[PP-KE-F5] In the Wake of An Apocalypse

[Teion 0]

((Source post))

Teion pulled herself out of bed, rubbing at her eyes as her foggy mind began to wake itself up. Cardinal had kept her appearance in its usual state--a single braid pulled back across the right side of her head, the rest of her violet hair resting on her shoulders and spilling down her back. She was used to sleeping in her equipment by now--the loose tan shirt underneath a dark brown leather bodice, skintight brown leggings and several decorative straps connecting the protective leather sections. The woman let out a yawn, feeling apathetic for another day. Perhaps she would go out material hunting for some new crafting ideas.

Before she had mulled over the idea or decided on a task for the day, something on the counter of her shop caught her eye. "Hm?" She mumbled, still shaking off the feeling of sleep that clung to her. Walking over to the counter, her brows narrowed as she looked over the items. A crystal. Two gemstones that looked strangely familiar. And a black-and-gold straightsword that caused her heart to stop for a split second. She reached out a hand, hesitating a moment before grabbing the hilt and inspecting the item. 'Sh-Shi's Talon...?' She read the name of Beatbox's sword. She placed the weapon back on the counter, hastily grabbing the gemstones to realize that they were Rhaegal's Emerald and Zylara's Quartz--the first two rewards of the Dragon Hunter Anthology quest chain. The very quest that they took together when they first met. 'What's going on? When did he leave these here? And why...' She had far too many questions without any answers. Finally, her cobalt eyes fell upon the recording crystal. She placed the gems back down and hesitantly reached for it, activating the item once it was in her hands.

@Zandra

[Zandra 0]

Zandra pushed her up. Now she sat on the edge of the large double bed that was on the second storey of her beach house. Now, there was yet another night she slept alone in a bed that was twice as big as it needed to. She glance at the other side, hoped to see a redhaired head. But she knew she wouldn’t. The bersek healer let out a deep sigh and left the bed. She placed her arms on the windowseal and stared at the rising sun over the splashing waves. The neverending rhytm of the water flowing on the beach always used to hypnotise her. Lately she have thougth if you could die by drowning in SAO. Thou even if suicide have crossed her mind from time to time lately, no actions have been taken. After an hour she turned around and equipped her combat gear as she headed downstairs. ‘’No, I cant stand there spacing out like that for all day. There is work to be done.’’

@Teion

[Teion 0]

The tears had begun rolling down her cheeks long before Beatbox's voice disappeared. Her grip tightened around the crystal as she clutched the item to her chest. She stood still for a few moments, the gears in her mind still working to comprehend his message. The blacksmith's arm raised, hand swiping through the air to pull up her menus while she carefully scrolled to her friends list. Tapping down, her eyes didn't have to search the short list to realize the absence of what should have been the first name to appear. "What...?" The word left her in a whisper, her vision blurring through the tears that continued streaming down.

Teion felt like her body had been moving on its own. She had left her shop, her legs carrying her outside of Fortaleza's safe zone. The virtual sun hung overhead, but even if her Survival skill hadn't dulled the effects of the heat, her mind may not have been able to comprehend it anyway. Her feet dragged her through the desert until she was a considerable distance away from town. Finally, she stopped, standing alone in the barren landscape. The blacksmith's knees trembled a moment before they collided with the sand beneath her. Her jaw clenched, a fresh wave of tears welling at the corners of her eyes while her right hand raised above her head, fingers curled tightly.

"Idiot!" She yelled out, bringing her fist down against the desert floor. "Stupid idiot! Why would he!?" The woman bit down on her bottom lip, raising her hand several more times to crash it down into the sand over and over.

[Zandra 0]

Today, there wasn’t anything I needed to pick up or prepare so I just headed straight out. Calling Zita to wake up and a second later the eagle darted out the door to soften up her wings. I closed the door and headed towards the main capital of floor sixteen. I felt the pulsing heat of my heavy armours flame aura around me. And on my shoulder leaned probably one of the strongest axes in this deathworld. Thou darkened twohanded axe wasn’t a name to make it worthy. I let out a sigh as I stepped into the warp gate and soon appeared on floor five. I exited the gate and ignored all looks from the lowlies as I headed straight for the desert. It wasn’t until I was out of sight from the town that I opened up. My heart beat increased and my eyes burned. I grit my teeths so hard I thougth they was going to break. A giant beetle appeared infront of me and blocked my way forward. ‘’Die!’’ One single slash and it was cleaved in half. I ignored it and kept on pushing forward. This close to the mobs was to few and to weak be of any danger to me, so I pushed further out in the desert. I encountered one or two more bettles every twohundred meters or so, until I reached an area that was relatively flat. My hair was soaked wet from sweat because of the heat and my heavy armour. I waited for a minute or so and then suddenly, pikes appeared in the edges of the area, pointing inwards. Around me also spawned three lizardmen with golden round shields and sabers. I made quickly work of them. But the moment the last ones health reached zero, four new appeared. My heart beated faster and my eyes got reder. I felt the armour furiously bursting out flames as the sabers made red stripes on my aarmour. ‘’Aaaahhh!!!’’ I shouted as I twirled around, slaying each one of the reptiles. But when the last one was dead, same procedure repeated, but this time there was fove of them. ‘’Why did you do it!!’’ I screamed as my slaughter once again kept up. I felt and saw the fire dance around me as I chopped amd slayed. ‘’All I wanted was to be there for her.’’ A lizard lost his head. ‘’Cant you understand that!!’’ Another one was split in half. Like this I continued for an hour. My attacks being more and more ferious and reckless. After about an hour I stopped and catched my breath as the last one of eleven was killed. Then a dozen new ones spawned.

[Teion 0]

Teion's fingers curled around the hot sand, squeezing tightly before her right fist raised half-heartedly again, dropping down as if the life had been drained from it. She didn't know how much time had passed while she knelt defeated in the middle of the desert. "You...you promised..." She choked out, leaning back on her ankles and tilting her chin up towards the sky. Dried tears stained her avatar's cheeks while the sun washed over her pale skin. She began to feel as if her soul had been spilling out of her along wih all the tears. The blacksmith's eyes glazed over--she felt hollow and lost, unwilling to pick herself up from the desert floor. She registered the feeling of the recording crystal still held tightly in her left hand, staring down the item before choosing to activate it once more.

Teion felt a tightness in her chest when Beatbox's voice reached her ears once more, and Cardinal obliged her feelings with yet another wave of tears. "How...am I supposed to stay alive? Like this..." Her words were weak, and sentences barely coherent. She felt like she knew what losing someone was like. She considered the twins: Emerath, who was distant to begin with. Endilix, who she pushed away until they were each set on their own paths. They had existed only as a distant memory for a long time now. Sophie--no, Piera--was just as scarce, and Teion tried her best to respect her new obligations in this world. But they were all still alive. They were here, surviving, somewhere.