Time Elapsed: 04:11:02

Severance stood quietly on the stone platform, staring out at the endless expanse of black rock. The scene outside the robot raid never changed, no matter how many times he came here.

Old ruins, charred and twisted, were entombed in hardened flows of what had once been glowing lava. A stillness hung over the entire area, accompanied by a silence so absolute that he could hear a pin drop. The only sound now was the quiet murmurs coming from behind him.

He didn't turn to look. Instead, he counted his breaths, breathing as deep and evenly as he could. His hands curled into tight fists, every muscle in his body tensed. If he relaxed even a bit, he'd start shaking again.

Today had been the worse yet. He wasn't sure why. Mouna's fire-resistant clothing had proven to be a huge boon, and he'd died only once for a change. Both things should have made the raid a lot easier to get through.

But even so, he couldn't stop the tremors. He felt unbalanced and nauseated. Even out here on the platform, the stench of burnt flesh still hung in the air, tainted by the sweet tang of blood. It followed him like a shadow, lingering like a heavy morning fog curling above a creek.

Someone came to stand beside him. The figure loomed in his peripheral vision, and he didn't even have to turn to know it was Chad. The sheer bulk of the armored figure betrayed who it was.

"Okay?" the tank asked quietly.

Severance flinched. Somehow, Chad had packed that word full of concern and reproach. It let him know that the man had missed very little.

"I'm fine," he said, and folded his arms across his chest. This way, he could tuck his hands into the crook of his elbows, where no one could see how they shook. A part of him felt a bit guilty, because he hadn't exactly been honest with Chad and everyone about how deeply the Gifts affected him in Eliona. He should have known he wouldn't be able to hide it from someone so keenly observant.

Perhaps it hadn't been wise to invite Chad to a dungeon party, but there'd been little choice. Time was running out and he had to get to that special dungeon as soon as possible. Nothing else mattered at this point.

He could feel Chad's gaze on him, and braced himself for the incoming accusation. But... nothing came. Chad remained silent.

That was somehow even worse.

Then Chad gently placed a hand on Severance's shoulder and squeezed lightly. That gesture of support contained a thousand words, and Severance felt some of the tension leave him.

Chadley was a good man.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Chadley patted his back, just as the sound of armor clanking reached them. Another player came over to join them, and he was no less intimidating than Chad.

Jack Coyote was a force of nature. His golden eyes held an icy intensity, and he had a way of demanding absolute silence without even saying a word. Now he did just that, taking up position behind them.

Severance found himself turning automatically so he could properly see Jack. Chad mirrored his movements. Together, the two of them waited, because neither of them was going to say the first word.

Jack Coyote observed them coolly. His armor had taken a terrible beating, and more than half of it was covered in soot and blood. Not all of it was his own blood, either. Even the long silk panels hanging from his tasset had been burnt badly, and their singed ends only reached his knees instead of swaying gently around his calves.

Behind him, there were white flashes as players left the platform. Names vanished from the party list one after another. After a few moments, only the three of them remained.

It was only then that Jack deigned to speak. His attention settled on Severance.

"Well?"

Severance knew what he was asking. While they waited for the team to arrive, he and Jack had talked. He didn't say anything about the Tower, but he brought the tank up to speed about the key and the dungeon it unlocked. The importance of it was one thing he made sure to stress.
Surprisingly, Jack had taken it all in stride.

"I hit 44," he said. It was great news, yet he didn't feel much excitement. "One more point, and I'll be at 45."

"Good." Jack Coyote gave a curt nod. "Snow should reach 50 by tomorrow, or if not, be fairly close." He glanced at Chad briefly, before he pointedly told Severance, "Message me later. We'll need to discuss our next plan."

"Will you talk to the others?" By others, Severance met Mr Snowman and Valentin. He and Jack were in agreement that those two players were at the top of their class. If both agreed to join the special dungeon team, then all they'd need was one more dps player.

Jack Coyote's eyes narrowed, and he all but exuded an air of disapproval. His gaze once more flashed to Chad. "I will and we'll talk more about this. Later."

It was obvious he didn't want to say anything in front of Chad. He didn't bother hiding it, either. The fact that Chad was right there didn't even faze him.

"Okay, fine. Message me later, then." Severance rubbed at his eyes. He knew Jack was just being cautious, but really, he could be a bit nicer about it. Besides, Severance was going to fill Chad in later anyway. Not that Jack needed to know that.

"Tomorrow. My time's almost up, so I'm going to log off. Get some rest." With that, Jack clapped him on the shoulder, and vanished in a white flash.

Severance blinked. Then he looked down at his own shoulder. That was... uncharacteristic of the player. If he didn't know better, he would have guessed that Jack actually cared. Ha. The guy was an iceberg in disguise.

"Hm." Chad frowned at the space where Jack had been. It was hard to tell whether he was bothered or intrigued.

"He means well," Severance offered.

He knew Jack's blunt nature could come across as callous. A lot of players didn't want to bother with him, which meant their raid team always had two or three players needing to be replaced. Some people didn't take criticism or orders well, and Jack Coyote had no place for people who weren't interested in following his command.

"Yes," Chad agreed, much to Severance's surprise. "Rest."

And he too vanished in a flash of white.

That left Severance standing alone in a volcanic wasteland. He'd expected Chad to question him, but instead, the tank had placed himself on the same page as Jack. And speaking of Jack, what was with that kindly attitude at the end? It was weird.

He groaned softly. "Rest, they say. Ha. Sure. I'll get right on that."

Light flashed over the platform. When it faded, Severance was gone.

***

Time Elapsed: 04:35:36

The buildings were on fire in Tomorrow's Edge.

