Post by Hayate on Nov 14, 2006 22:37:58 GMT -5
Chapter 3: The PK of Azure Flames
Friday, April 6, 2017 (continued):
“…Tri-Edge…!”
“…” Tri-Edge glared at us, probably his next quarry, with unforgiving eyes that glowed crimson red.
“Yulie, can you move?”, I asked her.
Yulie slowly let me loose from her embrace over me. As she turned to see Tri-Edge, her eyes, like Zetsu’s, became wide-eyed. “That’s…”
“Yulie, please, we have to get out of here.”
But all of a sudden, Yulie pushed me away and got to her feet. “You…” She then drew her Macabre Dancer fans, preparing to attack Tri-Edge. What could she have been thinking? “Because of you, Rubina… I’LL CUT YOU IN HALF!!!!” And, in an act of blind rage, she charged in.
“YULIE, NO!!”, Zetsu and I shouted in unison. But, by then, there was no stopping her. She was too overcome with anger to hear us.
“YAAAAHHHH!!!” One swipe after another, Yulie would assault Tri-Edge with a series of sharp blows. Surprisingly, every attack hit its mark, and Yulie’s final attack sent Tri-Edge reeling into the altar behind him. Yulie then attempted to catch her breath, her rage finally vented out. “Take THAT, you monster!!! …What!?” Unfortunately, her efforts proved to be in vain, as Tri-Edge emerged from the rubble unscathed. “No… It did nothing…? It did nothing at all?” All Tri-Edge did was let out another low-pitched groan. “Grrrr…” Yulie prepared to attack again, but this try would prove even more futile than the last. With merely the sheer power of his mind, Tri-Edge shattered Yulie’s fans. Shards of data started to fall around her feet. “What the?!? Where’d my fans go?!?” Looking ahead of her, Yulie noticed Tri-Edge raising his right hand up. “Huh?”
“…” Tri-Edge let out yet another groan as he pointed his right arm straight at Yulie. A strange bracelet-like object appeared around his wrist. I’d never seen an item like it before.
“Oh, no! Yulie, get away from there!”, Zetsu screamed. “That bracelet… It’s the same one that put Rubina in a coma!”
Before I realized it, my feet were carrying me to Yulie’s position. A three-pronged beam fired from Tri-Edge’s bracelet, which was aimed straight at Yulie. “YUUUULIEEEEE!!!” I shoved Yulie out of the way of the blast…and took the hit. “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”
“No!! Akira!!”
…I can’t really remember what happened next, as I was somehow logged out of <The World> automatically. I don’t know what became of Yulie or Zetsu…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, May 10, 2017:
…It’s been a month since the incident at the Sepia Gables Temple. I was told by friends, family, and doctors that I fell into a coma and they didn’t know the cause. But somehow, out of the blue, I woke up one month later. Others called me lucky. …But I don’t call it luck. I call it intervention. For some reason, I felt like I wasn’t supposed to come out of that coma. I know that’s probably not the best viewpoint, but it was just a feeling I had.
I logged into <The World> on a Wednesday afternoon at 4:47 pm, one day after I woke up. I had 14 new e-mails – 11 from Yulie, 2 from Zetsu, and 1 from…Ovan?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sender: Ovan
Sent: 5/10/2017, 4:46 pm
Subject: Decisions
It looks as though you’ve chosen a path for yourself. I wonder where it will lead you.
Will it lead you down a path of pain and despair? Or maybe a path of self-discovery?
Who knows? …It’s your decision.
You’ve been absent from the game for quite some time. If you’re reading this mail, it must mean that you’ve made up your mind whether or not to continue your search for the truth.
Welcome back to <The World>.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
How strange… Ovan sent this e-mail to me one minute before I logged in.
That Ovan… There was always a sense of vagueness in his words. Pain and despair? Self-discovery? It’s all just a game, isn’t it? I decided not to let Ovan’s e-mail bother and log into <The World> again. But the fact that he sent it when he did was unsettling.
