My hands tightened around my daggers as I grew closer to the door leading into the crypt. I had no idea what we would find, but whoever it was, it was definitely a player. The flames of a small bonfire came into view as we approached, and then I saw her—seated behind the flames, leaning on the most massive sword I’d ever seen in my life, was a beautiful girl.

Her hair was the color of moonlight, and she wore a monstrous set of dark silver plate mail with heavy pauldrons. Over her breastplate, was a chestnut brown tabard with a faded golden sigil of a sun. On the stone beside her, was her helm and shield, and on the walls around her, were countless bones, as if the very walls of the crypt had been built from them.

With her head down, she hadn’t noticed us yet. I watched as a tear dripped from her eye into the flames below. She opened her mouth again, and a chill ran through me as she began to sing.

“And I will come again…my love…though it were..ten…ten…ten thousand miles…”

I inspected her:

Anwi of Alexandria—level 95.

“That’s a pretty song,” I said quietly.

Slowly, as though lost in her own thoughts, Anwi looked up. I saw no hostility in her grey eyes, only a glimmer of hope, like we were the first people she’d encountered in a long time.

“Oh, hello,” she said softly, her voice like the most delicate of bells ringing gently through the night. “How are you? I am Anwi of Alexandria. Are you too seeking The Fallen God?”

I glanced back at Kodiak and Gehman, who were both as confused as I was. This girl was decked out with high level gear, and probably could have taken all of us down if she wanted to, but there wasn’t a single hint of malice in her. If anything, there was a vulnerability that made me uneasy. I couldn’t help but feel as though The Dark World had beaten and clawed at her for so long that she was on the edge of defeat.

“The Fallen God?” I asked finally.

“Yes,” she replied simply. “A woman named Rayne. Do you know her?”

I glanced back at Gehman, but he just stared back at me, not knowing what to say.

“I’ve heard of her,” I replied. “Why are you looking for her?”

“I’ve lost my companion,” she continued sadly, her eyes seeming to focus and not focus on me at the same time, as though she were lost in a sea of painful memories. “Hectar. He is a gallant knight—have you seen him?”

“No,” I replied. “I am sorry. I’m new to The Dark World.”

“You are not Sunken,” Anwi said, the softest of smiles appearing at the edges of her lips as she gazed across our party. “Hectar has sunken. I fear what has become of him. I’ve spent many days searching for him…you would tell me if you had seen him, wouldn’t you?”

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“Of course,” I replied quickly, loosening my grip on my daggers. “But, I’m sorry—the only people I’ve seen in this world are you and my two companions here.”

“Oh, hello,” Anwi replied, as though she’d forgotten her manners. “My name is Anwi of Alexandria. How are you?”

“Hi, Anwi. I’m Kodiak.”

“And I’m Gehman.”

“Do you know of The Fallen God?” She asked. There was an innocence to her—the way she spoke—like a child.

“I do,” Gehman replied. “I’ve seen her.”

“Might you know where I can find her?”

“I’m sorry,” Gehman said. “But the last time I saw her was outside Sheol.”

“Oh,” Anwi replied, hanging her head once more. “That is unfortunate. Sheol is a long journey from here.”

“Anwi,” I said. “Why are you looking for Rayne?”

“Hectar has sunken,” she replied, her voice quivering as she stared into the flames of the bonfire at her feet. “There is nothing I can do to save him now from that, but the Fallen God possesses the power to end his suffering. A blessing from her will allow me to save him from his terrible fate. It’s the least I can do for him.”

“You mean…end his life,” Kodiak said softly.

Anwi nodded, slowly getting to her feet. “I must be going now. If the Fallen God is indeed found in Sheol, I must get started. I have a long way to travel.”

“Wait!” I cried out as Anwi stepped past me towards the mouth of the crypt. “I—I can save Hectar! You don’t have to kill him!”

Anwi shook her head sadly as she slid her helm over her head. It hid her face completely, with only a series of small holes for her to look out of. I could no longer see her expression, but as she shook her head, I understood how she was feeling.

“Such a thing is not possible,” she whispered, shouldering her shield and monstrous sword. “Although I wish it were.”

“It is!” I cried out. “This is my friend, Gehman. He was Sunken! But I restored him! Gehman, tell her!”

“It’s true,” Gehman replied. “I died countless times and had sunken completely. But Jane brought me back.”

Anwi turned her head to me and shifted in a way that caused me to step back. There was something threatening in her pose. Where moments ago there had been a sad, broken girl, I now saw a wounded warrior.

“It is unkind to say what you are saying,” she said slowly. “Do you think ill of me? Perhaps you are not as friendly as you appear.”

I held up my hands in a display of peace. “I don’t think ill of you, Anwi,” I told her. “I am just trying to help Hectar.”

“There is no help for Hectar now,” she said. Her voice was steel, no longer wavering or sad, but full of purpose and determination. “Only a blessing from The Fallen God will allow me to lay my companion to rest.”

“Anwi,” I said, but stopped as she placed a hand on the hilt of her sword.

“Do not attempt to delay me any longer,” she said, her voice low and threatening. “I do not wish to harm you.”

“Let her go,” Kodiak whispered from behind me, gently tugging on my arm. Slowly, I stepped aside and allowed her to pass. She stepped out of the crypt into the graveyard—into the pouring rain. She stopped and turned back to us.

“Perhaps we will meet again,” she said, the strength in her voice fading. “I wish you luck in your journeys”

Resting her sword against a gravestone, Anwi raised her fist towards us. A golden light appeared. It swirled and grew, coils of energy twisting around her wrist. When she opened her hand, pillars of golden light formed at our feet, swept over our bodies, and then vanished.

“A blessing,” she said, picking up her sword. “The Dark World has claimed many souls. I pray you do not befall the same fate.”

And with that, she turned her back on us and walked away into the darkness.