NIGHT

through a stone valley they went. idianth had mentioned that groviat lived in the midst of a different set of mountains on the floor, which was where they were headed towards. along the way, night had expected nothing of much note to happen, except for some sight-seeing opportunities. “no,” night decided on second thought, just as they were halfway through their trek. the road had been tedious, and winding, and she was pretty sure that the quest was instanced, to the point that the sun continued to hang low in the sky. all it took was a glance towards their clock, and night could’ve sworn

day: oh you’re right! day: but they’re not lions “it will be my honor,” idianth said with grace. he bounded over to night’s side, just as she’d finished typing out her last text. night: actually it might b hamlet instead “hello,” idianth started, with a nod. night returned it. “we shall be working together to hunt down groviat, it seems. shall we head outside to talk of strategy?” “honestly?” night replied, starting on her way out the cavern. “i think i could use a map a little better.” “no better scout and guide than i,” idianth said. “what a boast,” day object

“father,” he said. “i’ve returned with enough for our dinner.” “oh, that’s wonderful,” kevranth replied. he almost looked like an excited puppy. with a clear of his throat, he gestured his kin to look to the player present. “night, this is idianth. idianth, say hi.” “greetings.” idianth chose to do as best a bow as he could manage, head down and body shifted backwards to accommodate his royal greeting. night wasn’t sure how deeply she should nod in turn, so she thought herself to follow japanese customs and return her respect. “idianth,” kevranth continued, “night is going on a

“better they don’t exist,” night chose to agree, and then pulled day along to meet kevranth once more. it was as though nothing had changed within the cavern itself. “welcome back,” kevranth called to night, as the duo walked through the entrance. “any luck this time?” “yeah,” night replied, choosing not to solve the riddle at all. “so where’s your rival?” “rival?” “the one you need killed because he’s evil, or whatever.” kevranth looked surprised. less so because night had ‘figured out a truth’, but more so from the intention of the player herself. “alright,” he said,

“right, so the puzzle.” night had made up for day’s loss quickly. the two of them were stationed right near the glade they were planning to rest at if the quest took too long to complete, because idling near kevranth seemed to invite his commentary to the women’s antics. they didn’t need a third opinion on their squabbling, so they left. day simply shrugged. “isn’t it the same as always? you talk to a dragon, you ask them to point you to the direction of the big evil dragon, and then there’s a kid along the way.” “isn’t there someone who’s supposed to be following us?” night til

outside the cave, they reconvened. “what the hell was that,” night asked. she’d still had her arm over day, almost forcing all of her weight upon the construct. it wasn’t as though day had minded, but it did seem rather silly for both of them to be operating as one unit when night could’ve just walked on two legs. “how’s that answer going for you?” “poorly,” the player rebuked. “are you making fun of me? i know this isn’t the right way to solve the riddle — or whatever that was. can i put my foot down now?” “you didn’t have to ask for permission.” night stood upright,

“i’m really bad at puzzles,” night prefaced, and kevranth tutted back. “nay, merely not unlocked thine own potential for thought yet,” he said. “when you return on three legs, then perhaps, the answer will come to you.” day kicked night in the shin playfully. “that’s not what he meant,” she shot to her construct. “oh,” kevranth grinned, tail flipping about excitedly. “did you hazard a guess to the riddle yet?” “fuck.” day tried to topple night once again. agitated, and near stumbling, night held onto her companion with an arm slung over her shoulder, and her attac

“probably other players,” night mumbled to day, even quieter this time. “they were quite justified, actually,” kevranth happily replied. night decided then, in her entirety, that it was not time for gossip just yet. “how so?” “hmm…” kevrath thought to himself for quite some time. then, he began. “the trophy you seek is under key, behind a mirror.” night tilted her head, before turning to day. day simply shrugged back. “i don’t have it.” “where one,” kevranth continued, “wields strength by divine right, the other manifests it, by ambition and devil’s wrongs.

