AUTHOR'S NOTE>>>>>

Right, then. Before I get started, I just want to point out a few things. First of all, is there any chance that I can get this topic pinned, keep it up top? Because this isn't just a story. It's a novel, a book, a journey. It has 147 pages! People might wonder where the hell the thread is about halfway through it all, only to find it migrating to the back-pages. We can't have that, not if at all avoidable. So, if we could just keep this story stuck in place for a good while - or indefinitely? - that'd be great.

Second thing, and this one's important, please please PLEASE...no comments on this thread. This one's for the story itself, preserved for your enjoyment. Make all the comments, assessments, and such on another thread, please. Official or unofficial or semi-official all the same, none of them in here. Debates and comments and even criticisms welcome, of course, but please keep off the grass, so to speak.

Thirdly, enjoy yourself. It may be my work with a number of my concepts and my characters and it's mine mine mine...but this story belongs here too, because this is a great .hack place and because some of you helped out as you could while I was struggling with it. And so, while I own this story and have it lawfully protected, I'm not just protecting it for my sake, but for anyone who likes it.

And finally, have some patience, both in my posting of this story and finishing the next one. Yes, THE NEXT ONE. There is another one on the way. Keep an I eye out for it, and in the meantime, here you go now...

(Some font-changes were made to suit the board, BTW.)

(Also, I'll have to split up chapters, due to the post-limit of 60,000 characters per post.)


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>





Welcome to the awe-inspiring and mysterious production of .hack//CODE, which has been several years in the making. Ever since the original game came out and the anime production hit the TV screen, I have been scheming to work on a story of my own, as countless others have on many occasions and for many different genres. The fanfiction story is a unique form of flattery to the series on the part of the writer, giving homage to the men and women responsible for the series in which it is based. Of course, in this case, I’m hoping that I can go beyond fanfiction…and into real fiction. So saying, I would like to say that in the case of .hack games, a finer RPG does not exist, save for a real-life rendition of The World. All that I have seen and done has led me to this story, which I had attempted to create online and offline on several occasions, to which only now do I feel I could get it right. Only after playing through all four games, gaining as much experience as possible, could I truly believe that I could create my own plot. That was when I truly had an idea of what to do. That was when I truly began to create. And thus, with the aid of a roleplaying message board and some spare time, my plan began to come together. The roleplay itself didn’t last as long as I’d hoped, but at least it gave me ideas. Which reminds me… I need a few disclaimers.



Likely, the owners of some of the characters I’m going to use will be elated to find out that they would be appearing in a story. I know I would. Well, nevermind that. Now appearing, for the first time anywhere, is hopefully the next large-scale production in the .hack saga. Just when you thought was safe to play games…





The red-hot coals of the game field smoked like the ends of lit-up cigarettes. He could’ve sworn it smelt that bad as well. Perhaps it was just his older brother in the next room. In any case, this was an effect that the great Crimson Dawn could do without. He smiled to himself when thinking about his ‘greatness’. Here he was, standing in the middle of a lava-field, bored out of his skull. Dawn was a Knight of the Black Honor, or so he said to anyone who approached. He wasn’t sure that the Admins would let him have such a wicked look about him, but that was the way of The World. There was a lot it could do. For those who are not savvy on what The World is, it’s a revolutionary form of Massive Multi-Player Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) originally designed by a man called Harald Hoerwick as a program called Fragment. Using it, the CyberConnect Corporation evolved it into The World, not knowing the fullness of Harald’s designs. They understood the game on its surface only, and set it out to the media. Nobody knew of its abilities to spawn true AI in the system, not until what was later dubbed as the “Twilight Incident” by CC Corp Admins. That, however, had already passed and The World was back to normal, with updates on scenery and character appearance. Crimson Dawn stood as a tall man in black armor, having many spikes and spurs along it in a style that looked deadly to the touch. He had a crimson outlining and cape of the same color, which would make him look twice as frightening, so that only the brave would approach him. Dawn sighed to himself. It had been a couple of months since he started playing and he was already a veteran at Dun Loireag. If he kept this up, there wouldn’t be a single server that he couldn’t handle. So, what was he doing in this dungeon at Mac Anu, then? Well, he had been looking for a special item called the Silver Shades, apparently a rare quest item that was suppose to be a pair of silver sunglasses. This was just one of several in the silver-series collection, of which Crimson Dawn had seized the others through many long days of fierce combat in the usual fashion; namely by slashing, searching, and stealing. However, he was a little late in finding the last item, the shades. Instead, he’d heard that a Twin Blade had found them, a guy who went by the name of Canti (after Cantido, God of the Black Flames). He wasn’t exactly a newbie, but he hadn’t progressed to the point of wanting to leave Mac Anu yet either. Dawn had contacted him, asking for a trade in items. He offered the Armor of Hell. Canti accepted this offering and arranged a meeting at Corrupted Fiery Abyss. He couldn’t believe his luck with this guy. Why didn’t he make a better demand?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Crimson Dawn: For the Silver Shades, I will give you the Armor of Hell.

