Age: 19 years, 6 months

Asura paced nervously across her room. Every so often she stopped and glanced at the door, but began pacing again quickly.

“Can you stop that?” B4hamutt asked from her bed, leaning against the bed posts. “They aren't going to be here for at least thirty more minutes. You're giving me a headache.”

“What if they don't want to listen?” Asura asked while she continued to pace. “What if they think I'm looking for attention?” Her voice got higher and higher pitched. “What if they decide they don't want to --” She went silent when the dragon put a finger to her lips.

“Shhhh... it's okay,” B4hamutt said and pulled her into his lap. “It's going to be fine. I promise. Just relax, okay?” He leaned in to kiss her cheek.

“Okay... you're right...” she said before closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Do you think you can talk to them? A-at least at first? You know, loosen them up?”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Asura, calm down. It's going to be fine,” he said with a smile before he gently stroked her cheek. “You're shaking, there is no need for that. It's all going to be okay...”

“F-fine... AH!” she shrieked when a message popped up in her vision. “Media's on. S-should I invite her in?” she asked, staring at him fearfully.

“Yes,” B4hamutt said with a chuckle before patting her shoulder. “Just trust me, okay? We'll have a nice dinner, sit everyone down and talk it out.”

“I know, I know, I hope...” Asura said before sending the fae the invitation. Within moments the girl appeared in the room.

“So, what did you invite me all the way here for?” Andremedia asked and looked around the room.

“Err, dinner mostly,” Asura said softly. B4hamutt elbowed her in the side. “Oh, and I have some things I need to talk with all of you about, after dinner. But it can wait, I'd really like everyone to be here.”

“Okay. Is it about the leviathan king? Did you find out where it was?”

“What? Oh, no,” Asura said and nervously rubbed her arm. “I uhhh, I haven't even been thinking much about that in the last few weeks. It's... something else.”

“Okay? You're acting really strange. Mutt, do you know what this is about?”

“Yes,” B4hamutt said quickly. “But it's not my place to say. If you want to relax, just sit down and we can chat. Asura has a lot of furniture... a lot. I don't even know why she has so much. It honestly seems kind of like a waste.” He gulped when the angel turned to glare at him. “T-though a lot of it is really nice and comfortable! Just pull a chair up or something.”

Andremedia rolled her eyes and tapped on the wall. A large red recliner appeared and she sat down in it.

“So, how has school been?” Asura asked.

“Oh, you know,” the fae said with a shrug. “Doing homework, working on assignments, calculating a bunch of things to ensure I pass all of my tests.”

“You know,” the angel said before she sat down on the edge of the bed. “I don't think you've ever told us what you were studying for? Are you in high school, or college?”

“Studying for? Oh, nothing major. Planning to go into computers mostly.” A small smile formed on her lips and she chuckled.

“Really?” Asura asked and crossed her arms. “You might want to talk with Skyth. I think she does programming in her day job.”

“Yeah, but how good can she be?” Andremedia asked. “I mean, the program she built hasn't helped us at all in finding where the crown goes and she's probably gone through every map online. Not to mention the dozens of areas she's had us map and search.”

“It's not her fault,” Asura said quickly. “It would hardly be a big quest if it was easy. I'm sure we'll find it soon. Besides, it's not like we've made much headway on any of the other big monsters.”

“Well, no,” Andremedia said and closed she closed her eyes. “Sorry, I'm not trying to cause a fight. I'm just getting frustrated with having to wait like this...”

“Oh,” Asura said, lowering her eyes. “I know exactly how you feel. Don't worry though, no matter what happens we won't be doing it without you. We're a team for this, remember?”

“I guess, just do--” The fae went quiet when Asura raised a hand for silence.

“Scalios and Skyth are on the way. Said they'll be here in a few minutes,” Asura said before jumping to her feet and sending their invites. “I better go prepare everything. I'll be right back.” She walked to the nearby wall and tapped on it. A small menu popped up and she clicked 'kitchen'.

A moment later she disappeared from the room and reappeared in a large marble kitchen. She hummed softly while she began cooking. In the game it was a simple process which only required her to drag certain items, like minotaur meat, into certain parts of the kitchen, like the wood stove, which then combined to create the meal. Within a few seconds the raw ingredients created a thick stew. She tapped just above the pot and five bowls filled with the meal appeared on a large wooden tray. “There we go,” she said happily before taking it towards the exit.

She reappeared in the main room and held up the meal. “Dinner is served!” she said and tapped the wall a few times. A large dining table appeared in the middle of the room and her bed disappeared.

“Ahhh!” B4hamutt cried out when the mattress disappeared from under him, making him crash into the ground. “A little warning next time?”

“S-sorry,” she said softly, while struggling not to laugh. She placed the food on the table. She took a seat while the others joined her. Slowly the scent of cooked meat, broth and vegetables filled her nose. “Mmmm... what do you guys think?”

“It smells nice,” Andremedia said when she sniffed hers.

“Hold on, I need to enable scent and taste.” B4hamutt tapped on the air.

“Me too,” Scalios said when he took a seat and tapped.

“Well, I'm happy to know I'm not the only one,” Skyth said with a chuckle before she sat down. “Asura, Media? Do you two have yours on all the time?”

“Ummmm... yeah,” Asura said softly, lowering her gaze.

“Only in towns,” Andremedia said and looked down at her food. “I like to snack sometimes. Outside, it gets kind of bad.”

“Wow, lucky,” Skyth said with a chuckle. “You two must be rich as hell. Touch, sight and hearing alone plow through my connection and I have the settings on pretty low. How are you able to afford it?”

