Oscar 0 Posted August 13, 2024 Author #81 Share Posted August 13, 2024 (edited) Oscar returned to himself, standing within that dark corridor. And when he did, he saw his Twin. But unlike the other interactions, the doppelganger was smiling. “Have fun?” Oscar returned his twin’s smile, shaking his head in the process. “I’m gonna be honest, I never held much stock in vision quests or hallucinations like this. But I have to admit, it was helpful.” “Good. So you know what you have to do?” “Of course,” Oscar replied, his tone a bit more chipper. A bit more himself. “Just need to avoid fucking it up again. Easy.” “Easy,” his twin agreed. “Most difficult easy thing you’ll ever do. Please rate your mental breakdown on a scale of one to ten. This hallucination has been monitored and recorded for quality assurance.” “Zero.” “Oh, damn. Ouch. Sure you didn’t have any fun at all?” “Oh I wouldn’t say that. It was a pretty cool opportunity to be retrospective and introspective. Don’t think would have been quite so effective if it wasn’t quite so vivid.” Reveal hidden contents Oscar | HP: 920/920 | EN: 87/124 [+4-15] | DMG: 29 | MIT: 15 | ACC: 5 | AA | PHASE | F-SPIRIT | EVA:0 | BH:51 | VAMP-O: 152 | REC: 4 | LD: 12 | PROSP:3 | QUAL: 2 AOE-I vs Elf #45 | ID: 225920 | BD: 1+5 | DMG: 435 AOE-I vs Elf #46 | ID: 225921 | BD: 5+5 | DMG: 435 AOE-I vs Elf #47 | ID: 225922 | BD: 8+5 | DMG: 435 AOE-I vs Elf #48 | ID: 225923 | BD: 10+5 | DMG: 435 Elf #45 HP: 0/396 | DMG: 132 | LOOTING | ID: 225924 | LD: 1+12 | CD: 12+2 Obtained: 3,960 Col, 2 Materials Elf #46 HP: 0/396 | DMG: 132 | LOOTING | ID: 225925 | LD: 17+12| CD: 8+2 Obtained: 3,168 Col, Gleaming Scale Elf #47 HP: 0/396 | DMG: 132 | LOOTING | ID: 225926 | LD: 7+12 | CD: 4+2 Obtained: 3,168 Col, 2 Materials, T4 Perfect Trinket, T4 Perfect Weapon Elf #48 HP: 0/396 | DMG: 132 | LOOTING | ID: 225927 | LD: 9+12 | CD: 5+2 Obtained: 2,376 Col, 4 Materials, T4 Perfect Armor/Shield Loot Summary: 997,892 Col 492 Materials 10 Demonic Shards 34 Gleaming Scales T4 Perfect Trinket: 224487, 224488, 224570, 224639, 224661, 224671, 224726, 224750, 225534, 225535, 225547, 225606, 225608, 225657, 225681, 225682, 225694, 225883, 225926 T4 Perfect Armor/Shield IDs: 224421-1, 224421-2, 224431-1, 224431-2, 224447, 224453-1. 224453-2, 224456-1. 224456-2, 224485-1, 224485-2, 224487, 224503, 224519, 224536, 224542-1, 224542-2, 224543, 224552, 224645, 224680, 224715, 224727, 225501, 225506-1, 225506-2, 225507-1, 225507-2, 225549, 225556-1, 225556-2, 225558-1, 225558-2, 225582, 225591-1, 225591-2, 225605, 225606, 225649-1, 225649-2, 225675, 225695, 225696, 225697-1, 225697-2, 225720, 225885, 225890, 225898-1, 225898-2, 225899-1, 225899-2, 225917-1, 225917-2, 225927 T4 Perfect Weapon IDs: 224408-1, 224408-2, 224408-3, 224416-1, 224416-2, 224416-3, 224429, 224430, 224432-1, 224432-2, 224432-3, 224446-1, 224446-2, 224446-3, 224461, 224469, 224477-1, 224477-2, 224477-3, 224479-1, 224479-2, 224479-3, 224495-1, 224495-2, 224495-3, 224504-1, 224504-2, 224504-3, 224509, 224511-1, 224511-2, 224511-3, 224517, 224519-1, 224519-2, 224534-1, 224534-2, 224534-3, 224543, 224552, 224549-1, 224549-2, 224549-3, 224557-1, 224557-2, 224557-3, 224559-1, 224559-2, 224559-3, 224567-1, 224567-2, 224570, 224648-1, 224648-2, 224648-3, 224661, 224668-1, 224668-2, 224668-3, 224670-1, 224670-2, 224680-1, 224680-2, 224696-1, 224696-2, 224696-3, 224713, 224715-1, 224715-2, 224726, 224728-1, 224728-2, 224728-3, 224727-1, 224727-2, 224750, 224751-1, 224751-2, 224751-3, 224752, 225498-1, 225498-2, 225498-3, 225499-1, 225499-2, 225499-3, 225501, 225508-1, 225508-2, 225508-3, 225509-1, 225509-2, 225509-3, 225518-1, 225518-2, 225518-3, 225520-1, 225520-2, 225520-3, 225528-1, 225528-2, 225528-3, 225534, 225535, 225546, 225549-1, 225549-2, 225555, 225566-1, 225566-2, 225566-3, 225573, 225582-1, 225582-2, 225592-1, 225592-2, 225592-3, 225598-1, 225598-2, 225599-1, 225599-2, 225599-3, 225600-1, 225600-2, 225600-3, 225605-1, 225605-2, 225623-1, 225623-2, 225623-3, 225624-1, 225624-2, 225624-3, 225656-1, 225656-2, 225656-3, 225658-1, 225658-2, 225658-3, 225673-1, 225673-2, 225673-3, 225675, 225680, 225694, 225695-1, 225695-2, 225696-1, 225696-2, 225720-1, 225720-2, 225884-1, 225884-2, 225884-3, 225885, 225926 Edited August 20, 2024 by Oscar Link to post Share on other sites
Oscar 0 Posted August 13, 2024 Author #82 Share Posted August 13, 2024 (edited) “Still, it’s gonna be a hard road. A lot of people are going to have differing opinions on how you should have handled it.” “I know. But it was my fight and my mess. I should be the one to decide how it all ends up.” “True. But you need to be ready to defend yourself. But who knows? Maybe Tyson will surprise us both. Maybe he grows into the role he made for himself.” “Maybe. But I don’t think he’s realized the full scope of it all. I don’t think he ever did. Holding back Laughing Coffin? They’re going to come for him.” “And us. Need to get him ready. For everyone’s sake.” “Devil turns into a hero. I’m sure we’ve seen an anime about that.” “Probably, but it’s time for you to fuck off. You’ve pretty much caused ecological collapse while you’ve been stuck in here.” The scene shifted once more. The shadows bled away, leaving Oscar alone in the forest standing amidst what remained of an elf encampment. Looking back, he saw the trail of devastation he left while he was dissociating. Letting out a sigh, a smile crossed his face. Despite his fracturing mind, he’d managed to hold everything together and find the motivation he didn’t even know he had. But tomorrow was going to be his most difficult challenge yet. Reveal hidden contents Oscar | HP: 920/920 | EN: 76/124 [+4-15] | DMG: 29 | MIT: 15 | ACC: 5 | AA | PHASE | F-SPIRIT | EVA:0 | BH:51 | VAMP-O: 152 | REC: 4 | LD: 12 | PROSP:3 | QUAL: 2 AOE-I vs Elf #49 | ID: 225928 | BD: 1+5 | DMG: 435 AOE-I vs Elf #50 | ID: 225929 | BD: 4+5 | DMG: 435 AOE-I vs Elf #51 | ID: 225930 | BD: 6+5 | DMG: 435 AOE-I vs Elf #52 | ID: 225931 | BD: 3+5 | DMG: 435 Elf #49 HP: 0/396 | DMG: 132 | LOOTING | ID: 225932 | LD: 7+12 | CD: 8+2 Obtained: 4,752 Col, 2 Materials, T4 Perfect Weapon Elf #50 HP: 0/396 | DMG: 132 | LOOTING | ID: 225933 | LD: 4+12| CD: 4+2 Obtained: 3,960 Col Elf #51 HP: 0/396 | DMG: 132 | LOOTING | ID: 225934 | LD: 11+12 | CD: 9+2 Obtained: 4,356 Col, 4 Materials, T4 Perfect Trinket Elf #52 HP: 0/396 | DMG: 132 | LOOTING | ID: 225935 | LD: 1+12 | CD: 5+2 Obtained: 2,376 Col, 4 Materials Loot Summary: 1,013,336 Col 502 Materials 10 Demonic Shards 34 Gleaming Scales T4 Perfect Trinket: 224487, 224488, 224570, 224639, 224661, 224671, 224726, 224750, 225534, 225535, 225547, 225606, 225608, 225657, 225681, 225682, 225694, 225883, 225926, 225934 T4 Perfect Armor/Shield IDs: 224421-1, 224421-2, 224431-1, 224431-2, 224447, 224453-1. 224453-2, 224456-1. 224456-2, 224485-1, 224485-2, 224487, 224503, 224519, 224536, 224542-1, 224542-2, 224543, 224552, 224645, 224680, 224715, 224727, 225501, 225506-1, 225506-2, 225507-1, 225507-2, 225549, 225556-1, 225556-2, 225558-1, 225558-2, 225582, 225591-1, 225591-2, 225605, 225606, 225649-1, 225649-2, 225675, 225695, 225696, 225697-1, 225697-2, 225720, 225885, 225890, 225898-1, 225898-2, 225899-1, 225899-2, 225917-1, 225917-2, 225927 T4 Perfect Weapon IDs: 224408-1, 224408-2, 224408-3, 224416-1, 224416-2, 224416-3, 224429, 224430, 224432-1, 224432-2, 224432-3, 224446-1, 224446-2, 224446-3, 224461, 224469, 224477-1, 224477-2, 224477-3, 224479-1, 224479-2, 224479-3, 224495-1, 224495-2, 224495-3, 224504-1, 224504-2, 224504-3, 224509, 224511-1, 224511-2, 224511-3, 224517, 224519-1, 224519-2, 224534-1, 224534-2, 224534-3, 224543, 224552, 224549-1, 224549-2, 224549-3, 224557-1, 224557-2, 224557-3, 224559-1, 224559-2, 224559-3, 224567-1, 224567-2, 224570, 224648-1, 224648-2, 224648-3, 224661, 224668-1, 224668-2, 224668-3, 224670-1, 224670-2, 224680-1, 224680-2, 224696-1, 224696-2, 224696-3, 224713, 224715-1, 224715-2, 224726, 224728-1, 224728-2, 224728-3, 224727-1, 224727-2, 224750, 224751-1, 224751-2, 224751-3, 224752, 225498-1, 225498-2, 225498-3, 225499-1, 225499-2, 225499-3, 225501, 225508-1, 225508-2, 225508-3, 225509-1, 225509-2, 225509-3, 225518-1, 225518-2, 225518-3, 225520-1, 225520-2, 225520-3, 225528-1, 225528-2, 225528-3, 225534, 225535, 225546, 225549-1, 225549-2, 225555, 225566-1, 225566-2, 225566-3, 225573, 225582-1, 225582-2, 225592-1, 225592-2, 225592-3, 225598-1, 225598-2, 225599-1, 225599-2, 225599-3, 225600-1, 225600-2, 225600-3, 225605-1, 225605-2, 225623-1, 225623-2, 225623-3, 225624-1, 225624-2, 225624-3, 225656-1, 225656-2, 225656-3, 225658-1, 225658-2, 225658-3, 225673-1, 225673-2, 225673-3, 225675, 225680, 225694, 225695-1, 225695-2, 225696-1, 225696-2, 225720-1, 225720-2, 225884-1, 225884-2, 225884-3, 225885, 225926, 225932 Edited August 20, 2024 by Oscar Link to post Share on other sites
Oscar 0 Posted August 13, 2024 Author #83 Share Posted August 13, 2024 (edited) Thread Summary Oscar | [Word Count: 13477/10 = 1347.7] * [True Tier: 9] * [Group Factor: 1]*[Exp Bonus: 0.1] = 13342 EXP, Laurel Wreath: 2001 col <<Shatter>> Tech 1,015,337 Col 502 Materials 10 Demonic Shards 34 Gleaming Scales T4 Perfect Trinket: 224487, 224488, 224570, 224639, 224661, 224671, 224726, 224750, 225534, 225535, 225547, 225606, 225608, 225657, 225681, 225682, 225694, 225883, 225926, 225934 T4 Perfect Armor/Shield IDs: 224421-1, 224421-2, 224431-1, 224431-2, 224447, 224453-1. 224453-2, 224456-1. 224456-2, 224485-1, 224485-2, 224487, 224503, 224519, 224536, 224542-1, 224542-2, 224543, 224552, 224645, 224680, 224715, 224727, 225501, 225506-1, 225506-2, 225507-1, 225507-2, 225549, 225556-1, 225556-2, 225558-1, 225558-2, 225582, 225591-1, 225591-2, 225605, 225606, 225649-1, 225649-2, 225675, 225695, 225696, 225697-1, 225697-2, 225720, 225885, 225890, 225898-1, 225898-2, 225899-1, 225899-2, 225917-1, 225917-2, 225927 T4 Perfect Weapon IDs: 224408-1, 224408-2, 224408-3, 224416-1, 224416-2, 224416-3, 224429, 224430, 224432-1, 224432-2, 224432-3, 224446-1, 224446-2, 224446-3, 224461, 224469, 224477-1, 224477-2, 224477-3, 224479-1, 224479-2, 224479-3, 224495-1, 224495-2, 224495-3, 224504-1, 224504-2, 224504-3, 224509, 224511-1, 224511-2, 224511-3, 224517, 224519-1, 224519-2, 224534-1, 224534-2, 224534-3, 224543, 224552, 224549-1, 224549-2, 224549-3, 224557-1, 224557-2, 224557-3, 224559-1, 224559-2, 224559-3, 224567-1, 224567-2, 224570, 224648-1, 224648-2, 224648-3, 224661, 224668-1, 224668-2, 224668-3, 224670-1, 224670-2, 224680-1, 224680-2, 224696-1, 224696-2, 224696-3, 224713, 224715-1, 224715-2, 224726, 224728-1, 224728-2, 224728-3, 224727-1, 224727-2, 224750, 224751-1, 224751-2, 224751-3, 224752, 225498-1, 225498-2, 225498-3, 225499-1, 225499-2, 225499-3, 225501, 225508-1, 225508-2, 225508-3, 225509-1, 225509-2, 225509-3, 225518-1, 225518-2, 225518-3, 225520-1, 225520-2, 225520-3, 225528-1, 225528-2, 225528-3, 225534, 225535, 225546, 225549-1, 225549-2, 225555, 225566-1, 225566-2, 225566-3, 225573, 225582-1, 225582-2, 225592-1, 225592-2, 225592-3, 225598-1, 225598-2, 225599-1, 225599-2, 225599-3, 225600-1, 225600-2, 225600-3, 225605-1, 225605-2, 225623-1, 225623-2, 225623-3, 225624-1, 225624-2, 225624-3, 225656-1, 225656-2, 225656-3, 225658-1, 225658-2, 225658-3, 225673-1, 225673-2, 225673-3, 225675, 225680, 225694, 225695-1, 225695-2, 225696-1, 225696-2, 225720-1, 225720-2, 225884-1, 225884-2, 225884-3, 225885, 225926, 225932 Edited August 20, 2024 by Oscar Link to post Share on other sites
