Chapter Text
Anya was kneeling on the cold, cracked ground. Around her, a dark mist devoured her vision, thick and hostile. Between her battered gloves, a faint light pulsed with persistence:
[ Special Class Object (S) : Reality Crystal
Requires out-of-body experience .
Status : Temporarily Locked ] .
Her eyes, weary and with drooping lids, carried the weight of deep dark circles, marks of agonizing days suffered without the privilege of rest. It had taken her two full weeks to assassinate one of the Class (L) creatures. The giant black serpent, one of the two legends that guarded that dungeon, had finally fallen.
—It’s for them —Anya whispered to herself.
She repeated the phrase like a mantra, an invisible armor against the pain and fear that gripped her in absolute solitude. The terror did not emanate from what lurked in the shadows, but from the certainty that there was no one else there. Only her and the beasts.
Her black earring, Dujo, remained in a deathly silence. The solitude gnawed at her bones; sometimes, the silence was so dense that she thought she heard phantom noises. How she longed to hear her father's voice through the obsidian jewelry once more.
She gently pressed her forehead against the Reality Crystal. That diamond forged of cosmos and earth was, poetically, her only light and her last hope.
A thunderous sound of shattering stones forced her to shut her eyes tight.
—This time you haven't tried to hide.
From the darkness emerged two amber and gold orbs that reflected her defeated figure.
[ Side Mission : Die at the hands of the Class ( L ) Dragon
Reward : Activation of the Class ( S ) Object.
Accept mission ?
YES / NO ] .
Anya opened her eyes slowly to face the creature she believed confined to fairy tales.
—There is no point in escaping —she replied. Her jet-black overalls, stained with soot and blood, seemed to weigh as much as her own soul as she tried to stand up. —There is nothing left to live for.
Each movement was a torment that was reflected in her contorted face.
—That is what an ugly raccoon would say —the creature rejoiced, delighting in the young woman’s grief. After all, she had killed its only companion to obtain the gem.
—Then, take me —she incited.
The dragon hissed. The membranes on the sides of its head sparked with a lethal energy.
—Not even the dust of your ashes will remain —the beast sentenced as it approached in a threatening manner.
By pure instinct, Anya tried to step back, but her boots barely gave her the support necessary to stay upright. She decided to stay still. She inhaled the stale air and exhaled her resignation.
—It’s not as if there were anyone who could scatter them anyway —she refuted, feeling a tug of pain in her chest.
In the end, her detractors were right: she was a witch and she would die as such. Tears streamed down her dirty face as she closed her eyes, waiting for her own "dawn." From the bottom of the creature's throat, an incandescent light surged; pure lava bathed the young woman.
A smell of charred flesh and a harrowing scream bouncing off the walls was all that remained of her.
[ System Notice !
Requirements completed... ( + 1000 p )
Reward : Use of the Class ( S ) object
( + 500 p )
Loading data . . . ] .
Every story must start somewhere. Anya's begins with her end, and with the end of the world itself.
Her story is about the root of all evil and all good [ ! ]
It deals with the Hero and a girl who just wanted a family.
[ Main Mission : Help the hero save the worlds and gather their epilogues
Reward : Return 3 years to the past.
WARNING : No Spoilers allowed.
Penalties will be adjusted to the gravity of the leak ] .
How far will her actions take her? What is she willing to lose for her cause? And above all: will the sacrifice be worth it?
That is something only time will reveal.
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