Canti: Armor of Hell… Yeah, that suits me fine. Meet me at Mac Anu’s Corrupted Fiery Abyss later to make the trade. I have things to burn…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

There wasn’t an argument of any sort. He acted like the item was fine, but he didn’t really care. Or maybe it was his strangely morbid disposition. He seemed attached to flames and darkness. “To burn is divine” and such-like. The Armor of Hell might have simply been acceptable on that level and nothing more. Dawn pushed aside that thought as he remembered the fact that Canti was also more than ten minutes late and he was getting annoyed. Then, he heard another hiss of steam and smoke behind him. This place was getting on his nerves too. He’d slain a number of monsters here that were no match for him and now… Now, he just wanted to leave. Crimson Dawn was about to select the option to gate out when he heard something. There was a voice from over the next hill. Someone around here was crying for help.

Crimson Dawn: Oh great… Another newbie in over his head. I guess I’d better go bail him out before I really die of boredom.

He ran towards the shouting and found a Wavemaster hobbling as fast as he could away from…something. Dawn could not tell what because…he didn’t see anything to be running away from. There was no battle sign. There wasn’t any sort of monster around. What was he running from? The Wavemaster was dressed in a forest-green attire, with black highlights, and was using his staff as a crutch as he moved. For a moment, Dawn couldn’t grasp why exactly he did that. He did not immediately realize that there was something wrong…until this player came closer. That was when he understood why the Wavemaster was running, or trying to run. His left leg was…missing. This was hard for Dawn to get his mind around. Why was the player’s leg gone? The World was an exceptionally realistic place, but as far as he knew, it did not display battle damage in this way. The Wavemaster, identified as Mort, looked frightened out of his wits for reasons that were about to become apparent, as he began to rant and rave when he saw Crimson Dawn.

Mort: We’re all gonna die! It’s coming and ya can’t stop it! My leg… I can’t feel my leg anymore! I… I can’t log out! Damn it! I can’t log out of here!!

Crimson Dawn: Calm down. What happened?

Mort: The monster… It came out of the ground! My mates and I were gonna fight the dungeon when it attacked! I can’t understand… Where’d it come from?

Crimson Dawn: Monsters are common to The World. What’s the big deal?

Mort: You’ve never seen one like this! We couldn’t even touch it! My buddies ran right in…and the thing just ripped ‘em apart!

Crimson Dawn: Hey, you win some, you lose some.

Mort: No, I mean really ripped ‘em apart! Look at my leg. Do you think that’s normal? I think not!

Crimson Dawn: Now you’re starting to scare me. Why can’t you log out?

Mort: It’s blocking us. I don’t know how. It’s out of range and I still can’t get out.

Crimson Dawn: Is your leg really…?

Mort: No, thank God, but it hurts… How could it hurt?

Crimson Dawn: I don’t know. It’s just a game… None of it is real.

Mort: Well, I guess some things are real enough. I know my friends aren’t safe and sound. They’re dead!

Crimson Dawn: That can’t be…

Mort: I barely got out of there with my life! Their screams will haunt me for the rest of my days…which ain’t gonna last that long in here!

Mort’s condition looked like that of a data glitch, where the leg had been sheered off at the knee. Dawn could barely imagine what could possibly do such a thing. There was raw computer-code inside that leg, which meant the damage went beyond mere sprite. Just then, the screen flickered a little. Then, it did it again. There was something here. The way Mort was getting edgier by the moment was a sure sign. He was frantically looking at shadows, steam-geysers – anything that he thought might leap out and strangle him.

Mort: It’s back… It hasn’t had enough yet… It’s coming to get me…

Crimson Dawn: I don’t see anything coming.

Mort: Then look closer!

Dawn was about to break the rule of no player-killing when a sound came to his ears. It was distant and nearby at the same time. It howled…distantly, but a kind of sweeping sound came from somewhere closer. The howl was like the wind. Dawn looked around, but did not find anything until the next steam-geyser. It was not a steam-geyser at all. Something – apparently made of dust, smoke, and filth – rose from the ground and swirled like a tornado before taking shape. It became a tall and gaunt demon with three empty eyes and four arms filled with claws. It let out a howl like the wind blowing through a forest of trees. As Mort began to back away, stupefied, Crimson Dawn charged the monster with his sword held high. With a cry for blood, he sliced through the beast several times. It had no effect. The creature was only as solid as it wanted to be. Dawn’s weapon passed through it like he was slicing up a cloud.

Crimson Dawn: Hey, what gives? Mort! Come back here and give him a spell!

Mort: Spells don’t work!

Crimson Dawn: What do you mean they don’t work?!

He gave a quick look at the creature’s status, just as it was getting on the offensive. It was labeled as a “Smoke Spirit” and carried one of the most-feared advantages a monster can have: Magic Tolerance. But that couldn’t be right… If it was protected from magic, why couldn’t he hurt it? This monster wasn’t playing by the rules at all… The Smoke Spirit took a swipe at Dawn’s sword, knocking it out of his hands. Then, the monster went all out, tackling him and tearing him to bits. It devoured some of the sprite-body, but mostly ripped it apart. Mort didn’t get very far either. He was trying frantically to send out a Flash Mail to warn others, but it would never get through. He was soon enveloped and apparently crushed. As the body hit the ground, there was the merest faint echo of a scream, as if from way far off. Were they truly dead? There was no way to tell for sure…



FROM: Mort
TO: Lios
SUBJECT: help!

mac anu corrupted fiery abyss get me out of here fast!

