Chapter 19

James blinked a few times as his world came back into focus. He was back in his dungeon, in the hot springs, surrounded once more by Rue and Steve. His mind took longer to return to the present, as the warmth of the hot spring caressed his body. He shivered as he pulled his mind to the task at hand.

“Where the—”

“Are you—”

“—We need to talk,” James said, cutting both Rue and Steve off. The two closed their mouths, sensing the urgency in his voice, and waited. James wasn’t forceful. He never had been. Of the three, he was definitely the most passive. So the urgency in his voice spoke volumes. “Steve,” James looked at the developer, who looked ridiculous in his pineapple themed swimming trunks, fruity drink in hand, “can you create a private space for us? An extremely secure one?”

“Can dickens fly?” Steve asked with a chuckle, “I thought you were about to ask me something hard.”

“I’m serious,” James said, his mood still too dark for the humor. There was so much at stake. The entire world… How he wished, with all of his heart and soul, that he could have just been a regular player in DCO. But no, then he wouldn’t have met Rue. And even everything piled onto him was worth it, if in the end, he and Rue were together.

Steve took a long, slow sip from his drink, his eyes watching James carefully as he did. When he finished he let out a sigh. “I can make a room that’s more secure than probably 99 percent of all digital spaces out there.”

“Not a hundred percent?” James pressed. “The security of the room is vital.” He said hurriedly. “If you’re not confident, I don’t think—”

“I say ninety-nine percent,” Steve said, stopping James, “but it is damn near a hundred. Only Hades himself could probably crack into it. Within DCO, after all, what I can and cannot do, are practically godlike.”

James nodded, “good then. We need a room, the sooner the better.”

“I’ll get to it,” Steve set his drink down and stood, the water rippling around him. “I’ll double check everything as well, to ensure it’s as secure as possible. Entry will be limited to unique encryption, so be on the lookout from a message from me.” He glanced from James, to Rue, and back to James. “I’m assuming this is all related to whatever Hades summoned you for?”

James didn’t dare say anything else out loud. Instead he just nodded once, quick and sharp, to Steve. The developer sighed.

“I was afraid of that.” He muttered to himself. His hands were already out, typing furiously, as he disappeared, leaving James and Rue alone.

“How bad is it?” Rue asked as she slid close to James, draping her arms supportively over his shoulders as she scooted behind him. Her mouth was close to his left ear, her breath warm on him as she pulled him close. He knew this was all a virtual world, but the realism, the feeling of the body heat from her, mingling with the heat of the hot springs, and the moisture in the air, felt perfectly real to him. When he took in a breath, he caught a mixture of cinnamon and roses, a pleasant, invigorating scent that he could only assume was a perfume Rue was wearing.

“It’s bad,” James whispered, not fully trusting himself to accidentally spill anything. Hades had implied James had let important information slip already out and about. With how dire everything was, he knew he needed to be extra cautious. With everything on the line, there was no room for error. No room for a lapse in judgement. Meaning, James was probably not going to be drinking anymore until everything was finished.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Rue leaned her chin against his shoulder, and he felt the pressure from the sharp bone, the weight of her, as she rested on him. This was a real as anything he’d ever experienced outside of immersion. Did he really want to stop the government? If he did nothing, then what? So what if he and the others couldn’t return to the real world. Dungeon Core Online was perfect.

“And it involves us.” She let out a heavy sigh as she said the words. It wasn’t a question. Rue was smart enough to know when something was amiss. And James knew she could tell immediately based on how he was acting, just how serious it was. That was why she was comforting him now, in her own ways, rather than poking and prodding and goofing around.

“It does,” James said. He looked at the reflection of the two of them in the hot spring. His eyes looked worn, and there were visible bags under his eyes. It looked like he hadn’t slept all night, like he’d just woken from a traumatic nightmare. Behind him, Rue’s face held a look of concern as well. Her normal smile was gone, her lips pressed in a thin line, her eyes deep in thought. She was beautiful. Even with the entire world at stake, in that moment, Rue was still the main thing on his mind. He reached up and touched one of her hands gently, threading his fingers between hers, and leaned his head back into her.

“No matter what happens,” he said slowly. With his head tilted backwards, he could just barely look into her eyes. She’d tilted her head, chin still on his shoulder, to better look at him as well, and they held the look for a long moment. “I want you to know, nothing changes.”

“Oh?” Her eyes searched his, then she smiled. A small, slight smile. Barely noticeable really. “What do you mean by that?”

James felt his voice crack, his throat clenching as he fought emotions. He took a deep breath, losing himself in Rue’s eyes, as he spoke again. They’d grown so close, over such a small amount of time. And yet he’d never been so certain. Never been so sure, about anything as he was about Rue. She and he were meant to be together, forever.

“No matter what,” James began again, “all that matters to me, is you.” He watched her lips twitch upwards a little more. “In the end,” James continued, before his courage abandoned him, “I love you, and everything I’m doing, I’m doing for you.”

Her smile crept upwards a little more, and yet, in her eyes, there was a sorrow. She gently lifted their entwined hands towards her lips, and kissed his knuckles, gingerly. As she did, she whispered softly, her face now hidden from him, as she spoke.

“I love you too, James,” she said, barely audible. Her fingers tightened around his, as she kissed his knuckles again. “You saved me,” she began, and he felt like he could hear her voice crack with emotion, though it was impossible to be certain with how quietly she was speaking. “You saved me in more ways than you’ll ever know.” He felt moisture on his knuckles. Was it from her tears? Or simply the humid air of the hot springs? “But you need to live your life, make your decisions for yourself, silly,” her voice cracked again, “otherwise, somewhere along the line, you’ll come to resent me.”

He returned the pressure as she squeezed his fingers. All that existed in the moment was James and Rue. No one else. Nothing else.

“I would never,” James said.

“How can you be certain?” Rue asked.

“I can’t,” he laughed, “and yet I’ll gladly spend an eternity, proving that I won’t.”

Rue laughed at that, and he felt her shake her head from side to side. He was pretty sure she was wiping her teary eyes on their knuckles with the motion.

“Eternity is a long time,” she said.

“And yet,” James began, “it still won’t feel like enough time.”

His words hung in the air, lingering far longer than he felt they reasonable should, as the two sat there. They said nothing else. He didn’t mind. James knew as he waited that once Steve had the room set up, there wouldn’t be time for moments like this anymore. This was the calm before the storm. The last truly peaceful moment he would have before everything would begin moving forward. He could tell Rue could sense it too, and knew she was savoring it, just as he was. And they remained that way, taking comfort in the proximity of each other, until eventually, Steve’s message came through.