight of her statue, the sound of heavy footsteps and clinking armor caught her attention. The others mages and knights that were in the nearby planters or looking at the flowers. Some were quietly following a few Golems as they tended to the gardens. None of them were rushed, nor paid any attention to her. So she was curious why someone was coming over here in such haste. The spot she was in was rather cool with a slight breeze and the thick tree canopy overhead made a pleasant shaded area with light spots dotting here and there on the floor.

The foliage around the statue was a little overgrown with moss growing on the base of the tree, and vines growing along the base of the roots, but the statue was clean and well tended too. Taking in this peaceful scene for a moment longer, before it sounded like whoever was coming over had reached her to disturb her thoughts.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?!”

The voice sounded to be of a young man but was rude and hostile. Avery rolled her eyes in annoyance. She had hoped it would be someone friendly, but hopes were meant to be crushed. She half turned her body as she clasped her hands behind her back. With her head held high, she looked at the man behind her. She stared at him with an unwelcoming stare. She believed first impressions were important, but this man gave her a very bad one. Leaving her annoyed.

Her golden irises glowed gently in the shade, her skin which was pale as snow when she woke up, had already regained some color. Her rosy cheeks gave her a youthful appearance. She looked like a very elegant, but vibrant young girl. This scene stunned the young man who had approached her so angrily. Leaving him softly repeating his last word for a moment in surprise. Behind him was a knight in red heavy-armor, but without a helmet on.

The young man who had spoken to her was a dirty blonde man in deep crimson mage robes. He was fairly light skinned like he wasn’t often in the sun. He wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t handsome. A fairly average face with blue eyes. The knight behind him sighed with a tired expression.

“Madam, pardon his words. Seeing as this is a restricted area, we’re going to need to verify who you are with.”

The knight who stood just off to the side behind the mage had short deep-black hair and equally dark eyes. He had dark-tanned skin and a face that looked like it’d seen many miles. Even with this aged appearance, he has handsome. A kind of gentlemanly feel to it. He only looked to be in his upper-thirties. When he spoke up, the young mage had snapped out of his momentary trance.

“Y-Yes! T-That’s right! The gardens have been r-reserved for the Two Dragons Empire for the week! I’ll need you to show me your credentials!”

The young mage had lost all his earlier bravado. The knight sighed tiredly as he had spoken up again. Avery also cooled her annoyance seeing the young man’s temper fizzle out. Her eyes switched from the mage to the knight, then back to the mage before she tilted her head in confusion.

“What do you mean? I didn’t know I needed permission from anyone to enter the Public Gardens.”

Avery turned her whole body towards the mage, but he didn’t know how to respond. He was captivated by her beauty. It wasn’t a beauty that could topple a nation, but it could be considered first-rate. The knight seemed disinterested though like he’d seen plenty, all of this wasn’t something she’d know. As the mage fumbled around to find the words to reply back, the knight noticed the statue behind her. It was the statue said to be of an Ancient god. Nowadays called the Hearth Keeper.

The woman was depicted in light armor and with a sword at her side. Hair tied back and a happy expression on her face, beautiful and heroic face. The common people knew very little about her, other than she had helped new adventures and others in their time of need back in the Primordial age. An age said to be littered with god-like beings. Though people in the royal family or positions of power knew more. They knew her by her real name and alias, Avery Baily; FemineFoxtrot.

The girl before him had an uncanny likeness of this Goddess. So much that he felt a chill run up his spine because the more he looked at her, the more features lined up with the accounts of her.

“Uh… I…”

While the Knight behind him was starting to piece together who she was, the young mage was starting to show his true colors, more so his lack of ability to deal with females. His face was red with embarrassment and couldn’t form a coherent sentence. After a few moments, Avery also caught on. At this point, she could only view him as a naive boy now. With a sigh, her noble posture crumbled under impatience.

Collecting herself for a moment, she huffed while placing her left hand on her hip. The other out towards the mage to shake his hand. She had a gentle smile that struck his heart. She wasn’t good at pushing back others when they were rude. She would rather make friends and have a good time.

“Well, let’s just start over with an introduction, like nice people. Hello, I’m Avery.”

The young mage was awe-struck by her smile as he fumbled to shake her hand. His palms were sweating, possibly from wearing such heavy robes. The Knight, on the other hand, had gone flush in the face. He was trembling silently in his armor. When she gave her name, it all came together. He was scared to think what would have happened if the man before him had offended her with his rude words earlier.

“A Primordial goddess is in front of us! I-I have to tell the Empress!”

“Y-Yes! My bad, where are my manners. Ha ah ah! I am Desmond Tungsten, third prince of the Two Dragons’ Empire. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

On the other hand, the prince had already been felled by her. Truly she was a beauty, but the knight had been trained to keep his emotions, mainly lust, in check. That’s why he could remain calm. Meanwhile, the prince was only seventeen and barely exposed to beautiful women. He’s only ever had older women around him and those he considered family, never such a girl as this. He stepped up to the Prince’s back and whispered in his ear.

“Excuse me, my lord. I will leave you two alone. I need to speak with the Empress about something real quick..”

The oblivious Prince just uttered some mindless agreements and waved his hand to dismiss him. The prince was too smitten by her to care what his bodyguard did. With the knight running in the directions of the sky docks, the prince simply smiled innocently. Not one ounce of impure thoughts lingered in his head. Only wishes of getting to know this beautiful girl.

“Excuse my earlier words… Umm… If you’d like, I could give you a tour around here! My mother absolutely loves these gardens and it’s flowers. You know, there are plenty of flowers in this garden that don’t grow anywhere else?”

He finally managed to piece together a sentence. At first, she wanted to figure out what this “Prince” was talking about earlier, but after being told that most of these flowers had become extinct; She had no choice but to change whatever plans she had in mind. Desmond had held his arm out like he had been taught to when escorting noble ladies, but she simply brushed past him with a smile. For a moment he felt deeply embarrassed, but he saw that she hadn’t noticed his intention. Letting out a sigh of relief, he jogged after her to give her a tour.

Though he had intended to give her a personal tour around the Sky Gardens, it ended up with her giving him a tour. The first blow to his self-esteem was when he explained that picking the flowers was forbidden by the Three-Kings Pact. This was because the Stone Golems would attack anymore who picked them. He only was staring at the flowers talking when he noticed she had picked an almost translucent Frost Rose from one of the planters.

Just on the other side of the planter was a Stone Golem silently cleaning up the area. It’s blue-stone eye looked at her momentarily before letting out a cheerful chime. It then continued on like nothing had happened. This left him utterly stunned at this. Never had there been a recorded incident of this happening since this island had appeared six years ago!

“Uh… Lady Avery… How did you manage to pick that rose? Not just touching it, the Golem only chimed at you…”

Before he had been awe-struck and only could see a very beautiful lady around his age. Now though, he was on his guard. Just touching those flowers required novice mages to have specialized glows. Harvesting any of the plants or their products was strictly forbidden, more like impossible. The Golems here cared for the grounds like fanatics. Touching the plants would get their attention, but nothing would come of it. Harvesting though…

The few who had tried to before ended up split in two if they were strong, but most end up unidentifiable meat pies. From one hit…

“I just picked it naturally? Well, I guess I can’t really say that. Frost Roses require a cold resistant value of thirty or more. There are also other ways to harvest as well, but I don’t feel like explaining so much. There so many plants here, we’d never get through a tour if I had to explain them all…”

‘Frost rose? The Alchemist Association agreed to call them Ghostflowers…‘

That youthful passion for a beautiful girl had been doused thoroughly. Though he was young and inexperienced, he was still a royal prince. His put up his guard but tried to hide his weariness from her. Sadly for him, the change was noticed after she had walked off to the next planter…

♥
After being lead around for an hour, they only managed to tour one-fourth of the Flower Garden. There still was the Forest Garden, Mountain Garden and about two other gardens on the public side. Avery only stopped after noticing Desmond was sweating while having trouble keeping up. They were south of the large tree in the center of the Flower Gardens and they decided to rest their feet for a few minutes. Avery picked a circular gazebo that sat in the middle of a water lily pond.

Avery sat sideways on a bench with her legs crossed. She rested her head on her left rested her elbow on the short guardrails and stared out over the calm pond. There weren’t any of those mages with knights following them around. They mostly were congregated around the center were the most of the golems were working at the moment. Desmond sat across from her awkwardly. He didn’t know what to do, but he could tell she already noticed he was guarded against her.

He thought she was upset with him, leaving him in a bind. He thought of ways he could strike up a conversation, but he didn’t want to disturb this scene. In his eyes, it was a picture-perfect sight, worthy of being painted. He wished there was someone here to paint it. When he first spotted Avery from behind, he had been notified by the Royal Guards that an unknown person had appeared in the center of the garden. He was upset. He thought maybe another researcher from the last kingdom that had been here last week had hidden away to get more time on the island. He only saw her white hair and never really paid much attention to anything else. Only thinking words of reprimand, but when he saw her face…

Well that all lead up to this point. She seemed like she didn’t want to speak any more with him, but even though those clothes she made her look like an Adventurer, she looked elegant in it. Her hair draped down her back. Her bangs were brushed to the left just over her eyebrow and had a displeased expression. Just as he was pondering how to get back on her good side, she turned her attention to him

“You’ve been staring for a bit, you gonna say something or what?”

“… I was just trying to find what to say?”

” Figure maybe an apology. A comment about the weather or maybe about my outfit?”

Desmond had a troubled expression as she spoke up, for it to turn serious as he though on what he said. She noticed and let out a defeated sigh. She was seriously mad at him, but he wasn’t a friend. It’s not like she could pout all afternoon. Of course, it would have been only a few minutes if he wasn’t such an awkward guy. Just from the little time they walked around, it was apparent how… Inexperienced he was with social norms, or maybe it was different from hers. She really didn’t care to pin it down now that she lost interest in getting more information from him.

“The… Weather is nice, isn’t it? How we’re above the clouds, yet we can breathe without the assistance of special tools. Plants grow normally and signs show that the Ruin city just past those stone walls was once a bustling city…”

Just when she had given up, he finally cracked open to the topic she was trying to coax out of him. She turned her body to face towards him while leaning back against the bench.

“Hoo? How long ago you figure that?”

“Well… We’re assuming maybe thousands of years ago. We don’t really have a grasp. See those tall white walls? Behind it is a large city, but we can’t get in. Those large Golems killed those who managed to climb up it. We aren’t too invested in whatever it those ruins though. The most valuable things are these plants. All the three major powers are trying to research ways to harvest them…”

Who knew that awkward young mage would instantly become a chatterbox when it came to such topics. In their terms, Old. All of it. Starting from the moment of creation, Players were viewed as “Demi-Gods”. Embarking on a wide range of adventures that kept the peace of the world. This was considered the Primordial Era. In Avery’s terms, it was the game Fallen Kingdoms. People such as Avery had been considered Gods themselves, able to create miracles such as destroying armies with a flick of their finger.

Which was true in a sense, but they were mob NPCs. The developers made it so the players would seem strong until they would face a mini-boss and on and on. From what she was told though, the followers of those players actually had recorded these feats and often spoke of them. These records were written down on magical paper that often barely last against the forces of time itself. Though it wasn’t much and just a generalization, he still had given her enough to get a hazy picture. Then he reached the end of it, the fall of the Primordial gods.

“Surprisingly enough, there aren’t many records left by these beings themselves. Like I said earlier, most records were left by their followers, but even then we were able to pinpoint the beginning of the end. They said there was this really powerful “God”. Most of them called this god Bailey or FemmeFoxtrot. I know, weird name, but it was a thing I guess in that time. Well, that’s beside the point, anyway. They all mention the fall of this God and called it the end of times.

After that, many things happened like more Demon Kings appearing, natural disasters striking and even these figures beginning to disappear slowly. Eventually, there were such few of these powerful people left, that the world was sent into a dark era. This gave birth to the God Alistair. After that, it slowly became what it is today.”

Avery ended up staring back over the pond’s water, digesting the large hunk of information dropped into her lap. She already knew that this Alistair had killed players with a plague, but she needed more details. How? was this in the game still or was this after this world became reality? Her brain was hurting from all this information just thrusted on her.

She wasn’t the smartest girl on the block. She gave up on trying to process it and let out another sigh she turned her attention back to Desmond who looked troubled and stopped talking. Her head tilted in confusion as he just mouthed an apology to her. She was going to ask, but she quickly got her answer.

“O my, Little Desmond has a lady friend? Why haven’t you introduced her to me?”

Avery could feel a little bit of hostility in her voice as a woman who appeared to be in her later thirties appeared. Her face had a soft expression, but one that felt a little fake. Like a mask. She wore a dress similar to an 18th century Rococo style dress in pure white. Two girls in maid outfits trailed behind her along with three Knights in a similar fashion to the one that left the prince an hour earlier.

She walked across the small wooden bridge into the gazebo along with one maid but left the others waiting at on land waiting in a neat line

” Your personal guard told me that you had an… Interesting guest with you.”

” M-Mother! Weren’t you at the docks? Why are you here?”

“Like I said, your guard told me about your guest so I-“

“I’m not a guest. “

“Imprudent! How dare you speak to Empress Maria with such insolence!”

The maid following behind Empress Maria spoke up loudly, anger could be seen on her face, but Avery only scoffed at the maid before turning her eyes towards the Empress. The Empress’s mouth twitched with annoyance, but she hadn’t confirmed what the Knight had told her. Thus she had to take a passive approach. She walked into the Gazebo and sat next to Desmond while the maid stood to the side of the entrance and glared at Avery. Avery also glared back. This continued for a few moments before the Empress felt this was getting a little out of hand.

“Go fetch stuff to make some tea.”

The maid looked like she wanted to say something only to bite it back and bow before leaving. Maria then turned her attention to Avery.

