"There is no mourning with this war. We are simply submerged in a dense melancholy. If only they could see through the fabricated pasts." -General Mal Saf, 'Aftermath of The Great War'

Pirugan Continent

Demeter Forest

Ray and Leilan stood at the edge of the cliff overlooking Demeter Forest. The forest was a sea of green, extending far beyond sight.

The introductions between the two companions had been awkward to say the least. After Leilan's greeting, Ray had stood their completely dumbfounded by not just her beauty, but her matter-of-fact tone. He didn't know how long it took to forge a response. A cluster of stutters poured from his mouth that formed some unknown language. That's how it sounded to him at least.

"Y-yes. It's nice to meet you." Ray managed to straighten himself, but he felt the heat rising in his cheeks.

To hide his face, he squatted at the edge of the cliff and gazed down into the trees. He couldn't estimate the distance, but he sure wasn't jumping down. There was no way any normal human could possibly make the drop without injury.

“Can you make this drop?” Leilan asked as if reading his mind.

Ray examined the cliff face before answering her. There seemed to be a number of handholds from jutting rocks and deep grooves for his fingers to get a decent grip on.

“I can probably make the climb down,” Ray responded.

As he turned to make his way down, Leilan placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He glanced up and saw that Leilan's wings were now fully extended outward. The hint of a grin formed on her face.

“I'm kidding,” she chuckled softly. “I can fly you down.”

Ray sighed and shook his head. Of course, it should have been obvious. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly. Everything that was going on, this amazingly real world and this amazingly real person...what else was there to say?

But Leilan wasn't even a human. She looked like one, save for the wings on her back, but she was a monster.

Ray turned reluctantly and allowed Leilan to grab him under the arms. He was surprised by how easy she took to the sky with the combined weight of his armor and person.

Leilan glided a short ways until she found a small break in the canopy. She released him a few feet off the ground and he landed in a half-crouch.

The grass was soft. The dirt hard. The bark of the tree rough that he used to brace himself as he rose.

Leilan alighted next to him and they began their journey through the forest.

Ray carefully picked his way down a long descent. The terrain was deceiving, for the trees grew so that they reached only a certain distance up to the sky, creating a completely even canopy of leaves. It was as if the trees were working in unison to remain as equals so that none reached any higher to the sky than the others.

No stone lay on the ground and no natural path was discernible.

Ray slid down the last few feet as Leilan floated to the ground beside him.

They spent most of the trip in silence. Ray found it difficult to strike up any sort of conversation. He always had a difficult time speaking to people he'd just met, but this was different. They were both destined to fight as partners knowing so little about the other. Ray found it easier to examine his surroundings and take in the environment.

The forest was eerily silent. Ray noticed that during the whole trip there was not a single sign of animals. No traces of prints or disturbed foliage to indicate that any sort of living creature passed through.

Ray decided to break the silence by commenting on this observation. “This forest seems way too quiet.”

Leilan glanced over her shoulder and regarded him with no readable expression.

“It feels like nothing has passed through here in a while. Why is that?”

A valid question, right? She was a denizen of this world after all.

“This part of the forest heals itself thanks to lingering magic,” Leilan answered. "There is a safe haven nearby called an Arbor Fountain, created by The Bountiful Arbor Goddess, Freyja." She gestured to the grass behind them.

She was right. The crushed grass that was previously beneath their feet was righting itself and pointed straight up once again. On even closer inspection, none of the blades of grass bent in any direction. All of them pointed straight for the canopy.

Ray recalled his supervisor mentioning how these Arbor Fountains hid him from the prying eyes in his world. He opened up his world map on the database and marked their location with a leaf symbol.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask. But the sheer number of them couldn't possibly be answered in the span of a day. He decided that he would stick with the more pertinent questions for the time being and address the other ones later as the situations presented themselves.

“Normally, I would ask someone I just met the typical introductory questions,” Ray finally continued after a short time, attempting to break his uneasiness with a bit of humor. “Y'know, what your favorite hobby is, what colors you like, favorite outdoor activity, stuff like that-haha...”

Leilan interrupted him. “You could ask. But I probably won't have an answer for most of them.”

Ray forced a smile. “Yeah, for some reason I kind of figured.”

Before he could draw out the conversation further, they came upon a dirt road. He didn't actually notice it until he heard the crunch under his feet.

A long indent in the dirt extended all the way down the road out of sight. Some sort of vehicle must have passed by. Perhaps from a wagon, judging from the two evenly dispersed pairs.

Leilan looked up and down the road. She seemed to be weighing their options.

“If we head north, we will reach the town of Millshore,” Leilan said. “To the south is the far base of the Bakke Mountains. I suggest that we head into town first. It will be evening by the time we reach the mountains, and there are too many taur demons prowling the area at that time.”

