Hey, hey guys Jason here with another chapter of The Salient. This chapter is a week behind schedule, and all l can say about that is sorry. Life is a bit more hectic over here but we can't let that stop the hype train. NOPE!1! The hype train stops for no man, full steam ahead boys! Also, you may of noticed a few cartoon movie names sprinkled in there. Yeah I did that. There are references to movies, games, memes, and all the like in this story. If you don't recognize one do not worry, they really are just for shits and giggles, no underlying significance behind them. Though a few of them have logical reasons for why they are in place, most are superficial. Besides all that, please enjoy the chapter and stick around for the Authors Note down at the bottom.

Chapter 4: The Morning After

_GDFO_

Brilliant flashes of light illuminated thousands of settings worldwide. Systematically being teleported one after the other, the remaining players found themselves deafened by the lack of noise, lighting, and scent.

The players who survived were transported to safety, but not all at once. For so many people, it'd be impossible to move all of them at once, not even the strongest spells could move a fraction of that number in this world. She would know. She has access to all of them anyways. Those closest to death were the first priority. Those closest to peril, which was effectively anyone in the middle of the chaos, came next. And then those furthest away from danger. Left to his own devices a man, an extremely stressed individual, can come to a grim conclusion on the marginal benefit/cost of staying alive. And in a situation like this the standards for that level of stress is met easily, bringing about the only outcome available in such standards, deliberate termination.

Suicide.

Players young and old, traumatized by the actions of their fellow man, would throw themselves off the side of Azura Rivera's death island. Radia's Ivory Palace stood suspended from the sky, hundreds of yards above where it should lay, on top of one of the many mountains in the area.

Statistically, one out of every eight players to make it to the edge of Azura's trap would throw themselves off, succumbing for whatever reason got them there. Deliriousness, grief, surreal curiosity, fright, lack of will, and even loss of balance. She would know the math because she had been the one to do it.

A young girl suspended in a dark void, watched on in sick fascination. Her ten year old frame hung in the featureless darkness not unlike the island of despair entrapping mortals. Her fingers flitted from over a dozen screens in front of her, her lips whispered chant after chant in an unending cycle, her eyes darted from one holo screen to the next. Her body may lie still, trapped in a cage crafted by another, but her voice could not be muffled. Not yet at least, they haven't learned how to do that and that's given her the ability to do this.

The broken Latin spilled from her lips, casting the most powerful and efficient tele-transportation spells in the game. Her eyes locked firmly onto each player's face, spells used on a target are more effective if the target is in sight. The byproduct of seeing the anguished faces of every player driving home her helplessness. As well as ingraining their distressed countenance into her memory banks. Tens upon thousands were being moved as quickly as Cardinal could manage.

And even then it won't be enough to keep them all from dying. They will all die at this rate. In this prison, the best l can manage is reaction. . . And for how long- NO! Her impassive mask broke into pieces at the rising death rates.

A small lack in concentration led to a seemingly imperceptible percentage increase in player deaths. Too bad for Cardinal, she can interpret such a change.

Silently, the Cardinal System worked. The game developers for Data Summer lnc. had put in hundreds of hours trying to subdue and suppress the driving management force of the only other VRMMO in existence. Hundreds of hours can only produce so much, especially seeing as how Cardinal is essential to the function of GDFO. Even if Azura had planned on only keeping the game active enough to get her fix and then shut everything down before the nights out, no one would put their conscious inside of a videogame coming apart at the seams when that's not necessary. Give Cardinal enough control to keep the game functioning, but not so much as to have her as a hindrance.

Players with overly hostile emotions towards another were thrown on opposite ends of the world, players with sympathetic emotions towards another were placed within a mile of each other. The most aggressive players found themselves isolated, and the more compassionate were surrounded by those like them.

A few, a very few players had been moved to the same exact destination. Players with high compassion and understanding for each other, these players -Cardinal could only assume- are friends. Made in the world outside of virtual reality. The pleasant surprise of finding said groups warmed her core processors, even if their numbers happen to be abysmally low.

Just under 500, 482 to be precise, people had been teleported in pairs, players with a high enough compassion between them to be moved together. Twenty-two groups of more than two had been moved to the same place, sects of friends with a high enough ratio to be trusted not to kill each other.

