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System Booting…

Haru stared at the figure clad in white descending from the parted clouds low in the sky head-first. As the woman emerged, her stone-like figure softened, and its gray color changed to a more natural skin tone as the firestorm buffeted her.

The moment her toes left the cloud, her gradual emergence exploded into a terminal approach, rocketing down into the golden beam shining around Haru and Opti from the sky parted by the rays.

Irae looked up and howled at the stranger falling from the sky. He pivoted on the small storm upon which he was suspended and hurled all his lashes up at the woman in a chaotic bundle. As the tendrils entered the expanding golden beam, what part of the strands were within the light vaporized.

Haru gasped as the tendrils tracked the stranger’s movement down to the throne room floor.

But strain showed on the demon’s face as his back writhed to produce more slack in the wretched strands. Despite his effort proving fruitless in reaching the stranger, the light surrounding her began to dim and the cloud started to close around the ray.

As the woman reached the ground, her white robes flowed, and she glided from a head-first dive to landing daintily on her feet. Then she fell to one knee, out of breath and sweating.

Likewise, Irae retreated his stubby tendrils, gasping and sputtering while staring down the stranger. Though his lashes didn’t stay short for long. His skin’s undulations slowly produced more length of the violet tendrils.

Gasping for air, the woman lowered her hood and reached toward the pitch-stained stone floor to stabilize herself. She had flowing wavy locks of red hair, and her eyes glowed emerald against the soot.

Haru crouched down and reached for the woman to help her up. “Are you alright?”

Opti shifted to keep himself between the demon and the two girls. He retained his rigid stance, holding his rectangular tower shield high with head raised just enough to peek over the top.

The stranger took gentle grasp of Haru’s hand and shoulder, and they stood together. Her touch was warm, the same way the Mark of Patentia warmed Haru. “I’m better now, yes.” She spoke with a delicate tone.

As Haru eased her grasp on the woman, the stranger stumbled, and the acolyte snatched her up once more. Haru was much shorter and tucked herself in under the woman’s shoulder. “It doesn’t seem like it, what did that horrible thing do to you?” Haru couldn’t keep her voice steady.

Beneath their feet, the golden light was nearly faded, and the clouds above almost completely recomposed to their original stormy shape. Irae shook his face and spread his arms, letting out a woeful roar.

“Nothing time can’t heal.” The stranger spoke with a smile, looking down at Haru. “Perhaps these are unfortunate circumstances to introduce one’s self,” she writhed for a moment, pain apparent on her face. “I am the Sibyl of Patience.”

In the distance, the call of a raven echoed out.

“He’s getting ready to charge!” Opti called out and stepped forward, sword at the ready.

The demon reached down to the ground and dug its spiney nails into the stone bricks as if they were sand.

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“I had hoped to be of more use but—” The sibyl raised her arm and snapped her fingers.

Over Haru and Opti’s heads, an iridescent crown appeared, spinning in place. Then after a moment, both crowns shattered to dust, which dissipated.

“Perhaps this is the only worthy contribution I can make to this cause.” The sibyl shuddered, wincing.

The light beneath their feet faded entirely, and the soot that swirled in the air returned to the space once cleared by the golden glow.

“What just happened?” Haru looked up over her own head.

“Making the fight fair.” The sibyl smiled. “You are free from the confines of the game’s movement and combat limitation enforcement.” She sighed. “What good are rules if only one side abides by them?”

Haru felt something strange stir in her. For a just a split second, she felt the cold metal of the chair she was strapped into and heard the hum of the surrogate machine. But as fast as the sensations came, they faded.

When she entered the game as a player, the world around her faded, as if it didn’t exist. But as she understood it, that’s not how players engaged with the game. They were behind a regular monitor, using a keyboard and mouse, or a gamepad to control their character. It was because she was using the surrogate machine that her very being became as if she were her own character.

Irae licked his thin lips with his forked tongue and hurled himself forward.

The sibyl suddenly turned her attention to Opti, who stood fast, shield still raised. She hummed. “You should help your friend.” The theobule raised her arm and stepped away from Haru.

Haru didn’t feel any different, but the range of motion in her limbs were no longer restricted. It was as if she were herself, the former boss encounter. “Are you alright?” She looked at Opti.

“Yes.” The legionnaire spoke flatly and then continued his measured pace toward the demon.

Irae charged across the arena and raised its claws, bearing down on Opti. As it extended its arm, the legionnaire ran forward, tracking the beast’s movement with his shield and slid under its attack. The ground shook as Irae’s claw bore into the ground where Opti once stood.

The legionnaire slid on his metal faulds and spun himself, rolling to a stop before slamming his shield into the ground to ease his tumble shoulder-over-shoulder. Then he got himself upright. He was disoriented but righted himself with the shake of his head and charged in from the demon’s flank as the beast recovered from his haymaker attack.

Irae spun and readied to strike at the sibyl when Opti drove his sword into the beast’s side with a thrusting attack. The shock drove the demon to reflexively lash out wildly, an overhead slash with its talons, but Opti already had wedged his shield between himself and the demon to use as leverage to free his sword and ducked away.

While the two were brawling, Haru opened distance. She ran at the same time as casting her protective spells on Opti, though considering what the sibyl had done, she had her doubts about its effectiveness. But doing it couldn’t be any worse than not. While the two were still tousling, Haru hit the demon with both of her debuffs.

Usually when casting them, there would be an indicator near the mob’s name to show it had the debuffs on. But her HUD long-since disappeared. Though that didn’t matter, the spells etched gold and silver fissures in the demon’s reddish skin which scintillated.

Oracle in her raven form landed on the now-extinguished tatters of the thrones and stared at the battle afar.

While the demon’s weakened strike hammered the ground, Opti used the opening to thrust himself forward and with a running slash, struck the demon’s face.

Irae howled as the blade slid across his leathery skin, parting it like a honed dagger slices a piece of untanned hide. He recoiled and lashed out with his bundled tendrils from overhead. Opti kept running and just narrowly avoided being impaled by the thick cluster that slammed into the ground behind him. Irae tugged with all his strength to free the tendrils to no avail.

The legionnaire began to huff and puff, sweating and gasping for air. He struggled to raise his shield while pushing himself to advance on the demon, his steps sluggish and clumsy.

Haru rushed to close in on Opti, worried there was something wrong. Still running, she raised her staff and cast a heal on him.

The legionnaire’s pace grew quicker, and his posture raised. His shield was trained true after the light from her spell touched him. He charged at the demon, whose tendril bundle was still stuck in the ground and was weakly tugging at it. Opti dodged around the wedged lashes and drove his sword into the bent-down demon’s forehead.

Irae recoiled from the strike and the sudden jolt freed his tendrils. He writhed and flailed, Opti’s sword sticking from his head like a unicorn’s horn. Then, looking up at the sky, the demon breathed a bolt of fire that struck out at the clouds, and he screamed loud enough to shake the ground.

Opti stood his ground, with shield raised and sword-hand empty. Haru continued to close on him, still at a full sprint.

From underneath, the tendrils began to inch forward toward the legionnaire.

“It’s over, demon. Be gone with you.” Opti called out, still hiding behind his shield.

Irae’s howling ceased but he continued to look up at the sky. A smile creeped across his face. “It is over.” Then the demon bent down, to loom over Opti. “But for you.” His tendrils struck out after slithering along the ground, at the legionnaire.

Haru dashed as fast as she could, and just before the tendrils struck him, she shoved Opti away. She was engulfed in the bundle of violet lashes.