“You seem to be a feisty child.”

“Only when prodded. I’m a pretty easy going gal.”

“We’ll see, but that’s going off topic. Care to tell me why you believe you’re not a guest here?”

“This is my home.”

“I believe this place is a long-lost ruin.”

“To you, but I remember it thriving.”

“Care to prove that?”

Avery let out a sigh. She felt a headache coming on with this person. If it was simply questioning her, that’d be fine. It’s something to be expected if some strange girl appeared out of nowhere. It was actually Empress Maria’s expression that kept annoying her. It was something cross between a smug look and a pleasant smile. Like a “Gotcha” expression. She didn’t know why, but it rubbed her the wrong way.

“Let’s just cut it, obviously you want something. Just freakin’ say it.”

“Place your hand on this.”

Empress Maria expression actually changed at her words. She too wanted to get to the point, but she had her way of doing things so she didn’t appreciate Avery being to blunt. She gestured one of the knights to come forward. After a few moments, the one knight that had been with Desmond before had come forward. He was carrying a black gem that was about twelve inches wide and two feet long. He kneeled down in front of Avery, explained how to use it then let her place her hand on it.

After a few moments, it glowed when Avery placed her hand on it before she pressed a few prompts on it then saying “okay.” The knight then got up and went to the Empress before kneeling and handing it over to her. She swiped her finger up to get to the beginning of the long. After reading the beginning prompts and getting to the status, it seemed she froze instantly. Desmond looked over to see why his mother was acting a little strange and also froze up when he saw Avery’s status

[This Status Displaying tool requires permission to show your Status.]

[Subject has given permission]

[Status not compatible with current Era’s status, do you wish to convert it? Doing so will only affect display only.]

[Subject has given permission, displaying Status now.]

[Unknown terms found. Reformatting.]

<———————————————————>
Name: Avery Bailey |” FemmeFoxtrot “

Age: [Error] [ Subject is immortal, set age 18.]

Race: High-Human

Mana gauge: 1,00,000

Level: 1,000

Ability Rank: SSS+

Owns: Sky Gardens, Coastal Palace, Church of Eternal Peace, Mountain Clouds Fortress.

Titles: [50+ titles, showing most recent.]

[Saint of Olde] – Your good deeds have spread far and wide, there are few who do not know of your kind-heart… | Error

[Hero] – Defeated the Demon King & it’s armies | Error, +200,000 Mana

[Avery’s Fallen Star] – Present on the eve of Avery’s death | Error

[Goddess Jen’Kuo’s Mercy] – Jen’Kuo has heard the prayers of the Demi-Gods and has given Avery another life. |Reincarnated & immortalized

[One who Defies the Gods] – Alistair, Yaano, and Leena have purged the world of all, but one Demi-God through crusades. |Immune “Server” wide plague

[Hearth Keeper] – Your statues live on in the wilderness and have become icons of safe travels. | Statue locations have become safe havens for travelers. Bandits, Pirates & demons honor this as well.

[Icon of Heresy] – Viewed as a Pagan Symbol, most believers of Alistair & Leena view you as a corrupted entity. | Enemy of Holy Empire & Bastion Sea People

New! – [Primordial Being] Awakening in Eos, thousands of years have passed, and the world you’ve known has disappeared. | Ascension possible.

<———————————————————>
After viewing Avery’s status, both of them stared at her like she was a freak at a circus… After about an hour, Avery and Empress Maria were walking side by side. Their laughs could be heard by everyone in the Flower gardens as they made their way towards the Garden’s Docks. Desmond was carried on the back of his personal knight looking like his soul had left him a long time ago.

“So my dear Avery, how about coming to visit our Empire? We can have little Desmond show you around the capital!”

“But you just said that he has schooling, didn’t you? School is important!”

“Nonsense! If you wanted the emperor to show you around, it’s possible too!”

Maria laughed softly as she said some outrageous things. Avery didn’t like that idea, she already was troubled by this Empress trying to coax her into joining her empire. It wasn’t problematic, just a little tiresome having her try so hard to do it. The conversation stalled for a while as Avery thought on a way out of dealing with the Empress shooting off all these suggestions and pitches. Then she had an idea.

“Well, right now I have some business on the ground. Since you’re offering so kindly to allow me access to your empire, why don’t I just temporarily join the academy that Desmond is at?”

“O? But only if you become one of my subjects!”

A sweet smile bloomed across Empress’s face as she said some very blatantly shameless words.

“Well if that’s the case, I’ll pass. I’ll just move the island elsewh-“

“NO! Erm…”

For a moment the Empress became flustered as she almost grabbed Avery’s hand in panic. She caught herself just before she did and cleared her throat before collecting herself.

“I mean that won’t be necessary. For you, I can make a decree allowing you in without citizenship.”

“Ah, that saves me the trouble of relocating the Island.”

Avery smiled sweetly at the Empress who had a cold sweat run down her cheek. She knew how valuable the Island was. She just couldn’t allow Avery to relocate it out of their borders. Being such a strong existence and one with such abundance of resources, who wouldn’t kiss up to her?

” Ah.. Where are we?”

“Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Little Desmond, I have great news! Ms. Avery will be attending your academy !”

Desmond received another blow to his mental state, causing him to enter crisis mode again…

 

WOLF AND ITS MASTER
​

Spoiler: Click to read

​

Empress Maria and Avery spoke for more a while at the Sky-Docks. Maria had pulled back the researchers when Avery gave her the Frost flower or now named "Ghost flower". Maria was ecstatic, while the scholar mages were having a complete meltdown. Their excitement over it made Avery feel awkward over it. It was a common plant to her, but from their reactions, not to them. Parked in one of the open bays that resembled a large airplane hangar but with elven architecture, was a something like a modified boat.

It was made from wood but had strange contraptions installed on the side and didn't have a mast. It also didn't appear to be any apparent weapons on it, but it had ornate carvings on the hull. Avery only glanced at it but wasn't too interested. Maria tried to talk her into a dinner date with Desmond. She only waved it off, saying maybe another time. Taking away Empress Maria's title, she was just like a doting mother. This made her relaxed a little, but her mind was still swirling around how she came to be here.

After managing to part with the royal pair, she walked back through the now empty gardens and the sun was beginning to set as she found herself back in front of that large tree. The evening sun's glow illuminated the statue and the tree. Below on the garden path that circled around the tree were scattered blue leaves and pink flowers. Scenes from that night that seemed to be just the other day kept replaying as she placed her hand on the base of the statue, which came up to her waist. She chuckled sadly, thinking about how large the statue was.

"Hey, guys... I did it... I'll make sure to find a new raid for you guys..."

Heavy thuds could be heard to her right. Turning her head she saw a Stone Golem, with its large ape-like arms, use almost silent wind spell to blow the fallen leaves and petals into its other hand. As if noticing Avery's stare, it's head slowly turned towards her. Its single glowing red eye glowed faintly. A cheery chime emitted as if greeting her before turning its attention back to tending to the garden. Avery let out a sigh before walking around the tree and heading back to the city.

Having to get her emotions in order, she felt a sense of loneliness overcome her. She was the only hot-blooded being in the gardens. Insecurity and anxiety also began to grip her over what her future would be like. Wondering about how she would be living from now and why she was here started to get thrown around in her mind. The mixture of thoughts and emotions made her sick to her stomach as she passed through the gates into Heart's Rest.

Χ
Avery found herself standing, staring at the ruins that once was her Guild's Hall. In its hay-days, it was similar to a large roman-catholic cathedral. It houses over one-hundred members that stationed themselves in the city after the island was created. She could see the phantoms of its past as players exited and entered. There were some players preaching the beauty of cat-girls, some of the lolis. "Shit-Posters" they were called in the forums, but here that sort of humor was welcomed.

She used to shake her head at them every time she passed. Leaving them with words of reprimand. Now it felt even more desolate with their liveliness. The stones they posted themselves on when preaching were now overrun with moss and vines. The only sign that they used to was a faded diagram about cat-girls. Seeing this diagram, a smile blossomed before she continued into the guild's ruins while stepping over scattered stones and overgrown bushes.

Once inside, the scene wasn't any better. With its tall ceiling half collapsed and large piles of rubble beneath. Avery could picture were every table, chair, and the counters were. All of which were either covered in rubble or turned to dust. She had to climb over some smaller piles of rubble while the dust was kicked up with each step. Some steps she would slip as debris became dislodged and others because she didn't have a good foothold. She managed to make her way to where the reception counters were.

The counters were rotten to the point that they could turn to dust at any moment. Beyond it was the storerooms and other administration rooms, but all of it was blocked with rubble as the back end of the cathedral had collapsed. The other large buildings behind it had toppled over onto the backside, causing it to collapse. She decided to just sit on the pile she stood on. She was tired, mentally. She had hopes that maybe if she explored a little, maybe she would find someone. In the end, she gave up.

She lightly searched the main street's shops and homes and ended the search at the guild hall. She was mentally fatigued and close to losing it. She sat for a few moments as the last of the sunlight leaking through the collapsed roof disappeared. She let out a quick huff of breath before getting up and dusting herself out. Taking one last look at the ruined hall that once was so homely, was now so foreign, left the ruins the same way she came.

As she stepped past the entrance of the Guild's entrance, she turned while placing her hand on it. She wanted to say something but decided against it. She took in the destruction, once more. As the last of the sunlight had faded, moonlight illuminated the ruined city in its place.

"Master..."

A man's deep soft voice came from behind her, causing her to jump slightly. Turning around quickly, Avery's eyes spotted a familiar figure standing on the street, looking towards her. Its eyes glowed a soft silver. It was the figure of a wolf. A large world, the size of a mid-size SUV. It's fur was a silvery shine. It was Fenrir.

"Master..."

His voice became a whimper as he bowed down before her. Avery was awe-struck seeing him. His muzzle touched the paved-stone street below him, his eyes downcasted. It was only for a moment before he lifted himself up and approached her.

"... Fenrir..?"

"Yes! It's me, master! Your most loyal hound!"

Fenrir's large tail began to sway with happiness after hearing his name be called out once more. His once eyes gleamed with joy, but it only lasted for a moment.

"Where have you been?!"

Fenrir immediately bowed in fear, as Avery's upset voice roared in his ears. Unsure of what he had done wrong to offend her.

"Answer me! Where have you been!?"

"To answer Master! I've been scouting the lands below! I came as soon as I felt the seal on Master's bedchambers break!"

He took a look at Avery's face, but there was only pain. He felt taken aback. Why was his master making such a face?

"You stupid dog!"

Avery suddenly embraced him tightly. As if she believed he would disappear if she loosed a little. Fenrir felt her tight embrace and was dumbstruck. he imagined every day his god-like master would awaken and show him her beautiful smile once again. This outcome was not something he saw. For a few minutes, neither of them moved as Avery's muffled sobs sounded from Fenrir's neck. Her Tears wetting his fur.

"M-Master... Why are you crying?"

He couldn't take it anymore. Why was master crying? Master never cried! Who hurt her! He would make them die a billion deaths!

"Because of you!"

He regretted his previous thoughts. He couldn't take his own life, he had to use it to protect her!

"Master, what have I done to hurt you..?"

"You weren't there! I woke up and no one was here! I looked for everyone, but no one was here!"

Avery was almost screaming now. Each word only made Fenrir regret every action up to this point. He scouted out the areas below for her. he amassed a following for her. He wanted to speak these things. They never left his throat though. Each one was just an excuse. After so long, none of them believed she would ever awake again. They believed they were dupped by that God.

"I am sorry master, please punish me for being a disloyal hound..."

•
After Avery had let out all her pent-up emotions. She finally released him from her death-grip. They ended up in the dining hall back at Heart's Rest Keep, her home. Fenrir sat happily as Avery was eating some meat he had procured. He gave her detailed accounts on the events after she.. Died. Avery only sighed as she listened. She felt much better now that she wasn't alone anymore.

To sum it up. After Avery had died and the other players had left, a darkness gripped the island. They could not leave or see out past this darkness. Having counted who was still on the island, it was about ten-thousand citizens. A mixture of Dwarfs, Elves, Fairies, and humans. Humans accounting for almost nine-thousand of the population. The island was able to support them, but no one was able to ascend to the High races anymore.

Thus after thousands of years, the human population began to dwindle. Children were no being born and they ended up dying from old age. Fenrir did stay by her side throughout the thousands of years she laid in the pool. Jessin was overcome with grief and never showed herself in the city while Athena took over managing the remaining population. Fey-Races only lives less than six-thousand years

With no children being born, they eventually died out about five hundred years ago. The city also began to deteriorate as there were fewer people were here to maintain it. Avery didn't know why it felt foreign. Like those people didn't matter too much. She desperately looked for them. Maybe it was a sense of closure. She never spoke a word throughout his debriefing.

But she could feel that Fenrir was leaving something important out.. Yes. The events that led to her being placed in the pool.

"So are you going to tell me how I ended up in that pool to begin with?"

Fenrir, who had been a chatterbox, suddenly clamped his mouth shut. After a few moments, it was obvious Fenrir was unwilling to say.

"Are you unwilling or you can't speak if it?"

"I cannot speak of it."

"Why?"

"Athena has forbidden we speak of it should we ever see you first."

"Where is Athena?"

"In the lands below..."

"I believe you know I was meaning specifically..."

"Athena has tucked herself into a temple in the human Captial of the Two-Dragon Empire..."

"Why didn't they come like you did?"

"Athena and Jessin both removed their seals from the door. They said they didn't any more false hope... Jessin disappeared, neither of us knows where she went off too. I hear rumors of her from time to time coming from the south-east."

