NIGHT

'never mind?' 'toying with us?' if night had stopped, it was to take in the nonchalance of the masses right after that very distinct death call. she'd faltered from the whiplash, bile and ire culminating in her mouth. this was a first for her. at no point in the raid fights prior had she seen such a level of... incompetence? no. maybe inaccuracy would've been the better word for it. amongst the chaos, and passing off the benefit of the doubt to the boss and its potential for misguiding the judgement of players, hypothetically night could buy the idea that it was more than just whispers th

approved.

# st-b

@Wulfrin echoes. | [#238607] | TIER 2 TRINKET | ACC III, PARA-I | >> [desc.]: a pair of simple ear cuffs that resemble a silver mongoose with small sapphires set to resemble its small beady eyes. night: thanks for feeding my cat night: but dont do it again he doesn't need the extra fish

approved. ticket 43.

r10 artisan. cd tool. echoes. | [#238594] | TIER 2 TRINKET | ACC III | >> [desc.]: a pair of simple ear cuffs that resemble a silver mongoose with small sapphires set to resemble its small beady eyes. Whispers of Resistance Mk. II [#139950] [acquired here] T2 Perfect Trinket -- Accuracy | Loot Die | Paralytic Immunity [reference] A two-toned snow crystal. Studded with large central rhinestone and sparkling diamonds laid on a silver-plated base, the brooch imparts swiftness and protection to its user. | [✦] -> ITEM FUSION. | +1 shard, +1 scale. echoes. | [#2386

08/12/24

a shriek ear-piercing cut through the dark. it was enough for night to flinch, wincing, a hand held up to her ear. was that mina? her health hadn't sunk lower than expected. what had happened? then she heard a rally cry from a voice deeper than the one she just heard. mac? it took time for her to realize that one of their own had fallen. faster still was her sword arm, plunging her blade into callisto's supposed hide, because in the darkness it was hard to tell who else was around, and harder still to believe that a player was dead. if that were the case, she'd see his absence with her ow

the best way to track down a tank would be to get in close. in the dark, that's what night was doing -- sword in hand swiping at callisto as it got too close for comfort, and then came yuki's voice, to help her navigate in the dark. "yuki?! where are you?" there had to have been that snarl, the attempted bite from the bear itself, and yet no deepening of color from her health bar ever came at the corner of her screen. hirru's barrier was working. night moved in, then, guessing at where her paladin friend was going to be -- not that callisto would mind. it already had its sights turn

so she had been. night was glad that the walk over to the library had been short, no thanks to demian's navigational skills (he knew where all the shortcuts were, apparently). and, to her surprise, there had been a queue of players present. she folded her arms, and joined bistro at the back of the line. might've uttered a small prayer at demian's curt leave, watching him join iris and basuke in the corner, but she regarded bistro afterwards, attention unwavering. "how quickly is this moving?" "i might've been waiting here for 15 minutes." there must've been five to six players a

NIGHT: i have petals that are important to people?? | og thread. [>>] | -> night (1756) -> demian (100) -> bistro (100) -> iruma (100) -> asura (100) -> basuke (100) -> iris (100) -> marquis (100) -> shikari (100)

what was about those flower petals she'd somehow obtained on that floor tour earlier? bistro had said something about handing them into the attendants. night was mostly confused. the instructions towards locating them had been inaccurate, to say the least, or maybe night was just worse at following instructions with something else at the top of her mind. what was it that bothered her? they chanced upon the same game that they'd played back in lichten. night grabbed day's cloak and pointed at the stall. "i want another round at it." and this time, she found out that they were pla

thread closing. + 11,572 xp | ((668 * 15) + 500) * 1.1 + 695,907 col | 691372 + 2000 + 800 + (xp * 0.15) + 12 gleaming scales + 9 demonic shards + 1 mon + quest: strings (4/4) + event: flower petals (2556) + combat loot.

they didn’t walk to braso this time, as with their travels the last. they’d almost hitchhiked it back to ronbaru for the ride there, until day pointed out the wagons moving out of town, hidden away in their own corner near one of the other city exits. they clambered on back of one, and allowed the rider to escort them off targok premises, gearing up for the persistent winter instead as they rode through the ice and snow. the two were silent about their own desires in the interim, but huddled close for warmth, the excuse enough of a facade for night to claim plausible deniability if she was eve

mutually assured survival was something night decided she could get behind. she returned the embrace, that kiss, the lock of lips, and broke away after she felt the party atmosphere a little too stifling for their advances present. that they still had an objective to fulfill, paired with an internal timer to return to partaking in life’s activities while they still had waking time, seemed only reasonable — and it seemed equally so that day hadn’t complained or pushed her further. rather, day escorted night out with her hands around night’s arm, seeming a little hesitant or shocked afterwards.

