Dusk was panting as if he’d just spent a full day at the gym, and this was just the first fight.
“Winded already?” Tsuki laughed, mildly astounded at her pupil’s lack of stamina.
“Nah... I’m good,” Dusk lied, wanting to put up a tough front.
“Oh okay, that’s good, because we’re gonna be doing this for a while yet.”
“No problem, I got this.”
Tsuki certainly hoped he was telling the truth. If he really tired out before even an hour had passed, that would be quite pathetic.
Indeed, Dusk struggled with all his might to prove his endurance. He would prove his teacher wrong. He remained a proud a man as ever, determined not to lose to her, even in something such as this. Eight hours later, he sheathed his swords for the last time that day as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
“Whew, I’m exhausted, Tsuki. What do you say we call it a day, huh?”
“What, tired already?”
Was she trying to play tough? There was no way she wasn't fatigued. Just what was this woman made of? “We’ve been at it for eight hours on mobs that are high level compared to us. So yeah, I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m tired.”
“All right, don’t worry, I was joking anyways. I’m actually pretty tired myself.” Ignoring her body's protests was an all too common occurrence for her. Too many times in the real world would she find herself passing out at the keyboard from exhaustion, or about to faint from hunger.
“So you are human after all?”
“Are you so sure about that?”
“Actually, I wonder sometimes.” Dusk laughed sardonically.
“So, let’s go home.”
“Sure thing.” Dusk closed his eyes, reciting the spell to teleport back home, where his soft mattress was waiting to wrap him in its cottony, cozy embrace. Yet before he could do so, his teacher interrupted him.
“Stop!”
Dusk halted his spell midway, hearing Tsuki’s plea. Every hair in his body jumped to attention.
“What is it?”
“Well...” She smiled sheepishly. “I want to walk home.”
“What?” Dusk lifted an eyebrow in mystification. After how worn out their bodies were, she wanted to go for a leisurely stroll? “That makes no sense; it’s way faster to just teleport home.”
“It’s not about what’s faster, Drake. You need to slow down once in a while, enjoy the journey.”
“Where have I heard that before?” Dusk mused aloud.
“Hmm?”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
“Well then, you lead the way, Drake.”
“Sure.”
After about twenty minutes they ended up in a new unknown area; a beach that was overlooked by several shipwrecks; the silent messengers of a seaborne catastrophe from days that had since passed. The gentle waves crashed against the coast, playing a soothing lullaby. Crabs, starfish, and jumbo snails crawled along the shimmering dusk-shaded sands. The sun was just beginning to set, setting the sky aflame in a passionate scene of orange, purple, and pink.
“It’s so pretty.” Tsuki marveled at the sight before her.
“Yeah, it is.”
“By the way, Drake...” The teal-eyed beauty paused for a moment to look around at the scenery. “We’re lost, aren’t we?”
Drake scoffed, swiftly jerking his head towards the distant sands in embarrassment.
“As if! I know exactly where I’m going.”
“Uh-huh, sure you do. Then where are we?”
Dusk scratched his head. “Um... I don’t know the name of the place, but I know this is the way home.”
“Yeah, right! You have no idea where we are. I’m gonna go ask that NPC over there for directions,” she taunted, pointing at a quest NPC that was standing in the distance.
Dusk grabbed her by the arm, staring deeply into her eyes. “I refuse to ask for directions, Tsuki, I’ll find the way home by myself.”
“Typical man,” Tsuki laughed scornfully, “too proud to ask for directions.”
“Damn right.” Dusk stuck out his chest proudly. “Men don’t need directions.”
“Uh-huh, they’d rather wander alone lost for hours.”
“Hey, you’re the one who said to enjoy the journey, remember?”
“I did indeed. While we’re enjoying the journey...” Tsuki paused to look out at the ocean. “Care for a swim?”
“Are you sure? Won't the water melt you?” Dusk smirked at his clever jab.
“What do you think I am, a vampire or something?” She laughed. "Come melt with me, then." She responded coyly, taking his hand, guiding him down to the beach as she ran, looking back every so often to laugh joyfully at her pupil. She managed to get him down to the water, which now ran up to his knees.
“So, Tsuki, ladies fi...?” Before he could finish his question, the silvery bundle of joy had pushed him forward with all of her strength. He fell into the water belly first, hitting the water with an echoing thwack as his entire body sunk under the waves.
Damn her, I’ll get her for this, he cursed to himself.
Dusk slowly poked his head out of the water like a Great White shark. He turned to see Tsuki cackling uncontrollably at what she had just done. He narrowed his eyes, a predatory smirk crossing his visage when he thought of the proper punishment for her transgression.
“You think that’s funny, huh?” Dusk sneered at her. “Well let’s see how funny you think this is.” He grabbed her blouse, yanking Tsuki into the water with him. She screamed happily into the cool night air. He had managed to submerse her completely as well; an eye for an eye. The two fighters surfaced, both completely drenched.
Tsuki gasped for breath, coughing out any stray droplets of water that may have flowed into her lungs. “Hey, that’s not fair, Drake!”
Dusk, still wearing the cocky grin on his face, replied with the only word he needed to: “Revenge.”