“Hmmm…”

There was a message on the scrap-heap today that seemed to be just a tad bit odd. The writer had tried to contact an Admin as fast as he could, not even trying to use punctuation except to emphasize his desperation. Clearly, this player wanted out of the Abyss immediately and without consideration of the consequences. That was a little unsettling. What would be so important that he would contact Lios, the Head Administrator? And why did this message never reach him?

“This is definitely worth looking into…”

END OF PROLOGUE>>>>>

Phase 1 – Mysterious World.

LOG-IN NAME: Canti
PASSWORD: *******

ACCESS APPROVED. WELCOME TO THE WORLD.

The Chaos Gate came to life suddenly as the player, Canti, appeared in Mac Anu, Aqua Capital of The World. He was a Twin Blade of a tall and skinny build. The skin color of his sprite was tan and he was dressed thusly: A black leather jacket, dark-red or crimson pants, crocodile-skin boots, and a dark T-shirt with the picture of a flaming city with a caption below it that read “Endsville is burning…” Canti was not what most people considered a nice guy. In fact, he was kind of morbid, kind of vicious, and a real cynic. This went a long way to explain his chosen attire, his black eyes, his black hair, and the black raven/crow wings on his back. They weren’t capable of flight, but they looked cool. He enjoyed destroying things in The World, using daggers, darkness, and flames. The idea of his character came from an episode of the anime called FLCL, referring to the God of Black Flames. Whether or not there’s any real basis to this idea, he didn’t know or care. It all just made The World more fun. He did have a copy of the handheld Firestarter game, though. Canti checked his equipment before using the Chaos Gate. He’d made use of several kinds of daggers lately until settling on the ones best suited to him; the Flaming Tongues. They were a nice piece of work. They weren’t top of the line, but they could inflict Critical hits. That…and they had a nice flame spell. Wasting no more time, he set the gate for Corrupted Fiery Abyss. It was time to give Crimson Dawn his item in exchange for the Armor of Hell. He presses the GO button and…nothing. Nothing except an annoying message, that is.

PASSAGE DENIED: AREA CLOSED FOR INSPECTION.

Canti: What the…? Why now? Well, I guess I’ll find Dawn somewhere in town.

He began to look around town. The place wasn’t exactly packed. For him, it was noon. For others…who knows? Mac Anu was one of several server towns in The World, known as the Aqua Capital and unofficially as the haven for newbies. It was where new players originally started, since it was apparently the lowest level of servers, also known as the Delta Server. Dun Loireag was a step above it, then Carmina Gadelica, Fort Ouph, and then Lia Fail. All of these had their own themes and levels. As for Mac Anu, it was the best place for hanging out, having a sort of regal Venice, Italy look to it with boats and canals. Keeping a low profile, or at least one that looked like he didn’t want to be bothered, Canti searched the server area…unsuccessfully. There was a Long Arm with a symbol for “Doubt” on his forehead. There is a kid-like fella running around, apparently a Blademaster like Crimson Dawn, but way different in appearance. He even spied a rather strange-looking man in a dark cloak who wore a helmet-like mask that covered the top half of his face, making him look blind, and seemed to be somewhat elderly and inhuman. He was an odd sort. The name hovering near his head was “Darkside”, and he was designated as a “Wavema$ter”. Canti didn’t want to know what that meant… Maybe he was a hacker, or maybe it was a glitch. In any case, he gave it no more thought as someone tripped and bumped into him from behind.

“Oh, sorry. My bad. My finger slipped.”

The owner of the voice obviously had slipped his grip of the controller he was using outside The World. Turning around, Canti found himself looking at another Blademaster. This was a knightly sort of player, kind of like Dawn. He had the look of a teenager, which was actually what Canti really was. He was armored, but not helmeted, having black hair and navy-blue eyes. His appearance was strangely familiar. Canti’s mind reeled back…and he thought of another anime, one that this character seemed based off of, but with a few differences. This Blademaster, labeled as “Niko”, was built with a well-rounded body which was equally fast and durable. His armor was dark-gray with matching shoes, and the rest of his attire was navy-blue to match his eyes.

Canti: I take it you’re an anime fan? You look like you come from one.

Niko: Yeah, you could say that. I’d say you’re a bit of a fan too, right?

Canti: Ehhh…some. You seen a dark knight kind of guy called Crimson Dawn?

Niko: Nope. How come?