There was a silence, not even the fork in Avery's hand made a sound as she picked at the food on the plate. She thought it over, but she felt a little betrayed. At the least, she believed they should have left their seals on the door. It wouldn't degrade with time. It was a magic in-game without a time limit and could be set only in homes. It more of a lore thing if anything.

with only one option left, she pushed Athena and Jessin to the back of her mind. Right now, Fenrir was here only. They went off on their own. Fenrir, who was still in wolf form, sat happily on a wide bench watching her. He kept himself calm, understanding that the world had changed too much for her.

"Fenrir."

"Yes, master?"

"Stop calling me that."

"Yes, Supreme one."

"No."

"As you wish, commander.

"Just call me by my name."

"That would be sacrilegious."

"What do you view me as?!"

"God. My god. The God."

Avery let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm joking with you master, I would be honored to call you by your name."

Fenrir let out a chuckle as his tail swayed side to side.

"Yes, please call me Avery."

"As you wish Avery."

"So Fenrir, do you have a name?"

"Fenrir is the name Avery had bestowed upon me. I have never wished that changed."

"Ah.. Say, do you know what I was before... that happened?"

"You were a supreme being."

"No I wasn't, that was my avatar."

".. Ah I do believe you've mentioned that before with your parents."

"You knew about my parents?"

"Mr. Randal and Mrs. Genie, yes?"

"Yes, them."

"I have heard you call them as Mother and Father. We had dedicated it to memory."

"You can also call them mother and father. So you know my avatar wasn't my real body."

"Yes, but it was only closer to the end did I find out. Athena and them... I'm not sure. Mrs. Geni- I mean Mother had spoke to Father about it around me. Your real body was in a different world and it was sick."

"Ah... Pretty much, how did feel about that...?"

"It doesn't change a thing. If anything... It makes me feel helpless that I could not reach into that world and protect you..."

Avery felt her heart warm. New tears began to roll down her cheek, but they were happy tears. Fenrir only turned his head in confusion. Not understanding how one could cry while smiling.

"I'm feeling tired. I will not order you around and I believe the right thing is to let you go. Let you choose your future..."

Avery's voice turned into a whisper as she looked at Fenrir. She wanted to treat him like she did before in-game. She couldn't bring herself to accept that though. He was a sentient being now. She wished happiness for him, the first follower she ever got.

"I refuse. You've awoken after so long, I'm fine staying with master until my last days."

"Ah.. How long would that be...?"

" I have close to a thousand years left.."

"..."

"Athena has close to a hundred as she is the oldest. Jessin has even less since she isn't a dragon and older than I."

"..."

"I believe that is the biggest reason for them giving up hope. To die without regrets..."

Avery sighed, it was something she worried about, but now that it was confirmed she could only deal with the cards.

"Fenrir."

"Yes?"

"I can't promise you that life will be as peaceful as it was before."

"I like peace, but I will rather be with you if there was a danger at every corner."

" You still will sleep in my bed."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Speaking of that, do you have a human form?"

"No, and I'm not interested in master like that."

Avery felt a little embarrassed with the conversation, but she was a maiden who didn't want something to happen.

"I have had my love, had my children and buried them as well. I've lived long enough to see the children of twenty-something generations... I've grown tired of burying my kin. I also can no longer have children as I'm considered a very old man in both human and wolf ages."

"Ah.. I see."

Having ended on that note, Avery and them chatted about what they would be doing next. Heading to find Athena was picked out, since she was already going to be there. Jessin was put on hold until they could find out where she ran off too. Then they headed to Avery's bedroom and cleaned it up. Avery took off all her clothes without reserve. Fenrir did not pat an eye as this was the norm. Avery often changed in front of them and he only sat by her, assessing the condition of her stored clothes.

She ended up standing by the large window, looking out over the ruins and the Gardens. Fenrir joined her and she ended up telling him everything that had happened in her world. From the reality of what he was, how they came to be and why. Fenrir asked very little questions. Having understood the gravity of the situation, it was the only thing he could do from feeling bad,

"But this is all real now Fenrir... I don't know if we could be as we were before. We have to watch our backs and our words. They are real people, with lives and families. So many things to consider."

"I think that's going to be a fun adventure."

"Yes... It's going to be fun."

The two stood peacefully overlooking everything, they no longer spoke, but their hearts were at ease now. Tomorrow would be the start of a new journey for them both.

 

NIGHTMARE

Proofreader: Saphira​

Spoiler: Click to read

Though Avery felt tired from the day's events, she and Fenrir spent a good portion of the night cleaning up the liquid puddles throughout the room. Fenrir called "Life Magic" in dusting and mopping. It was a strange sight for Avery. Life magic was something lightly touched on in the game's lore, but it wasn't a usable category for players as it focused on a heavily watered down form of attack magic. Wind magic for drying clothes, airing out rooms and dusting. Fire for cooking, heating up water for drinks and baths. Water magic for creating drinking and cooking water.

Earth magic and Light magic didn't fit into life magic. It was used by high-levelled farmers, but that it didn't have much use anywhere else. Light-magic was considered part of the Holy magic tree, but Avery refuted that when Fenrir explained it as they wrapped up their cleaning. It a different story. Magic branched out into two states, like and dark. One could look at it like a tree floating in the air. Its trunk and leafs full of life. This would be symbolized as Light magic. It was the part of the tree that lived in the sun. Holy magic would be at the top of this and was the only branch of magic that had Healing, Anti-Curse, Buff and other support magic spells.

On the other end, the roots were symbolized as Dark Magic. For the part that lived hidden away from the light. At the very button would be Demonic Magic, which held Resurrect, Soul-Capture, and other nefarious magic spells. In the center laid neutral magic, such as Magic Sense, Magic Control, and other spells that didn't fall under any attribute.

"But Master, I've found that you don't have to even know any spells. Unlike in the time of the Gods, we can now use magic if we can understand it and imagine it!"

Fenrir was quite excited when he told Avery that. Avery too was curious, but at that moment, she was nodding off. Fenrir was a chatterbox that kept her up a few hours after they had finished cleaning. Eventually, she fell asleep in the bed with Fenrir sprawled out beside her, back to back. The poor wolf just kept talking and talking. He had missed his master and let it all out while they laid down. One-sidedly.




Before Avery was the empty hospital room she used to be in. The room was dim, the only light was peaking through an open door to the right. No one was around and all the machines had been neatly packed up and placed to the left wall. She was confused as to why she was here. She tried to step forward, but she only fell. Looking down, she was back in her withered body. Her legs had no muscle and looked mummified. Before she could react, she felt a cool breeze to her back and the smell of burning flesh.

She quickly turned her head and found herself in the Flower garden. The large pale tree was in front of her and it was night. No moon illuminated the sky gardens. Only a faint orange light showed its large trunk raising into the black sky. Turning again, what greeted her was her Heart's Rest set ablaze. She could hear the screams of the people inside, the collapsing of buildings. She could see different spells flying into the air from the city. Ice, wind, fire, earth and everything in between.

Then a large amount of fire exploded, rushing towards where they were coming from. Then nothing, only the sound of the distant fire. A large roar then danced around the night sky as a dark figure raised its head from the center of the city. Its large body definitely would have filled out the majority of that open space. It's large head emitted another angered roar before it's attention turned to Avery's direction. Large glowing-red eyes pierced the blackness.

"It is done... Now fulfill your side of the bargain. Give us back our master..."

A deep voice reverberated across. Avery was completely stunned. She remembered this voice, it was Athena.

" Well well, how would your master feel knowing you did such a thing for..."

A woman stepped up next to Avery, her body was smokey and only made a rough outline of a bountiful woman. Her mannerisms were suggestive and flirtatious until she stopped mid-sentence. Her attention turned to Avery.

"O my, hehe. A little slip-up. Shh, go to sleep little one. You'll get your turn soon..."

Black smoke oozed from her hands as it snaked its way towards Avery. Still stuck in her withered first body, she couldn't move a muscle as the black smoke turned into goo and consumed her. It was black magic. She felt her very soul being torn apart before she was put back together.

"I'm sorry master... I did it for you. I made a deal with that devil, Jen'kuo... You'll understand... How far we would go for you... Please forgive me... I have to go away now... I hope you wake up before I die..."

A sad woman's voice reached her and she found herself back in the blue liquid in the pool. Fear gripped her heart as she struggled to breathe. Air bubbles pouring out of her mouth as she thrashed around under the water's surface. Her fingertips just grazing it. She knew that voice was Athena's human voice, she had heard it plenty of times before. She cried out her name, but nothing would come out as there was no air left in her lungs.

With one final push desperate push, she finally burst through the surface and found herself thrown onto something soft. the liquid was gone and it wasn't a stone room she was in. Quickly catching her breath, she found herself in front of a small coffee table. On it was a note along with an urn. The urn had a single paw-print with a name etched inside it.

"Avery Bailey. Our whole world and heart."

"XX.XX.XXXX" [*2]

Her eyes trained themselves on the note. It was written beautifully and was short, but that wasn't what left her shocked.

"To our brothers and sisters, we're sorry that you'll have to find us like this. Nothing is left of her, but this urn. We hope that we too, return to the dust to be with her...

We're sorry. Nothing is left "

Her mind tried different ways to process it, but her heart knew what it was. It was a suicide note. Her eyes slowly crept up. Two tipped chairs laid just behind the coffee table, a pair of feet dangled just above it. Anger and sorrow boiled up in her throat. She felt like she was about to puke so she covered her mouth in a hurry. She saw just their feet. Their old shoes, but she didn't actually confirm. With the last ounce of courage, her eyes trailed up the bodies and to their faces,

Her mother and father's lifeless faces entered her sight. Their faces turned towards each other, their grief-stricken expressions mortified her. She wanted to scream, but what came out were only pitiful whimpers.

'Someone! Anyone, save them!!'

She then heard sirens and hysterical screaming of someone hailing them down. She turned towards the front door which was off to the left of her. It was open and she could see some of her relatives just outside. Her uncles had their backs turned towards the scene inside, their quiet sobbing entered her ears as law enforcement officers pushed into the house with fire-fighters following close behind.

Flashing lights illuminated flickered outside as the emergency vehicles soon blocked the entire road. The fire-fighters quickly looked at her parents before they shook their heads.

"They're long gone. Maybe an hour. Nothing we can do except cut them down."

The law-enforcement officer shook his head as well.

"Shame. I remember them, their kid was on the news. If I remember correctly, didn't that game their kid play have an incident?"

"These are the people? Damn man. Yeah. It was on the morning news, the game developer's offices had a fire. Something about the servers exploding, a few people died in it as well. I think they said that the game made a memorial to their kid because they spent all their money on keeping her on life support..."

Their conversation drifted away from the topic revolving them and they talked about other things. Their words faded out with their first topic. Her eyes never left their bodies afterward. For what seemed like several hours, was a span of a few minutes. She felt a burning sensation in her head, then it travelled through her nerves and down into her hands. She only had one thought in her mind.

'All this should just burn down... It's nothing but a damn grave now..."

She felt her sight slowly began to fade as flames burst from her feet, engulfing her parents' bodies. The living room carpet quickly blackened and fueled the flames. With every foot, the fire grew hotter and larger until it began to consume the entire room. The responders inside were caught off guard but managed to get out with only a few burns here and there. In a matter of a few minutes, the entire house was an inferno. Burning unnaturally like an angered demon as the house screamed at the world.

Just before Avery's sight completely faded, the house began to slowly collapse. Her ashen face covered in tears as she could only repeat "Mom. Dad." over and over again.




"Master! Please wake up! Master, what's wrong!?"

Avery shot up, her feline eyes narrowed and wild. Her breath was quick but shallow and she was soaked in sweat, her face ashen. Fenrir was on the floor beside her. His pleading voice was almost screaming at her. She felt a stinging sensation at the tips of her fingers. The bed sheets around her were burnt to a crisp, but the mattress was fine as it was made from high-level materials. Her sleeping clothes also were burnt to ashes as well. She turned her attention to Fenrir and noticed there were some black marks on his side as well.

"W-What happened...?"

"I don't know Master! You were whimpering then you started to shout!

She didn't know how to answer his question. She could remember every scene of that nightmare or reality. She didn't even know. She felt lost. Scared. Her emotions were mixed and raged like a berserk bull. She breathes were quick and shallow. Avery's feline eyes were narrowed as she quickly looked around. Fenrir began to lick her face, trying to soothe her. He didn't know what was going on, but he could tell something happened while she slept. It was towards the end that she began to scream and fire began to slither out like snakes from her hands before setting the blanket and pillows on fire. He managed to keep it from spreading to the rest of the room after much difficulty.

With Fenrir's help, Avery was able to calm down and they both cleaned up the mess and ended up discarding the ashes and other burned items into the hallway. They weren't anything special. Just decorative items from the end game. They had no practical use and were just blackened with soot. Avery was out of sorts during the whole clean up. Fenrir had to nudge her a couple of times to bring her out of her thoughts. She looked a little lethargic but insisted everything was fine. Even with that said, they both knew she wasn't, but they kept silent otherwise.

After the clean up was done, Avery felt better. Everything that had been turned to ashes or half-burnt was blown away. Everything that got soothe on it was wiped down or placed outside in the hallway to be cleaned later. Once all that was done, she plopped herself on her back, face down. Fenrir also joined her. He was still concerned, but he felt better now that her complexion was better. Then she noticed a small half-circle blinking red with a "!" in the middle of it. It was small and in the corner of her peripheral.

"Hey, Fenrir..."

"Yes, Mas-... Yes, Avery?"

"What's this symbol, blinking half circle with an exclamation mark in the middle? "

"Ah! That would be a new status. This world's displayed is different from our old one. Just open it like you would your status."

She did just that. A series of paper thin-glass like screen appeared with a series of prompts, its color was a faint blue like the ocean.

[After connecting to the world system via the status tool, your status has now been reformatted.]

