Aurora charged, giving me no time to breathe as I found myself on the defensive, shifting into water more frequently to avoid her slashes. She didn't notice that I swapped my Soultaker out for my Silver Serpent.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely evade all her attacks, getting hit quite a few times. I grimaced in pain, seeing my Health begin to rapidly drop lower and lower. In a few seconds, I was sitting around 20000 Health, my sister now toying with me.

"Where did all your fire go, Lu?" My sister taunted as she circled me, the water around us shimmering in the dim light. "You were so full of rage when we started. Weren't you going to make me suffer for what I did to you?"

"Why are you like this?" I snarled through gritted teeth. "First you act like you care about me, then you pull this shit. It's like you're not bothered that you hurt me."

Aurora's eyes twitched. "I do care about you."

"Then why?" I roared, swinging my sword and missing as my sister retaliated with a slash of her own. Damn, 16000 left. "Why would you leave without saying a word? Why cut off contact? And now, why act like nothing happened?"

Aurora's expression twisted into a look of anger and pain, but she quickly regained her composure. "I had to. I didn't plan on leaving you behind for so long, but I had to make sure I got out. I wanted to make sure I had all the things I needed to come back for you."

She stepped closer, her eyes boring into mine. "I had to become stronger, so that when I returned, I could protect you. I had to make sure I had enough money and resources to give you everything you ever wanted."

"But you never did."

Aurora's features twisted, a flash of pain flitting across her eyes. "I tried, I swear I tried. I sent you letters, I called your number, I emailed you. But every time, they'd get bounced back. It was like the world was conspiring against us. I thought you'd understand. You of all people would understand that I couldn't just give up."

"That, I could understand. Our parents were blocking you. But after they passed, I'd have thought you'd come back," I replied coolly, my anger rising. "So, what excuse do you have for that?"

Aurora's eyes flashed, and for a moment, I thought she might lunge at me. Instead, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "I... I thought you'd be better off without me. That you'd be able to move on and live your life. I didn't want to be a burden to you, or hold you back."

I swung my sword at her.

"I waited so long for my sister, for the person who I thought would protect me!" I roared, missing all of my attacks. Aurora's face never broke, watching me with eyes full of regret and pain. "And you're right, I think I'm better off without you."

With a burst of anger, I lunged at her, swinging my sword wildly. She easily blocked my attacks, and for a moment, I thought I had the upper hand. But then she countered with a swift kick to my chest, sending me flying through the air. I hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of me.

"Our parents were also involved with some shady people," Aurora's voice was quiet and calm. "When they passed away, they were unable to get to you, since they never knew you existed. They knew I did, but by then, I was already out of their reach. I was strong enough to deal with them. You weren't."

I struggled to my feet, checking my Health stat. 15000. Almost there.

"Even if I came back for you, kept you safe, it wouldn't have been much of a life. You'd have to constantly live in fear and I'd have to make sure you'd never be in danger. Leaving you alone... you've made some friends. Got a comfortable and safe life. I wasn't worried anymore."

Aurora's words cut through me, and for a moment, I wasn't sure what to say. She was right. I had made a life for myself. I had a friend and a somewhat stable job. But it still didn't change the fact that she was my sister, my family.

"So now that the world's like this, you just want to pretend it never happened?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Now that we've become Players, we can just brute force our way through things?"

"There's a good chance they might be Players as well," Aurora replied, still stiff. "But that's why I'm wanting to fix our problem now. Mend the bridge. You'll see that things aren't so bad after the match."

My cloak and Tough Skin passive were blinking alerts at me, coaxing me to use them. The ring on my finger tempted me to summon Levius. I ignored the urges and gripped my Silver Serpent tighter. Things weren't adding up. If my sister truly wanted us to fix our relationship, she would've ended the duel already. Her stubbornness would cause her to force me to go along with whatever she thought would help us. So why did it feel like she was testing me?

Instead of replying, I charged at her, swinging my sword and alternating my Skills. As expected, Aurora easily blocked all of my attacks. She smiled sadly as we danced around each other. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice barely audible over the clashing of our weapons. With a sudden maneuver, she slammed the hilt of her sword into my stomach, knocking me away and the wind out of my lungs. "You're just gonna have to get stronger before you're able to beat me."

I landed on the ground, the water around us rippling from the impact. A blue message screen popped up in front of my face.

[System alert: 'Pick On Someone Your Own Strength.' Achievement triggered.]

[Increasing stats by 200% for 1 minute.]

[Strength: 112500] [Speed: 114164] [Magic: 112500]

I immediately used my cloak's ability, restoring some of my Health as I nimbly leapt up and blazed towards Aurora. simultaneously swapping my Silver Serpent out for my Soultaker. The shock on my sister's face when she realized I now outclassed her was enough to fuel me. "I've been getting stronger this whole time," I growled. "And I'm only going to keep getting better."

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Could I have won by summoning Levius and continuing to use my Soultaker in conjunction with spamming my Skills? Probably. I could've used Holy Element on my Flooded Kingdom and doubled its effects too. But I just wanted to return all of the pain my sister gave me in one swing.

Even as her blade moved to block my attack, it was too late. My sword was already slicing through her body. But I could have sworn that I saw a relieved smile on her face.

As the Soultaker cleaved through her body, Aurora never made a sound, simply watching me with an unreadable expression. It was unnerving to say the least, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it as a blue message screen popped up.

[System alert: Player Luquier Vaunt has defeated Player Aurora Vaunt. The duel will now conclude.]

The virtual replica of the castle faded away, bringing me and my sister back to reality. I stood there, staring at Aurora, who didn't seem bothered as we were surrounded by our friends and other Players in the castle once again.

"Are you guys... are you two okay?" Gigi asked, running up to us.

