We didn’t run into any other NPCs as we climbed the Great Oak, going higher and higher. Here, the mob levels increased into the 80s and 90s. Each flame creature we ran past was larger and more ominous than the last, some even abandoning the red and orange colour scheme, burning a bright blue-green.

The churning lightning storm above the Great Oak was closer than ever now. What had seemed like a cloud from a distance was actually a swarm of angrily buzzing insects. Every so often, I was able to see a translucent wing pop out from amidst the fray, only to dip back into the vortex. Lightning crackled throughout the swarm, sending golden discharges flying everywhere.

On the higher levels of the Great Oak, we had to actively dodge the discharges as they crashed into the ground with frightening lethality. Richard seemed to disregard his own safety, just mindlessly charging forwards to the next building. I had to use Swap on him multiple times to get him out of harm’s way. Not that he really seemed to notice.

“Stop!”

Amidst the chaos, I heard a small voice. One that was somehow familiar.

“EMMIE!” Richard roared, and charged up the final flight of stairs.

I sped up.

Racing up the last few steps to the top of the tree, I saw Emmie.

Her small figure was dwarfed by the sheer scale of the lightning storm swirling above her. Her arms were outstretched, appealing to the swarming mass of wings and compound eyes above her. Her hair flew wildly, tinged through with electric sparks.

“Stop fighting!” she cried out to the storm.

“EMMIE GET AWAY FROM THERE!” Richard shouted, plunging forwards. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. It was too dangerous to go out there. The storm was like a ball of plasma, spewing trails of electricity everywhere.

A bolt of lightning slammed into the ground right next to Emmie. Richard roared and struggled against my grip.

“Candle Flame,” I dropped a summon next to me. Concentrating on Emmie’s figure, I activated Swap.

The blob of fire exchanged places with Emmie with a pop. Richard shrugged me off and took hold of Emmie. Beside me I could hear him grabbing her shoulders, demanding to know if she was okay. In the distance, a plethora of lightning slammed down upon my poor summon, turning it to ashes.

“We have to go,” I tugged on Richard’s arm and activated Gift of the Wind. We sped back down the stairs. With newfound purpose, Richard was actually dodging the lightning strikes fairly well on his own. Emmie was clutched protectively in his arms, her eyes covered from whatever was going on around us.

Ironically, the thing that was causing the most trouble for us was not the lightning, but rather, the players. More and more of them were streaming up to the higher levels of the tree for the event.

I gritted my teeth and shoved past them, trying to clear a path for Richard and Emmie while keeping a lookout for lightning.

A variety of insults were yelled at us as I carved a path through what seemed to be a raid team formation, effectively ruining their collaboration. I didn’t care. I had to get Richard and Emmie to safety. As fast as possible.

I grabbed on to Richard’s shoulder while he grabbed on to Emmie. Teleporting us from point to point, I descended the tree as fast as I could without jumping off the edge and killing us all.

Teleporting with NPCs was clearly not a feature embedded in the world. I could feel the skill trying to tear my fingers away from Richard’s shoulder. But somehow, I managed to hold on. Maybe it was luck. Maybe it was my strength of will. Maybe it had to do with the blob of magic in my gut helping things along.

Who knew. I certainly didn’t care. What worked worked. I continued teleporting us down past the steps and through throngs of players coming up the stairs.

The lightning gave way to fire as we approached the lower branches. It was hard to tell whether we were in the clear or not, since, while there were less lightning strikes, there were a lot more players.

Now they weren’t just obstacles. I scowled at a group attacking a Level 48 Flame Scion. Together, they occupied the entire landing. I was forced to teleport into their midst, the scope of Short Range Teleport not far enough to bypass them entirely.

The shining colours of various skills whizzed past my head. I summoned a Candle Flame to block the path of a meteor spiralling right towards Richard.

Now they were hindrances.

The Wall loomed in the distance. Despite having made this journey multiple times, it still felt horribly far away.

“Can we make it?” Richard panted.

No. I thought.

“Yes,” I said. “I swear we’ll make it.”

“If we don’t make it,” I looked back to see Richard staring knowingly at me. “I entrust my daughter to you.”

Trust…

“Let’s not be pessimistic,” I just said, and kept going.

I leapt down a flight of stairs and skidded round the corner. Then stopped.

What was beheld before me was a war zone.