[Status now has different displays, different from your old world]

[Status will now display.]

[Titles condensed, you can view them individually. Displaying titles of highest rank first]

〈 - Name: Avery Bailey |" FemmeFoxtrot "

Age: Immortal

Race: High-Human | Mythic

Mana gauge: 1,000,000

Level: 1,000

Ability Rank: SSS+

Owns: Sky Gardens, Coastal Palace, Church of Eternal Peace, Mountain Clouds Fortress [20+ More properties]

Magic Attributes: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Dark, and Light.

Titles: [Primordial being], [One who defies the Gods], [Hearth Keeper], [Saint of Olde], [Hero], [KingSlayer], [Savior of King Ian I], [Savior of Mountain Clouds], [Friend of Fey-kin], [Friend of Demons], [Item box Holder] - [ >>> More titles hidden<<<] - 〉

The status menu had a more streamlined appearance, more modern without any fancy graphics like FkE interface. Everything was user-friendly and quick to get to. Above the status, there were three buttons. Status was highlighted, meaning that was the one she was currently on. She could touch the screen or move it with her mind. Inventory was slightly different from the in-game one where all of it was turned into a manifest list rather than icons with their names on it.

The map was different from in-game. Instead of seeing a rough outline, she could see a simple, but a detailed map. She couldn't look at an area she hadn't been. It lit up the places she had been through, but there was only the Sky Gardens available to view. The last was the skill menu, but it had a disclaimer they were just found magic. Meaning magic that she already knew, but said she didn't have to follow those and could create her own. She tinkered around with the menu before feeling satisfied.

" I'm going to sleep again.."

" Yes, Mas-"

"Just say it, it must be annoying trying to correct yourself..."

Avery had slept for a few more hours before she got up. This time, she didn't dream of anything. It was peaceful.



Fenrir and Avery walked side by side onto the Sky-Docks. The docks were empty, with a single person sitting on one of the few benches in the area while nodding off. Across from him, sitting on the stone walkway, was a steam-punk like a boat similar to a Gondola, but had several wings on each side spanning around three feet. There was also several magic devices, most likely propellants, attached to its hull too. They came closer and found that it was the Third Prince Desmond. His pale skin wasn't that appealing to her, though she was a shade darker. His was more sickly, from lack of going out into the sun. A mischievous glimmer appeared in Avery's eye and a grin.

"Ahh!"

Desmond woke up with a fright as Avery was making small talk with Fenrir while sitting right beside him. Avery looked at him with upturned eyes while giggling.

"Have a good nap, sleeping beauty?"

"When did you show up?!"

"Mm... Ten, maybe fifteen minutes?"

"Why did you wake me?"

"Why did you fall asleep?"

"Don't answer with a question!"

Avery replied to Desmond with a teasing smile, a mischievous streak in her eye. Desmond could only silently air his retorts, not wanting to continue it any more than that. After running his hands through his hair and letting out a yawn, he turned his attention back to Avery.

"So my mother asked that I take you personally to the Capital. I know, I know. Why would you want to go with the weir-"

"You stop that."

"W-Wh-"

"You were apart to demean yourself, weren't you?'"

"Wait, what-

"Answer my question."

Desmond stared at her, thinking a moment as he did.

"Yes..."

"Don't. If I have a problem, I'll make sure to voice it."

"O-Okay then... Um... Yeah... Mother asked that I take you personally on Wind-Runner."

While Avery held a smile, it was an obviously fake one. The playful demeanor had been wiped away the moment he tried to belittle himself. He was unsure how to break the tense air between them. As they stared at each other.

"W-Well, shall we go?"

"... Yes..."

Getting past that, the Wind-Runner spewed to life as wind magic lifted it and they flew off. If it had been a normal trip, they would only take about an hour to reach the capital in the Wind-runner. But life never went the way people wanted it too...

Citations;

1. 911 - USA National Emergency hotline.
2. USA date format - Day - Month - year.

 

MONSTER vs MONSTER
Proofreader: Saphira​

Spoiler: Click to read

The WindRunner soared through the air leaving contrails in its wake, its underbelly fin just grazing the clouds below. The cold air nipped at Avery's nose, but fortunately, it wasn't too cold. The Windrunner had a built-in shield-generator that covered the top of the small vessel to prevent that strong winds from affecting the people onboard. She had also noticed that what looked like a gondola that had been outfitted was actually a specialized vessel. Strangely enough, the design appeared to be similar to a few of in-game mounts that were given out in special competitions and contests. She had never won one, but she had flown in one that one of her guild members had won.

The inside looked similar, but this one didn't have that polished finish. The in-game one was made entirely of meteor-metal. This one was made out of wood like a normal boat, just with Magic Propulsion Engines, similar to jet engines, but with less power. If she had to estimate using the clouds, they were travelling just under eighty-mph (128 kph). Fenrir was enjoying the ride as his muzzle was plastered to the front wind barrier. Desmond, on the other hand, was sitting at the back. Around him was more magical devices with displays similar to the status screens, though unlike the status screen, others could see the content.

An expression of deep concentration was on his face, his brows furrowed as he clumsily tinkered with the display and kept pulling at something by his feet. Avery, who sat in the middle feeling a little bored, moved over and sat by him in an open spot that would allow her on his left. With both of them sitting there, it wasn't cramped, but they were cozy sitting shoulder to shoulder. Desmond was surprised by Avery suddenly sitting next to him and tensed up. Avery, however, was enjoying the extra warmth. Desmond was elated that a beautiful girl was sitting next to him, but it also made him more nervous. It became more apparent just how inexperienced Desmond was.

"Have you flown this thing before?" Avery asked as she leaned forward a little to see his expression. "Y-Yeah, plenty..." Desmond grew antsier as her face was only a foot away from his. "What are you looking for?" Her eyes turned to the two displays in front and to his right. Her gaze then travelled to his feet. There was a joystick attached to the floor, but neatly folded." Just checking a few things..." His face was turning pink as he spoke. His pale skin only emphasized his embarrassment more.

"Oh? Then can you tell me what's that by your feet?" Avery pressed against him more as she teased him, pressing her shoulder more against his. She wasn't oblivious to what she was doing as her playful tone was sung out. Be it that Desmond wasn't used to the opposite or he was just really nervous, she was amused by teasing him. " That's the piloting stick, it folds away when the Windrunner is in autopilot mode." He spoke with forcefully, as if he was avoiding something. "Ohh? So that's what you were looking for. It's on the right display towards the upper-left." She pointed to it with her left arm reaching across him.

Desmond tensed up even more as her sweet scent was caught by his nose. He turned his head quickly to try and get away from that lovely scent. Unfortunately for him, he turned to where she was pointing and felt even more ashamed. There was a square prompt, one inch by one inch with the words Autopilot Engaged. In that moment, he just wanted to throw himself over the side and be done with life. Avery had a lovely smile as she watched several different stages of his embarrassment flash across his face. Feeling she teased him enough, she leaned back and let him be.

After a few moments, Desmond calmed himself. He turned the autopilot off with a press of his finger and the joystick shot up straight. A prompt telling him that manual piloting was engaged, the Windrunner shook slightly before it tipped slowly forward as the nose dipped into the cloud. Then all around them turned white as they cut through the clouds with Desmond's control. Avery let out a breath of awe as she looked all around her as the clouds parted around them. Behind them, there was a clear path that soon began to fill as the air-vortex created by the Windrunner pulled in the surrounding fluffy clouds inwards.

After a minute, the Windrunner had broken through the underbelly of the clouds. What greeted them was large rocky-black stone mountains with snow-covered ridges. Between the mountains were a sea of green trees with tints of brown and yellow. A large river also snaked its way through between the mountains. Avery had never seen this place in the game before. Fenrir, having noticed Avery's awe and confusion, moved back to speak with her.

"This is the Grey-Stone Mountains. It's not from our time. Much of the land's makeup has changed." Fenrir turned to look at Avery. She nodded, her playful expression changed to a serious one. "How much has changed?" Avery asked as her eyes wandered over the scene below. " I think about-" Fenrir was cut off as Avery cut in " Hold up! Desmond!" Avery's eyes landed on a large pillar of smoke in the distance towards the side of the mountain. Multiple spells were shot, glowing through the smoke, but she couldn't see, as the smoke had created a smoke screen around the area.

The WindRunner had a noticeable drop in speed as Desmond's attention was pulled away when Avery called his name. That's when he too, had noticed the distant scene. The smoke wasn't high yet, indicating that it was fresh. He too also saw the glowing spells flowing faintly through the smoke screen. Understanding that Avery wanted to go check it out, he refocused on his Mana control and dipped the ship at a soft angle to gradually pick up speed.

After a few minutes, the Windrunner had reached the edge of the smoke. The speed dropped dramatically so they could get a better look.

RUUUUUOOOOOO!

A deep roar bellowed from within the smoke, clearing away the smoke on the that lingered on the ground. What was revealed was a Dragon, twenty feet wide and fifty feet long. Its scales weathered and scared, and its wings folded behind its back to protect it from the onslaught of spells being launched at it. "That's the Heaven's Cloud!" Desmond, who didn't have to concentrate too much on controlling the Windrunner now, pointed towards the source of the smoke. A large wooden boat with different inscriptions and devices attached to the hull lay on its side, smoke billowing out the rear, where the magic propulsion devices were located.

The Windrunner shook violently as the barrier and the engines had sputtered as the mana fueling them had been cut off."Desmond!" Avery yelled out his name to get his attention, but his ashen face was too focused on his mother's ship down below. "Desmond!" Avery shook his shoulder hard."Ah! Sorry! Sorry!" The sudden jerk of his body from Avery pulled him from his dazed state as mana began to pour back into the Windrunner, but they had fallen too close to the ground as they crashed into the trees.

Desmond only had enough time to activate the barrier as leaves and branches broke around them as the Windrunner crashed through the forest canopy below. He quickly tried to maneuver a crash landing as they crashed into the ground. Dirt flew everywhere along with other debris on the forest floor before it came crashing down again all over the barrier. Desmond and Avery were fine as her high-strength held them down as she held them both down to the seat below. Fenrir, on the other hand, was less fortunate. His paws couldn't exactly grip anything as he flew forward with a yelp as he crashed into the barrier. He was fine, but it still took the breath out of him.

The barrier then fizzled away, Fenrir and Avery were quick to recover, but Desmond was shaken up pretty bad. His eyes were swimming in their sockets and he puked off the side of the wrecked Windrunner. Avery and Fenrir both stood at high alert as just a couple hundred feet away was the battle between the ship's occupants and the dragon. "Quickly, Desmond!" Avery pulled on Desmond as she stepped out of the wrecked fuselage. He was still a little dazed but sobered up as another roar echoed through the trees, a fierce gust of foul smelling wind crashed into them.

Avery did a quick check of her inventory and equipped the set of armor she had worn at the festival. Light Particles converged around her limbs and chest. The armor quickly materialized under a second and a short sword was in her right hand. Desmond was stunned by the quality of her armor but forced himself out of it. He also equipped some armor, but black with gold-ornate decorations. His large overly exaggerated robe was replaced with a lighter long jacket. His legs were covered with greaves that matched the armor. In his hand was a staff with a large reddish-gold orb held by three large ornate metal wires.

His outfit seemed more for display while Avery's was more for movement. Fenrir also glowed slightly as armor appeared on his back and head. Without delaying, Avery and Fenrir shot forward, their backs slowly disappeared into the distance while Desmond stumbled after them on the uneven forest terrain. Neither of them noticed he couldn't keep up.

Avery and Fenrir slowed down at the edge of the clearing. Before them was a wide clearing over hundreds of feet. Broken trees and other debris littered the clearing as Mages hid behind fallen trunks and in craters. The Dragon was a lot more imposing up close, but Avery didn't feel fazed as she quickly charged in. The Dragon appeared to be methodical as he targeted his prey as if looking for something and only attacking when he didn't find it. Most of the defenders could escape from its attacks as it didn't use any Area of Effect attacks, only using its front claws to swipe away at the trees and at the humans below.

"Hold the dragon off!" One of the mages was equipped in armor like Desmond, but it was duller and made of steel. "The Empress is almost out of the ship! The precious cargo is with her!" Another knight shouted over the chaos and screams of the dying. Avery blocked it out as she charged at the Dragon. Noticing someone much stronger had appeared, the Dragon, with his glowing red eyes looked at her. Before it could register she was an attacker, Avery swung her sword at its right arm with all her might. The ground below it exploded as her sword cut through its limb and stuck the ground below. Burning red liquid covered Avery as its limb fell to the ground. The Dragon swung its stump of a limb around, flinging blood everywhere like a fountain.

Avery didn't have a chance to move before the left arm fiercely stuck her, sending her crashing into the standing trees. Fenrir chased after her, disregarding the dragon and the stunned fighters around it. "Master!" Fenrir managed to catch up to her, running quickly through the trail of broken trees and branches. Avery had flown until she hit the ground, leaving a large groove in the ground. A little bit of blood drizzled down from her cut lip. Her body was covered in dust and her hair was a mess, but thanks to her high defense, she got out with just that being out of breath from the hit.

"I'm fine.." Avery took a deep breath before realizing she had lost her sword. Her body that was caked in the Dragon's blood was now also covered in wood splinters and dirt. She looked like some zombie homeless person now, but she didn't have time to think more about it as the dragon let out an ear-piercing roar as light particles began to converge in its mouth. Having seen such attacks by boss monsters in the game, Avery quickly summoned a Holy Barrier that took the shape of a large Templar shield that stood taller than Avery and was wide enough to cover her.