Ray nodded. “Alright. You know this place better than I do. Let's head north then.”

He was eager to enter some dungeons. The fast pace and thrill of the battles in the Departure Tower had him itching for combat. But it was foolish to enter unknown territory without any experience and at such a low level.

Leilan's words proved to be true, and the sun began to set faster than Ray anticipated. He could make out faint traces of the moons in the sky. Having more than one moon was going to take some getting used to, and he did a double-take when he first noticed the two spheres in the sky nearly touching each other in orbit. He wondered what effect two moons could have on a world. When a third moon appeared to take the place of the sun on the horizon it didn't really surprise him.

"So, you Players provide us with power. Is that right?"

Ray was taken aback for a moment. Both that she spoke first, and asked a question that she should already have the answer to.

"Oh, yeah." He opened up his board of orbs from the database. "Probably best if I show you."

A Player providing an NPC with a tutorial. That's a new one, he thought.

Ray had Leilan's full attention as the window appeared and dropped the multicolored orbs. "So, your main attribute is fire, and your sub-attribute is light."

Leilan nodded.

"Whenever I match three or more fire orbs, I provide you with the ability to do extra damage, essentially. The light ones don't give as much. Also, the more combos I get, the higher the multiplier towards your damage. Sometimes the multiplier depends on your leader skill, awakenings and such. Also-"

"So these orbs hold power that is released by matching them with my attribute, and you combine as many as possible."

Ray shrugged. "Well, essentially."

"I understand."

"Uh...right." Ray closed his database as Leilan continued to take the lead.

A rather unique situation: two individuals who knew nothing about the other put together and expected to fight. Success didn't only depend upon how well they worked together. Trust was another issue, and Ray found it strange that he would have to address this if they were to work together as a team.

In typical games, a Player was the dominant force that determined how they progressed. And if things fell apart, then it was all on the Player. Maybe the Player gave a partner the wrong choice from a list of commands, or maybe he/she took on a quest that was beyond his/her level.

In this world there were an infinite number of choices. An infinite number of situations and possibilities.

Ray scrolled through a number of combat menus on his database as they walked. They consisted mostly of information concerning his board of orbs, status ailments, personal stats and scarce information about Leilan. No list of commands. Strange.

Ray bumped into Leilan's outstretched arm. Her touch woke him from his reverie and he instinctively drew back.

She motioned for him to follow her to the side of the road. He obeyed and they took cover in some bushes.

When they were safely concealed, she cocked her head in the direction they were headed. Ray squinted his eyes and didn't notice anything at first, but after a few more seconds, he could make out what appeared to be a wagon and a group of individuals walking beside it. Actually, there was more than one wagon. Ray counted about four, along with a pair of guards standing to the sides and rear of each. Some of them rode on the horses that pulled the wagons. Gray tarps covered their bulky cargo.

One person rode upon an armored white horse leading the caravan, carefully taking in the surrounding forest for any sign of hostiles. The helmet concealed the face, and a straight horizontal visor was left for the eyes.

Their gray armor was worn and damaged. Some of them were bandaged and supported injured limbs as best they could using the wagon or weapons for leverage.

Ray noted the crest on their body armor that consisted of two swirling lines ending like teardrops surrounding a crossed halberd and sword.

“Soldiers of Millshore,” Leilan commented.

Ray didn't take his eyes away from the approaching troops. “Friend or foe?”

“The captain of the guard holds no love for monsters," Leilan answered. "Past conflicts in Millshore left us with a strained relationship. The guards will be keeping a close eye on us when we enter town, but they won't interfere with us unless provoked.”

Ray took a mental note. Wow. Some complex relationships going on here.

Leilan rose from their cover and calmly walked out to the middle of the road. Ray joined her and assumed the same air of ease. He was content to let her take the lead.

They waited until the caravan arrived. A group of guards left their stations and formed a defensive semicircle around the two travelers. They wielded their glaives with unsteady hands. Ray thought it might have been from fear in the presence of a monster, but on closer inspection it seemed more from sheer exhaustion.

The one on horseback slid down and approached them. The soldier did not bother to draw the broadsword on his/her back and gently pushed one of the guards aside.

“At ease,” the muffled voice said.

The guards lowered their weapons, but they made sure the blades merely brushed the dirt.

The soldier, who Ray assumed was the leader, removed the helmet to reveal a young woman.

The helmet freed her long blonde hair that fell to her lower back. Her hazel eyes were heavy, but there was an intensity that remained. She was good looking despite her hard features. Ray figured she was somewhere in her late twenties to early thirties, but her manner and presence suggested a mind on par or exceeding those with more years of wisdom.