Canti: We had a deal going. I was gonna meet him in Corrupted Fiery Abyss, only it’s closed now. That hasn’t happened since…



Lios: …the Twilight Incident, two months ago. Between then and now, The World has been without problem. However…

He had to speak directly to the owners of the CC Corporation about this. It was just as terrifying as the numerous coma victims that had only recovered those two months ago. The Twilight Incident had been a longstanding that had been set into motion by Harald Hoerwick, although his intentions were not to cause havoc and destruction in The World. In his attempts to create the Ultimate AI, some of his programs and programming landed several people into comas at their computer systems, also causing havoc in the real world via the ruination of technological apparatuses of all sorts. Meanwhile, in The World, the Eight Phases of the so-called “Epitaph of Twilight” played out like prophecy, making its “Cursed Wave” ever so stronger. The Cursed Wave was the better-known title of the destructive power unleashed upon The World. So now, Lios had been confident that the system would run perfectly after sorting out the Epitaph of Twilight, the viral monsters, and especially the people involved. Unfortunately, the last part was the hardest to deal with. Several of the coma victims and their relations, along with other companies and safety inspectors, were now jointly-suing the CC Corporation. Their only hope was to convince these people that the CC Corp was in no way responsible for any of this. It wasn’t a glitch in the program that created the so-called Eight Phases and the power of Data Drain. It wasn’t a fault in the program itself that gave birth to the Data Bugs that were instrumental in causing these comas in the first place. It was all part of a living, thinking program, an AI to develop an even more powerful AI to interact with The World. But how to convince a group of people that the computer itself decided to do these things, and not hackers or malfunctions in the software? The answer lay in the very people who did all they could to save lives and take back The World from Morganna… Morganna Mode Gone, the AI destined to create the child, Aura. For anyone to believe them, they needed the help of the ones that were there for it all. Thus, the players in control of Kite, BlackRose, Bear, Wiseman, Sora, Tsukasa, and Orca had all come to testify. Lios hoped that their experiences could help matters, as only they could truly explain what had happened. In the meantime, he had to report this new development to the owners, cast inside the virtual dark-room of the Admin’s Haven…

Lios: The players, “Hash” and “Fulcrum”, were the first to be attacked. The data of their sprites was completely fragmented. They themselves were found out cold in their homes and were sent to the hospital. The doctors there reported a near-fatal heart-attack in each case before they blanked out. The players, “Crimson Dawn” and “Mort”… They weren’t so lucky… Dawn’s coma looked more like a seizure, as if he were still in pain. As for Mort…

It was suspected that his fate had been similar, but with more disastrous results. During his coma, Mort’s heart eventually gave out and he died. This would be the first death to ever appear at the doorstep of the CC Corp. Even though he had only died later, it was still an unacceptable turn of events. But had he been killed by the game? Or was it something else? Several attacks had taken place by what appeared to be official monsters in The World, but it turned out that no monster fitting the descriptions they gave were genuine monsters from the game.

Lios: I’m certain that this has no relation to the Twilight Incident. This time, I believe it may truly be an outside job.

“It’s no easy task, creating monsters that do what they do.”

Lios: Balmung… I had heard you were aboard our staff now.

From out of the shadows strode Balmung of the Azure Sky, Descendant of Fianna and latest employee of the CC Corporation. His winged form cut through the darkness with his white near-angelic features. He was no mere employee, but a legend in The World. As a pro player, conqueror of the One Sin, and a self-styled defender of The World – he had been offered the role of Administration, to watch over the virtual lands as an official protector. It was all due to his actions during the Twilight along with the others that landed him such an opportunity. The people at CC Corp might have offered Kite the same if he weren’t underage. Still, they did appreciate the now-legendary “Dot-Hackers” helping them out in court. All who were involved knew that the proceedings weren’t going well so far…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“You don’t understand. The game isn’t what’s dangerous. Harald Hoerwick was trying to create the ultimate AI, but the program responsible – the very core of The World itself – started to have other thoughts as soon as he gave it free will.” – Kite

“Harald referred to this force of The World as Morganna. It was stifling the very thing it was programmed to give life to in order to live itself. It – She – knew that there was no future in allowing Aura to awaken.” – Bear

“Understand, my representatives couldn’t come in themselves. They have a certain resentment of exposure. In any case, the Epitaph of Twilight was a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, based upon the abilities of the Phases and the destructive force of the so-called Cursed Wave, which is interpreted as the overall system infection created and managed by Morganna alone.” – Wiseman

“Why do you think I’m not testifying against the CC Corp? They didn’t put my little brother in that coma. I was there, you know.” – BlackRose

“Aura’s real enough. She held onto us in The World, kept our minds in one piece while we were all in comas. If she hadn’t come, Morganna might’ve done to us what she did to create the Phase that got me.” – Orca

“You can argue it all you want. The World isn’t just a game, yet it’s not suppose to be all that real either. But those sounds…that voice… It does something to you. When she wants something, it’s really hard to say no. And when you do, she really hits you hard. I felt everything in there…” – Tsukasa

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Balmung: Are you sure you don’t want me sticking my nose in there?

Lios: It would not be advisable, now that we have hired you. Anything you say would be construed as merely the words of a company man for the CC Corporation.

Balmung: Then I’ll just have to do my job.

Lios: As nobody is aware of your ‘upgrade’, no one will think to fear you, save for the title in which you already possess. Naturally, you have the powers of an Administrator now. Use it only when necessary.