A large beam of light shot out of the Dragon's mouth and within a blink of an eye had shot towards Avery, crashing into the Holy Barrier. The beam struck into the shield, but only managed to push her backward. Her feet dug deep into the ground and left a trail as the beam pushed her, sparks jumping out and molten mana dropped onto the dirt below before disappearing. Even though she had the barrier in front of her, she could feel the intense heat of the beam. She felt that it was a hit she didn't want to take, even with her stats and equipment.

The beam lasted for almost ten seconds before it died down. The injured dragon, now missing a limb, was dead-set on killing Avery. Its roars were filled with pain and hate as its wings spread out, shaking with anger. "Fenrir! Go check on the Empress, I’ve got this!" Fenrir nodded, disappearing into the thicket and wormed his way over towards the ship. Avery turned her attention back to the Dragon.

It brought its head towards its stub of a limb and let out a large breath of fire, searing the wound and cauterizing the wound like it happened before. It took a few moments, but it worked. The blood stopped flowing, leaving only a pool of blood below. The pressing matter was over, so it turned back towards Avery. It exhaled loudly before jumping into the air and taking off, Its wings flapped quickly. It rose slowly before it got to a good altitude and charged towards Avery.

"Crap!" Avery could tell it was going to do something so she kept the shield up, despite a pounding headache she had from having to keep it up from that last attack. The dragon dived towards her while releasing a large breath of fire that engulfed the area.

Desmond had finally made his way out of the forest as the dragon dive-bombed over Avery in the distance, but he didn't know what was going on. He only went up to the closest mage that was huddled behind a fallen tree. "You! Where is the Empress?! Where's Avery?!" The mage only shrunk more as was holding himself in the fetal position" I don't know! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the mage just kept repeating himself over and over again. Desmond felt annoyed. These mages were supposed to be the top mages in his school and in the Research Department at the Palace. The one before him was a Researcher.

"Frick!" Desmond cursed out of frustration. Useless! He stuck his head over the tree trunk, but what greeted him scared him to his core. Mangled bodies of his lifeless school mates laid just on the other side. Crushed by the large claws of the Dragon. Their faces displayed the sheer horror they felt in their last moments. He quickly ducked back over, his face even more ashen than before. His mind was blank as the scene was burnt into his retinas. Fear numbed his body as he kneeled behind the trunk...

Avery, on the other hand, was fighting for her life. As the dragon past over her, she closed the barrier and noticed her mana bar was displayed just towards the bottom left of her view like in the game when entering combat.

[550,000/1,000,000]

Crap! Barriers worked in a sense that she could summon them for a lost mana cost. With the Holy Barrier, it only cost around a thousand to summon and could withstand a lot, but should the damage it takes to go over its summoned threshold, the Holy Barrier, like other higher-leveled barriers, would take from the summoner’s mana to keep it going. In her case, since it was such a strong attack, it took just under half her mana with those two! She was even more on her toes now, not wanting to find out which one did that.

Her surroundings were charred black, the trees on her sides set ablaze as the dragon banked around to attack her again. It was an all or nothing moment, summoning one of her strongest magic, Helio's Hammer, which was actually a bow. It cost just shy of two-hundred thousand to use one shot and was used to half raid bosses at the cost of sending a player into a fatigued state for a few minutes.

Summoning Helio's Hammer, Avery put her arms out like she was drawing a bow with an arrow notched. The air around her began to swirl as, like a vortex, her body began to glow brightly. The Dragon sensed that something was coming dangerously was happening and also prepared another Light beam, aimed for her. A phantom bow appeared in Avery's hand and an arrow in the other as she aimed for the dragon as it came barreling towards her. The phantom arrow solidified into an arrow made of glowing gold flames.

At the same time, the Dragon had finished its spell and launched it towards Avery. Feeling that the spell was done, Avery unleashed the arrow. An explosion like a sonic boom burst out from the front of the bow as the arrow left Avery's hand. The arrow zipped through the air like a bullet. The light beam and the arrow collided...

 

6. Aftermath
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Spoiler: click to read

Proofer: Saphira

BOOOM!

An explosion erupted where the two spells met. A visible concussive wave shot out in every direction, kicking up loose dirt. The surrounding fires that burned in the surrounding trees puffed out from the force. Helio's hammer sliced the beam in half, reflecting it off its course slightly. That was Avery's miracle as each severed beams punched the ground to her left and right, narrowly missing her by less half a meter.

The air around the beams shimmered from the intense heat. Avery felt it partly through the barrier, but at that moment, it wasn't up. She felt it clearly, the intense pain like she was thrown into an oven. Her skin desperately let out sweat, trying to cool her down.

Avery's spell, having cut the beam, punched through at break-neck speed towards the maw of the dragon. It pierced the spell formation that floated a few inches from its maw's opening. The spell dispersed with another concussive wave. Punching through, it finally reached its target, the dragon itself.

Its head jerked unnaturally, and blood sprayed out the back of its head. Its whole body spasmed for a brief moment before it barreled downwards. After a few seconds, its body crashed into the ground. It carved a trench with its massive body, stopping a few meters away from Avery. Broken branches and leaves began to fall from the sky here and there. Its massive body left tens of trees shattered and toppled in its wake.

[Warning! [Helio's Wrath] in effect!]

Her body fell backward, limp. An intense pain coursed through her body. Her back arched with unbearable pain, her legs thrashed as they kicked dirt. Her hands gripped her chest. Her body burned, her muscles screamed. It felt like someone had stabbed her very soul with a knife. Her vision blurred with tears as she gasped for air. Before finally, everything went black.

»

In the vastness of space, a myriad of distant stars twinkled. Against hues of pink, blue, purple and black, it was peacefully majestic. Nearby, was a single planet with three moons orbiting it. It wasn't the only planet in the system, but it was the only planet that held sentient life. Eos.

"Why did you stop me?" A disembodied voice broke the peaceful silence. Its tone was angry and commanding, but young. For a couple of moments, there wasn't a reply. "Because you've already slaughtered the others." Another disembodied voice replied. It was the sweet voice of a woman. Almost flirtatious... and mocking.

"Obviously it was because they were a threat to us." The childish voice shot back, even angrier. Lightning crackled across the empty space, with no source or target."Yet, little God, it was your idea to use them." The woman's voice sounded sweetly back, but its tone more factly. "That doesn't matter! You have another one!" The childish voice now sounded like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Enough!" A sudden wave of mana exploded from nowhere. The wave passed over a certain spot, leaving two shimmering figures in its wake. One a womanly figure and the other a child with no clear gender. It was only for a moment were their figures visible, but it did its job. They no longer argued.

"The player 'Avery Bailey' is not to be touched." The voice barked an order towards the two. "The agreement was I'd allow your little curse for one year, no more. Whether you were able to kill all of them or not isn't our problem." The voice sounded more normal now, like a deep male's voice. " But -" " Young god, shall we both erase you from existence ?" The young god tried to speak up, only to be cut off by the third voice.

The silence held for a couple of minutes with no other words spoken. "Good, by my command. Avery Bailey is not to be touched unless she defiles a shrine of yours, Alistair. Then, you are permitted to move mortals against her. Under no circumstance are you to do anything personally unless she attacks your heavenly body. You are also no longer permitted to leave Asgard."

Another few minutes went by without a reply. "Do you understand?" The voice boomed out again, releasing a terrifying aura that distorted the vicinity, two figures shimmered again, but only the child seemed to be affected. His shimmering figure crumpled into a fetal position before the aura released him.

After a few moments, a weak childish voice replied "Y-Yes...". "Understand that a High-God's word is law, but it is also a binding curse. The universe gives us our powers, with many rules child; keeping our word is one of them, should you break it... I will have to exterminate you. You both may go now. Jen'Kuo, tend to your champion."

" " By your will, Odin. " "

Where those two were, trails of silver sparkle swirled before disappearing into the vast sea of stars. With a small sigh of annoyance, Odin faded in a wisp of golden sparkles that disappeared into the stars as well.

»

When Avery awoke, the cloud covered sky had disappeared. In its place was an orange and red sky. It had become dusk. She slowly sat up, each muscle screaming in protest. Her body exhausted. A whimper entered her left ear, turning slightly, she saw Fenrir. He had blood spots here and there that had already dried a disgusting shade of brown. "Fenrir! Where are you hurt?!" It took a few seconds for her mind to register the happenings of earlier. Her powered through her body's unwillingness.

She got to her knees, her hands fumbling with his armor as she tried to take it off. "Master, I'm alright! Please rest!" His protests fell on deaf ears. Seeing the panic and fear in her eyes, he became quiet, letting her do what she wanted. It took a few minutes, words of comfort kept spelling from her mouth as she finally got off his armor. Blood caked hands frantically ran through Fenrir's fur, looking for wounds.

It took a few rounds before Avery found nothing and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He was at a loss for words. He could feel her shaking body through his thick fur, but he'd never seen his master this way. He didn't know how to act, his eyes looked at two figures sitting nearby on a toppled tree trunk. "Um... Avery... I believe you're troubling the wolf."

An older woman's voice broke the silence. It didn't have its usual noble tone but sounded tired. Avery's eyes quickly shot up towards the voice with a menacing stare. Her feline eyes narrowed, bloodlust radiated from her. Empress Maria felt her life flash before her eyes, but it wasn't like the dragon. Dragons killed to either eat or gather magical treasures. She was sure the Dragon happened to fly by and detect the unshielded Ghost Flower from the island.

This child, on the other hand, it was pure bloodlust. Her body instinctively shielded Fenrir's unprotected body. Like a wild animal that had been injured, trying to protect its offspring. For a few seconds did it last, before Avery finally became sane, realizing who they were. Her body relaxed visibly, leaving a barely audible "sorry". Desmond stood next to her but was scared stiff. He probably would have emptied his bowels, but he had done that earlier already when he crawled across the that horribly clearing in fear. He was much cleaner than Empress Maria though.

Her left arm was missing from the shoulder down. Her hair was singed, the dress caked in blood and ash. There were many holes and ripped parts. No longer looking like an Empress, she would best be described as a neglected slave. Seeing their pitiful appearances, Avery's heart twisted. "What happened to you guys...?".

Maria recounted that they were sailing over the valley. Noticing the Dragon in the distance, they quickly went onto high alert since young dragons were attracted to magical items. Their ship didn't have any tools to seal the Ghost flower so they tried to speed up. This only caught the young curious dragon's attention. With it coming closer, it managed to detect the flower's aura and began attacking. Having only scholarly mages and Royal Knights, they weren't prepared to fight the normally peaceful dragon.

After that, the dragon knocked them out of the sky.

It mauled the downed ship like a hungry dog mauling a rabbit. It tore at its haul until it found its prey. The Ghost Flower that Empress Maria had. Naively thinking she could keep it safe, Maria lost her arm as the dragon tried to pry it from her grip. It never got the flower as it fell somewhere in the debris along with her mangled arm. That was a few minutes before they arrived. Then a few minutes later, Avery engaged the dragon and she already knew the rest.

"Well... You guys should go clean yourselves up... You both look like crap..." Avery tried to lighten the mood. Sadly, they only looked at her with uneasy expressions. "You look worst than both of us..." Both of them nodded, but before Avery could retort. Desmond spoke up again with a stronger voice." Avery, you're wounded... You're covered in blood, ash, and dirt. Please go tend to yourself.. Fenrir wouldn't let anyone touch you..."

She didn't know she was wounded. She confused what they met before she took a look at her body. Her armor was matted in dried blood with dirt and other debris stuck in. There was a small gash on her stomach and tens of cuts everywhere. Suddenly becoming aware, she felt her skin protest. She most likely was bruised on her back. The notification symbol in the corner of her vision was blinking repeatedly as well.

[Warning! You've been cursed with [Alistair's Curse]]

[War- 2@(#98@_(#*&3( ]

.

.

[ . . . Don't worry my Little Kitten, I am watching over you...]

[Curse has been purified!]

[Warning! Insufficient mana to heal! Please manually activate when sufficient!]

[Warning! [Mana Exhaustion] in effect, Mana recovery slowed!]

She looked at the chain of text. She did a pass before decided she had enough for today. She switched to her mana bar.

[10,000/1,000,000]

She only meekly nodded towards Desmond before asking Fenrir to carry her on his back...

A sea of stars reflexed in the calm river. Silver moonlight illuminated the land and outlined a single girl bathing by the river's edge. She was completely out of sorts. Thinking about the last two days, she absent-mindedly bathed herself. Her fair skin glistened beautifully in the moonlight. Her armor had been thrown into the shallow shore water. A stream of red flowed from both the armor and Avery as the water washed over them.

Her back was entirely black and purple. Bruised from the impact of being hit. Her stomach faired no better, but the injuries on both were visibly shrinking, the effects of a healing potion she consumed a minute ago. The open wounds began to close and the internal damage was being repaired. It felt like someone's hand was rearranging the very fabric of her being while doing so. It was uncomfortable, but she knew it was healing her.

Fenrir had also washed away the blood from his fur. He stood just on the shore while giving her a status report on the happenings at the crash site. None of it improved her mood. She was basically the cause of the disaster. She had given them the flower thoughtlessly and tens of people have died. It went without saying that she wouldn't have known, but it didn't change that their blood was on her hands.

Her mind had gone blank for a couple of moments. The reality of the world she was in. People were dying. She was physically harmed and some god tried to kill her all in one day. She thought she too much on her plate, but today... Today was hell. She let the icy water soothe her worn soul. Trying to find some silver lining, any little thing that could make it just a sliver better. Staring up at the mountain outline, she had tears falling from her golden eyes as the thoughts began to process again.

"Hey... I, umm, thought you might want this..." Desmond voice thoughtlessly danced across the silent night air. There was uncertainty in his voice, a hue of fear, but Avery was his mother's savior. He emerged from the treeline with a fluffy towel in hand. He was oblivious to Avery's nude state as he too was caught up in the day's events. He feared Avery, but at the same time, almost worshipped her. Fenrir's body perfectly blocked Avery's body with only her cascading snow-white hair visible from behind.

