On Friday, I woke up as usual, had some breakfast, and then went back to my room to browse the game forums a bit while getting ready for school. There were quite a lot of posts on the last couple of surprises from Myanihia and myself, mostly revolving around Ghostlord's sudden display of skill against Myanihia or the fact that I had managed to resist Howl of the Void and lure Mad Dog into a trap. Most of the former were speculating on what might have happened if Ghostlord could have resisted Myanihia's paralysis darts, and most of the latter were focused on trying to figure out if I had anymore surprises up my sleeves.

“I guess we'll have to see tonight, won't we,” I said quietly as I finished getting ready and headed downstairs to get my pack and go wait for the bus.

All too soon I was back on my way to school. Sure, I've warmed up to it a bit lately, but it's still a school, man. Even if we do get a stipend based on attendance and grades, thanks to the Education Reforms that happened when my parents were still in school. Boy, apparently education and schools were a mess back then... at least it wasn't so bad now.

So I guess I should say, the bus came at the usual time, and dropped us off at the usual spot, so we could, thankfully, head off to our usual school routine. Oh, the stipend? It's not that much, compared to an actual job. But some of us like to save it up. I was one of those hoarders, at least until this year.

But Sean, why does Ellie work now if she gets a stipend from the school?

I think I kind of just explained that. Then again, Ellie was probably going to look for an apartment somewhere soon so she could get out of what was apparently an overcrowded house, so to my point again, the stipend is not a living wage, more of a “thanks for being a good student” kind of thing. Anyway.

Ty and I parted ways after entering the school, and a few minutes later, Rachel and I were in our classroom talking idly until the bell rang. Well, mostly idly. I had logged off early for a change, and she had apparently stayed on with Heali-Andrea and Derwydd-Thomas until the two of them headed off as well.

“I think they'll definitely hit it off once they get going... was so sure they were going to kiss before they left, but... oh well.” Rachel remarked with a sigh.

“You're really invested now, huh?” I smiled.

“Definitely!” she replied.

“It's... what can I say, you're cute in a different way when you talk about them.” I said to her in a quieter voice.

“Hmm...?” she looked at me with a smile. “It's fun when your friends find a special someone! It's like watching your own romance from the beginning, somehow.”

“Huh,” I returned as I thought about it for a moment, “Hmm... I can see that,” I nodded back in agreement.

“But anyway; that tavern last night!” she said excitedly.

“Definite secret spot.”

“Oh absolutely.” Rachel nodded at once. “It was sooo cuuuute,” she sighed again, fanning herself a bit as I smiled at her.

“I bet we can make Cloverbell just as cute someday.”

“Yes!! Absolutely yes!”

“I guess if they have a Spring Festival, that'd be a good time to find some decorations and stuff in that kind of style,” I mused, and she nodded back.

“Winter Fest should have some nice ones too, though.” she said.

“Oh definitely. Let's not rush things too much,” I said with a grin, and Rachel smiled back. The bell then sounded, and classes began.

As we gathered in the club room later for lunch, I remembered that I had been challenged by Valkrysti for the next tournament match before I headed off for the night. That was probably starting to become its own forum topic, now that the matches were being advertised on the forums and in the game. Ellie was definitely grumpy that she had missed the show, and when Rachel told her how Lysandra had carried me out of the tavern to take me to the arena she nearly fell out of her chair laughing.

“It wasn't that funny,” I remarked with a sigh.

“Hahh... yes it was.” Mary returned.

“And now I get to miss tonight's matches again.” Ellie remarked with a groan.

“Aww!” Rachel said sadly.

“But I'm definitely gonna see Saturday night! Once I get through the matinees...”

“That place gets crowded quick, huh?” I said, remembering our visit to it as a group.

“You're telling me,” Ellie nodded. “He knows how to keep people coming, for sure.”

“Hmm? Where's this now?” Thomas wondered.

“Oh, Ellie works at Fun Castle,” Andrea told him.

“Wow!”

“I'm just a server... I bet you could get a job as an entertainer there, though,” the blonde girl told him.

“I mean, I've thought about it...” he admitted. “Maybe next time they have an open call.”

“End of November.” Ellie replied.

“Nice!”

