Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for awhile
Tell me of a story never ever told in the past
Take me back to the land
Where my yearnings were born
The key to open the door is in your hand
Now fly me there
"Wow! This level is so pretty!" Kerri exclaimed as soon as they arrived at the area. It was true, Seiji had never seen an area like this before. "But…are you sure it's the place you meant to come to?"
They stood before the threshold of what appeared to be a temple, hovering in midair above a sky of crimson and gold clouds, a sunset. Above them was darkness, penetrated only by the faint glimmer of stars.
How can something so false…be so beautiful?
"I'm sure I put in the right keywords: Shining Golden Desert. I guess we're supposed to go in." he said, making a motion towards the giant set of double doors that led into a towering steeple. Nodding, she quickly followed him inside.
It appeared as most dungeons of the sort did; doorways leading off to the left and right towards the front where a large stained glass window glowed in the continual final lights of the day and a statue… It caused him to shiver. It looked so much like the one from the other day. Had he not been so curious as to who the sender of the mysterious e-mail was, he would have listened to his common sense and high-tailed it out of there. Of course, nothing seemed to be making much sense anymore to him.
"Do you know who that statue is?" the girl asked quietly, noticing the twin blades gaze fixed upon it. "Aura…" she said, more to herself than to him. "The light of The World, the Key of the Twilight…" Her voice began trailing off as her party member swiftly made his way to the front of the room towards the door on the left.
I just wanna get this done and get out of here.
Grasping the handles firmly he pulled. But to no avail. The door wouldn't so much as budge. Again he tried only to suffer the same defeat. Kicking the door in frustration he ran to the one opposite of it only to have the same result.
"Maybe we should go…" suggested Kerri shyly, a little alarmed at this sudden behavior so unlike the person she'd met.
"Wait…" came a voice. The two party members looked at each other, each knowing the other hadn't said it.
"Who's there? Are you the one that called me?" shouted Seiji, slowly making his way back to Kerri's side near the entrance. If they had to run, he wasn't about to be caught away from the only exit. Suddenly a white mist appeared in front of them, only a blur at first but soon taking the obvious form of a young girl. Panic filled the twin blade as he stood, helpless to run or attack.
"There is no need to be afraid." the girl said in her soft, distant voice that only made him all the more nervous. Glancing down at his partner, he was astonished to see she simply stared at the girl in amazement. Not the slightest hint of fear was present with her.
"You're Aura!" she exclaimed in a whisper, wonderment in her voice. The girl in white turned her attention towards Kerri.
"Yes. I am known as Aura. I cannot stay, for the dark shall overcome the light. Do not forget to keep the memory of the sun, even in the darkest of nights." she said, gliding closer to them. Coming face-to-face with Seiji, she paused, placed a gentle kiss upon his forehead, then vanished, like a wisp of smoke.
Spots of light burst in front of his vision, brighter than he could have ever imagined. Even upon squeezing his eyelids shut against the intolerable brightness he was unable to block it out. Clutching his head in his hands, his daggers fell to the floor with a clatter and he collapsed to his knees.
"Seiji…!" Kerri cried, overcome with concern. Her voice seemed so far away…
"I'll….be right back…" he managed to say, before his character froze completely.
Fanatics find their heaven in never ending storming wind
Auguries of destruction be a lullaby for rebirth
Consolations, be there
In my dreamland to come
The key to open the door is in your hand
Now take me there
Throwing off his virtual headset, he threw his head back, rubbing his eyes to rid himself of the sudden light. When he was once again able to open his eyes, all he saw was his plain white ceiling above him, if a bit blurry.
What the hell…?
After taking a few more moments to collect himself, he picked up the goggles again, (praying that their sudden impact against the wall hadn't damaged them, and to his relief they were fine) and placed them over his eyes.
Once again The World came into view. He blinked a few times, looking around.
"Seiji, what was that? Are you alright?" Kerri still knelt by his side, concern filling her watery blue eyes. For her sake, he forced a smile.
"Yeah, it was just…my computer monitor…it was screwing up again. Heh…" It wasn't the most convincing argument (and he wasn't the most convincing person) but it seemed to have settled her a little. "How about we go find an area where we can actually level up in?"
"If it's alright with you." she said, obviously still worried despite his reason. He couldn't blame her. What would he have done if suddenly a friend began to bug out in a virtual reality? Truthfully, he didn't think he'd be half as calm as Kerri was, he gave her that.
With a nod, he led the way out the doors and back to the server.
But as Kerri turned to leave, she spared one last glance back at the sad-looking statue that stood in front of the window.
"I'll find you again, Aura…"
I'm wandering down, and searchin' down the secret sun
>>> To be continued...
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Song lyrics: Key of the Twilight (.hack/SIGN)