night found herself unable to argue, so she didn’t. “i’m night,” she said. “kevranth,” the dragon replied, with a bow of its head. “for lack of structured rule, i am this land’s designated ruler.” “does it count if nobody made him king?” day asked. “maybe if he pulled the sword from the stone,” night whispered back. “yes,” kevranth interjected, corners of his lips upturned. “i once did that, i’ll have you know.” “that’s no basis for a system of government,” the construct muttered back, to which nobody chose to acknowledge. night pulled a number of stones out

the last thing she needed was attention, so she brushed it off. horn sent back to her inventory, night simply shook her head. "nothing important." and she meant every word. the moment mac had started off towards the plaza, she followed, in pursuit. the twenty-fifth was as dreary as always. white walls and dim lighting; the floor was meant to be focused on ambushes from enemies that caught players off-guard. the whole thing was a maze, a trap – night sought out the chalk necessary to guide their way back home, and handed out a piece to everyone else present. the maze weaver wasn't a b

night opened her interface, and scowled when bistro was right about the rest of the other information she’d received. only recently did she offer a correction to the dragon’s lair, but night closed it in haste. the two walked inside. the dragon cocked its head to the side, wings, however lain across its body, fluttered slightly as though in interest. it was sat upon a nest made of small, comfortable leaves, its two front paws overlapped with each other politely. “you don’t look very familiar. are you from the lands nearby at all?” “does it matter much if we’re not?” the dragon s

in truth, they didn’t have to go too far to find out where night had intended to go. day had gotten the shivers once they’d gotten close, but it wasn’t as though night knew what that had meant. the sleeve of her tracksuit had been tugged upon, at best, and night let day take a hold of it as they wandered closer towards their destination. partway down the mountain, there was another cavern, and in it was a dragon clad in red scales. “oh, hello,” the dragon said, its eyes locked on their silhouettes as the duo obscured the daylight outside. the cave within was flooded with dim light, only l

it wasn’t as though they could leave, so they didn’t. in the end, what happened felt more like the two of them bullying a giant othered bird. while this avenger wasn’t interested in dropping some rare pearl, it was instead made into cooking ingredients by cardinal. “what,” night muttered, examining the loot she’d gotten. “i can’t even make anything out of this based on my profession. cooks must have it so easy…” “but we could have ourselves a nice dinner,” day offered. she’d gestured around the enclave, to which night shook her head at. she’d sighed. “day, will the field bo

they both said nothing, because what stopped either of them from speaking was another buffet of griffin wings, and a screech that sounded as though it was in pure agony. night snapped to the intruder. it was definitely aggressive, which warranted their attention. “oh, come on.” with a flash, she drew her sword. “day, please tell me this thing’s not on a respawn timer either.” “i don’t think it is,” day replied, offering her spear in turn. “but it’s definitely on a spawn condition — because it knows you killed its mate.” “since when do field bosses have mates?!” day shot nig

they continued down the mountain. came by a small spring, with a miniscule cascade. night had her eyes trained on it the whole time their path had taken them round the landmark. there was a small enclave near the entrance of this area. “well,” night decided, “if we’re going to have to camp on the seventh, maybe we should pick this spot. come back here later once we decide we’re done for the day.” “that sounds like a great idea!” day was smiling, starting to take her first few steps around. “it’s a lovely place to relax come the evening, i think!” “during nightfall too, i bet.”

“that’s another victory for me!” “okay?” night pretended to shake the loss off her shoulders. “you can see in the dark. you can see in any sort of lighting. meanwhile, i’m hindered.” “all i’m hearing is a sore loser’s excuses.” day wasn’t wrong. night rolled her eyes. “well since your eyes are so sharp, you can see this, right?” then the player stuck her tongue out. night caught a glimpse of day doing the same on their way towards the exit, when the light was brightest on the other end of the tunnel. she looked away, and tried her best not to think about it too hard, howeve

this was a poor idea, night believed. but she followed day’s instructions anyway, because what else could she have found herself doing? day was right, however. the image of the enemies they were supposed to encounter were made clear once a vision-lite sank in, cardinal’s shaders giving way to a slightly more visible cave interior the moment she stepped past its threshold. the golemites seemed to have awoken, either by player presence alone, or by the heavy thrashing she’d given the griffin feed from earlier. they were tough, especially in the enclosed space — it was enough to cause night

