|Sword Art Online, Floor 70, Shattered Corridor|
|June. 29th 11:11|
Entering from a cliffside into a wide valley, players would find themselves within the Shattered Corridor. The plains of the valley covered in massive ruins that upon an overhead view, revealed all the old, overgrown ruins of marble white and greys to be remnants of an impossibly large corridor, many of its support columns surrounded by mounds of shimmering sand, with almost none of the former, glass fixtures remaining, those that do formed into distinct, jagged fissures in the air.
The locale held a grippy air of mystery, that very atmosphere electrified as soon as one reached the base of the valley walls. Nagi led Argo, Fynch, and their latest party member, Lux, through the safest routes, evading some of the more dangerous monsters that roamed the ruins, heading for the distinct landmark of the valley, the Gateway.
It was through a set of massive doors, same as those that marked the main town of Shiva. Through their overgrown remains was an ancient, inactive door that led, supposedly, through time itself, but with the ruins as they are, it simply held no power to do so, what remained formed the temporal pockets throughout the floor.
"...so its best to avoid them, or you'll wind up in an instance at some point in this floor's 'past', so to speak," Nagi summarized for Fynch and Lux, both keeping closer to the group to avoid stumbling into one.
"Will do, but, why did you want to bring me out here, if you don't mind me asking?" Lux pipped up, ever since she received a message from Fynch about Nagi wanting to speak with her, she had grown nervous. What did the leader of Misfits want to discuss, and out here? It wasn't anything malicious, but all he told her was to 'meet someone who could give some advice', to what, she also didn't know. But she wouldn't say the event wasn't exciting.
"One of my friends is here, he should be nearly done with the quest their on-" Before Nagi could finished, a loud, metallic crash could be heard echoing from the Gateway's massive, crumbling walls, shaped similarly to a cathedral.
"Think that's theM," Argo pointed out, and their group quickly picked up the pace.
Heading through the imposing doorway, coming to what appeared to be an old areologist site. Many bridges and levels of scaffolding filling up the walls and other distinct landmarks. Old, dusty crates, mining equipment, and tents strewn throughout the hall. But no workers could be seen, only the entity that tore through the sky itself, crushing the stone and dirt below where two players leapt to safety.
The entity stuck through a rift in the formation of a neon yellow gear, the center a mass of swirling dark matter, holding the giant, severed arm in place. The arm itself was made up of an array of clanking, brass gears and cogs, claws sharpened to a violet tip, all held together by the same, ethereal, black matter.
"Woah, that's surprisingly unsettling to look at," Fynch whistled, taking cover behind some crates with the rest, poking their heads out, one above the other.
The Arm swung wide, claws trailing purple across Artorias's shield, sliding back to channel Ward, the extended barrier shattering, absorbing the downward swipe for Yuuki to bound over his head, Acrobatics providing her a second bound in the air, drawing down her now radiant blade, lacerating the length of the Arm with a twirling, Vertical Square, rolling under the joint that retreated through the rift, another appearing behind Artorias.
Steady, he swiveled the second the fist struck forward, opening to send a beam of energy across the dig site, grazing a few strands of Yuuki's hair, herself doubling back to cut across the left side in tandem with Artorias, doubling back with an orange and teal cleave respectively. Behind them, a Time Leaper closed in on the purplette, nearly drawing a shout from Lux when a blur of white and blue.
Siune's rapier tore through the back of the Leaper, whilst Ran's snow-white sword tore through the exposed core, the red center shattering. However, the Arm swiveled, swiping in an omnidirectional cleave, knocking Artorias back a few inches behind Red Dawn, Yuuki sliding under the claw, allowing the Arm to charge a beam in the girls' direction.
"Hyrah!" From the scaffolding to their left, Nori came hurdling down, hammer a blazing blue, colliding with the back of the palm, burying it in the ground with Shattering Rain, followed by two more, increasingly forceful strikes to the metallic palm. "Switch out!" She bounced off a claw, leaving the Arm wide open for Yuuki to slide, deep, crimson light erupting across Obsidian Rose until she released it directly beneath the hand, plunging Vorpal Strike through the center of the palm, sending it arching upward sharply.