Fenrir, being a furred monster, who was none the wiser about human gender etiquette, didn't budge from his spot as he stopped speaking to look at Desmond. It was only after Desmond stood no more than three meters away did he register she was naked. Her beautiful young body bathing in the moonlight made his mind stop. Avery, on the other hand, was too preoccupied. Only when she heard Desmond muttering her name like a broken record did she turn around.

"Desmond..." It didn't register to her either. Her mind pushing the reason for today's event front and center. She rose from the river her wet body glistened in the moonlight as she strode up to Desmond. The fear of her instantly evaporated as her stark naked body entered his view.

Fenrir only looked at him in amusement. Maybe he knew, but just didn't care.

It was only a few minutes of awkward silence as Desmond and Avery stood to stare at each other awkwardly. Both of them without words for two very different reasons. Desmond watched her slowly disappearing bruises, mesmerized as more skin appeared. He was simply to naive to know what to do or say. Be it her thick thighs, her ample breasts, or those faintly glowing feline eyes of her. All of them took his breath away. It wasn't his first time a woman had took it, but none of them were as beautiful as Avery. None so dangerous nor so unique.

"Desmond..?" Avery's head tilted in confusion after agonizing over how to apologize. She also felt something off, but couldn't pin it down. "Y-You're n-naked..." Desmond's face had turned a lovely hue of pink. Only when Desmond mentioned it did Avery become self-aware again. Looking down, her nude body came into sight. Fuck... I... Whatever...

Avery just accepted it. Her body had been in his view for a good while now, no point in getting flustered over it. While her thoughts were like this, her face, on the other hand, was quickly turning red. Almost mechanically did she pick up her clothes and armor from the stream to put it on. "Master, you'll get sick if you put that on.. Take the boy's towel." Avery only let out an "ah" before she blankly left it all on the dirty ground. She took the towel from Desmond before wrapping herself, covering her "important" parts from his sight.

Only then did she return to some state of sanity, turning her grieved face towards the wolf" Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" Fenrir only huffed. "He clearly called out to you." Fenrir finally realized what he did wrong and tried to play it off. As an act of punishment, Avery used Fenrir as a seat. Her weight was nothing to Fenrir, but she wasn't about to actually hurt him for something so small... Well... It didn't deserve physical attacks.

Desmond was somewhat cleaned up, mostly his hands. Avery only looked at him with a forced smile before turning her sight to the river. She clearly was still embarrassed. "So what did you need?" Avery finally got to the point. "Ah... I.. Nothing... I just wanted to give you the towel..." "Are you busy?" Avery turned her attention to Desmond again, there was something turning in those eyes of her. "N-N-Nooo...?". Her feline eyes narrowed, he could almost picture himself as a mouse that fell right into her claws. "Undress. Bathe." Two simple words, that were said in a gentle manner, almost like honey. That's if you didn't look into the eyes...

"Restitution. " Was Avery's final word.

Desmond ended up naked, sitting in the river with a beet red face as Avery dried herself unreservedly. At this point, she gave up all reservations since he had already baked her naked image into his mind. She didn't want to bother with it anymore. So long as no other men came by.

"Master... Why didn't you just dress directly from her item box when he came out?" Fenrir ended up asking her. Her head turned mechanically with a dangerous glint. Fenrir could almost feel himself being carved alive. "I, uh, am going to go help the others." Before Avery could even do something to him, he escaped like a gust of wind into the forest.

Desmond kept looking into the water, reciting noble virtues in his mind. He could feel the beautiful demoness behind him was provoked and tried to avoid her ire.

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7. Aftermath (2)​

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Spoiler: click to read

The morning sun rose, the rays barely peeking over the mountains. A dense mist hung in the air, leaving the edge of the crash site in a misty haze. Pine trees resembling tall, shadowy figures watched over yesterday’s battlefield. The early morning rays barely made their way through the fog, leaving dark outlines of abyss-like craters and fallen trees. Swords and arrows stood in the spots their wielders had died, solemn grave markers to be collected later.

The light barely illuminated the trench carved out by the Heaven’s Cloud, bits of planks lay scattered. Some were flat on the ground, while others were stuck up at an angle. The frigid morning wind blew between them, as well as over the knights and mages who walked about without energy, piercing their thick gear like knives. The vice-captain of the Royal Knights had died and with Captain in the Capital, the vice-captain’s aide had been taken command in the dead of night. A defensive perimeter had been established around the downed vessel.

After the battle, word spread among the survivors. The dragon had been slain by the Primordial, Avery. However, no one was in the mood to celebrate as they quickly gathered the wounded and left the corpses. It was only after midnight were they able to collect the bodies of their comrades. It was also after midnight that Desmond and Avery arrived, both mentally exhausted. Even then, Avery had left them “Potions of Healing”.

When they had used them in front of her, they didn’t heal instantly like in-game, but slowly. With white steam sizzling from their wounds. Those with scrapes, cuts, and broken bones were healed visibly. Those with more critical wounds had the same effect, but they couldn’t replace limbs or bring back the dead. It let a bittersweet victory, albeit small, in everyone’s mind. Avery didn’t bother to stay any longer. She didn’t bring out her stronger potions, as she was scared they would have an extreme side effect. The regular ones had almost made the soldiers throw up from the potency.

The next morning, the cold air nipped at Avery’s nose. Her body shuddered by the suddenness. A frown crept onto her face pretty sleeping face. Her hands fumbled under the blanket, searching out something warm to cling to, only to have them slip out the edges. Her eyes shot open in a panic. Her golden feline eyes vibrantly glowed in the low-light. The only light slipped through the sides of the door.

Desmond slept just a few feet away. He shot up, his eyes frantic and his heart racing. His eyes scanned the room looking for the source of the rustling, only to find a pair of glowing golden eyes staring narrowly at him like he was prey. For a split moment, he thought there was a monster. Then, he remembered that it was just Avery and that they shared a room last night in the overturned boat. He was just about to ask what happened before Avery slipped nimbly from under her blanket and into his.

He felt like a rabbit, staring into the open jaws of a wolf that was about to eat him. His body tensed up, and his mind screeched to a stop. Only after she nuzzled up to his side, half asleep, muttering “Warm..” did he come back to his senses.” A-Avery! You can’t do that-” Avery cut him off with a soft, sweet muddled voice that could melt the meanest man. “I don’t care. It’s cold.” He thought about moving, but just as he was going to, a soft womanly arm slid over his lap and gripped his opposite side, leaving him unable to get up.

He looked at Avery in disbelief, only to see the side of a beautiful, fair-skinned face. For a moment, his young inexperienced mind wanted to kiss that cheek, like he’d read in the romance novel his older half-sister had shown him. He turned over and was about to slide his arm over her midsection before a pair of narrowed golden eyes peered at him threateningly. He could see a faint blush on her cheeks. She was embarrassed, but he could see her breath coming out as a white mist. She was doing it to warm herself, he reminded himself. “O-Okay…” He liked her, but it seemed she would become scary if you did something she didn’t want…

In the end, both of them lay together, facing each other. They both no longer felt the morning cold, which was probably around 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius).{Proofer: Personally, I don’t think 5 degrees Celsius is snuggle weather. Not even cold enough for snow.}{Author: Don’t listen to her, she’s a Canadian. Common tempt to see breath >45F, snow is at 32F.}

Both of them were embarrassed, but they were able to fall into a deeper sleep than they had the entire night…

It was a few hours later when the door-flap open inward with a maid appearing. “My lord, the Empress has sent us to wake-” Her expression froze and her words stopped. From her view, she could see the Third Prince’s back. The creaking door and the sudden wave of light lit up the room. A pair of golden feline eyes sleepily peeked over Desmond’s waking body. Avery’s rustled hair was adorable. Her half-asleep look was quite seductive and also all the maid could see, so she thought they were naked under the blankets.

“I’m sorry to disturb you!” Desmond barely turned his head before the panicked maid let go of the door, swinging downward with a bang. He was confused before he looked at Avery who was in front of him and remembered her slipping into his blanket a few hours prior. He felt his reputation of being a pure, virgin prince slip away like a soul leaving. Avery ignored Desmond’s blank look as she used the blanket to rub the sleep from her eyes.

It took a while, but Desmond was able to recover, accepting that he would probably be killed by his mother. Avery, on the other hand, changed without reservation in front of him. She still remembered how he walked in on her bathing and soaked her majestic body with all his might. At this point, sleeping with him was nothing as they were both clothed. She was probably just clutching at straws at that point.

After they had dressed in thick clothing and thick cloaks, provided by the maid who ran away, they exited the room into a broken hallway. It was the fourth level, turned the second story. Two maids had waited for them just outside. Behind the maids was the large opening where the dragon ripped apart the hull. There weren’t any stairs to get up to their room, but with Avery there, she could leap up with Desmond. The maids had two knights below who helped them up.

The knights reach their arms and helped Desmond. When they were about to help Avery, she only disregarded them and jumped down. She landed nimbly. Barely a sound was made, making them feel awkward. Luckily for them, the normal maids needed their help, fixing their hurt egos.

The sun was high in the sky, the morning fog absent. The outside temperature was higher than in the rooms, so everyone was out and about. Some made defenses, others patrolled, and the rest scavenged useable goods from the vessel. The knights guided them through the chaos and makeshift tents to the edge of the camp.

“The Empire’s forces should be here within a few hours, my lord. We found the Long-Bow transmitter and sent a distress signal.” The Empress stood looking out over yesterday’s battlefield solemnly. She no longer wore a tattered dress, but a simple one made of fine materials. Many magical artifacts were destroyed in the initial attack. They had to use whatever remained to steel themselves against whatever would attack them. The Valley wasn’t known to be friendly. The Dragon had been there, so many monsters had been scared off, but who knew when they would come back. She kept watch thinking about the price of this.

She, of course, knew the number of casualties from the attack, but as a ruler, she also had to think of the cost. Lives and coin could be replaced, but money was harder than lives to keep in their world. It wasn’t easily made. Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard kept. All the artifacts aboard her ship were emergency measures they gathered among Primordial ruins, leaving them irreplaceable. Barriers, wards, instant magic scrolls, and other things. Of course, they were only to be used in life or death situations, but most of them had been destroyed, never seeing the light of day.

This left a sour feeling in her stomach.

“My lady, Prince Desmond, and Ms. Avery are here.” Maria sighed, relief filling here. Finally, a distraction. The maid bowed away while the two approached Empress Maria. Desmond bowed while Avery only yawned. No one found it disrespectful. She was their sole savior. Even without that title, she was a “Primordial”. She held great power, one that the Empire would have to gather every mage, every knight, and every scholar to hold a candle to. Instead, Empress Maria was the one to bow to her.

“Oooh? So you decided to take our baby boy as payment for saving us?” Maria cooed with a wolfish grin. Avery’s head tilted with confusion. The surrounding guards gave approving thumbs up towards Desmond. The boy in question could only remain stunned by the sudden event. Seeing Avery’s confusion, Maria clarified herself. ” The maids tell me you were under the same blanket this morning.” Like a lightning bolt, an “ahh” escaped her lips and returned the same wolfish grin. “Mhm, the little prince already baked my nude image into his mind. No way he’s getting away now…”. A dangerous glint appeared in Empress Maria’s eyes as her head turned towards Desmond.

“Oh my… My little rabbit is nineteen already, I guess it’s only natural.” Though her lips smiled, her eyes conveyed a threat. You take responsibility! Desmond, having been his mother’s only child, knew the threatening look very well. He could only silently receive his one-sided verbal slander.

The exchange went on for a few minutes. After Avery decided Desmond had enough payback for last night, she reminded Empress Maria that she had wanted to see them.

Empress Maria moved to the main subject.” Unfortunately, we’re unable to leave.” She let out a tired sigh that seemed to age her ten years. “Too many wounded. Too many dead… That’s not accounting that the Heaven’s Cloud is the Dragon Empire’s treasure…” With a ridiculing chuckle, she continued ” It’s ironic that it’d be a dragon that felled it.” One of the maids by the Empress cleared her throat. This brought the Empress back to the present. “Back to the matter… With all this, we can’t abandon the crash site. Good news, when we departed, we sent ahead a Wyvern messenger. Since we didn’t arrive yesterday, there should be reinforcements already on the way.”

Avery remembered Wyvern. They were considered ‘pest dragons’, nothing more than mounts used by some NPCs, or flocks of wild dragons that terrorized low-level areas. Sometimes they’d accompany boss dragons, but only to die as fodder or food. They were actually good material for low-level players.

“So the mages and Scholars will salvage what they can, while the knights keep a defensive perimeter. As for you two, come with me. We’ll go deal with the dragon corpse before it turns into a Ghoul…” Empress Maria turned away and lead them both out away from the crash site and towards the treeline. In the direction the dead dragon was.

After weaving between the trees and thicket, the three, along with a small group of knights, arrived at the charred clearing. A thick scent of iron hung in the air, almost activating their gag reflexes. Avery felt a chill run up her spine, while the others shuddered.

Before them was a behemoth of an animal. White polished scales gleamed in the sunlight. The body was majestic but pitiful. The wings were sprawled out, covered in dirt and soot, while the hind legs were sprawled behind it. Most of its white body was in pristine condition, besides the neck. A gaping hole was visible, with a portion of the skull’s rear and the neck’s upper part missing. Dried blood stained the pure white scales around the wound. Bits of broken scales and muscle surrounded the edges.

