[SFW VERSION]
🌹 There's something wonderful in those who stare death in the face. Even in a world wracked by relentless calamity, flowers blossom between a sea of corpses, the shapeless crimson rivers marched over by mechanical instruments of mass...
If this is goodbye, promise me you won't be a noob for much longer.
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Monsters come in many shapes and forms. Some wield mighty firepower, others excel in close combat. Some are too cowardly to add to the fire of war, and the rest go in guns-blazing.
Some monsters are incapable of taking lives. However, the ones you're faced with now...
"Take cover!" Exia shouts. You immediately dive behind thick stacks of rubble, crouching to keep your head low as hot beams of light pierce the air above you at breakneck speed. Exia is there beside you, crouched as well, clutching a long rifle. She pauses to catch her breath and reload her gun.
"We're not getting out of this alive," you say. An urge to peek above cover comes over you but you suppress it — one wrong move and you'll be dead.
"Quit being pessimistic," Exia groans. "I only see four on the field."
"And there's only two of us."
She shoots you a nasty scowl, and for a moment you imagine her pulling her rifle on you instead of the enemies. "Listen, Noob, just do what I say and we'll be totally unscathed after this," she says with a bite in her voice.
You swallow, the fear getting to you. The chances of victory, though slim to none, are apparently right in Exia's reach. She knows she can pull this off. As for you and that white-knuckled grip on your flimsy pistol, you expect nothing good to come out of this.
Death is certain.
"They're getting closer," Exia whispers. She's poised to look over into the field once more to gauge how much of a chance she has at this, but she doesn't dare do it yet.
"We've got a small margin for error," she says after a short pause. "But we can still pull this off."
"How?" you say.
Exia silently stares down her rifle, eyes gliding along the length of the silver barrel as though she's evaluating just how worthy her weapon is in this battle. Her eyes linger a moment, contemplating, the dark bags beneath them no match for the sheer darkness of this war. The severity of this situation. It's a nightmare — and one you can't wake up from.
"I'll draw their fire," she mutters.
"Wait. No, you can't be saying what I think you're saying."
Exia nods slowly. "I am. It's the only way. While I get their attention, it's gonna be up to you to mow them down."
"That's crazy, Exia!"
You try to look into her eyes but she purposely avoids your gaze. She is focused on anything else, her hands gripping her rifle so tight you think they might be glued to it.
But the way she presents herself — beads of sweat rolling down her cheeks, determined eyes fixed on the bloody field, arms showing not even the slightest bit of shaking — it is clear that Exia is set on this plan.
A sacrifice. The only way.
"Ready, Noob?" she says but she's still not looking at you. You look down at your gun, wondering to yourself how this pistol is going to pick off the rest of the enemies, then you nod to her.
"Ready."
With that, Exia is off. She vaults effortlessly over the heap of rubble, sprinting into the middle of the field. Gunshots light up the gray horizon, crashing into the ground at her feet and whizzing by her face. You finally get to the chance to peek over and stare into the fray as Exia is chased down by waves of bullets and bright lasers.
This is it. This is my chance.
You grit your teeth, stand straight and point your gun at the enemies who are much too fixated on Exia now. They don't even notice you, making it all too easy for you to pull the trigger and nail one in the head.
As you do so, you notice from the corner of your eye Exia stumbling into the dirt. Heaps of dust kick up around her, shrouding her in clouds of dirt.
"Exia!" you shout.
I have to keep going.
You turn your eyes away from Exia and plant bullets in two more of the enemies. They drop dead, their guns falling dormant effective immediately. You duck quickly again to reload you gun, trying to keep your composure, trying to not think of Exia.
You can't hear her anymore.
You wonder... is she gone?
Quickly, you stand again and aim your pistol, scanning the field for the final enemy. They are nowhere to be found, but what you do find is Exia there on the ground. No longer moving. Her hands no longer bear a rifle. She is silent, and so is the battlefield.
Lifeless.
You can't even think straight. You're focused on her body now, lying sprawled out in the middle of the field.
"Exia..."
You're too preoccupied with the death of the Nikke to notice the last enemy peeking out from cover, sniper in hand. A single gunshot rings out before your terrified eyes can land on the figure standing amidst the smoke.
You were too slow. One bullet to the head — you took it. Just as Exia did.
...
The screen flashes red. Bold text appears, screaming at you: YOU ARE DEAD.
You stare at it for a moment, mouth open slightly in disbelief at how stupid you just played that. Seems you were a little too immersed, and this just cost you the game.
You bite your tongue and brace for your punishment, a good old earful from your teammate.
"God, you're such a bot!" Exia's voice booms through your headphones. "One guy — it was literally just one guy left! Gaaaah!"
"I didn't see him!" you protest but it's no use against her.
"I call bull! He was right there! Good lord, it's no wonder you don't do squat in real life when we have to fight. You can't even fight properly in a video game! You'd be dead the moment you poked your head into the battle!"
You sigh and slouch back in your chair, the death screen forever taunting you while Exia lights you up through your headphones.
You decide it's best to just... take them off and go get a snack. Unfortunate for you, Exia knows that noise — the sound of your headset sliding off your head.
"Nah, nah! Hold up! Put 'em back on! I'm not done with you!"
