For several years I played the MMORPG Storm and Tempest. It was a place where players could travel through the torn worlds of The Rift: the graveyard of worlds. The landscape was formed by giant floating islands. Each platform was filled with dungeons and bosses, and each zone was divided by massive storms of arcane energies named The Aether.
It took me quite a while to level up my character, a dragonkin by the name Kyroz. He started as a fist-fighting Monk but ended up adding three other subordinate classes. I traveled the Rift from my faction’s bandit-infested capital to ancient wastelands of aether-ravaged worlds. I mostly enjoyed my time on all player vs. environment events and went on a rampage collecting as many achievements as I could. Regretfully I kept away from most player vs. player content; I was quickly discouraged as I kept being on the losing side.
The game’s level cap was at 75. Even if there were other players I passed my time with; my most enjoyable moments were about leveling Kyroz alone. I enjoyed reading all the little tidbits on every quest. I always took my time when I stared at my screen ingesting every word of any lore book that I found.
I didn’t really have troubles adventuring alone, as the game allowed you to ‘contract’ up to three NPC followers. Most players only used them as extra carry space, dumbing down their AI so they won’t interfere with their game. Instead, I took on myself to improve it. You could customize their behavior by adding scripts to control them. Simple keyboard shortcuts would order them to assist you in battle.
With my NPC followers party, I managed to complete end-game dungeons alone. I used the rare achievements I won to brag about in front of my friends. They questioned me why I wasted my time on an incomplete mechanic when I could ask them to raid dungeons together. I didn’t want to bother them, enjoying my little niche gaming style was enough for me.
Each follower had to be trained by using the class skills in front of it. The more you used an ability, the most proficient the follower became. That mechanic led to a lot of grinding, but it was not problematic to me as I enjoyed questing in the lower level zones just for the lore.
A questline in my starter zone’s capital led me to create my first NPC follower. She was a bat-winged demon that I named Mia. I wanted a healer for my travels. Despite that, her racial traits made me assign her an Assassin class; taking advantage of her bonus to agility and black magic affinity.
I met Sira, my second follower around level 45. She was a unique NPC that rarely spawned a quest. She was a vampire, and by some internet guide’s recommendation, I made her a Psychic. Her class was a support role that was complemented with low-damage sword skills.
At level cap, I remember being upset. My party was missing the needed healer for the end game. As soon as the last NPC slot was available, I tried all the places where rare NPC would spawn. Without luck and with an expansion looming in front of me, I turned a foxkin NPC as my final follower. She was Holly, and her class was an Elemental Mage. Her race traits gave her affinity with water, earth, fire and air spells. The water branch was capable of healing, and the others allowed her to deal ranged damage.
Finally, my party was balanced. With me as the damage absorbing tank, Mia crushing our enemies with stabs and poison, Sira giving support in the middle ground and Holly in the back healing and doing ranged damage.
For the three years the expansion lasted, I traveled the Rift and conquered as many dungeons I could. I devoured the quest content as completionist achievements popped for every zone. In hopes of continuing to play for many years to come, I kept tweaking and perfecting my followers AI. Sadly the game came to an end.
Commercially, Storm and Tempest was a flop. A failure which I spent a lot of effort making my own. It lasted seven years from release, and after managing to pull three expansions, I found myself having to suddenly say goodbye to Mia, Sira, Holly, and Kyroz. The MMO was shutting down.
I connected into the game that night for one last look at the Rift. I waited in the edge of a pine forest, south of one of the game’s capitals. I browsed my inventory and read the lore-filled journals I had collected. Not long after, a server-wide message appeared on my computer screen. In red lettering the words “SERVER SHUTDOWN” and “THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!” signaled the end.
A few seconds later the game client changed for the login screen. Instead of welcoming me to new adventures, it said its goodbyes with the message “Error 503: Service unavailable.”
I shut down my laptop and languidly went to sleep.
