Haru squatted atop the bow of a shipwrecked galleon on the beach of Waylayer’s Wastes. Tatters of its sails waved in the wind as the witch stared at the green and orange swirling portal nestled within a rocky cove farther along the shore. On the other side of that portal was Leonora’s encounter. And it rejected Haru because the servers were down for maintenance.

The sands that led back toward Swashbuckler’s Saloon, the area’s village and respawn point for players, was scarred by the hacker. Mobs were missing. Parts of the land beckoned darkness when nearby. A long path was etched into the beach, at the very lowest point were glass shards made by something hot enough to melt sand. The witch was almost certain her friend was trapped in her encounter with that monster.

And because of maintenance, she couldn’t use chat to communicate. Not only that, but there were human footprints in the sand weaving a chaotic path back and forth behind her. She didn’t think it was the hacker but wasn’t sure.

Haru stared down at her black and purple robe dangling in the breeze, trying to think of a way to get in. Looking at the scars carved into the base of the mountain flanking the beach, she once again noticed there were mobs trapped within. They were the mobs for the area—Plankers, crabs dressed like pirates holding daggers in their claws; and Scallywags, wolves with striped bandanas and eye patches that had clubs attached to their tails.

Haru, on a hunch, hopped on her staff and rushed to the fissure. If there were mobs trapped within, there might be a way to use the scars to pass through to Nor’s encounter. She slid to a stop in the sand and with staff still brandished, entered the void surrounding the cleft. This time, her desire to save her pirate pal overpowered the fear she had of the dreadful scintillation that the scar emitted.

With a black and gold gloved hand, she closed one eye to brace and reached. A spark burst forth and danced through the darkness. Then a deep droning howl echoed out and pierced the unsettling quiet of the void. An invisible force tugged at her and drew her into the scar. Before Haru could even fight back, she found herself out of the void and back on the beach of Waylayer’s Wastes.

But something was off. This was a different version of the beach.

The ocean was now an endless sea of lava. The beached boats were endlessly on fire. Beneath her shoes were small specks of shattered glass. Haru needed answers and wanted to get them from a nearby Skallywag. Perhaps she could help free them from this strange place.

Haru walked up to the wolf-like mob, staring at the charcoal clouds against an orange and violet sky. “Hi, are you alright? This place seems dangerou—”

The Skallywag barked and growled at the witch, poised to charge her down.

Haru yelped at the unexpected aggression and stepped away. Even when disagreements happened, fighting between mobs was something that never happened. Seeing it targeting her, the witch sized the mob up. Its eyes were ferocious, and face looked like it was filled with unbounded rage. The wolf acted much different from its normal playful but roguish design.

Haru continued to back away. “We’re on the same team, we don’t attack each other.” Then her thoughts wandered to Vernal, and how her hesitation caused him harm. She braced herself and brandished her staff. “I’m warning you. I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

The Scallywag continued its approach. It frothed at the mouth and twitched with each step.

The witch took aim. She drew a line in the glass particles with her boot and then stepped far back. “Don’t cross that line.”

Ignoring the mark, the deranged mob continued to close on Haru. She charged a normal attack. As the laser grew in power, the Scallywag rushed the witch.

Only a step away from being within melee range, the ray from Haru’s staff burst forth. The attack vaporized the mob. As the laser traveled down the burning beach, the immense heat attenuated the beam and caused it to arc upwards into the sky.

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She stared at the spot where the mob once was, expecting it to respawn. But as the moments passed, it became clear it wasn’t coming back. Worried she’d deleted it, regret filled her. “I’m sorry.” She couldn’t help but mutter.

A small rectangular stone descended from over Haru’s head where the Scallywag was defeated. She held her hand out and it fell into her palm. The witch quickly observed the item. “A Mark of Patientia…?” It wasn’t something she’d ever seen before. The item disappeared from her palm and entered her inventory.

The sound of musket fire snapped Haru from her curiosity. That meant only one thing, Leonora was trapped in combat with the hacker.