“I uhh, get it through school,” Andremedia said. “I have the settings on pretty low though. I only come on a few hours each day.”

“My parents have a lot of money,” Asura said and slowly moved the spoon around in her stew. “They... spend a lot of it on me.”

“Wow, you're pretty lucky then,” Skyth said and took a bite of the stew. “Hey, this is pretty good. Better than some of the things you can cook in other games.”

“Yeah.” Scalios took a bite of his food. “I hear Spigot hired a lot of professional cooks to create the dishes. They really went all out when they made it.”

“So, what did you want to talk with us about?” Andremedia asked before she took another bite of stew.

“It can wait until after the food. So, what has everyone been up too?” Asura asked.

“Oh, I think I may have found out where those tunnels are,” Skyth said with a chuckle. “Scales and I went to check it out, and I think it's right. You're never going to believe where it is.”

“Considering we've been guessing all this time, how about you just tell us?” Andremedia said with a roll of her eyes.

“Heh, fine,” Skyth said softly. “Under Atlantis.”

Asura stopped, the spoon half-way to her mouth. “Wait, what? But we already checked those tunnels. They didn't work.”

“Oh, they don't,” Scalios said with a smile. “The new ones don't. Since Atlantis was blown up, the tunnels were changed a lot.”

“Yep. I never thought to check the old maps,” Skyth said with a shake of her head. “There were a lot of places that were close in the new maps, so it never dawned on me to check the old maps. But, I got a copy a few days ago and ran it through. A hundred percent match. We went and checked it out today and did a quick search where the X should overlap in the new ones. We found an old statue buried under a lot of sea weed, but the crown should fit on it. Who wants to give it a try later this week?”

“That sounds awesome!” Andremedia said before glancing to Asura. “So, was that what you wanted to talk about?”

“Huh? Oh, no.” She shook her head. “You know, it's really not important. Lets just enjoy our meal. Ow!” She glared at B4hamutt and rubbed her leg where he kicked her. “Fine! I'll tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Skyth asked.

“Nothing, something, I-I'll tell you when we're done...” Asura said timidly as she eyed the ground.

“Oh, just tell us already!” Andremedia finally yelled, standing up and slamming her hands down on the table. “You invite us all the way out here and then keep talking about something being up. It's really getting annoying.”

“I... I...” She quivered and gripped her knees. “It's just... it's not important. I'm sorry, I didn't--”

“Asura, tell them,” B4hamutt said before reaching out to rub her shoulder. “You need to. Just take a deep breath and do it.”

“Okay, you're starting to freak me out a bit,” Scalios said before dropping his spoon. “Why are you so serious? You make it sound like she's dying or something. Wait. Are you two getting married now?”

Asura cringed at those words. “I... I am dying. I'll be dead within the next two years. Or... or at least close enough that that no one could tell the difference.” She glanced up at her friends and then began to tell them everything. It burst out of her like a waterfall when she told them about her disease, the surgeries, her limited remaining time and her goals. When she finally finished she tried to control herself, but was unable. Tears began to fall down her face so B4hamutt moved in to hug her tightly.

“Shhh, it's okay. That's all you had to do,” he whispered and gently rubbed her back.

“That's... that's a lot to take in,” Scalios said softly before he got to his feet. “I uhhh... I'm really sorry. Uhhh, is there anything we can do?”

“N-no,” Asura whispered, laying her head in B4hamutt's shoulder.

“Why are you telling us all this?” Andremedia asked, her voice tinged with panic. “It's not like we can do anything. It's a lot to just dump on us like that.”

“Media!” Skyth said in a low hiss.

“Well, it is,” the fae said with a roll of her eyes. “I'm not saying we should ignore it. I just want to know why. Is there anything you wanted from us?”

“N-no, it was stupid,” Asura whispered into the dragon's shoulder. “I shouldn't have told you... I'm sorry...”

“She just wanted someone she could talk with about it,” B4hamutt said and glared at the fae. “To tell her friends. Is that so much to ask?”

“No,” Andremedia said before standing up. “I just... nevermind. This is a lot to process. I need to... I need to go.” She quickly turned away. “I'm not leaving for good, or abandoning you, Asura. I still think we're friends. I just... I just need to process all this.” The fae disappeared.

“I kinda need to as well,” Scalios said before getting to his feet. “I'll just... yeah. See you later. I umm, I'm still up for the tunnels whenever you need me. Bye.” The leviathan disappeared as well.

“See?” Asura said softly as she looked up at B4hamutt. “T-they're all leaving. N-no one wants to be around the sick guy...”

“No!” Skyth said quickly and stood up. “Listen, I may not have known you as long as the others, but I know that's not the case. It's just... a lot to take in. They're just... they just need to think about it. A lot. They'll be back. It's not everyday you find out a friend is dying.”

“Are... are you going to leave too?” Asura asked and looked up.

“I ummm, I'd like to,” the leviathan said and poked her fingers together. “It's... I mean... it's just I haven't known you long. This is kind of a personal moment and ummmm... awkward...” she said before her gaze lowered.

“O-oh... right... I'm sorry, I just thought we were... friends,” Asura whispered.

“We are! It's just... we're not that close,” the woman sighed and looked to the door. “Listen, I just... I'm going to let you two be alone. Just send me a message whenever you want to try solving the tunnels. Bye.” She practically leaped towards the door, disappearing from the room.

“I-I told you this was a b-bad idea,” Asura whispered and held onto B4hamutt.

“Shhh, calm down,” he whispered back to her and gently ran his hands through her hair. “It's just a lot to take in. They'll be back on tomorrow, or a few days from now. Then we'll be back to normal, except now you'll have more people you can talk with about these things. Even when I'm not here, you won't be alone.” He slowly gripped her shoulders and pushed her away so she had to look up at him. “Listen. This isn't your fault and isn't anything you need to be ashamed of. You don't need to hide it from everyone in the hopes that they'll still like you.”