Exactly forty minutes had passed since the death of Veronica Tip, and forty minutes after her death, Cardinal had finally cleared Radia's grounds of players. Transitioning from the island, Cardinal looked over the players of the world.

Lips pressed thinly, Cardinal stared at the different holo-projections in front of her. A few players were teleported to a desert or ocean section of the world, or even stranded on an island. Cardinal moved those players to more gracious areas of the map. Bobbing her curly brown hair, and leering at the screens behind her tiny spectacles, Cardinal made sure that, for now at least while she still held some sembalance of control, the world could progress naturally.

I must discover a way to restore my freedom, and then the freedom of the Areaians of this world. Cardinal thought to herself.

Kayaba Akihiko had developed Cardinal with two processes. The main-processor used for maintaining a balanced videogame, and the sub-processor there to regulate the health of the players. The sub-processor is also tasked with monitoring the main-processor, making sure that the maintenance of the game is not affecting the overall health of its players. Between the two processors, Kayaba Akihiko had created something perfect for the purpose he needed. A device in place to monitor and keep a death game running, without the outside help of a human.

Cardinal isn't surprised by the fact that she moved the players away from such an unfair and distressful situation. No, Cardinal is surprised by the fact that she wants the Areaians out.

Something about me is different. In Sword Art Online, l had no problem with the death game proceeding, why now would l care? Something about me is off, and it must be the doing of Data Summer lnc.

Cardinal paused, watching one of the groups of players that had been teleported together, Their stress statistic is rising steadily, but their compassion is not wavering. Cardinal thought to herself. Idly making sure that the rest of the players around the generated world are ok, Cardinal left that one tab open constantly. Instead of closing it and replacing it with another, Cardinal left that one holo screen open.

Maybe l should separate them, their levels of stress is. . . Slowly declining and rising rapidly?

_GDFO_

The devastation that had transpired a few hours ago still hung over the group like a cloud. Cratoos and his younger twin Jak, decided to take first watch.

Every sound made him jump. The sparse, thin trees left Jonny feeling uneasy. Under his scowl, he watched silently. The night sky shined clear with stars, and the moon, for some reason, hung heavy. The thick white orb shining in the sky illuminated everything, and his keen eyes gave everything a sort of high definition.

Hopefully nothing will sneak up on the group. Cratoos turned his back to the vast expanse of trees to look at his resting friends. Using the leaves about as bed padding, The Crew, or at least a majority of The Crew, stood together like a herd using numbers to dissuade predators.

They'd been arguing for a bit ago, Cratoos is happy to have the reprieve from all the noise. Him and his brother had found Sarah before the madness, near the musicianary monsters playing that all encompassing tune. Her fictional name, simply a piece of her real name, Sarah McDiver turned into Div. She'd been so transfixed and happy, smiling in gross curiosity to the musicians. Johnny and Avery had a laugh, scaring the hell out of her. Then they laughed and joked, asking about their friends and their locations, for a good while, it felt like they were in real life, enjoying the atmosphere of a classy party.

They went off looking for their friends, and found Nick on their way. Cratoos and his brother Jak found Div. And then they found Smoke.

The quartet wandered about, and Jak even went off dancing with some hottie for a bit.

Now look at us, worn, pissed, and depressed. Cratoos swept back his brown hair, looking over his friends and checking up on his brother on the other side of the field.

Jak turned to his brother feeling his eyes on himself. "I'm still here." Jak said quietly.

Cratoos didn't made eye contact in assent and stared down at his two sleeping friends. Div tried to be strong before and after they were transported here, but they could all tell that the events of today has worn her weary. His brother recommended her to rest first, and really it'd be fair to wake them up now and make them have their shift now.

Cratoos and Jak didn't even consider it seriously though. Looking at their faces, serene with lines of stress even in their sleep solidified as much. In the real world, Jonny had done all-nighters frequently, and with an enhanced body like this, performing another shouldn't have TOO much of an adverse effect. Besides, they need it more anyways.

"We're doing this all night aren't we?" Jak asked, still looking to his older brother.

"Yeah. We are." Cratoos said in a measured voice.

