Everything ached.
This was the first thought Tsukino had as she slowly clawed her way back to consciousness.
It wasn't the kind of ache that came from a night of drinking with the corporate elites, their grasping hands at times causing uncomfortable barely there bruises on her skin. The kind she hid with fitted long sleeved jackets the next morning at work. It also wasn't the ache of staying still for hours curled over her designing table, stylus in hand as she painstakingly added detail to a new outfit or item.
It was the kind of ache that came after your body fell asleep, where you felt like a newborn who wasn't quite in control of their own limbs.
Letting out a small groan she opened her eyes. Only to immediately shut them as intense color and light stabbed into her skull, sending her reeling.
"My Lady, you are finally awake." A deep rumbling voice that was somehow stern yet warm reached her ears and she stiffened in confusion.
She didn't remember inviting someone to her apartment the night before. Especially not one that would call her 'my lady.' Of the paltry one night stands she'd had the last ten years none of them had ever been privy to her personal fantasies or double life in Yggdrasil. At least… that's what she'd thought.
"Wha-" She tried to speak but it came out as a rasp, making her cough harshly. Wincing as her chest ached she tried to roll over to alleviate the pain but found a warm hand against her collarbone, gently holding her in place.
"You shouldn't move yet, my Lady. You are not yet well." The voice said in a tone that sounded mildly concerned. Something pressed against her lips and she startled. "It is only water, my Lady, to quench your thirst."
Trusting the gentleness of the voice she drank the temperate liquid, letting out a sigh of relief as the sticky grit in the back of her throat loosened.
"Thank you." It was only proper to show her gratitude.
There was a small huff of air as the figure next to her shifted, the sound of something being set down beside her on the grass.
'Odd,' she thought to herself, 'did I always have this accurate of hearing?'
"It is no trouble, my Lady. I am your loyal servant. From the moment I first laid my eyes upon you, until the moment all becomes dust." Came a low rumble, intense yet warm.
Her breath hitched in her lungs.
No. It couldn't be-?
Forcing her eyes open she turned her head and looked up at the figure leaning over her. A gust of wind rustled the canopy of trees above them, the crystals and gems of her regalia clinking together musically in her ears.
Ethereal blue eyes stared down at her as perfect lips quirked upward slightly at the edges.
"Rodrach-?"
The contest was as simple as it was convoluted- just the kind of thing the developers of Yggdrasil liked to throw at their player base seemingly for their own entertainment.
Design a brand new set of armor based off of a contradicting and vague description for a special event that would be coming in the near future.
The rewards for fifth to second place were listed on the contest post, with each tier gaining the previous tier's rewards plus something new. While first place had a secret 'extra' prize.
Gripping her stylus in hand a wide grin crossed her face as she adjusted her glasses. It looked like a worthy challenge for someone of her talents and she was eager to see how she measured up to the other self-proclaimed DMMO Designers.
Tying back her long hair and making sure she had a pot of tea on hand she set about looking through image after image of pre-existing armor types in the game. Working far into the night she only stopped when everything became a blur and her mind refused to function any longer.
It took her days of research, careful consideration, hiding sketches at work from the prying eyes of her boss or his cronies, and bouts of mild insanity prompted by lack of sleep. But finally, finally, she had her idea.
The armor itself was a cross between what she'd seen of Arthurian Knights, both historically accurate depictions and fantastical ones- Renaissance styled Vestments from the Catholic Church, the ones with the detailed brocade- and images of extinct birds, primarily large raptors like the Harpy Eagle.
When interviewed later for her winning submission she would chalk everything up to her persistence and the small community of fans that had supported her. But the truth was that she had no idea how she'd been able to pull everything together so well. At that point she'd been running on caffeine, insomnia, and sheer determination.
With her win came the much anticipated secret reward. If she'd been in her actual body she was certain she would have been vibrating in place from excitement.
What was the reward?
A personal, free to summon at any time with no mana cost, NPC follower-companion dressed in the armor she had designed.
She had near about fainted when presented with the scroll that would permanently bind the summon to her account.
She named him Rodrach Astragoth, a nod to an obscure king from an ancient people, and he had been with her ever since.
"Are you still feeling unwell, my Lady? Would you like me to attempt another healing spell?" Blinking she came back to herself and looked up into concerned blue eyes.