Severance stood in the middle of the street and watched them burn.

They weren't actually on fire, but they shone so bright he had to lift a hand to shield his eyes. The tallest buildings in the city were made of blue crystal, and when the sun's setting rays hit them just right, it lit them up in brilliant blue-gold. Even the floating mist, raised by the thundering waterfall at the edge of the city, glowed molten gold as it flowed over streets and curled around buildings.

It was beautiful.

Tomorrow's Edge was made to be beautiful. Its streets were laid with small pebbles of various blues and its timeless architecture were somehow hewn out of solid rock and crystal and fitted together with hardly a seam. The towering skyscrapers rose in the center, a majestic centerpiece, while all around spread the marble. Surrounding the city was a natural barrier of mountains, with the far side hanging over a cliff. There, a mile-wide river roared out from beneath her and fell, generating a perpetual mist. As a result, half the city was forever damp and misty.

He watched for a long while, unaware of the strange looks he kept getting from passerby. Maybe it was his long dark coat, a soulless piece of night draped over his tall frame. Or perhaps it was his messy pale hair, a sharp contrast to his attire. There was also the giant vastlhidan sitting at his side, who tracked every nearby person with eerie silver eyes and rumbled warningly if they got too close.

Unsurprisingly, the two of them were given a wide berth. No one attempted to approach or even speak to them. It made for a rather peaceful outing.

An older couple passed by, earning a louder growl from Vast. The woman gasped and tugged her companion further away. "Is that thing even allowed-?"

"Sssh!" The two of them hurried to the far side of the street. Vast's lip curled, revealing a single, pointy fang. The tip of his tail gently swished on the ground.

Severance wanted to roll his eyes. Evokers walked around with their summons all the time. So why couldn't he take his dangerous predator for a stroll? Besides, he was just doing as he was told. His clan insisted that he wasn't to leave the House without taking someone with him, so he'd made the executive decision that Vast counted as 'someone.'

Just to be on the safe side, he gave Vast a stern look.

"You behave yourself."

In response, Vast's jaw relaxed into a wide doggy grin. His tail swished more vigorously, making an audible sound as it swept back and forth.

Severance snorted. "Yeah, okay, you're being a good boy so far. Good job."

After giving the silly beast a quick head pat, he began to wander down the street. He kept to one side so there was lots of room for people to get by. As a lovely bonus, Vast kept close and quiet, showing no interest in maiming passerby. Instead, those silvery eyes kept looking up at him, as if making sure he was where he was supposed to be.

It made Severance smile and sneak in a second pat.

He didn't have any particular reason to come to Tomorrow Edge, other than to wander the lovely streets and enjoy the tranquility for a few minutes. He wanted a few minutes to think, because he had to figure out what he was going to say to Chad.

His biggest worry was that if Mrs. Beakor and the others knew that his 'character' in Eliona was essentially the same as a real human body at this point, then they'd try to stop him from coming here. That meant he had to talk to Chad and convince him to not say anything to the others.

"Hey, Sev!" Someone hollered from way down the street. "Sev! Wait up!"

Severance tensed. Only one person would shout at the top of their lungs on a busy street without caring who heard. He already saw people turning to look.

Now he could hear running footsteps drawing closer. And yup, there he was.

"Hey, you brought your dog!"

"Oh boy," Severance muttered. He rested a hand on Vast's head, fingers curling into the fur. Not that it'd do any good as a deterrent. "Vast, please don't kill him this time."

The fellow that ran up to him was like any average Shade. He wore functional, dark clothing geared towards someone who spent their time sneaking through the shadows. And if there was such a thing as a default character to Eliona, it would be this guy. Brown hair, brown eyes, average build, etc. That is, until he grinned at Severance, revealing an obnoxious golden tooth that gleamed and sparkled as loudly as it could.

"Hey, buddy!"

At first, Severance thought Awesome Dude was talking to him. But in the next minute, the Shade crouched before Vast, just outside of arm's length, and held out both hands. To Severance's shock, a raw steak appeared in them.

"Look what I got for you!" Awesome Dude gave his best smile to Vast and presented the steak like it was a rare treasure.

You're kidding me. Severance could hardly believe what he was seeing. The Shade actually carried around a steak in his Inventory? And what's more, he thought he could bribe a vastlhidan with it?

The steak failed to impress Vast, and he didn't budge even when Awesome Dude tossed it at his feet. He merely stared at the Shade and snarled.

"Aww, you don't like it? What about this?"

Awesome Dude pulled out a roasted drumstick. He crept even closer, getting a single step in before Vast's tail slashed out and whipped him across the face. The force of it spun Awesome Dude around.

Severance stared. He hadn't even known Vast could do that.
The Shade staggered, one hand pressed to the side of his face. The flesh that peeked through was turning colors already.

"Okay, no chicken," he gasped. "Got it."

Surely, at this point, Awesome Dude would get a clue. After all, it wasn't all that long ago that he'd gotten too close to Vast and had his throat torn out. Still, Severance thought to warn the guy one last time.

"AD, come on, man. Stop-"

Crack! Vast's tail left an audible sound as it smacked into Awesome Dude's face again. This time, the Shade was thrown right off his feet. People had stopped now, staring at the spectacle with wide eyes. Whispers rose, and a couple left the crowd at a run, probably going to seek the nearest Vigilant guard.

Severance sighed. If this went on, they'd all get in trouble. So, he immediately headed towards the nearest side street. With Vast at his side, people parted quickly, leaving a wide space for them to pass by.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Awesome Dude ran after them.

Severance walked even faster, though one side of his mouth tugged upwards. He hoped his friend would never change.