Balmung: Almost as good as Data Drain…



It was the waiting that bothered him the most. Nobody had seen Crimson Dawn at all. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever shown up in the first place or really wanted to trade at all. This place was starting to become meeting area for nutcases too. As soon as he left Niko behind, Canti had passed by Darkside, who had been brooding upon a bridge, when suddenly he laughed at something he’d seen. That laugh was like pure insanity. When he looked to see what was so funny, well… Apparently, the kid-like Blademaster, whose name was Drake, had jumped aboard a passing boat on Mac Anu’s river and was pulling pirate antics on the passengers. They were both nuts. After that, a real lunatic came into the picture via Chaos Gate. He’d heard about this guy, an all-green armored Heavy Axeman by the name of Piros. He looked most upset about something.

Piros: Dirty cat I hate. Everything screwed up I say whatever.

Canti: Backwards talking you are?

Piros: Speeches funny she like didn’t my. My mixed words and used she an item.

Canti: Who did that?

Piros: Cat that it did.

Canti: Ah, go report it and leave me alone.

Not wanting to get a headache from playing interpreter with what Piros was trying to say, Canti shoved him off and then looked over at the gate… He just thought he would…check on it. He approached the Chaos Gate and found out a rather interesting thing. Corrupted Fiery Abyss was now open. Perhaps Crimson Dawn was there the whole time, stuck inside and waiting for him… Without delay, Canti entered the necessary words and the Chaos Gate sent him on his way. As he left, Niko was looking into the river as another boat passed by. He was confronted by Drake, who was probably as kid-like as his sprite. He seemed relatively normal by day-to-day standards, but not like most players in The World. He was wearing armored casual clothing; black pants and a grayish-white shirt. His hair was black and his eyes were a deep green. The funny thing about this was that Niko was beginning to wonder what it was with people and the color black. That color was so cool that everyone had to have it. That and leather. In any case, Niko didn’t bother to say anything to the kid until…

Drake: What’re you looking at?

Niko: Fish!

He pointed anxiously down into the water at its deepest point. Yes, there was an interesting new diversion in the water now. Little glowing green fish were at the bottom of the river, swimming around aimlessly and breaking the surface of the water every now and again. They looked pretty cool, but…where had they come from originally? And who put them there?



Canti: Yo! Dawn! You in here?

It was strangely quiet in the Abyss today. This field area and dungeon were among his favorite stomping grounds, so righteously filled with fire and brimstone to match the way he felt sometimes. The life of the Twin Blade, Canti, wasn’t about good or bad, right or wrong. It was about being free to do those things without the possibility of consequences. Thus far, it had worked. Some people liked him and some people hated him. And did he care either way? Well…sometimes. There were those that he liked better than others…and some he just couldn’t stand. A female player he’d spoken to some time earlier, for instance, didn’t like the fact that he let a few curses slip at times. It was all well and good to think that a place wasn’t allowed to have profanity, but to what end? The players hardly ever care and the Admins certainly don’t.

Canti: I’d have to kill myself if this place became a politically correct lame-ass kid’s game like the stuff she was talking about.

Canti lived in the U.S., hating political correctness, unwanted censorship, and anything that basically ruined something good. Back when G-Gundam was released out of Japan on DVD, he was one of the many that complained that it hadn’t been uncensored from the TV version like every other anime out there. In any case, he liked The World the way it was…minus the errors that had pretty much ruined his rendezvous with Crimson Dawn. There was no sign of him, of monsters, of anything. His Fairy Orb turned up nothing. There was an endless field of burning hills, but not a single Magic Portal or even an entrance to the dungeon. Something seemed out of place, or out of whack.

Canti: Maybe it really was out of order, but if that’s so…then how did I get in here?

Ha ha ha ha ha…

Canti: What the…?

An eerie laugh sounded throughout the field. Canti looked around, but saw nothing until…they appeared. It was a pair of player sprites…or what was left of them. They looked as if their bodies had been ripped apart and then hastily put back together by a blind man. Their faces were both in the appearance of having been in severe pain…and in being frightened out of their wits. The one on the left was Crimson Dawn. The other was a Wavemaster that Canti had never seen before. His information labeled him as “Mort”, but the rest was unreadable no matter how many times he hit the REFRESH key. The two sprites were floating in mid-air, held by an invisible force that set Canti on edge.

Aaah ha ha ha ha haaa!

The laughter persisted, making Canti dart his head around to see who was causing it. There was no one there. It came from all directions, but had no source. Just then, something happened to the sprites. Their ripped segments and data-code entrails began to separate and swirl around each other like a tornado. There was a bright flash as the data converged. And in that moment, a new creature was born.

Canti: This can’t be possible…

NAME: Joker-Dawn
LEVEL: ???
HP: ???

