Finding Lixiss on his quick search through the camp, Kaine faltered from approaching her as he sees the Elf brooding mid-way through one of the bridges. Staring off into the ravine below.

He watched her sigh, a pitiful sight compared to the excited and overwhelming girl he saw earlier.

For long moments, unconsciously, Kaine watched her.

Her demeanour, her expressions and sounds.

Then glancing at the other guards, and seeing theirs.

A chill climbed up Kaine’s spine, as he simply couldn’t deny the fact that…

They didn’t just seem real.

Everything about them felt all too real, to the point that he feared that if he didn’t know any better, Kaine would forget all too easily that they were…NPCs, in a VR MMORPG.

Drowning in this thought, Kaine watched as Lixiss noticed him standing there, staring still.

The sorrow in her eyes then being joined with amusement as she saw him, as she stepped back from the bridge’s railing and glanced about. Only one of the guards was watching her at the time, waving at him, Kaine could swear he saw the guard roll his eyes.

As even Kaine was confused at what occurred next.

Lixiss gestured him over, before suddenly jumping off the bridge.

Startled, Kaine rushed over to the railing, looking over only to sigh with relief.

Seeing Lixiss standing upon the web of vines below, completely unharmed as she wobbled from the shaking web. Rising fully then, she glanced up at him with a grin. Once more, gesturing for him to follow, before suddenly rushing off towards one side of the ravine.

Kaine glanced at the guard watching him, unsure of what to do, but as the guard simply looked away as he did…

Hah, screw it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XULwY0rvQUk

He thought, jumping over the railing himself right then.

Kaine landed shakily, immediately losing his balance upon the tough yet elastic-like web. Falling back onto his ass, he glanced ahead to see Lixiss waiting for him by the cliff’s side, even if chuckling in amusement at his fall.

Embarrassed, he quickly rose up, almost losing his balance once more as he flailed his arms about to regain it.

Causing Lixiss to laugh further.

Smooth dude, real fucking smooth.

Kaine groaned, catching himself standing still but unsure if he could take another step without falling again.

Looking ahead then, he watched Lixiss smirk before suddenly break out into a spree of movement, jumping from side to side with little effort.

Not losing her balance once, she approached him.

“Having some problems there?” She asked as she reached him, coming to stand before him as he wobbled from her movements. Leaned forward with an amused grin plastered all over her face, Kaine couldn’t help himself but briefly stare, remembering their first encounter.

It filled him with confusion, and even further embarrassment.

As he took a step back, balancing himself once more.

He looked around her and at the cliff’s end ahead.

“Oh? Race me then?” Lixiss asked with a chuckle, turning around to face the cliff too, she seemed amused.

But Kaine’s expression hardened, his eyes going cold as they focused.

Unbeknownst to Lixiss, Kaine was done having problems.

“On three,” She said, watching his expression and entire demeanour suddenly change, “One, Two,” Lixiss counted down, disregarding the change at first.

“Three-” But was left standing in shock, as Kaine suddenly shot forwards.

Fully adapted to the situation and surroundings, within the mere moments Kaine got to watch Lixiss he studied and learned her movements.

Making them his own.

Kaine now ran unconstrained, reaching the web’s edge without an issue, he turned around to see her still standing there.

A wide smile upon her face, as her eyes lay just as wide with astonishment.

After a brief chuckle then, Lixiss turned around, gesturing for him to follow once more.

She rushed off, leaping from the thickest of vines to the next, she delved deeper into the ravine.

What’s with this girl?

He at first thought, yet throwing aside any insecurities he might have had, Kaine chased after her.

Leaping from thick vine to vine himself, as the web below him shook and trembled from their movements, Kaine at first followed.

Before suddenly overtaking her, landing upon the same vine she had, Kaine rushed ahead.

Feeling the wind then blow through, a sudden wall of force that stopped his every movement.

Kaine held on for dear life, clutching the vine beneath him as the blast of air seemed unending.

Watching through his narrowed eyes, as a figure rushed past him, landing in front of him at that moment.

Kaine felt the wind’s barrage pause, as he now fully took in the sight before himself.

Lixiss stood there, as the wind seemed to abruptly swerve around her, a fluorescent rush of blue energy surrounding her like a barrier where the wind attempted to reach her.