----------------------------------------
It was another dreamless night when I suddenly woke up. My body felt tired like the morning after intense exercise.
I hear the gentle rustle of leaves on the wind. The breeze caresses my cheeks and brings the smell of pine trees. The sound of birds flapping their wings and singing circle around me.
My tired mind relaxes in this pleasant environment. Then I am suddenly interrupted by a thunderous cacophony.
I open my eyes and see the leafed roof of the forest as I rise my head.
My hand touches the ground. The forest’s floor seems simplistic, lacking the rich complexity of shapes that a collection of twigs and leaves should possess. Even if the grainy feeling of humus is correct, I can’t scoop it off the ground.
I notice my hands now. They are made of many unnatural triangles with sharp yet barely noticeable borders. The wrinkles and veins of a proper hand are gone, replaced by a texture, lacking the small tinctures and details.
“Kaikai! you woke up.” says a relieved voice by my side.
Turning my head, I see a bat-winged demoness wearing knife-filled leather armor. Her polygonal face is encouraging me to stand quickly. I recognized her immediately as Mia, the first NPC I met, and whom I departed just a few hours ago.
“We have to go! We are in danger!”
Look at her expressions, they seem so real.
“Danger? Why? What is happening?” I ask Mia.
“The city bells are ringing! Can’t you hear them? The aether is devouring the platform! We must run!”
The aether?
I look as far as my eyesight lets me, where I can see the city gates. The buildings that form the location are cut in half sharply, as being clipped by the render distance. A giant bell bangs in a low pitch, alerting everyone from danger. A bluish storm cloud swirls above the city and extends throughout the lands.
“Mia, I asked the knights!” says a new voice. “The storm vortices are still in the borders. We may have a few minutes until they arrive here.”
The speaking vampire with platinum hair and unhealthy blue-hued skin is my second NPC, Sira. Just like with Mia, her face is filled with life and worry. This aether stuff seems really dangerous. It makes sense it is supposed to be the devourer of worlds.
“I’ll teleport us away. Someone in the city may know how to stop the damn thing.”
“Wait, Sira!” Says the demoness, ”Holly went to the city ahead of us!”
As I look around, I note the missing foxkin NPC.
“Come on, let’s leave the coward. She ran away. She didn’t even try to wake up Ky. ”
Did she run away? NPCs can’t get very far away from their partners.
I stop the vampire casting her teleportation spell.
“Mia is right. We will fetch Holly; then we will teleport to Academy City.”
Sira merely sulks at my response.
I must be dreaming about the game again. I had worked so much on the girls AI that I am now dreaming them as they could think.
My head feels light and hurts slightly. The odd sensation is familiar. It feels like the tired pain when I stayed up all night gaming or after I binge watched a 300 episode series.
“Sira, if it makes you feel better, think of her as the healer of the party. We will need her if something shows up.”
I am probably dreaming of a game event. Storm and Tempest ended last night.
To get to the city fast, I need to switch to dragon form.
How do I use the spell?
I am now in first person mode. There is no hint or user interface in sight. My toolbars are gone too.
“Mia, How do I use the dragon form?”
“How? Like you always do.”
I don’t know what I was expecting, NPCs probably can't see interfaces. For a moment, her attitude and expressions made me forget it.
“I will figure it out in the way. Let’s go.”
The three of us start running through the animal path that connects the forest edge.
The restless wolves and goblins that often littered these low-level zones are not attacking, even when inside their aggro zone.
It’s just a dream. It can't be identical to the game.
With those thoughts in mind, I look back at my followers. The weirdest part since the start of this dream has been them.
We arrive at where the dirt path joins a paved road. A few steps ahead there is a stone bridge where a white-robed foxkin stands looking into the distance.
“Holly! You waited for us!”.
“Or you're so lazy that you prefer the aether eating you.”
Mia happily welcomes the mage. On the other side, Sira’s greeting is more mean-spirited.
