Author's Note:

Holidays. Exam Month. Moving out. Bad Plans.

Now that it's out of the way, ENJOY!

***

“My full name is Kirin Harthorn,” those words kept repeating in Monthu’s head long after the kid had fallen asleep. At first there was a second of elation, he thought about how great it would be to truly meet the boy and learn more of him, then reality reasserted itself in his mind.

There was no happy ending for this story. Par’s parents were recording all his actions in-game and would hear this soon enough. A day or two might pass in this place but it would happen. They would come to pick him up to celebrate while rushing to the kid’s place.

Threats and destruction would follow their wake. Kirin’s identity was the only thing keeping him safe. He clearly had no immense fortune or status to save him. And his adoptive parents had both, weren’t afraid to use either to get what they wanted.

If destroying the kid’s life would make him leave their child alone, they were going to do it without a second thought. It was their way of caring for him. Not paying attention to him, not being in his life but watching from up above, controlling his every step.

It wouldn’t be the first time they removed someone they thought was bad influence.

/Where are you?/ L’s message came. /I need to talk to you. Both/

Monthu sighed. There was little point to continue onward. This peace wasn’t going to last. Two days, three at maximum and it would end. That’s no time at all. Blink of an eye.

“Mhmm,” Ace murmured, his eyes flickering open. He purred like a kitten as he stretched his limbs. A whole head wide yawn followed right after. “Does L need us?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“How..?”

There was a soft smile on the kid’s lips. “He would be the only one needing you at such an hour.”

“You also,” Monthu said pushing himself off the wall. “I don’t think he liked our disrespect to his guest.”

Ace stood up and dusted his clothes. There was a frown on his face at the greyed fingers but he shook them off, brushing against his trousers. “Who was he anyway?”

“As I mentioned before, he’s the commander of the whole continent’s army. It is more of a title but he has a lot of influence in his hands. And he has a vendetta against Silver Wing. One that had started long before the events of L and Marion’s war.”

The kid listened distractedly when his head snapped upwards to stare at Monthu. “Is that why you didn’t want me to be there?”

“Yeah. He’s a dangerous man and L didn’t want for you two to have a confrontation. It could only complicate the joint mission.” He started walking as he said the last words. The boy didn’t answer and they walked in silence until Monthu decided to add. “Though, I don’t think L will fault you for what happened. You weren’t the one that started it, nor did you kill him or his companions.”

“Maybe,” Ace answered. He wondered himself why that had happened. How was the man still alive? It wasn’t normal. He didn’t leave people that annoyed him alive. That just didn’t happen.

Was he changing? Becoming more mellow? It was a scary thought. He didn’t want to be a weakling like others. His ruthlessness was what kept him above. It was that and his pride in having little to no pride. If grovelling would earn him what he wanted, he would do so. It was the end result that mattered.

Wasn’t it?

He watched the man walking before him and wondered if that was true. He had always heard that it was the journey that was important, not the destination. Those words had always confused him but now he had a weird feeling they kind of made sense.

Before entering the game it had always been about the end result; getting rid of his followers, finding a peaceful corner, being alone. All those times he had never cared what he did. It was but getting to that moment of rest.

But now that he thought about the game, it had rarely been about the end result. He had played with people for no other reason than that he was bored. At times he did things without even knowing what the consequences would be. He just tricked Monthu and others to see their reactions, what they would do.

So, did that mean he had been changing all this time? Was he a different person than the one who had started the game?

A look at his hand showed that it was the same. Whitish flesh covered a bony hand. He had seen this sight for ten years. Wouldn’t it be different if he had really changed?

It was a waste of time to ponder such things. He had grown inside or not, it mattered little. Events to come will show.

The meeting with L was a swift one. He had looked bedraggled, pissed and relieved at the same time. He didn’t ask any questions or demand excuses. They were told to go mount the horses and join the leading party. The first armies were reaching Lasran and had to be shown the way to the right mountain.

L would join them later when he took a few hours of sleep. The talk with Heighal had been a long one, and overly tiresome. They weren’t explained the conclusion but it seemed like L had achieved something through negotiations. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been left off so easy.

As they were going to the stables, Monthu asked over his shoulder. “Would you mind going with Par? He’s been waiting to talk to you again.”

“I-” Ace wasn’t certain how to continue. At the same time he felt like going and running away. He had promised the kid to be friends with him the next time they met. He had said he only needed one thing to do.

And that thing was over. Marion was gone. There was nowhere he really needed to go.

Unless he created it right now.

Did he want to? Was he that much of a scaredy cat? Afraid to be friends with a little kid?

Worst part was he knew he was. Being friends was like taking a dagger and putting it at your neck. It didn’t matter if the person wanted to or not, but one day he would shift, change his position and the dagger would plunge in.

Meant or not, betrayal destroyed you from the inside all the same.

Was he ready to risk everything once more?

“I will try,” he said to Monthu’s questioning look. There was too much understanding in there but Ace pretended not to see it. “Where is he now?”

“Aurora took him to ride outside, they should meet up with us at the gates.”

Too soon. Way too soon. But there was no escaping it. Not without proving to himself what a coward he was.

He found Mirage munching on grain in the stall. The horse welcomed him with a neigh and Ace scratched its ear absent-mindedly. Before he could cast any spells, Mirage lowered itself, allowing for easy get up.

“Thanks,” Ace muttered, not paying much attention to the fact he was still in the stall. It wasn’t as if he really had to lead the horse out. He was smart enough to do it himself.

Monthu took longer but soon he was out too with a chestnut mare. He saddled her with practice and they were off. There was no one at the gates so they continued forward.

The army they were supposed to meet was a few kilometres to the east for there was a better path there to the mountains. No need to jump off a high ledge like Ace had done with his party so long ago. Skele had been with them then, levitating most of the group down.

In some ten minutes of galloping they saw the dust cloud of the army. They snaked through the plains far out of eye’s reach. Ace tried counting the number in sight but it was impossible. There were just too many marching bodies in that column. One very wide at that.

“This one yours, I think,” Monthu said with a look at the flag. It was blue with a diving seagull at the centre.

“There’s more people coming?” Ace asked in wonder. There had to be thousands in this army already. How much more exactly was there players in this game? And had all of them come to Oradin kingdom?

“Plenty more,” Monthu answered, pulling on his reigns. His mare turned so he was facing more southward. “I’ll try looking for mine there. Though, I’d think they would be able to follow another’s trail if they really wished to come.”

Ace smiled at that but didn’t say anything. He motioned for Mirage to speed up and left his companion. There was a huge part of him that was happy they had missed Par and Aurora. More time to think, or more like postpone the thinking.

When he reached the general of the army, he wasn’t pleased to meet a kid. Ace introduced himself as Silver Wing then. This, if anything, made the man double up and act more respectfully. He still had his reservations, uncertain of being told the truth but he didn’t risk it. No one wanted to anger the mass killer.

That was as well with Ace. He kept his cool, riding in silence and that was all. Mirage led the head of the column where he wanted. Ace thought he should check if they were going to the right place but his memory was somewhat hazy. He had never went through this side to the mountains.

Why did L even think he knew the way? It wasn’t as if Ace had ever travelled with a map. Half of his time was spent wandering in random directions and the other using [Mirror Walk]. Neither of which suggested him as the guide of the month.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hoof beats out of order. They were too fast for a marching animal. It was in a hurry.

He turned to see Par galloping on a white horse, his hair flying wild as he clutched his reins with a horrified expression. Pure terror shone in his eyes as he saw himself ramming into the column, unable to stop his animal.

Ace nudged Mirage and the horse turned to glance at the oncoming attack. He huffed, shaking its head and left the head of the column. Without a hurry he trotted towards the galloping animal, raising on hind legs when they were no more than ten meters apart.

The mare neighed loud, stopping without a warning. Her back bent and reins slipped through the boy’s fingers as he was thrown off. Ace activated [Void Step] just in time to catch him before ground met him. “You okay?” he asked somewhat worried.

After a lot of wheezing and shaking, Par replied. “Yeah...Th-thanks.”

“No problem,” Ace answered, carrying him along to Mirage on [Radiant Step]’s fields. Once they were settled he asked, “Why were you in such a rush?”

“I-I ran away from Aurora,” he said with his cheeks red. It was hard to say whether they were so from exertion or embarrassment.

Ace was incredulous. He stared at the kid, unable to believe his answer. Had he seriously just said that? He ran away from his caretaker?

That wasn’t natural!

“Why?” he asked after a long moment.

The boy glanced at him from under lowered head. “I- I wanted to talk to you. Aurora said that it wasn’t a good idea and thought I wouldn’t notice if we rode in another direction.”

Anger surged through Ace. Who this Aurora thought she was? He might have not wanted to meet up with Par but she wasn’t one to decide. Nobody gave her the power to it. Especially when she was told to do otherwise.

But the emotions soon resided as he was reminded of the matter at hand. Par was here. They would have to talk. And he would have to make a decision. Now. Not in a day or two. Not even an hour. But now. Here in this place. Right this moment.

Could he?

“What did you want to talk about?” he asked as a way to stall for time.

But it wasn’t meant to be. Par looked up at him with a serious expression, his eyes shining like two little gems. “Have you finished with your work?”

It was the one question Ace hadn’t wanted to hear. “I...” he started without clear idea how to finish when his senses tingled.

He glanced upwards to see a cloud of arrow like objects descending on him and the group. Shouts rose in the army as steel shields and magical barriers were raised in defence. Thorn sized projectiles fell harmlessly off them but the warning was off.

Warriors unsheathed their blades and straightened in their positions. Next to them a group of supportive casters started buffing up their champions. Soon the whole army was awash with colour as spells went off infusing players with various abilities.

Even Ace felt himself strengthened. Some of the mass spells reached him and Par right before another volley came. This one was interrupted still high in the air by a couple magicians with their wind magic.

“Forward!” the army’s leader roared and his order was echoed through the lines. Horses neighed and snorted as they started to gallop. Mirage was at the front, his strong legs carrying him first into the unknown.

The mountain was still some miles off and there shouldn’t have been any opposition. There was no mention of any defenders in the quest description.

At that thought, Ace knew they had been played. They expected a simple boss fight but this wasn’t it. This was real war. If the creature from the other plane was so strong, what could prevent it from sending its minions first to ensure its success? Why would someone of extreme power bother with cleaning up the insects in his lair?

And that’s what humans were to it if the ghostly things were any indication. They simply ignored all attacks, draining the life force of their victims. Only divine spells made them material but even that worked for couple of seconds. After, it was back to square one.

You had to also keep in mind this was but the smallest portion of the creature’s power. He had divided itself in over six hundreds pieces. So what would the strength of it be when combined?

As they galloped closer, the enemy came into sight. They were deformed creatures of black mass. Each one was unique in its horrifying shape with dozens of arms, legs or eyes. Most had small spikes protruding from all over their body which they released with a painful gasp.

It would make them fall to the ground and grovel for a moment but then they would push themselves up on their wrongly shaped limbs and push the spikes out of their bodies again.

Ace watched them with a heart chilling fascination. He had seen them before. No, not exactly. He had pretended to be one long ago. Creature of the night he had called himself, acted somewhat mad but liked the overall experience.

This, however, made his gut wrench. The sleek black skin rippled and stretched as the things tried to move, their limbs undeveloped or on wrong parts of the body. It made them horrifying but all he could feel was pity. Was he the mastermind behind these things?

He had been first to introduce them with his illusion to this world. Could the being from the other plane had used his memories to shape its underlings? If so, why would he make them so wrong? Ace’s creation had been perfect, it was the master of the night.

But not the pitiful things hobbling along from the mountain, pretending they were defending it with their attacks. How wrong they were.

“Wait here,” Ace whispered to Par as he jumped off Mirage.

[Void Step] took him to the creatures. They took awhile in raising their eyes upwards, even that being a challenge to these deformed things. Ace didn’t give them time to think. His daggers left their sheaths and he started his slaughter.