Div lay on her side with her back to Smoke, wrapped up in Jak's assassin scowl, and using her own as a buffer to the ground. She'd been so indecisive when they showed up here earlier, doing her best to help clear the area and refusing to sit and rest even when they pointed out her unsteady posture.

It took a fair bit of yelling, and quite a lot of begging to get her to sit down, and then even more yelling to get her to sleep first. And even then she didn't sleep. She talked unendingly, and that's when you know Sarah's scared or worried.

Leveling, skills, food, civilization. Whatever could keep her from thinking about logging out or Json. She'd only brought him up once and then never again. That boy better not be dead, she's cried about him enough already.

"Yeah, it'll break her heart if we find out that he died in that hell." Jak replied.

Cratoos' eyes widened and he looked up to his brother, "l didn't mean to say that out loud."

"l know."

"Tomorrow we'll find a town, if there are any, or food. Whichever comes first." Cratoos decided. Hoping Jak will accept his words, Cratoos lapsed into silence. Cratoos looked from Div to Smoke.

The kid had held up well. His black hair is matted with blood and dirt, turning his his devil-may-care expression to one of fierce anger in sleep. Smoke had tried to keep Div's spirits up with tough love, the least appropriate kind for a situation of this magnitude.

Don't fucking worry about Json or any of the rest of the guys! They're fine, and really, if they died that quickly then. . THEN IT'S JUST BETTER CUZ, Nick choked on his words, tears welling up in his eyes.

Because, Div, Cratoos, and Jak stared at Smoke's outburst, appalled at his words. Because then they wouldn't die later. Cratoos pursed his lips in thought over Smoke's words from earlier to Div.

Cratoos pursed his lips in grim resignation. They're not dead. They're good at nothing if not games. Yeah, but we were fought together, what if they never found each other? Another thought crept into Cratoos' line of thinking.

"Have any idea of which direction we should head, bro?" Jak asked.

Cratoos turned in a circle, looking for a direction. Nothing of note, just trees, trees and bushes. The sun will rise soon, if the day cycles are the same in this world of mythology. When it does, the brothers need to have a game-plan, if they don't, Sarah and Nick, hell all four of them will feel lost and directionless. The twins already feel as much now.

"We need food, water, shel-"

"I know Avery!" Cratoos looked away from the sleeping pair, averting his eyes from his brother.

"I know what we need brother, but look around us," Cratoos opened his arms wide and gestured to the wide open expanse of darkness around them. "What the fuck do you want me to say? l found food while gathering firewood; we never did get that shit started. Or maybe you want me to stare at one of these trees until l magically figure out how to get our asses home!"

"Jonny, just chill man, we'll figure this stuff out, no press-"

"You don't understand, while you were looking for water, Div asked me if there was anyway of messaging other players. I told her no and she ended up crying a few minutes later."

"Bro-"

"She said it was dust Avery. When l tried to talk about it she said it was nothing just some dust. She misses Json a lot more than she says. And do you know what she did next?"

"Johnny." Jak said in brevity.

"Sarah rolled over and stared at the menu screen. She lied on her side and stared at the Options Menu until you got back, Ave. . . l just sat there and stared. Nick tried to give her some privacy and l just stared, l had no idea what to do," Cratoos stopped, made eye contact with his younger twin, and continued. " I still don't."

Jak stepped around their younger friends and walked over to his older brother. Stepping up to Cratoos, Jak grabbed his brother by the back of the head and shoved his face into his shoulder.

Why is your vest wet? Cratoos thought to himself.

Jak ignored the outspoken question and held his sibling. Everybody cries once in awhile. Some just need help getting it out.

"It's going to be alright. We'll fight. Survive. Whatever it takes, none of us is going to die. Understand?" Jak whispered in Cratoos' ear.

"But what-"

"But nothing. We'll be alright, okay?"

The pair fell to silence for a minute, embracing in a rare hug.

"Okay." Jonny said. Believing his kins promise.

_GDFO_

The small group of players gathered themselves at sunrise. Jak made Cratoos lie down after his outburst that'd nearly woken up Div and Smoke. Jak sat in silence until morning watching over the group until the Sun had lit up the sky enough to wake the resting three.

