[PP-F5] Spinning, Flipping, Falling (Shanok, Eris, Shard)

[Shard 0]

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"Damn it's hot."

Shard was never one to complain about being in warm weather, having grown up in Hokkaido and North Dakota, but as he continued to trudge his way forward, feeling the heat of the Aincrad sun bare down on him, he felt the right to bellyache. Looking up into the bright sky, his face a mask of displeasure; eyes narrowed, brows furrowed, mouth locked in a deep frown. The brutal ray's of the sun had forced him to un-equip his armour, leaving only loose clothing and white cloak. Shard shakes his head, as he once more rued his use of a cloak, only to be reminded once more why he needed it as beads of sweat go flying from his tan face. He knew that without the cloak, the heat would even worse, the sun's light being absorbed by his normally dark clothing. At least the cloak reflected the light, even if it was a bit stuffy inside.

Shard barely notes his stumble as he made his way down another dune, his leg momentarily jarring, before he deftly skids down the rest of the dune. You could say he was dead to it all now, no longer caring where the sand went or if he fell in it. it was already everywhere and he had already wiped out countless times. As he crests yet another dune, overlooking a massive sea of white sand and heat, Shard stops, seemingly starting out into space. eyes blank, mouth a line, he contemplated why he was here. On this level. Why? Well, it was because he heard of an interesting quest for mat gathering in the area. He knew it was rare, it was profitable, and that it was hard to locate. But if he knew it would mean hours upon hours of torture, walking through dunes, he would have simply gone to grind his normal sources.

Wiping off his damp forehead, Shard sigh's, using his hand as a visor as he scan's the area once more. He knew he was close now. He spent a small fortune getting the location from his info broker, so he was pretty damn sure. Clenching his fist, dark eyes narrowed, Shard considered how he would teach the broker a lesson if this was the wrong area. Shard knew there were less hostile environments on this floor, but nope, the location of the quest was obviously right in the centre of a sand desert. With a deep grunt, Shard takes out a flask of water, taking a deep chug before starting his way down another dune, moving towards the location flashing on his HUD.

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Shard's eye twitches slightly, as he stands like an obelisk, in the middle of the desert. His face deadpan, Shard's eyes continue to move down from the ground, up to the nav-marker that flashed a foot before him. Unbelievable. Taking another swig from his water flask, Shard shakes his head, looking up into the sky. His eyes were almost pleading, by this point having spent hours on the floor, the thought of coming out of it with nothing was just... well too much for him to bare.

"Fuuu-"

Teeth now bared in annoyance, Shard once more attempts to stomp on the point where the marker hovered, his leather boots doing nothing more then throwing sand back up into the man's face. Sputtering, eyes watering from the particles, Shard lets lose a small sc- roar, falling to his knee's. Normally, he would have been focused on getting the sand from his retina's, or perhaps sending the broker a message telling her how thankful he was. Instead he felt the need to reflect on his life. He could see the cool winter's of his childhood, the grey summer's of the majority of his young adult life. His parents, Dog, even his job at a steel plant, all things that he now found so distant. For a moment, Shard could imagine he was back in his cosy forge, or maybe back in that Inn on the first floor he left so long ago. Places he found more comfortable then most back in the real world.

Eyes slowly moving open, slightly red and irritated, but otherwise somber, Shard sits back on his hindquarters. His face was significantly cooler then he desert around him, stoney and contemplative. Did he really find SAO more comfortable then real life? A knot forms in his gut, the sick realization creeping upon- Suddenly Shard stands up off the ground, face darker. No, he could never be comfortable here, not in the same way as home- his real life. Where the tragedies of life seemed far away, and he never felt the need to harm, or be harmed.

Pulling his blade from it's sheath, Shard throws it's massive blade into the sky, pointing at the sun. His eyes are wide with passion, teeth bared as he glares into whatever was above.

"F--k you Kayaba!"

Without waiting for a response from above, Shard drives his blade into the ground in anger, punishing the desert sand for the sin's of their creator. Did he expect a response? Of course not. Shard doubted Kayaba would care much about him. One thing that Shard did notice, was the sound responding with a barely audible rumble. Slowly opening his eyes, Shard spots the nav-marker having just over his blade, driven so deep into the ground. Following the sliver blade down to the ground, Shard's eyes go wide. The sand around the blade was sinking and turning, as if a sink-hole, the sound of air hissing.

"Ah-" *WHOOM*

With a sudden explosive force, the ground around Shard seems to explode, falling out from under him. Flailing, he attemptes to gram onto whatever he can, but no matter where he grasped, the sand would give way, and the fall into an unknown darkness would continue. Is this how it would end? Would he die in a hole, somewhere in the desert? Eaten by whatever burrowing eldritch monstrosity had decided to feast upon his supple- *thud*

Shard blinks a few times, eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out if he was dead. He could tell he was laying on the ground, it was dark with only a single bright light shining from above, and he had sand in his pants. Oh, sand. With a low groan, Shard sits up from his position covered in dirt, looking around. Though it was dim, he could distinctly make out various massive pillars that surrounded him, moving out into the darkness. His nav-marker continued to hang somewhere above him, flashing in place, as if to say, "I told you so, you ass."

A small grin forms on the large man's face as he stands up out of the tiny hill of sand that was brought down with him. Sword still in hand, Shard jabs it into the air. There are no words, but his dark glare, looking up the light as if a rival beaten. The moment would have been perfect, if not for the sand hill giving out from under his boots, causing Shard to fall backwards with wide eyes. Yelling as he went, his voice carried out from the chamber, up into the desert, travelling for miles.

"FFFGGGGAAAHAA-"

[Shanok 0]

Shanok followed the direction in which the he had heard someone yell. He finally entered the room in which he had heard it.

Someone was on the floor, with a small sand hill near him. "I guess I'm not the only one who fell in here huh..." he said while walking towards the man. Shanok extended his arm towards the man, as if he was telling him to grab it so he could help him up. "Name's Shanok, what's yours?" he asked the black haired man.

[Shard 0]

Shard jumps hearing the voice to his side, rolling backwards out of the sand, into a standing position. In a single smooth motion he draws his blade, his eyes wide, panting as he stared at this random... Kid? What? Slowly, Shard lowers his blade, looking at the boy with disbelief, his eyes narrowed. How in the world did this Shanok kid get in here? It took him hours to find this god forsaken place!

"How?... Never mind." Shard sighs deeply, allowing his pent up anger and confusion to leave his body, before looking back at the kid. He didn't seem to be especially dangerous nor high level, so Shard found it hard to believe he was able to get here the same the same way he had.

"I'm Shard" His voice is slightly strained as he lifts his two-hander onto his shoulder, moving past Shanok to stand before one of the many great pillars. His face was like stone as he examined the pillar, before shaking his head. Turning back to look at Shanok, Shard raises an eyebrow, the darkness of the cavers behind seeming to absorb the light around him.

"What brings you to Hamentutank's Tomb?"

[Shanok 0]

"Hamentu- what?" said Shanok, looking puzzled. "I don't know what this place is, or what's inside here, I just fell in here when I was walking in the desert above, like you" he added, looking at the tall man that was standing in front of him. "You mentionned a Tomb, is there some sort of treasure in here, a rare item perhaps?" he asked Shard, looking hyped for a treasure hunt.