July 1st, 2031

Lisbeth, Sampson and Silica walked through mountainous terrain. They were far from anywhere, in a zone so far displaced from the rest of Vearth that the ashes of the shattering did not even fall here. The sky was murky, and filled with a strange haze, however. The zone itself was warm, despite its altitude. Lisbeth and Silica were now both armed with Archsteel weapons and Mithril armor. Lisbeth was the only one of the three who wore a heavy plate of Archsteel over her cloth-like metal weave. Sampson wasn't even completely covered, wearing a tunic and trousers made of Mithril.

As they walked on, Silica stopped the group, and examined the stone surface of the ground. There were scratches, and she turned to Lisbeth. "Not many things can scratch stone like this," she said. "There must be some around here." Then Silica looked around for more, trying to find a pattern, and pointed towards the distance. "I think they went that way."

Lisbeth nodded. While the rest of her body was fully armored, her back was almost completely exposed. On her back were what appeared to be tattoos of a set of leathery wings, but they pulled away from her skin, magically transforming into a large set of dragon wings. She took off, and flew towards where Silica pointed. A few moments later, she returned, a small flock of dragons flying with her. Most of these were small, no larger than any of the three players.

"We're finding more and more out this way," Sampson said. "Do you think they might have all gathered up together in a central nest?"

Lisbeth shook her head. "I don't see any reason they would. My last command before they fled the nest in the Northern Mountains was to scatter. I told them to do that so that no player group would ever run into too many of them at once." The largest of the dragons landed next to the group, and Lisbeth took its head, and rubbed a hand along its snout. She whispered something foreign to the beast, and it took off, the other dragons following it as it flew west.

"You only have command of them when they're in close range, right?" Silica asked.

"That's true," Lisbeth said.

"So isn't there a risk that they'll start acting on their own free will when they get to wherever it is you're having them all rally together?"

"I know they are," she said. "I'm telling them all to fly to a cave near the Tundra. They should be away from most players there."

"What if they decide to leave though?" Silica asked.

Lisbeth shrugged. "I don't know. There's only so much I can do." Lisbeth stopped in her tracks, and then took a step back.

"What is it?" Sampson asked. He drew his weapon.

Lisbeth shook her head, and then nodded. "That makes sense…"

"What makes sense?" Silica asked.

"The reason why there's more and more dragons out this way. I sense something out here."

"What?" Sampson asked.

"Smuldur."


June 27th, 2031

"Michiko," Eulsam said. They were in the command center at Iceberg. "You joined up with this guild knowing full well of our plans, and our intentions."

"Rescuing players in Newberg should be our number one priority!" she shouted, slamming her fist on the table. "I've had my wardens doing what you've asked for weeks now, but the longer we spend out here, the more time GothGod has to train the players there, to turn them into an army and send them marching to their deaths. We should be saving as many as we can right now!"

"Kirito put me in charge of the eastern front," Eulsam said. "You and the Black Wardens fall under my command, and the council agreed that it was a waste of time and resources to continue the rescue missions. It is a short-term goal for a long-term problem, and it's not doing us any good."

"If you would just tell Klover that you needed the extra two hundred players back, then you wouldn't need us. We're a whole twelve soldiers, Eulsam. Losing us won't put a dent in your forces."

"The western front is much larger, and the Hand of Salvation is much stronger in the east. And you are not Black Wardens anymore, Michiko. You are Champions of Vearth. We all have to work as a team now."

Michiko shook her head. "We can leave, you know. We're free to reform the Black Wardens at any time."

"Then do it." Eulsam looked at her and shook his head. "Because you're either working together with us or you're not. You can't have it both ways." He opened his player menu as a message pinged. He read it, and then looked to Michiko. "Kirito and the others have retrieved their artifact, and they have a heading to their next destination. It's going to be a bit longer before they're ready to come back, he says."

Michiko rolled her eyes, and turned to walk away. "I don't care about that. You say what I'm doing is a waste of time, but our commander himself is running off on a wild goose chase. I'm gathering my Wardens and I'm leaving."

"Wait," Eulsam said. "I'm not just running my mouth off for the hell of it, Michiko. He passed on an order for you."

She stopped, and sighed. "Alright, what is it?"

"He says he needs you to take Xaela and Doc, and no one else, and travel to the Dune Arena."

"The arena town?" Michiko asked. "It's overrun with Red Hand. We'll never make it there. And the safety-net of the tournament was turned off by GothGod when he took control of the game."

"What are you saying?"