“Sheltering in the city is useless.” Finally answers the foxkin. "Dear, you can see it from here.”
Dear?
Holly’s worried voice is accompanied by a gesture towards the city.
At this distance, the clipped scenery has been revealed. In the middle of the city, a tempestuous vortex of gaseous substance with swirling purple and dark blues eats away everything on its path. The floating debris that desperately tries to escape starts turning into dust before achieving anything.
“Sira, teleport us to Academy City. This platform is done for.”
“Dear, what tells you that we won’t get teleported in the middle of that?”
”Academy City has a barrier, honey.” I jokingly add. ”We will last longer there.”
Holly stands frozen at my response. Why is she so shocked?
Ignoring her, the three equally sized avatars get closer and Sira beings to cast the spell. The teleport of the psychic class takes a few seconds before my sight turns white and we arrive at a new place as the whiteness fades.
No loading screen? That certainly would have helped the game.
The city’s monumental marble buildings were painted blue, white and gold. All the streets were paved with cobblestones. Above us rested a giant magic stone, on top the highest spire that looms over the academy surroundings. The rock was the heart of the protecting barrier against the dangerous aether.
Good thing that I remember my lore.
The bluish gas circled the city, forcibly stopped by an invisible dome shape. As Holly guessed, Academy City was being attacked too.
The guards and vendors were running and screaming all around us. It was the expected apocalyptic mayhem that usually appears in movies.
With a thud, Sira’s knees collapse in front of me.
That pose was not among the emotes of the game.
Weird thoughts crawl through my mind. This dream has lasted too long and had been too homogeneous. If its a dream why I can’t turn into a dragon? Or use any spell?
Its like I am being forced to follow weird rules.
“Kaikai, what do we do? Where can we escape?”
The demon assassin looks at me expectantly, assured that I have an exit to our predicament.
Storm and Tempest is dead, shouldn’t we just accept it?
“I believe this is the end. All game zones are over. The whole Rift is going to disappear.”
My NPCs look at me, seemingly incapable of understanding. I don’t know how else I should explain this.
“This is the end. There is nowhere to escape.”
Maybe I do owe them a better explanation. My followers did accompany me along all those years I played the MMO. I put a lot of effort, and I really liked them. But I have to admit it is a bizarre thing to do, explaining to dream NPCs they are going to die.
They seem real now. It is not harmful to play along in a dream.
“All of this was a game. All dungeons, bosses, and towns, the whole Rift. Everything was a game. The servers were turned off last night. The game ended because the studio didn’t earn as much as they expected. I suppose my mind translated that to the aether eating away the Rift. Us included.”
“Sira, Mia, I think our Kyroz may have broken.”
The mage is still the calmest among my companions. The three NPC still act restless around me.
Their reactions are too real. I had never had a dream this consistent.
“You don’t have to believe me If you don’t want to. The Rift is over anyway, who knows how long that barrier will last.”
As I point it out, the barrier starts to crack. With that as its signal, the dire reality was finally starting to take hold on the NPCs. Mia’s frightened face is unbelievably real for a polygonal 3D model. Holly is frozen in place holding her wooden staff while Sira has started sobbing looking at me between her tears.
“Ky, I don’t want to die!”
She really doesn’t want to go. Damn you, subconscious self.
“Alright. Mia, Sira, Holly. Meeting you all was fun. I worked hard. Like really, really hard to get our party into the end-game content. I actually hoped to keep tweaking your AIs. Seeing today your reactions I regret I didn’t have the chance. Honestly, I never expected that you could have all this range of emotions.”
A thunderous sound of shattered glass interrupts my words. The aether is finally winning the fight against the barrier. Escape seems impossible. I remember all the fun and good memories of this game looking at my NPC friends.
“The truth is I do consider you my friends. I’ll miss you.”
Their faces are fixed on the crack in the barrier. If we are getting out of this, I need them focussed.