Oscar 0 Posted August 20, 2024 Author #84 Share Posted August 20, 2024 THREAD TRANSCRIPT Reveal hidden contents The Monkey King. As Oscar recalled, it was the first Quest that he had really, truly challenged himself with. The first boss that he’d tackled solo. The first true risk he took within the game. There had been many of those since. It had been necessary to reach the point he was at now. Powerful, useful. A Player worth a damn focused on getting everyone home and protecting them from the monsters on the fringes while they were here. So he found himself amused that things had all come full-circle. Here he was, battle-worn but no less motivated, undertaking the very first challenge he ever gave himself. How long had it been? The days blended together now. Everything had happened so suddenly. Lives were changed, for better or worse, in an instant. The blood on his hands stained deep, but he couldn’t - wouldn’t - let himself feel guilty for it. And so, Oscar found himself returning to his roots. He accepted the Quest from Remington, but in true Oscar fashion skipped all of the relevant dialogue. It wasn’t important and his mind was elsewhere as it stood. It was difficult not to feel nostalgic as he walked through Florenthia. So much had changed, but so much had also remained the same. The songbirds fluttering through the canopy, their chirps filling the air with a delightful melody. The sounds of the wind rustling through the leaves, the feeling of the wood beneath his boots. Oscar had to admit, when he really took a notion to stop and smell the roses, Aincrad was a beautiful place. Even if that beauty was marred by the fact that so many people were trapped in their own personal Hell. Walking smoothly, hands in his pockets, Oscar encountered Sewallus. He took a moment to admire the NPC’s armor. But the moment Sewallus opened his mouth, Oscar slapped him across the face. “Skip,” Oscar said flatly. His hand moved to Sewallus’ collar, grabbing the NPC and dragging him effortlessly behind him. “Let’s go. Need you for the Quest.” Oscar’s prior experience with the quest made Sewallus’ attempts at automated exposition a bit of a moot point. He knew exactly where to find the boss, knew exactly what the boss could do. And if not for the fact that the NPC was instrumental in unlocking a new Sword Art, Oscar would have been perfectly content to leave him behind. This was not a Quest Oscar took seriously. But, then again, there was nothing about the game other than the ultimate consequence that Oscar took seriously. It was all distraction. Fluff. Meaningless drivel meant to obfuscate the fact that everyone was well and truly trapped here. Why engage with an obvious gaslighting attempt? He could thank his old profession for the fact that his own mental fortitude had lasted so long. He could read the signs, recognize the emergent issues, and respond accordingly. But there were simply so many people unable to adjust. Unable to hope that, one day, they’ll finally be logged out of this game. And so it began. As they approached the Monkey King’s lair, Sewallus twisted out of Oscar’s grip. His scripting set him into combat mode. Steel was bared and the man surged on ahead. Oscar was keen to let him do it, instead letting out a heavy sigh and drawing his weapon. He walked slowly, watching as Sewallus quickly put distance between them. And then he saw it. The Monkey King. A hulking brute of black fur and thick, sinewy muscle. There was a time when Oscar feared such a thing. A time when one blow from those powerful arms would have left him reeling, unable to take another hit. Those days were long past, now. As Sewallus used his ability, Oscar broke off into a sprint. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and dashed up the side of a tree. He was currently in free-fall, weapon primed and eyes focused on the target. His weapon cloaked in red, Oscar descended like a meteor, cleaving straight through the boss and leaving its HP in fetters. Despite the sudden damage, the Monkey King was firmly focused on Sewallus. So much the better if Oscar didn’t have to chase it around. Sewallus kept the Monkey busy, allowing Oscar to wheel around and deal the final blow. As the standard fanfare played and Sewallus began to congratulate and thank the man, Oscar merely delivered another slap to the NPC’s cheek. It was astonishing how easily it was done. How little risk one needed to undertake now. He had to wonder that had the Quest played out then as it did now, whether it would have affected his current resolve at all. There was a certain thrill in the risk. It brought focus, unfettered restraint. He had become accustomed to do-or-die moments at a very low level and a very early stage in his current career. Without that, would he have risen to the place he was now? Without that one, very first instance, how much different would he be now? It was an interesting thought. And as he shove his hands in his pockets, he decided to entertain them on this rare occasion. With the struggle largely behind him, he could afford that, he thought. And if he was going to be introspective, he was going to get a grind done while he was at it. Having wandered through the forest for a while, Oscar stopped and opened his menu. Looking out over his items, his eyes fell upon an old piece of gear. Memories began to flood back. The formative period, when Oscar had no idea what the Hell he was doing. His finger hovered over the entry, hesitating. Remembering the times before it all went to shit. A smile rose to his face as he tapped the entry, donning the <<Gloves of Caerus>> for the first time in recent memory. His inventory was a mess of old memories. Each piece a different stage in his training. Each piece representing a skill gained or a major event. He had to wonder what had him feeling so nostalgic. Perhaps it was because he could afford to feel it now that people weren’t gunning so hard for his neck. It was a funny feeling to take his armor off. He’d been a steadfast wall for quite some time. He felt almost naked seeing his mitigation drop to the low double digits. If there was a time when such a thing would make him feel nervous, he couldn’t remember it. He was sure it had happened, but he couldn’t place exactly when he’d made that shift. Oscar wouldn’t say that he didn’t value his life. In fact, it was quite the opposite. But he valued his goals more. They were worth the risk. His task was worth the risk. They were responsibilities he foisted upon himself - no one had asked him to do it. Hell, they probably would never even thank him for it. But they were still his responsibilities. There was little more honorable than putting one’s neck on the line to keep another safe. And there were just so many people he wanted to keep safe. It was nice to be able to grind mobs once again. The first group had fallen easily and now he was firmly locked in combat with the second. He could turn his mind off at times like this. Almost act on autopilot, cleaving mobs with wild abandon. At some point, he completely dissociated. His mind left his body, leaving it to carve through the forest as his thoughts wandered. And then he heard it, a voice from behind. “Do you really think you can save them?” Oscar wheeled around. When he did, he found that the forest was gone. He found himself standing upon an endless expanse of shadows. All that he could see within the darkness was himself, as if he were looking in a mirror. If, of course, that mirror looked haggard and worn down. Deep set ridges upon his face and heavy bags under his eyes. Disheveled appearance and a blank stare. It was almost unnerving, really. “Oh shit,” Oscar said with a laugh. “I’m totally seeing things. Guess I couldn’t hold out forever.” The disparity was jarring. One version of Oscar broken down by the stresses of his ordeal, the other smiling in amusement at the scene unfolding before him. He knew which was the real him. He knew what the other Oscar represented. All of his repressed feelings of inadequacy. His self-doubt and worries. An amalgamation of issues long stuffed down deep, payment deferred to a later date. That date had arrived, it seemed. Oscar was not immortal, neither was he invulnerable. He was self-aware enough to understand that. A mental break was coming whether he liked it or not. He’d held himself together for a long time as best he could, but even was subject to the same struggles as everyone else. He understood. That’s why he fought so hard. That’s why he set out to win. And if this next fight was against himself, he’d win that one too. “Do you really think you can save them?” The Other posed the same question. This time, Oscar wasn’t taken aback by the suddenness of it all. He had an answer. Of course he did.. He didn’t come this far and struggle this much not to be able to answer something so simple. “Of course I do,” Oscar replied with a smile. “Why the fuck would I waste my time if I didn’t? You’re Me. You know how I get.” The Other was silent for a moment. His eyes narrowed at Oscar’s response. “What about Jason, then? You didn’t save him.” Oscar’s face twitched. A flash of emotion danced across his features. Something between mournful and a scowl. “A child will grow up without a father. A wife lost her beloved husband. All because he helped you.” The shadows began to write. The scene began to shift. The ground gave way to open air. Oscar looked down at that familiar scene, his eyes widening as the reminder was quite literally shoved in his face. Oscar hated to admit it, but The Other was right. Jason was his first failure. The first of many, he were being honest. The man had been trapped in the game, living his life in peace on Floor 2. His wife back in the real world was almost due to deliver their newborn daughter. In