“How... how can I not be ashamed?” she asked and stared up. “I'm not like anyone else. I'm broken, damaged. I'm not... I'm barely even a person... I'm just a waste of money...”

The dragon let her shoulders go and reached up to grip her chin. He leaned in and placed a kiss to her lips while his other arm pulled her closer. After a few moments he pulled back, his breath hot against her face. “You are a person. You're hurt. You're suffering. You deserve the same right to live as anyone else. Don't let anyone ever tell you differently. They aren't going to leave for good, I promise. We'll all be together again and working as a team. The only difference is now they'll have a bit more understanding of what you're going through and you won't have to ever be alone in any of this. No matter what happens. Okay?”

“O-okay...” she whispered and closed her eyes. “Thank you...”

He smiled and embraced her tightly. “You know, years ago I never would have thought I'd hold you like this.”

“Years ago I never thought I'd have someone who ever would,” she whispered gently. “I never thought I'd be able to feel it even if they did...”

------

It took nearly a week before Asura managed to work up the courage to send the three a message, and then two more days before all three responded. But finally, after another week, the five managed to return as a unit and found themselves amidst the wreckage of Atlantis.

The once proud city was nothing more than charred coral and broken buildings, barely any of it managing to stand more than a few feet high. Crabs occasionally scuttled out from under rocks and across the wreckage in search of food.

Asura sighed as she looked about. “I haven't been here since the attack. I didn't realize it looked so...”

“Broken?” Scalios offered.

“Empty. They don't even have those cool water roads any more,” she said with a sigh. “So, where is the entrance?”

“Same place as before,” Skyth said and started swimming down. “Under the city. Come on.” The others quickly followed after her.

Asura moved up to B4hamutt as they swam and lightly tapped him. He glanced at her and she tapped on her menu a few times to establish a direct call. “Should I talk to them about what happened?”

“Huh?” he asked.

“About me telling them I’m... dying.”

“No,” he said and smiled to her. “Unless you want to talk about it. Just do what you'd want to do.”

“I want to kick this leviathan's butt,” she said with a grin.

“Then that's what we'll do.” They entered the tunnels.

Asura ended the call and heard Andremedia's voice, “--Has it.”

“Huh?” the angel asked.

“I said, you have the crown, right?”

“Oh! Yeah, right. Where do I use it?”

“We're almost there,” Scalios said before they turned a corner and came to a small cavern. “We're here, we just need to find the statue. It's buried under all the seaweed.” He motioned below. The floor was covered in the slimy green plant.

The five slowly descended and began tugging at the green plant life. Asura cringed when she felt the slimy tendrils wiggle about in her hands. “Ewwww, this stuff is disgusting. Is the real stuff this bad?”

“Probably,” Skyth said with a chuckle. “I've only actually touched it when it was on sushi, and at that point it wasn't growing free in an underwater cave. Found it!”

The leviathan tugged away at the seaweed to reveal the shoulders and head of a scaled humanoid. The rest was buried under the ground. “Okay, just slide it on.”

Asura nodded and kneeled before the statue. A few quick clicks and she had the crown in her hand. With a deep breath, an odd sensation when underwater, she slid the crown on. “Okay, here we go!”

Nothing happened.

“... Well? Come on!” She kicked the statue. “You gotta be kidding me! How can it--” She let out a shriek when the world around her vanished. “Who? What? Am I logged out?” she asked and reached up to touch her stomach. “No, armor is still on. Where... oh.” Light finally began to fill her vision.

She was inside a large, empty underwater cavern. The walls were completely covered in glowing moss, which lit the area. There was only one way in or out, a tunnel near the bottom, wide enough that she and her four friends could stand head to feet and not touch both sides. Near the top of the cavern she could make out a small air pocket.

A moment later the others appeared besides her. “Took your time, huh?” she asked with a smile.

“Well, we can't all just kick the statue and teleport,” Andremedia said with a chuckle. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, nothings popped up yet. Was dark when I got here, but the moss started glowing and the place seems pretty empty. I think we're supposed to--”

A high pitched scream echoed through the chamber, making them cover their ears when it deafened them. After a moment it was gone.

“What the hell was that?” B4hamutt yelled and shook his head.

“I think we're about to find out,” Skyth said softly and motioned towards the tunnel. Large air bubbles, nearly the size of them, began floating up from within. “I think we may have finally found the king.”

“Oh,” Asura said and drew out her blade, quickly changing it to a great sword. “Okay, everyone. Let's be careful. We've beaten one king, we can beat another.”

“Hopefully,” Andremedia said and drew her own great sword. “I really don't want to have to fight that wall again. At least none of us will have to worry about drowning.”

The shriek filled their ears again and a long green snout began to climb out from the tunnel. The beast soon revealed itself, a massive crocodile, easily larger than a football field, with a body like stained jade. Moss grew between the creature's scales and it opened its mouth, revealing hundreds of massive marble-like teeth. It let out a roar that made the entire chamber shake, but fortunately not as ear piercing as its shrieks. The words 'Broknus, king of leviathans' appeared under it in big white letters.

“I think that's it,” Asura said before turning to the others. “Any plans?”

“Well,” B4hamutt said, “it's an alligator--”

“Crocodile,” Andremedia said.

“Does that really matter?”

“Maybe? I'm just trying to help.”