“Okay, sad part over. Sira, come here. Cheer up! Let's go on one last adventure! Here is what we must do.”
I help the fallen vampire stand up and concentrate on our next objective. To survive, we can only go somewhere outside the Rift. I remember only one instance. I cannot access my inventory so I’ll have to go with what I have at hand.
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“There is a subterranean laboratory in the academy. We need to get there quickly.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“Yep! follow me.”
We run across the city’s central plaza and approach campus near us. Other adventurers are gathering preparing to reinforce the barriers. Some priests are performing sermons and praying for salvation.
We enter the first-floor hall. The tiled ceramic floor reflects the near two-meter tall ceiling. The building’s interior is filled with tall wooden doors going into classrooms. We approach the spiraling marble staircase going to the lower floor.
The long hallway echoes the ground level layout. We run to the last room to the left and find the metallic double doors tightly closed with a chain.
“This shouldn’t be! Since when is this door closed?”
“How do you know of this place?” asks Sira.
“How? Because I’ve come here before!”
This time is Holly the one who asks.
“When did you?”
“I don’t know? Recently? I had come here several times. It’s close by.”
“Mia, have you ever come with him?”
Mia seems troubled and hesitates to answer Holly’s question.
“No, we have never come to this place.”
“That’s impossible.” I say, “I clearly remember coming with all of you.”
“We have not.”
I am very sure I did. When the game shut down was announced; I toured around all my favorite spots, including this.
“Let’s leave that aside, we need to get in here.”
“Okay, Mia could you use lockpicking?”
Mia follows Sira’s instructions and the chains that tie the iron doors together soon fall clanging to the floor.
As if it were a signal, an enormous tremor shakes the ground and the shattering sounds of glass echoes through the academy’s halls. The aether has broken past the barrier.
"No quest giver? Doesn't matter, we don’t have much time. Come quickly and don’t eat the candy.”
“What is this place?” Says Sira, looking around the secret lab.
With a “Moooo!” a cow critter greets us inside the room.
“The game loved pop culture references. What we need is beside the water tank.”
At the end of the room rests an iron tank filled with saline water. On top of the tank sits a single journal-like book.
“This book is called ‘Olive’s Diary.” I pass it to Sira. “Or how to get outside the Rift for Psychics.”
As Sira immediately starts to ruffle through the pages, Holly keeps seeking for answers.
“Are you sure it will work?”
"Yes, I know my lore. From what I remember of the quest, the owner of the lab used the aether itself to visit a world outside the Rift.”
“Are you insane? You want to let that damn gas eat us?”
“It’s the only idea I have. Unless you just want to let things go down naturally.”
The aether is running rampant above ground. The people we passed through our way here are most certainly on its focus. Their screams can be heard from the close distance.
“Holly, it is a chance! Isn’t it better than just wait?” says Mia, agreeing with me.
“Why are you so positive? What guarantees do we have that this will work?”
“Shut up.” interrupts Sira. “This will work. I just glanced through fifty pages of theory, but they seem reasonable. The book explains in detail the process and the spell. It’s more than letting the aether eats us. Ky this might work!”
“Really? I don’t remember it being that long.”
In-game books had about fifteen paragraphs.
“It has more than 200 pages! We are lucky that the actual spell is around four.”
“You read quickly.”
“It has an index. Okay, this is what I need. First, Holly. You have to make a barrier around us until the spell is almost ready. Make it with whatever material you can, hopefully, something that obstructs light. Mia, there must be some serums here that I need to empower myself. Ky, go help her.”
Like she said to us. We begin with our tasks.
Sira clears a space inside the room with her telekinesis and Holly creates a thick dome made of rock in the middle of it. She leaves a single opening for us to return inside.
Mia and I receive a thorn piece of the diary and look for the labeled potion. As we move further away from the other girls. Mia starts chatting with me.
“That is a first. You don’t usually listen.”
“Really? That sounds awful.”