"Yeah," Aurora replied, still staring at me. "We're fine."

Her tone made it clear that we weren't, but I didn't want to argue about it in front of everyone. Gigi, oblivious to the undercurrent, smiled and clapped her hands together. "I'm glad you two settled your differences! Though, I must say, everyone was absolutely entranced by how fiercely you two fought each other. I think even most of the members in Enigma would be especially impressed by your strength, Luquier."

"Thanks, I guess," I muttered under my breath, stowing away my Soultaker. Aurora gave a stiff nod to everyone, walking away to the medical tent. I wanted to follow, but Celine came up to me.

"You must have had an intense grudge for you to be fighting like that, Immortal," Celine whispered, her gaze expressionless. "At least you had the power to back it up."

I blinked at her, surprised by her words. It felt like she was the first person to actually understand why I had been fighting so hard. What I had heard about her sister... was Celine able to relate to me?

Regardless, I had won the match, and gained a little bit of the truth. It didn't seem like Aurora was in the mood to come clean, so I decided to leave her be. I had a feeling that I would be seeing her again soon.

"What are you planning to do now, Luquier?" Gigi asked. I glanced around, seeing Players bustling about as they settled into the castle. I pulled my phone out of my Inventory, seeing how late it had become. With everything I had done so far, I achieved a lot more than I expected.

"I'll stop for now and get some rest," I replied to Gigi. "Tomorrow's the induction after all, right?"

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "Right. Well, go ahead and get some rest. You've earned it. And... good luck."

Ah, I felt like I could always count on Gigi to cheer me up, whether she was aware of it or not. Celine gave me a side glance.

"I'll be at your place in the morning, then. Make sure you have some nice attire set aside, Immortal."

I scowled but nodded my head in acknowledgement. Waving goodbye to the group, I headed to the red portal, ready to get out of the tower. For some reason I glanced back, catching sight of my sister watching me. Her face still expressionless, she glanced away, turning to talk to one of the medic-type Players.

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After I flew back to my apartment and washed up, exhaustion settled into my body. I laid in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. The events of today weighed heavily on my mind, but I banished them, checking on the new stuff I got. Aside from the pending quest I had yet to complete, I had grown exponentially stronger, with a couple of nice rewards and perks.

Sleepily, I stared at the new gear I had acquired, feeling a sense of accomplishment. With such absurd abilities, my Silver Serpent was rendered useless, though I just couldn't bring myself to part with it. It was the first weapon that successfully got me through my ordeal, a memory both bitter and sweet.

As for my most recent Achievement... that was interesting. I pulled up the screen again, pondering over the possibilities I could do with it. Sucked that I'd have to use half my Risk every time I wanted to run a trial, but at least it'd give me insight on what I could expect. Speaking of which...

"Hey, Sephera?"

[Yes? :o]

"This achievement said I could simulate a floor or dungeon within Last Stand. I'm assuming it means the place where you're at. But I thought only towers existed there?"

[Hmm... you're right. Only towers were supposed to exist within Last Stand. Dungeons are only accessible on Earth. Maybe it's a hidden feature only you're able to access? I'm fairly certain other Admins don't have knowledge of this.]

I frowned. It did seem plausible, but there was just something about the way the achievement was written that stuck out to me.

"Are Admins the only entities that exist in Last Stand?"

[...Not sure. That's a good question, Luquier. As a Rank 2 Admin, I don't have total knowledge of this place, but maybe a higher ranking Admin would.]

A question suddenly came to me.

"Just out of curiosity... how did you become an Admin?"

Sephera didn't reply for a while.

[Honestly, I don't know. One day I just woke up here, surrounded by other Rank 1 Admins. There was a voice in our heads, telling us everything we needed to know to do our jobs. Other than that, I don't recall much about the beginning of my existence.]

"Huh." I mulled over Sephera's words. The idea of waking up surrounded by other Admins, with a voice in their heads, seemed strange to say the least. The more I delved deeper into the new world, the more questions I had that didn't seem like they'd be answered anytime soon.

[At any rate, I think you should get some rest, Player. You did a lot today. Even masochists need their energy, right?]

Irritation pricked at me, but Sephera was right. I didn't have the energy to correct her as I cleared the screens and rolled onto my side, closing my eyes.

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True to her word, I awoke to the sound of knocking at my door and my phone ringing in my ear. Immediately in a bad mood, I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, debating on whether or not to answer the door. The knocking continued, growing louder and more insistent with each passing second. Finally, I gave in and stumbled out of bed, picking up the call.

"Hello?" I answered as I opened the door.

"Good morning, Immortal." Celine said, standing outside as her voice echoed through my phone. "I see that you're awake."

I sighed, turning around and allowing her to come in. Celine shut the door behind her and took a seat at the small desk in the corner of my room. "Have you set aside proper attire for the induction later today?"

I glanced at Celine, taking in her outfit. She was dressed in a sleek, black suit that fit her frame perfectly, her long dark-red hair pulled back into a neat bun. In contrast, I was still wearing the same clothes I had been sleeping in: a pair of ratty sweatpants and an old T-shirt. "Uh, yeah. I was going to change," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

"You don't have professional wear, do you?" Celine's magenta eyes bore into me. Still straight-faced, I was able to tell that she was disappointed in me.

"Your Title sees through everything right? I'm guessing you know the answer already."

"Were you just planning to show up dressed like that?"

"No," I replied defensively. "I was gonna wear my nice trackpants and a clean shirt."

That earned me another subtly judgmental stare. Celine gave a long sigh as she stood up.

"It's a good thing I came in the morning. Let's go, Immortal."

"Go? Go where?" I asked hesitantly.

"To shop for clothing. You need to look the part if you're going to be joining Enigma."