The Virtual Realm

by Daniel Perusko

  After searching around the premises for a full twenty minutes, Dusk finally found her in the garden, meditating under the moonlight. The night luminescence bounced off her silver hair, causing it to glitter like snow. He knew how she was when it came to her meditation, so he walked into the garden and sat down without saying a single word. He would wait patiently until she had finished.

  Ten minutes later, Tsuki slowly stood up, making the scarcest of sounds as her feet rustled against the grass.

  “What do you want, Drake?”

  “Karla, we need to talk. There is someplace I want to take you first. Is that acceptable?”

  She brushed off the remainder of grass that was still clinging to her body. The individual blades fell ever reluctantly to the ground, disappointed to no longer be attached to such a beautiful creature.

  “Very well.”

  They wandered through the zone of Erronia. They had been here once before, about a month and a half ago. It was here where they first fought together as a duo. There was a particular spot in this zone that Dusk wanted to reach. Currently, the two had not said a word to each other as they cut down the monsters blocking their path.

  Ten minutes later, they had arrived at their location—a secluded spot near the very edge of the zone. A small pond shimmered here, its ripples moving ever curiously beneath the moonlight. Although the zone of Erronia typically had white grass, the grass here was dyed a pale turquoise. The pond was completely surrounded by trees, with various colored crystals poking their way forth from the ground. These multicolored rays of color shone in abundance, acting as prominent beacons in the night: purple, yellow, red, green, orange, blue, teal, white, black; all of these colors reflected off of the pond spectacularly, combining itself with the ever swaying ripples of the pond to create a moving light show that radiated magnificently. The trees were drenched with the flavors of autumn: gold, magenta, purple, and blue were among these shades. The multicolored objects meshed together perfectly, creating what could be said to be a personal secluded paradise that existed within this game.

  The reflection of white gleamed off of Tsuki’s form, accentuating her divine appearance. Dusk was infused with red light, as if to embody the passion and fire that burned within him. The divine swordswoman could not deny the beauty of the scene before her—even dropping her mouth momentarily to admire this marvel of virtual nature. Even so, she would not allow herself to get lost in it. She did remember why she was here, after all.

  “So, you said you wanted to talk?” Tsuki was currently embedded within a thick wall of ice. Dusk could not reach her beyond that protective block.

  “Yes, I did. Listen, Karla. I’m... sorry for the way I treated you. It was too much.”

  The glacier around her began to melt, but only by a mere trace.

  “You’re right, it was too much. Thank you for apologizing.”

  There was a moment of silence where only the sound of the gentle wind whispering through the trees could be heard before Tsuki decided to continue speaking.

  “I’ve learned something from all of this too, Drake.”

  “What would that be?”

  “I won’t hide the truth from you any longer. From now on, I’ll tell you the truth... no matter how hard and cold. Since that’s how you want it to be, I don’t want you complaining to me later that I was too hard on you... got it?”

  “Sure.”

  “There is something else too, Drake. You need to trust me. Trust me to do what I need to do. Trust me to handle things. Trust in my capabilities and please, please listen to me. I know what I’m talking about. How can I teach if you don’t listen?”

  “About that, Karla... I took your advice. I didn’t have the time to read Eon Seven in its entirety, but I did read Golden Sun.”

  Her eyes had softened; the teacher’s inquisitiveness now gripping her firmly.

  “What did you learn from it?”

  Dusk’s eyes strayed for but a moment, almost embarrassed to speak of the personal nature of it.

  “Well... I think Ming and Longnü are a lot like you and I.”

  Tsuki couldn’t help but smile. She was glad that her student had grasped this, though she had expected it.

  “Indeed they are. That is what grabbed my attention right away. Even your faults are the same...”

  Tsuki lifted both of her hands to clasp Dusk’s hand, encompassing it in her snowy warmth. He jerked slightly, having been taken by a pleasant surprise.