“It is. Don’t you remember the Monkey Emperor Dungeon?”
“Where we got wiped out like twenty times in a row?”
She chuckles. “That one. No matter how many times we asked you, we kept challenging it. Specially Sira, after a while she started making alternative plans, but you were focused on your way. We were tired of running for our lives.”
“Wow, I am sorry that was so difficult for you.”
That monkey dungeon took me a week to complete. I was starting to tweak the girl's AIs. If they could talk back, then it wouldn’t have been so tedious. The first room trash mobs killed us several times.
“Until now I have only regretted how much I had to pay in resurrection fees.”
“Resurrection fees?”
She doesn’t know about resurrection fees?
“Guys! Sira is almost ready! We need the potion.”
“Let’s leave it for later.”
We keep looking through the lab. Several vials and flasks litter the place. Atop a desk, there are jars filled with chemicals, powders, and sweets.
The aether-related screams have diminished. It is not an auspicious sign.
“Kaikai I found them!”
Mia opened with her lockpicking a sealed iron vault, inside there are several flasks with a bluish liquid. The vials had the same serial label than in the journal and had written an expiration date below it.
Mia notices, “This things have expired long ago.”
“We have no other option, let’s take them all.”
We pass the potions to Sira, and she without hesitation drinks one and grimaces with disgust.
“Ugh, You have to drink that too.”
“Seriously?”
The building starts to crumble, and a subterranean growl makes us remember the danger of the aether.
Mia stops for a second before drinking the strange substance in one gulp, while Holly and I openly share our doubts by quickly glancing at each other.
This tastes awful.
The blue thing was bitter like intense dark chocolate and had the flavor of bad cough syrup.
“Dying may be the second worst thing today.”
“We are ready. Holly, I will begin to cast the spell. I need you to close the opening and fill the dome with water.”
“You want to drown us?!”
“No! I need to concentrate, and the water will help! Fill it with water until we float. Then let’s hold hands, close your eyes and relax in the darkness.”
“Are you really expecting us to relax? The aether is almost here!”
“Think happy thoughts! I don’t know! Just do it! Or you will be left here with the cow.”
Poor Cow.
“Should we give the serum to the cow?”
The three girls look at me.
“Okay, we won't.”
Mia and I took Sira’s hands as Holly closes the dome and fills it with water.
We are now in complete darkness. The sound of new screams and the crumbling building becomes muffled by the stone and the water. My free hand is extended waiting for Holly’s.
"Hey watch it!” says Holly when I grasp something.
“That was your tail?”
“Yes! You better apologize when we are out of this mess, dear.”
“Shut up you two!” screams Sira. “I will begin now.”
We spend what feels like a few minutes in the darkness. The muffled sounds are getting closer. In the moment of relaxation, I remember this is all supposed to be a dream, so I open my eyes and see my companions slightly glowing. The earth dome that surrounds us has started to degrade, and the perilous gas floats above the water.
The light emanating from our bodies starts to intensify and in response the aether circles around us keeping its distance. The gas tendrils look like wailing souls running in a dark blue vortex.
A blinding flash of light covers my view. An instant later the space around us is replaced by a tempestuous spiral of colors. My grip loosens as I look at the impressive sight, and I let go of the girls.
Holly opens her eyes and tries to catch me, but is too late.
I stumble through this torrent of energy. It looks like I am now flying through a tunnel of aether, snaking around the cosmos.
I really want a blue box now.
The scenery of this rollercoaster ride changes when the gaseous aether turns darker. It becomes a black and dull sludge. It feels like tar or a very dense magma. The substance pulses with yellow and red colors.
After what it seemed like two minutes, another flash of white light signals the end. I have reached the end of the rainbow.
----------------------------------------
Once again, I hear the gentle rustle of leaves on the wind. There is a humid smell of pine trees covered by the morning dew. Insect buss around and birds sing atop the trees.