a rare opportunity to blow off some steam, Jason had decided to join the Launch of the game. Only, he was trapped within it. It was already bad enough that he had missed his daughter’s birth. Missed hearing her first cries. Missed being there for his wife at that perfect, beautiful moment. He had given Oscar his hospitality, once. And that had been all it had taken to put a target on his back. Oscar had been ignorant of the machinations from the shadows then. Perhaps he would have done things differently if he had known. Certainly, he wouldn’t have exposed a man like that to such risk. But then again, that was the first bit of motivation Oscar got. The first reason to fight. The unfortunate circumstance of a man he’d just met had lit a fire in his chest. He fought not just for himself, but for the sake of someone else ever since that day. Every step, every attack, every quest had been in the furtherance of his intent to join the Frontlines and actually help people like Jason escape this Hell. And it was a difficult thing to reconcile. In many ways, Jason had given Oscar reason to surpass himself. In life, it was the noble goal of helping everyone escape. And in death, it was the the focus and intent to cut out the cancer afflicting the game. Perhaps Oscar never would have attempted to join the Frontlines if they never met. And certainly Oscar would not have so much blood on his hands had he not had to watch Jason die. The scene unfolded beneath them. Tyson’s men began to extort Jason, threatening Oscar’s life to motivate him. Eventually, when the two crossed paths again, Jason had leveled up and become stronger. He decided to help Oscar with a Quest, but it was all a pretense to lure him out of the safe zone at the PKer’s orders. But Jason was a good man. His conscience won out and warned Oscar of the impending danger. They had formulated a plan to strike back at the PKers. Oscar would pretend to be paralyzed while Jason distracted the men. When the time was right, Oscar could drop the act and deal with the threat. It was a good plan. Or, at least, it was the best one they had at the time. Maybe if they had a bit longer to plan or if Oscar could have somehow outmaneuvered them, it would have gone down differently. Oscar watched from above as Jason stuck a dagger in his back. Five Players stepped out from behind the trees. Seeing them again reignited that hate he felt that day. They deserved worse than what Oscar gave them. Jason and Oscar had a plan, but they couldn’t have expected the PKers demand that Jason do their dirty work for them. But Jason was a good man. He planted his feet and refused. He wouldn’t kill a friend. Of course, their enemies knew that. That, too, was simply pretense. They used his refusal to justify his execution, thinking that Oscar was incapable of reprisal. Two of them died before Jason’s shards had disappeared completely. Another died when he attacked, realizing what was going on. The other two were hunted through the forest like the dogs they were. And, in a twist of irony, Oscar made an older sister watch her brother die before finally putting her out of her misery. That was the day it all went to shit, Oscar realized. His first time killing another Player. His brutality earned him the moniker “Beast” among the PKers who were suddenly shocked to see one man add five names to the Monument in one day. He became aware of the threat closing in around him. And he had no choice but to play Tyson’s game. “Do you still think you can save them?” “I told you. Of fucking course I do,” Oscar responded quickly. “Even if I fail, I have to believe that. If I don’t move with that intention, I will simply continue to fail. More people will die. I’m not a hero. I’m not pretending to be a hero. But I gotta move on and learn from my failures or there will just be so many more of them. So we keep going. We keep moving. We can’t stop. Not here, not now.” “I’m sure that will be of great comfort to Jason’s widow and fatherless daughter.” Oscar scowled as anger flared in his eyes. “That’s just another reason. They deserve to know what happened. That, even in his final moments, he was a good man. That he stood up for his friends. That it was his sacrifice that made me work so hard to get everyone out of here.” “What do you expect to happen then? Gratitude? Do you think you deserve it after getting them killed?” “Fuck no,” Oscar said. “I don’t deserve anything more than their contempt. I got him killed. But they deserve closure. They deserve to hear why and how. So they can move on. Because I know Jason wouldn’t want to see them stuck on him.” “Are you sure you’re not looking for them to absolve you of your guilt? Don’t want them to forgive you for your mistake?” “Not in a million years. This guilt is going to follow me to the grave. It fucking hurts. But someone needs to remember. He saved my life. That’s the least I can do for him.” “What if you fail again? What if someone else dies? Can you take all that pain?” It was hard to argue against himself - the literal embodiment of his own guilt and insecurities. It was a constant fear, failing like that again. And having the question posed to him in such a way was almost enough to shake his resolve. Almost. The anger faded and the smile returned to Oscar’s face. “I’m not gonna,” he said. “They caught me by surprise. Took advantage of my hesitation. I was trying to figure out why they were after me. Us. I don’t care about the whys anymore. If they’re a threat, I’ll remove them.” The Other fell silent again. Oscar’s confidence could easily be mistaken for arrogance. But The Other knew the truth. “We’re in my mind, right? Showing my memories? Well I guess that means I can do this,” Oscar said. He waved his hand in front of him and the shadows returned for a moment. The scene beneath them changed again. The fields of Floor One stretched out before them. In the distance, the Town of Beginnings could be seen. The threat had been well and truly established now. Oscar had shaken - killed - the tail Tyson had put on him. Having invested heavily into Searching, it was damn near impossible to keep a stealthed PKer on him. It gave Oscar a small window of opportunity. A chance to turn a weakness into an advantage. Oscar knew, at some point, Tyson would come after the Orphanage in Town. He didn’t think that Tyson would kill children, but he couldn’t put much past him. Thus, a field trip was in order. It had taken some doing. Wrangling children in a slightly-dangerous area was still more danger than they should have been exposed to. But he had to do something. He had to at least help give them the means to help themselves if things went as far South as he feared. “You put children at risk to fight in your war,” The Other said. Oscar could only laugh, then. It was a ludicrous observation. A contortion of reality meant to pluck at his guilt once more. “Oh don’t give me that,” Oscar said with a chuckle. “That’s so weak. You know exactly what I did and why I did it. Those field trips saved lives.” It hadn’t taken long, really. Oscar guiding the children at the orphanage three-by-three through the Tutorial. Grinding mobs on Floor One until they had the levels necessary to invest heavily into stealth and first aid. Employing Crafters on the low to equip them with armor to give them some level of survivability. Working with the caretakers on an action plan if things went south. Then drilling everyone one the contingencies if those plans fails. “The children were always at risk. I gave them the tools to protect themselves. Would it have been better if I just let it happen and let them die? Wouldn’t that be failing them?” “Warlords always justify employing their child soldiers.” “Child soldiers? You dumb?” “You could have left. You could have disappeared. You could have done all you could to remove the target from them.” “Did you forget? I did. I went to ground right after I did all of this. I so badly hoped that they would never need to use the skills they learned. Tyson came after them anyway. Or did you forget that incident was what brought me back from my little sabbatical.” The Other fell silent. Oscar realized that it was simply echoing the same thoughts that he’d had about the situation. The same questions and opinions he’d asked himself. But The Other wasn’t able to argue with the fact that the decision to train the kids just enough to keep themselves safe had saved their lives. “I played my cards to the best of my ability. I left no stone unturned. No eventuality unplanned for. I will not apologize for making the best decision to keep those children safe.” A long silence passed between Oscar and his hallucination. Down below, the view shifted. An abandoned manor among the crags stretched about below them. If this were the real world, perhaps the shrubs would have become overgrown. Perhaps nature would have begun to reclaim the marble tiles. Plants forcing their way through the cracks and crevices, widening them and cracking the opulent stone. It was a stark reminder that they were not in the real world; this was a game. A game with consequences no less dire, but a game nonetheless. Rather than being overgrown by flora, the manor stood resolute. A shining beacon frozen in time, waiting for its Master’s return. Oscar had gained control of the vision quest that he found himself on. He and his twin began to descend towards the ground. Two sets of feet landed upon the stones outside of the wrought-iron gate. The Other had a look of confusion. He was supposed to be the conductor. And yet, it had gone off the rails nonetheless. “Surprised,” Oscar asked with a chuckle. “We’re in my mind. I’m taking the wheel for a bit. Come along.” Oscar strode through the gate, with The Other following close behind. As they approached the door, they were greeted by Oscar’s twin-headed Cerberus. His trusted familiar had been left behind too. Frozen just as the manor was, stuck in time, waiting for Oscar to cross the threshold once more. The beast sat back on his haunches, eyes fixed toward the gate. A fearsome sentinel guarding his Master’s sanctum. As Oscar approached the door, he paused for a moment to scratch his familiar behind the ears. His presence wasn’t acknowledged, an Oscar’s expression soured just a bit. The carefree determination in his eyes bled away, replaced by mournful regret. His smile turned into a frown as he looked down at his hound. “You want to test my resolve? Make me second guess myself? Shoulda started here. But you’re a little late.” “I already dealt with this,” Oscar continued. He stepped forward, his fingers