NIGHT

night nodded to yuki's reply. she'd seen the woman cry before, so it should've been something to have gotten used to. still, the player couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt, as though she should've tried harder to search for her friend... but yuki often ended up in difficult-to-reach places, for one reason or another. she meant what she said – sometimes, alive is the best she could ask of her friends. the distance may be needed. "you look good," night afforded, eyeing her friend up and down. she was used to yuki's pink, but she couldn't deny having a preference to her shield's cur

three days? surely it had been longer than that. night couldn't remember the first time crow came to her for help about finding his wife, so all night could do was nod as though only that amount of time had passed. because night wasn't about to help yuki spiral even further about how long she'd been lost for. the part where things would die on her shield's armor though, was apt. only such things would happen to one of the best tanks in aincrad. if night paced over, it was to place the piece of chalk directly onto yuki's palm, and then she considered if it was worth the pote

"oh, sorry about that." night wasn't expecting to meet another player in the most dangerous of locations in aincrad. so she side-stepped, gave the stranger a brief nod, before continuing on her journey. ... at least, she would have, if the interface hadn't just informed her of a tracked target's completion. one zajcica was found, even though night hadn't spotted anyone, but a brief glimpse on her friends list just as (she thought) the player was leaving made her reconsider otherwise. so she turned, horrified at the prospect that yuki had been missing for ages... in the wors

quest. floor 25 sucked. the difficulty was set way too high for what it was meant to be, an introduction to what a hallmark floor in aincrad would look like. so its difficulty meant that it was a perfect avenue for night as a different kind of warm up – endurance – to see how long she'd last in the labyrinth proper. the target of today was the titanium warden; a formidable boss on its own, and there was the environment to contend with to boot. night didn't need the loot it would drop, but it would make an amazing trophy or bargaining chip, at the very least. she decided it would be b

r10 artisan | x14 daily crafting attempts | cd tool signet. | [#208039] | TIER 1 TRINKET | ACC III, EVA [desc.]: a small stamp, crafted out of silver and steel, etched with the impression of a crescent moon. armilla. | [#208037] | TIER 1 TRINKET | LD III, EVA [desc.]: a small astrolabe ring made of silver and gold, configured to be used as a navigational compass through an accidental crafting mishap. costs: x2 shards | [paid.]

labyrinth rules. | floor 27. it was the morning of the adventure, and night had woken up to this message: bistro: pop by the scarlet line for me? bistro: there’s something special for you. which was strange, because she believed the equipment trade was all that was needed for the journey ahead. at least, that was what their arrangement was. night sat up in her bed, blue light cast upon the room from an open window, a chill in the air noting that it was too early to be doing anything. yet, she considered the item, fully awake despite her body’s protests.

she should be visiting more often. she should, but she'd forgotten. thankfully, this place still acted like a perfect avenue to bolster her resources. but night never stopped continuing to feel bad, appearing in and reaching out for one of the items on display. it felt so much like a crime, coming in just to snag an item or other, and then leaving it all behind. wasn't something or someone maintaining this place? did cardinal ever want a thanks and a hand-written note for all it did for the players? never mind it was the thing keeping them trapped in here in the first place. the scor

thread closing. [total] + 7236xp | (374 * 1 * 14) + 2000 + 3085col | (xp * 0.15) + 2000

“wh– hey…!” and night scrambled to hold onto day, breathing deep the scent of freshly-washed linen. the entity chuckled, with several skips upwards; this time, her original would know what it was like to be crushed unexpectant, as she did to herself. boots disturbed the freshly-fallen snow, accumulated at the cave’s entrance, and night pulled over day’s hood if only to ensure her hair protected from the onslaught. “it’s too bad,” day began, chugging down the long road, gaze set to the far beyond. “you really did look like a cool hero back there, the way you were gunning for

night could feel it afterwards, then, the brush of day’s fingers up in her hair, on her scalp. her breathing slowed from an unnoticed rush, and her hands regripped the cloak, making sure to reach upon body, just to know that day was more than real in her hands. “man…” the entity heaved, looking back out towards the blizzard. it was heavy, extremely so – the cave only took 10 minutes at best to walk to the back and out. still, day was precise in the way night was not, and logical enough to ascertain the cave was likely not the best resting spot for the eve. she pulled herself away fro

day, leaning upon that barrier, fell through and tumbled down from her height. night would admit later she hadn’t expected that mistake from a system that knew of all – yet, in the moment, she moved first, catching that form in her hands. day wasted no time from recovery to cup the player’s cheeks in her hand – “you’re awful! you should’ve paid more attention to your opponent, what in the world was that glance my way even for? i’d called for you twice and couldn’t reach out to you in time; what were you distracted by?” “hey– one question at a time…!” “are you just trying to

just one more bout, then, the last of the festering lights curling up in tessellations to a familiar figure. night would recognize that suit of armor anywhere, for it was the same that she’d designed herself back in the day. doombringer plunged against the cosmic sword, and their strikes came and went like waves – fitting, then, that she would have her double here watching. night’s gaze drifted if only for a moment to shoot day a glance; the player would be fine. wasn’t she before, when the same fight was imposed upon her years ago? night lived in a loop, following the same steps, br