With a great burst of speed, Artorias dove high, drawn further toward the sky by a bright pink skill, five consecutive thrusts peeling through dark matter and cogs, sweeping in two parallel slashes from side-to-side, arching over the now retreating hand, his eyes sharper than a knife-tip, aiming between the gaps in its ruined armour, bringing down a cascade of pink light, practically teleporting to the ground in a blur of colour, Howling Octave had struck its core, causing the arm to spasm and finally retreat into its rift, vanishing without a trace.
A short gust of wind billowed through their clothes, Artorias standing upright to give Red Death a little twirl, sheathing it a second later, their rewards coming through, alongside a glittering, golden aura. Nori fist-bumped with Artorias, the other girls giving a little, triumphant shout.
"Amazing..." Lux knew of the Red Warrior and the Absolute Sword, both were some of the most skilled players on the Frontlines, but she didn't expect them to be this well coordinated, they barely spoke a word during the tail-end of their battle, say for Nori.
"Thought you said you'd have it wrapped up by yesterdaY?" Argo stepped out, the others nearly stumbling over each other when she left their stack behind the crates.
"Tell that to the quest giver, he sprung this on us as a 'unique event'," No one missed the sarcasm behind Artorias's air-quotations. He then spun his head to Yuuki. "Please tell me its over?"
"Yep, just gotta return to report the problem... probably?" She shrugged with a sweet smile, making the brunette sigh under his breath.
"Hello, Nagi, did you need something?" Siune greeted, noticing Fynch and Lux. "Oh, its surprising to see you with them, Fynch, and who's this?"
"Need to lay low for a bit, so I'm taking it easy," He waved happily, motioning to the silverette beside him, staring wondrously toward Artorias and Yuuki. "Ran into her yesterday, and we gave her a hand in learning the ropes of the new floor, Lux."
"Oh, um, its a pleasure to meet you," She quickly composed herself, bowing her head a little, one Siune reciprocated.
"Nice to meet you too," Ran walked over with a curt wave.
"Mind wrapping this quest up? Gotta see to this little intermission," Artorias asked, looking to Yuuki for approval, to which she gave a quick nod and kiss to his cheek, which definitely brightened up his disposition.
"'Kay~ Go easy." She smirked, earning a mock gasp from him, hand to his chest.
"Cupcake, I am appalled you think so little of me," She raised a skeptical brow. "I'll have you know, I only wreck a person's pride, nothing more."
"Uh-huh," She rolled her eyes and patted his back to get him moving. "Let's move out!"
"Awesome, this time-jumping crap's starting to make me dizzy," Nori grimaced.
"I told you not to just jump into random rifts," Siune wagged a finger, earning a disgruntled noise from the ravenette.
"Knew that would happen," Artorias murmured in passing, causing Nori's right eye to twitch.
"I know, you know, I get it, I get the concept." She didn't want to be reminded... again.
With the two groups split, Nagi silently raised a finger at Nori, then back to Artorias. Catching on, he snorted a laugh.
"She thought she was smart jumping ahead in time to accelerate the questline, only to wound up in what she described as, 'Sen's Funhouse', so take that as you will," The Red Warrior chuckled, seeing Argo's and Nagi's eyes flash in understanding. "Now, with Nori's personal hell explained, and my stomach another rift away from emptying itself. What's the sit-rep, Boss?"
Heading just outside the Gateway, there was a small cottage nearby, containing the quest giver that Yuuki's party headed off to speak with, meanwhile, within a safe, open flatland away from any roaming monsters, Lux shakily stood apart from Artorias, himself staring between her and Nagi.
"You want me to bully her?"
"I want you to test her abilities, like what we did with Sachi way back," Nagi explained, emphasizing the 'test' part, for Lux's sake.
"I... I'm not sure about this," Lux hesitated, her hand tight on her sword's hilt, afraid to even draw it against another player. In her actions, the lack of confidence in her eyes, Artorias read her like a book. "And against you? You're one of the fastest swordmen I've heard of-"
"You'll make me blush." He added.
"-so its hard to imagine even lasting ten seconds against you," Lux also didn't want to hurt him, or anyone. She... she couldn't, she wouldn't...