The eternal city of Mac Anu. Just as I remember it. My character seemed the same as well. It didn’t feel like Tri-Edge’s attack did anything to me. “Hmm… Yulie and Zetsu are offline… Where do I go from here?” All I wanted was to enjoy the game. Now it seemed like I was entangled in something more.
“You again…”
“Huh?” I turn around to see none other than Haseo the PKK. “Oh! Haseo!”
“What do you mean ‘Oh! Haseo!’? You act like we’re friends or something.”
“Sorry… Can I ask you something?”
“Tch! What is it?”
“Do you know of a PK known as Tri-Edge?”
“…How do you know about Tri-Edge?”
“Well, I… I met him. At the Sepia Gables Temple.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. He used this weird attack on me that came from his bracelet.”
Haseo was shocked to hear this. “You survived Tri-Edge’s Data Drain!?”
“Well, I’m here, aren’t I? Although… I was in a coma for a month after the attack, but nevertheless--”
“You were in a coma?!? And you woke up from it too!?!?”
“Y-Yeah.”
Haseo then slightly backed away from me, as if he were afraid of me. “You… What’s your name?”
“Akira.”
“Akira… You’re not a normal PC, are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me… Have you ever heard of a group called G.U.?”
“‘G.U.’… Nope, never heard of it. Is that some sort of guild?”
“Hehehehe… Never mind. Forget I asked.” And with that, he left. Though I wonder: what was this G.U. he mentioned?
“Hmm… Huh? Oh! Yulie’s on! I should send her an e-mail to let her know I’m okay.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sender: Akira
Sent: 5/10/2017, 4:51 pm
Subject: I’m Alright
Hi, Yulie.
Sorry I haven’t been logged in for a while.
I got the e-mails you sent. It’s kind of nice to know that you were worried about me.
So, what happened at the Sepia Gables Temple after I was Data Drained? So much happened back then, I couldn’t remember.
I was hoping you could meet with me and fill me in.
~ Akira
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“There.” And within minutes after sending the mail, I received a mail from her. “Heh. That was quick.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sender: Yulie
Sent: 5/10/2017, 4:53 pm
Subject: (no subject)
Akira!
I haven’t seen you in so long! I got so worried after you vanished!
Okay, sure. I’d be happy to fill you in what happened that day.
Meet me at this area. A friend of mine from another guild gave it to me:
D Submissive Tragedy’s 1000 Oaks
See you there!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“D Submissive Tragedy’s 1000 Oaks… Shouldn’t keep her waiting.” I was about to head over to the area Yulie gave me, when suddenly, my head started to throb – even in real life. “Ahhh! What’s…going on?” Before I realized it, random events started to circle through my mind.
‘Do you know “Tri-Edge”? He’s a legendary PK shrouded in blue fire…’
‘Well, I was forced to become stronger thanks to you.’
‘YOU BASTARD!!’
‘I’m gonna get ----- back! No matter what!’
‘What’s going on? Why is my equipment different? What the… I’m back at level 1?! What about my items?! My Member List?! M-my equipment?! …Gone. It’s all gone.’
“What the hell is…!? These memories…aren’t mine! They’re…” The person speaking in these memories. It sounded like Haseo. Were these Haseo’s memories? But how could that be? How can one PC recall events another PC experienced? …Maybe this is a side effect of Tri-Edge’s Data Drain. But, why Haseo? Could what Ovan said be true? Do I share some kind of connection with Haseo? My headache subsided seconds later. “Ahh… What on Earth did Tri-Edge do to me? …Oh! I almost forgot about Yulie! I’d better head over to D Submissive Tragedy’s 1000 Oaks!”
…Yulie gazed at a brightly shining moon while she waited for me to arrive. “…Huh?” I warp into the area through the transporter. The first thing I noticed was Yulie running up to me and wrapping her arms around me. “Akira! You’re back!”
My face turned several shades of red then. “Y-Yulie!”
“You have no idea how worried I was. I thought you’d never come back to <The World>. Even Zetsu was concerned in his own way.”
“Really? Even Zetsu, huh? That’s a shocker. So…”
“Oh, right. The incident.” Yulie turned away from me just then to look at the moon. “…What do you remember?”
