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I wish I could tell you that every one of us began rallying beside one another, weapons in hand, a great encirclement being fabricated as we stand opposed to the ire of a large giant beast.

But that just wasn’t the case.

I wish, genuinely, that the movements and motions taken just then were of fast, high-octane action flushed with exuberance and strength. Swift, coordinated strikes devoid of hesitation and cowardice.

To be able to put an end to all our struggle. To be able to breathe again without worry. To be able to say to ourselves that we have done it.

But sadly I can only wish.

Really… of all the bizarre happenings that have occurred up until now, one outlandish predicament after another, this was the one thing I never expected to be confronted by…

Absolutely fucking nothing.

Ayako slowly lowered her hands from her face, finding that her worst fear was practically non-existent, her mouth clamping open and shut in utter befuddlement.

She looked to me, then to Jin, only to find us in our own state of shock.

Tayuma, at a loss for words, could only find himself repeating what he just said, louder this time.

“The boss isn’t here!”

I extended a hand out in front of him. “I think we got the message.”

Deeper in I slowly treaded, musty air enveloping my nostrils, feeling a cold chill swim past me. A silent barren breeze blowing in a room just as quiet, just as desolated.

To me, the expansive empty space radiated with a sense of pressure. I could see the making of a boss fight in this domain of webs. Large indents in the web’s formation sporadically marked in every corner of the room, trailing along to the middle of the cavern… almost like footprints - eight-legged footprints.

Cluttered and converging to the center were tendril-like structures as well, sprouting up from the ground like a makeshift pillar to the ceiling. Potentially, it could have been used for the boss to swing from one side of the room to the next without much hassle.

Everything was already in place, the scene was set, elements making up for a fight of a lifetime, all ready to go. But there was just one thing missing…

How do you have an open arena without its contender? A raiding party without anything to raid?

To put it bluntly, how do you have a boss fight without a boss?

Slowly the questions started to break out, confusion en-masse as the realization of our conundrum seeped in. The many that were with us bracing for a fight found themselves caught up in a smog of uncertainty.

“Hear, hear, where the fuck’s the boss?” They asked one another, finding no answer.

I could hear them beginning to spread out, the clinking of metal plates rattling throughout the hollow depths, some rearing their gazes towards us for an explanation.

It was not a nice feeling, trying to think up an explanation when I had none. But their stares were relentless and I knew I had to come up with something to satiate them.

“Stall them,” I whispered to Ayako.

A bewildered expression.

“For what?” She hissed back at me.

“Leave them to their thoughts and they’re gonna think I’m somehow to blame for this. No boss, empty room, and I brought them here. Maybe I’m devising some evil master plan, who knows what the hell they’ll come up with.”

“And just what am I supposed to tell them?”

“Come up with something - anything!” I threw my arms in the air. “Just - look, just buy me some time. There’s gotta be an explanation for this… maybe it’s in here, I don’t know. Just do what you do best, please?”

My request had her eyes wrinkling indecisively, her finger twirling away at a lock of loose hair as she shifted herself into a silence exuding with reluctance.

I let the feeling of helplessness shape my expression and that was all it took to stir her into action.

“Okay fine,” She said, quietly breathing away a begrudging sigh. “Five minutes. That’s how much bullshit I can spout out until I run out of steam. That’s all you’re gonna get.”

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“More than enough.”

Nodding, she stalked off to the wandering, blubbering crowd, swiftly transitioning the displeasure riddling her lips to a confident, cheery smile, coating her tone of voice with just the right amount of sweetness and volume to be heard and heeded above all else.

She’s actually frighteningly good at putting on a facade… well, I guess that’s what years of experience nets you. But nevermind her, I had more pressing matters to attend to.

I turned next, to the person to my left. “So, what do you think?”

Jin blew a heavy breath, scratching the back of his head. “I haven’t the faintest idea, unfortunately.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Maybe a glitch,” He said, evidently grasping at straws. “Maybe… maybe anything, this is Sukuinote we’re dealing with - anything’s possible.”

I rubbed the creases forming on my forehead, feeling the bubbly discomfort that was frustration rising past me, like a hot kettle ready to blow.

Then from the corner of my eye, I saw Tayuma striding past me, his eyes narrowing to a tight squint, gazing away to the distant frontier. Before I could even have the chance to ask, he turned hurriedly to my direction, concern plastering the look on his face.

“There’s a little patch there, next to a small pillar by the center,” He said, pointing our sights in the right direction. “See it?”