night waved her off, trying to hide a smile. if anything, seeing her other sparkling with excitement had almost made the trip worthwhile. almost. she bet she could’ve gotten it through other means, but if what she’d meant to investigate wasn’t all that fair to begin with… something shifted, however, as they began their descent. as though the earth itself was provoked. a rumble from the mountain. night looked to day, head tilted. “what, exactly, was that?” day simply shrugged. they got close to the tunnel that the path was to wind them through, and only then did night receive a tap on

it was almost insanity, by this point. night waved her blade away just to roughen her hair out of irritation. day merely looked confused. “no luck?” “not in the slightest…” “what…?” now her mood shifted to one of annoyance, all the same. “where in the world were you supposed to end up at…? are you even sure your info’s not faulty, at this point?” “i trust my brokers,” night iterated. “a little too much,” day said. “yes, a little,” night found herself saying, punching in her complaint. she wasn’t getting a response fast enough, and so decided to wave away her messa

day shook her head. “if you think it’ll help, then sure, by all means.” “it’s not noble,” night said, hand clenched around her sword. “but if someone’s got to do it…” the resonance from her oathkeeper were quiet when she felled them. it only took her two swings: either a show of her own force, or a testament to how far gone the griffin snacks had been. night shook her head, closing her eyes as she turned away from the nest, muttering an almost audible, “sorry,” had day chosen to pay attention to her. instead, the construct was at the edge of the peak, looking out towards the res

the pair had heard a sad cry from within, and were immediately set upon by a rabble of lizardmen. each of them were of a different hue from the rest, and they’d been hurt in one way or another — scars upon their back, or a limb torn and healed over. one of them was even clambering their way out of the cavern’s nest, dragging themselves and their one leg across the bone-littered rocky floor. “ah, man,” night muttered under her breath. they didn’t seem especially hostile, but it hurt to look at the poor creatures trying to worm their way out. day had her eyes narrowed, almost wincing, when

so much for a good idea. day, meanwhile, had landed absolutely fine. she towered over her player, offering a hand to her. “see? look — we’re on the peak of the floor! in record time! you should tell your broker that. i’m sure you’ll get an award for it or something.” “yeah,” night said dryly, taking day by her hand. “that i cheated to get up here.” “you mean you found alternative measures.” “yuki climbed a mountain,” she shot back, “on her own. without alternative measures.” day helped her up. the griffin had landed upon an alcove at the peak, and made its home upon a large

with a swing onto their mount then, day threw the egg up into the air — “catch!” — precisely at the angle where it would land onto night’s lap. instantly, and with a screen, the boss’ health bar showed — “oh.” — and the griffin promptly took to the skies. night yelped. day clung onto her player for her dear life, exhilarated. the griffin, which lacked a proper saddle or reins, started to traverse the path it was meant to take back to its lair — while trying to shake the player and her follower off. the ride was bumpy, and night thought she was going to fall —

so she folded her arms, doing her best not to sulk, but also trying to remain unimpressed amongst all other possible presentations. “hmph. well, i’ll give you that. at least you came up with a decent idea this time around, with respect to my personal wishes.” “well,” day lied, “what else am i here for?” beyond the snarling of the beast day was playing around with, there sat an uncomfortable silence between them. “se…” “sex?” “sex— okay, don’t even start with that.” with a hand to the griffin’s forehead, day held it still for a moment, allowing night to climb upon its

day started to spin the egg on her index finger, like a basketball trick. a hand on her hip, she gave night the most relaxed smile possible. “so we’ll use this guy. all you have to do is climb on board, holding this egg, and you’ll be set. you won’t have to tell me where we’re going, and you get to see where you’re going when you’re looking at the floor from above.” she turned, her back towards night. “well? that’s really clever of me, isn’t it? i’m not hearing you~!” night had to admit — this sounded like the sketchiest plan ever. she wasn’t even sure what the egg day had in her han