[PP-F9] Torment

[Ashrah 0]

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"This is where it happened," the guide said as they pushed through the massive double doors, into a room with a dormant crater pooled with magma. Steam roiled off the lifeblood of the ninth floor, and the room pulsed hotter than anywhere else on the floor. At the opposite side, the stairwell that led to floor ten mocked them. "The ninth floor boss that ended the lives of two players. Only a few others have taken any, but this one is considered to be the most infamous pyhrric victory for the Front liners."

The visor of his armor fell on the other player, and he nodded slowly. After a moment of thought, he turned his gaze toward the memorial of a fallen floor boss, and the grave of a dear friend. "No charge," the other man waved his hand. "I get the feeling you need a minute, and I can get back to town easy from here." The man pointed toward the staircase and smirked. "Anyway, I hope you find whatever answers you're looking for, guy. It's hard to find any kind of peace in this world."

What a carefree sentiment.

The armored warrior watched the other man disappear before he finally looked deep into the lava, arms folded. So this was the place. The Vanguard exhaled loudly as he remembered the good times, before Sword Art Online, before any of the insanity. His best friends, and the times they shared, were trampled and stomped out by this fickle work of fiction turned into a living hell.

The magma churned, belched, and spat fire angrily toward his faceplate. The Vanguard stood, unflinching. When he saw the "!" appear, he immediately suspected the game of reading his thoughts. Damned Cardinal system, he thought.

Here, the heroes slew the mythic beast of many heads, its flaming breath their bane...

He read the words as the appeared across his HUD, dimly aware that the game was turning real experiences into legend.

Edited August 11, 2017 by Arc