Haru rushed toward the rocky cove, where the instance barrier didn’t exist in this version of the beach. She could clearly see Leonora skirmishing with the hacker. Though the witch’s view of the adversary was blocked by the stone gateway leading into the arena itself.

Dashing into the encounter area, Haru was nearly tossed into the air by a sudden shockwave. One of the hacker’s glowing purple tendrils slammed down and grazed her, just barely. She took no damage but was knocked down, and a strange feeling washed over her.

Haru stood again and came to realize that Nor wasn’t just fighting the hacker and his tendrils.

The monster had its hooks in Vernal’s sabretooth form and was using it to fight Leonora. The shockwave was the sabretooth flying high into the air and crashing down, his signature opening move.

The sight of seeing the hacker control Vernal’s second form sparked a deep resentment in Haru. Her vision narrowed, everything around her faded. A supernatural anger gripped her. She’d never experienced hatred before, but for this foe, it was warranted.

This creep was destroying everything in his path. The witch took aim at the wicked player, his human form with iridescent indigo tendrils exposed. She wouldn’t let him leave this place after everything he’d done. Without a single word, she charged her laser and readied to obliterate him.

In her rage, mired in her thoughts, she didn’t realize that the hacker took notice of Haru. While cackling with delight, he shifted to dodge her spell. Haru’s normal attack finished charging and the laser careened towards him. The beam missed and slammed into the ceiling, carving away chunks of stone.

The hacker’s wicked form grew slightly after the attack. He continued to hiss and chitter with delight.

“Roo, I’m glad you’re here.” Nor panted and was sweating. “I didn’t think I could hold out against this guy.” She approached, standing at the ready.

Haru shoved Leonora. “Get out of my way.” The witch was horrified at what she’d just done. That’s not how to treat friends.

The pirate yelped. “What’s your problem?”

It was on contact that Haru realized Leonora was afflicted with whatever she herself was as well. Flecks of red danced within the pirate’s blue eyes.

“Something’s wrong.” Haru shivered. “I feel like I’ve gotten infected.”

“And that’s my fault?” Leonora’s voice was harsh.

“It’s not. I think we’re both in trouble. Let’s just finish—”

But whatever gripped her suddenly pressured Haru to continue the fight. Leonora apparently also was compelled and so, in tandem, they both readied to fight the hacker once more.

The uncharacteristic aggression between them caused the wicked player to wiggle with glee, cackling and hooting. Then another pair of tendrils burst out from behind his form, dripping a red gelatinous ooze that plopped onto the ground. It sizzled, charring the stone floor. Then, the human-like core of the hacker split in two, as if he were sliced lengthwise. As his two parts separated, a magmatic eye was revealed in the center of his chest. Both parts were held together by tendril-like strands within. It let out a deep roar that caused everything to shake.

With another charged shot, Haru didn’t want to give this monster time to react and aimed straight for the eye. The heat from the core caused the laser to divert upwards and slam into the ceiling. But the attack forced her to stand still. During that time, the sabretooth barreled toward the witch. She gasped, unable to do anything but watch it happen.

Leonora leaped and slashed, pushing the corrupted cat away. The pirate then continued her assault, a deadly dance of jabs and cuts that ended with firing her pistol blunderbuss and leaping up and over the laser beam, away from the sabretooth. She stepped back to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the witch.

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up, Roo.” Nor groaned, her legs visibly trembling.

After the normal attack finished, the terrible malaise within Haru urged her to fight on. Keep attacking the demon. Punish him for his terrible deeds. Break him for ruining everything.

The pressure continued to build, and the witch’s head pounded. The pain became too much, and she fell to a knee, barely remaining upright even with the help of her staff. Agony surged when a cough rose from within her chest. Reflexively, she held her hand out to cover it.

Through blurry vision, her glove was covered in the same iridescent purple goo that composed the innards of the demon.

Somehow, she was being torn apart from the inside by this thing.