"Tell me, Eulsam, since I received no such message, is it you sending me to die, or Kirito?"

He paused at that. "That's a low blow," he said. "You have him on your contacts list, why don't you ask him yourself?" Michiko started to walk away again. "And while you're at it, send your next in command in here so I can send the Wardens back to the front lines!"

After Michiko left the command building, she opened her player menu, and looked through her contacts list. Next to Kirito's name read one word: Blocked. She sighed, as she unblocked him, and sent a message. "What?" she asked.

A few minutes later, she got a reply. "Oh, good, you're done being angry at me over breaking up with you."

"I broke up with you!" she sent back.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't know. I kind of regret it, and I wish somehow I could have both you and Xaela."

"You're so weird. It wouldn't have lasted anyways. You know Asuna and I are back together, so I would have broken up with you."

"Asshole."

"Are you going to the Dune Arena?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she wrote back. "It's a suicide mission. Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Not at all," Kirito wrote. "There will be someone very special waiting for you there."

"Who?"

"Not telling. Call it a break-up gift, and stop being silly about this."

"Okay. Out of respect for my love for you, I suppose I can trust you about this. I'll go. But you have to do something for me in return."

"This… this is something for you."

"Well I want more!"

"Bye."

"You, me… Xaela, Asuna… maybe Eulsam. We should all get together some time. Fun times. You know what I'm saying."

"You're insatiable. Get moving, that's an order."

"Asuna still wants to try it with a girl!" Michiko wrote back, joking around with him. "Am I right? Now's her chance! I'm really good with my tongue, Xaela can attest to that! So can you!"

"Please stop…"


Asuna looked over Kirito's shoulder. He was sitting down on a rock as he typed out the messages back and forth with Michiko. She had just come up and he had yet to notice her standing there. "So…" she said after reading the last few messages. "Whacha doin?"

Kirito jumped and quickly closed the message window. "Nothing! It's nothing," he said. "Michiko is just screwing with me, she always does that."

Asuna stood up straight, and turned her nose up to him. "Well, if you two still have feelings for each other, I suppose I shouldn't bother getting in the way."

"It's not like that!" Kirito said, getting up and hugging her from behind. She smiled back at him. "I love you, Asuna. I don't want you to think I'm letting anyone between us."

"Alright," Asuna said, turning around in his arms. "Just promise me you won't plan any crazy parties without me, okay?" She giggled as she broke away from the hug and started to pack her things to head for their next destination.


July 1st, 2031

"So," Klein said as he caught up with the two of them. The sky all around them was clear, the sun setting in the distance. "This is level ninety-nine. I imagined it'd be a lot… tougher."

"Well, Lilly did say that a path had been cleared for us, so I didn't expect to walk into any monsters or traps," Leafa said. "It's a nice sneak preview though. When this thing ends, we'll all get back to clearing New Aincrad. We'll get the real challenge eventually."

The ninety-ninth floor wasn't that much different from the others, just smaller. They were in a huge city, and as they entered a central building, they pushed open a door that would have led to a boss room. At its center there was a blacked out figure. It had stats and all, but was in a frozen state, unmoving and not responding to the players.

"I wish we could see what these looked like in full color," Asuna said. "We could get some valuable intel from this trip."

"If we weren't on an important mission already, we'd be doing just that." Kirito kept moving, walking past the future boss without giving it a second glance.

When they emerged from the stairway, they found themselves coming into the final floor of Aincrad. It was a beautiful, picturesque landscape city. Marble statues lined a path of gold that went straight towards a castle in the distance. All around there was bright green grasses, flowers of all kinds, and huge, majestic trees. The sun shined bright here, despite the fact that it was supposed to be nearing nighttime.

The statues and trees were not the only things standing around here. In the sky, winged humanoids flew about, and one of them landed directly in front of the group. She wore bright, illuminated armor like the Valkyries of Vearth, and had a pair of magnificent, feathered wings and a bright halo around a golden player cursor. As she stood up, she held a spear tightly, and she smiled at the group. "Kirito," she said. "Long time, no see…"

Kirito looked on at the girl in front of him, completely silent for a moment. After that moment, he ran for her, and wrapped his arms around her back in a tight hug. "Sachi…" he said. "You left so soon when we met in the Nightmare Forest."

"I know," she said, hugging back briefly. "I had to go, it really wasn't in my hands. Sorry for that, I really did want to catch up."

Kirito stepped back from her. He turned to his friends, and introduced everyone. "Everyone, this is Sachi. We originally met in Sword Art Online, but she… she was killed after our guild walked into a trap."