Blades sliced through the creatures as if they were made of butter. No bones or muscle to stop the daggers. Black flesh dripped to the ground as the things lost their consciousness and died. It was quick and painless but Ace doubted they appreciated it.

Nobody wanted to die, no matter how twisted and wrong their existence.

Other people reached the site and he found himself searching for prey. The black creatures were being annihilated at record speed. All the best players had come to defeat the legendary monster. These deformed little things weren’t going to stop them even for a second.

Ace watched it for a moment before turning away. For some reason, the sight made him queasy. Even if he had started this.

Soon it was over but before anyone could remount, more foes appeared. They were the same creatures but their bodies were better shaped, moved smoother. They weren’t much stronger but it was an improvement. Scarily quick improvement.

And then they continued doing that. Each time they were defeated, a new group appeared better than the previous one. Soon they started fighting back. Low level players were suddenly having trouble fighting on the edges. They had to band together to defeat their opponents.

“What is going on?” someone shouted out but no one bothered to answer. They had to move forward. That was the task. Whatever came, they had to reach the mountains.

Mirage was head-butting and kicking any creatures that came close to it so Ace didn’t wander close. He simply let himself go with the motion of slashing and stabbing. Left, right, dodge. Spin, slash, slash, fall back. Block and then stab the opponent.

They had no chance against him but it was fun to see just how strong he had become. Each attack of his brought death while nothing ever touched him. He heard some awes from behind but ignored them. It wasn’t like he was showing any of his secrets. This was a crude attack, defend pattern that showed just how lacking he was in true dagger skills.

Only admirable thing he could think of was his speed. It was something even he noticed. The large increase in agility made him move like he was made of light. It was effortless to leave after-images as he moved. He was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

While he thought so, another army joined them. It wasn’t the one led by Monthu but Fenek. Just how many of them had come, he wondered for a moment before returning to his fight. The number wasn’t that important, in truth.

Slash, stab, move forward and twist away from the reaching hands. It was so simple the ranks of enemies melted before him. But no matter how many he killed, many more rose to challenge him.

“Push forward!” someone shouted. “Ignore the onslaught!”

There was logic in the command. If they just kept on fighting in place, they would never get to the enemy. Though, that posed a question. Who was the enemy?

These pitiful, evolving creatures were against them, but they weren’t the final boss. Or were they parts of him? Could defeating them result in weakening the creature of the planes? These things had to be remade by something, or someone.

A fireball whisked by his head, missing him by a hair. There was no question in Ace’s mind who’d sent it. He wiped the enemies around him with a couple well aimed slashes and jumped backwards.

Par was sitting on Mirage with his hands in the air, a look of concentration on his face. The air shimmered around him as he muttered the incantations. Monsters, however misshapen they were, instinctively knew magic was a bad omen. They abandoned all their current targets and converged on the boy.

Silver glinted and Ace made short work of them. Any who came close tasted his steel. One strike was enough to kill most but the number of them amazed him. It was as if they couldn’t think of anything else. They walked all over their own kind dissipating in puddles of black matter, focused solely on their target. No matter how many Ace killed they kept on coming.

“Hell’s Fire!” Par shouted out and black flames leapt from his hands. Ace ducked to evade them and watched in fascination the destruction brought.

The cursed flames ate at the flesh of the black things, jumping from one target to another on touch. But it didn’t seem like they noticed. They simply kept on moving forward, falling in their tracks and others taking their place. By walking over the remnants of the flame, they would ignite it again and the story would repeat.

“Wonderful,” Ace whispered touching Mirage’s neck. It snorted but started moving in the direction Ace had been looking.

“Where are we going?” Par asked in a somewhat shaky voice.

“To see the monster, of course,” Ace answered with a smile. The flames were still raging all around them, burning the enemies before they could come close. Soon, they would grow a resistance to it by the speed at which they were evolving but for now it was okay.

A number of other parties noticed their passing and pushed their opponents into the flames. Once they were all well on fire, the groups joined the kids on their path to the mountain.

It was no longer that far away. While pushing forward the leader’s had closed the distance and the mountains loomed high and mighty over their heads. Little imagination was required to know something was simmering inside them.

Tendrils of black substance were seeping through the ground. Whatever they touched died on impact, leaving the mountainside bared to the elements. Decayed plants were brought down by the wind. Some bones and teeth included as souvenirs.

When they reached the base, it was packed. People were squeezed one next to another so as to be closer to the leaders having a discussion. Their loud arguing voices could be heard a kilometre away. Ace guessed someone used magic to make sure all armies heard the results.

He didn’t care much for it and looked around for something more interesting. From the right someone was pushing his way through the crowd.

Monthu. His face was outwardly calm but his posture gave away the simmering emotion within. Shoulders squared and eyes locked on Par. They passed Ace as if he wasn’t even there.

For a moment he wondered if he’d done something, when he saw a shame-faced Aurora trailing after. She had her head down and wasn’t looking at anyone. Hands crossed before herself protectively.

“Are you okay?” Monthu asked the moment he was close enough to shout. Par nodded with enthusiasm and Mirage brought him closer. The animal seemed to be rather good at reading human emotions. Always doing the best actions available to him.

The young man’s face relaxed at the joyful reply. He patted the boy’s hand before turning to Ace. “Sorry about this. This one decided to take things into her own hands,” he said with a glare towards the girl. She turned her head as if hit, her shoulder’s drooping even lower.

“I suppose, she did what she thought was right,” Ace said, waving it off as inconsequential. “Rather, how did you manage to find us in this mess?”

His words made the girl raise her eyes in shock. She stared at him as if unable to comprehend what he had said. “You’re Silver Wing,” she hissed at him.

“And?”

“You’re a murderer!”

So that was what had turned her against him. He could remember the times when she had been his sole defender. How easily people’s opinions could be influenced. The person known did not matter if something unusual of him was revealed. Without any questions asked he was discarded as faulty.

Not that it mattered. This wasn’t the first time he had seen this happen. Real life had taught him not to expect anything from other humans. Love and respect were such fleeting things.

“And?” he asked again just to taunt her. There wasn’t anything much better to do for the moment.

She gaped at him. Her accusation was pretty serious but he dismissed it as nothing. Like murdering was just an eccentric hobby he was partaking in. Sure it was rare, and maybe weird, but nothing too wrong with it. Right?

“Enough,” Monthu said, cutting his fun off. “Aurora, I told you to shut it. We’ve been through this.”

The force in his voice made Ace swivel towards him. He had never heard him talk like this. Even when he wanted to throw Ace from the group his tone had been calmer, more controlled. This was a man on the verge of losing it. Just a word away from exploding.

“Yes,” Aurora whispered. After a moment she added. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Is everything all right?” Ace asked with a tilt to his head.

Monthu turned to face him. There was tension in his face which he tried to calm by taking a deep breath. “Yes. No. I don’t know,” he answered in an exasperated voice, hands raising on their own volition. “Family problems,” he muttered as a way of explanation.

“Does it concern me?”

“In a way.”

“Shall I expect not to see you again?”

“I don’t know,” Monthu answered truthfully. “It’s chaos out there, her accusations not helping any,” he added with a venomous look towards the priestess. Her face paled but this time no sound left her mouth.

It was as well for Ace. If this was their last adventure together, then be it so. He would enjoy it while it lasted.

The thought was like a weight being lifted off his shoulders. No more worrying about such things as friendship and trust. Enjoy this moment and that’s all. No planning, no worrying about the future because there wasn’t any.

Today was all there was.

Par was on the verge of tears at the news when they were interrupted by a loud rumbling. It rolled in waves off the mountain, silencing the whole place. Eyes turned towards the sound’s origin. Looking, searching for the owner of it.

Whole mountain shook. “Earthquake!” someone shouted the obvious as ground vibrated underneath them. The shake was so strong, it threw people off their feet. Armour and swords clanged as they hit one another. People shouted their displeasure in meeting the ground as animal’s whinnied in terror.

Horse’s fell where they stood, bringing their rider’s down. Some unlucky ones found themselves crushed beneath armoured beasts and losing health rapidly. Most managed to push them off and survive but a few lost their lives before the earthquake subsided.

Shouts rose in the air, all wondering the same thing. What was going on?

Ace had no idea and he didn’t like that. He had been fine raising in the air on his fields but the rest suffered some damages. Aurora’s sleeve got torn and Par was terrified to death. He kept clutching his brother’s hand, asking what was that with his lips quivering.

Only Mirage seemed unaffected. He shook his mane with a loud snort as if challenging the earth to do it again.

The thing might have listened as another shake resounded through the ground. This time Ace grabbed Monthu with Par to lift them up on his fields. After a moment’s hesitation he also brought Aurora. There was no thankfulness in her eyes but he didn’t do it for her.

He was keeping his image as the good guy for the moment. Ace was sure it could last a day. Hopefully.

“Thanks,” Monthu said, pushing the hair off his eyes. He took his brother into his hands and whispered something into his ear. The boy held onto his neck but soon stopped shivering from fright.

It was a strange sight to Ace. He couldn’t stop himself from wondering what had been said to calm the boy so quick. His terror had seemed so profound yet a few words managed to remove all his fears? How was that possible?

“Look, look!” came a voice from below and Ace turned his eyes to look in the indicated direction. Was he imagining it, or had the mountain become smaller? That wasn’t possible, was it?

“Wait here,” he ordered his companions, letting them to the ground while he rushed to the forefront of the crowd. It was easy running above everyone’s heads and in moments he was there.

The sight stopped him in his tracks, making him almost fall off his fields. He managed to create a new one just before sliding face first into the ground. When he had righted himself, he returned his eyes to the view before him.

Clouds of dust rose from the very base of the mountain but with [Mystic Eyes] he could see right through. Straight to the edges where the ground had sunk in. And it was by a lot.

But the mountain wasn’t satisfied. Rumbling started again and the whole thing started to sink once more. Meter after meter it went down while the surrounding grounds groaned in displeasure. But the momentum was caught.

This time the shaking wasn’t stopping. It went on and on, continuing without looking to have an end. Ace rushed to raise his friends once more, having a feeling this time he would be required to hold it longer.

The mountain seemed to have a wish to go straight to the heart of the earth. Nothing less was going to be enough.

Twenty long minutes the ground shook. More people found their accidental deaths but the count wasn’t large. They were going to be revived in Lasran’s new three times till true death citadel so nobody worried too much. They just wanted for this nonsense to all stop.

And when it did, many more people fell than through the shaking itself. After such a long time they had forgotten how to balance when the ground wasn’t moving. It took them some time to adjust to the normal state.

Ace lowered his team mates to the ground, watching the cloud of dust reaching for the sky with [Mystic Eyes]. There was something inside there. He was too far to make out the shape but it was huge. Half the size of the mountain.

“Gust”, he whispered, praying it wouldn’t bring out another tornado. Luckily, it wasn’t that strong. Instead just a very strong wind rose, lifting some players up as it pushed the cloud of dust away.

The surprise shouts of lifted players soon subsided as their eyes settled on the mountain’s replacement. Three times the size of any giant, six legged and four handed. Five pair of eyes stared from the shapeless black face.

It’s jaws were wolf like. Seconds later it opened them, showing a set of coal black teeth and screamed into the air. The sound washed over collected armies, a distinct smell of rot following in its wake.

Silence lasted for but a moment after the reveal. These were players that had fought manticores and sirens, dragons and hydras. Even if the monster was unknown, they had seen worse. Nothing was going stop them in their tracks.

Leaders shouted their orders, forming fight groups. These entered attack range without any hesitation and started their onslaught on the creature’s legs. Some braver ones threw hooks or simply tried climbing up the legs.

The large hands tried to squat them down, and hit a few, but most got on the back, trying to deal their damage there. Their steels pushed into the rippling skin but the size wasn’t enough. It didn’t penetrate the first layer of skin, not even talking of reaching any parts that were vital.

Creature roared, trying to get at them with its flailing hands. None of the attackers faltered in their onslaught. They trusted their comrades to ensure their survival.