“All I can recall is saving you from Tri-Edge’s Data Drain. After that…nothing.”
“What happened to you after that, by the way? Where’ve you been this whole time?”
“Apparently, I was comatose.”
“You were in a coma? But how’d you wake up?”
“I’m not really sure myself. The doctors said I just woke up suddenly.”
“Wow… That is weird.”
“And you?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Let’s see…”
– No!! Akira!!
– What the!? Where’d he go?
– How should I know!? He just disappeared into thin air!
– (groan)
– Uh-oh! Yulie, run!
– You don’t have to tell me twice!
– (groan) GRRAAAAHHHHH!!!
– (panting) We made it to the transporter… Hey, look, Zetsu!
– Huh? What the hell!? The Temple’s collapsing!! Let’s get out of here!!
– Right! …Huh!? Zetsu, the transporter’s malfunctioning!!
– It’s WHAT?!? Please tell me you’re joking!!!
– DO YOU REALLY THINK I’D BE JOKING AT THE TIME LIKE THIS!?!?
– Okay, okay, don’t panic! Just sever your connections with the server and I’ll see you in Mac Anu in a few, okay?
– Okay…!
“…And that’s it. We just cut off our internet connections and were immediately logged out of the game. If we had waited any longer, who knows what would have happened?”
It was certainly the smart thing to do in that kind of emergency. “And Tri-Edge? What became of him?”
“I have no clue. We were too busy trying to get out of there that we weren’t paying attention to him.”
“That means he’s probably still alive.”
“Most likely. By the way, Akira…”
“Yeah?”
I noticed Yulie’s face growing red. “…Thank you…for what you did.”
“Uh…What did I do?”
“You held me as I cried over Rubina. Not to mention that you saved me from Tri-Edge’s Data Drain. I owe you one.”
“Oh. I-It’s okay, Yulie. You’d have done the same for me, right?”
“Of course.”
Seeing Yulie smile like that made me feel good inside. But it also triggered more of Haseo’s memories to appear in my mind, as my head started to throb again. “AAHHH! Not again!!” This time, I could see memories of Haseo talking to a girl. Blond hair. Green dress. White hat.
‘Do you always interrupt people like that? You know, Sakaki wasn’t finished talking to you yet.’
‘When I’m with you, everything looks beautiful.’
‘Everyone really does want to treat other people nicely. I think it’s because people can be more honest online than they can in real life.’
‘Well, you know what they say: it’s always best to be prepared, right?’
‘I don’t really care much for simple level-raising. That’s not why I play the game. If you’re always concerned with numbers, then you won’t notice all the beautiful things around you. And that would be a real shame.’
…Atoli. That was her name. I don’t know at all, and yet it feels like I’ve known her for some time.
“Akira! Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just… I think Tri-Edge’s Data Drain had an adverse effect on me in the real world. It’s causing me to see Haseo’s memories through these headaches.”
“The memories of Haseo the PKK? What do you see?”
“It’s all fuzzy. But I can see…a girl. …A blond-haired girl named Atoli.”
“Atoli… Wait! Did you say Atoli?”
“You know her?”
“She’s the one who gave me the keyword to this area. So, Haseo the PKK knows her too? Huh. I guess even a person like the Terror of Death has a soft spot for girls.”
“I don’t think that has anything to do with it. I can see faint images of another girl, but they’re too hard to make out.”
“Hmm… Well, let’s not worry about it now. I’m gonna log out for today. See you later, Akira.”
“Later, Yulie.” Yulie disconnects from the internet, logging herself out and leaving me by myself. I couldn’t help but wonder who that other girl in Haseo’s memories was. It was so bizarre. I’d never seen or met that girl before in my life… and yet, at the same time, I felt like she was really important to me. Or maybe she was important to Haseo.
Her name…
‘Even though she’s got the same face and everything, she’s definitely not -----.’
‘So, you guys knew all along that the real-life Sh--- is in a coma?’
‘It’s you guys’ fault that Shi--… that she’s gone!’