"Deep breaths," His stern response surprised her, he had an ego... or did? His whole mood changed on a dime. But, she did as he said, watching him draw that bloodied sword. "It'll be a one-strike duel, you so much as even nick my body, and that's the match, and vice versa. But, its useful to know how to defend yourself, and I'll be holding back to gauge your abilities, so don't feel the need to withhold anything, trust me."
Lux eyed Fynch standing with the others, he didn't look worried, actually, he even gave her a supportive smile and thumbs up. Same for Nagi, watching by Argo who seemed eager to write down and study the match. All this just to test Lux's abilities? She felt guilty, taking their attention away from clearing this floor, but she also didn't want to disappoint them by backing out. They were safe due to the context of the duel, no one would be killed, so it was okay, even if she was up against a literal wall in terms of power.
"Okay... I'll... I'll try my best," She could offer that much, finally brandishing her steel sword, though in the light, a glint of colours reflected off its surface.
|Will you accept duel request?|
|Opponent: Artorias|
|1 V 1 - Single Strike|
|Yes / No|
Taking his request, a countdown started, giving Lux the time she needed to adjust herself against an unbeatable opponent. She had never fought against players, say for maybe one or two matches, but they still followed the same system as monsters, all sword skills had their tells, their predetermined paths. Far as she knew, you'd only use sword skill sparsely in a match like this, one misstep would cost you the match.
The second the timer turned to a bright sign displaying 'BEGIN', Artorias rushed her, drawing his sword down against hers, it was a second of hesitation before her head caught up with her body, blocking a secondary swing, each strike was slower than how he fought against that floating arm. Slash, one, slash, one, thrust.
"One second intervals, three followed by a thrust," She counted, pressing her toes in to lunge, her sword scraping against his buckler, forced back by a shove, righting herself for a thrust, seeing his head dip to one side, evading the blade with minimal effort.
Again, Artorias closed the gap, this time, he drove the tip of Red Death in rapid thrusts, each ringing against Lux's sword, her hand just barely angling her weapon in time to block. "Thrust-Thrust-Thrust-Thrust - Slash!" She ducked under a high, horizontal slant, sweeping her leg under his, but he caught her, landing safely a few feet away, giving his red sword a quick twirl.
He stepped forward with right for a burst of speed, attacking with a diagonal slant from right to left, doubling back and winding into a horizontal, ending with a thrust. Each was mapped, Lux could see his tells, weaving with just as little effort as Artorias had displayed, catching him off-guard with a surprising, sudden slash. Sadly, it nicked his shield, pressed against his chest. Taking her advantage, she instinctively aimed for Rage Spike to close the distance.
"She's analysed him, almost mimicking how he moved," Nagi noted, hand against his chin. "But..."
Sadly, she had acted too hastily; her hands were clammy, anxious of how the battle would play out, trying desperately to keep from being cut, that she moved without even thinking. Her weapon drew her close, but her sword-tip flew by his body, side-stepping her skill that fizzled out in the air like a flickering bulb.
His sword swept in a wide arc, but post-motion disappeared a second before it connected, allowing Lux to tumble and quickly recover, barely blocking a far heavier strike from above, Artorias swung for a diagonal, she managed to defend against it, only for him to thrust in a rampant flurry of strikes, straight into a chain of slashes in-between, his movements weren't nearly as routine, yet struck with the same level of ferocity. One second intervals turned to half-a-second.
A single, light graze slit across her cheek, the coldness of the sword edge was enough to topple Lux over onto her back.
-{WINNER ARTORIAS!}-
She sat up, sighing in defeat when a hand was offered to her, looking up, not at disinterest or mockery, but the same, neutral expression he continued to wear from the start. Losing stung but she took his hand, now back on her feet with a slight smile.
"Guess I lasted longer than I expected, at least," She'd take that little win over anything.
"Moving to the beat of an enemy's tempo, like a metronome, coupled with analytical skills to memorize attack patterns within seconds," Artorias rambled, and Lux was left speechless, having verbalized her thought process perfectly. He shrugged at the slack-jaw expression of hers. "What? You think you're the first to be analytical in a fight? But its useless against unpredictable opponents, not every monster or player is conditioned entirely by SAO's combat system, you've weaponized it regardless."