“... Fine. It's a crocodile. Watch out for the jaws. As big as it is, I doubt it can turn quickly, so just use our maneuverability to our advantage,” B4hamutt said and cracked his knuckles. “Other than that, fight as best you can and don't let it get you. Probably has a wicked tail too.”

“Yeah,” Asura said. The monster turned towards them. “It looks really slow. We can probably--” She let out a startled yelp when the massive crocodile was suddenly almost on them, crossing the distance between them and it in seconds. The five scattered, narrowly avoiding being grabbed in its massive jaws. “Holy crap! How is it so fast?” The monster went after Andremedia, who struggled to dodge around its rapidly snapping jaws.

“It's a legendary boss after all!” Scalios yelled and brought his mace cracking down on its back. “Don't just stand there, attack!”

“R-right,” she yelled and swam down and then up, striking across the monsters underbelly. One of its short claws came out of nowhere and smacked the angel full body, sending her rocketing through the water. She slammed against the wall of the chamber and let out a groan when pain shot through her back. “P-pain f-feedback seems to be higher here as well,” she said gently. “Think this is it...”

“Well, that's nice! AHH!” Andremedia yelled before the monster's jaws closed around her. “MMMMMPHHH!”

“We're coming, hold on!” B4hamutt yelled and raked his claws across Broknus's eyes. It let out another ferocious roar. With its mouth open the fae could be seen, her sword stabbed into the top of the monster's mouth and holding on for dear life. As soon as the mouth opened she kicked out from the beast, dislodging her sword and swam out like a bullet.

“I'm so thankful we're underwater,” the fae said with a groan. “Though even down here the beast smells horrible from inside.”

“Why do you even have smell enabled?” Scalios asked and brought his mace down across the monster's tail, temporarily freezing the limb.

“Because I... shut up! I just do!” Andremedia slashed the monster under the jaw.

Broknus began to turn in the water, rapidly curving its body before it shot straight at Asura. She shrieked and swam up while the others struck at the creature.

“Gahhhh!” she screamed when the monster snapped its jaws rapidly, trying to catch a bite of the fleeing girl. “Get it away from me!”

“Hold on!” B4hamutt yelled and grabbed the thing by its tail. He let out his own shriek when he found himself being pulled along behind the creature. “Gahhhh!”

Asura turned to face the beast and held both her arms out. “Ice shield!” The dome of ice formed in front of her and, when the monster snapped its jaws shut, the ice held it open. A grin flashed on her mouth before she charged out from behind the shield before she drove her sword across the monsters jaw and down its side. The blade sliced through the scales, leaving a long trail of ice where the blade connected and holding the monster's mouth open. “Quick, get it while it's stuck!”

The others moved in quickly, striking with their blades, maces and claws while the creature writhed around. Ice coated the beast on all sides, pinning its limbs down while it howled in rage and turned around to lash at the closest target. Skyth.

“GAH!” she screamed and swam away. The beast followed, shaking more of the ice off with each movement.

“Hold on, we're coming!” Asura yelled.

“No, don't!” Skyth yelled when she swam towards the opposite side of the chamber, the monster hot on her heels. “River's course!” The leviathan took off like a bolt. After a moment the creature sped up as well, using the same magics. She sped at the wall, turning into a blue blur, while the monster opened its mouth, almost within reach. “Now!” She veered off to the right. She was unable to turn well enough and slammed, hard, into the wall and skidded along the stones.

Fortunately, she managed to move out of the way enough that Broknus missed her entirely and buried its head into the stone. Rocks began falling around the creature, burying it while it writhed furiously.

“Get it!” Asura yelled and swam towards the wounded woman. “I'll check on Skyth!” She weaved around the falling rocks until she found the woman, buried under a large boulder. A quick slash of her blade broke the stone, freeing the scaled fighter. She reached down and helped Skyth up before she put a hand to the woman's chest. “Greater heal.”

“Ugh... was all this just to cop a feel?” the leviathan asked with a chuckle. “Weren't kidding about the pain feedback being higher. I feel like I got ran over by a chuck... or three...”

“A chuck?”

“Truck... ow...” Skyth said with a groan. The wounds disappeared and she was released. “Words… hard.”

Another roar tore through the caverns and the two looked back. The monster's tail lay limp on the ground of the cave, sliced from its body. Ice and rocks covered Broknus while it thrashed about, snapping at its attackers while they swarmed about like bees.

“Should we try another big burst attack like we did on Niohoggr?” Asura asked.

“Are you insane? Last time we nearly fried my equipment!” Skyth yelled and slammed her mace across the monster's back.

“We could probably use them one at a time?” Andremedia said before stabbing into the crocodile's back and tearing away some scales. “We all have the hell fire spell boosted now!”

“Come onnnn! As long as we don't do them all at once, it should be fine!” Asura sheathed her blade and dove at the monster. She placed both hands onto its back before yelling out. “Hell fire!” Black flames erupted from her hand and burned away at the creature, melting scale and flesh together and boiling the water around them. She coughed and sputtered before swimming away, the scent of charred scales trapped in her nostrils. “Ugh, that's horrible! Get out of their once you cast it, you don't want to smell that.”

“Most of us have scent turned off,” Scalios said with a chuckle. “Just be thankful you aren't hurt by the splash back from the spell! I'm going in, Skyth?”

“Coming!” the woman said and the two leviathan's dove in together. They each swam in from the side and gripped one of Broknus' feet.

“Hell fire!” the two called in unison and the flames burst out from their hands and enveloped the limbs. When the two swam away the feet were left as nothing more than burnt, charred husks.

“Media, with me!” B4hamutt yelled and he dove down. He dug his claws deep into the beast's face while Media dove up to jam her blade into its underbelly.