"You've told us about her before," Klein said. He took a bow before the lady. "Nice to meet you, I'm Klein."

"I know who you all are," Sachi said. "We can watch the world down below from up high. And I've taken a special interest in you and your group, Kirito. I'm glad you were able to move on from what happened, and then you went on to end the game, how crazy is that?" She laughed a little. "Well, anyways… when Kayaba needed someone to come and greet you, I couldn't miss the opportunity!"

"I still don't quite understand how all of the survivors and… not-survivors of Sword Art Online can be so friendly with Kayaba now," Asuna said.

"There are many of us who are not," Sachi said. "But it's been a while, and death has a way of changing one's perspective. All of the worries of life have just… drifted away. He accepts the blame for what he did, but to those of us who now take his side, we have let the past go in the light of a new, glorious future."

"What future?" Klein asked. "You're never getting out of the game world. Even if you can live forever in here, don't you miss the real world?"

"Every day," Sachi said. "But technology is advancing so fast that soon, I might be able to reach out to my loved ones."

"The same way we brought Yuuki into the real world again," Asuna said. "And Yui as well…"

Sachi nodded, and turned to point down the golden path. "Are you ready to meet the final boss of Aincrad?"

Kirito nodded, and ran down the path. The others followed, and Sachi flew on ahead of them. "Sachi," Kirito said as he ran. She slowed down and glided along next to him. "Lilly mentioned that Kayaba had reinforcements waiting for us… I think I've already figured it out. It's you, isn't it?"

Sachi nodded. "Yep," she said. "We are the Angels of Aincrad, and we'll be going straight from here to Paradise Island when the time comes. We'll have to work fast, or else GothGod will manipulate the system to keep us out of the game, which is why we couldn't come to the rescue sooner than now."


When Michiko, Xaela and Doc arrived at the Arena Town in the Dune Sea, Red Hand flags whipped in the wind, atop buildings. The sky above the town had been cleared of ashes, and the moonlight shined down on the small city. The corpses of Red Hand players littered the ground though, and the three met no troubles entering the city.

"What the hell happened here?" Xaela asked.

Doc saw a winged figure at the center of the town, gutting a struggling Red Hand survivor, killing him. The figure looked over at the group, and smiled. "Michiko!" she said, flying towards the Black Warden and hugging her.

"L-Lilly?" Michiko asked, too shocked to hug back. "Is that really you?"

She broke the hug and went over to Xaela to give her a hug as well, who was completely confused by the gesture. "Who are you?"

"Yes," Lilly said. "It's really me. And you're Xaela, it's nice to meet you up close."

"You did… all of this?" Doc asked, looking around.

"Well, I had help," Lilly said. Another group of winged players all approached them. Among them were Crystal, Amberol and Asuna's alternate timeline double. "These are my friends," Lilly continued. "We are the Valkyries of Vearth, an elite guild of the fallen Valkyrie class players."

"The dead are walking before our eyes…" Doc said as he looked around at the players. "Are either of you not scared right now?"

"You don't have to be afraid," Crystal said. "We're on your side. But I understand your concern, as a former member of the guild we're slaughtering…"

"Wait," Xaela said, looking at Lilly. "This is… your sister, Michiko? Lilly?"

Michiko nodded. "I saw her once before, but… I didn't expect something like this."

"What do you mean once before?" Xaela asked.

"I thought it was just a ghost or something… some part of the game."

Lilly smiled and shook her head. "Nope, it's the real me, in the virtual flesh. Speaking of last time, how are things going?" Lilly shot a quick glance to Xaela before turning back to Michiko.

Michiko choked for a moment, and nodded. "They're going… just…"

"I'll keep quiet for now…" Lilly said.

Xaela looked at the two of them, utterly lost. "What was that look for?"

"Don't worry about it," Michiko said. "So… what are you doing here, Lilly?"

"We're going to end this war, and then we're going to help end this game," Amberol said. "Half of us have come here, and half of us are on the western front. With our help, we're going to push the Red Hand back to their little island, and then we'll lay siege to it."

"Why though?" Xaela asked. "I mean… why now? Clearly you've been around for a while, so why the hold up in coming to the rescue?"

"It's complicated," Lilly said. "A bunch of un-killable ghosts of players coming in and ripping this game a new one sets off a lot of alarms. If we did it while Laughing Coffin was still operating on the outside, we couldn't have stopped them from shutting us down. If we acted too soon with GothGod having admin access, he could have nuked us."