And they did. Clerics cast shields to lessen the damage received while magicians brought down the elements. Balls of fire and ice spears for distraction, blazing spheres, twisters for constant damage over time. Water pelted the creature’s skin soon followed by lightning

Rocks rose from the ground to encase its feet and falter the movements. When it tried to move the hands, winds rose to push them back or sand covered its sight. The creature screamed its frustration repeatedly but couldn’t do anything against its opponents. They were like a well-oiled machine, not skipping a beat to allow the monster time to counter-attack.

It was something Ace had never seen before. This level of teamwork, was it real? How did people become so aware of each other, knowing what other needed before the thought was voiced? It was as if they were reading minds.

Unnatural.

“Behind!” a voice shouted from the creature’s back, pointing at something behind the collected armies. He sacrificed his life for the moment of distraction but people turned around.

Ace lifted in the air to get a better look at what it was. The black army had evolved to human like forms, their limbs longer and claw like, but they stood strong. There was no more pain in their disposition as thorns shot off their shoulders and into the thick of people.

Shields and vambraces were raised to block, but this time the thorns weren’t just for show. They penetrated all but the strongest shields and many players found their bodies littered with small but dangerous thorns. From the disgusted shouts Ace deduced they were poisoned to top.

As he watched, the creatures started running, their long legs devouring the distance in moments. Players at the front of their rush, scrambled to push more backwards. This jostled the casters and a number of spells went wide.

The creature took that time of respite to kill a couple of his attackers, squatting them with its huge hands. Noticing that the spells hadn’t resumed the next second, it trampled the ground beneath himself. Two parties were almost annihilated by it. Clerics barely managed to save a few players from them.

Leaders were furious at this development. They shouted at the crowds to stop pushing, let them fight till their stamina lasted. Then they could change.

But the army of black things kept on approaching, they were but a hundred meters away. Without any leaders, the dregs of the armies didn’t dare to force a counter-attack. They had had a hard time even before the creatures had evolved into these forms.

“We have to stop them,” Monthu said below.

Ace went down to him. “What do you suggest?” he asked.

“You can easily fight them right?”

“Sure,” Ace said with a shrug. “They pose me no danger, but I’m no god. I can’t stop a whole army by myself.”

Monthu gave him a look before glancing at people around them. “You just need to slow them down while I rally the players. Par will help you with his spells too.”

“Fine,” he answered and jumped on his fields. He didn’t feel like saving all these people but Monthu had asked him. So how should he do it? “Ice Field!” he screamed into the air and everything before him turned blueish white. His spells were getting more and more crazy by the moment. Just how many people had actually chosen his class? Or was this from Skele, how strong had that man been in the first place?

There weren’t any answered coming so he brandished his two daggers and ran forward. It had been a while since the last time he played on the ice. His last Wing expedition seemed to have been ages ago.

But his body remembered the actions. Feet slid on the ice, increasing his speed and momentum. The first strikes killed his opponents in single hits while they fumbled on the unfamiliar surface. Some fell and he kicked them, slashing with his poisoned daggers if there were was time.

There always was. His speed had become unparalleled. It was as if he was playing with time slowed for his opponents. Each attack of theirs was so slow, it was almost boring. But there were enough of them to bring the enjoyment level up. Even if they were slow, the sheer amount made the fight somewhat challenging.

They were reaching for him from all directions. None cared about their own but just to attack him. Often enough, they set the others up just to have a chance at leaving a scratch on him.

That was still easy enough to dodge but the rain of thorns was what increased the level to a whole new one. The creatures didn’t care for their own, releasing the poisonous darts right over their heads. It didn’t matter what they hit as long as he was one of the recipients.

And he couldn’t be hit even once. For all his speed and magic, his health hadn’t increased a bit. He was still the soft skinned assassin without any armour. Few hits would be enough to get rid of him. One poison needle more than enough to eat his whole health in a few minutes.

/Where am I supposed to send the people?/ Monthu asked in a message, distracting Ace for a second. [Evasion] saved his life while he took an extra breath. He should really stop being surprised by such little things. One day it might really be his doom.

“Take care of that large guy, I just might be able to deal with this,” he said opening the call. It was better than having to write in the middle of the fight.

“You certain?”

“Can’t you see that I’m just fine?” he asked with a note of annoyance in his tone. If he said he could do it, it meant he could.

There was a silence on the other end for a moment before Monthu replied. “All I can see is a mass of blackness surrounding a dot of whitish gold. Your hair shines well in the sun’s light.”

Ace chuckled. “I’m okay, don’t worry.” The creatures had to pass a thousand more evolutions before they would pose him real danger. For now it was just a game of dodging and slashing, stabbing.

Left, right, evade and make a circle around himself with a blade. Jump in the air and run on a few heads before finding an opening and falling in, daggers slashing around him. Dodge the darts. Stab to the right while blocking an attack from the left.

It was quite simple and soon he started growing bored. A glance to the huge monster showed him being showered in light. Spells of all types, mass, length and visuals hit him repeatedly resulting in a rainbow of colours.

Creatures around him grew restless and Ace killed a dozen more before returning his eyes to the other fight. It was quite away but he could see dots of people crawling all over the monster. They looked less than flies, insignificant but there was purpose in their work. None seemed to worry that their damage probably didn’t even register with the monster.

It was as if the players didn’t care for such things. All that mattered to them was doing their part. It was fascinating to see them scrambling around to ensure the monster faced the right way to receive a blow from a large stone or poisoned arrows. Holy hammers and other light attacks often followed suit to ensure the damage stuck.

After jumping higher in the air, he thought he could see Monthu on Mirage ordering people in the back. They moved in groups after his commands, joining archers, casters or melee groups to change places with them.

Those who needed rest left the immediate range of the monster and just fell to the ground. A group of players rushed to them with warm food they were cooking on the side and cool drink. Players would finish it quickly, resting their heads for a moment on the ground. Others just sat, chatting while their stamina regenerated.

A bunch of darts distracted Ace from his observations. He stabbed a creature to the right of him and squatted down, moving the body over him. It blocked the darts before dissolving and with free hands Ace resumed his slaughter.

Not long after the ground shook, making him jump on his fields as his opponents faltered. A look to the monster showed it entering a frenzy. It started stomping, six giant legs making the whole ground shake. People tried to run away but the monster was no longer playing around.

It stopped caring about the pests on its back and went for the casters on the ground with a vengeance. Couple people tried to stop it but got stepped on and died. Magicians and clerics scattered in all directions but their puny legs were nothing compared to the monster’s. Its one step was close to ten of a human. Not forgetting that he had six legs.

Ace noted that his opponents were still down, unable to move through the shaking so he moved closer to the monster. He used [Gust] to push it back but it did little more than falter it for half a second. The wind was simply not strong enough for something that size.

But it helped to give time for a couple of clerics to get out of the way. “I suppose it was worth it,” he muttered to himself, raising higher and higher. From up there he could see the whole battlefield and it didn’t look good.

The place had turned into chaos. The monster had no boundaries and once angered could run around like a madman. There was nothing to stop its rampage. People were running in all directions, trying to evade the giant feet, failing often enough. Tanks, players with high defences and health, didn’t die instantly but healers and wizards weren’t so lucky.

In quick succession many people met their dooms. The ground would have become red had they not all been players. No Npcs joined on this mad venture. Unaware of the danger to the world or not trusted enough by the players.

Some mages tried to use restriction spells on the giant monster but it broke them without even noticing. Its magic resistance had to be on an unparalleled level to just pass through the restrictions as if they weren’t there. Like they were made of old paper, crumbling on touch.

Ace glanced at his demon-like enemies. They had stood up but didn’t move. Instead they just stared fascinated at the monster. Expressions on their faces were hard to discern but Ace was certain of his deduction. There was hardly another emotion that would have them standing in such still awe, unable to move a muscle.

Well, there was also fear. Evil masterminds tended to rule their underlings through that, but these little ones were a part of the giant one. Or at least, it had seemed so. Could it be they were a different species summoned from that other plane to serve this giant monster?

While he wondered that, the thing in question had moved in his direction. It was running after a particularly swift rogue that was dodging hands making craters right where he’d been second’s ago.

In moments the monster would hit Ace without even aiming for him.

He went lower, snatching the rogue and raising in the air with him. The monster was quick to notice the change and faced Ace eye to eye. After a second’s stare down Ace threw [Acid Splash] at it and turned to run. He wasn’t stupid enough to face the enemy head on.

“Run!” he shouted to the rogue that lay limp in his grip. The man opened his mouth to ask something but Ace dropped him on a field. “Imagine its the ground! Whatever you want it to be! Field, stairs, slide! Whatever!”

Surprise registered on the man’s face, but a giant hand whisking right above his head as he dropped to the lower field convinced him to be amazed later.

At first he didn’t trust the fields, Ace felt annoyed for his abilities to be so distrusted but soon the man learnt the hang of it. All he had to do was move. Everything else was done by Ace who judged his stance, position and guessed what he planned to do next.

It was a challenge he hadn’t tried before. Not knowing the person and his movement pattern, made it even more interesting. Half a second, less most of the time he had to decide where to put the field.

Main problem was that he didn’t have many of them. Three. One had to be constantly used for himself to stay upright which left him with two. Not much when having to guess a person’s mind.

But it worked well-enough.

The rogue was running around, up and down the air, dodging attacks, if not gracefully, at least successfully. Huge grin was breaking out on his face, growing with each missed attack by the monster. He was starting to enjoy this new experience and the way his opponent was becoming more mad without a way to exact its frustration.

Ace in the meantime, stood aside, watching the monster moving away from the clustered players. It took them awhile to understand they were no longer hunted and then they stood stunned, watching the scene unfold.

Luckily, there were some competent commanders in there. They quickly found their wits and started ordering everyone. Groups formed, joining together where members where missing or disbanded to infuse others with specific classes.

This was more than just another fight. All allegiances were to winning, rather than one person or team.

Right in front of Ace’s eyes people darted to various places, settling in formations. In no more than twenty minutes a fluid army stood before his eyes. He couldn’t have guessed anyone was missing from the perfect lines that people stood in.

They waited a second more, letting him admire their order, before starting a mad dash forward. All concepts of structure fell apart as they ran with all their might, weapons held high.

With wordless screams they fell upon the monster. Axes and swords hacking into its flesh, shields hitting with dull thuds. There was no order, or pattern to it. Simple rage flowed through them at being thwarted in their pursuit of a fair fight.

They had tried to act normally, approach it as a normal boss but it hadn’t worked. There hadn’t seemed to be any progress at the least. So instead of a planned attack, they were going for simple violence. Anything pummelled enough times was going to break

Only problem being that such a giant thing like this monster would require quite a number of hits before falling. It didn’t seem like the flashy skills were doing anything to it. No marks on its skin, no blood oozing out.

It was as if the players were attacking it with feathers instead of steel.

Mages weren’t having a much better time either. Their spells landed with colourful bursts and ear-shattering booms but little effect. When dust let down, mist settled or elements cleared out, the monster showed up as unscathed as before. Nothing seemed to affect it.

Minutes passed, hours went by as Ace rested on his fields to regain stamina. He watched people battering the monster with steel and magic, exchanging between themselves while others rested. It was a never ending onslaught.

And still it meant nothing. No matter how many attacks it received, the monster stood on its eight legs, trampling anyone unable to dash out of its path. It often went after the mages but now they stood in a wide circle, able to blink away when danger came their way.

Warriors sometimes got in the path but in time they also learnt to dodge, evade the giant limbs. There was a certain pattern to the monster’s attacks. He would chase people, but his patience was limited. If unsuccessful, he would suddenly turn and aim at someone else.

Those moments were the most dangerous and most people found themselves stepped on at that second, Other than that, few died. The monster had no magic or mass attacks, just its size, brute strength and an immeasurable health pool.

One that wasn’t going down in the least. There was no sign of any damage suffered on the monster’s side. Nor was there anything to suggest it was getting tired, loosing vitality or something else.

This, more than anything else, weighted on players’ minds. They couldn’t see any progress. It was like hacking at water, instead of a rock. Stone you could batter in a very long time but the liquid just escaped, returning to its shape effortlessly.