Her expression softened and she gave them a weary smile of greeting, but not enough to extinguish the fire in her eyes.

“A monster and a human traveling together,” she said. “I guess this means that the Players have finally arrived.”

Ray tilted his head. “Wait, you know I'm a Player?”

It was strange that non-playable characters were aware of the unique existence of the Players. Usually these kinds of characters were for the sole purpose of driving a story forward, acquiring information or providing quests to the Players of the game. The fact that they had knowledge of humans outside of their own world seemed unnecessary.

“The keeper of this world, Lady Overlook, informed us of your coming,” she answered. “It also isn't common around these parts for a human and monster to travel together.”

Lo? The AI from Future Artificial Networking? She told the people of this world of our arrival?

Leilan shifted the conversation towards a question concerning the caravan. “It's pretty late to be heading south isn't it? And your men don't seem to be in the highest spirits,” she added after getting a good look at the soldiers' faces.

“Aye,” the woman said with a shrug. “We were assigned to escort this caravan to our new outpost on the south edge of Demeter Forest. Unfortunately, we had a few unexpected complications.”

“Complications?” Ray pressed.

The woman nodded. “Looks like the taur demons in the area are all riled up, and they aren't the weak ones either. These taur demons hold the title of 'Hellwind,' first evolution taurs. This is the first time I've seen them this close to Millshore.”

“I didn't know there was an outpost set up so close to the edge of the mountains,” Leilan commented.

“That's why it is so desperate for supplies,” the woman continued. “It is fairly new. The area is rich in ores, but since it's so dangerous the outpost was built at the base.”

Ray noticed the woman's thickly bandaged leg. Her leather waist armor that hung down along her thighs hid the red stain at a distance. Upon further observation, he also realized that most of her weight was distributed towards her healthy leg.

“How much further is the outpost?” Ray asked.

This drew a disapproving look from Leilan.

“With our current pace, and with no other obstacles, we should be able to make it by sundown.” She threw her thumb over a shoulder to the men behind her. “We may be beaten up a bit, but we haven't lost a single man on this trip. My guys are the real deal.”

She said that, but even Ray could see that the men were reaching their limit. Some of them were still panting, and their injuries didn't amount to just a couple of cuts and bruises. He observed one man with his waist completely bandaged and three spots of red seeping through. The weapon responsible for the wound was probably something like a trident, judging from the three separate stains. Many of the other men were similarly treated with makeshift tourniquets and crutches.

They would be hard-pressed in a fight.

It was in Ray's nature to help those in need, even if it was in a game. There might even be a potential opportunity to amend the monster and human relationship, even if it was just a little. He wanted to head to the mountains as soon as possible anyway. There had to be some dungeons nearby to explore and other places of interest. The outpost would also provide a safe place to stay for the night. Heading into town could wait until later.

He turned to Leilan for confirmation. “What do you think, Leilan? We were going to head south anyway at some point.”

Leilan shook her head. “I don't think we would be very welcome at this outpost.” She gestured to the soldiers. “And I don't think these men would be comfortable taking the trip with me around.”

To Leilan's surprise, one of the guards in the defensive semicircle around them relaxed his weapon and rested it on his shoulder. The rest of them followed his lead, and some even rested their weapons on the ground as a sign of trust.

“Some of us don't hate monsters,” the one with the glaive on his shoulder said confidently. “Some monsters made our lives difficult in the past, but not all of them are to blame.”

Another soldier by one of the wagons spoke up angrily, “The hell is wrong with you, Carther? The damn monsters just crippled us and now you want to throw our lot with them?”

“Enough! Shut your goddamm mouths!” their commander shouted.

The rest of the men promptly went quiet. They didn't even let out a breath.

She turned back to Ray and Leilan and smiled weakly. “My apologies. There will always be ignorant fools. I have fought alongside a monster on one rare occasion. They aren't all bad. It would be a pleasure to have two more fighters for company. We might even be able to make it to the outpost with no casualties.”

Leilan gave Ray another look that was difficult to read. “Very well, I suppose we will join you. Just make sure none of your men try to stab me in the back.”

The woman extended a hand to Leilan who accepted it with a bit of hesitation. She then shook hands with Ray.

“My name's Irina Roche. Just call me Irina.”

“Leilan.”

“Ray Andylon. Just Ray is fine.”

Once they finished introductions, Irina signaled to her men that their break was over. It was time to finish the hard journey.

Ray only managed to take one step before realization halted him.

Wait, am I seriously... He looked down at his hand.

Talking here too...no, conversation is done so well.

There were no typical multiple choice answers for discussion like in normal games. Exchanged words were more familiar.