  “Listen to me, Drake. You are a very emotional person. You need to control those emotions. Hardening your heart, however, is not the answer. You need to let go. Hardening your emotions implies it is still there. Be like the leaves—just let go, Drake.”

  Dusk smiled warmly back at Tsuki. The layers of her ice wall were gradually melting away.

  “I understand. To be honest, what I found out a few days ago hit me quite hard. I wasn’t sure if I could think of you the same again. But... after a few days of having you so near yet not being able to bond with you, I realized it. I was just forcing myself to be mad at you at that point. I don’t want to be angry at you. I...”

  Dusk paused for a moment and swallowed hard, the whisper of the echoing wind drowning out his nervousness for the moment. After the brief moment of reprieve—he decided to finish what he started.

  “Just like Ming to Longnü; I want to understand you. I want to listen to you. Just as you’ve cared for me—I want to care for you. You’ve been helping me so much, but I haven’t done anything to help you.”

  “Just watching you bloom in front of my eyes is enough. Watching as you become stronger and stronger is enough for me. I don’t need anything else.”

  At this point, Dusk had released his hands from Tsuki’s grip. He took hold of her hand once again locking fingers with her right hand warmly.

  “Need and want are two different things, Karla. I realize it now. How much you’ve done for me. How much you care. How much you’ve given. I don’t want you to just give and give without receiving anything from me. I want to do things for you. I want to care for you.”

  The thick ice that previously surrounded her had now been melted completely by the heat of Dusk’s kind words. For one of the rare times in her life, she had let her guard down, opening herself to her pupil.

  “I... gave up on having someone care for me a long time ago. I’ve always wanted someone to care for me, to support me. But no one is ever able to understand me—or the depth of my problems—so I gave up.”

  Dusk’s fingers had tightened around Tsuki’s, now brushing themselves gently against the back of her hand.

  “I’ll take care of you, as long as you let me. I may not be as strong as you yet, but I’ll do everything I can to protect you. You don’t have to sacrifice everything without receiving anything back anymore.”

  On hearing these words, Tsuki was not entirely convinced that Dusk was capable of this. After all, any time she had put her hopes in that particular thing with anyone, she was swiftly disappointed. However, she couldn’t help but have her heart strings sent aflutter at the kind gesture, and the depth of his feelings. She merely replied, “All right.”

  Suddenly, Dusk gently lifted her hand up to nearly eye level. His voice had become tender. The passion flew out in floods.

  “Just like Ming... I would take on the world for you. I would listen to you, care for you, and...”

  He lifted Tsuki’s slender hand up to his lips, planting a tender kiss upon her. The next words uttered from his lips knocked her inner realm off balance, stopping her heart.

  “I love you.”

  Tsuki remained completely silent for a moment, trying to think of what to say. The thoughts were shooting through her head like comets. Small droplets were trailing down her face, gleaming from the radiance of the full moon. These were tears of happiness, not sadness.

  “Took you long enough to say it.”

  This time it was Dusk who was knocked off balance; this was not the response he had ex
pected at all, though he knew Tsuki could be rather unorthodox at times.

  “What do you mean? I just realized these feelings myself.”

  “I suppose I know you better than you know yourself. I’ve known of your feelings for a while now. I was just waiting for you to admit it.”

  Dusk could only chuckle nervously. He had a tendency to put up a cloak, or armor if you will, in front of everyone. But with Tsuki—he could not hide. She pierced right through that armor every time, leaving him naked and vulnerable before her.

  A silence permeated the air for a moment. Not even the wind was howling, and then all of a sudden Tsuki spoke those words which would cause Dusk to be charged up with joy.

  “I love you too. Words aren’t enough to express the depth of my love.”

  Hearing those fateful words, seeing Tsuki crying in front of his eyes, it was too much. He wasn’t sure if his senses could take this surge of feelings. He felt as though he might melt right there, right in front of her.

  “But... I can’t lose you too. The last time I got attached to someone—Raven killed them. I can’t... I can’t lose anyone like that again. I can’t lose you, Karla. If Raven killed you, I don’t know what I would do.”

