Severance strode down the sparkling bluestone streets of Tomorrow's Edge, his lips pressed into an irritated line. He moved fast, long legs covering ground at a rate that most people would have to jog to keep up.

His shadow followed easily, weaving around people that he passed, never staying in one vantage point for long. Severance ignored him, even though he was acutely aware every time those sharp eyes sliced across him like a knife. It was like having an unfriendly Vast at his back, a snarl away from ripping out his throat.

As a result, Severance found himself on edge, his own attention panning through people and eyeing every shadow as if something might be lurking within. He saw players and residents from most of the major clans, although there were no Chosen or Traders in sight. That didn't reassure him. There were an awful lot of shadows to hide in, cast by the towering skyscrapers made of dark blue crystal.

Close up, these looming feats of architecture were solid and dark, but from afar, they caught the sunlight and glowed as if lit by an inner fire. It made them visible from within the misty haze that constantly permeated the air in the city, thicker near the Falls, but thinner at the North side where he currently was.

He turned left at the next junction, heading down a narrower street. Single-story buildings made of perfectly cut stone lined both sides, small signs declaring several businesses and shops. Unlike Two Bridges, Tomorrow's Edge did not have an open market, but had several streets of quiet, organized store fronts.

At the end of these streets, the area opened into a large square. It was lined with heroic statues, colorful flowers grown in raised beds, and many stone benches for people to rest upon.

Severance slowed as he reached the square. A quick glance showed that this area was relatively quiet, with only a couple of players cuddling on a bench and an elderly resident slowly walking about. Oh, and there was a player crouched in front of one of the four fountains, trying to poke one of the white fish that darted around the water.

Yup, that was the guy he was looking for.

Severance walked over. He didn't even have to try to be silent. His boots made no sound. It was the easiest thing to walk up to Awesome Dude and poke him in the back of the head.

With a startled squawk, Awesome Dude flailed and fell headfirst into the pond. Fish darted to the opposite side of the fountain in a mass of white.

Severance snickered. When Awesome Dude scrambled out of the water, his normally spiky brown hair plastered to his head in flat black strands, Severance laughed harder.

"Dude!" Awesome Dude jabbed a finger at Severance, brown eyes wide. "That was mean!"

"Sorry," Severance lied. His friend looked kind of like a wet rat.

"Uh huh, sure you are." Despite the sarcasm, Awesome Dude was also grinning. "That was real good, Sev. I didn't even hear you coming!"

Severance shrugged, though he was immensely proud of himself.

"Where's your dog?" Awesome Dude looked around, his expression falling when he couldn't spot Vast.

"At the House." Severance suddenly remembered his irritation from a few minutes ago. He looked down at his thigh where a few, very specific set of holes punctured his pants. Vast had not taken well to staying behind. The beast had been very gentle with his teeth, but he'd still ripped through the material and broken skin in the process. "He was very bad."

"Aw, I'm sure he didn't mean it."

Severance fixed his friend with a flat stare. "I'm pretty sure he did. He bit me when I tried to leave."

That seemed to be hilarious, because Awesome Dude sniggered. "He sounds so awesome. Where'd you get him?"

Not for the first time, Severance wondered if this guy truly understood the definition of awesome. "The clan kids found him in the forest. He was a tiny puppy then, and almost dead. So they brought him to me, I healed him, he bit me, and now he won't leave me alone."

"Whoa. That's really cool!! I didn't know you could heal animals."

"Why not?" Severance lifted his brows. "The skill doesn't care where it goes, as long as it has a target that's still alive."

"Huh." Awesome Dude thought about that. Then his eyes lit up. "Does that mean you can heal a dungeon boss?"

"What?! No, that's not how it works."

"How do you know? Have you tried?"

"No, but-"

"See, then you don't know. You should try it."

"Why would I even want to do that?"

"Cos then you'd know. Wouldn't it be fun if you could?"

Severance shook his head. No, it wouldn't be fun. It'd be a great way to never be invited to heal anything again. His friend was insane.

"Whatever. You said you had something to tell me?"

In an instant, Awesome Dude forgot all about healing dungeon creatures. His expression grew serious, and he actually looked around as if checking to make sure no one was within earshot.

Severance did too, but saw no one except the old man staring deeply into the fountain on the opposite corner from them. The two players were gone. And so was Batin. The Veiled man was nowhere to be seen, yet Severance didn't doubt for a second that he was lurking somewhere close.

Awesome Dude lowered his voice to a loud stage whisper. "Hey man, I don't know if you've caught up to everything, but things are going down."

No kidding, Severance thought dryly, but aloud, he said, "Yeah, I heard about Two Bridges."

"You did? You should've seen it, Sev. They trashed the place. And any of the Valkyrie who didn't run..." Awesome Dude abruptly stopped talking. His expression took on a vaguely ill cast.