As far as the game was concerned, this thing belonged here. The appearance of the two sprites and then their merging had only caused a minor flicker in the system overall. This was a jester-monster of some kind, a floating creature that was a combined creation from Dawn and Mort. It had Dawn’s kind of torso-build, complete with armor, but Mort’s elf-like legs with the forest-green attire. Both pairs of arms poked out of the thing and its head was mostly black and in the shape of a royal court jester, a fool with bells attached to its hat and a white smiling facemask that had a black ‘scar’ running down from the left eye. It held Dawn’s sword and Mort’s staff. This was what some RPGs called a dual-class character. What was really weird was that it looked about as articulate as an action figure, like it was badly animated. As proof of this point, the Joker began to laugh with an echoing quality in its voice and spun itself like a tornado to try and smack Canti around with both of its weapons! This mostly put him on the defensive to keep from getting sliced apart by its attacks. He almost lost his grip on his weapons with every impact. Whenever he tried to strike back, the Joker’s velocity threw him right off. The dark Twin Blade had no choice but to back away and dodge as the creature zipped around like a crazy top.

Canti: Think you’re pretty good, eh? Vak Rom!

The fire spell didn’t have so much as a damage effect…as it had a physical one. The monster could’ve been immune or not, but the whirlwind of fire shot from Vak Rom sent the spinning Joker-demon into a frenzy. It lost all sense of balance and hit the ground, spinning away from Canti, who was on its heels in pursuit. He lunged himself at the strange monster to carve it up with a slashing frenzy, but the Joker got up quickly to stave off all of the Twin Blade’s attacks, using both its wand and sword with equal efficiency. Canti gritted his teeth. He was really getting tired of this freak-job dual-class. He just wanted to wipe that stupid smile off of its face and find out what the hell happened to Crimson Dawn. Suddenly, the Joker moved onto the offensive and struck at him with both weapons at once. Canti blocked the sword and staff with his blades, then came in closer to kick the weird creature in the chest. He was able to knock the Joker off balance again, and this time took an upward slice at its mask.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!

All the laughter that had filled the area was now filled with screams. The off-white mask planted on the Joker’s face flew right off when Canti’s blade caught it under the chin. Under the mask, there was no face, no identity. There was nothing there at all…except for a sudden onrush of stored data blasting its way out of the Joker’s head as its body began to dissolve. Clearly, the mask was the center of its data-focus. Without it, this bizarre monster was nothing. No trace of Crimson Dawn or Mort was left behind. There was only a single armor item…

Acquired "Armor of Hell".

Canti: Oh, nice…except I can’t use it!!

To think that he’d come all this way, into a malfunctioning area with a freak-monster of a PC roaming around, and for what? It was a great item, that much was certain. However, the Armor of Hell was for heavier characters!! Crimson Dawn was planning to cheat him the entire time! He took the item anyway, figuring it’d make a great sell, and then he saw something else nearby.

Acquired "Joker Mask".

Canti: I wonder if I can sell this too…

He took the mask as well, though he had the feeling that it would be almost completely worthless. It was just a ‘happy’ clown mask, the guise of a vicious Joker. Canti wasted no time in gating out. He was getting tired of this place. And it was ever so fortunate that he had chosen to leave at that time. For if he hadn’t, he would have seen the rise of the dust cloud, transforming into a vicious monster the like of which he could not destroy. In this way, he had lucked out.



A quick teleportation and he was in. No sweat. He didn’t even need to use the Chaos Gate. It was merely tradition that he do so for the time being. The more that he kept up the illusion of being ordinary, the less that any players would begin to suspect that he was an Admin. Balmung breathed out a sigh of contentment, thinking back to the old days when he was just a rookie player. Just a normal everyday player…yet he and Orca were the heroes who defeated that One Sin, an exceptional challenge of skill and wits. And from there, a pair of legends were born. Ironic, though… In these chaotic times, there were many more legends out there. Crim, the Red Lightning, a perfect player and perfect businessman. Lady Subaru and the Silver Knight, formerly of the Crimson Knights, a group originally started by Crim. Kite and BlackRose, a pair who will live in history forever. Helba, Bithe The Black, Wiseman… It never ended, did it? Balmung smiled. He would have liked very much for that to be true.

“Huh? Whoa! Careful, man!”

By chance, a player had come in via the Chaos Gate and ended up right behind him. The player had almost collided with the legendary Blademaster, but had stopped himself in time. Balmung turned to face the newcomer, wondering if he was about to be recognized. Of course, he didn’t know this player; a red-and-black armored Twin Blade with raven wings. His information labeled him as “Canti”. There was a bit of a frantic look on his face. Something was on his mind.

Balmung: Something wrong?

Canti: I dunno… I just fought the strangest monster I’ve ever seen and he left me the strangest item I’ve ever seen. What kind of item is a Joker Mask?

Balmung: A…rare item? Where did you go to fight this monster?

Canti: Corrupted Fiery Abyss.

Balmung: Impossible! That area was sealed off! Unless… Tell me, do you have any other strange items on you? A bracelet, perchance?

Canti: Nope. Just the mask and…the Silver Shades. Why?

Balmung: Just a thought.

Canti flashed him a rather confused look, but Balmung didn’t pay it any mind at all. His display screen had just alerted him about something strange around here. Something was way out of place. Out of the corner of his eye, he heard the Twin Blade trying to sell off some items. The funny part of this was that he was actually arguing with the vendor about an item in his hands, which the NPC on duty refused to acknowledge seeing. There was something about that item…

“Hey! Get a load of this!!”