  On one hand, he was extremely happy to hear Tsuki say the words 'I love you too'. On the other hand, the past of what happened with Stacy still plagued him. He couldn’t bear to witness that again.

  Tsuki tightened her hold on his hold, gazing lovingly at her pupil.

  “Hey, listen to me, Drake. I cannot die until I am ready.”

  Dusk stared longingly into those turquoise eyes. He would become infinitely stronger for her and for himself. Right here—right now, he was ready to put all of his trust into her. Instead of him confiding in her like this, he resolved to have her confide in him from now on. He wanted to be her protector. The irony struck Dusk as he realized he couldn’t put the feelings he wanted into words right now. He merely continued to remain fixated on his Tsuki, his Longnü, as he gradually moved closer to her, ever closer...

  She saw him gradually inching in nearer to her. She did not jerk backwards, she did not run away. She merely returned his gaze as if to silently say,

  Come here.

  The process seemed to last for eternity, but either of them would’ve been satisfied with that at this moment. They were now so close that they could feel the other’s breath on their lips—then it happened. Dusk felt it—the sensation of her soft, sensuous lips making contact with his, the taste of her flowing throughout his tongue—the passion overflowing from within her. It started out slow and gentle, and then escalated in intensity until they were ravenously pushing their lips into one another like wild beasts.

  They withdrew their lips momentarily, each having gotten a good taste of the other, though this wasn’t enough. More. They wanted more. Tsuki raised her hand up to her shoulder— slowly and seductively taking off her pure white dress—revealing sexy black lingerie beneath. She continued to undress until she was completely bare, her snow white skin emitting a heavenly shine in the moonlight. There was not a single imperfection upon her skin. Her curves complemented her body flawlessly. She was crafted to be a perfect jewel.

  Yes... gazing upon this otherworldly figure before him, Dusk knew. This level of beauty was fitting for a goddess. He managed to control the swelling mixture of lust and love that was threatening to possess him completely. He followed Tsuki’s actions, throwing all of his clothes to the wayside.

  Now that the clothes were off, the two once again pounced on one another ferociously, wrestling with each other on the ground in a sexual embrace. She went down on him; he vowed to return the favor. Dusk had the overwhelming desire to please his teacher and lover, to shatter her world at this very moment. He ran his lips along every square inch of her body, looking for sensitive areas to maximize her pleasure. They had once joked of him being a great detective. Right now he would prove that was no joke. He would search for clues, and slowly unravel the mystery of her body with his tongue.

  Soft moans escaped from her lips and reverberated through his ears, giving him all the more encouragement to go even harder. The moans began to grow louder and more frequent, and then after plunging his tongue into her sex, the lioness let out a loud roar, grabbing the back of his head.

  The two made love over and over aside the brilliantly shining crystals. Beneath the eyes of the otherworldly spectators that sparkled in the sky—beneath the shining intensity of the full moon.

  A few hours later, the two were cuddling in one another’s arms. Tsuki was lying on Dusk’s chest with her arms wrapped firmly around him, her hands grasping his shoulders lovingly. Dusk was tenderly stroking his hand through her hair, staring at the marvel of pure woman who was embracing him. He could barely believe that this woman who was so amazing and beautiful returned his love in full. He was content to remain in silence like this for the rest of the night, but his new lover had broken that silence.

  “Drake, you said you wanted to understand me, to listen to me. So listen to what I am about to tell you.”

  Dusk’s eyebrows twitched, being poked by his inquisitive nature.

  “All right, what is it?”

  “I am like Longnü. Since you read Golden Sun, you should know. Even though she loved Ming, she had a mission she needed to fulfill. For that she would do anything, even kill Ming if she had to. What I’m trying to say is... I do love you, but if you ever got in the way of my mission—I’d have to cut you down. That goes for anyone. That mission is more important than you, me, or anyone else. Understand this and you understand me. The foremost thing that I ask of you is that you trust me to do what I need to do, and respect the creature that I am.”