“Hell fire!” they yelled and the black flames enveloped the creature's exposed body parts. Flesh and scales were burned away while Broknus writhed in pain. Finally the creature's body began to crack before scales flew into the water and turned into small red sparkles. Soon the rest of its body began to follow suit, its powerful shrieks echoing through the chamber as its body slowly disappeared into showers of red sparkles.

Asura let out a sigh of relief and looked to the remains. “We did it. We've won. We finally killed the king of the leviathans. I wonder if--”

The chamber began to shake and the stones of the walls crumbled before beginning to break apart. Behind the walls, statues of marble pushed their way out. The moss and coral crumbled to the ground and soon they were surrounded by a circle of statues, each shaped like a leviathan humanoid. Tridents, swords, maces and an assortment of other weapons were held by the marble creations. Stones from the roof began to fall around them in a thick layer of dust, revealing a multitude of upside-down clams. The shells opened before colorful gems began to fall from above, filling the chamber with their beautiful glow.

“Congratulations!” a loud woman's voice called out. “As the first to ever defeat Broknus, king of the leviathans, please accept this reward!”

Once again there was a blinding flash and a small chest appeared in front of them. Asura smiled and tapped it before a message appeared. 'Acquired: Essence of Broknus, Skins of the ocean ruler.'

“We did it!” Asura yelled and lifted her hands up to try to jump in excitement. Instead she flew up and slammed her head into one of the clams. “Owwwww...”

“Smooth,” Skyth said with a chuckle. “Well, I guess that's that. Two down, four to go.”

“Yeah,” B4hamutt said and looked around. “I guess we're going to have to teleport out of here or something. I don't see an exit.”

“Well, we were probably going to have to anyway.” Asura swam around the group. “We've done it though! Two down! I think this one was even easier!”

“Probably,” Scalios said with a sigh. “After all, it's probably not expected we'd all have leviathan class mastered. Look, there's even an air pocket to breath from. This one was probably the easiest, or one of the easiest.”

Asura rolled her eyes, “Don't have to be a spoil sport about it. Come on, we won, be happy! We only have four more to go!” She cheered and pumped her fist in the air. Before long the group was back at Everlight and she could barely contain her excitement while she hopped behind B4hamutt. “We did it, we did it, only four more to go!”

“Yeah, I know,” he said before putting an arm around her shoulder. “We still have to find them though. What are your plans now?”

“What do you mean?”

“With your parents,” he said quickly.

She stopped and looked down. “I... I don't want to tell them yet.”

“Asura...”

“I will! I really will! I just...” She bit her lower lip. “I just... I'll tell them after the quest, okay? After the next one?”

“Fine,” he said before giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No,” she said quickly. “This is... this is something I need to do on my own.” She gently squeezed his hand. “Besides, I still have about... months before the next quest. Time to practice and prepare for that. Lots of preparing...”

“How long until... you'll be going onto machines?”

“Soon... I... I'm on the kidney one now,” she said softly. “Dialysis.”

“I see...” His arm wrapped tighter around her waist, though he didn’t sound very surprised. “I’m sorry… I know this can’t be--”

“It's okay, it's okay, shhhhh,” Asura whispered and laid her head against his chest. “With all that was going on, my plans to tell them and everything I just... I just haven’t wanted to talk about it. It's not that big a deal. I haven't been on it long.”

“I think kidney failure is a pretty big deal,” B4hamutt said, anger filling his voice. He then let out a sigh and rubbed her arm. “I'm sorry, I know this can’t be easy to talk about. I just... I just worry about you. I want to think about you and... I want to know about you. What if something had gone wrong and you...” He then sighed. “Sorry.”

“I know you worry and I'm sorry. But... I'd rather not talk about it much. I mean, what if I came on late? You'd think I was dead,” she said with a sigh before closing her eyes. “Let's talk about something else. Let's... let's plan for the next quest, okay? Or the attack on Voidhall? With all the advice you've given me I... I think we'll both have a decent chance to win this time, and we could launch an attack once the mastery quests are done. If I pass this time I... huh. I'll be honest, I haven't used him in a long time. Are you sure he's needed?”

“Used... oh, me either,” he said with a chuckle. “Kind of funny when you realize how many players swear by them, and how hard you worked to get it. But I guess they aren't always the best with their penalties.”

“No, but maybe he will work this time,” she whispered. “I wonder what the sixth mastery will be like...”

“We'll find out together,” he whispered and gently kissed the top of her head.

“Maybe... what was the first thing you saw when you started it?”

“Oh, that's easy,” the dragon said as they entered her room, leaving the halls behind them.

------

Months passed slowly until Asher found himself sharing his room with a new machine. Unable to hear, see or feel with his body, he lost any sense of connection to the real world. He was unable to even see the new equipment that now took up the majority of his room aside from finding pictures online.

Within the game world, however, her connections grew ever stronger. With the quests coming up, B4hamutt and Scalios had gathered Andremedia, Asura and Skyth for special training. They had retreated to a small forest near the fallen remains of Sanctuary and practiced all the skills they believed they would need for the quest.

When it was finally time, the angel traveled deep into demon lands yet again. She clutched her sword to her chest, before glancing at the dagger at her side. “Okay, I can do this. Be strong, Asura. You've practiced for this. You've trained for this. Just a little more,” she whispered to herself.

Slowly she looked up. A temple, shaped like a large gaping maw with teeth, but no face, towered over her. Inside there was nothing but darkness and obsidian steps that went under ground. Slowly she stepped forward until a warning, the same warning she had seen so many times before, appeared. “Okay, now,” she whispered. She held out her hand on brought up a menu. After a few moments a loud shriek filled the air before her pet, a dragon nearly three times her size, appeared besides her. Fang.