–so no matter who it was that formed out of those memories, she didn’t care. she already knew the answer to it, she stood by it the other day within that boss room. be it an objection from a long-standing front-liner, or a mysterious figure who had all the answers and an objective on saving the world through sarcasm, night wasn’t going to care. each swing of her sword pushed her forward, cut down on the figures that pressed just a little too hard, too firm to her heart. her sword whirred and steamed at each strike, glowing red and hot, a manifestation of her own frustrations if she’d willed it

gods, it was stupid. all her past fights with versions of herself needed words. so now, it was much more deafening, and deadly, when cardinal decided she didn’t need to hear it anymore, that she was done listening to a spiel or other. that cardinal could hold her attention better than her counterpart, just by making her quiet, untold dilemmas visible. she didn’t want to be here, right now. that was the whole point of her absence in the first place– the same tessellation particles appeared in her vision, stopping her from continuing forwards. night wasn’t ready to decide on

night was still certain she didn’t have time for this, however. the cursor above that player-figure was obviously hostile, a mark reserved for monsters, and though she forced her eyes to stay open, just in case the threat would change, so too was it unafraid of self-tessellation in front of her eyes. a myriad of rhombuses cluttered its form, feet to head, and she felt herself blinking at the break in the dark. ‘i need to get back to day,’ was her last thought; so it shouldn’t have been surprising that now the figure switched into firm anima’s god-forsaken guild leader, and now night understood

etched in the corner of the paper given to rook was a scribble in cursive – ‘your greatest fears will be present, go prepared’. but night couldn’t read it, and neither had she paid attention – oh, she pays attention to the wrong things, all the time. for instance, when the jab of the spear came her way, shooting right above her shoulder, she barely had enough time to recognize the figure as nari’s, before remembering, ‘wait, she’s using a scythe now.’ – to mention nothing about how her hair had changed since they’d met long ago. with a swipe from her opponent, night realized reflexi

a bright glow stopped her in her tracks, however; something that bordered between her and the light still far away. drifting in from the ceiling, it wouldn’t be remiss to find some mushrooms or moss present, emitting a brilliant blue – but there had been nothing on the way in. somehow life found her on the way out. and it shifted, too, falling to the floor enough that night found herself recoiling from the sight. the mushroom helmet its head, tethers holding it upright just made the entity (!) in front of her look like a jellyfish on land. out of its habitat. night was out of her depth, too.

into the dark they went. within was unremarkable, as the light from the outside fell away, and the void consumed their forms. night walked, her ears open for any signs of noticeable change. water drips, a hollow white noise, and her own footsteps echoing through the tunnel. –that was just it, she realized, a little too late. she wasn’t alone, so where were the second set of steps? night’s head whipped back, eyes to their entrance– “day?!” –but it was too far from where she presently was; behind her was nothing but empty, now. and, damn it, day would’ve been the

the drone of ambience from within the cave was a welcome respite from the blizzard’s stir outside. night found herself leaning upon, before collapsing against one of the walls, much to day’s nonchalance. their surroundings, in contrast to the winter scenery, was drenched in all shades of blue; had they been reflective just the same, perhaps it would’ve looked like one of the ice caves down on the fourth. the player stared down the void, leading them further in, just as the shove of two boots upon the ground by her leg prompted her attention – day extended a hand towards her, and she took it wi

bistro: so you’ll let me know how it goes, right? night: has no one done this yet smh bistro: my books are empty and so are my finances. night: o+< the worst weather to climb in would be heavy snowfall; she’d consider hail if it was just as likely than the average downpour. but in the storm, with its wind starting to pick up, night made sure to quicken her pace in their escalation, keeping an eye out for day’s progress as the player struggled to adapt to the new mode of traversal. day always made it seem easy – this climb was no different – and when night was face-to-face

night obliged him. it was the least she could do, and had the will for, given that she hated being cornered by someone in authority as such in the first place. the player gave him simple, curt thanks – similar to the commander – and rook seemed to take it routinely. which meant night was able to move on quick and easy. she didn’t have a map, but cardinal was more than willing to project it onto her own interface once some paper and monster’s blood had been handed to the lieutenant. convenient; while the cave itself was a difficult hike, the road to it wasn’t so obscure; it was well t

“this is part of it?” night whispered to day, just as the guard was removing his helm. “this is it,” was whispered back. night received a greeting, same as the last, and then a tug at the collared red scarf, indicating rank, especially with the attached gilded badge. “lieutenant rook,” he clarified, before turning to glance up the stairwell. “i suppose that wasn’t the kindest of him; the commander, i mean. he’s like that with people he’s not familiar with.” rook scoffed and shook his head, tentatively. “i mean, even with individuals from the other settlements included. so

“even if i can, that’s a job for me to know about on behalf of our settlements that you’re not so privy to,” fudral remarked. his eyes went from night to the note, then to one of the stationed guards, giving them a nod. when he returned eye contact with the player, it was with a side look, and an expression of disbelief. “i’ll get one of my men to make the trip to ordsea when preparations are done. you’re dismissed.” night wanted to protest, but she wasn’t sure on what foundations she had to negotiate with. before she could gather her words, the cued guard began to usher her out, alo

his thumb traced the page’s outline as he read the letter. fudral remained quiet, only deciding to make a sound once he was done reading, placing the note on his desk and smoothing it out, eyes set towards the player. “that sounds ‘bout more than right,” he remarks, with a sniffle and a thumb wiped across his nose. “but sending an outsider here seems a bit much even for brienne.” night glowered at the man, only comforted by the hand on her shoulder. was this a cardinal thing, or was the commander just being rude? it was only when he’d asked, “how’d she figure?” did night remember the pre

the player contemplated twice if she should follow the same greeting to match. hesitant, she strode up to them, deciding otherwise. night came to face crossed shafts in an interlock, pole arms held out by the guards to prevent her from moving forward, though as night turned to her inventory to produce the necessary envelope, day had already slipped underneath the make-shift gate, letting herself in without any problems. while the document was materializing in her hands, night could only stare in disbelief. her finger tapping on the seal was enough for the guards to be convinced after a br