A small crumbling pillar bound in layers of webbing, beside it, a small patch of even more webbing. I saw it.

I nodded my head and he continued.

“I just saw it move.”

The three of us exchanged grim looks.

“Let’s go have a look,” I said.

Worries all around but no objections to be spoken, no doubts to be heard. We headed on our way, trudging past steep, sticky mounds and deep, gaping ditches. Clumps of webs clinging to the fabric of our clothes, to the strands of our hair, weaving and winding around our bodies like a slithering, sentient piece of gum.

Nearing our destination, in a constant tethered gaze, I too was able to bear witness to it, and it was just as Tayuma described it. A small patch, stirring, almost as if alive.

“Jin,” I let my eyes convey my surprise. “is this…?”

He shook his head. “It’s not the boss.”

Tayuma’s breath eased. “What is it then?”

Our answer came in the form of rough sketches on the surface of the web. On bended knees, we delved a closer yet cautious look over the rousing patch of webbing.

I looked, discerning long, slender outlines protruding from either side leading back to the center. “Arms…”

Jin’s eyes scoured beyond mine, finding himself a lengthy pair of thin, narrow masses extending down the middle. “Legs…”

The bumpy lump gave another tremble, spilling over beneath its exterior, a pool of hair harboring from above, along with a faint muffled murmur weakly sounding out from deep within.

Tayuma gasped, recoiling backward in horror. “It’s a player.”

“That’s… that’s impossible. How could someone be here before us?” Jin asked, his eyes widening in shock. “The door was shut.”

I spurred into action at once, hastily seizing a hold on the bundle of web. In its layers and its mesh, crumpling in my clutch, I tore aside the webbing with a swipe and found with much surprise, just how effortlessly it ripped away from the ground, swaying daintily through the air before once again joining the countless piles that glazed the arena.

Under the luminosity of a dim glow, perception was at an all-time low, despite it, we could still discern the silhouette of what was undeniably another player.

Sleek, silky hair, spreading out from underneath a graceful expression at slumber. A face - oh, her face… oh no, her face.

Fearing the worst, I rushed a glimpse at her Username - something I should have done in the first place - and immediately knew my worst fears were confirmed.

She was here the whole time.

Once I comprehend the fact, everything else started to fall into place. Long flowing hair colored in a deep crimson. Sharp narrow eyes that stared eternally with ridicule in deadly combination with her rosy lips that never ceased to snide formed a face that I had come to revile above all others.

Tayuma took longer to recall who she was, deep in silent recollection, but once it clicked for him, his surprise could only rival my own.

“The inn girl,” He said, tilting his head. “What’s she doing here?”

“Long story,” I could only say.

Meanwhile, Jin took his time switching from reading the name displayed above her to staring down at her unconscious face like an old creep.

“So this is our would-be party member.” He muttered finally, giving a frown. “Arishia… She… I feel as if I’ve met her somewhere before.”

“Not a pleasant encounter, I’m sure,” I said, grimacing.

“Still - ”

What ‘still’ there still was, I’d never know, for Jin had abruptly stopped mid-sentence, hushed away by the sudden flickering of her eyelids, stirring awake in a groggy grumble.

Tayuma commented on what was already obvious. “She’s waking up, guys.”

“Oh no, someone bash her head in, put her back to sleep - please,” I pleaded to them, only to be met by bewildered stares. “It’s for the greater good, trust me.”

Too late.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, a soft drawling yawn stifled by the clasping of her hand. She blinked, sifting through her rousing consciousness and stretched her limbs. Then, and only then, did her gaze fall onto mine - and of course, it was me that it fell to first. The stark redness of her pupils leveling and staying, doused in a bright glimmer of recognition.

Groaning, for I knew what came next, and came it did, manifesting slowly in the seconds that followed, the dreaded smile of hers hath cometh to plague my every waking moment once again.

“Well, well, well, King underscore Sora,” She spoke in a sluggish whisper. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Charmed,” I glared at her.

She turned her heavy eyes down to her body to discover it no longer wrapped in a thick coating of web. That too, she gave a smirk at, lazily drawing her gaze to mine once more.

“I think you took my blanket.”

Huffing, I turned away in disdain. ‘You’re disgusting.”

“Absolutely revolting, yes,” She inclined her head. “But I was getting quite tired and the place is quite cold, and the webs here are quite snug, so…”

She smiled again, chuckling to herself. “But enough about me. I’d like to hear more about you.”

I want to cry.