Unrestrained by the breeze, Lixiss chuckled as she glanced down upon him, “Careful now, you don’t want to get blown away like a leaf, do you?” forwarding her hand then. “Come on, we’re almost there.” She told him.

“There? Where?” Kaine asked, fully self-conscious as he accepted her hand.

“You’ll see,” Lixiss told him as she pulled him up, “when we get there!” She then suddenly said with a wide smile, pulling him with as Kaine then felt something carry along the weight of his body.

As the wind, rushed and twirled about their feet.

Kaine felt weightless, as Lixiss pulled him along, leaping higher and further than before even as the harsh rushing of air blasted past them.

Something Kaine barely felt like a harmless breeze, as they soared through it undeterred.

As she pulled him with, seemingly impossible form her thin frame, yet whatever magic now surrounded them made it so.

Speechless throughout, Kaine neither pulled away nor rushed ahead, as she clenched his hand. Only landing right every time they hit the ground, as not to fall over.

Unknowing, and uncaring, of the winged serpent that tried to follow them but failed, the winds all too strong for the slithering demon. Kaine was entranced by what lay ahead.

Staring at her from behind, clear of his cold fear from earlier, yet questions still filled his expression and mind.

Insecurities returning to him, Kaine was still unsure how to regard her and her people.

Allies? Bystanders?

Enemies?...

He didn’t know, yet still, he held on. Still he let her guide him through the winds.

For in this reality, and the other.

Kaine had nothing left to lose.

And so, as they landed one last time, he followed.

As she led him by the hand through the clearing wind, revealing the massive falls of water which now surrounded them.

Kaine hovered up and down alongside her as the web shook from the crashing waters.

With each landing, she’d push them forwards, moving weightlessly like feathers and ever closer to the descending river.

Letting go of his hand as they reached the edge where the water crashed into the web, and mist rose from below. Lixiss glanced back at him briefly with a grin, “This way,” she said before suddenly leaping headfirst into the waterfall into which she disappeared.

Kaine faltered, stepping to the waterfall first, he narrowed his eyes trying to make anything out on the other side.

Barely able to see a dark figure move closer, a hand then reached out through the water, grasping his arm and pulling him through before he could even resist.

Kaine felt the hard ground beneath his feet then as the weightlessness magic wore off, finding himself standing within what he guessed to be a naturally formed tunnel as water trickled in from the fall behind him.

Lixiss stood next to him as he stared down the path, barely making out with his Elvish eyes that it descended downwards.

“It’s…a hole, so?” Kaine mused as he side-glanced her.

Sighing, Lixiss then stepped forward, suddenly beginning to slide down the very slippery stone surface.

She glanced back at him with a wide smile, saluting as she disappeared into the darkness.

“Well? You coming?” Her voice echoed back through the nothingness before him, seemingly moving further with each word.

Yeah, this one’s got a few screws loose!

Kaine decided, as he sheepishly took a step forward himself, finding that indeed the ground was…incredibly slippery.

As he almost slipped forwards, catching himself just in time by taking another step forwards.

Yet, at the same time, dooming himself to whatever fate awaited him beyond.

As there was no stopping his momentum now, Kaine skid along the trickling waters.

Delving into the darkness, he felt the air rush past his body, indicating that he was only getting faster.

All he could do was retain his posture, helplessly trying to not tumble over and die a gruesome death.

As the rushing cavern around him suddenly grew clearer than stone and stalactites above, the name of this place finally clearing too.

The Living Ravine.

Kaine now understood, why it was named as it was.

The tunnel opened up, a massive cavern of lights now surrounding him as he slid down the ramp which twisted all around its side. Roots growing out of the walls all around, gave much of the light to the cave as their fluorescent hanging flowers riddled the walls.

Reflected then by the crystal-like stalactites above and into the thin mist which filled it, descending down from the ceiling and onto the pool of water below, which once more reflected the light back.

Creating a rainbow of colours within the mist, an ever-flowing swirl and mix of lights.

Kaine was awestruck by the sight, not noticing that his descent had reached its end, he was caught off guard as his sliding came to an abrupt stop. Friction doing its thing as his feet met wet dirt, Kaine tumbled over, splashing into the pool’s shallows.