I can feel my mind relaxing, as the tired headache leaves and loses its pressure.
I open my eyes and see the endless blue sky, with white clouds forming incredibly complex shapes while being caressed by the wind.
My hand touches the ground. The fresh forest humus and grass gets between my fingers as the smell of wet dirt reaches my nostrils. When I lose my grip on the scooped earth, I feel the grains stuck under my fingernails.
Am I in a real forest now?
I look around me and see that I am now resting in a forest clearing.
Eh?
...
I notice my hands now. The vaguely humanoid shapes are covered in black small scales. My palms seem soft and human. The tips of all my fingers have sharp black claws except my thumb.
What is happening?
I raise so I can have a better look at my body. My legs are covered in short fur, and they turn slowly into scally feet.
Dinosaur feet?
In front of my eyes, I notice another scally appendage.
Sweep, sweep.
What is happening now? First that weird dream of the game. Then the colorful space odyssey sludge-portal, and now I am a dinosaur? I want to wake up! I am tired of this dream!
Relax. Breathe. Think.
The pinch thing doesn’t work, right?
I look at my hands and use my sharp claws to pinch the soft skin in the lower part of my arm.
Ouch!
And, It doesn’t work.
Let’s try shaking myself awake.
I try to jump around the clearing and roll around the floor. When I struck some trees in my path, and they fall I notice how big I really am. I must be two stories tall!
Hitting my face on the floor? Doesn’t wake me up.
My next plan is the normal one when you are in a dire situation.
Who would come closer? TO A ROARING DINOSAUR!!!!!!!!!!!
Grandma, I miss you.
Why am I in a forest? Why did I not woke up in my desktop? Or the university’s library? Even on a bench in the park? Like the usual unusual places.
Ok. Last plan. Fall asleep. Worst case scenario you’ll get sent to a different place.
…
…
…
The only thing I can do is to complain sorrowfully. I am starting to feel all my energy leaving my body.
Is this true? Am I really not dreaming?
I look around me once more. I made a mess. I guess I should rest. I will crawl into a ball, and just wait for the evil thoughts to leave. Yep just like that.
What is that big feathery thing? Wings? Are those MY wings? Am I a freaking dinosaur with wings?
No that’s not right.
I am a dragon?!
This is the worst. It’s incredibly cool. But the worst.
As I lay there in the middle of the clearing, I try to relax and order my thoughts. No matter what has just happened, I need to find a way to survive in this place. So first I need to understand my current situation.
I need to review my options. Dragon means fantasy, so I’ll assume I am on the wrong side of the invention of antibiotics, or toilets. I am essentially a monster in a forest so the second may not be a problem in the foreseeable future.
As a dragon, I have two options. I am an evil being heroes have to hunt down or I am a pet to a hopefully beautiful elf, or horribly to a manly dwarf.
I am not evil, more like chaotic neutral. The world might not see it that way. They will say I am an evil black dragon when actually I am dark blue. They’ll say I have a flamethrower throat and won’t give me a chance to speak. As for the other alternative, I don’t want to be anyone's pet.
This is troublesome if I were Kyroz I could use those stealth skills and infiltrate into a town and get info.
If this is not a dream, then. Did all of that in the Rift actually happen?
That changes things. Mia has stealths skills and looks almost human. Sira too, if she were to hide her red eyes. I don’t know if there are foxkin here, but Holly could look the least suspicious. All of them could infiltrate easily.
No, that’s not the important thing. Mia is a demon. Storm and Tempest had her as any other race but in fantasy stories...
If humans find her, it's almost certain that she will be killed. It’s the same with Sira as a vampire.
A vampire! In the Rift didn’t seem to be a problem but what about this world’s sun? I must go join them now!
I absolutely have to find the girls.
I got up and extend my wings. Their span is ginormous. Now I am glad I enlarged the clearing on purpose.
My wings feel like two other arms growing from my back. It’s oddly natural to move them.