"That's... that's it exactly!" Lux exclaimed, hands together. "It's harder predicting stronger, more complex monsters, but they all have their routine patterns, its how I've managed to survive on higher floors. And... why I'd like to avoid fighting people too, you purposefully led me on."
Artorias smirked. "Like I said, I was holding back."
"Yeah, I'd be totally screwed if you didn't." She deflated with a self-deprecating laugh.
"You held your own, knew that skill of yours was handy," Nagi complimented.
"I'll say, you kept your cool, this guy usually psyches everyone out with that look on his face!" Fynch chuckled a little, earning a flat stare from the Red Warrior.
"Okay, that was uncalled for," Ignoring that remark, Artorias glanced to Argo. "Well, Rat, what's your take?"
Looking away from her notes, she raised a thumb, whiskers twitching. "As I speculated, little Lux here's a bit shy but she's got talent and a knack for analysis in the midst of battle, makes for a good strategisT."
Again, Lux blushed, waving her hands. "It's really not that special! I've always been like this, and as we've seen, its useless against anything that doesn't have a set attack pattern."
"You've got potential, don't belittle yourself," Artorias cut her off, staring past them to the cottage where Yuuki was laughing about something Ran had said. "I was the same, I looked at things and people before as predictable pieces to move at my discretion, then plenty came along and threw a wrench in that outlook. So adapt, broaden your analysis to everything; study and breakdown what's around you, do that, and whatever you're trying to achieve will come to pass."
"Pretty deep that," Fynch pointed out.
Artorias tisked, rolling his shoulders. "What can I say? I'm feeling philosophical today," Giving them a wave over one shoulder, he marched towards Yuuki's party. "If that's all, I'll be going for my bounty."
"Thanks again, Artorias, you're the best!" Nagi waved, turning to Lux who closed her mouth, lowering her hand like she wanted to say something.
"Does he really think that?" She questioned aloud. No one's ever complimented her odd quirk in a positive light like them, let alone understanding it in detail as Artorias had. By all accounts, a novice like her would be beneath him, she's heard the rumours that Artorias thought highly of himself, which he did. But callous and uncaring? No, that definitely wasn't what she just saw.
"Artorias never sees a reason to lie, he can be blunt about it, but it just means his feelings are genuine," Nagi affirmed, smiling as bright as always. "You're talented, Lux, so someday, you'll see for yourself, it just takes time."
It was hard to accept, a lot of what's happened today was, but, even for a little while, she felt the weight in her chest lift ever-so-slightly. For the first time in months, she really felt proud of herself.
|Floor 70, Town of Shiva|
|June. 29th 16:53|
For the rest of the day, Lux stuck with Nagi's party, actively joining them in running up on the progress toward boss intel, it surprised her how analytical Argo truly was, even if she kept everything she did close to her chest, as any Info Broker would, but just observing her, seeing how she can pry so much out of such little intel was almost scary as it was impressive.
Out on the field, Nagi coordinated them flawlessly, never leaving anyone in a blind spot or handling more than they should, the complete opposite of what Lux had been accustomed to seeing. Working with them, she felt as she had long ago with her own party members, coordinated, efficient... happy.
Sitting around the benches of the teleport plaza, the day was winding down, the group taking a break whilst Lux remained silent for the majority of their time together. She studied them all, how they interact, it was almost foreign to her, something so simple as friendliness she only experienced with one other, when they were in a party together, that is.
"Hey-" Feeling a tap on her shoulder shook Lux from her thousand-yard stare to look at Fynch sat beside her- "Been staring off into space there, you good?"
"Ye-yeah, sorry, I... I just don't understand," She admitted, cupping her hands in her lap, seeing two players making a b-line for Nagi discussing things with Argo, Artorias, and Yuuki's party. "Why waste your time helping me? I know how important clearing the game is to everyone on the Frontlines, and for the last two days, while that has been progressing, I feel I've been stealing away their time, just to help boost my confidence? It's... hard to believe that's the only reason, there has to be something else he's looking for, right?"
She hoped what she said wasn't insulting, but instead, Fynch gave a short laugh, leaning back into his seat, pointing to where two players came up to Nagi. A teenage girl with straight, shoulder-length black hair and bright green eyes. The other, a guy, had short, chestnut-brown hair and dark teal eyes.