The two remained in the water, splashing each other, dunking one another into the water, giddy with childlike felicity. The once depressed Phantom paused for a moment to contemplate, coming to terms with this newfound rapture.
If anyone would’ve asked me a month ago if I thought I could ever be this happy again, I would’ve told them they were a fool for thinking it was possible; but now, here I am. Is it really okay for me to get attached to someone again?
Dusk was interrupted from his train of thought by receiving a direct splash to the face, courtesy of his teacher. The perpetrator giggled at him, proud of her work.
“Hey now... you know what happens when you splash me don’t you?” Dusk’s smug words slapped her with a provocation. “This happens.” Not wanting to disappoint, he began assaulting her with a flurry of splashes.
Tsuki was laughing in between splashes. “Okay, stop, stop!”
Dusk smirked triumphantly; This Sword Mage may have beaten him in every duel, but in his mind, he had won this battle.
An hour later, the sun had set, leaving a star covered sky in its wake. The half-moon was hidden entirely behind a clouded mantle. The duo was back in a familiar zone, walking with one another as Dusk led the way.
“Hey, you know, Tsuki. I’ve been thinking...”
“Hmm?”
“When you said the earth was going to fight back against men that were sucking it dry, I think I know what you meant.”
Tsuki’s curiosity had ascended, her teacher senses tingling. She was anxious to hear his answer.
“Okay, what did I mean, Drake?”
“Well, when you say the earth was being sucked dry, you meant the way we harm our planet: pollution and such, right?”
“Not just pollution, but wars as well. People use this planet to live, but they take it for granted—having no idea how much they need the very planet they live on. They never stop to think about it. But for the most part you are correct, Drake.”
“Yeah, I suppose with advances in technology the rate of pollution has increased on t
his planet,” Dusk said, his words taking on a somber note.
“Advancement in technology does not necessarily equal pollution. There are many clean sources of energy that are available for us to use. We just choose not to because all anyone cares about is money and profit. That’s a big part of what’s wrong with this world,” Tsuki explained, her words adopting a matching sorrow, as if she were singing a synchronized duet with Dusk.
“Yeah, I agree with you, people’s worth is often determined by the amount of money they possess. It’s fucked up. I suppose another reason our planet gets sucked dry is overpopulation.”
“Overpopulation is a huuuuge problem. All these people choosing to have kids that they can’t support; the population of our planet is spiraling out of control. Our planet can’t keep sustaining continual population booms like this. Something has to give, and eventually the earth will fight back if it is cornered.”
“By fighting back, you do mean natural disasters, right?”
“Exactly... the rate of tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, storms... all of these things will increase. The environment and climate in general will become more unstable.”
“That’s... a scary thought.” Dusk shuddered. He thought of the seven plagues from Revelations. He thought of the earth being torn apart and possibly uninhabitable. The earth loving Phantom sincerely hoped that such a harsh fate would not befall this planet. At this rate, humanity would drive themselves to the same fate as the dinosaurs. It would be karma for all the animal species they drove to extinction. His grim reflections dried up as the swordstress proceeded with her speech.
“But that’s exactly what will happen, if something doesn’t change. As long as I draw breath, I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.” She voiced, her words filled with ardor to the point where her fists shook in rage-infused snowballs.
“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Dusk attempted to comfort her, noticing her angry passion. “So, how was my detective work Tsuki-sensei?” Dusk teased, hoping to change the subject and lighten the mood. (Sensei means teacher in Japanese.)
“You get an F for fail,” Tsuki retorted playfully.
“Hey, that’s too harsh, c’mon!” Dusk mustered the best fake frown that he could.
Tsuki ran over and hugged him tightly. “I’m just kidding, good work, Detective.”
After another hour of walking, the two had finally made it back home to their familiar black pyramid. Upon walking in, the two noticed Omni sitting on one of the sofas, his face buried in a book.
The sage spun his head around slowly, gazing at the two wanderers who had found their way back home.
“Welcome back, you two. How was the leveling?”
“Not bad,” Dusk responded. “I gained half a level already.”
“Well, it is certainly faster experience than when you were doing dungeons with us,” Omni chuckled.
“Yeah, well, to be honest... I can barely stand I’m so exhausted, so I’m going to sleep. Good night, guys.”
“Peace.”
“Night night, sleep well,” Tsuki responded blissfully.
Once the fatigued dual wielder drug his weary figure out of the room, Omni began speaking to his female comrade.
“So, what do you think of him? I heard he hasn’t beaten you in a single duel.”
“That’s in a large part due to his anger issues. He’s keeping something important from me, I can tell—a remnant of darkness that is stuck to him. I cannot shine light on that darkness completely unless I know what it is that weighs on him so heavily.”
“And do you think you can get him to tell you what that is?”
“He is reluctant right now, but I am confident I can get him to reveal his secrets to me. I just need more time.”
“Controlling one’s emotions is a prerequisite to being a true member of our group. For his sake, I hope that you can do what you say. Remember he is on a trial basis right now; we cannot keep him as a trial forever. Eventually we will have to come to a conclusive decision.”
“I understand, and I know that I can absolutely do this.” Tsuki’s words were imbued with the essence of her unwavering willpower.
“Well then,” Omni beamed radiantly at Tsuki, “that is good enough for me. Just tell me one thing; does he know anything of our group or what we are about yet?”
“He knows of telepathy and how to achieve it. He was also able to guess what I meant when I said the earth would fight back if men continued sucking it dry. He also knows a couple of personal things about me.”
Omni found himself snickering, this being a pleasant surprise to him.
“Well, well, I never would’ve guessed. You normally don’t trust others so easily.”
“Hmm, I know.”
“So then, why him?”
“I truly don’t know. I wish I did.”
The sage's dark eyebrow lifted in amusement. “I see what’s going on here. It’s crystal clear to me.”
“What is going on?” Tsuki feigned ignorance, hoping futilely that he wouldn't be able to see through her.
“You mean you can’t tell yourself? It is plain as day that you have feelings for him. It is written all over your face. I can also sense it in your thoughts.”
“But I didn’t come onto this game for that! I have a mission to complete. I didn’t enter this world to become attracted to someone else,” Tsuki shouted fervently.
“Regardless of whether you came here for that reason or not, it happened. Now the question is... what will you do about it? Will you deny those feelings completely? Or embrace them and see where it takes you?”
“You should know the answer to that, J.”
Omni closed his eyes with a self-satisfied smile. “Indeed I do, indeed I do.”
“Well then, I’m exhausted too, I’m gonna go collapse. Good night, J.”
“I look forward to seeing what your feelings will blossom into. Good night.”
Chapter 8
November 22, 2018
Oftentimes periods of harmony are followed by periods of chaos. Such has been the way of the world for as long as history has been written. For Dusk it would be no different. He had just reached level 50, using this alternate method that Phoenix had decided. So far he had spent a month in relative bliss, growing ever closer to Tsuki by the day, an ever increasing magnetic attraction. However, as much as he wanted it, future circumstances would not allow him to dwell in this euphoria forever. Soon he and the rest of Phoenix would have to face difficult challenges ahead. Such was the price for attaining their desires.
One morning, he was awoken by a most unpleasant surprise.
“Hey, Drake, wake up!” Tsuki yelled in a voice that carried more urgency than usual.
Dusk grumbled in discontentment as he clawed out the sleep from his eyes, glancing at the digital clock on his void black table; it was 5 AM. What the hell did she want at this ungodly hour?
“I’m serious, Drake. Get up now. This is important, hurry!”
“All right, all right,” Dusk shouted irritably in order to get Tsuki off his back for a moment.
He crept out of bed sluggishly, equipping his gear and opening the transparent door a moment later. He could see his teacher wearing a look of concern.
“What’s going on, Tsuki?”
“There are some people here to see you, Drake; quite a lot of them in fact.”
A rising horror and confusion immediately swelled in his gut. Phoenix were the only friends he had in this world. If there was someone else asking for him, they probably weren’t friendly.
Was it the bounty hunters? The Hand of Blood? Or worse, was it Raven or Kevlar? That would be the worst case scenario. Maybe it was just fans; he did seem to gain a reputation as the Black Death, after all. He hoped it was just fans.
He marched downstairs to the living room area, peering at the thick door of fossil gray before him. Once he opened this door there was no turning back. He swallowed hard, mustering up
the courage to face the unknown, opening the door slowly. The hinges creaked ominously as he stole his first glance at the pre-dawn. The sun was still resting, not even crawling up over the horizon. The birds had already awoken, ready to commence their morning ritual.
Twenty unrecognizable men stood loitering amongst the flowers. The front gate had been kicked in, and the intruders had trampled on the holy garden with their uncouth forms.
Omni, Scarlet, and Reaper were standing almost directly in between these twenty men and Dusk.
Reaper craned his head, staring back at the shaken Phantom. “Do you know these guys? Are they friends of yours?” he inquired sarcastically.
“I don’t know any of these people,” Dusk answered coldly.
“Well, they certainly seem to know you.”
“That’s right, how could we not know him. After all, he murdered a member of our guild,” an unknown voice pierced from the unknown.
Dusk gasped, the fear and guilt seizing his body, causing it to tremble like a wind-powered flame. What’s more, he recognized that voice. As if to confirm his fears, the one who cried out stepped forward.
It was a Knight that he had encountered during the arena tournament he had participated in with Kevlar roughly two months ago. The Knight who held a deep hatred for Dusk; the one who called himself Quartz. Dusk’s past had caught up with him, backfiring on him terribly. He wanted to bury this secret so deep that no one would ever find it. He never wanted Phoenix to know he was a murderer.
“What is he talking about, Dusk? You murdered someone?” Omni questioned grimly. It was clear from the expression on his face he was extremely displeased.
“The Hand of Blood, they’re here,” Dusk whispered weakly with horror gripping his voice in a vise. He subconsciously took a couple steps back, wearing his emotions on his sleeve.
“Damn right!” Quartz taunted powerfully. “You had your fun for a couple months, but did you really think that you could kill someone from our guild and get away with it? I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
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