Nari-Lanreth

The words hit Nari like a slap, the truth behind them so clear to her. Her entire purpose had been to ensure others returned home safely – to ensure that the fight continued for those who were trapped here. But she had never taken that consideration for herself; always fighting for the players around her, willing to give everything to make sure they could escape this hell. “I just…I want…I want to save…” She choked back the words. She was going to say that she wanted to save her, to save everyone…but she knew that the point was her willingness to give up on herself, in order to do that.

She stepped through the portal, and found herself in a place she’d never been before. Around her, was what appeared to be the inside of a cabin – or a cottage. She could see a collection of chairs, a couch – behind her a small kitchenette and a hallway that lead down to a bedroom, barely visible. The walls reminded her of a log cabin, and through the windows she could see snow falling on the trees outside. A slow spin around confirmed for her that this place wasn’t from her memories. “No, you’ve not been here. Yet…” Nari’s entire body frozen in place as she recognised the voice. Her eyes

Nari’s eyes closed as the daemon exploded into shards, leaving her alone once again. She felt the beating of her heart calm, as if a pressure was released from it. She wondered, for a brief moment, if she would be free of the pain and suffering she had put herself through, held on to, since the encounter in the tournament. Opening her eyes, she saw the door before her again, the black void calling out to her. She knew this was far from over, and yet – a small piece of her hoped that she was done with this, that the door would somehow lead her back to the small pond beneath the waterfall.

She held her ground, watching as the thing paced back and forth, eyeing her up. It tried a few feints, falling back before Nari could retaliate in kind. She wasn’t enjoying this stand off, the longer it went on, the more she felt the dread returning. She knew – in her heart – the only way to truly forgive herself was to end this, to do what she had tried to do in the tournament. The sudden memory of it reached her – buried deep within for so long, and she felt her guard drop for the briefest of moments. “I…remember. What I did. I tried to defeat you then – not you, but what you represente

The creature rushed her, coming straight at Nari without any change in course. It was almost too easy, as she held her spear outwards, impaling the creature in the chest as it flailed about with its claws, trying desperately to reach her. Nari watched as it slowly slid closer and closer, forcing the spear deeper through her body in a ravenous, frantic attempt to close the distance. Shocked and appalled by the behaviour, she forced the spear to the side, through the creature from it and turning herself to face it again. “I don’t know what you are, but you are not NIGHT. And I will defeat

The creature screamed at Nari, suddenly raising it’s claws and rushing towards her. Nari was ready for the attack – she had known this moment would come, and for a while she had considered simply giving up, allowing it. But she wasn’t ready to surrender. Not yet. Not when she still had promises to keep, forgiveness to seek. She knew that it would be easier to simply lay down, to give up. But there were others who relied on her, others who cared for her…and she would not let them down – no matter what. “Come, then. I am ready to forgive myself, truly. To start anew, to find the balance I s

“Hello, NIGHT.” The words were hollow. Her heart at tightened to the point where Nari could almost feel the pain in her chest. She knew this wouldn’t be a welcoming reunion. Not after what she had done, not here. “Hello, Nari.” The voice chilled her. It carried NIGHT’s tone, but the words weren’t hers at all. For a collection of moments, Nari just stared silently, wondering what would occur with this meeting. She knew, within her heart, the harm that she had caused, but she had thought that she had overcome the guilt of it recently. “Overcome? No, you’ve ignored it. Haven’t you? Put

Nari will keep her eyes focused on the dirt beneath her hands, carefully pulling it aside as the Gardener had once shown her – an action she had somehow begun to mimic without consideration. The words, when they did come, were filled with hesitation and doubt, as if spoken from the heart. “I…just wonder sometimes. The front lines are the most dangerous place. And yes, the idea is to fight our way to freedom…but…we leave behind those who can’t fight alongside us…leave them to worry. To worry that we may not…return.” She paused, her fingers still digging as she tried to collect her thought