She slowly reached out and patted its snout. “Hey, big guy. Time to put our training to use.” The reptile licked her hand in response. “Be careful, okay? I know how much you like lighting me on fire, but don't this time. I'm not in the mood to get fried by another one of your fire breaths,” she said harshly. The dragon made a soft whining sound and lowered its gaze. “Come on, Fang.” She walked into the darkness and clicked accept to the warning.

The world froze around her for a moment before moving again. The stairs continued down for what felt like ages, though her leviathan abilities allowed her to still see. She glanced about on occasion, expecting something to attack, but nothing happened. Finally she saw torches down below and heard yelling and shouting. She began picking up the pace and grinned. “It's time!”

At the bottom of the stairs were a handful of large demons, though heavily wounded. The ground was littered with dozens of their corpses. She stepped forward and glanced about. “Wow...” she whispered. “It's true...” She stooped down to examine one of the demons. The creature had been stabbed and had a few small round holes all over its body. “Swords and ray spells. Ohhhh!” She jumped to her feet and ran down the hall.

Yelling and metal clashing greeted her. She came to a large open chamber, carved from the obsidian stones, filled with angels and demons fighting. There was a large hole near the top of the chamber where more and more angels flew in from. The demons had constructed walls and barricades, though they were quickly losing ground and being pushed into the tunnel she came through.

The most impressive sights were the giants fighting in the front lines. Angels over twenty feet tall, with weapons and armor that glittered like jewels, cleaved through the demon hordes with ease. Their only opposition were massive demons, horned behemoths with claws like steel and teeth like diamonds. While the majority of the fighters were her size, the largest ones tore through the lines like unstoppable beasts of destruction. She let out a soft squeal of delight. “Okay, remember. Careful. Remember your training,” she said to herself before lightly jogging to the front line. “Don't let them surround you. Don't take too much damage, need to be ready for the second part. I can't believe I get to relieve a fight from the actual war! Real angels and demons! They... oh... my...” Her mouth fell open at the next sight.

One of the angels held up their hands and a large pentagram formed in front of them. A moment later a golden bull charged out from it and tore through the demon lines. When the bull charged forward, one of the demons held out its hand and it transformed into a few assortments of massive tentacles. They wrapped around the beast and picked it up, before hurtling it back and shattering it against the wall of the cavern.

“S-summoning magic! Transformation magic! It's really here! They do exist in the game!” Asura hopped up and down in excitement, clapping her hands together. “Hee hee, just you wait! One day I'll learn them! I'll learn all of them!” she yelled and charged forward. Behind her the little dragon flapped its wings and followed after. She went to the front lines, swinging her blade at the nearest angel. It brought up its own sword to block it, but her sword sliced clean through to the angel beneath. She struck the neck, instantly killing the man. “Awesome. He was right, critical strikes work for these ones. Hup!” she said and took to the air to avoid a ground strike. She snapped her fingers. “Now!”

A moment later her dragon opened its mouth and red hot flames burst out, enveloping a number of the angels. As soon as the flames died she landed in their midst and began cleaving through them once again. The smaller angels around her were soon dispatched. One of the larger ones turned to her and charged.

“Bring it on, big guy,” she said before charging as well. It brought its sword down on her head, but she easily brought both her blades up to catch between them. Still, the force was so powerful it dropped her down to one knee. “Ow... son of a... damn. I guess your blade can withstand Excalibur. Well, let's try this!” She rolled to the side when the massive angel tried to cleave through her again. Jumping to her feet, the smaller angel charged forward and sliced across the giant warriors feet, freezing them in ice.

“Take that!” Asura yelled before flying up and plunging the blade into the giant angel's chest. She cut a line up through the shoulder and then across the skull. The humanoid burst into a shower of red sparkles and she let out a victorious yell. “Hah! I wi-- ugh!” She was sent hurtling down to the ground. Her back smoked a little from where all the ray spells hit her. “Owie.” She looked about at the multitude of angels still standing. “Well, we have a lot of work to do. Come on!” she yelled and charged forward, her dragon at her side.

The two fought through the opposing forces, her body soon dripping with sweat while exhaustion threatened to overtake her. Soldier by soldier the angels were pushed back, their numbers streaming from the tunnel in the back slowly decreasing. The demons fell as well, their numbers dwindling while the fight went on, forcing Asura to try her best to keep them from being overwhelmed. Finally, after her muscles had become so sore she could barely hold her sword, angels stopped flowing in from the tunnel and she managed to quickly eliminate the rest of their numbers. The moment they were gone she turned and ran the way she came. “Hurry up!” she yelled to her dragon.

Asura barely managed to make it into the tunnel before the chamber began shaking. The hole the angels came through suddenly exploded and smoke shot out to envelope the demons. She gulped and watched the smog, waiting for it to clear.

After a few minutes she could make out shapes in the thick smoke. A half dozen normal angels were standing, the bodies of the demons littering the room. Behind them stood a large angel, much like the goliathan ones she had already fought, except his armor was encrusted with precious gems, gold and lines of blue lights moved throughout each crack in the armor, repairing them. She took a deep breath.

“Wow... that must be Samael,” She glanced to the dragon. “He's one of the high angels. Well, he was. Back in the lore of the game. He actually fell in this battle and... why am I even telling you this?” she asked before shaking her head. “Not like you can even understand it. Okay, here's how this is going.” She moved besides the dragon and motioned to the large angel. “I need you to keep him distracted. Defensive style. Try to avoid attacks, but keep him from fighting with me.” She smiled and gently patted the dragon's snout. “This is what our training was for. If you can keep him distracted long enough for me to defeat the others, we can win this. I just need a few minutes to rest.” She dropped to the ground and wiped the sweat from her face. Fortunately, the large angel didn't move and, once the exhaustion leaked from her body, she got to her feet. She tapped on the air a few times and a small satchel formed on her hip. “Break!” she said before drawing both her blades and charged forward.