…I could feel it coming to me little by little. “…Shi-- Ah, my head…”
Friday, April 6, 2017 (continued):
“…Tri-Edge…!”
“…” Tri-Edge glared at us, probably his next quarry, with unforgiving eyes that glowed crimson red.
“Yulie, can you move?”, I asked her.
Yulie slowly let me loose from her embrace over me. As she turned to see Tri-Edge, her eyes, like Zetsu’s, became wide-eyed. “That’s…”
“Yulie, please, we have to get out of here.”
But all of a sudden, Yulie pushed me away and got to her feet. “You…” She then drew her Macabre Dancer fans, preparing to attack Tri-Edge. What could she have been thinking? “Because of you, Rubina… I’LL CUT YOU IN HALF!!!!” And, in an act of blind rage, she charged in.
“YULIE, NO!!”, Zetsu and I shouted in unison. But, by then, there was no stopping her. She was too overcome with anger to hear us.
“YAAAAHHHH!!!” One swipe after another, Yulie would assault Tri-Edge with a series of sharp blows. Surprisingly, every attack hit its mark, and Yulie’s final attack sent Tri-Edge reeling into the altar behind him. Yulie then attempted to catch her breath, her rage finally vented out. “Take THAT, you monster!!! …What!?” Unfortunately, her efforts proved to be in vain, as Tri-Edge emerged from the rubble unscathed. “No… It did nothing…? It did nothing at all?” All Tri-Edge did was let out another low-pitched groan. “Grrrr…” Yulie prepared to attack again, but this try would prove even more futile than the last. With merely the sheer power of his mind, Tri-Edge shattered Yulie’s fans. Shards of data started to fall around her feet. “What the?!? Where’d my fans go?!?” Looking ahead of her, Yulie noticed Tri-Edge raising his right hand up. “Huh?”
“…” Tri-Edge let out yet another groan as he pointed his right arm straight at Yulie. A strange bracelet-like object appeared around his wrist. I’d never seen an item like it before.
“Oh, no! Yulie, get away from there!”, Zetsu screamed. “That bracelet… It’s the same one that put Rubina in a coma!”
Before I realized it, my feet were carrying me to Yulie’s position. A three-pronged beam fired from Tri-Edge’s bracelet, which was aimed straight at Yulie. “YUUUULIEEEEE!!!” I shoved Yulie out of the way of the blast…and took the hit. “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”
“No!! Akira!!”
…I can’t really remember what happened next, as I was somehow logged out of <The World> automatically. I don’t know what became of Yulie or Zetsu…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, May 10, 2017:
…It’s been a month since the incident at the Sepia Gables Temple. I was told by friends, family, and doctors that I fell into a coma and they didn’t know the cause. But somehow, out of the blue, I woke up one month later. Others called me lucky. …But I don’t call it luck. I call it intervention. For some reason, I felt like I wasn’t supposed to come out of that coma. I know that’s probably not the best viewpoint, but it was just a feeling I had.
I logged into <The World> on a Wednesday afternoon at 4:47 pm, one day after I woke up. I had 14 new e-mails – 11 from Yulie, 2 from Zetsu, and 1 from…Ovan?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sender: Ovan
Sent: 5/10/2017, 4:46 pm
Subject: Decisions
It looks as though you’ve chosen a path for yourself. I wonder where it will lead you.
Will it lead you down a path of pain and despair? Or maybe a path of self-discovery?
Who knows? …It’s your decision.
You’ve been absent from the game for quite some time. If you’re reading this mail, it must mean that you’ve made up your mind whether or not to continue your search for the truth.
Welcome back to <The World>.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
How strange… Ovan sent this e-mail to me one minute before I logged in.
That Ovan… There was always a sense of vagueness in his words. Pain and despair? Self-discovery? It’s all just a game, isn’t it? I decided not to let Ovan’s e-mail bother and log into <The World> again. But the fact that he sent it when he did was unsettling.
The eternal city of Mac Anu. Just as I remember it. My character seemed the same as well. It didn’t feel like Tri-Edge’s attack did anything to me. “Hmm… Yulie and Zetsu are offline… Where do I go from here?” All I wanted was to enjoy the game. Now it seemed like I was entangled in something more.