“Definitely go for it,” Andrea smiled. “I liked those tricks you showed us, and you'd probably be good in the kids' section they have as well.”

“Wanna come with?” he said in reply.

“Hmm? Ahh... maybe,” she replied coyly. “Oh! What time were we meeting tomorrow?” she then said to Rachel.

“Eleven?” Rachel looked at me.

“That works.” I nodded.

“Gotcha,” Thomas nodded as well.

“Hahh... and the first date is a double-date.” Ellie said with another sigh. The four of us looked around at each other with wry smiles, Thomas shrugging.

“We'll do something tonight before heading online to watch the tournament.” he said in reply.

“Hmm?” Andrea looked over at him in surprise, and he gave her a small grin.

“Anyway,” Mary broke in with a gentle laugh, “You ready for tonight?” she asked, turning to me.

“About as much as I can be,” I shrugged. “Stylistically speaking, I'm probably an even worse match against her than Angelfire was, after all,” I noted.

“Hmm... not necessarily.” Thomas remarked.

“Hm?” I wondered. He looked over at the clock, frowning at the time.

“There's not enough time to really explain it right now,” he continued, “But once we're in Panarena there's a friend of mine who can help demonstrate something, a guildmate, actually.”

“Oh nice; that reminds me, what guild are you in?” I asked.

“It's called 'Dreamers Fables'. Kind of a silly name, but they're good people!” he said.

“Heh...? I kind of like that name,” I remarked.

“Same!” Andrea nodded.

“It's cute! Sounds like a fairy tale book,” Rachel agreed.

“Some of us are actually keeping a journal of our adventures in the hopes that we can convince the developers to let us write a book based on them,” he told us.

“Oh neat!” Rachel exclaimed.

“No, really, that's super cool,” I said with interest.

“Good luck to them!” Mary smiled.

“We should keep a journal of our own adventures,” Anhe then said.

“Ehh... not really my thing, but go for it if you want!” I said to her.

“I'll help you, Anhe!” Rachel added.

“I look forward to it!” the younger girl smiled back.

***

Lunch gave way to afternoon classes, which gave way to our rides home, followed up by doing homework and then a few chores around the house before dinner, and after that had been eaten I retreated up to my room for the night.

“Albert, where did I put the keys?” my mother's voice called.

“Hmm? In your coat, like you always do, right?” dad replied. That was all I heard before I shut the door. Off again for some rich client's house tour that was probably forgotten three times by the rotten jerk, I bet...

Anyhow. Soon I had escaped the confines of my room, at least mentally, to enjoy that fantasy world I was thinking more and more of as home, even with my actual reality shaping up better than it had been.

About twenty in-game minutes after logging in, Healina sent me a message to meet them at a training hall not far from the arena. She and Ariana were there, along with Derwydd and one other from his guild, Dreamers Fables. The young woman looked to be around Lysandra's age; she was a silver-clad Ch'rquoi mage with raven-black hair and dazzling green eyes.

“Lana!” the merry werebear druid waved. “This is Snow Dancer, she's a fellow officer in the guild I'm with,” he told us as I shook hands with her.

“Good to meet you!” she said.

“Same,” I replied.

“All right. Now, Valkrysti is probably the most powerful user of light-magic in the game, but I like to think of Snow as the more ingenious,” he said, and she smiled at the words. “That's because she recognizes one of its more prominent weaknesses.”

“W-weaknesses?” I wondered.

“That's right,” Snow Dancer nodded as Derwydd stepped back to Heali and Ari.

“What kind of weaknesses?” I wondered.

“It's hard to explain with words, to be honest, but once you fight me for a few minutes I'm sure you'll pick it up. A lot of people say you're unusually sharp, after all.” she told me.

“Sometimes,” I shrugged back, readying myself.

We headed for the middle of the hall, where a safety field activated to keep the others from getting hurt, and she opened up with a few minor attacks. All the while, I kept my senses focused. I dodged and evaded her attacks, continuing to do so as she dialed up the potency of them. Still I wasn't sure what I was looking for, or trying to sense. Once again she increased her attack strength and speed. This time I barely had any time to focus on anything except making sure I didn't get hit.

She let loose with a couple of wide area attack beams that she activated with a thump her staff, nearly throwing off my evasion tactics, but I quickly recovered -- only to narrowly miss being hit by a beam attack. Come onnnn, what am I looking for, what am I looking for? I wondered to myself frantically. Another beam just missed my head. I could feel the intensity from it, briefly panicking as I contemplated for an even briefer moment as to how much it would hurt to be struck by that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Healina and Derwydd talking, and Ari was half listening, half watching. I saw Heali suddenly nod in realization as he pointed towards us. That meant whatever I was supposed to be watching for was happening right now. Snow Dancer blasted beam after beam of light towards me, shimmering with an almost celestial radiance as her attack strength grew and the beams became more intense.

Light magic... the cross-over between holy and healing magic. It can be more potent than either fire or lightning, especially with someone like Snow Dancer or Valkrysti, who chose to focus on it. What's the weakness, here? How can something so potent and deadly that it takes mastering two different trees and unlocking a special quest chain to get have a weakness I can exploit? I wondered to myself.

Then I thought back to my sparring with Angelfire a few days ago. That had been another hair-raising session for me, evading her flame-bolts. And technically speaking, Angelfire was just as deadly as Valkrysti or Snow Angel. There was a fair chance she might actually have won the fight if not for the healing power of light magic that Valkrysti employed with ease. And then I saw it.

Snow Dancer's face was calm, but I could see an intensity of concentration in her expression. It had been barely noticeable at first, but now it was definitely showing. The thought suddenly came to me that this was probably something light magic had in common with void magic. They required intent concentration on the part of the player. If that concentration was to falter for any reason... but Valkrysti was not likely to fall for any sort of trickery on my part. There had to be another component to this. I could see Snow Dancer grinning; my face was no doubt showing forth an expression of understanding or realization. Think, think!

I then came skidding to a halt. It really was hard to put into words, but beyond the enormity of focus the wielder of light magic had to utilize to get the more powerful spells going, there was definitely another side to it. I wouldn't call it detrimental; it was probably an intended side-effect to keep it from being overpowered. But it was definitely something I could exploit.

“You saw it.” Snow Dancer said, ceasing her attacks as I stopped running.

“I saw it.” I nodded back.

“Then let me tell you something else. Valkrysti is ranked as one of the best light magic users because she doesn't think of it as a weakness, but as a tool to use to her advantage. I usually supplement my attacks with lightning, frost, or holy magic to cover, but she has the confidence, and the Charisma, literally, to use light magic alone. That's why I did the same in this little session of ours.” she said to me.

“You're right, using another complementary magic would definitely hide that,” I agreed. “Still...”

“You're in for a rough fight, but I think you can do it.” Snow Dancer smiled, coming over and placing a hand on my shoulder. “You're going to beat her, and then you'll be up against either Barbarianne, or Myanihia. If I had to guess, I'd bet on the latter. And I'm sure you know, but there's no one who can give you a clue to beating them.” she told me softly.

“Don't worry about that. If it is Myanihia, I'm pretty sure I have them figured out.” I told her.

“Good.” she nodded.

“That took a little longer than I thought it might, but you got it, eh?” Derwydd said as he and the others came up to us.

“I got it, somehow... still... that's... weird.” I remarked.

“I agree.” Derwydd replied.

“It's probably intentional,” Ari said.

“Oh it's definitely intentional.” Snow Dancer nodded. “But anyway,” she then affected a bright smile. “So Derwydd, is this pretty Sea Elf your girlfriend?” she asked, and Heali blushed as Derwydd smiled back.

“We had our first date today!” he said happily, and Heali took his hand. Ari and I exchanged a happy smile with each other.

“Aww!” Snow Dancer remarked, coming over to hug them. “Cuteness!”

“Thanks,” Healina smiled back.

“Take care of my little buddy, huh?” Snow told her.

“Definitely!” our healer replied.

The three of them then headed out of the training hall together while Ari and I lagged behind a few paces. I could see her mind at work, and when I saw a blissful smile upon her face I felt a smile of my own coming on. I softly laughed, halting for a moment, and she turned around to look at me, also halting as we smiled at each other.

“What-y?” she said in a singsong voice.

“Just thinking that I might be getting better at guessing what you're thinking.” I said to her.

“Oh?” she said as she came closer.

“Hmm... you were looking into the future, and thinking, 'wouldn't it be lovely to have a double wedding someday?' -- is what I would guess!” I replied. She smiled at me, reaching over to pull me close for a kiss.

“Close enough!” she told me. “I hope we all remain as close as we are now, even if... even if someday, we leave this wonderful world,” she said softly, looking up to the sky. I looked up with her.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I can't imagine that kind of day. But I do hope for the same thing, I really do...” I said quietly, soft tears coming to my eyes. “I...” I started to say again, only to choke up, and Ariana and I wrapped each other in a strong hug.

“I know.” she whispered. “I know.”

I'm still the lucky one, and I always will be.

After a couple hours of wandering around with Ari, including a trip to the Homesteads where she espied a couple of houses that the two of us agreed on, we rejoined the others at the Dwarven restaurant that was still on our favorite list, where we found a lot of our other friends gathered as well. Angelfire came up to me first of all, and Ari smiled as the leader of Flamehearts placed her head on my shoulder. I felt baffled for a moment, but then my partner nodded to me, and I put my arms around my fellow guild leader. A few moments passed, and then Angelfire looked up at me again.

“Get her back for me, will you?” she said.

“I'll do that.” I replied. She reached over to kiss my cheek, and then headed back to her table.

“Yo, Lans, get in here, huh?” Tyman said. As I looked around, I saw a few more familiar faces, including the jovial WuKong and our old friend Magisteria. I headed on over to Ty, who put a mug in my hand. “Second to last match, huh? You gonna get past it, I bet,” he said to me.

“As best as I can,” I nodded.

“I'll drink to that. Then tomorrow... naw, girl. I know who's on stage tomorrow.” he said.

“We all know.” Jannie said. “Or at least we're pretty certain!” she said with a laugh.

“Some of us more certain than others.” Magisteria smiled over at her.

“We're gonna have a family party tomorrow at this place, Lans. All of us, and I mean all of us are gonna be here.” Tyman said as Ariana came over to take my arm, accepting a drink from one of the other Mountain Tigers.

“It's been a wild tournament, huh?” I said.

“Heard that!” he grinned back.

“And we have all made new and exciting friends throughout!” WuKong beamed.

“For sure!” Winnie nodded in agreement. “You win this thing, babe,” she said to me, “And then you go and bust up that sneaky Myanihia!”

“O-one fight at a time,” I laughed back, and the others laughed with me. We then toasted each other with our usual toast, to the victors and the vanquished, enjoying a couple more rounds of drinks -- along with some wonderfully delicious platters of food -- until it was time for the second-to-last matches to start.

I made my way to the arena alone after sharing a hug or a handshake with several of my friends, gazing idly up at the sky.

“Only four of us left... that feels so weird,” I remarked aloud.

“And yet, it was inevitable.” the familiar voice of Myanihia said.

“That's true... even then, it feels like it could have gone on longer.”

“Tonight's battles, they definitely will. Barbarianne... she seems simple, but I doubt it.”

“She's got great coordination, too.”

“Precisely. Using twin swords, or twin daggers, is easy. Using two different weapons, in this world, it takes precision, control.”

“Hmm.” I nodded back.

“And you. You have the harder fight.” she remarked.

“I'm sure you'd find a way past them, so will I.” I replied.

“Valkrysti... is one that, I hope never to fight.”

“Oh?” I wondered, suddenly intrigued.

“Lana. What, is the enemy, of shadows?” she asked me.

“Light, I guess.”

“Yes. I can... at times, be surprising. But, that woman... she is not easily rattled.”

“Someone like that would definitely be a pain for you.” I noted.

“Sadly true. But you, on the other hand...” she returned, and I looked over at her curiously. “If Rayna is a lawful shadow, and I a neutral one... then you are chaotic.” she then said, and I affected a grumpy expression.

“At least I'm not chaotic evil or something...” I muttered back, and then Myanihia made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh. “Hmm...? Even you laugh sometimes, huh?”

“Rarely. I truly don't get it. You make me, and my sister, feel safe.” she said.

“Hmm,” I shrugged as we turned the corner. The arena was now before us. Myanihia put a hand on my shoulder, and looked at me with those entrancing eyes from beneath her mask.

“Remember, our promise.”

“I haven't forgotten.”

“Good.” she said, and with that she quickened her pace to head into the contestant's hall.

I reached it about two minutes later, finding her and the other two already inside. Barbarianne smiled at me, giving me a nod. I smiled back at her, waving. Valkrysti gazed idly at the crystal-display screens, not even noticing I had come in. I went over to my usual spot, and sat down. No one moved towards or looked at one another after that. We were all busy with our own thoughts, mentally readying ourselves for what was either going to be our last or second-to-last fight.

“Well, folks, it's certainly been an extraordinary week! But all that is nearing an end,” Lumpstein said as he started off the introductions for the day.

“On account of the unexpected developments during yesterday's matches, today, only four contestants remain.” Athena continued.

“And at the end of the night, we will have our finalists for the ultimate battle of the Grand Tournament.” Wandreada said.

“Personally, I say all bets are off -- but of course, the wagers being made on these fiery and fierce girls are shaping up to shame real gambling houses!” Ricklelopes remarked. “Who will win tonight's battles to compete in the next? As Athena has mentioned, we have but four!”

“Lana Windstider, of the Silvernight Queens!” Forseti announced as the audience cheered.

“Valkrysti of Valiant Maidens!” Athena clapped; more applause was heard.

“Barbarianne, from the Northern Warriors!” Wandreada said, and the crowds applauded once more.

“And Myanihia Black, the solo player!” Lumpstein finished. There was applause, but it was more muted. I would have glanced towards Myanihia, but I could already hear her saying that she didn't care.

“Now, without any further ado: we present to you the third to last battle!” Forseti then said.

The four of us in the contestant's hall all looked towards the screen. Which pair was to go first?

“Myanihia and Barbarianne!” the GM commentator said, and the crowds burst into cheers once more; the two of them were then teleported from the hall, appearing on the center stage seconds later.

I stood to my feet, moving closer to the displays, and Valkrysti did the same on her side of the hall. We exchanged a brief glance, and then returned our attention to the screen, where one of the last tournament battles was now beginning.

“People on the forums are now saying that you and Myanihia are going to be the last two contestants.” Valkrysti said to me.

“Who do you think it'll be?” I wondered.

“I'll give you credit for outwitting and overcoming as many people as you have, but now it ends. I fought in the Borderlands to hone my skills. Assassins only come to me for one thing: defeat.” she said confidently.

I made no reply. I simply kept my eyes on the counter. It went down to zero, and the battle between Myanihia and Barbarianne began.

The redheaded barbarian initiated a dashing charge skill, quickly swiping Myanihia's side with her axe to place a minor bleed effect on the assassin. But as I knew all too well, a bleed effect on an assassin-type character is a major disadvantage: stealth skills don't work while it's running. I could almost see her eyes narrow in irritation, if she had been given to actually expressing things.

A split-second later, Myanihia began countering Barbarianne's assault, the two of them exchanging swift blows, the former using their Dexterity and Agility to try and strike at a devastating spot while the latter used her considerable Strength and Agility to try and overpower her opponent. The intense flurry of motion had the audience, including the two of us in the contestant's hall, watching as closely as we could to see who might inflict the next blow.

“That bleed effect is going to end in about ten seconds,” Valkrysti noted.

“She'll probably try to land another one on h--them, just after it ends,” I said as I almost verbally stumbled again, “But I don't think Myanihia will give her a chance this time.”

“I agree.” the other replied.

Just as we thought, the instant right before the bleed effect ended, Myanihia dropped a smoke-bomb to distract her opponent and then retreated into the shadows. Barbarianne retaliated with a stomp skill, scattering the smoke nearest to her and then activating Frenzied Whirlwind, a version of the Whirlwind skill exclusive to DPS players like her.

“Even so... as lightly armored as she is, Myanihia's darts can strike her nearly anywhere,” I pondered aloud.

“Not exactly.” Valkrysti told me, pointing to the display. I saw two or three flashes, and sucked in a breath. “She's trained up a passive bonus for that skill; while in effect, any incoming missives will be reflected ninety percent of the time.”

“Nice.”

“Myanihia probably knows that, but considering how unlucky they just got, it's doubtful they'll try attacking again for a while.”

I gazed at the screen with scrutiny. Barbarianne kept up her skill, whirling around the stage like a dervish as she tried to force Myanihia from the shadows. No doubt the wily assassin was getting ready to activate her decoy.

“But Barbarianne probably won't fall for it,” I mused softly. I vaguely noticed Valkrysti's eyes narrow as she kept her eyes riveted on the fight, probably reaching the same conclusions I had.

All of a sudden there was a floompf sort of sound; the red-haired warrior had set off a minor trap laid by Myanihia, throwing off her skill and disorienting her for a moment. It was enough for Myanihia to reappear and strike her with a flash of swords, placing a poison DoT on the other girl. Like a streak of lightning, Barbarianne swung just as Myanihia was trying to retreat into the shadows, placing a bleed effect on the assassin once more. Myanihia then did something fairly uncharacteristic of her by reacting with a series of frenzied strikes.

“Ho-ho! Looks like Myanihia might have finally met their match!” Lumpstein remarked with interest as he observed the fight.

“They do seem more desperate than before--huh? Why do we always refer to them in such an ambiguous way? Does no one know what gender they are?” Athena suddenly wondered.

“There's been rumors about that one since the beta test.” Forseti shrugged. “Don't give it much thought. We're all here to explore a more mysterious and fantastical side of ourselves, after all; this one just does it better than most.” he added with a grin.

“Hmm... that's true, but I hope they'll reward us with a reveal if they win!” the other said.

Meanwhile, the two of us awaiting our own fight had been keeping a tight eye on the one now going on, and I was slowly affecting a wry grin, sighing as I rubbed the back of my neck. It seemed I had been wrong. Barbarianne had fallen for it.

“But if that's the case, that skill is way better than I anticipated,” I said, watching without surprise as the real Myanihia reappeared from the shadows after shooting a couple of poison darts at her opponent. Myanihia and her clone engaged the dual-wielding fighter together for about thirty seconds, and then Barbarianne used a stomp skill to knock both of them back. The clone disappeared, and Myanihia again retreated into the shadows.

“She won't fall for it again so easily.” the girl with golden blonde hair shrugged.

“Mm.” I nodded back.

Barbarianne looked around for a moment, weapons at the ready, more tense than a cat in a dog-pound. She slowly and deliberately paced around the stage, her senses no doubt dialed up to eleven as she awaited the next attack. All at once she swung to her left, but there was nothing there. After a brief moment she slashed to the right with her axe, punctuating the blow with a sword-thrust, but again there was nothing. The poison had drained her HP to sixty-two percent.

“Ahh, snap,” I sighed. As much as I wanted to fight Myanihia myself, I was also half-hoping that Barbarianne might be able to take them out.

“She's freaking out a bit. And that poison is slow but steady... must be a rare one.”

“Hmm? Oh, I see,” I remarked in reply to Valkrysti's words, noticing the DoT still in effect upon her. “What kind of ultra-rare poison is that? Most of them wear off after ten seconds, and even my strongest barely goes past thirty.”

“I'm not sure,” the other girl remarked thoughtfully.

“Heh, I guess Myanihia's more sentimental than most of us guess,” Ricklelopes suddenly remarked as he observed the scene. “Weren't some of the ingredients for that poison part of the gift we gave the beta testers?”

“Ohh...” Forseti and Wandreada remarked at the same time.

“W-whoa...” I breathed out as Valkrysti affected a look of surprise.

“All they have to do now is wait.” Ricklelopes added, “Though I doubt Barbarianne will just sit there much lon--oop! There she goes!” he said as the redhead entered Frenzied Whirlwind again to try and drag Myanihia into the open once more.

A desperate but fierce yell came from her throat as she raged around the stage. She began activating other skills intermittently, all of them full of such force that they rattled the arena. And then she inadvertently set off another trap that the devious Myanihia had set, a set of lotus bombs that smoked up the stage and once again threw off her rhythm, doubling her over with coughing. I saw the noble warrior fall to one knee, keeping her sword held outward in defiance as she struggled to stop coughing. The two of us in the contestant's hall both sucked in a breath as we watched anxiously. Barbarianne's health had now fallen below fifty percent, and there were a couple of debuffs and ailments on her as well.

“Good try, Anne, very good try.” Valkrysti said softly, a note of deep compassion in her voice.

I saw Barbarianne's body twitch and jerk as a skill reached her, and Myanihia reappeared as her avatar disintegrated. The third-to-last fight had concluded. Myanihia had advanced to the final round.

“Ooh! There goes that monstrous attack again!” Lumpstein said, then clapped. “Good show, Barbarianne! Congratulations, Myanihia! You have advanced to the final round!” he then said as a mixed reaction came from the crowds in the stands. Valkrysti and I exchanged a glance one last time in the contestant's hall, and then we were transported to the main stage of the arena.

“This will definitely be another eye-popper,” Ricklelopes said as we emerged into view. “The last veteran of the Garth-Queens War still in the competition versus the battle sage who made a name for herself in the Borderlands at the Battle of Anvil Ridge!”

“Lana Windstrider and her friends uncovered that scheme of Garth and Gallancleeve; why is that guy still working here, anyway?” Wandreada wondered with a shake of her head.

“He's on an extreme probation, but they'll probably dismiss him later this spring when they find a suitable replacement for the daily updates.” Forseti explained.

“Hrrmm...” Lumpstein sighed grumpily. “Well, anyhow, there's two PvP veterans out here on this stage. I don't care to guess who will win: the radiant light, or the devious shadow.”

“Speaking as a fellow light magic user, I'd bet on Valkrysti.” Athena said as the one-minute countdown began.

“That so?” the Dwarf returned.

“Don't count Lana out yet; remember WuKong!” Ricklelopes remarked.

“There's a difference between a monk's aura and a battle sage's light,” Athena replied, “Though WuKong versus Valkrysti is a what-if that would have been interesting to see!”

“Agreed.” Forseti nodded.

“Hm, hm.” Lumpstein also nodded.

As the countdown and the GM's pre-match banter continued, Valkrysti and I were silently sizing each other up, gauging each other's posture, reflecting on what we had seen of the other, attempting to predict one another's opening move as we remained motionless, trying not to give anything away for the other to see.

“These two are quite intense this turn around,” Wandreada noted.

“They're like two statues, almost,” Forseti agreed, “But as soon as that counter goes down I bet we won't even have time to blink.”

“You said it,” the other agreed.

I saw the counter reach the ten-second mark out of the corner of my eye. Still I remained motionless, though I could see the faintest hint that Valkrysti was getting ready to raise her shield against a possible incoming blow. With an inward smile, I decided on an opening move.

As soon as the countdown reached zero and the fanfare sounded, I reached my hands behind my back, making it seem as if I was going to draw my daggers. Valkrysti raised her shield and pointed her spear at me. But while I drew one dagger with my left hand, I materialized the pistol with the right, aiming at her ankles and firing. I grazed her left, but scored a definite shot on her right, then quickly exchanged the pistol for my other dagger as she stumbled in surprise, rushing in.

“Ooohh! That was a clever ploy!” Lumpstein said with interest.

“She's recovered quickly, though,” Athena said.

Valkrysti was definitely shocked at my opener, but now she had recovered herself, bashing towards me with her shield as I pulled back at the last moment before it hit me. Even if she could heal the superficial damage and regain her health, the old-fashioned bullets used by the firearms in this game had a greater than fifty-percent chance to remain lodged in the avatar. Those odds had favored me, and my opponent was half-limping in her otherwise proud and stoic battle dance.

She then activated a chant skill, trying to bring up a reflective defense aura. I quickly identified the opportune moment, and with a burst from Shadow Dash I interrupted the skill, again to her shock, and quickly did a double-stab before I vanished into the shadows. In response she used Brilliant Flash, an anti-stealth skill. But I had already gotten the bonus I wanted for my next skill, again rushing towards her. Valkrysti blocked my next move with her shield, using it to shove me away, but I had definitely put a dent into it. Not what I wanted to hit, but I kind of expected that, I thought as I activated Shadow Speed to run a few circles around her.

As I did so, she began using her beam attacks, firing at me as fast as she could while I evaded her deadly rays... or at least mostly deadly. Thanks to Snow Dancer, I understood that I was not in as much danger as I should be, on account of that one weakness in light magic that Valkrysti was definitely good at hiding. This is definitely different from Snow Dancer; I can just barely detect it this time. Probably because Snow is more used to her melded magics style than the pure light magic focus that Valkrysti has, I noted as I jumped, ducked, and then rolled to evade a more powerful attack.

Subtly, I rematerialized the pistol in my right hand, keeping my left towards her as I continued running. I waited again for that opportune moment, and then doubled back with a twirl to fire a third shot, this one going through her upper right arm. Valkrysti reacted with a greater surprise this time, and I instantly dashed towards her again, once more switching to my dagger again to use Thousand Needle Strike. It took out about seven-percent of her health, but she definitely had a passive regeneration skill going; I estimated it was restoring a quarter of a percent every five seconds or so. She was probably betting on that to keep her sustained, assuming that I would not give her the chance to use an actual healing skill--which was definitely the case.

Valkrysti then activated that same skill which had thwarted Angelfire, Purifying Light. She wasn't going to let me use any of my more decisive advantages either. Like Brilliant Flash, Purifying Light would prevent me from using stealth. Or rather, it should have.

Something snapped in me at that moment. Ariana... Wildeye... Jannie... Magisteria... Maryn, Anhe, Belle, Lysandra, Timidator, Barbarianne... Sun WuKong, Ironsides, Rayna, Mad Dog, Tyman, Derwydd... I saw Valkrysti's eyes flash, her spear readying itself for a deadly thrust. A ragged, angry shudder of breath escaped my lips. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see the commentators all standing to their feet as Valkrysti's spear skill gained in strength. I couldn't hear what they were saying, if anything.

“Not... you're not going to stop meee!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

With all the force of my will, I activated Shadow World. Valkrysti's face lit up with absolute shock, and dropped her spear as she dropped her jaw. I queued up that ultimate double-skills the way Myanihia had taught me, and let them fly. With a cry, Valkrysti's avatar went up in flaming pixels, leaving me standing on the stage alone. A shock rippled through the audience and the commentators, and the crowds went absolutely mad with applause.

“Th-that's... what was that?” Lumpstein wondered.

“A rare instance of a shadow-master capable of overpowering a light mage.” Athena said with a smile. “Well done, young lady, you completely overturned my assumptions!” she added as the stadium kept cheering, even chanting my name.

H-hurry up and teleport me off, I smiled bemusedly. A few moments later I was whooshed to the victor's hall, and I quickly started making my way out. Barbarianne was at the entrance of the arena, smiling at me.

“Nicely done!” she said as we shook hands.

“I thought you had Myanihia for sure; looks like we'll have to have our match in front of a smaller audience some day,” I said, and she nodded.

“That fight was rougher than I expected by the end. But... I'm kind of glad...” she said to me. “It's... well, it seems weirdly fitting, somehow, that you and Myanihia are the last two standing.”

“I hate to admit that, but I have to agree.” Valkrysti said as she came over to us with a sheepish sort of smile. “I've never seen anything like that since I've been playing. You're definitely one of a kind,” she said as we shook hands as well.

“Thanks... sorry I kind of lost it there at the end,” I replied with my own sheepish grin.

“I was totally thinking the same thing you said out loud, though.” the other returned with a shrug.

“Ah-heh-heh,” I softly giggled.

“So anyway; congrats -- I'll definitely keep my eyes glued to the next fight,” Valkrysti said, and then headed off elsewhere. Barbarianne and I looked at each other again, shaking hands once more.

“I'm gonna head back to my guildies.” she said.

“Same... hope to see you at some after-party or another,” I replied.

“You too!” she smiled back, and we parted ways for the time being.

About two blocks away from the restaurant where my friends were waiting, Myanihia appeared from around a corner. She slowly came over to me, stopping at around arm's length. Our eyes met, her stoic, silvery-purple orbs gazing into my own blue eyes.

“You kept it.” she said softly.

“I did.” I nodded back.

“I'm... glad. I don't know why, but, I'm glad.” Myanihia told me. A moment of silence passed by, and she then stepped a small pace closer. “Tomorrow... you will be carrying many hearts, with you, into our battle, my sister's not the least.”

“Tomorrow, one way or another, I will make her voice heard to you where she could not do it herself.”

“You will try.” Myanihia replied, and then headed away, melting into the shadows. I let out a sigh, gazing upwards for a moment, and then continued on my way.