Blood had pooled around its lifeless head, its clouded eyes reflected nothing. “Haa… Poor thing. Such a young Light Dragon. It’s a shame you had to kill it…” It was an adolescent dragon, less than two hundred years. Avery didn’t react to the Empress’ comment as they approached it, stepping over broken trees and branches. Its head reminded Avery of a German Shepherd. She too felt it was a shame, but she didn’t regret what she had done. By now they all had gotten used to the stench as the party examined it.

Avery kept looking into its eyes. Thinking how it looked so harmless and pitiful, she reckoned she could have reasoned with it. Avery felt herself shudder; it was her first kill. She felt her emotions mix in the pit of her stomach but forced herself to keep it together. There was a first for everything in the past few days. She told herself it was self-defence. She didn’t know if she was right or wrong. She didn’t want to know.

The others looked at her, worried. They watched as different emotions crossed her face. Whether she was aware of it or not, didn’t matter. Desmond, who already liked her, worriedly walked up to her and put his hand on her left shoulder. “You okay…?” His eyes conveyed his concern along with his gentle tone. Avery only forced a smile and nodded. His gentleness didn’t erase her thoughts, though he gave her a sense of peace, even if it was small.

Desmond, in his heart, feared Avery, but at the same time, had grown to like her over the two days they had spent together. She was a blunt girl from what little he’d seen. She didn’t try to deceive him, nor did she try to flatter him. At least, not that he could tell. It still left a good impression on the two. It wasn’t like that Desmond liked every girl that did such things. Of course, there were many that did, but Desmond had disliked such girls since the first one tried using him.

No, because Avery was such a powerful existence and treated them like human beings. That’s what he liked. He also hoped that she liked him as well. Such a beautiful girl with such good manners, of course, he’d want to get close to her.

While the gears turned in Desmond’s head, the poor boy’s object of affection paid him no mind and had thoughts of her own. She pondered something for a moment, then walked forward. Placing her hand on the dragon’s nose, trying to invoke her Item box.

[Bodies cannot be placed in the item box, please dismantle before trying again.]

Avery resolved herself. She was living in this world, thus, she would have to learn to live in it. The first order of business? Dismantling her kill. “Anyone know how to dismantle a dragon?” Everyone was caught off guard by the sudden question, Desmond took the initiative to look cool in front of her. “I haven’t personally dismantled a dragon, but I’ve done it to other animals in school!” He puffed out his chest, proud of himself.

One of the guards whispered to the Empress, “Should we tell her that they only dismantled deer and pigs in cooking class?” Empress Maria shook her head and giggled before whispering back. “No, leave the young ones be… I can sense they kind of like each other. Let them bond over it. We can just rest while they do their thing.” Empress Maria also had her agenda. To pull over such a powerful existence to their side, but she thought Avery to be a good girl.

If she wasn’t, she would have tried to push one of the Emperor’s other bastard children. The heavens knew how much she hated those twisted kids of his, but this was her only child. A sweet prince who she tried to shield him from the throne fighting. In the end, it only left her child meek and cowardly, but he had grown bolder within the last few years after going to school.

She thought of many things he had experienced. Like a doting mother, she wished for his happiness in the least. As an Empress, she hoped he could lure Avery to their empire. At this moment though, the mother in her won and she stepped away with her thoughts.

Desmond and Avery both held Mithril knives as they began to dismantle the dragon with untrained cuts. Both of them could tell they were amateurs, but neither cared as they enjoyed laughing and working together. A little joke here, and a prank here. Avery had slowly gotten over her misery, and Desmond felt happy. A few guards stood nearby. All of them had guarded Desmon since he was a babe, so they all felt like god-fathers watching him grow up in that moment.

After all that happened, the group, even if only for a few hours, managed to find some escape from yesterday’s tragedy as they watched two younglings bond over a dead dragon before one guard asked “Hey… A-Aren’t thought mm-mithril daggers…?”

A whole new situation had unfolded silently among the guards. Avery, who always used mithril equipment didn’t care. Desmond, a scholar, was too preoccupied with trying to impress Avery to notice…

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8. Aftermath (3)​

Spoiler: click to read

The dragon was fully dismantled, with the organs left for anyone wanted them. Avery had thrown a fit, unwilling to even put such things in her item box. Desmond and the others didn’t try to reason with her, as while the internal organs of a dragon did possess medicinal properties, it wasn’t strong in young dragons like the one Avery killed. Sending the imperial knights back to the camp, the sun loomed high overhead by the time they got back to the makeshift camp. They had washed the blood off, yet they had a faint scent of iron from dismantling for so long.

The clearing had turned into a makeshift landing area for the incoming wyvern riders. Their buffalo-sized komodo dragon-like bodies landed with trained motions in the clearest area before waddling off into smaller cleared areas to rest. Other wyverns began to clear away debris for more spots. Taking the long way to stay out of their way, they skimmed the tree line. Avery looked on with curiosity as most of the wyverns had saddles and packs attached. Desmond had told her that wyverns were just lesser dragons, the furthest ones in the dragon tree.

They only reached the camp after thirty minutes. “So why are these knights gold and not silver like the ones with us?” Avery finally asked the question that Desmond had dreaded. He chewed at his lip while contemplating his answer. “The silver knights are regular Imperial Knights. The gold imperial knights are the best of the Imperial Knights. Protecting the Emperor and his favorite lover. The Heavenly Knights.” Avery eyes jerked to look at him in confusion” Then why aren’t th-” She stopped, and a look of understanding slowly surfaced on her face.

Desmond hoped she wouldn’t continue to ask. The stars aligned and his luck favored him that morning as she only nodded, no longer questioning his circumstances. The newly arrived Heavenly Knights wore polished gold colored armor that did not make noises when they walked, unlike the Imperial Knights in their steel armor. They walked with high heads, red capes at their backs. They never acknowledged the Imperial Knights, but the Imperial Knights seemed to not care as they went about their day. Avery could see unrestrained disdain on their faces when the Heavenly Knights had to speak with their silver counterparts.

They cut through the middle of the camp and headed towards the toppled boat. Desmond’s earlier thanks ended up turning to curse as a pompous woman dressed scantily in a loose golden robe and pinned up hair. Her features were gentle and youthful. Avery guessed she probably was around her early twenties. Her eyes lips had a seductive smile, but her eyes radiated disdain as they both entered her sight.

“I see. The little rabbit got itself a girl rabbit. Hmph.” Her words dripped with ridicule. Desmond, the object of her disdain, only lowered his eyes in embarrassment. The afternoon air wasn’t as frigid like the early morning, but even the surrounding people could feel the temperature drop. It was an open secret that the Imperial Consort viewed the Empress and the latter’s child with open disdain. Only in front of guests did all of them act like a loving family, as the protocol dictated. To them, it was like any other day.

Avery’s golden eyes narrowed at the gaudy woman. First impressions were most important. Her first impression was this girl needed a beating, but she kept it to herself. Desmond leaned sideways slightly “That is Imperial Consort Loralei, the girl my father, the emperor, favors currently. She’s willful and arrogant, but she has the backing of my father, so please, try not to do anything.” She could hear the worry in his voice, but she wasn’t scared of a spoiled woman. She had killed Dragons, Giants, Demons and Demi-gods before. Granted, she had tens of other players helping her, but Imperial Consort Loralei appeared to be just a human.

“Oh? Is she just a servant ?” Consort Loralei kept on talking, smug as she watched Desmond submit to her abuse. Avery only shook her head with annoyance. “Shaking your head like a dog little servant?” Consort Loralei turned her repulsive words toward Avery.

“Your insults are worst than your fashion sense. Why don’t you go sleep with one of your knights instead? It’d be more productive.” Avery’s expression flatlined, her tone monotonous and a faint bloodlust radiated from her. Consort Loralei’s smug expression turned to a shock. Her mouth fell open, the silver knights stifled their laughter.

Consort Loralei was silent, unable to fathom someone would talk back or even insult her. Avery let out a huff through her nose before walking around her. Desmond, also shocked, chased after Avery like a startled rabbit that had its cover pulled away. One Heavenly Knight stepped in front of Avery from her right. ” Halt, you wench! You just insulted the Imperial Consort of the Two-Dragon Empire!” The knight brandished his sword. ” The penalty is death!” he shouted. Before he could even ready his sword to swing, Avery’s fist had already made contact with his breastplate.

Thumm~!

Before the knight could swing at her, he flew backward into the crowd of golden armor behind him. His comrades were barely able to catch him and not topple over themselves. When they looked at him, his chest plate was caved in. At the center, the metal was even pierced. Blood slowly welled up before it began to slowly run out of the cavity. His body was limp and his jaw was slack as his fellow knights held him stunned. All the onlookers were also silent.

Suddenly, one after one, Silver and Gold brandished their metal swords. Each glared at each other, ready to clash. Desmond was stunned by the sheer force Avery had in that punch. Heavenly Knight armor was B-Rank armor! And her fist punched it like paper!

Consort Loralei wasn’t a warrior, nor a scholar. Neither did she bother with details pertaining to her Knights. Seeing a girl, no taller than a fifteen-year-old, send a Heavenly Knight flying backward, in her mind, it must have meant that knight was weak. Her mind quickly altered the view to conform it to her desires. This shitty brat must die!

Unlike when Avery smelt the dragon’s blood, she didn’t recoil from it. Instead, she felt a feeling of joy in her heart. Her blood pumped faster, her body itching to hit him again. “He’s dead!” One of the knights had confirmed what they already saw. Desmond was taken aback, but Avery only felt more joy. She didn’t understand where this emotion came from, but she wanted to fight. She wanted to kill more of those pesky Heavenly Knights. Wipe those smug condescending smiles into the mud with her boots.

Her feline eyes narrowed dangerously as a deep, furious bloodlust began to radiant from her body. Everyone became even more stunned. They had watched this walking goddess, who looked frailer than the Third Prince, kill a Heavenly knight. Now she was slowly looking more wild than a feral cat. She took an offensive stance and brought her hands up to eye level. The bloodlust she radiated made them take a step back.

Desmond’s hand was half-extended towards Avery’s back before a booming voice rang out. “Halt! Who dares fight in the presence of the Empress?!” A man in crimson armor shouldered his way through the crowd before he found the epicenter. He quickly scanned the surroundings before his eyes laid on Avery and the knight she faced. He also didn’t miss the injured or dead knight behind the other knight.

“Disperse quickly!”

None of Desmond’s Imperial Knights inched, and neither did the Heavenly Knights. Their snarling faces contracted Avery’s now open joyful expression. It only served to agitate the Golden Knights even more. Bloodlust began to radiate from the Crimson Knight before the Knights came back to their senses. Looking towards him, there also stood an older woman, missing an arm. “Long live the Empress!” All the Knights shouted, more sincerely on the silver side. The entire golden side seemly ignored it.

“Whatever grudges the two sides may have, may seemly be fought out in the Moon Palace!” A noble woman’s voice softly fell on their ears. Coming in from behind the Crimson Knight, Empress Maria strode out. Her face looked haggard. It seemed the troubles this time had aged her more, well past her age of forty. “Consort Loralei, the crimes you believe they’ve done… Can they not wait until we’ve at least returned…?” A pleading laced her words. Her tired eyes showing resignation. Of all the places she wished such things didn’t happen, this was the one.

“No! I-” Consort Loralei was about to argue before Empress Maria cut her off. “In the middle of nowhere, with so much to take back, should we use your mount, or should we lose more knights?” Consort Loralei quieted, her words getting through her stubbornness. She was a “fine noble”, of course, she didn’t want to be in the sticks. Consort Loralei turned her attention to Avery and Desmond. “I’ll deal with this bitch later!” Puffing air through her nose, she turned and stomped off. Her knights following in tow, but not before hurling barrels of insults.

Desmond let out a sigh, while Avery stomped her foot in frustration. Everyone only looked confused at her. When she turned around and saw their stares did she finally come back to her senses. Recounting that bliss of killing someone, she felt a ting of shame but nothing else. She mostly felt judged by the Imperial Knights and Desmond. She then moved her feet to head to the crash site, the crowd parting. Desmond was about to follow before his mother stopped him.”We have to speak privately…” He cast a worried glance in Avery’s direction but followed his mother as she turned towards the silver knight’s camp.



Fenrir felt like killing himself. Avery had found him as he waited outside their temporary lodging. Something he regretted with every fiber of his being. She began to rant and rave about some poor soul that had angered her. He wasn’t well versed in these human relations, only between other players. Avery had made a point that that experience wouldn’t help with these people. He also noticed that if two players had such an argument, they would have fought it out already. Here, his master had held back because “Senseless murder is bad” and “I don’t want to be a hypocrite”. From his understanding, all sentient beings were contradictory.

It was such a fruitless endeavor to calm her. He only ended up being shaken around and was an inch away from turning into a pin cushion when he brought up the other night. Sadly, stuck between a rock and a hard place… He brought her train of thought back to the woman again.



Prince Desmond stepped into his mother’s tent, his face displaying his worries. “It’s okay my love, I’m only wanting to know what happened…” Desmond recounted the earlier happenings. In the end, the Empress also felt worried, but something even more. Resigned. “I’ve been fighting that woman for over three years now. I’m too old. Too Tired. Too beaten. ” She looked at her remaining hand, her tired eyes unfocused. ” I don’t care about this country anymore, Desmond.” Her eyes turned up, but he felt she really wasn’t looking at him.

“I… I…” Desmond hesitation brought a smile to her face.” It’s good if you still care…” She turned and found a chair in the corner of the tent to sit on. Her body was thrown onto it, and she leaned her head back.” I’ve been Empress for twenty years, but your father has never really cared. He only wanted my home country’s support.” A sigh escaped. ” Now that the Kingdom of Stag is losing its war against the Holy Kingdom, he stopped putting his facade up…”

She wasn’t a citizen of the Empire, but a pawn of political marriage. She could always tell her husband never cared for her. He sought to satisfy his vanity. Money, power, beautiful women, and powerful soldiers. Her body was wanted, not herself. Their wedding night, she laid alone in bed while he tended to younger concubines in a drunken sex-filled night. Another blow to her was that he already had children with concubines. The first prince was the oldest.