wrapping around the knob. There was a heavy click as he turned the handle, a loud creak as the door opened inward. Deep shadows filled the interior. Undaunted, Oscar stepped inside beckoning his twin to follow. As he crossed the threshold, the manor came alive. Lights in sconces along the wall burst to life one by one. A soft lilt of music could be heard on the air and the skittering of nails on the stone floor added to the melody. His hound came to life with the manor, dashing around Oscar and his twin in excited circles. He hopped up, front paws resting on Oscar’s torso as two energetic tongues assaulted his face. Satisfied, the beast dropped down to all fours and took off like a rocket up the stairs. Oscar could only laugh and wipe his face on his sleeve, more out of impulse than any lingering slobber. “I was fortunate enough for my life to freeze when I stepped away from it,” Oscar said. “Doesn’t happen in the real world. But that’s not to say everything was as it was.” Where Leeroy & Jenkins dashed up the stairs, Oscar led his twin to bank a sharp left. As they did, they saw a third version of themselves. An echo of the past. Looking at the memory of himself, Oscar noticed how tired he looked. World-weary and under-rested. The solitude had taken its toll. The running and hiding had worked their devilish magic upon him, sapping him of all the things that made him, him. He looked, quite simply, pathetic. At his wit’s end and without any idea of how to proceed. Even he, with his abounding energy and devil-may-care attitude was entitled to the odd crisis of faith from time to time. His faith had always been in himself. So without that, what could have possibly driven him? “Might have been intimidating if you showed up to harass that version of us,” Oscar said with a chipper tone. “Hell, might have even had me take a long walk off a short cliff and just be done with it all.” The echo opened the door he was stood in front of and disappeared inside. Oscar and the Other followed suit. He had an entire manor, but this room had been where he had spent the majority of his time. It was stylized as a small apartment. A small kitchenette, clean and sterile as Oscar left it. A bed with disheveled blankets. It had been slept in at some point, but had never been remade. There was a desk beneath a large sectioned window, bereft of all but a beautiful pendant in the shape of a snowflake. The Hoya of Minos. An item he’d obtained a long time before for one specific person. The echo crossed over to the desk, lifting the pendant from the surface and looking down at it in the palm of his hand. “Cordelia,” the Echo said. “Cordelia,” Oscar agreed. “What happened?” “We happened,” Oscar said with a shrug. “Don’t really know where she is now. Know she’s not dead, if that helps at all. But she had the good goddamn sense to get the fuck away from me.” It was true. One day, she was just gone. She’d taken everything but left behind the Hoya. Oscar got the memo. He didn’t try to find her. He didn’t try to fight for her. She hadn’t wanted him to, clearly. It wasn’t as if he was in any position to do so anyway. An entire PK Guild breathing down his neck and all. “Did you love her?” Oscar hesitated for a moment. “I don’t know. Maybe? I think we needed something from one another, once. And maybe that was a type of love. All I know is we did the best we could while we could. But sometimes people just grow apart. Maybe you’ll reconnect. Maybe you won’t. But that time is no less valuable when someone’s gone. Quite the opposite.” Oscar wasn’t ashamed to admit that this was his lowest point. The fight had all but evaporated from him. He’d lost his way, lost his purpose. Everything he’d fought so hard for. He stepped into a Raid and failed. He tried to outmaneuver Tyson and failed. He’d abandoned his friends, his Guild, and even his very purpose. It would have been so easy to put an end to it all. To be done with the game and the fight. And Oscar wouldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t tempted. He’d fought so hard and for what? A self-imposed exile and the loss of everything and everyone he valued? Why bother anymore? The Other thought the same. Oscar knew everything that was rolling through the echo’s mind right now as he gazed down at that pendant. At the end of the day, had it all been worth it? Was the fight worth it? Of course it was. The sorrow evaporated from the echo’s eyes as his fingers coiled around the Hoya. He could rebuild. He could make amends. And most importantly, he could win. He would win. There was simply no other option. Oscar would allow for no other alternative. “It’s really quite simple,” Oscar explained to his twin. “If our own self-loathing couldn’t put us down, there really isn’t anyone or anything else that can. We’re better than that. He,” Oscar trailed off, pointing at the echo. “Is better than that. Fucked up as we were back then. Beaten down and bloodied with our backs against the wall. We’ve always done our best work when the chips are down.” The echo made his exit. Oscar and The Other followed suit. As they did, the door disappeared behind them. The room in its entirety was unmade. Oscar couldn’t move forward if he was anchored by the past. If he let his regrets drag him down and crush him, he would not be able to do what was necessary. Oscar had been on the back foot for long enough. It was time to reset. Refocus. Remember who he was. Or, more specifically, remember just who it was Tyson was fucking with. The boy had always known him to be a good man blessed with infinite patience and restraint. And that was true, to an extent. But he, too, had his demons. Demons that he could now safely allow to come out and play. Tyson had assumed Oscar to be a good man. In reality, Oscar was a barely-contained rage monster that kept it all underwraps simply because of the lessons learned in his formative years. Simply because violence was an absolute last resort and even then, there was a limit. Those limits did not exist here. Oscar would reset. He would reunite with his friends and allies, begging their forgiveness for his absence if he needed to. But his restraint would not come with him. The scene shifted once more. Oscar had reached a determination. He and his twin returned to hovering in midair. The scenes passed beneath them quickly. Every kill Oscar made. Every attempt on his life was returned to sender. Tyson had wanted him in exile, wanted him to be isolated and exposed. Wanted Oscar to live in fear of what he was going to do next. But there comes a point where a man is tired of running. It would have been a good plan to weaken Oscar. If, of course, the kid had a made a move before he reached the end of his rope. But he waited too long. He let the despair rebound. Let Oscar get his head in the game again. And one-by-one, the pieces fell. Every PKer Tyson sent after him died. Every trap the boy laid failed. Oscar had still not made contact with his friends. He had to send a message first. Oscar still had no idea how expansive the boy’s organization was. He’d must have carved through dozens of his heavies before there was finally a lull in the attacks. For an entire week, Oscar was left to his own devices. The calm before the storm, as it turned out. His preparations paid off when he discovered that the Orphanage in the Town of Beginnings had been ransacked. It was a bold move. And to this day, Oscar wasn’t sure how Tyson had managed to pull it off. Oscar had to assume that, somehow, there had been some hostage situation in play. The kids and the caretakers were perfectly safe inside of the Safe Zone. Oscar had to wonder exactly what it was that lured them out from within its confines. But regardless of the how or the why, the entire Orphanage had been ransacked and abandoned with neither the caretakers or the children to be seen. Oscar needed help. That much was certain. But before he could attempt to call in the cavalry, he was met with a blast from the past. The golden-haired Guardian of Aincrad. “Lessa,” the Other finally said. “Indeed. She wasn’t happy to see me,” Oscar responded. “Can’t say I blame her. Bahr and I had a pretty legendary falling-out.” “How do you feel about that? Was it worth it?” Oscar extended his index finger and wagged it while clicking his tongue. “We’ll get to that. Let’s just watch the show.” The Guardian and the Beast had a standoff. Oscar couldn’t remember a time when his former Guildmaster was ever quite so intense. Exuded quite so much hatred. But, then again, Aincrad had changed her too. She was harder than she was when Oscar first met her. But, then again, there weren’t a few dozen children left in the lurch back then either. “Perhaps one of the largest mistakes was not making sure everyone I knew was aware of the gravity of the situation,” Oscar said. “I had made the assumption that Bahr would have told Lessa what happened. You know, just the smallest of explanations as to why my name was suddenly carved into the Monument as a cause of death. But, he didn’t. So we lost a little time with me explaining things to her.” “But you didn’t expect her response.” Oscar paused for a moment, nodding sagely as he watched another Echo of him hold a blade to Lessa’s neck. Thankfully, he’d also sent a message out with his other hand. And, quick as a flash, the Whisper had arrived. A well-needed distraction. For all of Oscar’s posturing as a hardass, he truly didn’t have it in him to swing on a friend. It would have rather defeated the purpose, after all. “What I really didn’t expect was Lessa’s response, honestly. Freyd? He’s been a ride-or-die for a minute. Love that dude. Hell, pretty sure if I called up Firm Anima as a guild, they’d have come in hot too. Never woulda been able to pay that debt back to Simmone though. Don’t wanna owe that woman money.” Oscar gave off a laugh in an attempt to play it off. But in a game filled with death and Player-Killers, the one thing that gave Oscar even the slightest amount of trepidation anymore was having Simmone own one of his debts. “Back on track,” Oscar said quickly after a moment. “I really expected her response to be closer to Bahr’s. A holier-than-thou condemnation. A Batman-esque attempt at dealing with the problem.” “But she understood the gravity of the situation and didn’t let her emotions get in the way.” “Right. Which really fuckin’ chapped my ass, if I’m being honest about it.” “Why is that?” Oscar let out a sigh. “Well, the entire fuckin’ point of killing all those people was to keep my friends from having to do it. Because let’s be real, if Tyson had managed to get