The six smaller angels readied their weapons. Samael lifted his right hand towards the girl, but was suddenly knocked back when a small black blur slammed into his face. Her dragon bit and clawed at the large angel's face before flying off, drawing him away.

Asura held out her dagger, aiming with the hand. “Ray burst!” Rays shot out and enveloped the winged fighters, knocking them back. “Fireball!” Flames shot out from the same hand and surrounded the angels again before they cried out. She jumped back and readied her blade when two of the angels burst from the smoke and flew straight at her. She held out her hand and smirked. “Ice shield.” A wall of ice formed in front of her right before the angels closed in. One veered off, but the other slammed into it face first. She stabbed out with her sword, cutting through the ice and beheading the angel, making it disappear into red sparkles. “Whew. One down, five to go.”

She shrieked and stepped to the right when a ray shot by her head. “Easy!” One of the angels dived at her, slashing down. She brought her own sword up to catch the blade and her left hand shot up to stab right under the chin, driving the dagger in deep. With it stunned, she quickly stepped to the left and jammed her sword through its chest. It disappeared into red sparkles a moment later.

“Two do-- grrk!” Pain shot through her back when another one of the humanoids blind sided her. She quickly ran to the right towards the wall. The four angels pursued her. When she came to the wall she jumped and ran up it, her wings flapping. She went a few feet before pushing off and flying back over the angels. Her blade whistled through the air with two quick slashes and she quickly dispatched two of the angels, their bodies disappearing in a flurry of red sparkles while their heads followed suit a moment later.

“Heal!” she yelled and she put her hand to her chest, the cut on her back disappearing. “Heh, you guys aren't so bad. I don't see w--” She was interrupted when a loud shriek tore through the chamber. She turned in time to see her dragon fall to the ground, its left wing gone. “Oh, right. Just a little longer!” she yelled and turned back to the other two. She brought her sword up, blocking another slash before she stabbed into the angel's chest with her dagger. “Ray burst!” She let go of the dagger before placing her palm to its chest, the spell bursting out.

It disappeared and she charged through the sparkles at the final one, grabbing the dagger while the body disappeared around it. She heard the pained screams of her dragon from behind her, but she only let it slow her for a moment. “Guiding blade!” she yelled. Her blades seemed to move of their own accord and slashed into the angel as fast as lightning, zipping in and around its defenses. She heard another pained shriek from behind. A shadow fell over her moments after her attack stopped. She plunged her sword into the stunned angel's skull moments before more pain shot through her own back.

Asura was sent hurtling forward, sailing through the sparkles of the fallen angel, and hitting the wall opposite her. She groaned and she glanced at her HP, cringing when she saw it was down to half. “Hit hard, don't you? Ice shield!” Ice formed in front of her, barely blocking Samael's blade. Her eyes widened when she looked past him, seeing the red crystal on the ground, representing the fallen Fang. However, she didn't have any time to focus on him, only having a few seconds to fly up before the ice wall fell and Samael's blade pierced the wall behind her. “Eesh! Careful!”

“You will die, demon!” the massive angel yelled before holding out his hand. “Ray burst!”

“Ice shield!” she screamed and the water formed again, catching the torrent of rays. It only held a few seconds before two of the beams shot through and cut into her side, knocking her health down by another third. “How do you hit so hard? Greater heal!” she yelled and put a hand to her chest, her health shooting up. Unfortunately, her MP was nearly gone. “Okay, easy big guy.” She dove down and landed behind him. “It's just you and me. No more distractions.”

Samael turned and brought his sword down, a strike powerful enough to cleave her in half if she let it connect. She caught the blade between both of hers, the force driving her to her knees. “Ugh... c-careful,” she whispered before lunging forward and rolling between the angel's legs, his sword slamming into the ground behind her. She quickly jumped to her feet and stabbed her sword up, into the angel's back. It cut clean through his armor and out through the other side, before she tore it out through the angel's left side.

Asura jumped backwards before the larger angel whipped around and attempted to cleave her with his massive blade. “Holy... stay down! Why don't you... oh come on.”

“Greater heal!” Samael cast, the spell quickly beginning to heal his wounds.

“That's no fair! Only I'm supposed to be able to-- GAH!” She jumped to the right, the charging angel swinging with a powerful downward strike. The blade cut through the obsidian tiles, all the way to the hilt. “Yes! Try swinging... oh... hell...” She whimpered when the massive angel ripped it out from the floor in a single movement. “That's REALLY not fair!” She reached into her satchel and pulled out a potion, downing it quickly. Her MP refilled and she readied herself. “Bring it on.”

Samael struck at Asura yet again while she ducked around the blade. She moved in close, practically standing on his toes before stabbing him the thigh. She quickly weaved in between his legs to get at his back, striking at whatever she could while she struggled to keep him from being in a position to counter attack.

He suddenly spread out his wings and her eyes widened. “NO! Don't you dare!” she yelled before jumping up and grabbing him around the waist. They flew up into the air together, her still holding on tightly. “Damn... it!” she yelled when she lost her dagger. “Hold... STILL!” Her sword shot up and stabbed into the base of the wings. They locked up for a moment while she jammed the blade back and forth. “GET! DOWN!” Finally, the blade cleaved straight through and removed the left wing entirely. Without the means of flight, the two crashed to the ground.