The claws raked against her torso as her shield dropped slightly, causing her health bar to dip a single point – and in return causing the thorns hidden within her shield to flare out, piercing the creature atop her in dozens of places. Nari watched the expression of fury and hatred shift – to one of pain, sorrow and what she would swear was an expression filled with regret. Her mouth moved, even as Evelyn’s form shattered, bursting into thousands of shards and disappearing from sight. “I’m sorry, for everything I did. But I never forgot you, and never will…” A blink, and suddenly the doo

Nari blinked as Astreya chastised her. It took her a moment to realise what was happening, and for the briefest of seconds, Astreya’s face blurred – the dark hair taking on a golden form, the eyes shifting to an emerald colour. Nari’s ears flushed slightly in response, and she bowed her head. “I…wasn’t up that late…” The words came out mumbled, her expression one of humbled emotions. She glanced down at her feet for a second, before shaking herself, the smile broadening on her face suddenly. “Besides, I was only a little bit late.” Nodding towards the town square, she’ll point towar

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…Evelyn…” Her tears ran uncontrolled down her face as the spear imbedded itself into Evelyn’s torso, the thorns hidden within it erupting and piercing through her body. Somehow, against all that Nari believed possible, the form of Evelyn remained on the end of the spear. The sudden laughter from Evelyn’s mouth was more than Nari could handle, and she pulled the spear free, forcing herself backwards a few steps, trying to keep her distance as the woman-daemon strode towards her. “You’re sorry. As if I wanted to hear that. You left me, to die. On that day, and forever

“Hey, Eve. Are you sure we’re ready for this? Some of the others were saying it’s pretty tough…” The words were out of her mouth before she had even realised she was speaking. Evelyn’s tinkling laughter hit her ears, and Nari felt herself fighting between smiling, and crying. The painful bliss of hearing it again, even knowing what was coming, was almost too much for her. “I think we can handle a little danger, don’t you?” The smile seemed to ease her worries, if only slightly – and if only on the outside. Internally, Nari was screaming as she watched the scene unfold. She knew what was

The tears rolled down her face as the spear, steady and level, shook with the impact. A brief moment as Nari closed her eyes, refusing to look, before she felt the spear suddenly spring slightly, as if the weight had left it. She cautiously opened her eyes, waiting to find the creature in her face, claws descending upon her in an act of unbridled fury and rage. Instead, she found herself standing in the living room, facing another doorway. Glancing around, she found herself alone now – Evelyn, her mother and father, gone. The door slowly opened, providing Nari a glimpse into a black void

Even recognising the change that had overcome Evelyn, something in Nari pulled her attack at the last second, forcing herself to shift the spear and miss impaling her once love. Her shield still in place, she shifted it slightly as the thing came towards her, forcing it to roll off to her right and away from her, spinning herself around to face it again and putting distance between them. It screamed at her, fury crossing its face – like nothing Nari had ever before seen on Evelyn’s own face. She felt herself shudder, not recognising the thing before her at all anymore. “I don’t know what

The creature – Nari couldn’t call it anything but, it clearly wasn’t Evelyn. Not anymore – came rushing towards her, claws flashing through the air as it tried to tear into her. She slid sideways, pushing out with the tip of the spear in muscle memory, but her attack lacked any enthusiasm as her mind tried to figure out what was going on – the tears streaming from her eyes. She couldn’t understand what had happened to Evelyn – what had happened here. None of this was occurring as it always did, nothing was the same. Nothing was right. “Why are you doing this?! Why?!” Her voice was choked

As she had that day, Nari felt herself stand suddenly, her voice screaming out above the ear-splitting scream that Evelyn’s mother had let loose upon seeing what she had done. What Nari had done, in their house. Nari felt herself shake inside, her mind fighting against watching this, trying to escape the nightmare that had kept her awake for so long, and continued to haunt her even to this day. “You. You let this happen. You caused this, brought this down upon her. It’s your fault. You are to blame!” Her hand raised, ready to bring the knife down on her, Nari screaming in her own mind to

The figure gave no response, simply holding its hand up in gesture to the door. Nari could feel the urge to pass through pulling at her, and yet…something about it felt wrong. As if she should resist, as if she should try and get away. A single step forward, then another, and suddenly her body was moving entirely of her own will – bringing her through the doorway and into an area that seemed all too familiar. She felt her heart tighten, then suddenly start thumping in her chest. A chill up her spine, then another, and another. She could feel her hands begin to shake, her entire body lock