me, they’d have had to deal with that situation one way or another, eventually. A whole-ass Guild of Player Killers without a target? Yeah, fuck that. It wouldn’t have taken much for Tyson to lose control of ‘em either.” “His focus was on you.” “Right, and if he lost his focus, he’d lose his position. Some other, stronger, Player would have snapped the Guild up right from under him and then we’d have a fuckin’ war on our hands. Their hands. I’d be dead in this hypothetical.” “Don’t you think they could have handled it?” “Oh, for sure. But that’s not the point. I didn’t want ‘em to have to. It was my fight, remember?” “Anyway,” Oscar continued. “Lessa was one of the friends I worried the most about. She was - and still is - a good person. We wound up getting separated during the rescue attempt. Lessa took the kids and made for the Safe Zone. Freyd and I tried to take point together but got forced apart by the traps in Tyson’s hideout. I don’t know how it went down for either of them, but none of us walked out of there with clean hands. And it was a bittersweet thing. The kids were safe and any doubts on what Lessa would do when her back was against the wall were dispelled. But I never wanted it to come to that. That much blood don’t wash off and that much killing leaves a mark you’re gonna take to the grave.” “That’s a morbid thing to be impressed with.” “Oh, shit. Was that *snark* from my own fucking hallucination?” “I’m you,” the Other said as a shit-eating grin rose to his face. “Remember?” “Oh fuck you, dude,” Oscar spat back in response. “What the fuck does a man have to do around here to get respect from his own schizophrenic doppelganger.” “Am I the schizophrenic one or are you?” Oscar paused. He shoved his hands into his pockets, leaning back as he looked up at the sky of Floor 4. “Can’t say as this all warrants a clinical diagnosis. But it’s really fucking weird. Feels like a fever dream or something.” “Well you are asleep,” the Other said. “Farming Bears is really fucking boring and you can do it, literally, in your sleep.” “Oh no shit?” Oscar cocked an eyebrow, looking at his twin incredulously. “I knew I was good. Didn’t think I was that good.” “Yeah, yeah. Everyone praise the Weiner Man. You’d just better hope you don’t come across any cliffs. Kinda hard to pay attention to where you’re going.” “This ain’t exactly the healthiest way to reconcile things, is it?” “Oh, no. Not at all. But you don’t make the healthy choices do you?” Oscar’s twin took control over the scene again. Before them, as if projected on a screen, was Oscar within the belly of a frozen fortress. He was beat up pretty badly. A constant stream of Tyson’s best Player Killers had taken their toll. It had quickly devolved into a war of attrition. He was given no quarter. No time to let his health regenerate. His energy was depleting just as quickly. Every head he claimed took just a bit more out of him. And they were everywhere. Around every corner, hiding in side rooms, on the ceiling. Doing whatever they could do get the drop on Oscar and slow him down. Or, if they got lucky, put him down entirely. “All of this could have been entirely avoided. You could have called in some favors. Let the Frontliners know what was going on. Hell, could have brought a fourth person along so maybe you guys wouldn’t have gotten split up. Lessa, I understand. Her job was the most important. But Freyd? You guys would have linked back up sooner if you had an extra set of hands.” “But you had to fuck it up. You had to risk it and make it harder on yourself. You couldn’t take the easy win. The one that minimized the risk to the children the most. You really think if you put out that call-to-arms that at least half of the Frontlines wouldn’t have showed up? A lot of them don’t know you, but they know of you. Your reputation precedes you and not the one where you want to pretend to be this hard mother fucker who kicks ass and chews bubblegum.” “You’re right. But it was my mess.” “Fuck off with that, man. You can lie to everyone else, but you can’t lie to yourself. This responsibility you clung to might hold some water if you had actually put your money where your mouth is. But when the chips were down you did the dumbest thing.” “And you know exactly why I did it,” Oscar spat. It had taken a minute, but this vision quest was finally starting to get under his skin. “Because Tyson had it so hard, right? How many people did he kill that had hard lives too? Jason? What about the men he led to the slaughter? That you slaughtered? You act like he was a victim here. He wasn’t. He knew what he was doing.” Oscar took a deep breath. His fists were clenched, his jaw was set. The intake of air was cool. As his lungs filled, his blood ceased boiling. He exhaled, hot and long, and let the anger ebb away. His twin had succeeded in landing a telling blow for the first time since hallucination started. And it was a deep one. “How many people did I rob? How many people did I rough up? And just how many did I leave afraid of their own shadows?” “We were a kid. We didn’t kno-” “We didn’t? What about the guilt back then? What about all that self-hatred. We were old enough to know better. Just like Tyson was. But how did we end up?” “That was different. We never killed anyone.” “We got damn close though. We were ready to pull that trigger,” Oscar retorted. “So what? You’re trying to be the Major now?” “That’s always been the point. ‘Redeem the redeemable,’ right?” “And send the rest to Hell,” his Twin finished. “But are you the one who gets to decide whether he can be redeemed? After everything he did, someone should hold him accountable.” “And I am. We can either lock him up in a prison somewhere or make him put that mind of his to work getting us out of here. Maybe he’ll learn how to feel something in the process,” Oscar said. “Maybe. Or maybe he’ll shove a dagger in your back and get back to his old tricks.” “And if he does, we’ll have to trust Freyd to put an end to him. It was hard enough to convince the Whisper to stand down. He thought I’d gone soft at the eleventh hour. But I gave this plenty of thought. It wasn’t something I just decided at the drop of a hat.” “So you’re gonna dump responsibility onto someone else now?” “Hold on a sec. Weren’t you just giving me shit for not asking for help? Kinda fucked up to flip like that,” Oscar said. “You keep riding the fence! You can’t commit one way or another. You roll solo until it’s too hard. You run with a pack until they do something you don’t like. You can’t decide. What did the Major say? ‘Whatever you do, don’t half-ass it?’” “What’s your point?” “Commit. You just spent all of this time telling me how you were gonna win and keep winning. No second thoughts. No hesitation. No contingencies. So why do you have an executioner waiting in the wings for Tyson? If you’re gonna do this, dive in with both feet. That’s when we’re at our best. This is never going to end the way you want it to so long as you’re holding back. You fought too hard to give it up at the finish line now.” “Look,” his twin said. The scene shifted once again, a new vista shimmering to life around them. It was storming. Lighting streaked across the sky, passing closely by the pair as they hovered in the air. Down below, two men clad in green and red clashed with one another. Their blows were concussive. Their moves were graceful. They danced about the rain-soaked plains in a fearsome, bloody clash. In between attacks they sniped at one another. Two different wills pulling both of them apart. Their words were harsh - of course they were. One had crossed a line the other wouldn’t dare to cross, the other unable or unwilling to understand the cool math and logic of his counterpart. Their reason to fight was foolish. The duel ceased to be a duel. It was a battle of wills. Both men were convinced that their way was right. Both were equally as resolute in their conviction as the other. Looking down at the battle, Oscar realized that he’d never fought quite so hard before or since this encounter. It transcended stats and weapons and the System. Every slash and parry, every stunning strike and feint, was executed with masterful precision. Sword and axe clashed together, their combined melody filling the air, reverberating over the plains. Oscar understood what his Twin was getting at. He’d fought Bahr - the most bull-headed and stubborn man he’d ever met - to a complete standstill because he’d steeled himself for the task ahead. Dove in with both feet, to use the Other’s words. He was so confident in his ability to win, even back then. Even before he’d conceived of the magnum opus that ultimately led to his victory. And he simply wasn’t quite that certain about things now. He’d already failed the kid once. And rather than plant his feet and refuse to do it again, he simply made more contingency plans around his failure. “If you had that duel today, do you think you could win? You won, but you lost your confidence. You don’t think you have what it takes to redeem the kid. And why would you? He’s your biggest failure. And just when you thought that you’d finally gotten through to him, he fell back into old habits. What will you do, Oscar? Can you be there every step of the way? What guarantees do you have that you’ll be there for him this time?” A long silence passed between them as the shadows began to twist and envelop the both of them. Standing once more in the darkness of his own mind, no longer distracted by his memories, Oscar could do nothing but ruminate on his Twin’s words. Did he even have a satisfactory answer? What was he to do now that he’d achieved what he set out to achieve? His mind went back. Unlike before, the dark corridor he stood in didn’t shift. Oscar had to wonder for a moment why that was. Both he and his twin had a flair for the dramatic. Neither were above providing “visual aids” to prove their points. But then again, Oscar wasn’t exactly making a point right now. His twin had finally managed to perform its purpose and slip through Oscar’s armor. For the first time in this entire vision quest, Oscar was feeling introspective. He wouldn’t say that he was second-guessing himself. He’d come too far for that. There was no point crying over spilled milk now. But he was moving forward toward the future. Confident though he was that his past decisions had been the best possible option, the future was always uncertain. It was difficult for him to act with the same confidence. At least, it was if he wanted to be honest about it all. And there he was again, standing on that frigid rooftop. The glacier