It was so unlike him that Severance stared. And then he got a flash of insight. "You were there, weren't you?"

Wordlessly, Awesome Dude gave a curt nod. The Shade didn't say anything for a while, so Severance waited patiently. He knew what it was like, only there was the added secret he knew that made it all the more horrible. It's not a game. It's real. Real people dying, real blood on your hands, real murder.

Just thinking about it made him feel sick.

"It turns out that the Eternal Champions are like soldiers," said Awesome Dude, and he gave a wobbly smile. It was painful to see, because it didn't fit on a face that always was smiling. "We get a lot of clan quests to fight the Chosen or help protect merchant caravans. Things like that, which is pretty cool most of the time. But..."

"What happened?"

Awesome Dude turned to the fountain, his eyes following the little white fish. He didn't seem to notice the water dripping steadily from his wet hair.

"I was at my clan's base when they came running out and gathered everyone. They said there was an attack on Two Bridges and we had to fight." He shrugged. "There's been a few of those, and they were pretty fun, but this wasn't anything like that.

"By the time we got to Two Bridges, the place was on fire. The Chose and Traders, they were everywhere, killing Valkyrie all over the place. The jerks, they ganged up four people to a Valkyrie because they couldn't take them one on one."

Awesome Dude looked angry, another out of place expression.

"They were screaming, Sev. The Valkyrie NPCs. They screamed as they fell, and there were so many of those purple explosions all over Two Bridges. It was kind of pretty, with all the fire, but it was their city and none of them came back. It was like they were dying for real."

A lump formed in Severance's throat. They were.

"There wasn't much of a fight. There were too many. And the Fallen Knights showed up near the end, and we had no choice but to run."

Awesome Dude hung his head. "It wasn't fun, Sev. It felt real and scary, and all that screaming and blood and smoke... I can't stop thinking about it. I know it's just a game, but that kind of thing... it's a bit much, you know?"

The urge to tell his friend the truth was so strong, but Severance knew he couldn't. Too much was at stake and Awesome Dude tended to talk too much. Plus, he wasn't sure if Awesome Dude would even believe him.

"Are you going to quit?" Severance asked softly. His stomach wrenched at the thought. Awesome Dude was his first and best friend amongst the players of this game. If he left, Eliona wouldn't be the same. Something would be missing.

Awesome Dude jerked his head up and gave Severance a startled look. Then he snorted. "No way, dude! There's a lot going on, yeah, but I'm not gonna ditch my friends."

Severance felt stupid for asking. But he also felt a huge sense of relief. "Right. So, what's happening with Two Bridges now? Maun said the Chosen and Traders moved in and that they've taken over the dungeon?"

"Yeah," Awesome Dude nodded. "If you're not one of them, they'll kill you for just getting too close. They've claimed it as their territory now. Which makes things tough for those who are trying to reach level 30. It's the only dungeon other than Ascendance they can level in, and Ascendance is just the baby dungeon. You'd have to run it a million times just to get anywhere."

Severance could imagine the frustration. It reminded him of Ironback Town, where he'd been stuck in an impossible situation with a few other players. If Dhin hadn't saved them, they'd probably still be trapped there.

"Is it possible to take back the dungeon?" Maybe if enough people got together, they could at least stop them from hoarding it to themselves.

Awesome Dude shrugged. "There's been talk of some guys trying to force their way through to the dungeon, but honestly, I don't think we can hold it for long. With those clans setting up in Two Bridges, they got a nearby spawn point, right? If they die, they can just respawn there and come back to the fight in seconds. It's so unfair. I'll try and find out more tomorrow when I log back in."

Severance nodded slowly. Unless the clans got together and waged war against the city of bridges, this was about all players could do.

"Let me know what you find out."

"Sure thing!" With a thumbs up, Awesome Dude suddenly flashed a huge smile. "Now, you gotta tell me, what's up with you, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Dude! You totally turned into a Shade!"

Severance leaned back. "What are you talking about?"

"You did!" Awesome Dude gestured wildly. "You move totally different now. All quiet and creepy like a ninja. That's a Shade thing and you stole it!"

"I stole it?" Now that was new. And ridiculous. "I just got a bunch of Agility, that's all." And some weird passive traits, he added silently, but he wasn't going to mention those. He wasn't sure if he should. "Anyone can get that."

The look he got was one of pure disbelief. "Dude. How much Agility you got?"

"47," Severance admitted. His Gifts had more than doubled what he had before.

"And what level are you at?"

"34."

Awesome Dude shook his head. "Wow, man. Look, I'm 37, and my Agility is at 37. That's my main attribute. My main, dude. What the heck have you been doing?! What kind of freakish build do you have?"

Shuffling his feet, Severance felt somewhat awkward. "Well, Agility kind of became my highest one thanks to the Gifts. Everything else is much lower. Like 30 or less."

