"So it is going to end, huh?" Z-Rẽn asked Revery404, the paladin shrugged. The two stood at the corner of the guild's meeting room. It was the last day of YGGDRASIL, so they decided to throw a party to celebrate they time with the game.

"It's been 12 years, mate. The player base, the damned server, heck, the damned income they got from this game took a god-damned swan dive since 2135."

"Do you think that if we use Ouroboros t-"

"That isn't how it works, and you know it. You may ask them to delay the end of them game by... let's say a week. Then what? Try to beat that damned maze to get it again and wish again? Nah, no."

"Is it true that they are going to launch a new game soon?" The alchemist turned his gaze to the party. Everyone was having fun.

HeyHeyHey's beasts were on the loose, they roamed across the meeting room. PrimeSoldier used the guild's World Item as a plate and put food on it despite the protest of HowXitXzer. The female members gathered to take pictures.

"Maybe, they did tell me to join a team. Don't know what they are going to make though."

Z-Rẽn nodded. "Where is Nile?"

"Talking to his NPC. He said that we should at least say goodbye to them."

"I am not going to do that..."

"Oh, you will." Revery404 laughed. "A shame... how long has it been? 4 years?"

"Since when?"

"Since the guild was founded."

"5, I joined in when I was still in high school."

Nile was against it when Z-Rẽn asked to join. Before the guild became the Loreseeker, they were Defenders, a guild consisted of PKer hunters who kept the player spawn clear from PKers. Z-Rẽn was among the players who were helped by them. At the time, he admired them to the point he followed them until they had to force him to stop. Nile was the Defender's vice captain back then, he was kind of an a-hole to Rẽn, or just any new players when they wanted to join the guild. But Rev allowed him to join since he was the guild master, not Nile. When Rev was temporary banned from the game, which also forced the guild to be disband due to their exploitations, Nile was the one who stood up to create a new guild.

After that, it was a wild ride. Most of the members were veterans in the game, Nile had played for about 3 or 4 years, Rev was among the first 100 players (mostly due to the fact that he worked for the game company), ~JustKD~ had played since the NA server launched. Their aim changed from protect the player spawn to help new player survive and search deep into the game's lore and mechanics. Z-Rẽn for example, considered himself to be an expert in potion brewing and biology.

But all of that was going to be gone soon.

"Remember the Siege of Bifrost?" Revery asked.

"Maybe? I joined the game during the end of it, I think?"

"Sometime I really want to have something like that again. It was INTENSE!" Revery used an excitement emoji to express his feeling. "We had a real war back then, there were a lot of fighting, strategies, back stabb'n and front stabb'n, hell, when 2ch hired strategist from those wargames to join? It was PHENOMENAL."

"Dude, you sound like one of those old war veteran..." Z-Rẽn stared at the paladin.

"Damn right, I am! And damn it all, this is going to end in the next hours." If his avatar could shed tears, he might shed some.

For most of the member of Loreseeker, the game had became part of their life for a long time, especially Revery, it was his job. Some couldn't take it and sent the devs a death threat. But eventually, everyone had to move on. Like everything else in this world.

"I am going to talk with my NPC, you should at least say goodbye to the little guy too." Revery left Z-Rẽn alone. After a few moment of consideration, he joined the party.

He stood still as he was commanded to do so.

He was a diligent sentinel of the Archive, and he knew that it was his duty since he was born.

But he didn't quite understand why was he there.

He was the guardian of the Dragon Den, where his sire, Lord Nile Hilt, stayed at. It was where his master's hoard was, where his master's works be done. It was where he supposed to be.

But that day, his master called him and ordered him to come to the guild's meeting room. Confused at first, then surprise and excitement, he felt honored even. The meeting room is where all of their master meet to discuss their plans, their works and the guild's future. Not many servants are allowed to come there. But that day, he was invited by his master.

Yes, he might be a little disappointed when he saw all of the servant inside of the Archive arrived there before him. Some he rarely saw was there too. It was a gathering, the biggest one he had ever seen.

At first, they were introduced to the other members of the guild.

Doctor Z-Rẽn and his assistant, Snakeroot.

Miss ~JustKD~ and her partner Hank.

Even sir Revery404 and his blade, Creed.

All of the guild members, most of them, came. There was 89 member of the guild, but only 56 were there. The other 33 couldn't come or had left the guild to the land beyond.