stretched out beneath them, stark white in all directions. He’d lost track of how many people he’d killed in his frenzied climb through the keep. But there he was. Tyson, finally forced from the shadows. The most surprising bit was the green cursor. Oscar, full of fury as he was then, spat an insult about the kid not being willing to get his hands dirty. It was, of course, riposted with a smart-ass response. For a moment, things were as they were. If you could forget for a moment that the two of them wanted to tear the other apart, it was eerily similar to the way they behaved back home. Oscar the stern mentor and Tyson the smart-mouth protege. It was only for a moment, though. Nostalgia couldn’t compete with the blade that was between them. The hate that Oscar had allowed to settle in his being. “Took you long enough,” Tyson said with a sneer. “Really thought you’d be here sooner. To hear my boys talk, you’re some crazy good Player. How’s that health bar looking?” Oscar’s eye flicked to the top left corner of his HUD. He wasn’t doing too hot, that was certain. Squarely below half health with barely any time to get it back. If Tyson had a grand play here, Oscar had never been more vulnerable. But Oscar couldn’t see anything. He’d proven time and again that trying to sneak up on him was futile. Surely Tyson wouldn’t try it. Of course, that was the type of thinking Tyson thrived on. Surely he wouldn’t harm the kids. Surely he wouldn’t kill truly innocent people. But at the end of the day, there were no depths that Tyson wouldn’t fall to. He and Oscar were alike in many ways. The only thing that one could expect from either of them was the unexpected. But Oscar wasn’t going to give the kid the satisfaction of seeing him winded. And if he could stall for time long enough for his health to click back up to full, so much the better. He needed to get himself under control. Even now, at the end of it and after fighting through everything that Tyson had to throw at him, he couldn’t be hasty. Losing his head and rushing in was certain to see him blundering into some final trap. As if Tyson could read Oscar’s mind, he laughed. “What’s wrong? I thought it would be on-sight. Not gonna take my head too? God, you’re such a fraud. All that preaching about restraint but you’ve killed dozens. Kinda hypocritical, don’t you think?” “This is me showing restraint, Tyson,” Oscar replied. “I’m not the one who fed them to the meat grinder.” “No, but you damn sure loved dropping them didn’t you?” “Not for a second.” That much was still true. Oscar had never taken any sort of grim satisfaction out of it. He was merely the second half of cause and effect. They’d come gunning for his head and he declined to let them take it. “You misinterpreted my words,” Oscar continued. “You think I’m gonna feel guilty for defending myself? My friends? I could have gone scorched earth months ago. But I had hoped you’d see sense. Maybe you’d come down off your mountain and just fucking talk.” “Why the fuck would I talk to you? You showed where your priorities were. You made all these new friends after you ABANDONED! ME! Why the fuck didn’t you try to find me?” “I thought you died, dumbass,” Oscar spat back. “Do you have any idea what that looked like from my perspective? Your health dropped super low and then you just fucking disappeared. What was I supposed to think?” “Bullshit,” Tyson scoffed. “I know what you’ve been up to. You really expect me to believe a Player as good as you couldn’t tell the difference between dead and almost dead?” “All of this was very much a learned skill. You forget I never played video games much before this. What’s more believable, that I just up and turned my back on you or that I was a fucking idiot?” “Both.” “Yeah, well. Think what you’re gonna think, Tyson. But I fucking mourned you. Do you have any idea? I thought I watched you die! What would you have me do? Live in a depression for the rest of my life because you didn’t make it? I needed to move on at some point and do something or I was going to lose my fucking mind.” A long pause passed between them. No words, just the howling winds. “Besides, why didn’t you come find me? I was in the starting town for over a year. It wouldn’t have been that hard. I kinda stick out in a crowd.” Oscar had managed to render Tyson speechless. He could see the gears turning in the youth’s head. How many things he’d been wrong about. How many mistakes he made. And he had made some really fucking massive ones. Literally life or death decisions with an emphasis on the latter. Oscar knew where this was going. When things got this far, rarely did they end amicably. If Tyson had one final card to play, he would play it now. Why wouldn’t he, with his back against the wall as it was. With his assumptions demolished by cold logic. If Oscar had any particular failing, it was a lack of affinity with games before starting this journey. Maybe if he’d had that, he would have known to tell the difference between an empty health bar and one with a pip of vitality left. Maybe this whole thing could have been avoided. But it was too late for maybes. If Tyson was going to make his final play, Oscar would have it be done on his terms. Hastily. Emotionally. With the window open for mistakes that Oscar could exploit. “You wanted this,” Oscar said, his tone accusatory. “You saw a chance to be free of the angel on your shoulder and just went with it. It was never about being abandoned. Admit it. You were just biding your time. Waiting for me to take my eyes off of you for a second so you can get back to old habits.” Oscar raised his sword, pointing it toward his protege. “How’d that work out for you? You got so many people killed for this vendetta. What did you think I’d do? Roll over and let them take me? If you’ll recall, you couldn’t even put me down with a gun. What made you think a bunch of psychopaths would fare any better? That I wouldn’t respond to them the way I responded to you?” “That I wouldn’t end them the way I should have ended you back then. Your mistake was thinking that I’m not a scarier monster than you are. You confused my mistake for weakness and that’s why everything you built is crashing down around you.” “God, do you ever get tired of listening to yourself speak? You think I built this up just because I wanted to get back at you? You think I did any of this because of you? You’re a side project. A loose end. But you are smart. Too smart for me to believe for a second you couldn’t tell the difference between a death and a teleport. The lie’s too easy Oscar. Too convenient. And weren’t you the one who taught me that I shouldn’t believe something that seems too convenient?” “I’m a side project? That’s news to me,” Oscar said. “Every one of your dudes that I’ve interrogated say you’re obsessed with me. That your biggest goal is to see me gone.” Tyson scoffed and shook his head. “Of course they would say that. All they’ve known is me gunning for you. The only orders they received revolved around you. They have no idea how deep my Guild goes.” “Oh? Enlighten me.” “Since you’re not making it off of this glacier, I might as well. We exist as a deterrent. There’s more than just me out there. Not quite so strong, but every bit as vicious. They march to the beat of my drum. They exist because I continue to allow them to. I built this Guild up as a dam holding back the river of death those PKers want to unleash. If you think my men were a handful, you haven’t seen shit. I wonder whether you could take on the likes of Laughing Coffin. I wonder whether you and your Frontliner buddies would have anything left to fight for if I stepped back.” Everyone knew of Laughing Coffin, even in the passing sense. A boogeyman amongst the Players. A powerful, shadowy group that existed only to kill and terrorize honest players. They could be hired out, for a price. At least, that’s what the rumors said. But no one had seen Laughing Coffin active in quite some time. Everyone assumed that they’d killed themselves off. Oscar knew better. He had to expect that they would be in the shadows. Lurking. Plotting. Waiting for just the right time. But what if they weren’t. What if Tyson wasn’t lying. What if he was actively holding them back. It takes a monster to beat a monster. It stood to reason that it would take a stronger PK Guild to hold back another. Oscar relaxed for a moment. The card he expected Tyson to play wasn’t this one. Tyson had been many things but he had never been one to lie. So why would he start now? “I’ll even take it a step further. All those people you killed? Laughing Coffin wannabes. See, I learned that if I pretended to be a contact for Laughing Coffin, I could get those idiots to go after whoever I wanted. So I figured, hey. Why not send them after people that could kill them? And if they managed to kill you in the process, that would just be an added bonus. What was it your adopted dad liked to say? Redeem the redeemable?” “And send the rest to Hell,” Oscar replied on reflex to finish the sentence. “Exactly. You were really quite useful in that regard. More useful than I thought you’d be. I was starting to wonder how I’d get rid of this fortress full of serial killer wannabes. So thank you for cleaning house. But this is my fight, Oscar. You’re no longer needed. There’s no going back at this point.” Oscar shouldn’t have relaxed. Even with the revelations Tyson provided, he should have kept his guard up. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in his side. His body failed him. Looking up at his HUD, he saw that he was afflicted with Paralysis. A dark-robed figure stepped past, yanking his dagger from between Oscar’s ribs and leaving a jagged red gash in its wake. There was no blood. Of course there wouldn’t be in Aincrad. But the gash and his loss of movement caused a brief surge of panic. Two more robed figures joined the first, assembling in a sloppy phalanx in front of Tyson. “Oscar, I’d like you to meet the brawn to my brain. Rell, Lenore, and Janus. If you were expecting an easy fight, I’m sorry to disappoint you. These three are a bit more competent than the idiots I’ve sent after you before.” Oscar didn’t need Tyson to spell it out for him. He could tell just by the way they stood that these three were a cut above the rest. And things certainly weren’t looking good at this point. That simple attack had taken a healthy chunk off of his already-depleted health. It had been quite some time since someone was able to bypass all of his mitigation so handily. And there were three of them. Even if he had some way to clear the Paralysis, he’d be hard pressed to fight them off. For the first time, Oscar considered fleeing. He had a Teleport Crystal handy. He could get to safety. But what of Freyd? And Lessa? And the kids? What was standing between them and these three if he did that? Running simply wasn’t an option. He hadn’t planned for this. There was simply no way to expect Tyson to pull the rug out from under him in such a manner. The flaw in his plan had been laid bare. He hadn’t expected the unexpected. The very thing he preached to those Player Killers before he ended them. How hypocritical he was. And he would pay for that blunder with his life, it seemed. It seemed. But Oscar hadn’t expected the unexpected. And the most unexpected thing of all was the sudden surge of blue light that enveloped him. The words flashed across his screen. Paralysis dispelled by <<Purify>> <<First Aid>> used on Oscar, Health Restored. <<First Aid>> used on Oscar, Health Restored. <<First Aid>> used on Oscar, Health Restored. He could move again. And with that newfound freedom, he looked back. His eyes widened as he beheld three children with their palms outstretched, blue light surging through the air into him. He wanted to chastise them. Scold them for their stupid, dangerous decision. How had they even learned the Skills? Oscar had only trained them enough to be able to use stealth. “Come on Hot Dog Man! You gotta fight ‘em,” one said. A sandy-haired youth - Owen, Oscar remembered. “You shouldn’t have taught us how to sneak so good. We found out what the deal was when you were talking to the grown-ups. So we figured out how to help!” Oscar smiled. He knew that he would have been dead without these impetuous little brats. And, honestly, he still wasn’t out of the woods. But neither could he put on a piss-poor showing after these children had stuck their necks out for them. He could see it in their eyes. They were terrified. But they’d swallowed that and slipped away from Lessa nonetheless. He imagined that she wouldn’t be far behind. “You are the most foolish children I’ve ever met. You’ve shown a complete lack of self preservation. And I thank you for it. Now get back. I don’t want you three anywhere near this.” “Nuh uh!” Owen exclaimed as he crossed his arms in front of his chest with a pout. “We don’t know how to fight so good, but there’s three of those guys. What if you need more healing?” “Getting kids to fight your battles for you Oscar? For shame,” Tyson sneered. “I hope you don’t think I’m above killing them. When a kid’s holding a gun, they become a threat. Not quite a gun, but keeping you alive is definitely close enough. Rell, if you would.” Oscar was barely able to react in time. The man surged forward, brandishing a wicked curved sword. Oscar moved quickly, turning on his heels and positioning himself in front of the man. Rell attempted to vault over Oscar’s head to get at the children. Oscar was barely able to grasp him by the ankle and slam him back down into the stones below. But at the end of the day, it was still three-on-one. It was all Oscar could do to keep the three seasoned Player Killers at bay. They would charge and Oscar could counter and force them back. But he would pushing himself to his absolute limit. He couldn’t go on the offensive while he was trying to keep the children safe. But they were free to chip away at his health. And while the children were able to keep him healed, they didn’t have an abundance of energy. They would run out before too long and every time he clashed with one of the trio, he was forced backwards bit by bit. He had to wonder what would happen. Would the children run out of energy first or would one of three be able to slip his guard and attack them? He had to hope that Freyd and Lessa were on their way. Maybe they would be able to even the odds then. But for the first time, Oscar truly thought that this was a fight that he was doomed to lose. His fears soon became reality as the dagger-wielder - Janus - was able to blaze past him while Oscar was busy with Lenore. Like a missile, he surged toward the children. His dagger glinted in the cold moonlight. Oscar could do nothing else but watch out of the corner of his eye as the weapon took on an unearthly glow as Janus activated a Sword Art. One AOE and it was all over. He turned to try and intercept nonetheless, only to find himself skewered and held in place by spear and sword. But at the last moment, he saw it. The glint of steel and the flurry of golden hair. Dashing through the children frozen in fear, Lessa intercepted and ran her blade through Janus’s chest. So much for letting her bleeding heart drip all over his shoes. Oscar was able to breathe an audible sigh of relief. He could focus on the task at hand. He never thought that Lessa had it in her. But Lessa wouldn’t be immortalized as a murderer today. Oscar lashed out, his blade cutting deep into his attackers. They could remain where they were and allow Oscar to put them down or they could retreat and find another avenue of attack. They were smart players, so they chose the latter. Removing their weapons from Oscar’s body allowed him to move as they leaped backward. Before their feet even touched the ground again, Oscar had seized the opportunity to remove a piece from the board. Janus’s head was removed from his shoulders, his body reduced to fragments, in the blink of an eye. He’d died by Oscar’s hand, keep Lessa’s reputation intact. She probably didn’t care. But he did. Someone had to be a beacon of hope. And Oscar’s hands were a bit too red for that person to be him. “Get them out of here. I can handle a two-on-one,” Oscar said quickly. Lessa and Owen had both opened their mouths to argue. “I do not have time to fight about it right now,” Oscar said as he whirled around and parried an incoming attack by Lenore. She struck harder than she had previously. Seeing her comrade die had clearly flipped a switch. Rell was similarly vicious, trying to sneak past Oscar’s guard once more only to take a boot to the face. “Go! They’ll keep coming after the kids so long as they’re here! I can’t fight and protect them at the same time so get the fuck out!” He came off a bit more harshly than he wanted to. But it was difficult to keep one’s tone level when fighting off two bloodthirsty killers. After the initial shock wore off, Oscar turned his focus back to the enemy as Lessa ushered the children back down the stairs into the keep. He was thankful for that. He had lied. He most definitely couldn’t handle this two-on-one. Of course, it didn’t remain a two-on-one for long. Lessa had been the first to arrive and the first to leave. But Oscar held out hope that miracles came in pairs. So he committed himself, focused himself, to dodging and blocking the incoming flurry of attacks. He was mostly successful. But the ones that landed almost seemed to ignore his damage reduction entirely. He had almost been thankful for the fact that Janus had been the one to get caught unawares. Paralysis, or even a stun, would be a death sentence. And as far as he knew right now, these Players didn’t have access to a means to paralyze him. But, of course, there was always the stun. He’d been lucky thus far, being able to dodge or parry those attacks. But his luck wouldn’t - couldn’t - hold out forever. It had only been a matter of time before the pair managed to land that deadly affliction upon him. It was almost as if thinking it had willed it into existence. Sure enough, Lenore had managed to land a stun on him. Rell wound up to capitalize on Oscar’s immobility. But Oscar was nothing if not lucky. That wasn’t quite right. He simply had the best companions. Once more pushed to the brink and once more his allies came to his aid. The Whisper had appeared silently. With a clash of steel, he blocked the attack, allowing Oscar a moment to breathe. He quickly activated Forgotten King’s Authority, purging himself of his stun. He’d kept it in his back pocket, hoping - or perhaps expecting - Freyd to appear at just the right time. Turning the tables on the duo, Oscar stepped forward and drove his katana deep into Lenore’s gut. He followed up quickly, claiming her head as well. And then there was one. It couldn’t have come a moment too soon, either. Oscar couldn’t remember a time he’d seen his health so far into the red. Oscar and Freyd said nothing to one another. There would be time enough for conversation once the enemy was dealt with. And deal with him they did. They wasted no time, treating Rell to the same pain that he had inflicted upon Oscar. It didn’t seem quite so fun being on the other side of insurmountable odds. And they were certain insurmountable. Rell was skilled. That much was apparent. But there were few Players that would be able to deal with Freyd and Oscar moving in tandem as they were. Hell, there weren’t a whole lot of Players that could contend with any two Frontliners tag-teaming them. And Rell was no different. He put up a good fight, but eventually the sheer pressure won out. Oscar didn’t want to for the trifecta, though. Three heads were a bit too many for one day. So, for the final blow, he elected to bisect Rell at the waist. “We done now?” Oscar asked breathlessly. He knew he wasn’t physically tired, but that didn’t mean that the fight wasn’t taxing on him. More stressful than it was anything else. But stress had a tendency to affect the physical. He had to wonder whether his heart rate spiked back in the real world. Certainly he was in a hospital, attached to machines and tubes. He could only imagine the looks of horror on those nurses faces as his heart rate spiked out of nowhere. “You finished?” Oscar was ready to get it over with. Surely Tyson was out of plays now. But as the youth rushed forward, pointing his sword straight at Oscar’s heart, he could only let out a sigh. Of course he wasn’t. But he didn’t expect what came from the attack. A single point of damage. Oscar’s health was low, but it wasn’t that low. As Tyson sank his blade into Oscar’s breast, he could only look down at the boy in confusion. Oscar returned the attack. A simple basic strike. His blade cut through Tyson’s arm, taking almost a quarter of his health in the process. Oscar blinked as the gears began to turn in his head. His eyes flicked from Tyson to Freyd to Tyson’s Health Bar. He blinked. Once, then twice. Then several times in rapid succession. “You’re still level one,” Oscar said slowly. “You did all of this at level one. Fucking how?” Of all the things he’d not expected, he hadn’t expected this the most. He fully assumed that Tyson was the baddest mother