Monster’s flesh received cuts and stabs, slashes but it bounced off, leaving no mark. The minor injuries healed right in front of eyes without any repercussions to the enemy. Since it didn’t use any spells, there was no way to tell if it used mana to heal itself, or was it simple regeneration. Not that there was sign of the monster tiring, using up its stamina.

At some point the black creatures woke up from their stupor and went into battle with a renewed vigour. It looked almost as if they were rushing to something. Or for something.

They didn’t try to reach the monster, nor run away, but threw themselves at the players. More armies had come and they combated them but the creatures didn’t seem to mind. All they sought was to fight and die. Be reborn.

Could they possibly know they would regenerate stronger, faster? It seemed so. They fought with wild abandon, not caring in the slightest for being slaughtered. Swords stabbed into their hearts and they pushed themselves onto them in their eagerness to reach the players.

It was like fighting against a suicide army. They had two goals, kill and be killed. And. Not or.

Ace watched them from afar, forgotten in the midst of battle. No one had called for him and he had no wish to join. Those black creatures were gaining abilities from people they faced, taking their body form, fighting stances and patterns.

It would take them many a rebirth to take even half of what he could do, but he had no wish to give them even that. He liked his unique abilities, not having to face people with his skill set.

Not only would it make it harder for him to win, survive but endanger his whole legend. Most of Wing’s power was based on unpredictability. He came from nowhere and did things no one could repeat. People could see and guess his abilities but they didn’t know them in detail, all their weaknesses and restrictions.

And there were a number of them. If simple monsters started using his skills, they would become quite obvious. People would learn and practise abusing them, making his life hell. No, it wasn’t something he fancied for himself. The players below would have to deal with the creatures themselves.

Night fell as he watched. Blazes lit high in the sky to reveal the wary armies. Most were sitting some miles away, resting with their heads down. Some foolhardy ones were still fighting. They slashed and cut believing that this time it would work, the attacks won’t heal and they would have won. All players would converge on the monster and quickly destroy it.

But it wasn’t happening. No matter how many hits the monster suffered, it was as lively and dangerous as ever. It chased the players surrounding it, killing more than ever before. The more the ranks of attacks filtered, the easier it became for it to attack. Less spells were encumbering its vision and movements, less ants pricking at its skin.

An air of desolation settled. It wrapped itself around each player, whispering sweet nothings of despair. Looks darkened with each passing hour. No one wanted to pick up their weapons and go fight any longer.

They knew what it would mean to lose this battle. Realisation was in their faces but they simply couldn’t be bothered to fight. This was a game and most came to play. Best players were used to hard work, putting in more hours than it was healthy but there had always been progress.

Defeat more monsters and you’ll gain more experience. Use more spells and your magic will improve. In games there was always a clear numerical value of advancement. Whenever you did something, you could see your improvement.

Effort and reward.

But this fight, it went against everything. No matter how strong or powerful they were, how many hours they had spend in the game, they couldn’t leave a single dent on the monster’s body. All their attacks were in vain.

Some raid bosses were strong but not ten army battering for more than a day with no progress strong. This thing didn’t even have a health bar. Or if it did, no one was high enough level to see it. Just another thing to add to everyone’s misery.

They could have been twenty hits away from killing it and wouldn’t know. Or they might not have dealt any damage at all. It was frustrating to not see anything changing.

Many lost their will to fight simply believing it was impossible. This was an end game boss that was summoned way too soon. None of the players had reached the maximum level and clearly it was still far out of anyone’s reach.

Otherwise they would have dealt at least some damage. Or so they thought.

Ace felt the waves of that misery wash over him and go past. He shared their annoyance at the monster’s seeming invulnerability but he didn’t believe it was all over. At some point someone would figure out its weak spot and then all would converge like a swarm of bees with their little stingers.

That was the way of humans.

Maybe the monster would win now. Maybe it would destroy half the world. But in the end humanity would prevail. Even if it had been coded not to, someone would find a way around it.

Morning sun rose, reached its zenith and started to fall again. Cloudless clear sky showed it the pitiful view of struggling dots against a giant. But the sun wasn’t interested, it wanted to rest and sleep. Moon came up in its place, watching the struggle with a sorrowful gaze. It shed its silvery light, knowing it was all the aid it could give.

By the morning a third of the armies were gone. Some had gotten sick of dying, others lost hope in winning. All of them simply stood up and left, wanting to enjoy as they said the last few days of the game remaining. They did it in groups and parties, sometimes whole squads.

Those who remained weren’t much better. They watched their friends and comrades leave, unsure whether they were making the right choice. Should they stay and fight? What if this was really the end and they wasted the last moments fighting an invulnerable monster?

Doubts crippled them more than the monster’s attacks. They fought but without any heart in what they were doing. It was becoming merely a thing they did. Get up, go out and swing your weapon, murmur spells, then return and rest. So simple, and wholly pointless.

L had called upon Ace on his arrival at the battlefield. Some kind of a meeting had been arranged with most of the commanders but none had anything to say. Or more like any ideas of how to deal with their situation. They had many complaints, annoyances and grievances but when asked how to solve anything, everyone fell silent.

When that happened for the second time, nobody spoke up. Anger and frustration simmered in each but there was nothing to suggest. They had tried everything they could come up with. Even mixing their damage with holy spells but that did nothing. The monster stayed as it was, impossible to damage as ever.

Meeting was soon called over after that and commanders returned to their armies with grim faces. It sunk the mood even lower, that little hope that leader’s could come up with something having died.

Ace was asked for his input but he just shook his head. He had no hidden knowledge of how to defeat the monster. He had tried a couple of strikes himself but they had brought no miracle. Not that he had had much hope.

[Heart-seeker] was the base of his power. One hit strike that killed anything in its path. One problem, though, it was meant for humans. The attack couldn’t consume monster hearts, using up human ones to purify the blade after the try.

Not forgetting that it had to reach the heart in the first place, something Ace had no way of accomplishing. None of the players had went further when the upper level of the skin. It wasn’t thick, allowing the blade to enter easily but turned stone hard deeper in.

Aiden and Par had met up with him at points but they were trying to win. They were of those that fought as much as they could, hoping that soon enough the monster would have to show a weakness.

It was weird at first, but quickly Ace understood the reason. Something was gnawing at Aiden and all he wanted was to fight. He took care of his brother, kept him safe but every other moment Ace would see him rushing blindly into the battle.

Sometimes he faced the creatures, whirling in the midst of them with his scythe while other times he tried his luck on the monster. Both things were a way to release his pent up emotions, ones he didn’t want to share with his brother, nor Ace.

He wondered what that could be. It was a bit annoying to be kept in the dark, but since they were going to separate, he let it be. Monthu would know what he was doing. Unlike everyone else Ace had known, he was a trustworthy person. If he didn’t say something, it had to be for a reason. Maybe he didn’t want to worry him about things that had nothing to do with him.

He would never know.

And so Ace left him to his rampages while following the flow of battle from above. Fields became his constant, and he used them more than in months previous. He lived on them. It became as easy to use them as breathing. There wasn’t even a need to think about it, the fields just were where he needed them.

Mirage wasn’t liking it but he left the animal to Par. The kid got along with it well-enough and the horse kept him safe if any danger appeared. The perfect pairing.

Another day passed and moon rose again. It had lost most of itself and was reflecting barely any light. Floating fires flew around the monster, lightening the world for the fighters. They sluggishly moved around, more dodging and running around than attacking.

A sudden roar woke them from their half-asleep state. Few got caught in the initial moment of shock as more lights fluttered into existence. Mages had crawled out of their tents and wanted to see what was happening.

At first there was nothing, night brightened by many spells. But before people could return to their sleep, another roar washed over the plains. It rolled over the empty grassland, hitting the monster.

It stopped in its tracks, rising its head and turning all eyes towards a single point in the distance. Players followed its actions and turned that way, mage lights flowing in that direction.

In silence everyone waited for what was to come. None dared to hope but the little flame alighted in many a heart.

Shapes took form in the distance. They were large but a better look showed them inconsistent. One minute you could see them, and the other it seemed there was only half a being there.

Closer and closer they came, revealing more of their forms.

“Dragons,” a soft whisper went over a crowd.

They were the majestic creatures and at the same time they weren’t. Ace stared at the huge beasts which he could see through. They weren’t alive. He could see the sky behind them. Yet they flew, closer and closer towards them.

Another roar from the lead dragon shook the air, a blast of wind tickling Ace’s face. He moved forward and took notice of filthy bones. They were large and shaped into dragon form but could they be called dragons? There were no muscle, skin or organs within the bones.

It was a wonder they managed to produce that roar sound. Could it be some kind of magic?

The rotten bone dragons closed in and greenish flames leapt from their jaws. They licked the monster, scorching its skin.

Gasps of awe and disbelief passed through the crowd. Some covered their mouths, others were on the verge of crying. Could they believe it? Was the monster finally truly hurt? Some warriors sat down, breathing deep.

“What is going on?” L shouted, running out of his tent. He had hastily thrown a cloak over his shoulders, looking with eyes not expecting anything good.

Nobody answered him, they simply stared. The dragons circled and after a sharp command from someone descended on the monster once more. But this time it wasn’t just the flames. They burst fire and then clawed, tearing skin and muscle where the flesh was burnt.

The monster screeched in pain, trying to reach for the dragons. It caught one but the dragon released flame onto the hand, tearing into the fingers holding him with surprisingly sharp teeth. The grip loosened as the monster hollered in pain, shaking its hand as if it was swatting flies.

By accident, more than intent it hit another of the dragons, crashing him to the ground. Bones groaned, broke and split. Dragon tried to stand up again, managed but its right wing was damaged. Half of the bones had fallen out of the form and lay lifeless on the ground

Still, the dragon tried to lift up. He beat his wings, wishing to go up. It didn’t work, the left side lifted but his right wing didn’t work and he went crashing. More of its bones broke, few fell off from his nose, some from the chest, leaving gaping holes.

Logic dictated that it shouldn’t matter, the dragon was all bones, no flesh anyway but it did matter. The more bones it lost, the slower it became. By his second fall, he was barely wobbling around. He held his shape but was little more than a statue. Useless.

Other dragons continued their attack in the meantime.

One dragon was hovering farther away, trumpeting orders. After its call, the rest would swoop in or back away. Since one of their own had fallen, the orders had become more sedate. Care was put into ensuring that there would be as little risk as possible to the surviving dragons.

People stayed where they had been, prayers in their minds. They wanted to win so badly. Hope had blossomed at the sight of dragons, but they weren’t as immortal as they’d hoped. Just moments ago they’d seen one fall.

What would happen if they all did? Few dared to entertain the thought. Only despair waited in that direction.

Ace was watching the dragons when he thought he heard human shouts from above. For a moment, he wondered whether he’d imagined when they came again. It was clearly an angry shout, and by someone he could recognise.

Without a second thought, he ran up his fields straight to the lead dragon. It shied from his approach but he ignored it and rushed to its back. As he expected, a small group of people were nestled between the dragon’s shoulder blades.

“I thought the mask was my game,” Ace said, aiming his words at the man hiding his face beneath an old dragon mask.

He flashed an angry look towards Ace. “I don’t see you saving everyone from that monster,” Hawk threw at him before turning to his dragon. He whispered something to him and the bone creature released a loud sound, ordering something to the rest of the dragons.

It was overly loud close up and Ace covered his ears for a moment. When it was done, he looked over the rest of the group.

Nein was sitting with his hands crossed, a sour look on his face. He wasn’t even bothering to hold onto anything, just sitting as if he was on a chair.

Next to him Deedara huddled to Dark. The black rogue looked uncomfortable but didn’t try to extract her. He bowed his head catching Ace’s eyes, “Master.”

“What was the argument?” he asked with interest. “I heard you shouting all the way down there.”

Hawk’s back straightened as Nein glared his way. “We need to get down to give players directions but he won’t go. The dragons will die out he says.”

“They will! Moment I don’t order them and they’re falling apart!”

“But without players you won’t win!” Nein told him with certainty in his tone. There were no doubts about it in his mind about it.

