Adamantine

Release

Date: November 7th, 202

Time: ???

"Please! You have to get up!" Her throat burned as she screamed, cursing the game's pain system for being so real.

He lay there, motionless, but the smoldering light in his eyes was enough to tell her he was still there. "I ... " he mumbled, his eyelids fluttering, "I'm so ... sorry."

She knew their pursuers would catch up easily at this rate, but she couldn't leave him. Not after all they've been through together in this godforsaken game. She looked down at her torn sleeves, the blood seeping through what was left of the dark green fabric, and quickly thought through her options.

Without arms, I can't open the menu and potions don't regenerate limbs anyway, I'd have to talk to a healer. No sign of a town or safe-zone, and in our condition, there's no way we could make it. My stealth skill is quite substantial but with the number of enemies on our tail, we'll be spotted within seconds and slaughtered on sight. Plus, hiding two people is already a long-shot, even more so with our size difference and low SP levels.

"I found their trail!"

With panic settling in the pit of her stomach, she bit down on the sleeve of his uniform, dragging him inch by inch across the forest floor as their pursuers only gained more ground.

"You ... have ... to leave."

She heard him speak but only pulled his sleeve harder, keeping an eye on his health bar as the numbers dwindled down to mere triple digits. The poison would still be in effect for another hour and the paralysis was setting in for two, the counters were ticking ever so slowly.

"You have ... to live."

She shook her head, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes as she only tried to pull harder.

"There they are!"

She dropped his sleeve as she heard them shouting, the pounding of their boots upon the forest floor mimicking the unnatural beat of her heart.

She looked down at him, The_Major.

He had lost an eye, but the other shown a beautiful deep green, glistening with tears.

"Go, EverGarden." He brushed her cheek with a bloodied hand, trying to show her a smile, "Please."

But she wouldn't budge, staring him down even as the angry shouts of their pursuers echoed all around them.

"I'm not leaving you!" She scowled and he would've laughed if it weren't for their current situation. She never showed this much emotion.

The clang of weapons and that ever familiar sound of a sword skill being called into action drowned out the exchange and the two were engulfed in white light.

- L O A D I N G . . . -

" ... It's ... I know."

She blinked as the bright light began to soften, trying to get her eyes to focus on the shapes and shadows above her. There was hardly any noise, but she felt as if everything was dialed up to a hundred.

The world was over-saturated and cloudy, like looking through a deep haze or as if she had just awoken from a long dream.

She tried to pull her hand over her eyes but the memory of her bloodied sleeves flashed back in her mind. It'd be no use trying.

"I hope ... years ... Vi ... "

Her head felt heavy, throbbing uncontrollably as she squeezed her eyes shut. She eventually started to hear more voices, the sound growing into a frantic chatter of a small group of players but that didn't seem right to her.