Was this a dream? Some kind of cruel joke? Her body hurt far too much for this to be some new update for the game. DMMOs didn't have the ability to allow players to feel pain. If someone passed out while in a game the system itself would sense the lack of active brain waves and auto-log a player out. After all, it was illegal to keep a player logged into a game without their permission or consent. There were heavy penalties if such an accusation was considered legitimate, which was something most game companies wanted to avoid.
Finding her voice she decided to just play along. Without knowing what, exactly, was going on she decided that falling into her persona as Tsuki-no-Uranaishi was probably best. So she locked down her emotions and pulled on her years as an active roleplayer to project a false serenity she wasn't actually feeling. "I will be fine momentarily." She said confidently yet quietly.
Slowly rising into a sitting position she brought up her hands and flexed them in her lap. Pale slender fingers with long painted nails moved exactly as she willed them. Closing her hand into a fist she felt the points dig into the flesh of her palm and let out a small gasp as one of them punctured the skin, a drop of coppery blood welling up.
Turning away from the confusing sight she looked toward Rodrach, who was watching her intently. "Where are we?" She kept her voice politely inquisitive.
The man frowned slightly and shook his head. "I was focused on your wellbeing and have not had a moment to survey the area." He admitted, gloved hands clenching against his thighs. "But wherever we are now it is certainly not the Forest of Eternal Autumn. The trees alone make that impossible."
Looking around she took note that the forest was definitely not the one she had been in before the server shut down. The trees were primarily dark brown with a range of bright to dark green leaves. A far cry from the silvery white bark and crimson leaves of the Forest of Eternal Autumn.
Placing her hand on the ground in order to stand she froze when she was met with something silky instead of grass. Glancing down she realized she was laying on Rodrach's cloak. "Your cloak! It's going to be dirty now." She said in surprise and a little dismay.
The man let out an amused chuckle. "Not to worry, my Lady, mere dirt cannot besmirch holy relics." He assured her as he got to his feet and held out his hand for her to take.
Placing her hand in his she was not prepared for how easily he lifted her to her feet. Her face flushed red as he bowed over her hand, like how she envisioned a proper knight would.
Taking his cloak off the ground he flicked it, scattering whatever dirt and grass might have been clinging to it, before throwing it over his shoulders and attaching it to his armor.
Standing there, uncertain what to do, she wondered if she could get away with opening the Menu in front of her… well he didn't exactly act like an NPC at the moment so she wasn't sure what he was. Follower? Companion? She would go with companion for now.
Glancing at him from the corner of her eye she attempted to open the Menu. It failed. She tried an emergency system shut-down next. Nothing. The Chat, the Menu, the System, none of it was working.
"My lady?" Startled she looked up at the two meter tall armored man and swallowed her nerves. "You are shaking, is it the Moonlight Ambrosia? When the chalice spilled it coated your garments." Looking down at her clothes she saw the icy blue soaked into the lower part of her over-robe. As she moved the air around the blue stains created a trail of vapor. Holding her hand close to it she could feel how it gave off a deep chill and shivered.
"Moonlight Ambrosia's effects only last an hour, once it loses its chill it should be easy to… wash out." It felt odd to say. All things considered the stains themselves should not even be there. If a player splashed another with a potion the 'liquid' would vanish, even if the effect remained.
"My Lady, if I might offer a suggestion- perhaps you should change clothes." Surprised she glanced back at him and caught the concerned frown on his face once more. It was obvious that he was worried about her well being.
An why shouldn't he be? She'd designed him to be that way when she wrote his backstory. The Half-Angel Paladin who lost his grace because he fell in love with the High Priestess of an opposing sect of worshipers. Namely, herself.
"Perhaps, but I am… a little disoriented from whatever happened to… us." If he System and other Menus weren't working then how was she supposed to get into her Inventory? It wasn't like she had a second outfit just lying around wherever here was.
"It certainly was a strange phenomenon." The man said with a nod. "Do you think a rival magic user somehow interfered with your ritual?"
For a moment she was at a loss. What was he even talki- oh! Right before the servers were slated to shut down she'd held one last 'ritual' for the fun of it. Just for one last pleasant memory in the game.
Did that mean Rodrach remembered things that happened before he became so… alive?
"I don't know." She said honestly, crossing her arms over her chest and hunching in on herself a little. This whole thing was really strange and unsettling.