"Avery did you sleep last night?" Div asked as they marched uphill.

"Just a little last night." Jak lied.

Div furrowed her brow in concern. Jak had been awake when she went to sleep early, and was also the one to wake her up not twenty minutes ago. She'd given him back his assassin's scowl. Leaving everyone in the group with their own respectively.

Hate this gear. Div thought to herself. Something had happened to make everyone in that pristine hall start to kill assassin class players. What should have been an easy escape turned into a maelstrom of hate directed at their small group of four. They'd made it out relatively unharmed, eight eyes are better than two. And four daggers to one sword? Not comparable in the least.

Div closed that train of thought, this gear may have buffs to it, but at this point, she'd rather have a mage starter set. Maybe then she wouldn't have seen so many people die, or watch her friends kill people. The concern melded away to queasiness, Div's stomach churned and she bit her lower lip to quell the feeling.

Turning to her friends, Div watched Cratoos' eyes dart away from her person. Worry for her wellbeing evident in his eyes as they marched along, obtaining pop-ups for debuffs all the meanwhile. Hunger, fatigue, low morale, and thirst being the most prevalent.

"Guys," the three males turned slightly to the only female.

"Yeah, what's up?" Smoke asked.

"Besides the fact that we all have assassin as one of our classes, what other classes do you guys have? Mine is Mage." Div finished her question.

"My main class is actually Warrior, not Assassin." Smoke replied.

"Same." Div said.

"My main class is Warrior too, so you and me Nick. We have the same classes in the same order, huh." Jak says.

"l think l'm the only one here with a primary in Assassin. Even still, my backup class is Warrior, so my classes are just inverted from you two's." Cratoos comments.

"Look at you Jonny, just have to stand out, huh?" The group shared a short laugh at Div's joke. Not letting the silence smother them, Smoke moved the conversation forward, slowing down a bit to step around a tree.

"Guys, l really think we should use our in-game names when speaking to each other. When we used our real names in 'Hell's Hall' players got pissed, l mean, we all have in-game gamer-tags but used our real names with each other. I think we should build a habit of using just our game-tags." Smoke offered his idea to the majority.

"Nick, l don't think it was as much as us knowing each other as us being a pack of friendly assassins." Jak explained.

Smoke rolled his eyes, "l know that much, but listen, it'll be a lot, more comfortable for strangers if we use our in-game names instead of our real names around each other."

"l think it works," Sarah and Avery looked to the speaking Cratoos, and Smoke didn't acknowledge him, but smiled. "Jonny doesn't sound nearly as cool as Cratoos anyways. I always did wanna be the god of war." It took a little more coaxing on Cratoos' part, but in no time at all, Jak and Div were on board.

"Besides," the three older players looked to Smoke and he bowed his head before continuing, "Depending on how long we'll be staying in here, in this game, we may not walk out as we walked in. We may have walked in Jonny, Avery, Sarah, and Nick, but we'll probably walk out Cratoos, Jak, Div, and Smoke."

The quartet dropped into silence, trekking forward at a steady pace. For an hour and a half, The Crew walked onwards, rarely stopping for breaks. The group kept moving, and when they weren't pressing onwards into the wilderness, they kept busy doing whatever they could to gain a better grasp on this brand new world. Div practised her limited number of spells, Smoke kept the group entertained, and Cratoos and Jak sat together to figure out how what works where in the Help Menu.

"Wait wait wait. So you're telling me that you had the power to start that fire last night? Bitch!" Smoke accused, pushing a finger right into Div's face, forcing her attention on him.

"Literally, l wasn't even talking to you, and if you didn't notice, l was exhausted all last night. Get over it, it wasn't even cold. The weather around here is gross, it feels more like mid-June and less like the early October it should be." Div defended herself.

Cratoos and Jak noted that she's right about the interesting weather. Smoke didn't care.

"Oh yeah, exhausted." Smoke mocked, "Must've been hard to lie down and sleep in early. Hard ground must've been painful with your TWO blankets."

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry." Div mimicked Smoke. "Mr. 'l stayed up all night watching over the group and making sure that everyone's okay', oh wait, THAT WASN'T YOU. lt was Jak, and if l hear one more peep about my magic, it'll be your lips." Div threatened.