“You again…”
“Huh?” I turn around to see none other than Haseo the PKK. “Oh! Haseo!”
“What do you mean ‘Oh! Haseo!’? You act like we’re friends or something.”
“Sorry… Can I ask you something?”
“Tch! What is it?”
“Do you know of a PK known as Tri-Edge?”
“…How do you know about Tri-Edge?”
“Well, I… I met him. At the Sepia Gables Temple.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. He used this weird attack on me that came from his bracelet.”
Haseo was shocked to hear this. “You survived Tri-Edge’s Data Drain!?”
“Well, I’m here, aren’t I? Although… I was in a coma for a month after the attack, but nevertheless--”
“You were in a coma?!? And you woke up from it too!?!?”
“Y-Yeah.”
Haseo then slightly backed away from me, as if he were afraid of me. “You… What’s your name?”
“Akira.”
“Akira… You’re not a normal PC, are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me… Have you ever heard of a group called G.U.?”
“‘G.U.’… Nope, never heard of it. Is that some sort of guild?”
“Hehehehe… Never mind. Forget I asked.” And with that, he left. Though I wonder: what was this G.U. he mentioned?
“Hmm… Huh? Oh! Yulie’s on! I should send her an e-mail to let her know I’m okay.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sender: Akira
Sent: 5/10/2017, 4:51 pm
Subject: I’m Alright
Hi, Yulie.
Sorry I haven’t been logged in for a while.
I got the e-mails you sent. It’s kind of nice to know that you were worried about me.
So, what happened at the Sepia Gables Temple after I was Data Drained? So much happened back then, I couldn’t remember.
I was hoping you could meet with me and fill me in.
~ Akira
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“There.” And within minutes after sending the mail, I received a mail from her. “Heh. That was quick.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sender: Yulie
Sent: 5/10/2017, 4:53 pm
Subject: (no subject)
Akira!
I haven’t seen you in so long! I got so worried after you vanished!
Okay, sure. I’d be happy to fill you in what happened that day.
Meet me at this area. A friend of mine from another guild gave it to me:
D Submissive Tragedy’s 1000 Oaks
See you there!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“D Submissive Tragedy’s 1000 Oaks… Shouldn’t keep her waiting.” I was about to head over to the area Yulie gave me, when suddenly, my head started to throb – even in real life. “Ahhh! What’s…going on?” Before I realized it, random events started to circle through my mind.
‘Do you know “Tri-Edge”? He’s a legendary PK shrouded in blue fire…’
‘Well, I was forced to become stronger thanks to you.’
‘YOU BASTARD!!’
‘I’m gonna get ----- back! No matter what!’
‘What’s going on? Why is my equipment different? What the… I’m back at level 1?! What about my items?! My Member List?! M-my equipment?! …Gone. It’s all gone.’
“What the hell is…!? These memories…aren’t mine! They’re…” The person speaking in these memories. It sounded like Haseo. Were these Haseo’s memories? But how could that be? How can one PC recall events another PC experienced? …Maybe this is a side effect of Tri-Edge’s Data Drain. But, why Haseo? Could what Ovan said be true? Do I share some kind of connection with Haseo? My headache subsided seconds later. “Ahh… What on Earth did Tri-Edge do to me? …Oh! I almost forgot about Yulie! I’d better head over to D Submissive Tragedy’s 1000 Oaks!”
…Yulie gazed at a brightly shining moon while she waited for me to arrive. “…Huh?” I warp into the area through the transporter. The first thing I noticed was Yulie running up to me and wrapping her arms around me. “Akira! You’re back!”
My face turned several shades of red then. “Y-Yulie!”
“You have no idea how worried I was. I thought you’d never come back to <The World>. Even Zetsu was concerned in his own way.”
“Really? Even Zetsu, huh? That’s a shocker. So…”
“Oh, right. The incident.” Yulie turned away from me just then to look at the moon. “…What do you remember?”
“All I can recall is saving you from Tri-Edge’s Data Drain. After that…nothing.”
“What happened to you after that, by the way? Where’ve you been this whole time?”
“Apparently, I was comatose.”
“You were in a coma? But how’d you wake up?”
“I’m not really sure myself. The doctors said I just woke up suddenly.”
“Wow… That is weird.”
“And you?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Let’s see…”
– No!! Akira!!
– What the!? Where’d he go?
– How should I know!? He just disappeared into thin air!
– (groan)
– Uh-oh! Yulie, run!
– You don’t have to tell me twice!
– (groan) GRRAAAAHHHHH!!!
– (panting) We made it to the transporter… Hey, look, Zetsu!
– Huh? What the hell!? The Temple’s collapsing!! Let’s get out of here!!
– Right! …Huh!? Zetsu, the transporter’s malfunctioning!!
– It’s WHAT?!? Please tell me you’re joking!!!
– DO YOU REALLY THINK I’D BE JOKING AT THE TIME LIKE THIS!?!?
– Okay, okay, don’t panic! Just sever your connections with the server and I’ll see you in Mac Anu in a few, okay?
– Okay…!
“…And that’s it. We just cut off our internet connections and were immediately logged out of the game. If we had waited any longer, who knows what would have happened?”
It was certainly the smart thing to do in that kind of emergency. “And Tri-Edge? What became of him?”
“I have no clue. We were too busy trying to get out of there that we weren’t paying attention to him.”
“That means he’s probably still alive.”
“Most likely. By the way, Akira…”
“Yeah?”
I noticed Yulie’s face growing red. “…Thank you…for what you did.”
“Uh…What did I do?”
“You held me as I cried over Rubina. Not to mention that you saved me from Tri-Edge’s Data Drain. I owe you one.”
“Oh. I-It’s okay, Yulie. You’d have done the same for me, right?”
“Of course.”
Seeing Yulie smile like that made me feel good inside. But it also triggered more of Haseo’s memories to appear in my mind, as my head started to throb again. “AAHHH! Not again!!” This time, I could see memories of Haseo talking to a girl. Blond hair. Green dress. White hat.
‘Do you always interrupt people like that? You know, Sakaki wasn’t finished talking to you yet.’
‘When I’m with you, everything looks beautiful.’
‘Everyone really does want to treat other people nicely. I think it’s because people can be more honest online than they can in real life.’
‘Well, you know what they say: it’s always best to be prepared, right?’
‘I don’t really care much for simple level-raising. That’s not why I play the game. If you’re always concerned with numbers, then you won’t notice all the beautiful things around you. And that would be a real shame.’
…Atoli. That was her name. I don’t know at all, and yet it feels like I’ve known her for some time.
“Akira! Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just… I think Tri-Edge’s Data Drain had an adverse effect on me in the real world. It’s causing me to see Haseo’s memories through these headaches.”
“The memories of Haseo the PKK? What do you see?”
“It’s all fuzzy. But I can see…a girl. …A blond-haired girl named Atoli.”
“Atoli… Wait! Did you say Atoli?”
“You know her?”
“She’s the one who gave me the keyword to this area. So, Haseo the PKK knows her too? Huh. I guess even a person like the Terror of Death has a soft spot for girls.”
“I don’t think that has anything to do with it. I can see faint images of another girl, but they’re too hard to make out.”
“Hmm… Well, let’s not worry about it now. I’m gonna log out for today. See you later, Akira.”
“Later, Yulie.” Yulie disconnects from the internet, logging herself out and leaving me by myself. I couldn’t help but wonder who that other girl in Haseo’s memories was. It was so bizarre. I’d never seen or met that girl before in my life… and yet, at the same time, I felt like she was really important to me. Or maybe she was important to Haseo.
Her name…
‘Even though she’s got the same face and everything, she’s definitely not -----.’
‘So, you guys knew all along that the real-life Sh--- is in a coma?’
‘It’s you guys’ fault that Shi--… that she’s gone!’
…I could feel it coming to me little by little. “…Shi-- Ah, my head…”
