Age: 18 years, 11 months

Asher tried to look around, but his eyes refused to open. He tried moving his hands or legs, but, unsurprisingly, they refused to move. He tried to call out for help, but his lips didn't budge. Had he finally died? Was this the afterlife? They had killed him. He knew it. He tried wiggling about, but his body hadn't moved. He had to go into the afterlife with the same body? It wasn't fair.

A bright light filled his vision suddenly. He let out a groan and tried to move towards it, but again he couldn't. Instead, the light came closer and closer. Before too long it surrounded him, blinded him in its glow.

His eyes finally opened to stare into the large white lamp over his face. “Asher? Can you hear me?” Amy asked.

“Grrgl?”

“Good, good. The operation was a success,” she said before reaching down by his stomach and lifting up a small machine. “You'll be receiving your food from here from now on. Are you feeling any pain? The doctors say you shouldn't be, but phantom pain may occur.”

“Guh.”

“Good, good,” the nurse said before reaching over to take his headset. “Do you want to go play your game?”

“Uh uh!” he said from the back of his throat.

“Okay, here you go,” she said before she slid it over his eyes and turned it on. The screen flashed for a moment before the words 'Applying update' came across the screen. He sighed.

“Complete waste of money.” Amy's voice suddenly said.

“I'm sure it's not that bad,” another voice, he recognized it as the male nurse from before. He tried to remember his name, Tod? He couldn't place it, but the voice was so familiar. He swore he had heard it somewhere before.

He didn't move, not that he could, instead listening to the nurses working in the back ground and discussing.

“Don't see why they keep throwing money at him like this. It's not like he has any chance of survival, they're just delaying the inevitable.”

“Well, he is their kid. Not like it's his fault he got this,” Tod said before something metal clattered.

“Just goes to show you, when you actually have money you can spend it on whatever useless thing you want,” Amy said with a sigh. “Could have put a hundred kids through-”

'Update complete' flashed across the screen and the world disappeared around him. He sat there for a moment, floating in the darkness while her words echoed through his mind. He slowly began logging into LRVR. “Is that all I really am? A waste of money?” he mumbled to himself.

The world shifted and he found himself once again in the body of Asura. She gulped and opened her friend list and looked through the names. B4hamutt wasn't on, but, to her surprise, Andremedia was. She sent a message, “Media? It's Asura. Do you think you'd be able to talk for a bit? I really need someone I can chat with.”

After a few moments she heard a light ringing, alerting her that the fae was establishing a private connection. She accepted it.

“Hey Asura. What's up?” Andremedia asked before letting out a little grunt.

“I... ummm... not much. I just wanted to talk. Are you busy? Are you sure you can talk? You're not usually on at this hour.”

“Huh? Yeah. Just got on. Running some system tests. I'm not fighting anything really tough so I can chat.”

“I just... I... I wanted to know if you had any leads on your monster yet. Heh heh,” the angel lied before lying back on her bed. “Wait, system tests?”

“Huh? Oh, not yet. Tests on my setup. You know, make sure it doesn't lag. So, you wanted a private chat just to see if I found anything?”

“Yeah,” she said gently. “I'm gonna head down to the Black Sea later. Wanna come with me?”

“Maybe. I can't be on too late today.”

“Really? Wanna go now then?” Asura asked before clenching her hands over her stomach.

“Well... sure. I'll meet you there,” Andremedia said softly. “Invite me to a party when you arrive.”

“Okay.” She ended the call. With a groan she slowly got to her feet and made her way to the exit.

------

Despite spending nearly an hour in the dark seas, Asura and Andremedia came up empty handed. They found no new information about the leviathan's special boss. The angel tried talking to the fae a number of times, but each time she couldn't bring herself to talk about what was really bothering her. Before she knew it, her friend had to log out from the game and she was alone again.

With nothing better to do, she returned to Everlight and joined in the fighting once again. She charged through the enemy forces, her sword cleaving and dagger stabbing. With each kill and death, the thoughts of the real world slowly melted away like snow on a summer day. After an hour she found herself lost completely in the battle. Adrenaline pumped through her veins while she fought the enemy forces with all her might, even using her new dragon slayer blade.

She was so distracted that when she finally stepped back from the battle, panting and exhausted, she realized someone had messaged her. She opened the menu and sighed when the name appeared in her view. B4hamutt. All he asked was a simple question, and it tore through her like a knife, bringing all the pain back to the surface. 'Is everything okay?'

She slowly reached out and clicked reply. She felt tears forming into her eyes as the emotions slowly began to break through her barriers. “N-no. It's not,” she said.

After a few more moments his response came. 'Come to my room, we can talk.'

She nodded and headed into the fortress. When she came to the barracks an invite came up and she quickly accepted it.

She appeared in his room a moment later. She looked around with wide eyes. She'd never been in another person's room before and, while his did have trophies from their past victories on the walls like hers, that was where the similarities ended. His wallpaper was a very dark brown and the carpet was an even darker red. The bed was just a simple cot with a scratchy looking blanket. Other than that, the room was empty. Not even a desk. Not that it would fit, since the room was so tiny.