Rising out coughing the water out, Kaine glanced around the cavern to find Lixiss sitting over a boulder nearby, laughing her heart out at the sorry sight he ended up as.

“Could’ve warned me of that,” He grumbled as he rose to his feet, drenched from them and all the way up.

“Wouldn’t have been funny if I had!” Lixiss mused, stifling her giggles now.

“What is this place?” Kaine asked, glancing around the surreal cavern once more.

“Nowhere, really. My hiding place, I guess?” Lixiss shrugged, “The ravine is full of places like these, and others, all hidden around where only luck can help you find them.” She explained, glancing up at the reflection of lights above. “Yet, even when there is many, they’re all different. You wont find another place just like this.”

As she did, Kaine glanced a peek at her, smiling widely as she gazed at the dancing lights caused by the ripples in the water Kaine’s fall had produced. Eyes shining as she stared, “This place, it reminds me that, it doesn’t matter if I’m different.” Glancing down at him then, “But I guess, I’m not alone anymore.”

“Why did you bring me here?” Kaine asked, looking away right as she turned to him.

“Hmm, you looked like you wanted to talk,” Lixiss mused, “Or, were you just staring?” A grin growing on her face as Kaine then felt the stare set on his stiffening back.

Collecting his thoughts, Kaine then turned to face her. “What is coming, what’s the barrier, and why does it ‘grow dim’? Why are monsters gathering? You know something we don’t, Tsarra seems alright but I can tell, the hierarchy above her stops her from telling us.”

Watching as Lixiss’s eyes narrowed, her entire expression falling into a sullen pout. “That’s it?” She sighed, “Well…Uh, what do you know of this…our world? Not much huh?”

“We know of the islands, which you call realms, like this one that we lay on. Of the mainland below, which I don’t know if its habitable or not. We know of a dark being who brought and trapped us here…That’s it.” Kaine listed.

Lixiss sighed, “That’s…really not much. Where to start I guess?” She mused, looking back up at the lights above. “The barrier then, it’s what we call the energy that surrounds our realm and keeps us from the outside…and the outside from us. Why it grows dim? I don’t know, but if it is then it means something is coming.”

“What do you mean?” Kaine asked.

“Monsters, monsters unlike anything from here. Creatures who guard the empty space in between each realm, keeping us from the rest. As the barrier enters a stage of weakness, holes will appear in it, letting them trickle in.” Lixiss explained, “The army of monsters forming at our borders? They’re getting ready, they’re preparing to fight for survival. As should we.”

“Are you prepared?” Kaine then tentatively asked.

At which Lixiss chuckled, “The Coven are rulers, politicians and smart asses.” Turning to look his way then, “Do you think we’re ready? Because I truly don’t believe we are…You’ll see for yourself though, when they take you to the city…” She sighed, “The city…”

Turning back to stare up at the entrancing lights.

“Whatever you do…don’t get caught dark.” She then said, “I don’t…think I could handle that.” Whispering the last part.

“Hm?” Kaine barely making out her words as he turned to her, his eyes widening then in surprise as he watched Lixiss rise to standing.

Taking her leaf-bound shirt and leathery pants off, she suddenly dove into the water.

Although still wearing her also leafy underwear, Kaine couldn’t help but glance away as she rose to the surface.

“The water’s fine by the way!” Lixiss exclaimed with a chuckle as she saw him look elsewhere. “Pfft, you’re boring you know that?” She teased.

To which Kaine’s shoulders slumped, his face twitching in annoyance as he turned forwards and in one swift motion removed his tattered clothes. Down to his white boxers which the game thankfully provided, Kaine took a posture, his legs tensing as he leaned low before suddenly leaping forwards.

The water splashing back as he exploded with momentum, he soared over Lixiss as her expression paled and eyes widened. Crashing into the pool’s deeper levels a few feet behind her, yet she never saw him rise back out.

Worried that he hadn’t even moments later, she swam over to where he landed, feeling hands grasp around her feet right then.

Lixiss was pulled down and under, easily sinking and remaining beneath the surface within the fresh waters.

Flailing about in surprise at first, she opened her eyes to see Kaine leaning away then with a victorious smirk.

This, seemed to only edge her on.

As her expression hardened, and eyes narrowed.

Seeing this rise in ferocity, Kaine now feared for his safety.