"Last I checked," Doc said. "He still does. So aren't you in danger now?"

Lilly nodded. "Yes," she said. She was smiling. "But what fun danger is! If we die in this world, we'll simply reappear in a virtual heaven. He may stop us from returning, but the one who sent us has more where we came from. We can march in and rain a holy firestorm on this world and if they take us out, they still have a whole other army waiting to swoop into the rescue. And now that we're so close to ending that threat, we can take the risk of our own involvement."

"Why only us three?" Michiko asked. "Why couldn't we bring others? I'm sure they'd love to hear the news."

"We can trust you," Asuna said. "And there are a few we can trust in the west. Despite being active on this world, the longer we can stay hidden, the better. When we fly in and take out Red Hand bases, we'll kill everyone before word gets out. But if agents of GothGod were playing the part of allies, they could warn him, and he would send us out of this world."

"What about the slaves?" Doc asked. "The slaves that the Red Hand has? And the revolutionaries in their ranks?"

"That concerns me as well," Xaela said. "There are innocents and allies in their ranks. Are you killing them too?"

"The Red Hand has killed all remaining slaves on the mainland," Lilly said. "We have witnessed this event. They fear further uprisings. They've rooted out already almost all of the hidden revolutionaries. We know who is innocent and who is not. We understand the way the Red Hand works and if it were up to us, we would take them prisoners instead of killing them, and try to cure them of their madness. But we are under orders, and this is a war. We send a warning to those we know are innocent or are part of the revolution. We hijack Pegasus and send it through that so that they do not know who warned them. If they don't leave, then their deaths are on their own hands."

"That's brutal," Michiko said.

"You follow the same philosophy," Amberol said. "We have watched you and your Wardens act without mercy or forgiveness when fighting player-killers."

"But not on this scale," Michiko said. "I'm not sure how I feel about this."

"For those who die," Crystal said, "What remains of their soul will find its way to the same place we did. In death, the worries and sins of life are washed away in the wake of new life. It may take time for them to adjust, but they will. In the end, things will work out. You'll just have to trust us on that one."

"But if death doesn't matter to you," Xaela said. "Then why help at all? Why not just let us die?"

"Defeating GothGod matters," Amberol said. "The Black Prophet threatens us as well, and we have to stop him. As long as this… afterlife exists, death loses all of its power. But if GothGod wins, then he will turn what we call heaven into hell."

"Michiko," Lilly said. "We need you to tell Eulsam to order all of his forces away from the towns we attack. One by one, they will fall. We will take them out, and once the mainland is clear, you can set your sights on Paradise Island."

"What's so important on Paradise Island?" Michiko asked.

"When the time comes," Lilly said. "We will tell you these things."


"Paradise Island is a fortress," Heathcliff said. The group had arrived at the final castle, and Heathcliff stood at the foot of a red throne, dressed in shining armor and bearing a set of six wings. "The city was built around a dormant volcano not different from the one that once lied beneath the Temple of Gaea. Its purpose is to act as a home base for the Red Hand, on the surface, but the leadership knows something far more valuable lies beneath the city's grounds."

"Another volcano?" Asuna said. "If it blows…"

"Yes, my former Vice Commander," Heathcliff said. "It would be exactly that, another shattering killing thousands of players. I will not see it happen, though, not with your help."

"What's down there?" Kirito asked.

"When you cleared the Temple of Fire, you remember how Pyyraus succeeded in releasing Salamandraus?"

"Yeah," Klein said. "Gaea said that even though we finished the dungeon, Salamandraus was still released into the world."

"I must tell you two things," Heathcliff said. "First, I am the one who designed the Temple of Fire. I manipulated the game's programming to put it in. Second… the Temple of Fire was a disguise, and it was part of my plan. The god of fire, Salamandraus, is like Gaea. He represents some core aspect of the system's programming."

"Wait," Kirito said. "You made the Temple of Fire? How many people did you kill with it, hmm?"

"It was necessary," Heathcliff said. "You finished what I started, as intended. When you cleared the final boss, Salamandraus was not defeated, but rather, he was released into the world, a core piece of programming turn manifest into this world. Now, he can be destroyed, and his programming along with it."

"Didn't killing Mother Earth cause the shattering?" Kirito asked. "Destroying Salamandraus seems like a bad idea…"

"Gaea was the manifestation of the seed itself. That is why killing her caused the shattering. All of the virtual worlds were dismantled, and fell to the world, and then this world itself suffered a heavy blow. Killing Salamandraus will be different. Gaea represented the world itself, Salamandraus is the system's firewall. Once Salamandraus is defeated, we will be able to activate the Heart of the Earth, and remove GothGod's administrator powers."

