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KnightessCiela dusted flour off her apron, wiping it across her armored glove as she stepped outside Fondante's Inferno, her lakeside bakery. The fresh scent of rising dough lingered on her as she tightened her ponytail and adjusted her sword belt. Floor 22 was normally peaceful, ideal for baking and lakeside daydreams. But something was missing from her latest recipe. A rare ingredient whispered about in tavern corners: Verdant Bloom. Said to grow in deep forest glades, it supposedly made bread so light it floated. She needed it. Not just for her masterpiece croissants, but to keep herself bu

Ripping past the held fast line, the silver haired creature in the mist would see even more of the creatures clipped to tiny pieces of shrapnel. Glass shards turned ice would explode out like powdered snow. A turn on her heel, the girl rips up the flat of wood that had fallen. Pressing it hard against the others, she'd turn her blade and give one solid swipe. The thing would start to freeze over, creeping ice working to form what was essentially a temporary blood clot to prevent the bleeding. A rending blade finds itself back into her scabbard, allowing her the freedom to clasp at its top and

She hoped they were getting along. And by getting along, of course, she meant the bare minimum. They didn't have to hold hands, sing Kumbaya, and plan a life together. Honestly, the thought of that sent chills down Lessa's spine that had nothing to do with Floor 29. All she asked was that they not kill each other. And honestly, she couldn't be sure which she expected to throw the first punch. Oscar, she assumed, would be the one to throw the last one. Thunder cracked overhead, and the suddenness of it snapped Lessa out of her thoughts. She stumbled, the toe of one boot catching on th

The screaming and crying of various individuals blind through the city as multiple entities continue on repeat to sheer their way through various barricades. The swordsman in red joined the throws of combat beating back the overwhelming forces while turning to the rest of his team, "Cover that gate!" He'd bark with an amount of volume that wouldn't be his norm. This was a drastic situation that called for all hands on deck, the city being reduced to cinders as this glass form beasts kept aiming for the lines that would supply the frontlines. Their motives remained a bit beyond his purview, yet

"Never asked them to care about me." The words slipped out before she could register what she was saying, and they sounded petulant even to her own ears. She grimaced, but looked away from Oscar to hide it. Still, she couldn't let that statement hang for long. "I'm glad Lessa helped me with-" a pause "-some stuff earlier, but it was just a favor. I offered to pay her and that other guy for it. I didn't expect her to adopt me. She and that Kyra woman are trying really hard to make this friendship happen, but I don't need anyone. I don't want anyone. I'm fine on my own." She swung back to h

Support Action completed (Non-combat support):

After everything had finished, Kagami just floated on their back in the Mirror Pond. They lamented that their otherwise bright day had been utterly ruined and swore to themselves that they wouldn’t get involved next time. It was an empty vow though. They knew that when the next time arrived, that they’d jump in before they could even react. And when everything had come to an end, they’d be annoyed and swear to not get involved again. Thus, the cycle would inevitably continue. But Kagami, on their back listening to the silence that surrounded them, just smiled. They heard a voice from

Eventually Kagami relented and began to swim to the water’s surface. As much as they’d be willing to stay under the lake’s surface for the rest of their life, it wouldn’t have been a very long stay. When Kagami looked up to the cliff above, the Spectral Knight was nowhere to be seen. It was a bit disconcerting. They would’ve preferred to have seen the Spectral Knight leaving even if it was just a glimpse. But now, Kagami would just have to trust that it left. That and watch their own back for just a little while longer until they reached somewhere safer in case it hadn’t given up its purs

The roaring winds rushed past Kagami as they fell. They could’ve turned around to see what awaited them at the end of their fall, but they chose not to. They continued to stare up at the monster’s expressionless face and how its shadowy body didn’t indicate any annoyance. As if the only thing it could do was just accept that Kagami threw themselves off the cliff. Suddenly Kagami felt numb all over their body. Their healthbar quickly shrank and its color changed from green to yellow, then yellow to red. Even when it stopped changing, Kagami didn’t try to surface from the water. They couldn