Something about this gathering bugged him. Why did they organize this party? What occasion was it? He started to freak out when he thought that he might have forgotten an important day. Was it the guild anniversary? His master's birthday perhaps?

He was even more freaked out when his master walked toward him.

He wasn't in his battle attire, but the one he often use for friendly meeting or for his LARP sessions. He was in a LARP session before, when they organized it in the guild Endless Chamber. It was a battle of wit and strength, for only the master of warfare may stand triumphant.

"My friend." His master put a hand on his shoulder.

"I have an important duty for you?"

No matter what his duty would be, he would gladly accept it.

"We are going to somewhere far. I need you to guard this place, can you do it?"

The NPC was conflicted. It was his duty since he was born, yes. But there was something else, in the air and in the voice of his master.

"Are we really going to do this?" Doctor Z-Rẽn asked. Only to get knocked by sir HowXitXzer.

"Come on, you nerd. Say goodbye to them too, will ya?"

Z-Rẽn rubbed his head, then moved next to Snakeroot.

Karak realized something.

~JustKD~ kissed Hank, Nya-Nya-Kyu hugged Lil'bud.

All of them were saying goodbye to their servant.

All of them were going to leave the guild.

Nile held one of his hand out. Karak took it and shook his hand.

If that was the truth, then it was his duty to uphold his master's command. He was the Master Sentinel of the Archive, its greatest line of defense. And he would never leave his duty alone.

"As a parting gift, please take this."

His master brought out a great axe, he immediately realized what it was. Due to the rarity of Divine class equipment, the guild decided to share their Divine class weapon. It was one of them. A weapon reserved only for the members of the guild to use in dire circumstances. He held the weapon in his hand, shaking.

This wasn't just a gift, it was a message. He was chosen to be the guardian of not just the Dragon Den, but the Archive as a whole.

His master saluted him, he replied by his.

"May we meet again, my friend."

At first, no one dared to do against what they were told to do when their master left.

Maids continued to clean their master chambers and the guild's halls. Guards continued their duties. The Forge still lit, created weapons and construct to serve the Vault.

The first years, all of them told themselves that they only had to wait for a while longer. When their master returned, everything will be back to normal.

The second year came by. Some of the maids cried in their master's room, lamented for their departure. Some clung tight to the belongings of their masters. Other, like the dragons and the dryads, became less active and retreated to their dens.

Soon, the third year went by. Some managed to accept the truth and returned to their duty, held tight to the believe that their master would return at some point, and they had to keep the place in check for their returning. Other still couldn't got pass it. A minor number of construct and beasts entered their hibernation, waiting for their master to wake them up.

A decade had passed. People started to move on. The dryads followed their master's teaching, and soon the Evergarden bloomed with all kind of plants from all of the Nine Worlds. The dragons became more active, they even started to give birth to a new generation. The warforged realized that no new order would be given, soon seek out to help other or find something to pass time with until their master returned.

A century passed. The Vault was filled with new life, while the old ones gradually changed it. Every part of the Vault was moving. A church was raised, a school was formed. The lizardmen created tribes and factions, the warforged lit the Eldritch Forge, feys and small animals roamed the gardens. The memory of their master was passed on to the next generation. Still, deep inside, they hoped that one day, their master would return and witness what they had prepared from them.

The Eldritch Forge hummed with its monotonous tone, blue flame and arcane lightning sparked with each hammer strike.

Forged, then broke down, the forge again. An army of golem and warforged worked in a mechanic harmony. A blacksmith there, a weaver here, some returned to their station, some moved to the forge.

A giant warforged sat in the middle of the room, hammered at a blade. When the blade cooled down, he breathed out a stream of fire, heated it back and hammered it again. His only eye focused on the shape of the weapon, an axe head with a spike at its end. Another hammer strike, another change on the piece of metal. Around him, other warforged worked on their own station. Golems, with crates of materials and weapon, brought newly broken down materials to the workshop and brought newly made weapons out.

At first, the Forge was empty for the most part, with the giant being the only active being in the large factory. But then, decades of idle hit the warforged guarding the area and those stood in the storage. Something stirred them. Boredom.

They came to the Forge and asked the giant to let them help. Soon, they started to have hobbies, works to pass time. Some even allowed to travel far out of their origin and into other areas of the Vault, to the Evergarden or even the Dragon Den.