Nari turned her head, first at the question from Astreya, then at the tap on her shoulder. She saw Astreya grab the man’s hand, holding it in place. She could hear – as if in the distance, the words that Astreya spoke. However, something in her mind had changed, that same coolness coming over her that general took control during a fight. Her expression – once filled with a mixture of concern, a hint of distress, and possibly something else, suddenly melted away. Behind was left a face void of any emotion, the eyes empty, but focused on the man. Almost a whisper, the words slipped her lips.

Nari felt her actions were making little headway. The little fox seemed more content to catch the treats out of the air, rather than deflect them. She sighed, stopping her arm mid throw as she realized that her tactics weren’t working. She needed something…something else. Cocking her head, she saw the sable in the distance, licking Oji’s self-inflicted wound. An idea slowly crawled into her head, and she felt a devilish grin spread across her face. “Hey, soup. Catch.” She said it just loud enough that Yuki would hear it, but hopefully not the sable, before launching the treat across the o

Opening her eyes again, Nari found herself seated within the same field, the forests in the distance and the lake still off to her left. Only one thing had changed, a shadow form – humanoid, but lacking anything other than a set of eyes, and a smile in the shape of a smirk. Nari’s gaze locked on the white spaces that represented eyes on the shadow form, coming to rest as she faced it. Moments of silence passed between them as Nari simply stared, waiting. ‘What is it that is expected of me.’ The shadow form waved a hand, and beside it a door appeared. Pitch black, and outlined in white, it

Nari cocked her head in surprise as the little piece of food bounced off Yuki’s face, a moment later the fox scooping it up and chirping in a mixture of discontent at being hit, and happiness at having found food. She glanced at Oji, a smile on her face. “That uh…didn’t go as planned…” Grabbing another piece from her pouch – affixed to her lower back, well hidden from sight as it blended in with the dress she was wearing – she prepared another throw. “Alright, Yuki. This time I want you to block the piece – not with your face. With your body, or tail, or paws…or…something. Maybe your fac

She remembered handing over the music box. She remembered Cleo admitting that the criticism hadn’t been taken well – and as far as Nari was concerned, not given well either. She remembered Cleo attempting the music box and quickly giving up when the familiar didn’t immediately appear. She also, vaguely, remembered Cleo mentioning a chest without a lid. ‘So, where the hell are we, and why does my memory contain nothing about arriving here?’ The darkness seemed lit with artificial light, and she could see a collection of rubble that seemed to belong to a cave in, or collapse. ‘I’m suddenly

Nari flushed slightly, remember the time in the sands. She had noticed the sable then, but everything had been so… well, she’d been distracted. Unaware of her surroundings for the most part. “If I’m being honest, I… wasn’t really paying attention during the quest. I was… focused. It happens… when people can get hurt.” She remembered the many similar occasions, where her focus had been on protecting those around her. A twitch on her face, as she thought back to events from long ago, some with less pleasant endings than others. “I’m… yes, I’m retraining Yuki. She did an amazing job at helpi

She physically jumped at the voice, suddenly realising that the man had been seated beside her. She’d been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed him at first. As he stepped up to open the door, Nari backed off to give him space, bowing slightly before entering the home. “Thank you, but no to the coffee. I think I’ve had a little too much caffeine lately…Any more and I may not sleep before we clear the hundredth floor…” She noticed suddenly that she had been petting a small furry head, one slightly smaller than the head of the winter fox that was curled on her shoulders. Glancin

She glanced around her, looking for the source of the voice, but coming up empty. The area was empty, aside from herself. ‘Not only am I imagining myself in places, but now I’m also imaging voices alongside it all… that’s just great. ‘Really, is that all you think I am? Just your imagination running wild?’ The voice still seemed to come from within herself, but Nari also seemed to sense a tone of hurt within it, as if it was insulted by the idea. Somehow it felt as if the voice came from another, as if it was someone else inside her mind. ‘Well, aren’t you an aware one. Mostly people ass