His friend stared at him. Then in a voice full of awe, "What are you?" It was like he was looking at an alien.

Severance stood stiffly. He hadn't realized that his Agility was so abnormal. He'd thought it was somewhere close to what an average Shade might have, but never had he imagined that he'd exceed it. Then again, 25 points was an enormous boost.

Next thing he knew, Awesome Dude was walking around him in a slow circle, rubbing his chin in exaggerated thought. Then he poked at Severance's shoulder. It was the one with the clan marking, which was easily visible now thanks to the sleeveless coat Mouna had made.

"This changed again. Sev, how many do you have now?"

Severance opened his mouth to answer, but a flicker of movement caught his attention. He looked past his friend to see a dark form leaning casually against one of the fountains. Batin was watching him, and when their eyes met, Batin gave a very slight shake of the head.

Goosebumps prickled across Severance's arms, and he stepped back from Awesome Dude. "I don't think I'm allowed to say."

He glanced at his friend, then back at the fountain, but Batin was gone.

"Really?" The disappointment was clear in the Shade's tone, but it only lasted a moment. "Ah, that's cool. Clan secrets, right? I get it. Mine is like that, too. Well, maybe not as crazy as yours, though. Hey, there was something else I wanted to tell you. You know that thing you found in the dungeon?"

"Yeah?" Severance had been expecting this, and was kind of surprised it took Awesome Dude so long to bring it up.

"There's a rumor going on that the Wann Mi found one. It's just a rumor, so I don't know how true it is, but I thought I should let you know. Ironhide says no one can even use them until they hit level 50. My clan's pushing us to find one too, but no one has yet. Apparently, it's some kind of special key."

This news wasn't exactly encouraging. "Is anyone getting close to 50?"

Awesome Dude thought for a bit. "Valentin is. He just hit 46. There's a couple in the Vigilant that are in their low 40's, and the Academy has a really awesome tank that's in the 40's too. You better hurry, Sev, or you're going to be left behind in the dust."

"Speak for yourself," Severance retorted, "Mr 37." Then he shook his head slowly. "How do you know all that, anyway?"

With a grin that showed off his gold tooth, Awesome Dude patted his own chest with pride. "Because I'm awesome. That's why."

Severance rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever. And just so you know, that's exactly what Avris and Enson were talking about earlier."

The way Awesome Dude's eyes bugged out of his head was pure comedy. "No way! Really?"

"Yep."

"So that's why... Dude!"

Severance grinned. Now it was sinking in. He could practically see the light bulbs lighting up one after another.

"Oh man, this is huge! No wonder they asked me about you. Sev, you're totally famous! You really gotta hurry up and level up, because we gotta be the first ones to use the key! We can't let anyone else get the treasure first!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it." Severance changed the subject before his friend could get too worked up. "Anything else going on?"

Two minutes later, he regretted asking the question. He was immediately treated to a massive amount of gossip, most of which was pointless chatter. He learned that Ascendance had become the new Two Bridges of sorts, a hub where all the players gathered since Two Bridges was no longer accessible unless people had a death wish. Tomorrow's Edge, which was heavily under the Vigilant's control, was much safer, but there were still a lot of players who had yet to reach the city.

He also learned Ironhide had a girlfriend outside the game, that Valentine liked cheese—why and how Awesome Dude learned that was beyond Severance—and that Enson Ferrason, the Eternal Champions Leader, had personally kicked a player out of the clan for getting caught with a girl from the Chosen. Apparently, they'd been making out in the middle of Ascendance without a care.

"Where did he go after that?" Severance asked.

"He joined the Chosen," Awesome Dude said, snickering. "And then she dumped him! Poor guy."

Severance thought it fitting. Anyone who was silly enough to join the Chosen deserved it, in his opinion. His friend continued chattering on, sharing all kinds of little tidbits. Throughout it all, he was content to sit silently, listening to what amounted to sheer nonsense.

And then all too soon, Awesome Dude froze, stopping mid-sentence. He smiled sheepishly. "Ah sorry, guess I have to go. My time is up."

"It's fine," Severance shrugged. "Maybe we'll talk tomorrow."

"You bet we will! Ironhide said I'm supposed to stick close to you, but as if he needs to tell me that. I'm not letting you run away again!"

"It was only for a week," Severance sighed. Honestly. "And I didn't run away. I just-"

"Don't care. I'm calling you as soon as I log in tomorrow, so you better be ready." With that, Awesome Dude logged off.

The square suddenly seemed just a little darker, like a cloud had drifted across the sky. It was quiet. And Severance was acutely aware of being alone.

That lasted about 2.5 seconds, because suddenly a shadow stood beside him. Narrow eyes regarded him.

"It's time," Batin said softly, "for our lesson."