“You don't come in here much, do you?” she asked.

“No, not really. Decorating the room always felt like a waste of time,” the dragon said before looking up from his cot. “Only thing I ever put up were the free trophies we got. I always preferred to live in the real world when it came to things like sleeping. No offense.”

She sighed and sat by him, before shaking her head. “Yeah. I can see that. You still have a standard room. I figured you'd at least have a master level by now.”

“Most those bonuses don't mean much to me,” he said with a shrug. “The food, the view, the extra storage. I don't really use any of that stuff. Not worth the gold either. So uhhh... how are you holding up?”

“The surgery went well. I uhhh... for a moment... I thought they were going to kill me. I mean...” Her hands folded in her lap while she shook. “I-I really thought they would. T-that they were just putting me to sleep to make me think I would get the surgery. S-so I wouldn't panic.” Tears began to flow down her cheeks. “I... I wonder if they should have. M-maybe that would have b-been for the best. It's just...” She trailed off when B4hamutt's arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

“Shhhh... it's okay,” he whispered and lightly patted her back. “It wouldn't ever be for the best for you to just die.”

“H-how can it n-not be?” she whispered softly and hugged him back. “My parents have spent who knows how much money on me over the years. If my family didn't have so much, I'd have died years ago. They could all be living better lives if it wasn't for me.”

“If that was true, you wouldn't be here,” he said and tightened his grip. “If your parents didn't feel you were worth it, they wouldn't. You obviously have to be.”

“But it's just delaying it... nothing more. I'm going to die. I'm going to die soon and... and I don't want to...”

“Asura... It's okay,” he whispered gently into her ear. “I know you're scared, but listen. We all have to die eventually. I know you'll be doing it sooner than you'd like but... we're here. I'm here, your friends are here, your family is here. No matter what happens, I promise I'll be here for you until the end. You mean something to all of us, and no one wants to see you gone before you have to.”

The angel closed her eyes and tightened her grip on him, before leaning up and kissing him on the lips for the second time. This time she didn't pull back and instead slowly leaned in closer to him. He didn't pull away. Her hands tapped on the menu as her armor disappeared and she slowly pushed him onto his back.

------

Weeks slowly passed while time in the game world went on. Before long the master quest line was announced once again. For the first time in years, Asura didn't feel the quiver of excitement when a new challenge came to mind. The war was put on hold once again, to allow others to compete. She eventually found herself flying over the oceans, one of dozens heading towards the Black Sea.

Where as just the year before, she had looked forward to the event with every fiber of her being, now she swam straight to her destination with barely any worry. She'd since searched the sea many times for the king of leviathans, so finding the narrow tunnel again was almost child's play. Before long she swam in front of the golem and merely dodged around while she began sealing its limbs within tunnels and then cleaved the creature to pieces. She was almost in a daze while doing it, hardly focusing.

When the golem exploded it encased itself in a massive ball of ice. The ice began to shift and mold itself into the form of a roaring lion. When the ice lion's mouth opened a mace formed over its tongue. The newly master-level leviathan sighed and reached out to take the new weapon. Sharar.

She held the weapon in her hand and shook her head. “You're a year late...” she whispered before it disappeared into her pack. She turned and swam away, abandoning the cave and headed back towards the surface. Midway towards the open air she brought up the menu and changed her class once again, becoming an angel. With the new leviathan class mastered scales formed across her body and the feathers of her wings receded under thick scales as well. She swam with ease towards the surface.

Then something grabbed her ankle.

“Huh?” she asked and looked down. A long, thin tentacle had grabbed her leg and was dragging her towards an all too familiar wall of mouths. “AHHH!” She drew her sword and cleaved through the tentacle. More of them reached out to try and latch onto her, but she quickly swam back and away as the creature tried to pursue her. “How are you up here?” she yelled. “I thought you were on the floor?” she shrieked and used her sword to cleave through another tentacle. She shot up through the water like a bolt and, when she broke the surface, the feathers of her wings opened and she took to the sky. She glanced down one final time as she flew off, but nothing broke the surface.

She let out a sigh of relief as she took off, back towards the fortress. “Well, if nothing else I can at least tell the others the creature is still there. Eesh.”

------

Asura laid on her bed, her eyes drooping on occasion as she waited. After a few minutes she reached out and brought up her message box, but there were no new messages. She sighed and closed her eyes for a few minutes before reopening it yet again.

“Come oooooon. Hurry up you two...” she said in a high pitched whine.

Finally after checking over a dozen times, an alert popped up. She quickly checked her messages, unfortunately it was from Andremedia. She opened it with a sigh. It was just text, not a voice clip. 'Did you hear? It's all over the forums. The Eighth failed to pass. She didn't get her fifth mastery.'

Asura's heart jumped. “The Eighth failed? The fifth challenge must be extraordinary. I wish you two would hurry up!” she yelled before glancing at Scalios' and B4hamutt's names. She reached out to tap them, but shook her head. “No. You've already sent them one message. They'll message you as soon as they finish, I'm sure. If you message them again you might distract them...” she whispered and stroked her finger along their nameplates. “NO! They deserve to pass. They are good. You will not distract them! Ugh!” She flipped through the names. She then clicked on Andremedia and sent her a request to talk. After a few moments it was accepted.

“Hey, Asura. What did you need?” the fae asked.

“Just curious how your master quest went? Did you pass?”

“Of course. Didn't you search for my name on the site?” Andremedia asked.

“On the site? No. Is that how you knew Eighth failed? Can you see how Scales and Mutt are doing?”

“Yeah, hold on...” the fae's voice trailed off. After a few moments she spoke up again. “They're still doing theirs. If they fail though, there will be a few hundred people trying to be the first fifth master next year.”

“A few hundred?” Asura asked with a little squeak.

“Oh, yeah,” Andremedia said with a chuckle. “There are already over thirty who made it to four masteries, and this is only the first day. Once more information is out and the people who are too scared to try now get it, there will probably be over a hundred.”

“But... there were only nine of us. How did so many catch up?” She asked before staring up at the roof. She slowly reached up and grabbed her pillow, hugging it to her chest. “I think I have a lead on the leviathan king. It attacked me on the way down. Once Scales and Mutt get back, wanna... oh, wait. Can you check if Skyth passed?”

“Sure, hold on and... and... huh. Don't think she's done it yet. Says she still only has three masteries. It's only the first day, so she might be pushing it pack to prepare or get more information first.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess that's likely. Once they're done, wanna help me go through the black sea? I have a plan to catch the monster, but I want us all to be there. You have any plans later tonight?”

“No, not really. I have to go for a few hours, but I can be on later tonight. Say in about three?”

“Sure. I'll see you--” Asura went quiet when the connection closed. “Well that was sudden. I hope they finish soon.” She stared back at the roof and waited.

She soon drifted off, and was eventually jarred awake by an alarm going off. Scalios messaged her. Her hands brought the messages up and she quickly tapped her newest one. It was a sound clip.

'Hey, I just finished. I didn't make it. Sorry. Message me back when you get this.”

She squealed in delight and clapped her hands together. “Yes! This just means if Mutt fails then we're tied! I can still... no no no!” She rolled onto her stomach. “You're done. You're not getting back into that. It's just... not important. You want your friends to succeed. You had your shot, it's over... r-right?” she asked herself before rolling into a little ball. A few moments later another message alert popped up. She gulped and slowly opened it.

“I failed,” B4hamutt's voice said. A short clip.

“No no no...” she said softly while she tried to hold it back. She couldn't. She felt the excitement that bubbled up inside her, along with guilt. “It's not right. Stop feeling happy that they failed! Even if this does mean you can still become one of the first to master all classes and have your name down in... stop!” She finally slapped herself.

After a few moments she took a deep breath, sat up and tried to establish a call with Scalios. He quickly accepted. “Hey. I ummm, I heard. How are you doing?” she asked softly.

“Annoyed,” he said quickly. “That was just... ugh. That had to be one of the worst challenges... how did they expect anyone to win that on their first try? No one would be able to do that without preparation.”

“What was it?” she asked nervously.

“I just... it... ugh. Nothing. Ask Mutt. I don't want to talk about it,” Scalios said, his voice angry and bitter.

“Okay. I uhhh, I might have a lead on the leviathan king. It looks like Mutt failed too so ummm, want to go? Media said she'll be on in a few hours.”

“Fine. I'm going to get a drink, I'll talk to you later,” he said curtly and the connection closed.

“Wow, he's pissed.” She moved back to her friends list and tried establishing a connection with B4hamutt, but he refused. A few moments later a message arrived from him.

'I'm on my way back. We can talk in person.'

Asura gulped and slowly laid back down. “Please don't be mad...” she whispered.

------

Asura gulped and watched the door finally open. Rather than wearing her armor, she had instead chose a white fuzzy robe. Technically it was a non-combat costume, but it made a nice garment for lounging about in her room.

“Hey,” B4hamutt said when he walked inside and glanced at her. His cheeks turned red and he quickly looked off to the side. “I uhhh, don't remember you having anything like that.”

“Really? I've had it for years. I just don't wear it around others often. Or ever...” she said and pat the bed besides her. “Come, sit down.”

“I... o-okay,” he mumbled before walking over to sit besides her. He was tense, gripping his knees and his back rigid. “I... ummm... listen. I mean, I don't think errrr...”

“Did you lose on purpose?” Asura asked suddenly.

“What? Lose on... what? Huh?”

“Did you lose on purpose?” she asked again and leaned in close to him.

“D-do you mean the quest?” he asked with a light squeak while he tried to inch away from her, but she held him still with a hand on his knee.

“What else would I mean?”

“W-why would you think that?”

“Because you know how much they meant to me. Becoming one of the first,” she said gently before wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning against his shoulder. “Because you were afraid if you passed, while everyone else failed, I'd be miserable knowing I'd no longer have that chance. That I might try to leave again and decide my life wasn't worth... living...”

“I won't deny that it crossed my mind,” B4hamutt said softly before reaching up to grip her shoulders. “But I also know the kind of person you are. You'd never want me to fail like that. So I did try and I failed. I promise.” He let her go, giving her a small smile.

“I... I see,” she whispered before she closed her eyes and leaned against him. “I just wanted to know. I wanted you to succeed. I know I... I know I've been... I'm kind of...”

He pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly to his chest. “You haven't been anything, but you. I failed because I just wasn't prepared this time. It was probably the simplest challenge yet, but I didn't expect something so forward to be so difficult.”

“What was it?”

“It was... I...” He shook his head and smiled. “We have a whole year, okay? We can talk about it later. We have a bit of time together, so how about we talk about other things for now. How have things been in reality?”

Asura cringed and looked down. “I... fine. I haven't seen my parents much out there, but we've been playing every few days on the ship. They have been really busy with the kid. I've been thinking of telling them about this...” She motioned down to herself.

“They don't know you play this game?”

“What? No,” she said with a light chuckle and shook her head. “I mean, this! Me! About the fact I play a girl. I ummm, never told them.” She looked down, shame on her face.

“Wait. You've been playing for years! You mean they've never seen your character?” he asked, his voice filled with disbelief..

“N-no, they haven't,” she said with a cringe. “I just, you know... they just... they are kind of traditional. I don't think they'd understand me playing a girl.”

“There's nothing wrong with it,” B4hamutt said quickly.

“Yeah, but they almost found out once and... they looked really upset,” she whispered and laid her head against his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to the way his heart beat. “I don't think I can tell them about you, though.”

The dragon's face turned redder and he nodded. “I-I can completely understand that. I don't think you'd want to tell them about... any of that...”

“How old are you?” the angel asked before gazing up.

“W-what?” His gaze quickly shifted towards the wall to admire one of her hanging trophies.

“I know you're over eighteen since... well I've seen...” She trailed off and her arms tightened around him. “How old are you?”

“T-that's really not important,” he said quickly.

“Oh come on, I've told you how old I am, my real life gender and even about my coming death. I think you can at least tell me how old you are.”

“Thirty-three, okay?” he said quickly before he sighed. “I'm thirty-three. Can we move on?”

“Oh,” she whispered before closing her eyes. “Heh. You’re old. But it's okay... it's not real, remember? No matter what we do, none of it's real. So it doesn't matter how old you are or that I'm going to die... just so long as we have each other for now. Just… another part of the game.”

“I know... just don't, okay?”

“Okay... I might have found the king of leviathan's. Or at least a way we can find him. I'm going to message Skyth later, but I think Scales and Media are up for giving it a try. Come with?” she asked before leaning back and making pouty lips at him, cupping the side of his cheeks. “Look into my eyes, you know you want to...”

“Uggggh. Fine, fine,” B4hamutt muttered before rolling his eyes and letting her go. She let out a shriek and tumbled out of his lap without him to support her. “No need for that, you know I'm just as interested in killing these things as you are. So, what's the plan?” he asked before looking back down. His cheeks turned bright red instantly.

“Owwww, well step one is don't dump your girlfriend on the ground,” Asura said with a groan while she laid on her back for a few moments. She then looked at him before gazing down and blushed as well. She quickly gripped the front of her robe and closed it back up. “I uhhh... you shouldn't do that. But ummm, I'll tell you the plan later, okay?” she said before getting back to her feet. “You'll just have to wait like everyone else. I'm going to send Skyth the message now,” she said before her hands began moving through the air, though she was unable to look at him.

“Fine. I'll wait for now. But it better be worth it.”

“It is,” she sat back in his lap and put a hand on his knee. “I... know how we can pass the time until everyone is ready...”

“Oh?” he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yes...” she whispered as she moved in, her lips mere centimeters from his. “You and me... can... talk about what the fifth quest was.”

“Huh? Hey!” he objected before wrapping his arms back around her. “Fine. I guess I'll tell you. The first thing that happened was...”

------

Asura, B4hamutt, Andremedia, Skyth and Scalios flew together over the black sea, keeping their eyes peeled while they each held an enemy-pass in their hands. “It's simple,” Asura explained, “The beast has only shown during the master-level quests. I think it's a secret timed monster. Possibly only showing up during the event. We'll go through the water and try to find something very big. Once we catch sight of it on these.” She motioned to the device in her hand. “We signal the others and group up to fight it.”

“Will five of us be enough?” Skyth asked.

“I don't see why not.” Asura shrugged. “We beat Niohoggr with the five of us, so this can't be any harder.”

“Except it's underwater and we're partially blind down there,” Scalios said quickly.

“Fine, except for that. Just fan out and keep the group voice chat open. If you find anything, let us know.” She looked around before diving into the water below. The water was icy cold when it enveloped her, and she felt the feathers in her wings receding before scales formed across her body. Within seconds she was swimming through the water like a dart. She activated the enemy-pass and a single ping went out, revealing small shapes. Nothing nearly the size she was hoping for. She began swimming ahead this time, instead of down.

“Find anything?” Asura asked before cringing. Fortunately, the water didn't spill into her mouth and she could talk clearly. “Whew. Seems the leviathan's underwater speaking works fine even in angel class.”

“You didn't know?” B4hamutt asked with a chuckle. “No, though. None of us have found anything in the twenty seconds we've been looking. It'll probably take a little longer than that.”

“Fine, whatever,” Asura said with annoyance. “No need to be sarcastic. Anyone know any good underwater songs?”

“Ugh, none I'd sing here,” Scalios mumbled. “Only ones that come to mind are from movies I saw as a kid.”

“Most water songs are-- HOLY CRAP!” B4hamutt yelled.

“What, what is it? Are you okay? Mutt! Answer me!” Asura yelled and stopped swimming.

“Nothing, just... a fish,” he said sheepishly.

“A fish?” she asked and a smirk formed on her lips. “You sound like you were going to wet yourself.”

“I-it was a very weird looking fish,” he said quickly. “Terrifying even. It had these huge teeth and ugly glowing ball on its head and just... it was horrifying. It came right at my face, okay?”

“Oh, I know the fish,” Asura said with a chuckle. “I just didn't imagine a big strong dragon like you would scream like a little girl because of it...”

“Don't start.”

She snickered while they continued swimming and talking. The darkness continued to envelop her on all sides while she slowly made her way through the sea, randomly glancing at her enemy-pass. Nothing bigger than an eel came near her. After a half hour of searching she was about to give it up when Skyth yelled.

“I found it!” the leviathan yelled into their group chat. “This thing is huge! I think it's bigger than a ship!”

“We're on our way!” Asura yelled before bringing up the party searcher. After a moment four outlines of her friends appeared in her vision. To her surprise, Skyth and Andremedia were both very close. She took off towards the leviathan as fast as she could. “Don't let it get away!”

“I don't think that'll be a problem! Ahhhh! It's grabby!”

“Don't worry, I'm coming at full speed! I'll be there soon!” Asura said before holding out her hand. “River's course.” The water around her began moving with her. It formed a small cylinder of water that flowed straight forward, allowing her to move through the water like a bullet.

Within a few moments the giant beast appeared on her enemy-pass, straight in front of her. “AHHH!” She tried to stop, but the speed and the spell were too much and she crashed straight into the back of the massive creature. She hit between two of the mouths before the little teeth creatures darted out and started cutting into her. Pain shot through her side when one of them jammed deep into her skin. The angel kicked off it as hard as she could and swam away from the beast.

“Asura, are you okay?” B4hamutt asked.

“Y-yeah. I'm fine,” she whispered before drawing her sword. “I slammed into it. Careful on the arrival.” She glanced around. With her vision so hindered by the sea, she was unable to see the beast. All she could see was the murky darkness. The enemy-pass in her left hand told her the monster was still just a few yards in front of her. “Skyth, you okay?”

“Fine! Could use a hand!” the leviathan called back.

“I'll-- AH!” Asura slashed out with her sword when suddenly a tentacle shot down at her from above. She cleaved through it just before two more came from either side and a final from below. Her left arm was grabbed and the other two wrapped around her waist and legs. “It's got me! Ugh!” She slashed with her sword yet again. The tentacles were cut to pieces, but just as quickly new ones shot out at her from all sides. She turned and swam as fast as she could. “I'm going to try and come around it to join up with you. How are you doing?”

“MFFFFFFFFFF!” Skyth responded.

“I don't think she's doing well,” Andremedia said. “I'm almost to you two. Hold on.”

“Okay,” Asura said before turning to the right. She glanced at the small device and boggled at just how long the creature was. It filled the device screen up, and it took many seconds before she finally found the end of it, even at her speed. The tentacles continued to try and snatch at her, but they were so slow and predictable that she was easily able to maneuver around them while she slid around the creature's side. She could just see the outline of Skyth in the distance when she reached the end and was able to turn back around. “River's current.” Within a few moments she was almost at the leviathan's side.

Skyth was covered in tentacles. She swung her mace back and forth, freezing them while she went, but they continued to pull her close. Fortunately, each strike coated the nearby area in ice, and it was making it near impossible for the beast to maneuver her near a mouth. Asura glided past before her sword flashed, cleaving through the tentacles wrapped around Skyth's arms. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Fine, thanks,” the leviathan said before pushing away.

A ball of ice shot between the two and, a moment later, they heard it explode into the beast. “Sorry I'm late,” Andremedia said before swimming up to join them. “Any plan?”

“Yeah,” Asura said before swinging at an attacking tentacle, getting back-to-back with Skyth. “We hold off until the others get here. We can't fully see the monster, but we can see each other a little with the party tracker. We'll use that to cover each other. It doesn't seem to do much damage with the tentacles.”

“Yeah, but I don't think we can do much damage to it,” Skyth said before deflecting a limb with her shield, and struck out with her mace. “Its tentacles keep regrowing, and getting in close to the body is dangerous.”

“We'll be fine,” Asura said before she cut another tentacle. “Media, cover me. I wanna try something.”

“On it!” the fae said before she glided in around the two and began swinging with her own sword.

Asura brought up the menu and re-activated the explosive ability of her sword before she changed it to a great sword. “Okay, I want to try something! I might need you to bail me out, but here goes!” she yelled and charged straight at the beast. She plunged the sword into the monster moments before flames began to coat the blade. The water around them boiled before exploding outward and, while it didn't hurt her, she was sent flying backwards with a shriek, her blade sliding from her grasp. She felt something catch her from behind and coil around her waist. “AHHHH!”

She looked down to see tentacles coil around her from all sides. She tried punching at them, but soon more gripped her wrists and held them still while she was slowly pulled towards the mouth. “It's got me! I lost my sword!”

“We're coming! We're trying!” Andremedia yelled.

Asura shrieked when the gaping mouths appeared in front of her, the teeth fish skittering about while they prepared to tear into her. “No no no! Help!” she screamed before she was pulled into the mouth, the viscous fangs moving in and slashing across her body. Pain bursts shot through her and her HP began to plummet. “It's-- mmphh!” she was cut off when a tentacle wrapped around her face, covering her mouth. She whimpered when the powerful limbs held her still, their slimy grips holding her helpless while the monstrous teeth fish slashed into her exposed body.

The tentacles around her were slashed to pieces and an arm wrapped around her waist, tugging her away. B4hamutt held her to his chest and let out a sigh. “You okay?”

“I-I'm fine. My sword is in it somewhere though. I stabbed it, but the blade was lost in the explosion,” she said while she stared into the darkness.

“Wonderful,” the dragon said before motioning toward the other two. “Scales is almost here. Just stick back and heal us,” he said before his claws reached out to cleave through another limb. “I'll see if I can find your sword.” B4hamutt took off, swimming straight for the monster.

“What? NO! Mutt!” Asura yelled. “Don't, it's too dangerous! You can't even see it!”

“Asura, relax,” Andremedia said. “We're all still here. I'm coming in with you, Mutt!” She separated from Skyth.

Asura watched the two when they moved through the darkness. Though she couldn't see the monster, she was able to see the outlines of the two as they fought their way through the tentacles in search of her blade. She flew back and tried to keep away from the tentacles. She caught sight of Scalios when he joined up with Skyth. The angel clenched her fists while she watched the two struggle and then gasped when she saw the two of them stop. “Are you two okay? Did you get hurt? Are you caught?”

“We're fine, relax,” Andremedia said as the two began moving again. “We just got attacked by a lot at once. We're... holy... we found your sword. Guys, you gotta see this!”

“What's wrong?” Scalios asked as the three others started towards the blade.

“You'll see,” B4hamutt said while he and Skyth just floated there. Once Asura and the others fought through the tentacles, they could see why. The area around the blade, for a few yards out, was charred completely black. The tooth-fish creatures had completely left the area and all the tentacles nearby had fallen off, leaving burnt black stumps.

“Really?” Asura asked and yanked out her sword with a grunt. “I thought it would destroy some of the mouths, but nothing like this.”

She glanced around at the darkness surrounding them, but no tentacles reached for them. “Well, now that we know its weakness. I believe everyone has the dragon weapon?”

The others nodded and quickly activated the explosion abilities on their weapons before spreading out. The moment Asura was no longer over the burn marks, tentacles began to surround her. She weaved around them, and dove back at the mouths. She gripped her sword tightly in both hands before plunging it straight into the beast. The water around her boiled and she was sent hurtling back, this time firmly holding the blade in her hands.

A piercing scream tore through the water, the shrill sound piercing to her core. Even after it ended she felt as if she could still hear it, reverberating within her head and cutting into her skull. “I think it's angry.”

“Keep going!” B4hamutt yelled. She could see the others charging back in and she quickly joined them. The water around the fighters boiled and bubbled while they slashed through the creature, its tentacles struggling to hold them off, but the longer the fight went on the fewer it had.

Finally Asura stabbed her blade into another one of the mouths. When the fires burst out and boiled the water, as well as the small tooth-fish, the explosion was pushed inward and the monstrous beast began to shake. From where her blade stabbed the flesh began to evaporate into red sparkles, spreading outward. “Guys, I think we did it!” she called out. “It's breaking apart.”

“Yeah! It started breaking apart where I stabbed it too,” B4hamutt said, panting heavily. “Everyone group up, we don't know if there's a second part of this. Be ready for anything and watch each others backs.”

The five gathered together and watched the beast as best they could. Their enemy-passes still showed the creature, but it was shrinking rapidly while its body disappeared into red sparkles. Within a few moments, the compass-like devices didn't show a single sign of the beast.

“Think it's still there?” Asura asked nervously.

“I'll go check,” B4hamutt said before swimming towards where it had been.

“Wait!” she yelled and reached out to try and grab him, but he was already gone. The others stared at her, causing her to blush. “I-I just don't think we should go alone.”

“It's gone!” B4hamutt yelled out. “Come to me.”

The others swam after his location. The dragon was sitting on top of a large iron treasure chest, which was covered in seaweed and floating in the water.

“Is that it?” Asura asked as she smiled. “I-is that the kings treasure?”

“Maybe,” Andremedia said softly. “But I doubt it. This was nothing like the Niohoggr fight. It was a lot easier for one. Not to mention we never had the monster's name pop up.” She glanced to the angel and cringed at the glare she received. “B-but it might be part of it! I mean, maybe it's connected somehow? Some kind of event?”

“Well, we won't know until we open the chest,” Skyth said with a roll of her eyes. “So come on, open it! Let's see what we got!”

B4hamutt nodded and reached down, gripping the edge of the box. With a groan he opened the top and air bubbles flooded out. Once it was opened the chest began to sink, leaving its two piece of treasure floating. A pearl crown and a map.

“Huh,” the dragon muttered as he held them out.

“What? What is it? Where's the map point?” Asura asked before taking it. It was a map of tunnels. “Wait...”

“Yep,” he said with a sigh. “It's a map of undersea tunnels. However, considering the entire ocean in the game is filled with thousands of them, it could take us years to find these particular ones.”

“Oh, don't be so over dramatic,” Scalios said before taking the map. “I'm sure if we look online we can find whichever tunnels these are a part of. Then all we have to do is get to them and use the crown at this X mark.”

“Leave it to me,” Skyth said and held out her hand. “I can build a program to go through all the maps and see which one it correlates to. It might take a while to get everything, but it shouldn't be an issue. Hold on while I copy the map.”

“What if it's somewhere that hasn't been explored yet?” Asura asked before examining the crown. It had a small blue gem on the head.

“Well, I guess we can start searching through the tunnels ourselves,” B4hamutt said and patted her on the back. “We've come this far, we won't give up now.”

“Of course,” Skyth said before holding the map back out to them. “Okay, I have a copy. I'll get to work on it during my down time. It'll probably take a few days or weeks though.”

“Don't worry about it,” Scalios said with a shrug. “Not like we're in a rush. We can try to find information on the other kings while you do that.”

Skyth nodded before looking up. “I'm gonna head home. Once I do I need to log out anyway. Work in the morning. It was fun!” she yelled and swam up.

“I need to go as well. School,” Andremedia said and quickly followed.

“I uhhh, got some things to finish,” Scalios said as well. “Working on my demon class and all. See you two later.”

Within moments the three left the chat as B4hamutt and Asura glanced to each other. “They're certainly subtle, aren't they?” she asked with a roll of her eyes.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Nothing, come on.” She took his hand and began swimming towards the surface. “We have a few days before we have to work on anything else.” Her hand tightened on his. “Anything you'd like to do?”

“Well, I still need to work on my fae class,” he said before glancing to her. “I imagine you still need to work on your demon class. We could do that together?”

“I was hoping for something a bit more romantic,” she said before smiling to him. “But I suppose it will have to do.” She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Despite the icy water surrounded them, his cheek still felt warm to the touch. Especially when he blushed.

------

Days soon turned to weeks and months while the two trained and leveled together. Even though Asura was gaining levels and experience far slower than she was used to, she never felt annoyed or anxious. As soon as B4hamutt came on she dropped whatever she was doing and the two would play together, be it by leveling their classes or simple things such as trying out the in-game diners or restaurants.

He'd even begun staying up late with her, coming to her room and sitting with her until she eventually fell asleep. Sadly, he had to log off and return to the real world and could never stay the full night, but knowing he was there when she drifted off had helped to stave off her nightmares.

Skyth had been keeping them up to date on her progress, though she had yet to have made much. She had gone through all the maps of commonly used tunnels in the game, even ones outside leviathan lands, and given them the locations to check out as possible connections. Asura, as the one with the most in game time, had been spending most of her solo time checking the tunnels, though she did it as an angel rather than risk leveling her demon class without B4hamutt. Each one had been a dead end, and she was beginning to doubt it was somewhere that had already been explored and mapped. To her surprise, she was finding she didn't really mind.

Time in the real world dwindled even more. With no need for meals, his parents were allowing him to spend almost all of his time in the virtual world. Some days the nurses didn't even disconnect him when they cleaned him and he was able to spend the entire day with his friends.

It was a day like that, that she awoke to a received message. Yawning slowly, Asura reached out and opened it. It was a text message, asking her to meet her parents in the space station at noon. She stretched out and slowly crawled out of bed before scratching her side. “Don't see why they couldn't just... huh?” she whispered when she checked her list. Her dad was already on. She sighed and sent him a text message asking if he wanted to meet now. A few moments later she received the go ahead and began logging out from Landasy Reality.

Within moments he was on the space station, gazing out at the stars. He reached out to run his fingers along the glass and sighed. “I should try to visit them more often...” he told himself, though he knew he'd forget it later. The more time he spent as Asura, the more Asher felt like the fake. He shook his head and began walking through the station. He clicked the menu and invited his dad to join his group. The two soon met up, at the nearby space diner. He waved and sat down across from him. “Hey, what's up?”

His father sighed and gazed at him. The game didn't show the effects very well, but Asher could tell something was wrong by the creases in his father's forehead. “Son, we need to talk...”

The conversation went on for nearly an hour, until eventually his father logged out from the world and left Asher alone. He exited the game and quickly logged back into LRVR before bringing up the menu, his hands shaking.

Asura clicked B4hamutt's name, her hand trembling so bad it took her a few attempts. She gulped and slowly opened a side menu. A phone number popped up and she clicked it. “Mutt? I-it's Asura. I-I know you said only use this number in case of an emergency, but this is definitely one,” she said while she struggled to stop the tears. “P-please come on soon. I... I need you. I need someone to talk to...”

She closed the menu and laid down in her bed, curling into a little ball. Her wings wrapped around her while the tears began to fall down her face. “Oh god... why... I... I don't want... this... any of this...”

There was a small ding when B4hamutt logged in and she quickly gave him an invite into her room. When he entered his eyes moved over her. “What's wrong? Why did you call me?”

She looked up at him and she tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat. “I... I'gh... I just... I...” She sobbed as she shook her head. The dragon moved over and wrapped his arms around her and held her head to his chest.

“There there... cry it out,” he whispered and patted her back.

She did so, sobbing into his chest as the tears flowed down her face. She clutched at his scales and held onto him, smelling the soft scent of his body and feeling the firm power of his thick scales. She didn't know how long she laid there, but eventually her tears dried up and her sobs turned to light hiccups. “T-thank you...”

“It's okay... what's wrong?” he asked as his hands gently stroked up and down her back.

“I... I talked to my dad...” she said softly, not letting go. “He... he talked to the doctors...”

“What did they say?” he asked and she felt his hands tense up.

“My kidneys will start to fail in a few months. After that I'll have about five to seven months before my heart gives out. T-they have machines but... after that... I only have a year, at most, before my brain shuts down.”

“I... I see,” he said before running his claws down her spine. “I...”

“They say I'll be deaf in a few weeks and won't even be able to open my eyes any more... this'll be the only way I... I can do anything...” she whispered and squeezed his back. “I... I don't want this...”

“I know, I know...” he whispered and rubbed her back.

“I... I won't even be able to p-play any more in the end,” she whispered. “Once it starts affecting my brain, the head set won't be able to pick up or send the impulses. I'll be... trapped. I-I won't even know when I'm about to die... I... I can't do this...” she said softly and looked up at him. “I-I don't want to die like this!”

“No one does,” he said before stroking her cheek. “I... I know it's horrible. But you don't need to do this alone, I'm here for you. Until the end.”

She nodded slowly and leaned up to kiss him, though he put a finger to her lips to stop her.

“Asura,” he said softly. “I think you should tell the others.”

“W-what?”

“I think you should tell the others,” he repeated, his eyes locked with hers. “You're going through something I could never even dream of. You need them to be by your side. You need friends...”

“But... t-they won't want to be around me any more,” she whispered softly. “I'll just be the sick person they pity and brings the mood down...”

“No, you won't,” he whispered and gave another tight hug. “You're our friend. In times like this we all need people we can turn to. You need us. All of us.”

“What if they don't want to keep being around me then?” she asked and her gaze lowered to his stomach. “What if they don't want to be around someone so sick?”

“That's not going to happen. Trust me,” he said before gripping her chin and making her look him in the eyes.

His eyes were soft and gentle, though she could see the moistness of forming tears. She smiled and sighed. “Okay... I... I guess I can tell some of them. We're hunting those monsters together, I should at least let them know I won't be able to finish with them...”

He nodded and leaned in to give her a kiss. “You should tell your parents too...”

She laid there, stunned, for a few minutes. He waited patiently. “Wait... tell them? What do you mean?”

“You told me you never told them about Asura,” he whispered. “You should tell them what you have been working on. What you have achieved.”

“No way!” Asura screamed and her face turned red. “You think I can tell them this? If they found out I was playing a girl they'd freak out!”

“Do you really think that? After all you've told me, do you really think they'll be upset about that?”

She stared at him for a few seconds sighing. “Maybe not,” she whispered softly. “But they'll definitely freak out if I tell them about us...”

B4hamutt's cheeks turned bright red. “W-well, I don't see how that is any of their business. Just, umm, tell them about your goals. What you've done. All that and... I mean, they deserve to know, right?”

“I guess...” she whispered before smiling up at him. “Mutt, I just want you to know. No matter what happens... I... I don't regret the time I've spent on here. With all of you. If I have to die, I'm happy I got to spend my time with people like you and the others.”

“I know, I know,” he whispered before kissing her once more, before both slowly closed their eyes.