"Won't it remove yours too, though?" Asuna asked.

"No," he said. "I lost administrator privileges a few moments after GothGod gained them. I didn't have them when Laughing Coffin was in control either. The short window of time where I was in control was not enough to deal a significant blow to this game. I have no control over the system, which is why everything has been running so slowly from my end."

"So," Kirito said. "Salamandraus is what lies beneath Paradise Island. And we have to take him out. How hard will that be?"

"The epic dungeon beneath the Island will be on par with Tartarus in terms of player challenge. It won't be easy, and the final boss, Salamandraus, will be the most powerful enemy you will face in this game," Heathcliff said.

"An epic dungeon," Klein stepped forward. "So multiple bosses. What else are we going to see down there?"

"The worst of the worst," Heathcliff said. "The story goes that Salamandrous couldn't re-enter the planes of fire through the same way he came out, so he had to find a new door to open up, since you sealed the last one forever."

"Which is why he needed another volcano," Kiriot said.

"There will be more fire serpents like the final boss of the Temple of Fire, a great and powerful demon lord, the spirits of the dragons of Smuldur's time… It's going to take everything we've got. I'm saving my angels for when you are ready to enter the dungeon. You'll need to bring your strongest allies. But first, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Paradise Island has to be conquered."

"That also won't be an easy task," Kirito said.

"As we speak, the Valkyries of Vearth are aiding in the fight on the mainland. They will be there in the final siege of the island," Heathcliff said. "I also foresee… another ally."

"Another ally?" Leafa asked.


In the far east, where the mountains trailed on past the ashen sky, Lisbeth, Sampson and Silica ventured forth into the depths of a huge cavern. "Lisbeth," Sampson said. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," Silica said. "Last time you saw him, he put you under one hell of a spell."

Lisbeth nodded, and kept walking forward. "I'm sure about it. There's no need to worry."

"I have to," Sampson said, gripping his axe. "He is dangerous…"

"It's true, he still wants me. He wants to see dragons rule the world, but… I'm willing to bet that without the Sands of Time to aid that endeavor, he's patient. And there's also someone I think he'll want a lot more than me…"

They continued on through dark, warm corridors until they reached a huge opening in the cavern. Dragons swarmed around it, and down the pit, there was a massive, sleeping dragon. Lisbeth stepped to the edge of the cliff looking down at him. "Smuldur!" she shouted. "I have come to speak!"

The cavern rumbled as the massive dragon woke, and raised his head to face the Dragon Queen. "Lisbeth," he said. "My queen has returned… and with friends?" He leaned his head towards Sampson and Silica. "I appreciate the gesture, but I've already eaten today. Perhaps we can save them for tomorrow."

"You know I'm not interested in being your queen any longer," Lisbeth said back to him. She clutched her chest though, and shook her head once. Something in the air was making her mind, already, change.

Smuldur looked back at her and growled. "What then, have you come here for? Already, the scent of my magic fills your lungs, and it is working on you. Standing in my presence makes you weak, and makes you turn back to me in your heart."

"Despite our history," Lisbeth said, forcing herself to stand up straight, and fighting back the urge to slaughter Sampson and Silica. Her will was slowly draining. "I've come to get my children back."

Smuldur laughed at her, and the swarm of dragons all landed around the party. Silica and Sampson held their weapons tight. Lisbeth hadn't even drawn her own. "You've come here to kill me?" he asked. "With so few? You will die."

"No," Lisbeth told him. Her will was below eighty percent. Time was growing critical. "I've come to arrange a deal."

"What deal?" Smuldur asked her. "Is there a bargain I would take over your flesh?"

"I'm willing to bet that there is," she said. "Someone you desire between your teeth more than me."

Smuldur looked down at her. "Name them…"

"GothGod."

The dragon blinked. The rest of the dragons all left the cliff and went back to their other perches. "A name I had hoped not to hear again," Smuldur said. "GothGod lives despite the destruction of the world?"

"GothGod was the destruction of the world," Lisbeth said. "And he is our enemy as well as yours. We can kill him together."

Smuldur raised his huge wings, and was about ready to take off. "I can kill him alone. I will do this if you stay with me, as my queen." Lisbeth shook her head. "Then we have no deal."

"You cannot kill him," Lisbeth said.