She wasn’t a citizen of the Empire, but a woman of a political marriage. She always knew the Emperor never cared for her. He was a vain man. He cared for power, money and looks. He wanted her body, but once it was used and her maiden body was worn from giving birth, he moved onto younger women, some as young as ten. He was a bastard, yes, but she could never leave him. No matter how much she wished she could. That didn’t even account for all the bastard children the man had. All the bodies he left in his wake.

He also didn’t like his only legitimate child, Desmond. He frowned down on him, saying he was should have been born a woman. He wasn’t brave, he wasn’t strong, and he wasn’t an ambitious child. But Desmond loved his father all the same. He learned Magic, became a Scholar, and explored ruins with large groups of Knights to bring his father many treasures since he was ten. In her eyes, Desmond was Brave, maybe not the way the father wanted him to be, but he still approached a Primordial. He still helped that same girl skin a dragon!

He just wasn’t going around womanizing women. He actually was quite shy around the opposite sex, but since that last incident, he liked to avoid women from the capital. A black stain on that poor child’s heart.

Pulling her thoughts back to the present, she realized her thoughts trailed off. She sighed. I am truly too old for this… She raised her head to face Desmond’s worried eyes. ” We’ll think of a way child. Just… Don’t try to use that girl. She’s a good child, we shouldn’t make it a habit to use good people like those people do.” By those, she meant her husband and Loralei, who would use anyone when they can, how they can. It was a vicious cycle and only proved to make the palace more vicious.

Servants that kill and steal. Concubines that poison others. Guards that wouldn’t hesitate to steal. She had managed to keep it together with the Imperial Knights, but they were slowly dwindling. Her people were already little, with each new year it got even smaller.

“I understand. Though, I hadn’t planned to do such. She’s a scary person you know.” A troubled chuckle passed his lips. “You’re right, she is.” A chuckle also left Maria’s lips.

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9. Capital ​

Spoiler: click to read

Finally, when the moon stood high in the sky, the cargo was fully loaded onto the wyverns. Both the gold and silver knights felt worn out. Empress Maria, Desmond, and Avery kept to the Heaven’s Cloud. Consort Loralei stayed close to the wyverns’ landing. Besides a few knights, both groups got over their problems and cooperated. “We take flight tonight!” Consort Loralei, still fuming from earlier, snarled her command. A kneeling knight was before her, his golden armor almost bronze in the dying torchlight.

He wanted to protest. They had been awake before first light and had been working tirelessly throughout the day. The Heaven’s Cloud had many items that had to be stripped and loaded onto the wyverns, but none of this mattered to this woman. Consort Loralei may be beautiful, but she had a heart full of venom. Six vice-captains had been killed under her command, all for a simple disagreement. Their captain would’ve been in an early grave as well if he’d been assigned to this woman. Lucky for him, he was the Emperor’s guard.

Her face furrowed as she bit on her lip and thought. Her deep-black eyes narrowed with frustration as she shifted through ideas. Most ideas were ways to give her knights reason to kill that insufferable brat, but they only ended up tossed away. That brat had already killed one guard, and she was sure the Emperor would lecture her on the loss. The loss wasn’t important so long as she redeemed her face. No, what was important was she didn’t lose her standing with him. With her bodily charm, it wasn’t hard to win the old pervert over. The difficult part was keeping her antics tolerable. Theft, murder, arson, bribery, and among other crimes she had committed – or ordered – was left unsaid…

Because it couldn’t be traced back to her officially.

Officially, she was in charge of this ‘rescue’ mission. As if it could be called that, she retorted to herself. No, it was a simple recovery operation, not of the Empress, of Heaven’s cloud and it’s national secrets. Her being alive was just an unfortunate happening. After a long while, she heaved a fed up snort. She decided to leave the issue for the old man, figuring he’d do something.

The orders to move out echoed throughout the entire area. Knights began to disassemble the camp in an orderly fashion, leaving only enough behind for the few that were unfortunate to draw guard. A golden knight had brought two fine wyvern mounts for the Empress and the two young ones. Empress Maria only sighed a relief. She was hoped Consort Loralei hadn’t been stupid enough to give them improper mounts. Such a large flock of mounts would be flying back into the Capital, there would be many eyes on them.

The last thing any of them needed was to embarrass the Emperor with their petty little games. Seeing the mounts up close, Avery felt a ping of loneliness as memories of Athena surface, her dragon. It was only for a moment before Desmond’s voice rippled the image in her mind. “Will you be riding with me, or -” Avery answered before hearing the rest. “You.” Her voice steady and casual. No hesitation could be heard, as if she had already made that choice before he thought of it.

Empress Maria and the few nearby guards only grinned at Desmond. He was already embarrassed by the speed of her response, so he nervously helped her onto the Dragon’s back. Desmond then mounted the wyvern skillfully as Avery let out an amused coo with her head leaning forward at an angle”Oh, can you actually fly?” Desmond’s body shivered. He had only known her a few days, but he could feel that teasing in her voice. He wasn’t used to it as he replied”Y-Yeah… We ride them all the time in the Academy…” Avery grinned but decided to leave him be.

By the imperial family’s decree, Empress Maria and her son should have been the first to take flight, but Consort Loralei’s wyvern had used its powerful legs to leap close to twenty feet off the ground and used it’s powerful wings to suspend itself. Only afterward, when Empress Maria was sure she was satisfied with the attention, did she take off as well followed by Desmond. Then, one by one the others took off and headed off in the direction of the Capital, looking no different than a flock of crows in the distance.

Wyvern could only fly seven hours before needing to rest for the day. Luckily, the wyvern could fly to the capital within four hours. They were slower than flying ships but incontestably faster than a fast horse. This was also accounting for the weight of the gathered packs.

Hues of orange and yellow began to chase away the silvery night as the capital came into view. Built in a river’s mouth, the dark city had been built in a particularly even terrain. Large roads webbed outwards from the city, leading to nearby villages and towns. Some lead into the great unknown beyond. A fairly dense forest surrounded the capital with outcroppings in the tree sea of trees where homesteads and other buildings were.

The Capital was lined with dark grey weathered stone ramparts, the roofs of buildings and towers jutting out from behind. Avery couldn’t quite appreciate the city grandeur until the rays of oranges and yellows cascaded upon the city itself. Dull brick buildings, with tile roofs. Some buildings were one story tall while some were almost four. Some were even one story with large roofs. The architecture only kept the theme of tile roofs and bricks, leaving the rest to vary like grass blades in a field. In the center of the city was a large castle, looming over the other buildings by hundreds of feet. Its walls rose even higher than the outer walls, and small balls of burning orange could be faintly seen.

The wind roared in her ear, the cold wind kissing her face like a passionate lover. Even with her good sight, there wasn’t much detail to make out other than before. It only took a few minutes after that the ringing of bells could be heard. A few minutes later the flock of wyverns began to right, their direction heading at an angle downward. At first, Avery was confused to why, but it wasn’t until she got closer did she notice a large clearing, neat and organized by may ant-like people that buzzed around, preparing to accept a large influx of riders.

After a couple of minutes, the clearing turned into a large open field with people dressed in all grey overalls. One runway ran the length of the field were other wyverns were gliding into a running as they touched down before slowing down and veering into the grassy area where they soon disappeared under the forest canopy. the only thought that came to her mind was Dragon Airport!?

When it came to their group’s turn to land, they glided around the field before lining up with the runway. One by one, giving each other at least a twenty-second spacing, they too glided down. With their mount’s feet touched the ground, it broke into a run while its rear landed like a running lizard before it could slow down. It looked smooth and well train. “Brace yourself,” Desmond yelled back at her. She didn’t see the need to, but she did so anyway, holding tightly onto the wyvern’s rear passenger rope.

Desmond turned the wyvern into a dive, the air pushing fiercely against her as they swooped down and also landed. As if to curse her, the landing was fierce and she could feel the each of the wyvern’s feet hitting the group with tremendous force. The saddle absorbed a lot, only telling Avery how much weight these little dragons hand to them. Feeling slightly disoriented by the unexpected experience, the wyvern hurried off the runway.

“Why was that so ruff?!” Avery complained to Desmond. ” So ruff? That was gentle. Wyvern normally land by swooping down and just landing with a drop on the ground.” Desmond shuddered like he’d personally experienced it. ” Compared to that, this is as gentle as a mother cradling her baby!” Desmond shuddered again before dismounting, then helped Avery. A tall muscular woman came over and grabbed the wyvern’s reigns. She gently led it away to the forest canopy, in the direction of the city. Desmond waved his hand.” Let’s go.” His tone was soft and full of relief to be back in the capital.

Avery followed without commenting. She took in the sights and sounds of the field. From her understanding, it was the staging area for their wyverns and their logistical support. There were many men and women here, unloading the mounts and leading them away. The unloaded cargo was then loaded into a waiting wagon before being carried off towards the forest. Desmond also led her that way.

When she got close to the treeline, she could see large gaps between the trees. In between, there were small wooden structures resembling overly large stables. The dragons were being led into those. Wooden scaffolding wrapped around every third tree, with platforms almost twenty feet high wrapping around each tree trunk. Bridges made rope binding and wooden footholds bounded from platform to platform. Soldiers in black pants and shirts with light leather armor attached. Each carried wooden bows and leather quivers full arrows.

“The men on the catwalks are called ‘rangers’. It’s written that rangers take their tactics and fighting style from the Elves of old, back from your age.” Desmond’s eyes shined and his mouth parted with a smile. Avery could tell he was trying to boast. She was about to tell him it wasn’t anything special, but she caught that childish joy in his face. She didn’t have the heart to refute him. She only smiled and nodded, not to patronize him, but to encourage him. It was definitely an adorable expression.

“They scout out ahead on campaigns, monster cleanups, and often roam the lands looking for monsters who’d become a threat.” Desmond, a little giddier, kept on talking.”They’re amazing people, you know. Like the free-riders, they go on adventures, see the world, and better yet; don’t have to worry when they’ll be paid. They work for the empire!” Avery smiled at his adorable demeanor as he talked about something he liked.

Be it the history or the actual rangers, she wasn’t sure – it didn’t matter anyway. Both Desmond and Avery walked side by side, with no silver or gold knights glaring at each other. Desmond gave her a tour around the wyvern stables and the barracks. He gave her brief tidbits of history regarding certain buildings, certain people, and even how the wyvern came to become mounts for them. Both of them happily chatting away as the sun rose, cashing away the orange and yellow away with clear light.

“Where are those brats?!” Consort Loralei fumed with anger, a snarl distorted her expression. The golden knight from earlier shivered, his head down and one his knee. “I don’t know, my lady… ” He had a saw them dismount, but with tens of knights dismounting one after another. He had lost sight of them in the crowd. He cursed silently that he hadn’t told more people to watch them.” I have failed, please hand down punishment!” They were empty words, in hope that he’d be pardoned. It wasn’t a real fumble. Desmond was the crown prince. The girl seemed to be his friend. He took this into account and was ready to explain this, but he never got the chance.

“Take this bastard away and kill him. Bring someone more competent! Find those brats and bring them into the palace!” The woman roared her commands, her face turning a crimson red from the rage. Four golden knights grabbed the man from both sides and hauled him away. The surrounding knights pretended not to notice, continuing to help unload the cargo of the wyverns before heading to into the city.

There is a board in the Heavenly Knight barracks in the palace. Many different bulletins are pinned on this large, imposing board. Among these papers, there hangs a small piece of wood. The words “Days without incident” are painted on it.

A piece of paper was pinned on it, with ink strikes totaling thirty-two days. A golden knight walked up to it and ripped it off, exposing a large zero. The knight crumbled the paper with a frustrated grumble before walking off.

There were tens of knights resting in the room who witnessed this. A cold sweat ran down every one of their foreheads.” Consort Loralei executed another one…” A man murmured weakly. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Another one began to panic. “Damn… He had the highest streak… Really thought it’d last…” another ominously said. A golden knight with two large dragons engraved on his breastplate walked in. A cold wind of death crept in after him. Each of the knights began to pray to every god in Eos that could possibly help them.

He stopped in the middle of the room, brandished an empty bottle of ale before setting it down on its side. He gave it a quick spin before the sound of glass rubbing on worn varnish cried out. The praying became louder and louder as the bottle lost momentum. With each pass, some men even wept. One man attempted to plead to the golden knight,” Captain! Please don’t! I got kids! I got a wife! I-If-” He was cut off as more people began to get desperate.

The man called captain stood there. Staring at the bottle with a dark face as the bottle slowly came to a stop. The room became silent as the bottle pointed to the forward left of the captain. His head slowly craned as he followed the bottleneck’s direction. In the corner stood a burly man, covered in scars and a face that could send babies to the afterlife with a look. His face was stiff before the reality hit him like a bucking horse.

As if death itself had come to drag him to hell, his face turned ugly with tears and snort.” Mercy! Mercy!” Before the captain could move, the man screamed with all his might” My lord Odin, save me and I shall carve a statue in your honor. I will worship you will all my heart and fight in your honor!” His cries echoed throughout the barracks. The captain scowled at the man’s theatrics.

As if answering him, a small squeak peeped up. Looking down, everyone saw the bottle – which had stopped- turned slightly and point at the man next to him. Before the man could react to the sudden change, the Captain grabbed the man and hauled him out while saying, ” You got a promotion today!”

Years after, songs and tales spoke of a man who’d retired from the Heavenly Knights. He took up the mantle of a Warrior Priest of Odin. He carved life-like statues in Odin’s likeness and fought for justice where ever his two feet took him…