“Hawk, please,” Deedara pleaded but he just shook his head.

“I can’t!”

Anger and fear vied for supremacy in the archer’s voice. He said little but the emotion permeated the air like a stench. It assailed Ace’s senses, bringing him a notch closer to the group. He’d never heard anyone so torn before.

“I might be able to help you,” he said, taking Nein by the hand. The mage took in a large gulp of air as he was lifted off, hanging in the air by his hand only.

Before he could exclaim in horror or surprise, Ace made a field underneath and released him. Nein landed with an oomph, massaging his wrist. Then he looked beneath himself, and the nothing he was sitting on.

Next moment he was standing up but not daring to take a step. “I don’t think I agreed to this,” he said in a soft voice.

“You wanted a way down, so walk.”

“There’s nothing there.”

“Are you afraid of heights?”

Nein shook his head, testing the air before him with his foot. It hit solid surface so he prepared to put weight on his leg when the field disappeared. He staggered, falling on his back with a shout.

A chuckle escaped Ace’s lips as he purposefully went down his fields. He emphasized each step as if he was walking down the stairs and couldn’t understand what was so hard.

“You did that on purpose?”

“You were taking too long,” Ace answered with a smile. Loud trumpeting followed his words as the dragon gave another order to his followers.

Barrage of messages assailed Ace’s sight. All of them were from his so called friends, people from his village. He deleted them all with a flick of his finger without reading a single one.

They weren’t going to destroy this day for him. He would play as much as he’d like and then his parents would come and they would celebrate. It would be perfect.

His smile brightened at the thought and he shifted his fields into a slide. The look of incredulity and shock on Nein’s face was worth the trouble. He released a shrill scream as he went down, his hands flailing in all directions.

“Don’t fall off,” Ace shouted after him with a laugh. He doubted the man had heard him.

“Will he be all right?” Deedara asked with concern. She was looking down with her eyes scrunched into slits, trying to make out the form below.

“Of course,” Ace said, suddenly annoyed. Why was everyone doubting his abilities? “He wanted to go down, not die.”

He had even made Nein land near L so he wouldn’t have to run through the whole camp to get to the commanders. But instead of praise he got doubt. Well, he was an assassin, not a hero. It was probably part of the job’s downsides to be distrusted. Death was his trade, after all.

Some time passed before the priestess spoke up again. “Could you let me down not so fast?”

“Sure,” he said. “Step off.”

“But there’s nothing there!”

He sighed. “So, you trust me to let you down a few miles but not catch you when you can still grab onto the dragon’s bones if you fall?”

The logic seemed to astound the priestess. She sat still, watching him before standing up. “Dark trusts you,” she said in a shaky voice. “He must know something I don’t.”

It was a weird argument but she stood up and closing her eyes took a wavering step forward. They opened in a flash as she felt solid ground beneath her foot. She shuffled in place for a bit as if ensuring that she wasn’t falling.

“That’s amazing,” she breathed, her eyes wide.

Ace smiled, lowering himself to her level. “Thanks.”

“You could always do this?”

He shook his head. “No, but its been a while since I got it. It’s one of my trademark abilities now.”

She nodded in agreement, moving around. With each step she was growing bolder; walking faster, taking sharp turns or jumping in place. Ace followed her movements, creating fields to allow her to play.

It reminded him of his first games when acquiring the ability. For him it had been more painful, fall after fall, but the same joy and wonder inhabited his heart. This was an ability that allowed you to deny gravity. In a way, it was even better than flying.

“I think, its time we went to the others,” Dark said, jumping off the dragon. He hadn’t asked to be carried, nor had he hesitated. He had believed he would be caught.

“You’re quite mad,” Ace whispered to himself, catching him on the last field. This was going to become much harder. Carry a person with only one field available, then double it. He would have to divide his attention while having no way back. If something went wrong, one mistake...

He wasn’t having it. Ace released the field beneath him and activated [Void Step], appearing above his passengers. This ability would have to suffice to keep him afloat while he let the two down.

Falling, creating fields for others, shift upwards, and then repeat. It was disorienting. Number of times he lost his bearings from all changes in direction, barely managing to create the fields moments before Dark and Deedara fell off.

And they didn’t even notice. From their mild expressions, he knew they thought he was just playing around, showing off. Good enough for him. His secrets were his own. Their limits too.

Near the ground another barrage of messages startled him. They were sent one after the other, all beginning for him to open them in the title. Few had weird words of emergency.

“Add all to ignore list,” he ordered the system, catching his passengers before they spiralled out of his grasp. Both had raised their eyes to him, a healthy amount of fear in them as the fields didn’t appear the exact moment they should have.

Soon they were on the ground and he brought a field back to himself. No more falling. It felt good to have something solid under his feet.

And it was better to get higher up. Few people almost jostled him off when they rushed past. They wore sparkling armour, dangerous looking blades. All items of good quality.

One of them he recognised as the commander he’d ridden near when leading the army to the mountain. He was as quick as others, in half a second disappearing in the crowd of players.

A glance to the side showed L deep in conversation with Heighal. It seemed they had made truce and were now discussing all the possibilities of dragons. Nein was standing next to them, adding a word or two from time to time. He had regained his calm appearance, looking as uninterested in what was happening as ever.

“What are your orders, master?” Dark asked, bringing Ace’s attention back to the duo. They were standing close to each other, trying their best not to be felled by people running past them. None of the hurrying seemed concerned about the safety of those standing still.

“Join the others, and help defeat that thing,” he said pointing to the monster. “I want it away from L’s city.”

The man nodded to his command and disappeared in the crowd. Deedara watched after him, a frown forming on her face. She brushed her skirts, in a vain attempt trying to sort them out, before giving up. “Do you know where other healers are?”

“Follow me,” was all he said as he started to run in the direction of the caster lodgings. Midway he changed his direction. There was little point in leading her to where everyone slept.

From his superior position, he could see the battlefield. Players were joining in the fighting, using skills on monster’s parts that had been damaged by dragon fire. The weakening didn’t last for long but five minutes were more than they had had before.

Their attacks weren’t exactly fatal, but they left scars, damaged skin. It enraged the monster, increasing its movement and attack speed. But players were ready now. They used various spells to distract or prevent the monster from catching the dragons.

Since they started, barely one dragon got damaged, and even then lightly. He could still fly and spit green flame, though, he was slower. Because of this he was moved to the safest spots and ordered to back out quickest. Hawk was doing well by him.

“You sure you know the way?”

“Yes,” he said shortly, letting his eyes slide over the player groups. They hadn’t returned to the army formations but groups of twenty, thirty people. Most were well-balanced, dealing damage and keeping themselves safe but a couple were lacking members.

He led Deedara to one. “They need a healer,” he told her and rose in the air. Another group was missing a damage dealer and he joined them. There were a few moments of awkwardness when he descended but the battle soon cleared it.

What mattered was that he was there to help. They included him in their attack formation, having him attack with the other melee types when the leg near them got hit by the fire. Casters were looking to warn them about the monsters movements while aiding them with their spells.

Three clerics were keeping their healths up from shrapnel flying in the air. The monster sometimes moved unexpectedly, injuring players with large health pools. High damage, low defence people like Ace didn’t survive such occasions.

But to lessen the chances of their death, some mages created shields around them. They had very short durations but were stronger than anything Ace had seen before. Hardly anything could penetrate them.

Though, because of that five mages were delegated to casting them. They did nothing but repeatedly whisper the spells and put shields on the ten people braving to attack from melee range.

At first Ace found it interesting, this new way of fighting. It was all about quick movement, evading unexpected and dealing as much damage as possible in a very short time. He didn’t trust the shields to any extent even if he saw them deflect a number of certain death experiences for others.

They weren’t his.

That was the most important part. He didn’t know them. What if they expired at the very moment he trusted them? Not forgetting, that someone might remove them at an opportune moment. He wasn’t anyone’s favourite person here. They tolerated him because they needed him, that was all.

It was a battle for the game’s survival. No one would refuse help, but settling a score was also a good thing. Players weren’t noble enough to refuse such an opportunity. Hatred for him ran deeper than any notions of good and right.

“It’s falling!” one of the magicians in his group shouted. “Get away! Get away!”

Similar screams resounded through the whole army. A cacophony of noise that threatened to deafen Ace. He covered his ears, a dagger still in one hand, as he shifted to another location. From there he simply ran, not trusting the current distance from the monster.

Only when a cloud of dust washed over him, pushing him forward, did he stop. He shook like a dog after leaving water, and turned back.

The monster was down.

It lay on its side like a giant moving mountain. Its limbs flayed; reaching, pushing, grabbing. But it couldn’t stand up. Two legs on one side had given out. They twitched and jerked but didn’t hold the weight. More than five times the monster went to stand, falling midway.

The weight was simply too great for the damaged limbs. Especially since the rest weren’t in great shape either. All legs had marks of being attacked. Long gashes lined the muscles, burnt skin peeled in other places.

Some open wounds were bubbling like boiling water. Dark liquid seeped out of them, a trickle going down the limb. Whenever it touched another wound or weakened part of skin, it ate through it.

The monster shrieked its fury, thrashing in its place, unable to stand. It knew its end was coming, but wasn’t ready to accept it.

But the players weren’t giving it a choice. As Ace watched they started to cheer, a sudden surge of hope taking them all. They shouted words of joy, screamed their disbelief and euphoria.

They were like sharks sensing blood in the water.

Without any command weapons were hefted, smiles alighted and people were running. They ignored the flying limbs, not caring that many perished on the way. All they saw was the weakened monster before them. Few more attacks and it would die.

It would finally die.

That single thought drove hundreds of players forward; striking, reaching. None cared where they attacked, all that mattered was to deal damage.

Dragons descended with their green flames, weakening already paper thin skin. They grew restless themselves, clawing and biting the monster. No one was caring for any safety measures.

Ace decided to join in. His skills took him to the monster in moments and he started to slash. At first it was boring but then he imagined the monster as his village’s people.

His moves rapidly increased in speed, dealing three times the damage. Right, left, right, left, shift away. Land and repeat. At times he was forced to move sooner as another limb closed in on him or some maddened players went past, but those were little interruptions.

For a good hour it was only him, his blades and the flesh needing to be cut. He would have spent more time on it but his stamina went on the lower side. It had been a long day, no matter how relaxing his current occupation was.

With a sigh, he extracted himself from the melee and returned to the camps. Near L’s tent he found Monthu clasping hands with Hawk. They were smiling at each other, Par standing close with a genial smile on his face.

“I’m glad we were on time, it was a close one.”

“Where did you even find those drakes?” Ace asked, joining their group. Hawk didn’t look too happy to see him but didn’t say anything.

Without the dragon mask, his face looked pale and old. It was as if he’d aged over the time he’d wandered through the icy mountains. “The mask was in one of the caves and later on we found an incantation that Nein read.”

“What did it do?”

“None of us could understand the language but L gave permission so we risked it. At first nothing happened but then the whole ground started to shake. We thought we’d get buried.” The archer’s eyes focused on something above Ace’s shoulders. “But we lived. Then we wandered more, for a week or more. It’s hard to judge time underground.”

He stayed quiet for so long, Ace thought he wasn’t going to continue. But before he could open his mouth, Hawk started again. “At some point we stumbled into a large hall. It was filled with old corpses, their bones the only thing remaining.

“The whole huge hall was filled with them. From top to bottom, no path to cross. We made our way through the bones, finding empty spaces where we could, crawling, where we couldn’t”

“The smell nearly made us pass out but we reached the end. There on a pedestal was another tablet with words inscribed. Nein just went and read it.”

“What happened then?”

“The mask started to glow,” Hawk answered, glancing at the item in his hand. “I don’t know why but it made me want to put it on. So I did. Then somehow I just knew what to do, how to shape the bones into creatures they should be.”

He shook his head in wonder mixed with trepidation. “And then it was done. I could order the dragons to do whatever I wanted. It was as if it was something I’d known how to do all my life. Suddenly, I was speaking an ancient language as if it was my birth one.”

