The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 12: A fated fight?

Chapter 12: A fated fight?

1 year, 4 months after the Fall:

"Crozen, please, I'm begging you. I need that flower to save someone very important to me," I was desperate, and it was clear to see. Vanter, Ana and Shin stood behind me. Vanter's expression tight, holding back his rage while Shin and Ana held his arms securely.

Crozen stood in front of his men, their armour and equipment miles better than ours. Worse still they outnumbered us more than 2 to 1.

"I'm not sure I can do that Ardent," Crozen said easily.

I grit my teeth, "We had a deal. You got what you wanted, and all we needed was that flower!" My emotions leaked, causing my voice to raise.

"Yes, you and your team were incredibly helpful in getting us here. We would have wasted a lot of time otherwise, but then again, could you really have dealt with the Wyvern King alone?" He looked at the flower that he held in his hands, its orange petals seemed to glow with an ethereal beauty. "I think we deserve a reward for all that. After all, we travelled halfway across the world."

"You already took the mountain's treasure! Just leave with what you came for. We don't need to end things like this."

Crozen shook his head, "A single petal can bring someone back from the brink of death, and you want to use the whole thing for an already sick girl? We all need to survive in this new world."

Vanter suddenly lunged forward but Ana and Shin managed to hold him back, "You greedy bastard!" A row of rifles suddenly pointed towards him.

"Vanter!" Ana hushed him. "We get nothing if we're dead."

I tried again, "Crozen, please. I respected you as a player of the game we both loved. I know things changed after the Merge but-."

"Enough!" Crozen snapped. "This is just how things are now Ardent. This isn't a game. I'm not letting go of anything anymore. We're getting out of here." The rifles pointed down but they didn't turn away. Wings sprouted from each of their backs, and watching us unable to do anything they floated away.

"God damn it!" Vanter slammed his fist into the ground, shaking Shin and Ana off.

"I'm sorry...," I couldn't say anything more. It had been my decision to team up with Crozen's group when we happened to meet. It was my fault for not knowing his greed.

Ana shook her head, "It's not your fault Captain. We wouldn't have stood a chance against the Wyvern King with just the four of us."

"But we could have come back with reinforcements...," my fists tightened. "Now we've lost our chance to save Endi."

"Let's not give up yet," Shin shook my arm and slapped Vanter side. "There may be another flower."

Vanter stood up, tears in his eyes, "Like Ana said, it's not your fault Ardent. But if I ever get the chance, Crozen will suffer for this. For now..., Let's just do what we can."

"Like we always do...." Just what we can, nothing more, nothing less. A small team, from a small dungeon, barely getting by to survive in this fallen world. We searched for two more days before we had to return. We found nothing and Endi, Vanter's sister, passed away.

*

Crozen. His real name was James Thatcher. He started out as a game streamer, playing whatever was the current 'in game' before moving on. His content was good. He had a knack for analysing the best builds, creating the best guides and from it he began to flourish. His brand built and within a few years he was a prominent streamer with his own team supporting in the background. He of course wasn't without fault, he was openly greedy and joked about it often. I thought that greed had a line.