Okay, Let’s try this. I hope this thing is instinctual.
I flap my wings, and a strong wind smashes the forest floor. Leaves are thrown away by the powerful currents.
This is working!
I lift from the ground and fly.
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I cannot believe I am flying! I am a leaf in the wind!
I can see the world under my feet. The coniferous forest is painted over a mountainous area. A big blue colored mountain range with snowy peaks looms in the horizon. The sun warms my back as I breathe the air under the blue sky.
I enjoy the pleasant sensation on my wings, but my mind is focused. I need to look for the girls. As stories go, they are either close by or very far from me. That’s why I am circling from the clearing I woke up. Seeing them from this distance inside the forest would be impossible. I hope that any of them thinks in signaling me to go down.
A big fireball explodes on the other side of a small tree-covered mountain.
As I suspected. That must be Holly’s signal.
I fly as fast as I can to the other side and see a small clearing were two humanoid figures rest beside a bonfire. A big honey-colored four-legged animal stands to guard them. Upon seeing them, I approach the ground.
Isn’t my speed a little too fast?
I extend my wings to create more resistance. A painful feeling assaults the base of my new limbs as if they were torn apart.
My speed has not decreased, how do I stop? Do I push more air? Uff, the wind is too strong to flap my winds! Oh, no! Sorry Wash, I am not a leaf, I am a brick! Sorry! No, no. Stop!
With a crash! I struck the ground and got my head covered in the soft floor of the forest.
I was so happy.
“Kaikai, are you okay?”
The same voice that woke me up yesterday approaches me worried.
“Sira, I can’t understand him either.”
I unearth my head from the ground, Mia and Sira look different.
Mia’s horns that used to grow straight from her temples have moved to behind her ears. They twist over themselves like a ram’s and have the appearance of a bone crown. She no longer has a tail, and her webbed wings are now a pair of raven black angel-like wings born from her shoulder blades. Her short and asymmetrical black hair is combed to the sides. And her black eyes would undoubtedly match a pair of thin framed glasses.
Sira’s long platinum hair has changed to copper, and she has it tied in a ponytail. Her ears are now long and pointy, like an elf's. She appears smaller than Mia’s, with an athletic and agile figure. All of her proportions match, adding to the image of a woman starting her twenties. Her left sleeve is missing, showing her now pink and glossy arm. The former blue hue is gone, and it seems to reflect the warmth of the sun rays.
It looks like I didn’t have to worry about her vampirism. That’s a relief.
Both of their attires look worn out and torn. Most of Sira's armor is missing, and the hem of her skirt has been ripped. Mia's leather clothes adjust tightly to her body. Her attire looks almost complete, but straps of unsewed leather stick out.
“Bark!”
The honey-colored creature stands before me. Her voice is exactly like Holly’s. The big animal is still smaller than me, but towers by the side of Mia. She is a big nine tailed fox.
She simply nods.
Then I am not the only one this time.
Great. Not only I may be the end boss the heroes need to defeat, but I can’t even start monologuing before them.
It felt way longer than a few seconds. If I believe in what Holly is saying. I am stuck as a dragon because the aether did something to me. No, it certainly made something to all of us. Holly and I are apparently the most affected. For me, it must be because of the black thing. That doesn’t explain Holly. Talking about the vampire, she is still sitting beside the bonfire. Her eyes remain closed and appear to be concentrating. Sira’s powers. That may work! Psychics could use telepathy. NPCs couldn’t really use it, but I was a completionist and didn’t like seeing an unallocated skill in the list. Because it was never trained, Sira’s ability must be at level one. … ... This is boring. Maybe some small talk will help. There goes the small talk. Holly is still mad at me. I do seem to have the fault. Okay. I’ll say it. The fox stares at me for a moment without saying anything. This is the same with Mia. Are they talking about the avatar me playing? But they sound like they met me in the flesh. What kind of things did you do, other me?