“Fascinating,” Ace whispered. Now he wished he’d stayed there for longer. The archer’s adventure made him envious. While Hawk was playing with unknown epic magic, he’d stayed in the castle and had done nothing. Been made fun of, and that’s all.

“Do you know why the fire was so effective against the monster?” Monthu asked.

The archer hesitated before replying. “I’m not certain but, I think, its made up of both holy and negative energy. Somehow. These dragons had been creatures of light, having healing powers. But after death, a group of necromancer’s found their bones and carried to the hall. They put a spell on them so they could raise them at a time of their convenience.”

Group of necromancers? Ace had a memory of such a group. Could it be Skele’s old friends? Lich’s accomplices? Maybe, maybe not. It mattered little now. “How do you know such things? Their history?”

“I just do,” the archer huffed. He looked sideways, fastening his gaze on the fallen monster. “How long has it been since it’s like that?”

“Close to two hours,” Deedara said coming over to them. She stopped near Hawk, a look of concern in her eyes. But she didn’t say anything in that regard. “How long do you think the monster will last?”

“Long enough,” Monthu said. “You should both go and take a rest. I can see you’re hardly standing on your legs.”

Ace took a better look and saw he was right. Both Hawk and Deedara were weary from their journey; eyes sunken-in, faces pale and postures slouched. They were holding themselves standing but didn’t have the energy to straighten up.

Still, Ace thought they might argue but there was nothing of that. They just nodded and left. He wondered whether they knew where they were going but soon they were out of his sight and he turned away. It wasn’t his problem.

“What are you going to do now?”

Ace turned to look at Monthu. “Take a little nap, probably. It’s been awhile since the last time I rested.”

“Mind taking Par with you? I’d like to help a bit more around here.”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

The kid followed him without a word. Ace didn’t have anything to say to him either. They soon approached the tent he’d made for himself some days ago and went in. Colourful robes and rags lay scattered inside, having been used to keep him warm. “Find yourself a place,” he said and fell asleep almost the moment he laid his head down.

When he woke up, he knew evening had come. Unnaturally bright light shone from outside, a clear indication of magicians at work. When they lighted a place, it just had to become brighter than day.

Coming from outside, he could hear shouts and jeers. The monster had to be reaching its end. Otherwise, the players would have reached their limit by now. At least he believed there had to be one. No one could shout and cheer for hours on end.

He roused himself from his mess of abandoned clothes, and with a wide yawn shook Par’s shoulder. “Wake up.”

The boy murmured in his sleep, not wanting to leave the dreamland. Ace shook his shoulder, he wasn’t staying inside just because the kid was lazy. “Get up! We need to go!” he shouted in his ear.

In seconds Par opened his eyes and looked around with a wild gaze. “What happened? Are we in danger?” He curled into a tighter ball as if that would solve any problems of danger.

“No, I just want you up. It’s time we left the tent and saw what was happening outside.”

This had little effect on the boy and Ace spent the next twenty minutes getting him up. It was a tiresome job to calm him down, then wake him up and finally have him leave the warm den he’d made for himself.

By the time they were out, Ace was already tired. “And I had just woken up,” he muttered to himself. At the kid’s questioning look he just shook his head.

Outside he quickly located L standing near his tent. He was alone for the moment, eyes trained on the giant carcass. It wasn’t moving.

“Has it been killed?”

L turned at his words. “Not yet but it should be any moment now. The monster is bleeding all other and has stopped kicking an hour ago.”

“Were you planning to get closer?”

“That might be a good idea,” L agreed.

As if hearing those words, Mirage made its way through the tents. It stopped right before Ace, neighing in his face.

“I’m happy to see you too,” he answered the welcome, gently patting Mirage’s nose. “Would you mind carrying me and Par to the front?”

After a shake of the head, the horse bent its front legs, allowing for the children to get up. Ace sat up with ease and brought Par after him.

L in the meantime had gotten himself an animal too and together they rode closer to the battlefront. They stopped clear of the monster but from a small hill they could see all that was happening.

Close a thousand players were scurrying over the monster, stabbing and slashing wherever they could. There was no order to it but a simple wish to inflict as much damage as possible. Skills flashed for extra points and spells landed, almost hitting wizards’ companions.

But no one complained. Destruction of the monster was at the forefront of most minds.

That, and fighting off the black creatures. They were greatly reduced in number but their skills had advanced to where high-level players had to face them. Average people would get overrun in no time.

“I hope they will disappear with the monster’s death,” L said following Ace’s look.

“That might be a fa-”

His words were interrupted by a sudden silence in the field. Nothing had happened. There hadn’t been any loud noise or echo, but everyone just went silent.

Ace glanced over the battlefield but there was nothing out there. Nothing new.

His eyes returned to the monster. Players on its body were still, their chests heaving as they tried to catch their breaths. No one was attacking.

Could it be?

* Beast from the Greater Realm II

Guess what? You succeeded. As unbelievable as that sounds, it is the truth. You killed the monster.

Just not the right one.

Surprised? Well, your dispassionate attitude to the quest, allowing the beast’s parts to survive and return full of life force will be your own downfall. Because of all that nonsense, an underling of the monster had intercepted and received the energy, growing in power and coming to your world.

The true beast had been reduced to a few scattered pieces of dark matter. But no more. You have killed the pretended, good job! Now the true beast can take its rightful place and destroy your world at leisure.

As a side note, so you know what you’ve done, the true beast is ten times stronger. It’s the king after all, not some weakling underling.

Have fun!

Quest Difficulty: XXXXXX

Quest Reward: The planet won’t be overrun by monster from other realms and all current races won’t go extinct.

Target Place: Summoning Grounds *

The words fell like stones on players’ heads. They had done wrong? But...

Before complete thoughts could be formed, the black creatures abandoned their fights against the players and rushed towards the fallen monster. They started eating it.

From toe to head, all pieces were part of the meal. The creatures filled their stomachs until they could hold no longer and then got themselves killed. Whether it was an abandoned blade or jumping off the monsters shoulder, they quickly turned into goo. Whole ground was covered in black substance in moments. From it, new creatures rose, off to eat more.

It didn’t take them more than twenty minutes to devour the whole monster. Two creatures were left then and they speared each other with clawed hands.

As they fell, whole goo started to boil. Mist rose from it, covering what was happening inside. Ace activated [Mystic Eyes] to see what was happening.

From the liquid mass, a form was coming out. It was dripping goo but growing in size. When it was twice the human size, it started forming itself. Horned head, pointed ears, dragon like face, leathery wings, four clawed hands and two legs.

Once the limbs were formed, the goo started solidifying. It focused on the chest, hands and legs, forming something akin to armour while leaving joints free to move.

When finished, the beast flexed its muscles, clearly enjoying the ability to move. Then it roared. The sound washed over the players’ heads like a herald of things to come. Nothing good at all.

“What do we do now?” L asked in a soft voice. There were more people around them but none opened their mouths. The air of despair and desolation thickened around the players like a heavy cloth. It smothered all the hope they ever had, and pulled them under.

*The code on your cabin has been inserted wrongly thirty times. Do you want to log out?*

The small pop up window woke Ace from his daze. For a moment he wondered what he should do before turning the message off. He had allowed innumerable amount of tries and his parents would quickly figure the code out.

This large amount of tries could only mean the villagers. For some reason, they were very intent on getting him out of the game today. But he wasn’t going to give them a chance. If he didn’t want to, they could do nothing. None of them would dare damaging the cabin in case it might hurt him. It was connected to his nerve system, after all.

There was such a thing as master key to shut the game down as an emergency but they didn’t have it. His parents had wanted to give someone the key but he had been adamant in his disagreement. They either keep the key to themselves, or they can keep the game.

He wasn’t going to play something that the villagers could interrupt as they saw fit.

And now was not the time to start giving them that power. They could type as many passwords as they wanted, but he wouldn’t come out. Only when his parents came would he leave this game. He had promised himself that.

“Attack!” someone shouted and Ace turned to see a group of some fifty players starting to charge. They ran with their weapons at ready as magic fire landed on the beast. It worked as a distraction and the players reached the monster without a hitch.

They fell upon it with a war cry, hacking with their axes, slashing with blades. Weapons glanced off the toughened skin and the beast rounded on them. Its claws passed through a player’s armour, killing him in one strike.

The beast then went after the others. Its speed was unprecedented, none of the players able to match. Claws passed though their chests, necks. In a couple of minutes, the whole squad was obliterated. Not a single survivor.

“What is that thing?” a voice near Ace asked. He didn’t answer but watched as the beast rose in the air. Its wide wings easily lifted it off the ground and it found its new target. Descending in a middle of an army, it went on a slaughter spree.

Players tried to run in all directions but the beast’s speed was too much. It ran, slashed and used skills it had no right knowing. Ace recognised them as those of the players. Those that had kept the black creatures at bay, away from overrunning the camps.

This beast was something the players had created themselves. If they had found a way to stop the creatures, maybe freeze or lock them up somehow, this beast would know nothing.

But it did. More than a hundred different skills and abilities. Even spells. Ground rose or turned sand under its command, fire and wind doing as ordered. There was no escape for the players it set its eyes on.

“We have to do something!” L said in a voice that lacked any confidence. He tried to fake it but he wasn’t that good of a pretender. His eyes focused on Ace. “Do something!”

“And what would that be?” Ace asked with derision. “I could do nothing against the previous one, so what do you think changed now? Since it became stronger I should suddenly be able to defeat it? That’s not how this works.”

The mockery in his own voice surprised him. He was more rattled by the events when he had thought. What did the villagers want? They had never tried to interrupt his play time before. And they could have, easily back then.

So what had happened to turn them like this? Had his parents been delayed? No, they would have warned. His birthday was in a few days, they would have done everything to be there on time. Maybe even skipped work.

Though that was doubtful. No, they would have finished everything on time. That’s why they hadn’t contacted him for so long. They were too busy, finishing all the tasks. Soon, any moment now they would open his cabin and they would go celebrating.

Everything would be perfect.

“But no one else can!” L pleaded. “You’re our only hope!”

“Who do you think I am?” Ace asked with annoyance colouring his voice. “I told you I’m no god.”

“And then you went and defeat a whole army by yourself.”

Ace sighed. “They were players. I could fool them into killing each other. Illusions barely work on monsters and even if it did, what then? Who am I supposed to pity it against? Wanna be a contender?”

Screams followed his words. The whole left wing of the army was being slaughtered alongside the dragons. Quickly. Players were running from there to the right as fast as their legs could carry them, pushing each other out of the way.

No one wanted to be the last in escaping.

Ace looked at them with disgust. What did they plan to achieve by running? The beast was going to catch them sooner or later. No place in the world would be safe once the armies here were annihilated to the last person.

Sure, players would get back to life, but what then? It’s not like they would have more of a chance then. Especially since death weakened them, taking away some statuses to encourage them to stay alive next time.

Stacked debuffs were even worse. After five consecutive deaths, a player for a long while would have to live at half his level. How could such things threaten this beast? The answer was simple, it was now or never.

One way or another, it was going to end here.

“Ace, do you think you can do anything?” Monthu asked extracting himself from one of the waves of rushing people. Everyone was running around them, their little group standing like an island in a raging ocean.

“No.”

“Would you try?”

His answer was drowned in a cacophony of screams that were getting dangerously close to their place. The beast was approaching.

He was about to repeat when a female from behind him spoke. “Ang! I’m so glad I found you! You need to log out now, something happened.”

The voice was a familiar ring of Sam’s but her words sent a chill through his back. “What?” he asked without turning around. He could hear her hiccuping, brushing the tears from her eyes.

“It’s not- not good to talk he- here. You need to come out,” she said in a throaty voice. It sounded as if she’d been crying for a while now.

He shook his head. “No, don’t want to.”

“You have to!” she shouted, almost hysterical. She moved to stand before him, grabbing his hands in hers. “You have to!”

Ace’s distrust warred with the feeling that something had gone horribly wrong. He didn’t want to go but he’d never seen Sam so distraught. What could put her into such a state? It had to be important.