Kagami kept running. Even though they couldn’t feel any physical soreness in this virtual world, the mental exhaustion of today was catching up to them. That didn’t stop them from running though. It made it easier if anything. All they needed to do was put one foot ahead of the next, all the way until they reached the cliff. Everything else didn’t matter. Neither the fear of the Spectral Knight, nor the awful memories of what awaited them at their destination — if Kagami was correct — mattered in this instant. All that mattered was that they took the next step. Soon, Kagami reached the cl

The self-doubt began to creep in as they ran. Dozens of explanations for Shin’s existence began to creep into Kagami’s mind. All of them were relatively plausible. Many of them were reliant on Kagami just losing their marbles. Yet at the end of it all, Kagami tried to remain steadfast. There wasn’t any point in thinking otherwise at this point. Ever since they saw Shin, that gut feeling never disappeared. Every time their mind and heart was at odds, their heart had never led them astray. All of their decisions, and all of their regrets, they were sure they weren’t put to waste. When

When Kagami was finally confident that they wouldn’t just outright die from the fall damage, they let go of the vines. Not a moment too soon as wood splinters flew everywhere as the Spectral Knight obligated yet another section of the tree trunk. Kagami landed in some shrubbery and they watched their healthbar slowly trickle down. Thankfully it wasn’t enough to make them concerned that they couldn’t take another tumble, and Kagami was pretty sure that even at full health, they wouldn’t be able to take a single punch from the monster. They were given no time to rest though as the Spec

Kagami fell when a section of the tree trunk beneath them was obliterated. They swung their ice tools into what remained of the tree to try to arrest their fall. Kagami swung the implements even harder with every failed attempt. Once, twice, Kagami stopped counting. After a few moments of eternity in near free fall, they caught themselves. They were hanging from one of their tools only a few dozen feet above the Spectral Knight, and it didn’t seem like it was about to stop anytime soon as it prepared another punch. Before the monster let their punch fly, Kagami stowed the ice tools away i

Kagami immediately started surveying the area around them when their head was just able to peek out from the top of the canopy. Unfortunately, they couldn’t discern exactly where they were. None of the landmarks they learned by heart stuck out to them. At least not from the viewpoint at the top of the tree. Fortunately to Kagami, it let them hatch a plan. But it all depended on whether Shin was a mirror image or not. Kagami didn’t waste time in trying to calculate their confidence. They had a lifetime of calculations behind them and if the game was ever cleared, a lifetime of performing e

Kagami swung their tools into the tree trunk closest to them. They moved the implements back and forth a bit to make sure there was enough purchase so they wouldn’t fall to their deaths instead of dying to the Spectral Knight. That wasn’t how Kagami wanted to be remembered. Their entry in the Monument of Life would be infinitely more embarrassing if that happened. Once Kagami was satisfied with the implement’s stability, they started climbing the tree with haste. One hand, then the next, then her feet. Over and over again as they raced to the top. Their goal was to reach the canopy before

But the Spectral Knight didn’t raise its fists at Shin as it approached. When the monster caught up to the boy, it ignored his existence. And when Shin was in its path, the Spectral Knight just walked through him. Yet, Shin’s appearance never faded behind the Spectral Knight’s shadowy existence. Kagami saw the young boy clearly, almost like he was a projection shining from behind the monster. And from that projection, Kagami saw his sadistic grin. But Kagami wasted no time in trying to understand what had just transpired in front of their eyes. In a heartbeat, they began to clumsily

After a few moments, Kagami looked back to Shin and saw the Spectral Knight slowly walking towards him. The player got ready to turn back and throw themselves at the monster to give the young boy a chance to escape. Kagami already knew that the distance between them was far too great for any last second heroics. They also knew that they were too weak to even buy a few seconds of time even if they appeared there the next instant. But they didn’t care and started to run towards them anyway. They’d damn themselves if they didn’t at least try. So Kagami bounded through the jungle, cutting awa