A warm hand brushed some of her hair away from her face and she turned to her companion in surprise. "We'll find out what happened, my Lady, the Goddess will guide us." He said with confidence.
Feeling at least some of her nerves easing she smiled. "You're right, I'm being foolish." She shook her head, twitching as the chains hanging from her long ears clinked together loudly.
"I would never call you foolish, my Lady." The man said with an almost playful smile. "Now then, I believe it would be in our best interest to find out where we are. Or at the very least scout the area for potential dangers." His expression turned serious, blue eyes sharp. "Will you be alright by yourself here?"
Putting on a brave smile that she was pretty sure missed the mark, she nodded. "I will be fine. I have my magic." Except she had no idea if that was true or not. But if her companion was somehow something sinister, which she doubted but couldn't quite ignore, then being alone gave her a chance to investigate for herself.
"As you say, my Lady. But do not hesitate to summon me back to you if something happens." He said seriously.
"Of course." She hesitated for a moment as he turned away. "Come back safely."
The man gave her a wide smile, his eyes softening as he gave her a short bow. "As you wish."
Beneath his cloak a pair of black wings shot outward where none had been before and she marveled at just how large they were in person. Normally they had a very stilted animation cycle but here she could see every small twitch of the muscles as they flexed. Without another word the man launched himself up into the air with a snap of powerful wings.
Then he was gone, and she was left alone.
Once she could no longer see her companion Tsukino collapsed onto her knees, staring down at her trembling hands. A hysterical laugh bubbled up from inside her chest but she forced herself to swallow it.
Running her hands over her body she realized that she could feel every small touch or sharp sting of pain, something that had been impossible before. When she was finished examining herself she came to a horrible understanding- she had become her avatar. Somehow her mind had been transferred to a living body that was an exact copy of her character from her favourite DMMO-RPG. It took her much longer than she'd like to admit to finally calm the raging panic that swept through her at this realization.
"Impossible." Even her own voice had been altered slightly. It sounded younger and more refined somehow. Maybe it had something to do with her race?
Oh. Oh no. Her race! She needed to find a mirror!
She glanced around wildly for a moment before clicking her tongue in frustration. She was in the middle of a forest, why had she been expecting to find a mirror?
"Stupid." She grumbled, berating herself.
Standing on shaky legs she brushed her hand down her clothes to clean them of the clinging grass and dry dirt. She really needed to get hold of herself.
"Okay. First thing's first- magic is real." She said aloud, trying to convince herself that she wasn't just cracking down the middle from stress at work. "If magic is real logically that means I should be able to use it now too, right?" Taking a calming breath she picked up her staff and gave it a critical look.
Clearing her throat she lifted the staff into the air, the crystal orb on top reflecting the light around her like a prism. It looked like she was standing in a circle of multi-colored light, which had been a special effect she'd bought specifically for that reason. "Lesser Detect Aura!" She called out, tapping the butt of her staff on the ground for emphasis.
Instantly she felt a tingling around her eyes and gasped as the forest lit up around her. Outlines of creatures big and small moved around her, though she couldn't quite tell how far away they were. It was disorienting and even when she closed her eyes she could still sense where everything was around her. It almost made her feel sick.
"Cancel!" When the spell stopped immediately she let out a sigh of relief. It was good to know that she could stop at any time if something went wrong.
"My Lady." Jumping slightly she looked towards the sky as Rodrach returned, far more silent than she would have expected from someone with such large wings. Landing a short distance away he dipped forward into a short bow. "I have returned."
"Rodrach, welcome back." She smiled politely. "Was your scouting mission successful?"
"It was. To the north-east, past a small lake, there appears to be a city. We might be able to get some answers if we question the locals."
"That sounds good to me. The more we know the faster we'll be able to figure out what happened to us." Us. Because Rodrach was now seemingly a living being. With his own thoughts and feelings.
"As you say, my Lady. Shall we?" Rodrach smiled and a wave of calm hopefulness flowed into her. Without meaning to she felt herself relaxing further in his presence.
'Right, even Half-Angels have a Passive buff to strengthen nearby allies, don't they?'
"Lead the way." She ordered delicately with a wave of her free hand.
Following just behind her companion Tsukino looked up at the sky. For now she would just have to take things as they came. If this was some kind of dream then she knew she would eventually wake up. So for now she decided to enjoy it while it lasted.
It wasn't like she had anyone to complain to about her abnormal situation anyway.