"Hmm." I stretched my body after getting out of my sleeping bag and took a deep breath.

I was using the same equipment as the one from the last few days… That makes two days straight… And I did not take a bath yet... I touched my hair and found it was oily and dirty… 'It is decided, today I will take a bath'

I hurriedly packed my things and started making my way to the cooking area to be done with the food delivery as fast as possible to have a nice block of free time for a bath and more.

I arrived a couple of hours later at the construction site, they had completed the low-rise buildings and an inn and were in the middle of building the high-rise one. The farming area was coming together nicely, there was a fence surrounding it and there were more and more sprouts and some were almost ready to be harvested.

I approached a guy that was tending into it and asked "How is the farm coming along?"

He did not bother to turn away from his work "It's coming along nicely. Perhaps we are pushing the crops growth too much, but there are a lot of people we need to feed and seeing that they did not crumble yet is a good sign. Other than that, we have been getting some pests coming here to munch on our crops, but with the fence in place we don't have to worry about it."

"Like that one?" I pointed to an animal that seemed to be a mix of a rabbit and a mouse that was eating a watermelon-like crop

The man glanced at me then at the direction I was pointing "What the-? How did you get in here!? Shoo!!" The animal startled, started escaping to the forest and surprisingly jumped over the waist high fence and kept running.

The man had a look of anger on his face "No matter where we are, those kinds of pests exist everywhere." He sighed "We need a bigger fence…"

"I don't remember ever seeing one in Green Wood farms when passing through."

"That is because we had wurms. They hide underground most of the time and they only come out if you coax them to by using pesticide or by burying their holes. These guys aren't as bad as the wurms though, so that's a plus."

While we talked a big shadow passing on top of us. We both looked up and saw a big and grey cloud.

"It seems that our luck with the weather is over." He said

"Indeed." 'It seems there many more coming from the horizon'

We stood a moment in silence looking at the cloud.

He broke the silence "I think that's my cue to finish my work."

"For me as well. Do we have anything for the rain?"

"We have drainages in place here and I hear that they are building a wall to hold back landslides on the side of the mountain, but I fear for the travelling group."

"It was nice chatting with you. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

'This was an unexpected informative conversation but I shouldn't stop in place right now, especially if there is the possibility of rain.'

I went to the corner where the alchemists were.

"I have more for you to analyze. Also, can you fill me this barrel with filtered water for the third group?"

"You can put the materials over there in that pile and we'll sort them. As for the barrel, give it to me and I'll be back in half an hour with the water." I complied and did as he said

After that I went to the cooking area and took note of the metal boxes piled up.

"Is the food already packed in the boxes?"

"Yes. You can take it with you."

"Can I leave the empty boxes here?"

"You brought them? We were expecting receiving them back when the third group comes but you bringing them also works. Yes, you can leave it right there then we'll clean them and store them later."

"Ok. Just in case you don't know, I saw some pretty big and grey clouds."

"We noticed. That's why we'll be packing this place up and move into the inn. We had to convince those stubborn builders to focus on building an inn sooner than they expected." She shook her head at the last sentence

"I see."

"Did you notice that none of them have slept since the beginning of the construction?"

"What? They didn't? Why?"

"It is that Crafter craze I tell you. However, I believe it is also because they want to accommodate the third group as best as they can."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Because they want them to feel safe after being whisked away to god knows where…" she trailed off

I did not respond to that and started unpacking the empty boxes and packing the ones filled with food.

"I'm going." I declared

"Oh, yes, yes. You do that. I also need to get back to work."

I went back to the alchemists' corner and waited for the one with the barrel. 10 minutes later he was back "Here's your water."

"Thanks."

I started heading the way of the third group. I arrived in less time than before. 'They are making good progress.'

Same as the other times I greeted the Vanguards and ignored the one being held back by another and got to the rear of the group where the mayor and captain were.

"I've got your food and water."

"As usual, give them to the three over there and take the empty boxes with you." The captain said

"Ok." I gave the boxes to them and took the empty ones

"Anything I should know?" he asked

"Yes. There are signs of rain clouds."