Whatever was said couldn't be heard from afar, but whatever it was, the guy took Nagi's hand, bowing his head emotionally, the girl rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. Nagi, for his part, gave a panicked look, shaking his free hand to try and reassure them, giving both a closed-eye smile, the others trying to help ease whatever troubled the two players.
"Thing is, Nagi's just that kinda guy, doesn't matter what's on his radar, if he can spare time to help anyone who needs a hand, even if they don't realize it, he's the first to jump headfirst into the issue, makes it pretty hard to hate the guy," Fynch explained, now fixated on Lux's wide eyes, which in turn, met his. "Even if the people he helps don't see the good in themselves, feeling they don't deserve his help, he'll be there to lift 'em back up, like me."
"Like you...?" Fynch's expression briefly appeared as reflective, but remained positive in her eyes. It wasn't just people close to him, Nagi helped anyone he could reach, even some random girl that bumped into them. It seemed almost ridiculous but sweet. "You're... pretty kind too, for explaining it for me."
Fynch waved a hand. "Hah, its nothing, but happy to ser- ahem, to help!" He cleared his throat at his small slip-up, but Lux just giggled in response.
Until her message tab was prompted. Opening the private message, whatever warmth she accumulated was doused in icy water, smothering her body in a gripping chill she had briefly forgotten the feeling of. She kept her startled reaction pressed down, but Fynch seemed to look at her with worry.
"I-I'm fine, just realized how late its gotten, m-my guild needs me back," She apologized, moving to her feet. "Sorry, can you let Nagi know how thankful I am?"
"Uh, sure, leave it me," Saluting her, she forced a smile, hiding it stinging harder than normal, but she kept up appearances, giving a polite bow as she quickly vacated the plaza for the mainland of the town.
Gone was the glow she had almost grown fond of, dampened and left behind for a hollow frown and guilt-ridden eyes. She was used to it, she did her job and that's that, only now, all of the guilt she either ignored or buried was festering to the surface.
|June. 29th 17:04|
Just outside the town, in a small woodland that was only a handful of trees thick, Lux wandered its path, legs weighed down by lead with every step. Only until she saw a shadow move from behind a tree did she react, their dark orange cursor drifting above their head, but sometimes, it almost appeared a deep red. Maybe it was just conditioning that made her believe that, or, the game saw the person more akin to a monster than human now.
All she knew is that their face was recognizable beneath the cowl of their poncho, due to the distinct, blue tattoo marking their face. He had ample, black wavy hair and the most unsettling, wine-coloured eyes that could pierce a person's soul with a mere glance. At times, it felt as though he already had a knife to your throat, pressed just shy of breaking skin.
PoH gave a mere flick of his hand. "You've been busy making friends?" He asked, rather chipperly, all Lux could do was nod once, unable to look him in the eye. "When I heard you'd been partying with others, I was a little worried things might end up messy for you, hate to see someone dedicated go like that," He didn't miss the flinch in her body, even if she tried to withhold it. "But then, I heard it was that goodie-two-shoes Water Shinobi, fancy that stroke of luck."
"...what do you want to know...?" She forced out her heavy lips.
"Come on, now, don't look so troubled, I just wanna get to know your newest friends," PoH raised his hands wide. "I even have a great idea. You help me out with a little job, and best of all, no one gets hurt, I just need them out of the way for a little bit."
He wanted to target Nagi? Ice filled her throat, but Lux shakily closed her fists up tight. "I-I won't... hurt anyone..."
"Who's asking? Like I said, one little favour where you hurt no one, come on, doesn't that sound like a fair deal?" He offered a hand to her, smiling and watching the emotions flood across her pale face.
"I'm so sorry, Nagi, Fynch..."She finally turned to meet his eyes, her trembling in their sockets. "...what do I have to do?"
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
A sinister plan is set in motion now, with Lux unable to refuse. On a more upbeat note, the 100th chapter is coming, and I am extremely proud to have made it this far again, having only made this milestone once before with Perfected! So, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the 100th chapter, Misfits!
100 - End of the Line
Lux requests to go dungeon delving with Nagi, Argo, and Fynch before they return to their duties. Things don't always go as planned...