“Please, Ang!”

That name... Angel. It sickened him. He pushed her off, strong enough to make her fall on her back. “Don’t call me that!” he hissed at her, a wildness coming into his voice. “I’m not some silly pigeon! Get out of my sight! Return to where you came from!”

Her sobs intensified at his words and he turned from the sorrowful pity in her eyes. “I’ve got things to do here,” he said as if that explained everything and with quick steps he started climbing his fields.

“Ace!” Monthu called after him. “Kirin!” when he was ignored but Ace didn’t turn back. He was going to do this. Someone had to die, it might as well be the beast.

Or him.

Everyone had so pleaded for him to save them. None had wondered whether he would survive such an encounter. All they wanted was for him to protect them, destroy the evil monster that threatened them.

Well, he could try. Go alone, without any support and get himself killed. Maybe then they would understand what they have done. They had sent their only chance at winning to die pointlessly; unprotected, unguarded.

He was strong, unbelievably so, but that didn’t make him invincible. One mistake, one wrong move and he was dead. And no one was there to aid him in not making it.

So be it, he would attempt it alone. All his life he’d known it was like that. No one was there for him. Couple people tried but they wanted life of their own, they couldn’t waste their whole time on him. Or even any of it. They had more important things.

Never had he been a number one to anyone.

His body shook as he closed in on the black beast. He wasn’t certain whether it was from anger or hurt but it mattered little. He was doing this. No matter the cost.

Shouts and screams came from below, some with his name. All the myriad of them. Ace, Silver Wing, Kirin, Ang. Maybe then he should give them a show. It were his last moments in the game after all. He hadn’t lied when he’d said he had but one life here. No cheating and being brought back to life for him.

Death was the end.

“Beloved dreams, feared nightmares, different worlds, same horrors combine into one and come crashing onto the mortal souls, Phantasm!” he whispered under his breath, raising higher into the air.

Black wings sprouted from his back, his hair turning dark brown. With reckless abandon he dived down, feathers fluttering in his wake.

His landing was the beast’s back and he heard gasps of awe as his daggers plunged into the skin. With [Magma Blade]’s help they penetrated the strengthened skin but it wasn’t enough. He didn’t feel the usual resistance of organs, vital parts being damaged.

No, this beast wasn’t human at all. Its shape was a copy on the outside, but the inside was nothing alike. Ace’s attack meant nothing at all. It was as cutting someone’s hair. Annoying to the owner but dangerous? Not at all.

The beast turned on him with speed that Ace’s eyes could barely follow. More on instinct than sight he dodged one clawed hand and blocked the other with a dagger. Blade groaned under the pressure but held.

Problem was that unlike Ace, the beast had extra two hands. He could keep both of Ace’s occupied and still have ways to attack. To prevent from being skewered, Ace had to use [Void Step] repeatedly.

He danced back and forth, activating fields to keep himself in the air while all the time blocking and dodging clawed limbs. They came at him from all directions, meaning to maim him as much as kill.

Beast’s back would have been the best place for him but two great wings guarded it. If he even showed there, they swatted him away like a fly. Even the wind from them was more than enough to throw him to the ground and take most of his health.

Since then he took care to stay above or in front of the beast. With his extraordinary agility, he could foresee the attacks and evade or block them but it grated on his nerves. He was gaining nothing. Dodge right, left, drop below, block a right swing.

Shift away. Go up. Block right, move there and dodge a jab coming for his legs.

It was the same as running away. He played along the beast’s range, not getting hurt but that wasn’t the same as winning. His stamina would run out much faster than the beast’s and then he would be done for.

It made his anger grow with every clash of steel against claw. Was he really going to die from exhaustion? That was one of the silliest endings to a legend he could come up with. No one would remember him if that happened.

But what was he supposed to do? Evading the attacks were as far as his skills went. This beast was on par with him in speed, and had more limbs to attack with. Nothing close to a fair fight.

Fair? The thought startled him. He hardly managed to dodge the next attack before turning away and starting to run on his fields. When had he begun playing by the rules? Why should he ever do that?

The mere idea was outrageous. He was Silver Wing, the notorious assassin. His legend was based on never being fair, doing things that anyone else would blanch at.

Time to remember who he really was.

Making a good distance between himself and the beast, he shifted. [Void Step] brought him near the players and while his opponent searched for him farther away, Ace let his illusion expand.

A blonde angel dressed in white appeared first, it fluttered in the air after him like a butterfly. Soon after him a spoiled lordling brat made his appearance. He was dressed in rich clothes with a dagger at his side and a pompous look in his face.

Then a young boy, younger than the other two took shape. He looked around uncertain, a wavering smile on his lips. His clothes were out of place, modern rather than medieval like most of the game’s fashions.

Shadows blurred, bringing a creature of the night forth. Screams from below caught in Ace’s ears but he ignored them. There were so many more to come.

A skeletal boy, his hands groping forward, eyes blind. Young lord’s son dressed all in black with a silvery cane in his hand.

An elf stepped out. His purple eyes went over the crowd, lips forming into a knowing smirk. He reached for the flute at his breeches and brought it to his lips. Soft melodic notes left it as another being made its appearance.

Wings black as night, angelic features twisted in a snarl. The beautiful boy pushed his black hood over his face, hiding it from the watchers below.

Then, as the melody slowly intensified two boys appeared staring at each other. One was dressed in a dark blue cloak, his face hidden beneath a fox mask and a hood. His opponent wore no disguise. His golden curls tumbled freely, framing his ice blue eyes.

Their opposition lasted but for a moment until they turned from each other and returned to the mass. “Ang, Night’s Creature, Skele’s boy, lordling, Lathlaeril, Fallen, Wing and Ace. So many, and many more unnamed creations,” he whispered to himself. “I wonder, what is left for me now.”

The illusion around him had fallen off and he stood in his dark garments, the mask pushed on his forehead. This wasn’t him but it would have to do. He wasn’t certain he could find his true form even if he had hours to think about it.

Like an army general, he waved forward and started to run. All his pasts spread into a fan behind him with Ace and Wing at the front. They ran together, straight at the approaching beast.

The elf’s sweet melody was out of place in the midst of battle but it soothed his raging emotions. For a moment, he could clearly see how mad his rush was but it was too late. He had banked everything on this attack.

It was going to be his legacy.

For better or worse, this was it. He was too far to back down now.

The beast reached for him with its sharp claws but he shifted through them, appearing right at the beast’s head. There he had guessed its heart would be.

“Heart-seeker!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, stabbing Kris as far as it would go. The beast screeched in pain, making Ace’s lips twitch into a barest of smiles. If he wouldn’t kill it, at least he would inflict some pain. That would still be more than anyone else had achieved.

* WARNING!

Heart-seeker is eating through the hearts at great speed. If you take the dagger out now, there is still a chance the skill will remain intact, able to purify the blade with human hearts!*

Ace pushed the dagger deeper in. He wasn’t backing down. Not now.

Something bubbled in his throat. He coughed to clear it off only to see the back of his hands get spattered with blood. A look down showed something sticking out from his chest.

Claw.

His body shook at the realisation. He was going to die. For real. It wasn’t just a thought for revenge. No, it was happening. He was bleeding out. Moment more and he would be forcefully logged off.

His limbs were loosening, unable to produce the strength to push. “No!” Ace gurgled. “I’m taking you with me!” His words were nothing more than breathless whispers but they gave him power to make a last push.

Not enough.

As the idea sunk in, he felt a warm yellow glow surrounding him. “So, that’s how my favourite follower is going to end up. Such a tragic ending...” a female voice said without any sorrow in her voice. He half-turned his face to see a female of ethereal beauty hovering over him.

She was blocking the beast’s attacks behind her back with ease. Her wing shaped weapon gleamed in the light radiating off her. She smiled at the widening of his eyes.

“Did you think I was going to let you die alone? You resemble me too much for me to just let you go.” She put her free hand on his shoulder, moving to stand right behind his back.

Her presence made his aches leave his thoughts, and his mind cleared. There was still one thing he could do. He had attacked like Silver Wing but forgotten that he was much more.

“Externus!” he screamed out and tendrils of dark magic rose from all over his body. They stretched, broke and formed little bubbles that flew to all the players below. Shouts of displeasure and damage received reached Ace’s ears but he paid them no attention.

His energy was decreasing at rapid speed, in moments it would turn zero. But he kept his dagger plunged in. That was the only thing that mattered now. He was going to die but if he stayed still, at least he wouldn’t be alone in doing so.

Soon, the health carriers returned and he saw his health increasing. Hundred after hundred it went way past the point of normalcy. By the end he had thirty five thousand health and no energy to move a muscle.

Just as well.

He brought all the spells he knew to the forefront of his mind and continuing to ignore the goddess whispered them one after the other. Each went into Kris that bordered on breaking from the power stored inside. All those spells capable of devastating kingdoms shoved into the little blade.

The goddess moved to hug him from behind, her warm glow encompassing him, and through him reaching into the blade. It pushed it over the edge and Kris exploded.

For a second the world was frozen, and then the wave went forward. It demolished everything in its path, not leaving a single object standing. Humans, animals, trees or structures. Each and every thing turned dust.

Ace watched the demolition with cold detachment as he felt his body give way. This was the end. He was dying and taking not only the monster, but everyone in the armies with him.

Somehow it was right. He closed his eyes from seeing the fracturing of the earth and let his mind relax. Familiar darkness surrounded him as light words reached him from far away.

“My favourite boy,” Aelia whispered. “I shall take you to keep me company forever.”

Epilogue

Two days after the battle, Tristain’s parents came back. They were ecstatic at the news that he’d learnt the full name of Ace.

“Kirin Harthorn,” they said the name with such undulated joy, Aiden felt sick. What had he done?

“I did not believe in your claim but you have managed to take it from the boy. Good job son.” Cole put his arm on Aiden’s shoulder squeezing it. “You did us proud.”

“I knew it wasn’t a mistake to pick you from that orphanage. Remember Cole, I said he’s going to be good enough. He has potential!” Melinda said with a bright smile on her face. She was almost beaming with joy at the prospect of tracking the boy down.

It had taken them less than a few hours to locate him in a small village on a seashore. They were quite surprised he hadn’t lied about that. In their mind, he’d had no reason to give clues away. Somehow, it made him less in their eyes.

The next day, they all boarded a private jet. Even Tristain was included. His brother wasn’t certain why they were going to Ace’s place but he was looking forward to it. In his mind, it was going to be great to meet his friend in real life.

Aiden listened to his chatter with half the mind as worse thoughts plagued him. He wasn’t so positive about this reunion. No matter how he looked at it, there could be no happy ending.

Tristain’s parents weren’t doing this for their child. Or at least, not the way he thought they were doing. From what Aiden had gathered, they planned to meet the boy and then buy or threaten him.

The only thing he could not understand was why they were doing it themselves. And taking him with Tristain along. It made no sense to bring their child into such a situation.

Unless they wanted something from Ace. Then they could play on friendships, hoping to win him over with such notions. But even if there was anything they required from Ace, how could they believe he would be happy to comply?

He had told his secret only to Aiden. There was betrayal in his countenance even at learning Tristain had been made aware. How would he react to finding the parents on his doorstep?

It wasn’t going to end well.

Or that would be in the game. What did he truly know about this Kirin person? He’d heard things about him from the boy himself and his caretakers but that knowledge was fragmented and in contradiction.

From the way his friends had acted, he was a sheltered child that knew nothing of the darker side of the world. He always smiled, his mind stuck at the age of the child.

In his own mind, he was someone trapped. Unable to move forward, but having nothing in the present. His actions in game were often puzzling, as if he couldn’t decide himself what he wanted to do. One moment he was pushing his way into their group, then running away and returning again. Then abandoning them.

How much of that could be his true personality and how much just pretend? Or was everything just for show? There were people who changed into opposites of themselves online.

Somehow, he doubted Ace was one of them. As the game continued, he got more invested and more of his emotions showed, At times, they were right on his face, not hidden in the least.