“what am i,” day shot back, beaming, “your personal cardinal diviner?” “rig the game a little for me,” night returned, sticking her tongue out, half-hearted in her suggestion to do so. when day’s response seemed a little delayed, night laughed it off casually, pushing the board game aside. cardinal returned it to its former state, untouched. but before the player could get off her bar stool, day pulled her in for a quick kiss. electrifying. between the warmth of the hearth within, and the heat of a once-shrugged embarrassment, she couldn’t tell if the alcohol served diluted here was

“i doubt it.” night examined her curiously, but said nothing, moving on to review the details of their delivery mission once more. this one seemed to be at an tavern, and they shuffled in quick, doing their best to keep together despite the crowd and their rowdiness. a quick pass of the package to the attendant presently off the clock, and she’d somehow attracted their attention enough for an extended invitation to play a short game. day jumped at the chance to interact with the board given, and it seemed that cardinal could register her inputs just fine, despite the neglect most of the b

“was it really?” “if it was,” day responded, pained. “i wouldn’t know, i think.” a finger went to her lips as she mulled over the events thereafter. “there was the system update afterwards, too. but i doubt that shadow had anything to do with that necessarily…” “it seems a little out of his jurisdiction,” night added, even though the commentary felt just a tinge incorrect. the boss had already seemed like an all-consuming god at the time, even if they’d hardly believed it — if he could’ve taken on the entire castle, who was to say he wasn’t capable of rewriting the laws of their play

she skipped past the memory of her waking, as though from a haze, curled close to the woman she expected to be with in another life, in an ideal world. ignored the awkwardness that bloomed thereforth, as her counterpart struggled to piece together her appearance, and the player herself scrambled to piece the puzzle together. “that’s where orgoth’s legacy came into play,” night said, pulling up the sword, allowing it to cut through the air as it was summoned. a somber smile graced her face as she examined it, but she waved it off, her grin and the blade in her hand quick, her confusion ex

“you were busy in a fight,” day retorted. “you wouldn’t have had the time to read it.” still, her fingers slipped to mingle with night’s own. “and i figured you’d already been plunged into the deep all the same, boss room or otherwise.” day shrugged afterwards. “it just seemed like you were in there, i suppose. almost like a sixth sense, that i knew you were okay, wherever you were. so, at the edge of the world, with the darkness before me, i jumped in.” “next thing i knew, i was right beside you in bed, like nothing had happened just moments before.” night brooded over the story qu

“and it didn’t work for you, either?” night shook her head. “out of all the other entities,” day continued, the smile on her face wistful. “i was one of the last to remain above ground when the darkness had swept away everything else we knew.” night tried to imagine the view from day’s perspective, but failed to conjure a convincing image. she simply wasn’t aware of how the flood must’ve looked from on high, having only a personal account of being consumed by emptiness and the cold void instead. “when i realized above all else that i was still standing,” she said, closing

day’s poker face betrayed no sign of fear that emerged from her during the hour of reckoning. in fact, she cheekily brushed her shoulder against night’s, leaving the latter stunned and lost. “you’re the one we should both be worried about,” she reminded. “i’m practically immortal! there’s no reason why i wouldn’t have been able to outrun something as inconsequential as a rising tide.” night fought to glare daggers at her counterpart, as they shifted into stormy plains, breaching ordsea’s boundaries. “well, if it swallowed all of aincrad,” night figured, “eventually you wouldn’t have found

“at least, i think that’s what happened. not that i could draw direct comparisons to what was happening in the fight at the time.” she waved a finger. “but, reasonably, that was the only major event at the time a flood of darkness was slowly unleashed upon all of aincrad. it was that, and the fact that you said the boss had abilities that allowed him to control darkness to begin with.” “really?” day nodded. “it was swallowing players up one by one if they hadn’t outrun the rising tide.” night was taken aback by the reveal, if only to consider the idea that shadow had been powerf

“were you aware of what was happening outside of the boss room?” day asked. night shook her head. “hadn’t even crossed my mind. or, at least…” her fingers twitched, as though tracing out ghost motions in a desire to pull up her messages interface. a thought of hers went back to a conversation she had with bistro, about the fight night had undertaken against a wushen with the other players gathered at the frontlines. demian had been involved somehow — a meeting of sorts? — and it was a debate about something she couldn’t wrap her head around, even until now. a mystery, she thought. no

what pleasantries she expected to exchange with them, however, were quickly set aside as night adjusted to day falling back to her side. “and we were talking about orgoth,” day started after releasing a held breath. then, she hummed, correcting herself. the smirk she wore simply morphed into a frown. “no. you couldn’t remember what had happened towards the end of the fight. right?” night nodded. day thought about it again, taking the hand offered by the player into her own, her fingers folding over night’s. “i don’t remember how shadow died,” night clarified further. “i just kn