There was a commotion by the river. Something seemed to be glowing down in the water. Balmung flew in closer, catching a few people’s eyes. These were the expressions of uncertainty. Something was going on here and they didn’t know what it was. The young Admin-incognito looked down as well. That was… That wasn’t right… Strange glowing forms like fish…swimming in the water. On the whole, there didn’t appear to be any danger, but these fish were not normal. They looked like they were going through a metamorphosis. And as to what they might become, even Balmung didn’t know. However, he decided to act anyhow.

Balmung: Everyone get back! This could be extremely hazardous!

All of the nearby players ran away as one, save for a few. Darkside, Drake, Niko, and some others stood ready, expecting a battle. It sounded about right. What else would all the glowing mean? Then, Canti joined the gathering, having heard Balmung shouting. He readied his blades, as did everyone else. The glowing reached its apex, and then…FWOOSH!! A large geyser shot out and dozens of Frogmen and Toadmen flew out of the water, landing all over the server area. Those weren’t fish in that river. They were tadpoles! Someone had played a real trick on them here, creating an innocent program that evolved into unlicensed monsters. They all appeared to be half-humanoid amphibians with expanding chests. The monsters were all over the place, hopping around and chasing players. These were not the usual type of monsters found in The World, yet they had been meshed into the system so as to possess viable combat data. The Frogmen were especially agile and quick, launching their tongues out at random to catch people off guard. Toadmen were poisonous to the touch. With a few dozen of these creatures roaming around and not so many players, the battle would end in disaster. The beasts just wouldn’t take much damage, even as Balmung cut into them. Then, a Long Arm jabbed a frog in its inflated neck and made an incredible discovery.

“Hey! If you pop ‘em while they bulge, you knock out a lot of HP!”

Suddenly, the tides were turned once again. Darkside slid sideways from the attack of a Toadman and jabbed its throat with the sharper end of his Black Saber Staff. An audible “POP!” sound was heard and the creature was reduced to skinny little freak. Canti stabbed frog after frog, letting someone else finish them off. Drake was unfortunately clobbered when a Toadman fell on him, but he’d sunk his sword in at the same time, killing it. His only complaint was being poisoned. A few of the creatures actually deflated like balloons, reducing their size so greatly that they became Grunty-chow. Now, the aftermath was upon them. Several players had been killed in this battle, but luckily for them it was a regular player-death and not anything more serious. Still, there was an unanswered question here amongst those who survived to gain the EXP…

Canti: Why were there monsters here in the Root Town? They’re not suppose to be able to come here.

Niko: I dunno. It’s never come up before. At least…I don’t think it has. How about you, man? You’re Balmung of the Azure Sky, right?

Balmung: That would be me, but I’ve never seen this happen before. At least, not in any regular Root Town. It shouldn’t be possible.

Darkside: It is possible.

Balmung: How so?

Darkside: The World is set up as a delicate equilibrium. According to its lore, monsters are sealed up inside magic portals that only breach when players are near. It is also said that every Root Town has only one Chaos Gate for a good reason.

Balmung: Now that you mention it, I do recall hearing that from somewhere…

Niko: Wait… I know about this. It’s in the manual.

Canti: You read that story stuff? Come on…

Niko: Gimme a break. I like a good story. Anyway, it’s said that there’s only one Chaos Gate because they want to be able to protect the towns from monster infiltration, which would be harder if they had multiple gates.

Canti: Hang on a sec. Are you two telling me that The World is suppose to have monsters trying to get inside the towns?

Darkside: It’s just the lore of the land, a simple story. It normally does not apply.

Drake: Ummm…guys? Can any of you cure me? I’m fresh out of Antidotes.

The gathering of players look as one being over at Drake, who was still under the influence of Toadman poison. Darkside muttered “Rip Teyn”, absent-mindedly giving the kid a hand with his bad status problem. This and a few other things gained Balmung’s attention. Something was odd about this Wavemaster. He seemed like a dead man walking, more like a necromancer than anything else. While it was well-known that the appearance of a mage-like Wavemaster was not important, there had yet to be anything that appeared to be a true dark-class of their kind. Balmung decided to approach him now before continuing any further.

Balmung: If I may ask you, sir… Just who are you anyway? You’re beginning to remind me of someone I know. Beginning to remind me of…Helba.

Darkside: I’m a Wavemaster, nothing more. I’ve read deeply into the game’s little secrets involving the Twilight. I know about it and I know about you, Balmung, though I have never been associated with anyone you know.

Balmung: And your name-glitch?

Darkside: Just a name-glitch. I’ve asked CC Corp to look into it.

Balmung: I see… So, if you are so on top of things, then why don’t you tell us what you know? I get the feeling that you’re holding something back.

Darkside: All that I’ve said is all that I can give. I’ve got nothing left. You can clearly see, though, that something has upset the balance that holds The World together. Things like this will happen again. Now then, I have some business to attend to. I understand they’re selling Dark Traitors now.