What Aiden had seen there, worried him more than relieved. There was a huge trauma in that kid’s life and he’d never gotten over it. His distrust, wanting to be around people but foiling such tries himself, had to be part of it.

And his love for creating characters. Only when he brought them all in his last fight, did Aiden understand just how many of them had been there. The revelation of the elf shocked him, but Ace and Wing were ones that worried him. If those two were only acts, who was the boy in truth?

Did he know it himself? For a moment up there, he’d looked uncertain himself. His eyes followed the many different characters before falling on this own self with derision. But then he’d turned away and went for the monster at the speed of light, his creations in battle formation after.

“Hey, listen to this!” Melinda said bringing their attention to the screen on the side. She raised the volume with a voice command and a loud female voice flowed into the room.

“So, you want to say its done done? There’s no bringing it back?”

A man sitting next to the female bobbed his head. “That’s what I’m saying, and its not part of some misguided plans by the company to increase the game’s fame.”

“Why would you say that?”

“I have friends in the developer team and I heard they had tried everything with no success. That last explosion destroyed the whole planet. Well, not destroyed,” he laughed,” as much as killed all life. Nothing was left standing.”

The female brittled at his answer. She crossed her legs, leaning closer to the man. “Can’t the players rebuild? It would be an interesting experience.”

The man shook his head. “There’s no wildlife, which means no air. Anyone who logs in, dies in a minute from the lack of oxygen.”

“What about speeding up the time? Letting a few million years pass in a few days?”

“They tried,” the man said, his look straying away. “It was a failure. Wildlife has been brought back, and some life formed but the game is nothing like it had been. The new monsters are much stronger than possible to defeat for new players, there are no safe zones, no npcs and to top it, magic is gone. Testers tried all they could think of, but every single one agreed this was a terrible game. They had doubts about playing it, even if they were being paid.”

The female’s eyes lowered to the ground for a moment. “What do you think will happen to the gaming world now?”

“It is hard to say, but Regal Dream’s monopoly is over. Other titles will start popping up and players will have more choices what to play. We should look at it positively.”

“Of course!” the female said, mirroring the man’s bright smile. Both of them were so fake it was painful to watch.

Nobody wanted another game. Regal Dream had had its problems, but it was the first. Everyone had played it, and most liked their lives there. It was hard to imagine suddenly changing to something else, losing all those hours spent in the game. People had created whole lives there.

It was surreal to think all of it was gone.

Aiden tried to think how he’ll occupy his empty hours now but came up blank. He would have double the free time. What was he supposed to do with it? What had he done before Regal Dream made its appearance?

He couldn’t remember.

“This is great news!” Melinda cheered. Aiden stared at her. What could possibly be good about this?

Cole nodded. “Yeah, now that he won’t have the game, it will be easier to convert him to our cause.

“Our cause?” Aiden asked in a soft voice. It wasn’t often they told him details of their plans, but he needed to know this time.

Tristain’s parents exchanged grins. “We have decided to hire him. His mind is unique but brutal. He would be a great asset to our expansion.”

“Isn’t he a child?”

Melinda dismissed his words with a wave of her hand. “You heard him, he’s twenty-one. That child look must have been some kind of fancy of his.”

Aiden didn’t say anything. He had heard more than he’d wanted. An employee. It was hard to imagine Ace following Tristain’s parents commands. He’d done many things, some quite low, but one thing he’d always kept, was answering to no one.

Even when he’d agreed to become L’s assassin, it had been just words. He followed the orders when he wanted to, and only when it aligned with his own goals. Not once had he done what was expected, rather than what he felt like doing.

How could Tristain’s parents expect such a person to work for them?

A sound signalled that they were closing on the destination. It suggested they put their seat belts on, and they did so. The weather through the windows was a formidable one.

Black skies dampened the midday into night. Rain clashed against the windows, threatening to break through. It wasn’t going to happen but seeing the large violent droplets made it uncomfortable. Winds were throwing them at the jet with a vengeance.

When they landed, Aiden took Tristain’s hand and helped him outside the jet. “This is an abandoned part of road. Fields are on the side with trees in the far distance. But they are small, lean, not like the ones near our home,” he said, falling in the familiar old rhythm.

Tristain held strong onto his hand, listening with attention to his recounting. “Is the village far?”

“No,” he answered, tugging his brother’s jacket closer around him. “We have to walk for a bit but I can see many lights not far. Maybe they’re having some kind of celebration today.”

His brother shivered, but didn’t complain. “Today is Ace’s birthday.”

“Is it? Well, we have come right on time to congratulate him then,” he said with a cheery tone, pushing his doubts away. “Let’s go.”

Together they started on the wet path. Winds threw rain in their faces, cold seeping in. It wasn’t a very celebratory weather. Maybe that was why there were so many lights inside the village, nobody wanting to be outside.

Tristain’s parents trailed behind, Melinda complaining about the weather. She was annoyed that wind would damage her new haircut and she wouldn’t be able to show up in all her glory. It almost sounded as if Ace wouldn’t meet them simply because they didn’t look their best.

Soon they entered an eerily empty village. Most windows were lit but no life showed behind them. Doors were thrown open, light spilling out into the darkness of the day. Winds played in the corridors, rain creating puddles inside.

“What is happening?” Tristain asked in a low voice. He squeezed Aiden’s hand tighter, feeling the formidable silence around. Even his parents had stopped talking.

“It’s...” Aiden started but wasn’t certain how to explain it. He didn’t want to scare his brother. “We have reached the houses but they are empty. Everyone must be at Ace’s place.”

“Stop calling him that,” Melinda said to him with annoyance in her voice. “His given name is Kirin so use it.”

Aiden nodded, feeling like he should have thought of it himself. They were going to meet a real person, not a game character.

As they walked, whispers of sound reached their ears. Somewhere up ahead there were people. Maybe nothing wrong had happened here, people just hadn’t locked their doors, not expecting such a weather.

He didn’t want to consider why they might not have returned to close them.

What they encountered at the end was not a family house like others but the town hall. It was twice the size of others and lit like a birthday cake. Doors were also open here but instead of cheers, quiet buzzing of voices, mostly drained away by rain could be heard.

Then a loud shout, and another. Someone was arguing inside.

“Should..?” Aiden started to ask but Tristain’s parents passed him and entered the house. So he followed, his brother tightly holding onto his hand.

As they found the right room, a horrifying sight met their eyes. Two caskets stood by one wall covered in white flowers. More than twenty candles stood tall on the sides, burning brilliantly but overshadowed by electric lamp brightness.

In front of this display stood a child that had passed over the edge of madness. Never before Aiden had seen him like this but he recognised the figure.

Kirin stood with his hair knotted in mats, flown wild from the countless drafts in the room. His face was warped into a mosaic of pain, horror and pure despair. The hand holding a kitchen knife was shaking. It was as if-

Aiden’s eyes flew back to the hand. He hadn’t been mistaken. Gripped in the small hand was a mid-sized knife with a sharp point. Fingers gripping it were so tight, they were turning white.

“I won’t!” he screamed in a familiar voice but tone Aiden hadn’t heard before. The words were shouted out in desperation, begging for something. “I won’t...” he whispered, “I won’t..”

The vulnerability in those words tore at Aiden’s heart. He took a step forward when a female from the crowd moved in before Kirin.

“Please, Ang.”

At her words the boy blanched off as if struck. His head twisted one way and another, eyes wildly scanning the crowd, seeing no one.

“Please?” the female prompted, reaching for the knife. She had a smile on her face, no fear or trepidation in her demeanour. She didn’t believe anything bad was going to happen here.

Aiden saw her mistake before she made the sound.

“Ang -”

The simple name pushed Kirin over. He released a wordless scream, slashed at the female and shifted the blade with a practised move, plunging it in his own heart. Red didn’t take long to seep into his t-shirt as his legs gave under him and he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

The sound reverberated through the room like an explosion.

People screamed and shouted, falling at the boy’s body. Sobs and wails coloured the air as some tried to speak. None able to form words.

Something pulled at Aiden’s hand. He glanced downwards to see his little brother softly whimpering at his side. He snatched him up and left the room.

Lights shone in other rooms but he couldn’t take being in this place any longer. Carrying his brother, he went outside and walked till he got tired, not saying anything. When his hands grew tired, he sought out an arbour. It stood cold and open to the winds but the roof kept most of the rain away.

Settling down, he tugged his brother closer to his chest so they would share the warmth. For a while longer they stayed quiet. Neither of them wanted to pierce the silence and acknowledge what had happened.

Ace hadn’t been a master assassin to miss now.

“What went there?” Tristain finally asked. His voice was very soft, little more than a whisper.

For the first time in his life, Aiden was glad his brother was blind. It was a cruel thought but he couldn’t regret it. The sight was etched into his mind; wild eyes, hunched shoulders, shaking hand with a bloody knife.

And the sound. Blade cutting flesh. It repeated in his mind like an old carousel, spinning and spinning without an end. Only sometimes was it interrupted by a thud made loud in contrast to the breathless silence.

“Brother?”

“I’m here,” he whispered back, the bloody scene not leaving him even when he closed his eyes. “It wasn’t a celebration. But a funeral.”

“Whose?” the boy asked, squeezing his hand tighter.

Aiden couldn’t say his name. “His parents.” It was easier to talk in simple words. Not thinking. His mind reeled at what had happened even as he tried to push it all away. He didn’t want to consider the reasons and that maybe he was instrumental in bringing that outcome.

This arrival hadn’t meant anything. He hadn’t seen them, but all that time they played together. He had talked and laughed with them, hated and abandoned them. For a moment, a pained expression in the ballroom flashed through his mind.

Then the last moments of the game. The way he charged into the fight in anger. Something had aggravated him, and instead of calming, they had pushed him away. Put all the responsibility on his shoulders as if that had been his job alone.

They had put him apart.

Alone.

Guilt roared in his chest. He felt sick.

“Why did he do it?” Tristain asked, his voice shaking.

At first Aiden didn’t understand the question, his mind deep in self-loathing. “He...” How could he explain it? How do you tell a child that his best friend took his own life? No, he knew that. His ears were sharp enough to know what had happened.

His question was why, not what.

Aiden let out a breath. “Sometimes good people live in cages of darkness that shine golden from the outside. They killed him with their kindness.”

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He waited for his brother’s reaction but he didn’t say anything. Once more they sat in silence, letting their minds wander as rain pelted their shelter.

“What will happen now?”

“Nothing,” Aiden answered, looking into the pitch black darkness ahead. “We will return home and continue our lives. We will mourn, think of what could have been but most importantly remember him. And then we’ll move forward. Live the rest of our lives.”

His brother nodded, tears forming in his eyes. Aiden tightened his hands around him and rocketed gently as the boy sobbed.

His own eyes stayed dry. There were too many emotions bubbling in his chest to be able to mourn. Anger was at the front of his mind, rather than sorrow.

Anger and guilt.

The boy had asked him to visit. He had wanted a friend, someone to take his side. Instead Aiden had focused on his own problems, worrying about things that meant nothing now.

He’d feared the boy’s reaction on finding out Tristain’s parents knew the truth.

He’d sold him out for respect that bought this way was pointless.

He’d paid more attention to some silly game fight than someone who he’d promised to be there for.

All of those things turned meaningless in a single day. Neither mattered now that the kid was dead. It was as if some twisted genie had granted him his wish and made all his problems disappear.

He smiled bitterly. He’d told his brother they were going to mourn and move on, but that was a lie. There will be many more things to do before he could put this case to rest.

Villagers, doctors who’d given him the drug and those that invented it. Others that must have checked-up to see the progress and the rest that watched from the sidelines, pretending nothing was wrong. He was going to make them all pay.

The sight of a boy, no more than thirteen plunging a knife in his chest pushed its way into his mind. He gritted his teeth, trying to calm his insides. The urge to puke was strengthening each second he thought of it.

How could this be happening in the world they lived in? What if this fate had been thrust upon his brother? No, he would make it stop. No child will ever have to live through such a nightmare again.

“Rest in peace, Kirin,” he whispered and added in his mind, I will make sure your story won’t be forgotten.