He reached down and grabbed a fistful of dirt, much like when he left the Departure Tower. He let the dirt fall. The splotches of brown remained. His hand felt gritty.

Ray shook his head and took a deep breath.

He noticed Irina and the man named Carther approach one of the wounded men. They helped him to his feet and slung his arms over their shoulders and guided him to the white horse. A few more came over to assist them and managed to settle the man in the saddle.

Some of the injured sat on the edges of the wagon, but the cargo that they were transporting took up most of the space available.

Along the way, many of the injured took turns riding the horses when the pain became too unbearable.

Irina limped alongside Leilan and Ray the rest of the trip to the outpost.

The taur demons that flew overhead were the first sign of trouble. The second was the smoke that rose high over the trees in the darkening sky.

Irina bid her soldiers make haste. They pushed themselves through the pain of their injuries at their commander's call. They readied crossbows and searched the sky for anymore hostiles.

Leilan launched herself into the sky above the treeline. She was just high enough to discern the source of the black smoke. The distance couldn't have been more than a mile.

She landed at a quickened pace next to Ray who was already setting up his database so that he could have faster access to his board of orbs once they entered combat.

The caravan sped up, but their speed only amounted to a swift walk. The wagons were just simply too cumbersome, and the injured could muster only barely enough energy to keep up. Ray wondered if the soldiers would even be able to fight once they arrived.

The dirt road disappeared. The caravan had turned slightly east back towards the forest, and the trees left just enough room for the wagons to pass through. The base of the Bakke Mountains was now visible as the caravan came upon a small field. The outpost stood at its edge near another short expanse of forest that led to the base of the mountains.

Its wall consisted of thick, sturdy logs lifted upright with the ends as sharpened palisades. Platforms lined the tops of the inside wall where guards ran back and forth, shouting orders and reloading crossbows. Archery towers stood at the edge as well, and crossbowmen fired into a horde of monsters that pressed against the gate. The monsters even attempted to climb, driving their weapons into the wood as they attempted to breach.

The mass of monsters hovering above and sprinting towards the wall left the caravan in awe. They soon noticed the source of the smoke where a fire had erupted in the field.

A group of red, horned creatures with reptilian tails stood to one side with a circle of winged demons wielding tridents. Some of them hefted shields to deflect the bolts from the soldiers' crossbows as the red demons threw orbs of fire at the wall.

Another group of dark demons with sharp wings and scythes descended upon the archery towers and attempted to circumvent the wooden spikes on the ledges the crossbowmen hid behind as they loaded more bolts.

“Ready them up boys!” Irina barked.

They tore off the tarps on the wagons to reveal long metal cylinders with large open diameters. They were supported by gray steel slabs that attached near the front and back with wheels embedded to the bottom. A round crank extended out of one side. They threw off more tarps to present even more similar cylinders. On some of the wagons were heavy black spheres that some of the men promptly loaded.

Cannons.

“I want the injured to man the cannons and focus on the western wall! Take out those bastards before they burn the whole place. The idiots gave us a clear angle. I want two lines of three archers each to swap positions. I want plenty of cover as we move in. The rest of you, hit the front and kill every last one of them! Get to it!”

With that final command, Ray and Leilan rushed forward alongside Irina and her troops.

Irina still managed to keep up even with her injured leg. The fire in her eyes was now on full blaze.

A rush of adrenaline coursed through Ray's body. A mixture of nervousness and excitement blended in. He felt his body lighten and sync with an all too familiar twitch in his muscles that acted on his combat instincts.

Pirugan Continent

Castle of Satan

The Abyssal brooded in his darkness. He replayed his conversation with the monsters he'd come to create an alliance with.

They were competent, but he found that some of them were not convinced of his relayed intentions.

A problem.

He was sure that the one known as Hades would take the most convincing. All of them held a lack of trust, which was only natural. But Hades suspected far too much, even at this early stage in the game. If things went sour, then he would have to be disposed of first. The woman, Persephone, had a very intimate attachment to him. She would be the next priority.

She would be what humans call...The Abyssal ran a scan of his compiled tropes, idioms and so forth. Damsel in distress? No. These women were warriors. Bait...yes, bait. Bargaining chip. Yes. Despite Persephone's competence, a male in this sort of relationship takes on a protective role and is prone to one-sided negotiations.

Satan hid his intelligence behind anger. But he was desperate and took the covenant's failings upon himself.

The other woman, Hera, she would require further study.

The Abyssal risked reaching out with his power to tap into the world and locate the positions of the Players. He could tell that his sister did not receive full command of the world just yet, which was a pleasant surprise.

His own Players had arrived just as the one Creator promised. However, he sensed other Players with similar impressive potential that were not among his own.

Curious.