Andrew

I barely had the time to breathe before Hund rushed at me with a frantic request to help both Ayula and Sydui.

A cursory look in their direction explained why.

Ayula had some dangerous-looking wounds, and Sydui was completely riddled with holes and unconscious.

I immediately called The Great Stabbinsky to my hand and was about to use the stored [Regeneration] I had, but then I thought better of it.

I looked around for Aesos and didn't see him at that moment... after all, who knows how long it could be until we reunite.

I supposed being unable to lift my arms would just have to stick for a little while.

I decided that Ayula likely had a better chance of any long-term survival here, so she could wait for a while.

First I tried carefully placing the Gem Of Skill Storage in Sydui's hand and waited.

It didn't work.

Thinking about it, of course it didn't work.

You had to consciously activate it when it's inside the gem, or else it would fail to store the [Skill].

I tried tapping Sydui's shoulder with my foot, hoping it would rouse her.

No such luck.

"Hund, how long do we have?" I asked.

"I-I don't know, the sooner the better either way."

What should I do?

What could I do?

I can give it Ayula, but there's a very real chance that doing so would mean the death of Sydui.

I could hold out on it and wait for Aesos to arrive or hope Sydui wakes up... but that might lead to both Ayula and Sydui dying.

I could use it on myself so that I had the function of my arms back, that way I'd have more options... but that's just wishful thinking at that point.

My brain ran a million miles a minute.

I looked at my gems in an attempt to figure out my options.

"Storage, Storage, Echo, Redouble... wait Redouble!"

I carefully lowered myself onto Sydui.

"Woah Andrew, isn't this a bad time for this?" Hund asked, a little red in the face.

"Shut up Hund, I'm saving her life. Ayula, come over here and put your hand on my center of mass."

"Are you sure-" Ayula began.

"Now Ayula, not later!" I interrupted.

Both were still a bit confused, but Ayula did as she was told.

Whoever's listening, wait, is Lviyr a god?

Whatever, whoever's listening, please let this work!

"[Regeneration, Redouble]!"

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The seconds passed at a crawl, each reminding me what would happen if this didn't work.

I closed my eyes and shut out all of the noise.

This had to work.

"I'm healed, and very confused." Ayula announced finally.

I opened my eyes and saw the holes no longer there.

I then flexed my arms, they were healed too.

That was a good sign.

I looked over at Sydui, she was still just laying there.

I panicked.

I shook her, tears welling in my eyes. "Sydui! Sydui wake up!"

Hund pulled me away from her and turned me to look at him. "Andrew, get ahold of yourself!"

"But Sydui! She's-" I protested.

"She's fine dummy! She's just unconscious, look at her, she's breathing!"

I looked at her, and sure enough, he was right.

"But why is she not waking up?" I asked.

"It's a common Fifska response to extreme amounts of bodily harm, beside that, she's probably extremely tired from all the fighting."

"She- she just passed out... okay." I sprawled out on the ground, finally letting the weight of the day's events hit me.

Hund continued, not allowing me enough time to start to actually ruminate. "Oh that happens for your kind too?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sometimes."

I paused, allowing silence to creep in.

As soon as I did so, Ayula stood up and walked off to the side.

Hund just watched her go.

"She found out huh?" I asked, still not getting up.

"Yeah." He replied simply.

Shortly after, Aesos, Leyn, Juohen, and Polyu arrived.

They brought with them a cheerful conversation about something inane.

Aesos was the first to speak. "Something got you down there Andrew?"

"My girlfriend almost died."

That shut him up immediately.

Leyn was next to speak. "What happened?"

"I'll be honest with you, I don't have the energy to explain."

That definitely soured the mood for them, but in a twisted way, it made me feel slightly better to be in the silence that followed.

At least everyone was back together again.

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Uluriq

I glanced at the ever-shrinking list of distances, now able to fit on a single screen.

I suppose I should prepare all of the necessary arrangements for the final battle.

It seems Yuluulth was right to assume it would be with this 'Andrew The Unorthodox' person, whoever that is.

I recently found out that he had a curse on him that allowed me to see his exact position, so I've decided to use that to my advantage as much as possible.

If I follow his current trajectory far enough, I can prepare the space for him before he arrives without even alerting him to the danger.

I was about to leave, but then I remembered Biatheise's words about doing things quickly or well.

This is likely to be the biggest challenge I have to overcome by an astronomical degree, so I should make sure to be in top shape before I do anything more.

I stretched out my shoulder plates after so long of cinching them shut, and rubbed my shoulders.

I yelped in pain as I realized how much of a knot had formed in my muscles.

I then sat in awkward silence as I just... took care of myself for the first time since I was placed in The Deathworld Game.

Once I was done, I summoned my locket to my hand... one last time.

"Worry not my beloved, this will be the last obstacle for me to overcome... once this is over, we'll be reunited."

I leapt into the air and began the roundabout route I had planned in order to not cause my target suspicion on my way there.

I dismissed my locket.

After all, once I've started, I won't be able to stop until it's all over.

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Yuluulth

I watched Uluriq fly past Andrew's location, just outside of his range of sight.

I sat back in my chair, and then turned to Lviyr. "Do you want to do something? It seems I have some time to kill."

"I'll get up in just a moment, I just have a few outstanding issues to solve first."

"Sounds good."

I stood and stretched, and as I did so, I found out how stiff my musculature had become.

I moaned as the tension slowly released.

Seliel suddenly looked up, and then our eyes met.

"Oh hey Seliel, do you want to come with us?"

"Yeah!" She replied emphatically; then after a moment her brows furrowed. "Wait what?"

Just then Lviyr finished whatever he was doing and stood. "Alright now I'm ready."

Seliel looked at him warily. "So, I'm the second person you asked then."

"Is that a problem?"

She stood with a sigh. "I guess not."

None of us had a plan of what to do, more that we just wanted to take a break from what we were doing at the time.

As these things tend to go, our wandering lead us to the food court.

We ordered some simple snack foods and some drinks, then just sat down to eat them.

"So Seliel, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing with all the points you've accrued?" Lviyr inquired.

Seliel idly spun a spice packet on its corners using a finger. "Nothing really. This round is so weird I'm having trouble coming up with anything that would actually be fun... or allowed."

I sipped on my resparte. "What do you mean by 'allowed'?"

"The [Worldbinder] said I need approval before making things." She took a small dried fruit chunk and began to both chew and speak simultaneously. "Is's so dum!"

I chuckled at her display, which turned quickly into full-scale laughter.

Shortly after, both Lviyr and Seliel followed suit.

The three of us just sat and laughed for a while.

It was just like old times... well not exactly...

For one, Vindicost and Jyn weren't there...

That soured my mood.

Both Lviyr and Seliel looked at me, but Lviyr was the first to speak. "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about Jyn and Vindicost."

"That bridge isn't really burnt, Jyn is not one to dwell on events like those."

"You say that, but I can tell it bothers him."

Seliel looked between the two of us. "Okay, I'm confused, what are we talking about?"

I sighed. "A good while ago now, Jyn was feeling bad and I let him win a round of Deathworld Game."

She furrowed her brows. "I still don't get it."

"He found out and after that our relationship changed. I'm frankly not sure what happened exactly."

Seliel sipped from her own drink. "Maybe what he needs is some 'old times plus' as you put it."

I thought about it. "You could be right... thanks Seliel."

Seliel smiled. "Anytime Yuluulth... well, anytime I can anyway."

We all laughed again.