Those traveled far returned with goods from other areas. Bionic materials from the gardens, chemical from the labs, rare material gathered from the dragons. Some returned with those from other areas, like the lizardmen, the dryad and the golems.

The Forge, as mechanical as it was, was oddly filled with life.

Another conflict sparked with the dragons. Another war for territories.

The Dragon Den was large, it was as vast as a small city. But to the dragons, it wasn't enough. There were those who moved from the Den to the Evergarden, and those who found their way to the fields around the Pressure Chamber. Some of the wyverns also joined in, tried to get a place within the conflict. The drakes however, found their home in caves and underground tunnels, stayed away from the fight to nurse their newborns.

The whole den was bursting with life from the newborn lizards, fire from the dragon war, and the sound of drums and gong from the lizardmen.

The dragonborns, under the commands of their leader, Karak, had to do their best to appease the dragons. Some even offered them a place in the Pressure Chamber.

Within the conflict, a path stayed clean and peaceful no matter what. A sign of respect and admiration to their sire.

Maids from the Hall walked on this path under the protection of the dragonborns and even the dragons lowered their head when they came through. The path they walked on wasn't just a normal road, but the path to the heart of the Den. The Treasury, where the guild master resided in. While it was left abandoned, they still came into the room to clean his belongings.

One of the maids was Madary. She was among the new maids of the Vault. Her mother was a maid, while her father was a dragonborn who was the warden of the Dragon Den. Dragon blood flowed within her, thin, but still strong enough to manifest some of their features on the young girl. Unlike most maids, she was born and trained within the Vault since she was small. When she was a child, she had heard tales about the outside world, but never had she got the chance to see it with her own eyes. She was also taught about the glory of those who created the Vault and her family, the Masters. 89 Master created the Archive and the guild, Loreseekers. They created her mother, her father and almost all of those who lived in the Vault. But to her generation, they were more of a legend. She had seen those who worshiped them in the Guild Meeting room, where a picture with all of the Master was placed in. Her mother and father especially taught her about the glory of the guild master, Lord Nile Hilt, her sire. So when she was chosen to take care of his domain, she felt an odd sense of honor.

Her father often stay up late at night to guard the chamber. Sometime, even when he was asleep, she could hear him whisper to his master, or lamented. One night, she woke up and saw her father kneeled before the door of the chamber, as if he was waiting for something, anything. It hurt her to see her father acting liked that. But she could feel his respect and gratitude toward the Master. Her mother told her that it took him nearly a century just to move on. Even then, he still couldn't stop his mind from drifting back to him. The world around her had moved on, but some decided to look back once in a while. Some warforged was like her father, they refuse to leave their post until their master gave them the command to do so, and looked at those wandering around the Vault with disgust. Sometime she wondered, what was they like? She had seen paintings, heard stories, but like uncle Creed said, there was always more than the story being told. She knew that they had left the Vault for a century, even before her brother was born. Were they godly beings like the church said? Were they as stern and cold as the warforged said? Or were they, or at least him, a caring parent like her father told her? Could she even meet them?

Madary shrugged her thoughts away as soon as she stepped into the chamber. Just like everyday, she would clean the place, replace the flowers and check the scrolls and books for any signs of deterioration. The girl opened the door and closed it behind her. She looked at the room, and found the light was still on. She wondered if it was time to replace the magic lamp used in the room. it was then she realized that she also had to check the candles stored in the cabinet. It had been quite a while since the last time they replace the candles in there, their scent could potentially gone bad if left for too long.

The young dragonborn walked into the main chamber. Her ears flicked. She realized.

Another person was in the room. She could see their shadow in the main chamber and hear their footstep. It was heavy, like some kind of metal armor of the warforged. At the same time it was hollow. The shadow showed the silhouette of a tall man, which proved that it wasn't one of the mage. But if it was someone else, Magna wouldn't let them in. So who could this person be?

"Who's there?" The man inside of the room shouted. Madary could hear his footsteps coming toward her. Stood her ground, the maid prepared to meet the man face to face.

A stranger, but something about him seemed familiar to her. Slowly, she realized who the person was.

"Who are you?" The walking armor asked, his glowing eyes stared at the girl, who had fallen to her knees.