Unable to hold on, the smaller angel tumbled along the ground a few yards before stopping. Pain flowed through her body, especially her side, and she glanced down. Her fallen dagger was lodged into her hip. “Go figure,” she said with a growl before yanking it out, letting out a hiss of pain.

Samael was slowly getting to his feet and put his hand to his chest. Asura let out a growl, “Oh no you don't!” she yelled before sheathing her dagger and reaching into her satchel. She yanked out two potions and chugged them both. The wounds across her body healed and her speed increased dramatically, allowing her to get into its face in mere moments. Her left hand moved through the air rapidly before the sheathed dagger changed to a sword and she pulled it out. Her blades flashed through the air, almost too fast for her to control when she cut through the larger angel, fire and ice coating the massive angel while he struggled to fight back.

Asura fae-stepped behind the man when he attempted to cleave through her again and she stabbed upwards with both blades. She sliced through his body, cutting through his armor before he could whip around. His hand struck her across the chest, sending her flying back and into the wall. Pain shot through her body, but she ignored it. “I'm not going to lose!” she yelled before shoving off the wall and charging him again. He tried to cleave through her, but she ducked under the blade so it flew over and then jumped up. “DIEEEEE!” she screamed before she brought both blades together under him and slashed up, cleaving all the way up and through to his head.

“GAHHHHH!” Samael yelled before falling to his knees. “You... you demon bitch. I'm-”

Asura tossed both weapons aside before diving down and grabbing him around the head. “Hell fire,” she said before the flames erupted from her hands and enveloped him. He let out a scream when the flames burned away his body, but she didn't stop. “Rapture!” White light enveloped him and the force of the attack threatened to send her flying.

Samael gripped his blade and stabbed straight into her stomach, eliciting a cry of pain while her HP plummeting.

“I-I'm... I'm not done... Heaven's blizzard!” Large shards of ice enveloped the man even while he fell back, though he twisted the blade in her stomach. “J-just... jut DIE! Seelie's torment!” She screamed before green magic enveloped the man, cutting through his armor and slicing away his remaining wing. Still he did not fall while the blade twisted and turned in her stomach, her HP almost gone when his other hand reached up to grab and twist her wings, nearly tearing one off.

“Not... not... done... Dark echo,” she said softly. Black magic coated every inch of the larger angel. The two screamed in unison before Asura fell to the ground, on her side, pain in almost every inch of her body. The sword in her stomach slowly disappeared in a flurry of red sparkles before the larger angel began to do the same.

She lay there, unable to move and struggling to even breath. “Oh god... I feel like every part of my body has been run through a rin... rin... blarggggg.” She groaned before she rolled over onto her stomach and threw up. Her stomach retched while she convulsed, her entire body shaking. “Oh god... what's--” Her stomach rose up in objection once again, scattering its contents across the floor.

Once the pain subsided she rolled onto her side and groaned. Slowly she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself, taking deep breaths. “Okay... okay... you're okay. Just... urg... just need to calm down. Too much... ugh... sometimes this all gets a little too realistic,” she whispered before rolling away from the mess on the floor. “Going to take a very long bath after this...” She slowly climbed to her feet and looked around. The room was empty, except a handful of demons who stood and stared at her. That whole fight would have been easier if they had just helped. “F-fang?” she called out, looking around. The crystal was gone. With shaking hands, she reached up to open her inventory.

The dragon's egg was there, waiting to be hatched. She let out an angry scream of frustration, punching the nearest thing she could, which happened to be one of the demons. It merely stared down at her.

“Great and powerful Asura, you have defeated Samael, one of our greatest enemies,” the large demon in thick red and black armor said. Held in his hands was a thick column of obsidian. “Allow me to give you a gift worthy of your strength.” The demon plunged the pillar into the ground, like a nail. After a few moments cracks formed along the length of it and pieces of obsidian fell to the ground. A long, thin obsidian pole was revealed under the crumbling stones.

She reached out and grabbed the pole, yanking it free. The obsidian holder crumbled, revealing a black blade etched with red runes. The runes glowed blood red, while the blade itself absorbed the light around it. She admired the blade and let out a low whistle. “Tonbogiri... Five classes mastered. One to go...” She glanced down and rubbed her stomach. She thought she'd feel excitement, but all she felt was empty and sick. “At least the nausea is gone... I should probably report it.” She brought up the menu and started clicking. She was midway through the report before stopping.

She closed the option and shook her head. “No... it's... it's probably just a problem with being logged in for so long. Sensations are becoming too accurate. If I report it they might try to get me to stop playing, possibly reporting to the provider. If mom and dad think there are any issues...” Her stomach jumped again so she reached down and gently patted it. “N-no. I'm not... that's not going to happen... I'm not going to lose this. I won't...” she whispered.

She brought up her inventory one last time, slowly tapping on the egg before it appeared in her hands. It was oddly cool, almost lifeless, just waiting to be hatched. Memories of Fang filtered in her mind. While she had rarely used him, he was still a part of her. Her pet. He’d given himself so she could do this. So she could succeed.

She finally sighed and wiped away a tear. “I... I guess this is goodbye. It's better this way. I... I won't be alive much longer. So I’ll… I’ll see you soon. Okay?” She softly placed the egg on the ground, pulling her hands away. It asked if she wanted to discard the item and she slowly pressed yes. With a heavy sigh, she got to her feet and turned. She knew once she left, the building and everything in it would disappear. But she decided that, just this once, she wouldn't believe it.

When she walked out into the world, she chose to believe the room would never disappear. That the egg would stand as her pet's gravestone forever. Long after she was gone. That Fang would forever remain a part of this world, a loyal pet to a dying master.