The mayor and the captain looked up at the sky but it was obstructed by the leaves of the trees.

"We'll have to take your word for it, since we cannot see them inside of the forest."

The mayor asked "Do you precautions in place for the rain?"

"Yes. There are drainages and, from rumors, a wall is being built for the sake of landslides."

"That is good."

"When will the rain start?" asked the captain

"Either later today or tomorrow. I have to inform you that this is only my opinion and that I am not an expert on weather."

They thought for a moment before deciding.

"We slept this night so I think we'll just push it and get to the destination with few breaks in between."

"That would be the better choice." The mayor added

"Anything else?"

"The construction is progressing; the farm has some crops that can be harvested and there were some problems with pests but they can handle it."

"Already?" he asked pleasantly surprised

"Yes. They might have pushed it, but there are some crops ready."

The mayor contemplated "That might bring problems later on. The frequent utilization of [Life Blessing] may have made the plants eat all the nutrients of the earth."

"You can always fertilize the earth." I said

"Yes, but it will take time and we cannot use the same method forever. The earth needs to rest." The mayor shook his head "I will think about that later." He turned to me "Craven, go back to the site and tell the others to prepare the place for our arrival. If there isn't enough space in the buildings for everyone have those with tents use them outside. The priority here are the Locals." 'because they are weaker than the others'

"Understood. Anything else?"

He thought for a moment "You don't have to bring us any more food." 'there won't be a place and time to eat it after all'

"Ok. Then, I'll be going."

I turned away and made my way back to the site.

When I arrived, I decided to contact the Vanguards first to inform them of the orders. I approached a Vanguard and asked "Excuse me. I need to speak to the leader of the Vanguards here about some orders from the third group."

"Then you'll have to speak with Victor. Last time I heard he was on the wall on the side of the mountain. You know the place?"

"Is it the wall for the landslides?"

"That's it. It's in the direction of the mountain, you can't miss it."

I thanked her and ran in the direction of the mountain until I saw a long six meters tall wall. It was made of pressured dirt, shaped like a half-moon for the sake of redirecting the landslides, if there are any, and it was held by logs on the side of the site. I saw a Vanguard near it and closed in on him.

"Excuse me. I would like to talk with the leader of the Vanguards, Victor. Can you point on his direction?"

"What for?" 'a no-nonsense type?'

"Orders from Captain Neos and Mayor Krislaw."

"Follow me. I will take you to him."

I followed the Vanguard. We walked around the wall and went to a group of Vanguards discussing about something.

The Vanguard spoke out loud "Victor, I have a messenger for you. She brings orders from Captain Neos and Mayor Krislaw."

"Thank you. I'll take it from here, you can return to your post." Replied Victor 'thank god the Vanguard brought me here, else I would not know who Victor is'

"Yes sir!" 'so stiff. Was he a soldier or did he role-play as a soldier?'

Victor turned his attention to me "What news have you brought?"

"I informed the captain and the mayor of the possibility of raining either today or tomorrow. They have decided to push the third group to us with few breaks in between. They want us to be ready to accommodate them inside of the buildings and if that is not possible have people with tents rest outside. The priority are the Locals."

Victor pondered on the information I just give him, then looked at the sky.

"Indeed, the weather is having a turn for the worse. How is their progress?"

"About halfway through when I met them. They will probably arrive tomorrow morning if they can keep this pace.

"Thank you for bringing this to us. We'll mount big tents to welcome them before guiding them to the buildings."

"No problem."

Victor turned to the Vanguards and yelled "You guys heard us! We need to get to work and give them a warm welcome! So, move out."

There was no outcry or anything like that. The Vanguards just picked up their things and headed to work as fast as they could. 'if this was a cartoon there would be a large cloud of dust where they have been standing'

I shook my head to get rid of the thought.

'Now is the best opportunity to have a bath'

But before that I headed to the cooking area to give them the empty boxes before I forget about them. When I arrived, they were not there meaning that they moved to the inn, so I headed there.