"Why is this?" Smuldur asked, baring his teeth to the group.

"GothGod has taken the Fruit of—" Sampson started to speak, only to have Smuldur roar loudly at him.

"I did not ask you, mortal!" The voice shook the chamber, and the dragons all swarmed, starting to flee from their father.

"GothGod has become a god," Lisbeth said. "He slayed Mother Earth, and ate from the Fruit of Knowledge, and he used that knowledge to gain tremendous power."

"Tell me, where is he, and I will show him what true power is."

"You have already died once," Lisbeth said. "I do not ask for your help in the matter, personally. I ask for my children back. An army of dragons will help our attack. Let me have them, and I swear I will return them to you once we are finished. When we are finished, GothGod will be weakened, and we'll leave him for you."

Smuldur thought for a moment, and then nodded. "We have a deal, my queen." Lisbeth took a deep breath, released from the spell, her will made it all the way down to fifteen percent before Smulder turned off his magical charm. Once it was done, her will was up to a hundred percent in a heartbeat.


As Kirito was catching up with Sachi outside in the castle gardens, he got a message. "What is it?" Sachi asked.

"I thought you already knew this kind of stuff," Kirito said.

"Only what I see, and I'm not watching anything right now," she said.

Kirito read the message and stood up. "It's Lisbeth. She says we have an army… an army of dragons." He raced back inside, where he met with Asuna and the others, who were all spending time talking to old friends from Sword Art Online. "Lisbeth got back to us!" he shouted. "She says she's collected a few thousand dragons, and wants a heading."

Heathcliff rose up from his throne, and sent out a message to his Valkyries. A moment later, they replied back to him. "They are ready," he said. "Tell your friend to fly with her army straight to Paradise Island. The end of the Red Hand is now."

"We will head that way too," Kirito said.

"No," Heathcliff spoke to him. He cast a spell, and a portal opened up in the center of the room. "Take this portal. It will bring you Michiko in the Dune Sea. From there, go to meet with your armies to discuss your plan of battle. The Valkyries will travel separately, and attack the island the moment you arrive there. Once you've gained access to the dungeon, I will go there myself, along with my angels. This is the beginning of the end, Kirito. Prepare for one of your final assaults: the Raid on Paradise Island." Kirito nodded, and his group left through the portal.


GothGod sat on his throne in the city of Newberg. In front of him were screens, screens with various things displayed. He was browsing the internet from within the game, a task only he could do at this point. He was looking through various handbooks and guides for role-playing games of the past when he landed a Dungeons and Dragons guidebook. "Hmm," he said reading through it. "This looks interesting."

His Death Oath were all around the throne room, doing whatever they pleased. Some had dragged in mind controlled players, and among them, some were being made to engage in lewd acts, and others were merely being used as mindless drones to play various little games with. Here, the Death Oath were in the flesh, as if still alive. "What's interesting?" a female voice rang off. Harlock was dressed in black, with a corset and dress, and other fanciful clothes that covered most of her body.

GothGod swiped the screen to the side, and it flew over in front of the girl's face. "What's this?"

"It's from an older handbook from that old pen and paper game, DND," he said. "It's a book of Elder Evils, basically final bosses."

"Final… wait, you intend to end the game so soon, Cory?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Of course not, not until we've all had our fun. Maybe in a few years… then we'll start a new game after that. But nonetheless, I am the inevitable final boss of Vearth. I was thinking something like one of these…"

"It should match your actual story as much as possible. Creating a fake character for you to play would be an insult to your legacy, don't you think?" She swiped the screen back.

He nodded. "True… true," he said as he continued looking through the list. "Oh wait, this one's doable…" She listened eagerly as he started reading. "The Worm that Walks… the gist of it is… it's kind of basically like a Lich, except instead of an undead type, with bones and rotting flesh and all that, it's an aberration formed from flies, worms and maggots that eat the body of the slain mage."

"Gnarly…"

He put the screens away, and stood up. "Enough of this…" he said. He took the girl by the hand, and led her along towards a hallway. "We'll be back later, everyone." The girl didn't protest, and just followed him along. "Can you use that hair dye I gave you?"

She nodded, and pulled out an item. After activating it, her blonde hair turned red. "Why do you want me to look like her?"

"Do you know who she is?"

"No… I mean, I have an idea, but I don't know for certain. I thought you wanted to kill her though, not fuck her."

"Sometimes the two are one in the same," he said. He chuckled at her. "With my powers, we could actually try that… for fun. Interested?"