  Dusk had smiled from the bottom of his heart. He had a strong feeling already that this was the case.

  “I understand, Karla.”

  “Don’t worry, Drake. No matter what happens—even if we were on opposite ends of the world—I’ll always be watching you from the shadows. Just like Longnü did with Ming.”

  He could think of nothing to say to this, though these words had sent a feeling of joy shooting through his veins in bursts of euphoria.

  Suddenly, Tsuki moved her face upwards, leveling her eyes as close as possible to Dusk’s without actually touching them. They weren’t kissing... she was staring into his soul. Dusk closed his eyes for a moment, which prompted a loving scolding from Tsuki.

  “Don’t close your eyes. Don’t look away. Look at me.”

  He reopened his eyes, staring into hers as if hypnotized. After a few minutes of them locking eyes, he began to get lost in them. Those aquamarine eyes were beginning to swallow him whole. The intensity of the stare increased, until he found himself completely within her world.

  There was water around him, as far as the eye could see. It was a veritable water world, with only the sun shining down upon him. The water was up to his waist, but it was continuing to rise slowly. At the same time, he sensed something that he couldn’t put into words if he tried: an indescribable feeling of love that was slowly increasing. The water rose above his head, submersing him completely. But it didn’t stop there. It kept stretching higher and higher until he could no longer even see the sun. As this was happening the feeling of love that he felt continued to increase by the minute, overcoming his senses. The vastness of the ocean upon him that blocked out the very light itself, that was the intensity of the love that he now felt being poured into him. He couldn’t even breathe it was so thick, but he wasn’t in any pain at all. On the contrary; the joy overflowed from within to the point it began flowing out from his eyes in a stream.

  This love... It was unconditional: accepting of any faults that he possessed. He knew that no matter what happened this love would remain. It could only be described as a love that went beyond lifetimes, extending into eternity. Indeed, the love that Tsuki was pushing onto Dusk right then was so heavy that it crushed him beneath its weight: drowned him within its ocean, and Dusk loved every secon
d of it.

  This whole occurrence which seemed out of this world to Dusk lasted for a full twenty minutes before Tsuki withdrew her mesmerizing gaze from him, releasing him from his trance.

  The love stricken Phantom was shaking like a leaf in the wind. He couldn’t even muster words for a few minutes after this was over. His brain was scattered into several pieces. He was trying to put the pieces back together again. Finally, he managed to speak.

  “What... was that? Did you perform telepathy on me?”

  “Yes, I did... I pushed my feelings onto you as hard as I possibly could.”

  “Can you do that again?” he asked, like a little kid who hadn’t had enough.

  Tsuki laughed, finding his question to be cute.

  “Look at you! You’re addicted.”

  The silver angel paused for a moment to giggle some more before continuing.

  “I can’t do it again. Not right now anyways. It drained me... my brain is fried. Also, my mind has to be pure when I do it. This night I wanted to uplift you. This is only for very special occasions.”

  Addicted, yes, this was addicting alright. It would make a heroin dependency seem like nothing in comparison. Dusk’s frown showed playful disappointment.

  “Aww, that sucks; but you’re right, this was a very special occasion.”

  “I felt your emotions too, Drake. They hit me stronger than anything I’ve felt in a long time. You are definitely telepathic.” If only he knew just how powerful his own feelings were. She knew now without a doubt. He was, without a doubt, the one for her. Countless times in her life she had men compete for her heart, lusting for her or loving the idea of her. Yet the one difference, the thing that made Drake truly special, was she could sense from the bottom of his heart, he truly loved her as a person. Not merely captivated by her beauty. Not in love with the idea of her, but loving her true self. There was no greater joy.

  “Well I’m glad I was able to portray to you what was in my heart. What I felt from you was heavier than anything I’ve felt in my life.” This response almost made it seem as though he was indeed reading her mind at this very moment. She smiled knowingly, though fatigue was starting to overcome her. They had been at it for a while now.