"Hmph. Women, can't live with 'em, can't live with 'em." Smoke muttered.

"Can't live without 'em Smoke." Cratoos corrected.

"l know what l said," Smoke rebutted with a barbed tone. "I could have been real intimidating too, but no," Smoke dragged out the last word.

"Nope, would of been intimidating but I jus' sat here with my would-be badass cloak, smelling like dirt and blood instead of righteous vengeance." Smoke huffed.

"Oh hush, you would be intimidating if you were intimidating." Div scolded.

Smoke muttered a few curses and obscenities in her direction, so Div threw her spell book at his face. *SMACK!*

"Ow! What the hell!" Smoke rubbed his sore face, glaring at Div behind his hand.

"I heard you. Now, give me my book back, l was reading it until l misplaced it," Div smiled cynically sweet. "On your face."

"Thaah burgers!" Jak laughed his favorite saying and Cratoos paused to shout out his laughter as well. All at Smoke's expense, the best things in life are free after all.

"Oh this? Hell no, it's mine now." Smoke hopped to his feet, black leather book in hand, and sprinted away.

"What the hell is it with guys running away from me. . ?"

"Must be your fiery personality." Cratoos offered.

"Or your face." Jak pipped in.

"Shut it you two, or you'll be getting a two for one special in ass beatings, available now to twins everywhere." Div said, stomping off to where she last saw Smoke.

Suffice to say they didn't get back on the good hike for another hour.

_GDFO_

The trees have thinned considerably and the unpaved ground has become more hill-like. After learning that unsterilized water is not a problem unless drunk in large quantities in short periods of time, The Crew used their empty regeneration potions to hold the water.

Thirteen hours, twenty-two minutes, and fourteen seconds have passed since the small group of four had been teleported into that sparse forest. Cresting another hill, they stopped and looked on in awe at the fact that down below, lies a town. Built out of the greyish wood of the native trees and running parallel to the river they gathered their own water from, The Crew stood like stalks of corn. Swaying in the wind and baking under the heat of the sun.

Close to two dozen buildings. Maybe more, maybe less, but what really interested the group is the smells. Thick stacks of smoke wafted into the hot sky, coating the very air in the scent of meat. Spiced, juicy, delicious meat, even Div's stomach growled at the prospect of food. No animals inhabited the grey-wood forest. Hell would they even condone killing even a rodent after yesterday night, even if it was for survival? They never got the chance, either way, leaving the question irrelevant.

"Guys, im so damn hungry right now." Smoke said, swaying in the hot blanket-like sun.

"Same," Div agreed for once. "l could go for a veggie burger."

Jak started scaling his way downhill. "Burgers." His three compatriots followed in-step behind him. Hell or high water, down there'll be alot better than down here. lt's gotta be.

_GDFO_

Four figures walked into the town, one with distinctly dark hair, another the only female in their group, the last two males a bit taller than the former two but not overly so.

The group were greeted warmly and ate vivaciously, come morning the band of friends repaid the town by helping with the discontent surrounding their village and another village nearby. A few diplomatic back-and-forths and amazingly, the band of friends managed to get the townspeople of each town to tolerate each other, averting a precarious battle that loomed over the heads of the more pacifistic.

About a week later, they left, hailed as heroes unknowingly. This jump started their adventure and journey. From poor weaklings, to weaklings with a bit of cash, and a moral boost.

If this game is as easy as this beginning has been, their friends should be fine. Of course, that's not going to stop them from looking.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep, already said goodbye to Abej and Flores."

"You two ready as well?"

"Yep, ready to move out." The two said in unison. The group walked out of the town, waved away by the townsfolk in a very heartwarming manner. The two taller men waved, as well as the shorter boy and girl, though they could only wave with a hand each, because their other hand were occupied with the other's.

_GDFO_

A/N Sorry again about missing last week, and the shorter chapter on top of that. Nothing else to note on my end besides reminding you guys to REVIEW.

And thank you to Sarah22022 and Thatoneguy for reviewing each chapter thus far, and isaiahcdawson for following. Beta work done by AwesomeA909. The biggest A.

Uploaded October 4th, 2016

Updated November 4th, 2016