fucker in his own Guild. But he wasn’t. Tyson hadn’t been kidding when he said Rell, Lenore, and Janus were the brawn to his brain. But despite the sheer difference in numbers, Tyson glared up at him with enough hate that Oscar thought for a moment that the kid would very well kill him. “You fucker,” Tyson spat, pulling out his sword and driving it back into Oscar’s chest. “Why can’t you just fuck off and die?” Oscar was torn. He knew how Tyson felt seeing people that he cared about die like that - and from his reaction it was apparent he did, in fact, care.. But he also knew that Tyson would have killed everyone Oscar cared about if left unchecked. It was hard for him to feel sorry for the kid. Impossible even. The more Tyson raged against him, the hotter Oscar’s temper flared. Eventually, after the fourth or fifth stab, Oscar had had about enough. He drove his fist into Tyson’s jaw, the simple blow dropping his health firmly into the yellow and sending him sprawling across the ground. “Are you fucking serious? You ordered them to kill me. Worse, you told them to kill children. Did you expect us to pull our punches? Just roll over and let you get your way? Show mercy? When have I shown any mercy towards your men?” “You literally wanted me dead. You tried to kill me and my friends so many times. Can’t whine about sour grapes now that you’ve lost. It’s pathetic. You’re pathetic. It’s a disgrace to their memory.” Oscar wasn’t above kicking the kid while he was down. Literally. He drove his boot into Tyson’s gut, dropping his health into the red with a third telling blow. “You know how long I’ve been waiting for this Tyson? I’ve dreamed about what I would do when I finally caught up with you,” Oscar said as he drove his sword into the ground near Tyson’s head. He bent down low, getting his face as close to Tyson as his stature would allow. “Fucking leave it to you to take the wind out of my sails. Level one. Un-fucking-believable.” Oscar rose back to his full height, yanking his sword from the ground and putting it away by letting it disappear in a flash of light. “Killing you would be too easy,” Oscar said. “And I’m not gonna let anyone say I’m running around killing low-level Players. That kinda goes against everything I’m about. You got two choices. We can drag you back to the Town of Beginnings and lock you up somewhere. You get to spend the rest of your time in this game looking at the same four walls. No food, no drink. Nothing. Or, you can put your boots on the ground and start running your Guild like a proper Guildmaster. You say you’re at odds with Laughing Coffin? What are you gonna do when they come knocking?” Tyson tried to opt for door number three: throwing himself from the ramparts in a final act of defiance. Oscar was too fast for him, however. Before he managed to scramble to his feet and stagger two step, Oscar had him by the back of the collar. “Nope, can’t let you off yourself either. You said it yourself. Your Guild is holding back the other, worse guilds. The devil you know and all that. I’ll tell you what though. You get strong enough to kill me and if you still want me dead by then, go for it. But just know Freyd over here is going to put you down shortly thereafter.” Oscar felt bad volunteering Freyd like that. But at the same time, he imagined that he would be a natural progression of things. Oscar could trust that if he went down, Freyd would make certain that whoever got the better of him didn’t continue breathing for much longer. “Time to man up and step out from behind the curtain, Tyson. Can’t keep playing the mastermind forever.” Tyson threw back his arm, breaking Oscar’s grip on his collar. He glared up at his former-and-once-again Mentor. His gaze passed between Oscar, Freyd, and the edge of the roof. Finally, he reached a decision. “Fine,” he spat. “I’ll get strong enough to kill both of you. I’d be pissing on my friends’ graves if I let Laughing Coffin loose after everything we worked for.” It hadn’t been a popular decision, sparing Tyson. It had been even less popular when Oscar expressed his willingness to take the kid back under his wing and level him up. Lessa in particular had been outraged. He couldn’t blame her. Freyd had remained largely silent, but he could tell by the man’s expression that he thought Oscar was a fool. But the reality was Tyson had them all by the balls. Assuming he wasn’t lying, the only thing keeping a group of insane Player Killers from having their way with the Players was another, slightly less crazy group of Player Killers. And Tyson was at the center of it all. If he died, there was no way to guarantee the safety of Aincrad at large. And Oscar couldn’t be everywhere all at once. So until a more permanent solution was reached, Tyson would have to keep acting in his capacity as Guildmaster. And while he did that, Oscar could teach him once more. It was all a pretext for keeping an eye on the kid. Oscar dared to allow himself to be optimistic. Maybe he could do better by him with this second chance. There was no undoing what he did. They couldn’t turn back the clock. But he could begin to atone. Oscar couldn’t say that the kid was irredeemable. He wasn’t yet certain. That was the key difference between Tyson and all the men Oscar had killed. Tyson had a reason. He had a purpose. He wasn’t killing for the sake of killing. And while his methods could be construed as barbaric, Oscar couldn’t say that they weren’t effective. In this and in this alone, the two could say that they were united in purpose. Anyone that makes it their mission to kill innocent Players deserves nothing less than a swift execution. But that did bring Oscar and Tyson to the issue with the orphanage. It was decided that Tyson would take charge of custodial work in the Orphanage. Many eyes would be upon him. He wouldn’t be allowed to move freely. Quite the opposite, in fact. He would be more or less left to languish in the Town of Beginnings, running errands for the caretakers and being relentlessly bullied by the children. Oscar loved kids, but they were a handful. He wondered how long Tyson would make it before he began to wish to be suddenly struck deaf. The craftsmen and the Players that frequented the town were instructed to notify Oscar immediately if Tyson tried to leave the walls. It might have been considered dangerous to keep Tyson around the children. That is, if the children were not, collectively, a much higher level than the kid. He wouldn’t be able to threaten them, but they could most certainly threaten him. The paradigm shift was incredibly ironic and hilarious. It seemed that everything was tied up with a neat little bow. Oscar, and by extension, his friends and allies, were no longer threatened by a puppetmaster and his shadowy organization. But many sacrifices had been made on this road. Oscar wasn’t so delusional as to think that he left this ordeal the same as he’d gone into it. That his relationships had survived the process. If he were being honest, he couldn’t think of a single one that had survived. Not a single relationship remained as it was. He would need to try to fix that. Oscar had his own demons to battle and his own sins to atone for. And he would, in time. A broken bridge wouldn’t be fixed in a day. It would take patience, but that was something that he had in spades. Still, he could content himself for the moment. But not too much. It would be easy to fall into complacency after so much stress had fallen off of his shoulders. But his Twin had been right. If Oscar was going to do this and try to redeem someone with a history as bloody as Tyson, he would need to approach it with the same confidence that he approached everything else. It was difficult to admit to himself, but he’d failed the kid once. He should have been there. Maybe he could have shielded him. Or, failing that, they could have undertaken Tyson’s burden together. Or maybe this was the way everything was supposed to play out. Maybe he simply needed to fail in order to eventually succeed. Because despite everything, Tyson’s goal was almost noble. Grim and bloody, but his heart was in the right place. Notwithstanding his vendetta with Oscar and everything he did in the furtherance of that goal, of course. Those sins would be hard to atone for. That blood would be difficult to wash off. But Oscar was committed to trying. Oscar returned to himself, standing within that dark corridor. And when he did, he saw his Twin. But unlike the other interactions, the doppelganger was smiling. “Have fun?” Oscar returned his twin’s smile, shaking his head in the process. “I’m gonna be honest, I never held much stock in vision quests or hallucinations like this. But I have to admit, it was helpful.” “Good. So you know what you have to do?” “Of course,” Oscar replied, his tone a bit more chipper. A bit more himself. “Just need to avoid fucking it up again. Easy.” “Easy,” his twin agreed. “Most difficult easy thing you’ll ever do. Please rate your mental breakdown on a scale of one to ten. This hallucination has been monitored and recorded for quality assurance.” “Zero.” “Oh, damn. Ouch. Sure you didn’t have any fun at all?” “Oh I wouldn’t say that. It was a pretty cool opportunity to be retrospective and introspective. Don’t think would have been quite so effective if it wasn’t quite so vivid.” “Still, it’s gonna be a hard road. A lot of people are going to have differing opinions on how you should have handled it.” “I know. But it was my fight and my mess. I should be the one to decide how it all ends up.” “True. But you need to be ready to defend yourself. But who knows? Maybe Tyson will surprise us both. Maybe he grows into the role he made for himself.” “Maybe. But I don’t think he’s realized the full scope of it all. I don’t think he ever did. Holding back Laughing Coffin? They’re going to come for him.” “And us. Need to get him ready. For everyone’s sake.” “Devil turns into a hero. I’m sure we’ve seen an anime about that.” “Probably, but it’s time for you to fuck off. You’ve pretty much caused ecological collapse while you’ve been stuck in here.” The scene shifted once more. The shadows bled away, leaving Oscar alone in the forest standing amidst what remained of an elf encampment. Looking back, he saw the trail of devastation he left while he was dissociating. Letting out a sigh, a smile crossed his face. Despite his fracturing mind, he’d managed to hold everything together and find the motivation he didn’t even know he had. But tomorrow was going to be his most difficult challenge yet. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts