NIGHT

night kept the note about old intel in mind. and then, she winced again, as hirru continued, because his recollection was full of surprises. she felt as though she didn't need to have asked further, ever, about why she never heard of what progress the players at the front were making, given what she'd heard. from what she'd heard, it sounded as though they were perpetually locked in confrontations and disarray, breaking up a much needed focus upon a central goal. for a heartbeat, she thought back to raidou, and understood his motivations a little better. then, she wondered, too, if t

night caught a glimpse of alkor's falter, and ultimately decided on consistency above all else. wushen's heave was nothing more than its dying breath in the long run, with the rate they'd been pummeling down each minor obstacle that had stood in their way. despite how annoying the ice walls were, by the time they got to strike the dragon overlord once more, she was sure they would've whittled away at its health, too. with a single swipe, she cut down their temporary bane. wasn't certain if it was poison, or disgust that had gotten to her bulwark, but night decided to place a hand on

a harmonious triad. night retrieved the horn from its stand, before gazing up at the statue that held it. immaculate, featureless, untouchable. would they ever represent someone important that they would come to know; or were they ever meant to, rather than propose an ideal? she thought twice, hand around the item, if she wanted or dared to know. but a spin on her heel and quick strides towards the exit said all. she let out a huff against the back of her wrist, a warm breath to break the chill of being in that estranged, isolated room. night felt the gaze of something foreign, from the f

like being passed a ball. night was somewhat ready for the pass, despite being adequately comfortable with standing still, eyes on the real villain. when lilith swung over towards her, oathkeeper was drawn, a wide slash towards where the vampiress' back would be – – or would've been, if it wasn't followed up immediately with another jump elsewhere, in tandem with the way nari had been pushing herself earlier to wait for lilith to make a mistake. night soured, before following through on her initial whiff – a dive made with rage and a scowl towards their target, with a final horizonta

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here, at the very damn least, did night finally manage to strike. because it wasn't intangible -- how did her party even get the previous two heads, anyway? -- and given her time striking at wood elementals on the twenty-seventh, from the dungeon with hirru to the labyrinth, night was _certain_ she would have home field advantage. jack's executioner only agreed in tandem with incited bloodshed. blight seemed ineffective, with the way that often dark sludge that poured out of her sword swayed to a different hue. from red, the liquid spilled but seeped into the gash, tinged in a myriad

when she came to, the battlefield had changed already. almost as though the ice wall, the head of fire and the humiliation had been a fever dream. it obviously wasn't – her sights did graze over koga and crow reeling from their expended energy, just as the last of the wall shattered into pieces and simmered in midair as a flurry of crystal particles. so night had to recalculate her next steps. she did it at her own leisurely pace. the only cue she did have was from zandra breaking away from the party, and night figured she should follow suit. nothing to the flailing head st

night's eyes flicked over to nari for a moment, questioning her companion's words. even if they both wanted the memories to return, her mind simply stood still on what was to happen; like trying to place a word on the tip of your tongue. with a huff, the player evaded another oncoming swipe. "why, jealous?" she hadn't meant it, and the part of her focused on the fight was definitely taken aback once nari's strike had stopped lilith in place. in mid-swing, her counter attack failed, the energy fading from her sword art as it fizzled out from her reeled blade. "... never mind

their numbers were dwindling once nari had cut down the lesser vampire with a clean swipe. "i had no idea either," night announced, as she waited for an opening from lilith, scraping the bottom of her memory for some tidbit about how she used to have fought this boss -- but nothing came. surely, certainly she had done so before, right? a small, short, "strange," was uttered under her breath, just before lilith's offense was upon the player, and she'd dodged out of the way of it. the clatter of claws against faux-steel was earpiercing, night slipping by the vampire, but she retaliated aga

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yuki's theory did seem sound. night ruminated on the answer as she watched the lost souls bounce around, trying to reach for the players as they side-stepped their aimless attacks. a finger went up to scratch at her cheek as she waved to her shield, walking further down the corridor past the dying figures. "maybe. but the only place i do recall an orc – er, i think? – was back on the twenty third. ...maybe? come to think of it, i don't even know if orcs are all that common in aincrad... i think maybe beastmen are but only in specific areas, cordoned off in their own little tribes..."

she hadn't thought to ask nari for her opinion, beyond having known her history, alongside what she had already told night. so they walked, quiet, and as they passed through the castle doors night wondered if lilith was meant to reside here. it seemed like a proper home for the demonic being, but at the same time, it felt a little too grand for a singular person. a part of her recalled oscar's manor, and the memory itself questioned if her friend, now, was doing well, because she hadn't heard from him in a bit. nari was right to be wary, even if night was underestimating her environm

or not. night was about to head out once some of her team did, long strides made brisk towards wushen as she kept her eye out for other potential obstructions. there weren't any. so she turned that into a run instead, darting forward, and she was almost about to hit the dragon, too. but then the earth shook, the ice walls came back up, and suddenly night was thrown into the air again. a tap from the all consuming was almost like a shove to corner her back into her cage – night tumbled downwards against the floor, where an effigy of his almighty awaited her – alongside the r

"the records...?" night asked, but didn't linger on the term for too long. hell, she'd expected her query to be taken as a slip of the tongue, but she still remained interested in the presence of documentation from a historical period, especially if it contained information about events such as these. but she allowed hirru to continue unhindered, nodding allowing with light sympathy – even if she didn't know these players, it still seemed sad, and a little beyond her, that they would be axed without notice – and potentially without grudge. night brushed at her scalp at the back of he

maybe it was something about the fourteenth that got people thinking like this, night noted. the black and the reds, she would blame, casting her gaze aside as she'd listened to nari speak. things were changing on the outside, just as much or more than within their realm. and the player contemplated on if she should reach out to grab one of nari's shoulder, but failed to follow through. "we don't know if it's pointless," night responded, turning to face her. "not until we get to that final floor to verify the administrator's words, i mean." and then she started walking again, casual

the knuckle of her index went up to her mouth. night had been entirely unserious, of course, but watching nari consider her proposal seemed a little hilarious, even if it did carry the intended effect of offloading the sword to her. it quickly transformed into a scythe in her hands – a mystical show that had the player tilting her head at, and almost made her want to retract her previous efforts of handing over the item to nari. a brief bout of thought, and her companion's serious argument about not being able to sell quest items suddenly made sense, so she dropped her intent of taki

the golden age? the only frontline guild she was familiar with was firm anima, only because of their size. every other name she even thought to know – no matter how briefly – was smaller in scale. what are the implications of a golden age with regards to guilds, then? and – knowing hirru had mentioned the occurance of a murder – how many had they lost? hirru mentioned 'a decline in direction and betrayal' – that last word was the second time he'd said it, though night wasn't too sure to tie it into his own interruption on the twenty-third. but she nodded, still, as the man sighed and

caustic went down before she even had a moment to register what it could do, or had a second attempt at cutting it through. once the head was purified, the shards that scattered and spiraled upwards signaled the end to their presence in the ice block – but where to? wushen still towered over them in the distance, and there were walls in their way. were they breakable? ice was known to be such a material, after all. there was no wind present, but the direction that the shards were pointed towards ticked night off about something. so she sent her executioner through with a swing. she'd had

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like a roiling tide. the ground continued to morph, shift – rumbles begot an upheaval of the floor, until shards of ice began to protrude, and cut into the air above its root. they grew and blockade, and in the dizzying spell of a changing arena, night only thought herself lucky to have found her other team members in the mix. she'd stumbled back from the corners of their entrapment, idly brushing up against the head that seemed hard as stone – only then did she turn around and back away even more. it was not as solid as she had initially thought it was. the instinct that k