“What the hell is that?” Kagami asked herself internally as they ran. It went without saying that they hadn’t ever seen anything like it before. And given how strong its impression was, they were also pretty sure that they should have heard anyone else coming across it. That left only three options. “Either this is one of the first times this new monster was found, something is happening in Aincrad, or—” “Anyone who’s discovered it died before they could spread the word.” Shin completed their sentence as Kagami passed him. He was at a standstill. Kagami was 100% sure that they hadn’t

Kagami didn’t have time to gather their bearings just yet. Kagami saw a mere glimpse of a shadowy figure before grabbing Shi and making their desperate attempt to hide behind a tree trunk. Shin had started screaming into their hand, but they didn’t relent their grip. They weren’t sure if Shin saw it. Kagami pleaded to no one in particular that the monster would just pass by and they could try to call it a day. That whatever that thing was, that it didn’t find them. It was one thing to deal with an anomalous event. It was another thing to deal with an anomalous existence. But Kagami w

A few minutes had passed since the pair ran away from the unknown threat. The boy’s chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath while Kagami stoically stood watch. The jungle hadn’t truly come back to life yet. The incessant starts and stops of animal cries worried Kagami. They hadn’t seen anything like this ever before. No, that wasn’t the problem. They’ve never heard anything like this ever. Not just on this floor, Aincrad, or even the real world. And the unknown threat was even worse. Kagami decided their best bet would have to be the safezone. If it was a monster, Kagami hop

Kagami opened their mouth, ready to interrogate Shin about his mere existence. They were rudely interrupted by the sound of howler monkeys screeching, but before either of them could plug their eyes, the sound was cut off. Kagami’s face turned pale and they grabbed Shin’s hands, dragging him along. If it wasn’t Shin, as odd as his existence may be, Kagami definitely didn’t want to stick around for what had killed the troop of howler monkeys. As the pair ran, Kagami made sure to not go into circles by keeping track of two trees ahead of them and ensured that their path never strayed f

"You're forgetting that you got people who care about you, though," Oscar replied quickly. It was an easy thing to fall back into - his literal fucking profession. Though Oscar was hardly as direct in the real world. Maybe it was the shades of red that bled into his thoughts. He wasn't exactly pleased to be stuck here when there was still a war on. "Don't get me wrong, everyone dies. Probably about the healthiest bit of your thought process there. But give enough of a shit to spare a thought for the people who give a shit about you." He took another long drag of his cigarette. Oscar

Kagami fell backwards onto their butt. The first thought that struck Kagami when they looked at the young boy was that they had looked oddly similar and that they also couldn’t somehow be related. After all, the young boy didn’t bear a green crystal above their head. Kagami was the first to speak up. “Are you okay?” they asked. Kagami stood up without using their hands and their head still on a swivel. They hadn’t let go of the rapier with their left hand but they offered to help the boy with their right. The boy smiled and nodded in response. He took Kagami’s hands and they helped h

Kagami took a moment longer to try to identify the source of their alarm. Any source, anything that could possibly explain their sudden concern really. But they really couldn’t find anything. And that was enough to explain everything. The animals in the jungle had eventually grown accustomed to human presence. They didn’t run at the sight of them as the Amazons that were denizens of the jungle didn’t overhunt them, but they also knew well enough to steer clear of humans just in case. So why did all of the animals go quiet all of a sudden? Kagami treaded carefully. It was already obvi

Suddenly, Kagami felt a chill run down their back. They sprung into action before even registering their surroundings. Their hand swung to their rapier at their side and brought it out in front of them. Their eyes scanned the entire area (including from above) and they listened closely for any odd movement without stopping to wonder what they were seeing or hearing. In just that moment, Kagami had prepared themselves for combat. This was something they had been practicing in their meantime. Kagami learned the hard way that even a life of indulgence didn’t mean that trouble never lurked ar