“Two do-- grrk!” Pain shot through her back when another one of the humanoids blind sided her. She quickly ran to the right towards the wall. The four angels pursued her. When she came to the wall she jumped and ran up it, her wings flapping. She went a few feet before pushing off and flying back over the angels. Her blade whistled through the air and she quickly dispatched two of the angels, their bodies disappearing in a flurry of red sparkles as their heads followed suit a moment later.
“Heal!” she yelled and she put her hand to her chest, the cut on her back disappearing. “Heh, you guys aren't so bad. I don't see w--” She was interrupted as a loud shriek tore through the chamber. She turned in time to see her dragon fall to the ground, its left wing gone. “Oh, right. Just a little longer!” she yelled and turned back to the other two. She brought her sword up, blocking another slash before she stabbed into the angel's chest with her dagger. “Ray burst!” She let go of the dagger and sent powerful bursts of light into its chest.
It disappeared and she charged through the sparkles at the final one, grabbing the dagger as the body disappeared around it. She heard the pained screams of her dragon from behind her, but she only let it slow her for a moment. “Guiding blade!” she yelled. Her blades seemed to move of their own accord and slashed into the angel as fast as lightning, zipping in and around its defenses. She heard another pained shriek from behind. A shadow fell over her moments after her attack stopped. She plunged her sword into the stunned angel's skull before more pain shot through her own back.
Asura was sent hurtling forward, sailing through the sparkles of the fallen angel, and hitting the wall opposite her. She groaned and she glanced at her HP, cringing as the hit almost cut it in half. “Hit hard, don't you? Ice shield!” Ice formed in front of her, barely blocking Samael's blade. Her eyes widened as she looked past him, seeing the red crystal on the ground, representing the fallen Fang. However, she didn't have any time to focus on him, only having a few seconds to fly up before the ice wall fell and Samael's blade pierced the wall behind her. “Eesh! Careful!”
“You will die, demon!” the massive angel yelled before holding out his hand. “Ray burst!”
“Ice shield!” she screamed and the water formed, catching the torrent of rays. It only held a few seconds before two of the beams shot through and cut into her side, knocking her health down by another third. “How do you hit so hard? Greater heal!” she yelled and put a hand to her chest, her health shooting up. Unfortunately, her MP was nearly gone. “Okay, easy big guy.” She dove down and landed behind him. “It's just you and me. No more distractions.”
Samael turned and brought his sword down, a strike powerful enough to cleave her in half. She caught the blade between both of hers, the force driving her to her knees. “Ugh... c-careful,” she whispered before lunging forward and rolling between the angel's legs, his sword slamming into the ground behind her. She quickly jumped to her feet and stabbed her sword up, into the angel's back. It cut clean through his armor and out through the other side, before she tore it out through the angel's left side.
Asura jumped backwards before the larger angel whipped around and attempted to cleave her in half with his massive blade. “Holy... stay down! Why don't you... oh come on.”
“Greater heal!” Samael said before his wounds healed.
“That's no fair! Only I'm supposed to be able to-- GAH!” She jumped to the right, the charging angel swinging with a powerful downward strike. The blade cut through the obsidian tiles, all the way to the hilt. “Yes! Try swinging... oh... hell...” She whimpered when the massive angel ripped it out from the floor in a single movement. “That's not fair!” She reached into her satchel and pulled out a potion, downing it quickly. Her MP refilled and she readied herself. “Bring it on.”
Samael struck at Asura yet again while she ducked around the blade. She moved in close, practically standing on his toes before stabbing him the thigh. She quickly weaved in between his legs to get at his back, striking at whatever she could as she struggled to keep him from being in a position to counter attack.
He suddenly spread out his wings and her eyes widened. “NO! Don't you dare!” she yelled before jumping up and grabbing him around the waist. They took up into the air together, her still holding on tightly. “Damn... it!” she yelled as she lost her dagger. “Hold... STILL!” Her sword shot up and stabbed into the base of the wings. They locked up for a moment until she jammed the blade back and forth. “GET! DOWN!” Finally, the blade cleaved straight through and removed the left wing entirely. Without the means of flight, the two crashed to the ground.
Unable to hold on, the smaller angel tumbled along the ground a few yards before stopping. Pain flowed through her body, especially her side, and she glanced down. Her fallen dagger was lodged into her hip. “Go figure,” she said with a growl before yanking it out, letting out a hiss of pain.
Samael was slowly getting to his feet and put his hand to his chest. Asura let out a growl, “Oh no you don't!” she yelled before sheathing her dagger and reaching into her satchel. She yanked out two potions and chugged them both. The wounds across her body healed and her speed increased dramatically, allowing her to get into its face in mere moments. Her left hand moved through the air rapidly as the sheathed dagger changed to a sword and she pulled it out. Her blades flashed through the air, almost too fast to see as she cut through the larger angel, fire and ice coating the massive angel while he struggled to fight back.
Asura fae-stepped behind the man when he attempted to cleave through her, and she stabbed upwards with both blades. She sliced through his body, cutting through his armor before he could whip around. His hand struck her across the chest, sending her flying back and into the wall. Pain shot through her body, but she ignored it. “I'm not going to lose!” she yelled before shoving off the wall and charging him again. He tried to cleave through her, but she ducked under the blade so it flew over and then jumped up. “DIEEEEE!” she screamed before she brought both blades together under him and slashed up, cleaving all the way up and through to his head.
“GAHHHHH!” Samael yelled before falling to his knees. “You... you demon bitch. I'm-”
Asura tossed both weapons aside before diving down and grabbing him around the head. “Hell fire,” she said as the flames erupted from her hands and enveloped him. He let out a scream as the flames burned away his body, but she didn't stop. “Rapture!” White light enveloped him and the force of the attack threatened to send her flying.
Samael gripped his blade and stabbed straight into her stomach, eliciting a cry of pain as her HP plummeting.
“I-I'm... I'm not done... Heaven's blizzard!” Large shards of ice enveloped the man even as he fell back, though he twisted the blade in her stomach. “J-just... jut DIE! Seelie's torment!” She screamed as green magic enveloped the man, cutting through his armor and slicing away his remaining wing. Still he did not fall as the blade twisted and turned in her stomach, her HP almost gone as his other hand reached up to grab and twist her wings, nearly tearing one off.
“Not... not... done... Dark echo,” she said softly. Black magic coated every inch of the larger angel. The two screamed in unison before Asura fell to the ground, on her side, pain in almost every inch of her body. The sword in her stomach slowly disappeared in a flurry of red sparkles as the larger angel began to do the same.
She lay there, unable to move as her breathing turned ragged. “Oh god... I feel like every part of my body has been run through a rin... rin... blarggggg.” She groaned before rolling onto her stomach and threw up. Her stomach retched as she convulsed, trembling on her knees. “Oh god... what's--” Her stomach rose up in objection once again, scattering its contents across the floor.
Once the pain subsided she rolled onto her side and groaned. Slowly she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself, taking deep breaths. “Okay... okay... you're okay. Just... urg... just need to calm down. Too much... ugh... sometimes this all gets a little too realistic,”
she whispered before rolling away from the mess on the floor. “Going to take a very long bath after this...” She slowly climbed to her feet and looked around. The room was empty, except a handful of demons who stood and stared at her. “F-fang?” she called out, looking around. The crystal was gone. With shaking hands, she reached up to open her inventory.
The dragon's egg was there, waiting to be hatched. She let out an angry scream of frustration, punching the nearest thing she could, which happened to be one of the demons. It merely stared down at her.
“Great and powerful Asura, you have defeated Samael, one of our greatest enemies,” the large demon in thick red and black armor said. Held in his hands was a thick column of obsidian. “Allow me to give you a gift worthy of your strength.” The demon plunged the pillar into the ground, like a nail. After a few moments cracks formed along the length of it and pieces of obsidian fell to the ground. A long, thin obsidian pole was revealed under the crumbling stones.
She reached out and grabbed the pole, yanking it free. The obsidian holder crumbled, revealing a black blade etched with red runes. The runes glowed blood red, while the blade itself absorbed the light around it. She admired the blade and let out a low whistle. “Tonbogiri... Heh. Five classes mastered. One to go...” She glanced down and rubbed her stomach. She thought she'd feel excitement, but all she felt was empty. “At least the nausea is gone... I should probably report it.” She brought up the menu and started clicking. She was midway through the report before stopping.
She closed the option and shook her head. “No... it's... it's probably just a problem with being logged in for so long. Sensations are becoming too accurate. If I report it they might try to get me to stop playing, possibly reporting to the provider. If mom and dad think there are any issues...” Her stomach jumped again so she reached down and gently patted it. “N-no. I'm not... that's not going to happen... I'm not going to lose this. I won't...” she whispered.
She brought up her inventory one last time, slowly tapping on the egg before it appeared in her hands. It was oddly cool, almost lifeless, just waiting to be hatched. Memories of Fang filtered in her mind. While she rarely used him, he was still a part of her. Her pet.
She finally sighed and wiped away a tear. “I... I guess this is goodbye. It's better this way. I... I won't be alive much longer. Now you won't have to be alone.” She softly placed the egg on the ground, pulling her hands away. It asked if she wanted to discard the item and she slowly pressed yes. With a heavy sigh, she got to her feet and turned. She knew once she left, the building and everything in it would disappear. But she decided that, just this once, she wouldn't believe it.
As she walked out into the world, she chose to believe the room would never disappear. That the egg would stand as her pet's gravestone forever. Long after she was gone.
Chapter 18
Age: 20 years, 3 months
Asher sat in a black, empty room. The only thing with him were three small brown chairs, one of which he sat in. He whispered to himself while waiting, occasionally glancing up towards a small display, but the message didn't blink.
“Come on mom, dad... hurry it up,” he said while his foot tapped on the ground nervously. He leaned back in the chair, far enough it would have toppled over if the programing would allow it. Finally, a small message popped up from his parents and he gulped. “O-okay Asher. You can do this. You're strong. You're brave. You've taken down monsters that most people have never even seen up close. They're just your parents and t-they'll understand...” He hugged his knees to his chest and waited. Any minute they'd arrive.
Another small message popped up, warning him of their imminent arrival and he quickly put his legs down. “Okay. Here they come, deep breaths.” With a sudden sparkle, his parents appeared in the chairs in front of him. “H-hi mom. Hi dad.” He lowered his gaze to the ground.
“Asher, what's wrong?” his mother asked before getting to her feet, taking a step forward before stopping.
“I... I have something important to tell you. It's...” Asher choked on the words and fidgeted in his chair. “I know I'm dying. I have less than a year before... before it's all over. All the machines keeping me alive, I know they won't work forever. Before I die, I want you to know what I've been doing. What I've done.”
“Is this about your games?” his father asked.
“Yes,” he said before getting to his feet and moving towards the back of the room. He tapped on one of the walls and it turned blue. “I wanted to tell you why I decided not to... be put down,” he said with another sigh. “I'm going to show you.”
A moment later the wall was covered with images. Pictures of the great beasts they'd slaughtered, pictures of his friends and, most importantly, pictures of Asura. Her angel, demon, leviathan, dragon and fae forms, each with different armors and master weapons. “This is what I've been doing.”
“Pictures of your game?” his mother asked before exchanging confused looks with his father.
Asher shook his head. “No. Not just... the game. It's what I've done in the game. This is who I am,” he said before motioning to his character and sighed. “I go by the name Asura. I am one of the most famous characters in the world. I've killed monsters no one else has been able to. Explored locations no one else could find. If I had more time, I could have even become a professional player in the game. This is what I've spent my last years doing. Practicing, training, all in order to do one thing.”
“You play a woman?” his father asked with wide eyes.
Asher stopped before shaking his head. “Never mind. This was stupid. I really thought I could just... I just want to do something with my life, okay?” he yelled before turning to them, the two leaning back from the sudden outburst. “I can't do anything, I can't be anything in the real world! Here, I can! I can do whatever I want! I can become someone people admire and look up to, not someone they feel bad for! Not someone they pity!”
His father slowly leaned forward. He opened his mouth a few times, but didn't say anything. Finally, he nodded. “I understand, son. I've told you before, all we want is for you to be happy. If this... game makes you happy, we won't try to stop you. I'm just confused as to why you didn't tell us sooner.”
“I... well... just...” Asher's face turned red before he tapped on the wall and the images disappeared. “I didn't want you two to think I was weird because I was playing a girl. I-it's not because I'm doing anything creepy with it. It's just... I... I wanted to be anyone, but me.” He clenched his hands into fists. “Being Asura has been... amazing. I get to do so much. See so much. I can travel the world.” His right hand moved up to gently rub his other arm. “I'm sorry I never told you what I was doing but... I'm telling you now. I want you to see what it is I've been working on with my little bit of time. I didn't want to keep this from you, forever...”
His mother nodded before standing back up, walking over and giving him a tight hug. “Oh, Asher. We understand. If this is what you want to do, what you plan to do, we'll support it. Always.”
He smiled and hugged her back. “Thanks, mom, dad. It really means a lot to me that you understand. I uhhh... I've really done a lot in it, actually. I'm one of only about a hundred players who will have a chance at a sixth, and final, mastery this year. I'm going to try it, as soon as I have the chance,” he said. “If I make it, and my belief is correct, I'll be one of the most famous players in the game.”
“That's nice, dear,” his mother said before slowly pulling from the hug and walking back to his father. The two shared another concerned look.
After a moment his dad let out a sigh and smiled. “So, tell us about some of the things you've done. How about that big dragon thing? Is that the... boss?”
His face lit up as he tapped on the wall a few times until Niohoggr appeared on the wall. “Oh, it's not just a boss. It's a legendary, nearly invincible boss. Me and my friends were the first to ever defeat it, and we barely succeeded earlier this year. So, what happened was...”
------
Asher leaned back in the chair after his parents finally logged out. He held his chest and softly chuckled. After a few moments he tapped on the menus before giving B4hamutt a call. He quickly enabled Asura's voice filter as well.
“How did it go?” the dragon asked instantly.
“Great. I feel amazing. I can't believe I've finally told them everything,” he said before beginning to log into LRVR.
“So you told them about me, too?” B4hamutt asked with a chuckle.
“I... uhhh... sorta.” Asher made a soft squeak before looking down. “Hold on, I'm logging in.” His body and the world around him disappeared, replaced by a featureless black void, before he reappeared as Asura. She was laying in her nice, warm bed. “I... told them. But my dad looked so startled I just kind of laughed it off. Mom said I was obviously joking and I didn't correct them. Sorry, h-how mad are you?”
“I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed. I did tell you that you could leave that out, but if you wanted to tell them you should have stuck with it. Did you tell them about, well...”
“Just disappointed? That's harsh,” Asura said before hopping out of her bed. “That I'm going to be dead, pretty much guaranteed before the next event? No. I want them to think my goal is still... achievable. Even if I can't do that, there are still things I want to do.” She moved to her desk and took out a brush. “I feel... happy when I'm here. I want to enjoy it as long as I can. I want to have all of you, as long as I can.”
“I know. What do you want to do tonight? I don't have work in the morning, so I can do as much as you like.”
She sighed and slowly looked through her clothing options. “I want to go to the neutral territories. Get something to eat. Not think about the war or monsters or anything. Just... hang out for a bit. Skyth is still looking into the angel special boss, right?”
Landasy Reality: Angel's Escape Page 38