'I always watched the construction from afar so looking from nearby gives a different feeling altogether'

There were Crafters and Vanguards moving non-stop on the street made of bricks. The buildings themselves, were made of wooden planks nailed together but the Crafters also seemed to coax the planks with life energy to fuse the them together. The high-rise building seemed almost complete and stands at 10 floors high, the low-rise buildings surrounding were 5 floors high and the inn that I was going to had 3 floors 'how does one make buildings this high with only wood?'. The buildings were not cramped, there are streets between them and they are around 2 meters wide.

I opened the door to the inn and noticed that other than the bar table that technically was part of the building, there was no furniture inside. That was a matter of course, because the priority for the Crafters were the structure of the buildings to house as many people as possible and protect them from the elements. There were some people resting on the floor on the inn 'probably tired after been working non-stop after reaching the site', they looked at me when I entered.

"I've come here to give you empty boxes and to inform you that there won't any deliveries to the third group."

"You can put the boxes on a corner. And what do you mean by no more deliveries?"

"They decided to force their way until here, with few breaks in between, after I told them about the possibility of rain."

"It may rain this night or tomorrow… Anyway, we'll pass the message."

"I'll leave the boxes here." I put the boxes in the corner where it did not obstruct.

"I will be going then." I informed them

"Ok. See you."

'Alright, all my duties are done. Now I can take a bath.'

I decided to travel to the river, but farther away to not risk being exposed to peeping eyes. I had my [Soul pulse] off and [Silent cover] on while travelling.

When I found a good location, I decided to stop there. It was a little open space near the river and would be a nice place to make an improvised bath. I transformed my soul energy into earth energy to help me shape the earth with more ease, then I released it to the earth and used it to make the earth rise and form walls around a bowl-shaped hole, more than big enough for my body. I made sure the earth was nice and strong, after that I turned to the river while keeping an energy thread connected to the walls.

By using energy threads to connect the user to a spell outside the body one can keep the spell on while the thread is still connected and the energy supplied. The spell then becomes a continuous type of spell that takes soul energy regeneration to keep its existence. In combat, the threads are either kept out of reach distance or are constantly moving because they can be cut. It's also possible to do a spell far away from the body by using the threads.

I looked at the river for a moment, thinking of my next step. I used a soul energy tendril to grab a bunch of small round stones, make them float out of the river and put them inside the hole, spreading them on the bottom filling it completely so that the dirt was hidden.

What I just used was [Puppetry], a failed attempt at creating necromancy because of the short range of the spell, the enormous consumption for each tendril and the regeneration upkeep. Although it was a failure as necromancy, the spell is useful to make objects float and that includes weapons. My previous fighting style used this technique as its central piece 'and I remember seeing a player using this technique with giant metal fists with chains connected to his body to reduce his regeneration upkeep'.

Finally, I spread my soul energy in the river and made the water float like a snake to the hole, filling it with water.

'The bath is almost ready. Only needs a little heat and it will be done.'

When I was standing beside the bath, I looked left and right. Because of a little paranoia, I decided to grow the walls and bringing them together at the top while leaving a hole, just like a cone with no top. I put on surroundings a dome of soul energy that would break on contact, except with me, and inform me when other living beings where nearby a meter bigger in diameter than the bath itself.

The dome is a spell called [Surveillance trap], a trap type of spell that informs the user when beings cross its threshold. It triggers on the first contact; Therefore, the user won't be able to tell how many there are.

Afterwards, I made a hole in front of so that I could enter and after I did so I closed it, not completely to leave an air entrance. The bath was dark inside even with the hole on top so I used fire energy to create many small but bright flame sprites to illuminate the place, that was [Candlelight]. I started to undress myself, I hanged the clothes on earthen blunt hooks that I made on the earth wall.