A massive Level 90 Plasma Dragon had somehow dropped down from the higher levels, its ethereal body burning a brilliant blue green. A massive group of players was gathered around it, all stuck on that tiny landing with the mob.

My vision blurred with colour as dozens of skills were cast at the same time. Overhead, projectiles and spells whizzed through the air, raining down from the sky in a deadly hail that hit friend and foe alike.

“Push through!” Richard shouted from behind me, and that was enough to get me going again. I grabbed his arm and snapped my fingers, teleporting us into the midst of—

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

The player in front of me screamed.

White hot agony struck my chest as a battle axe half the size of me rammed into me full force. The edges of my vision stained red. I screamed and clutched the spot where the wound should be. There was none, but the pain still tore into me.

Behind me, there was the thundering boom of an explosion slamming into the ground. I was thrown forwards into the raid team. Their formation scattered as I fell, skills flying uncontrolled.

“Fall back, here comes the ult!” came a voice from somewhere in the crowd, and the players obeyed.

Wincing through the pain, I chanced a glance back.

The Plasma Dragon had reared its head back, its jaws snapped open. A flaming ball of lightning had appeared in the centre of its maw, growing larger and larger by the second. Sparks of electricity and heat washed over us in pulses, stronger and stronger.

This was dangerous.

I froze, information on my skills speeding through my head. The attack was AOE, I needed to dodge… dodge where? We were on a landing and blocked off on both sides by players. I had no shield skills, damn why didn’t I invest in shielding skills? Invincibility frames? But Richard and Emmie wouldn’t be protected by that. I could teleport, but the teleport distance was just 1.5 times my dash we’d still be in the blast radius—

I felt warm hands shove a bundle of something into my grasp. I looked up into Richard’s eyes. They weren’t hollow anymore, but blazing. Blazing with a sort of hope that only someone about to die would have.

“Run!” he shouted.

He gave me a hard push in the opposite direction of the Plasma Dragon.

Ah.

I wrapped my arms around Emmie and sprinted for the edge of the platform.

Behind me, the pulses were getting stronger and stronger. I teleported as fast as I could, gripping Emmie tightly, not letting the skill tear her away from me.

My boot dug into the edge of the railing and I jumped. We hung in the air for a brief moment, before we started to fall.

The ball of plasma audibly exploded behind us.

A wave of heat from the blast washed over us. It burned. It burned every inch of my skin, covering us in a cloak of agony that we couldn’t escape from. The HP bar in the corner of my vision began rapidly falling as the burn status was applied. My vision went red again, unable to focus as the world dipped and spun around us.

Distantly, I could hear Emmie screaming.

I had to put the fire out. Before Emmie burned.

I promised Richard.

I couldn’t fail.

I forced myself to focus as I fell, twisting myself through the pain to aim for my target. There was a lake in the Outer City. My eyes blurrily scanned the area.

Red. Red. Red.

A reflective surface.

There.

I goaded my shaking fingers into snapping, teleporting our trajectory closer and closer to the pool of water.

Emmie felt light in my arms, lighter than she had been since we jumped from the Great Oak. Green sparks appeared in the periphery of my vision, and Emmie’s screams turned to wailing sobs. I pulled her closer, but she still seemed to slip out of my grasp no matter how tightly I held her.

“It’s going to be okay,” I mumbled through gritted teeth. “It’s going to be okay, Emmie.”

Closer.

Closer.

There.

We hit the water with a splash. The fire blanketing me was put out, replaced by the stinging chill of the water. Forcing my legs to move, I kicked fervently to get us back to the surface.

My heart was pumping with adrenaline. Despite Richard’s sacrifice, relief flooded my bones, sucking the strength out of my arms. It took everything just to swim upwards.

See? I was right. It’s alright.

I turned to check on Emmie.

And froze.

Her hollow eyes stared back. Her grip on my sleeve was loose and had no strength behind it, breaking free as soon as I moved. Her body flopped about limply in the current like a rag doll.

Already, the system was beginning to reclaim her, the corner of her face dissipating into green sparks that drifted through the water like stars.

No. No wait.

I reached out my hand to grip those sparks, but they wouldn’t stay, instead melting between my fingers.

The bundle between my arms broke apart, leaving me grasping at the remnants as Emmie died. The green sparks spread out in the water and faded, like they had never existed.

The pain in my chest flared, and I stopped swimming.

I just let myself sink.

And darkness embraced me.