When I was about to heat the water, I stopped in place, looking at my reflection caused by the stillness of the water and the little flames floating around. It was an odd experience to look at one's reflection and realize that would be my appearance from now on and I could not bring myself to even care about it. Neither happiness or sadness was felt. Maybe wonder at how my body changed without me noticing, but that does not count. My thoughts are like: 'This is me, I look beautiful, but other than that there is nothing wrong.'

Thanks to my former male mind I made my character look like a beauty, although there was no option to make your character ugly in the character creation. I had healthy white skin, an hourglass like figure with my plump tights and butt and my boobs on the bigger side. Long legs. Long black air that reaches my waist with no particular hairstyle. My face was soft but at the same time cold, depending on my expression, while my eyes were a striking blue with black streaks. My body was in a way "good" but not exaggerated like some anime do.

Although my body did not look strong, I knew that it was because I did some exercise to increase my health points to the point where my form would change but I. The only unhuman part of my body were my ears that were like human hears but pointy, not as long as an elf-like race, just pointy, and they were normally hidden by my hair.

I heated the water with fire energy to a temperature a little higher than comfortable just how I liked. Steam was raising of the water and exiting through the hole on top. I submerged myself inside the water and used [Breath of Air].

If I had to point an oddity on my body it would be how frail it looks even though I have wielded many weapons and fought countless battles until this point. I looked at my hands inside the water with energy keeping the water from touching my eyes. There were no scars on my body or even calluses on my hands or feet, just soft skin that did not seemed to have gotten a scar even once.

'Oh, they're floating. If mine are like this then how are Eleanora's?' my melancholy was broken by a surprise caused by a certain party of my body 'I am a simple... woman after all'

I raised my upper body out of the water, deactivated [Breath of Air] and took a deep breath and exhaled it moments later. 'There is no point thinking about it and losing my sanity while doing it'

I started thinking about more productive things as in how to clean my body without products from my world. 'How do women keep their skin healthy after doing manual work…? Oh wait, I know why: Life energy. More specifically: life energy's passive health regeneration.'

That was probably why there were not many beauty products in Obsidian, even though Creo likes to keep everything making sense in the game for the sake immersion. Women did not need them because they don't have cases of dry skin or just noticeable wrinkles. 'How women back home would kill for that and this is not a joke, beauty is a scary thing and it started to propagate to men as well'

I shook my head to get rid of annoying thoughts and pondered how to clean my body. An idea hit me in the head, I used my soul energy to make a ball of water float to my head then I started moving it on my scalp.

'Oh, wow, this actually feels pretty good. Like a massage, no, even better.' I slowly moved it along my hair until the tips, then I threw it outside because it was dirty. I thought for a moment, then I decided to submerge myself again with [Breath of Air] activated and I started moving the water along my body to scrape of any dirt, sweat and anything else clinging to my body. As the water moved, I felt an odd massage on my body as a whole, of course I used less strength in the more sensible parts.

I got up from the bath and looked at the water. I made the water float to the river through the open hole for the air entrance, then I used an  energy thread to connect to the river further up and made the water come to me but I did not put it in the bath yet, I let it float. I warmed it and let it trickle slowly on my head and when no more water floated, I laid down on my back and relaxed.

'I could get used to this. Now that I think about it couldn't I just create my own water? Maybe, but that would be bathing in distilled water, so no thanks'

I let my mind wander while looking and playing with the fire sprites. My gaze landed on my clothes and had another idea. This time I created water using water energy, used [Puppetry] to grab my clothes and put them inside, I warmed the water to a scalding temperature, I believe around 50° Celsius. 'Now how many rotations per minutes was it for this type of clothes?' Having no answer to my question, I just decided to make it spin fast but not too fast and while it did, I would push the dirt to a parallel water ball.

'This is life! I can hold the temperature of the water by feeding it fire energy and my clothes will be washed while I am relaxing. Correction. It's not: I could get used to this; It is: I am definitely going to get used to this!'

I absentmindedly watched the water spinning, releasing dirt with every rotation from the clothes and gathering it in another water ball, and the fire sprites floating around and let go a relaxed sigh…

.

'I believe the time has come' I got up from the water, returned the water to the river and used fire energy to evaporate the water clinging to my body. I scanned my equipment inside the inventory to look for the next outfit I would use, then I noticed: I have only one pair of underwear. Furthermore, it was the one being washed right now. 'It's understandable and weird at the same time.'

Obsidian did have some immersion breaking facts, one of them was protection against nudity. If for some reason the player wanted to undress in plain sight, the underwear would be the last defense against nudity. That's why players, if asked, do possess underwear, just a single pair though.

I stopped the ball from spinning, threw away the one that gathered the dirt. I held the clothes with [Puppetry] then threw the water ball out. The clothes were a wrinkling mess so I tried to see if using [Soul shield] to get them as straight as they could and used fire energy to dry them. I scanned the clothes with my eyes to see if there was any problem, seeing none I put them in my inventory except for the underwear that I promptly wear.

As for the outfit I chose a grey shirt with a hooded dark blue jacket that goes further down than my waist, dark grey pants and thick black boots that still allowed movement. I was a little uncomfortable with this outfit because of my hair so I used soul energy to make it float and braid itself then I put it at the front. It was still long when braided, but it would not bother me as much.

Thanks to the freedom of creation, players either brought IRL things into the game or just created their own things based on their tastes. Clothes belong to both categories, that's why I possess clothes that are not fantasy like 'one of the reasons why those role-play maniacs came to bother me'.

I enlarged the hole to get out and cut the threads connecting me to the spells. The walls crumbled on its weight; the fire sprites were extinguished. My little paradise was over. I looked at the sky, it was covered in dark grey clouds, leaving no spot free, some flashes would appear from time to time followed by a thundering sound announcing its arrival.

A drop of water fell on my face and I said: "And hell has just begun." Followed by a thundering roar.

I made my way to the construction site. It was empty of life. There was no shouting. No talking. No hammering on planks. No person walking with a bunch of materials. No occasional Vanguard patrols. No overly excited Crafters. They were not there. They were outside, near the tents, looking at one direction only. Watching as if something would come out in that instant, but nothing came out.

Happiness and Sadness. Hope and despair. Life and death. I did not matter what you clung to, in the end, in front of time they all crumble. Slowly and steadily crumble.

What they were doing was something even more terrifying than some people realize. They were waiting. Watching time pass by them.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock…

The sky darkens to pitch black and the only light that remains in the sky roars with fury.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock…

The rain splatters against us but we are unmoving, captives of time, watching for an eternity.

Tick, tock. FLASH, tock. Tick, ROAR…

Hope is crushed against time and gives birth to despair.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock…

Despair is crushed by time and allows Hope to flourish.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock…

The never-ending cycle of crushed and being crushed continues non-stop, forever.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock…

In the end, time will crush itself, just as it had begun, along with everything in its embrace.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. FLASH, ROAR. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock…

Captives will be freed only to be captured again, forever and ever.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

But when our torment is over. When hope or despair are answered. When our actions will be shown their consequences, what will you wish? Would you be happy with it and embrace where time lead you? Or, would you wish for another answer? Or, would you wish to stay with time in the never-ending cycle of torture and never get out? That is why time is terrifying, for we cannot escape it.

'Now that was a fun way to pass time.' My outfit and the weather may have got me in the mood for edginess.

I looked at the horizon and saw lights, slowly and steadily coming to us. I was not the only one that noticed as people started moving ready to greet them. No one knows who was the first one to shout, but one become many.

The Vanguards and the Crafters guided the arrivals to safety from the elements. The town that was once divided became one once more. Greeting each other, families and friends were reunited.

They were all terrible, our group too, but they were worse though. Whereas we only got wet from the rain, they had mix of leaves and mud clinging to their wet bodies. But they smiled, because they finally arrived at their destination. They were home.

I smiled at that before deciding to get somewhere away from the rain. 'I should have prepared my sleeping bag in advance' I sighed

.

What's beautiful or what's terrifying is all a matter of perspective, after all. 'Oops, there was still some edginess left.'