Canti: They are? I’m in!

None of them could really stop Canti or the strange Wavemaster from leaving. Neither of the two had done anything wrong, and there was no reason to keep them in the discussion if they didn’t want to say anything more. However, nobody appeared to notice that the Joker Mask’s eyes were glowing. Had it been a reactive trigger to the events that led up to the spawning of the river-monsters? Canti bought a few of the Dark Traitors, turned around, and almost ran into Balmung for the second time that day.

Canti: Oh, you again. Something on your mind?

Balmung: Just curious about something. You said you fought a strange monster and got a strange item. What was the monster like?

Canti described the monster he found at Corrupted Fiery Abyss and how he had to deal with it. The most perplexing part of the story was how he defeated it. A creature like that shouldn’t be able to die under those conditions. In fact, under no circumstance should anything resembling raw data be exposed unto The World’s actual graphics. This was starting to look more and more like a relapse into the Twilight. This sort of thing happened a lot with the power of Data Drain, the ability to attack, manipulate, and change raw data in both virus and program, regardless of whether or not it would harm anyone. That’s why this Twin Blade was now under suspicion. If he had a device that somehow changed The World, he would need to know about it, and then have to find a way to deal with it. Balmung was shown the mask that had been won. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it. It just seemed like an ordinary item to him, like a prop.

Balmung: I think I understand now…

Canti: Understand what?

Balmung: The torment their minds went through… Someone used that to create this fake monster. That monster… It must have attacked you because you were on Crimson Dawn’s member list. You were lured in. I’m not sure, but I’d be willing to bet that whatever got him is still in that area.

Canti: If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, then I guess I’d better save before we go find out, right?

Balmung: You catch on quick.

The Descendant of Fianna watched as Canti of the Black Flames set out to save his data. Reflecting, he realized that being a legend wasn’t as important as being a protector of The World. Those who acted to keep The World from harm would live forever in infamy, just like them, the Dot-Hackers. Just then, he realized that he had a shadow. Looking behind him, he saw that it was that Blademaster, Niko. He was giving Balmung a glare of determination.

Balmung: Is there something you want?

Niko: I know that that field area was closed before and that it opened again. Something is going on in there and I want to know what.

Balmung: Any particular reason why?

Niko: Just a rumor I heard…about undefeatable monsters.

Balmung: A rumor? Who from?

Niko: A friend. Why?

Balmung: No reason.

Canti: If you two are finished, we can leave now.

Niko: Same place?

Canti: Where else can we go?

A question like that should never be asked. It is the same thing as asking “What else can go wrong?” or “How hard could it be?” shortly before disaster rears its ugly head. Invariably, something always goes wrong when someone says those words. At the moment of their exit, Darkside stepped into an alley, one that hadn’t been there before. A glowing blue-and-black orb appeared before him…and he grinned. There was an old saying in life. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. To the Wavema$ter, Darkside, it was a phrase to live by. As the alley closed itself up behind him, he gazed into the orb to see that which could be seen.

CORRUPTED FIERY ABYSS

SERVER: MAC ANU

LEVEL: 10

DO YOU WISH TO EDIT?

Darkside: Yes…



There was a static discharge at the point of entire, giving them only a small glimpse of the old lava-field. Then suddenly, the scene shifted like crazy; a white light and code fell around them…and then they were standing in a desert. It wasn’t your average desert either. This was one complete with sand dunes and windmills. In the distance, Canti swore he heard a Mandragora calling. His status screen gave him the area stats. Somehow, they’d landed in a place that was labeled as Haunted Sunny Sand-Trap. Like before, Fairy Orbs were picking up nothing. This place seemed rather empty. And yet…

Niko: I’ve got this feeling, guys… We’re being watched.

Balmung: Be on your guard. It could come from anywhere.

Canti: Funny weather we’re having.

Okay, that actually put them off their guard for a moment. It was a strange comment, after all. However, this put them more on the ready for battle in the long run. For the ‘funny weather’ that Canti was referring to…was a dust-cloud that seemed to be heading directly for them. It was all smoke and fog, using the extra sand as a medium for growing even larger… As the cloud began to funnel itself and take form, data became available to the three of them. It was the Smoke Spirit, the same monster that had attacked all the others. The creature took its humanoid shape, three-eyed and four-armed, its difficulty level steadily rising…

Canti: How do you fight a dust cloud when even magic won’t hurt it?

Niko: Got any Beast’s Bane?

Canti: No!

Balmung: Then there’s only one alternative…

“Run!”

Balmung: What?

Canti: Did you guys hear-

Niko: Move it!

The three of them leapt out of the way as the Smoke Spirit charged in, claws and arms flailing like mad. They could’ve been sliced to pieces! But…where had that voice come from? Balmung had a suspicion, but he kept it to himself. They were now surrounding the monster, although it was hard to imagine it as being surrounded when those claws were deadly to the touch. It looked back and forth, as if unsure of who to attack first. Finally, it decided to take on the Blademasters both at once, swinging its fog-like arms at them. Niko jumped back and swung out at the thing’s passing arm, Balmung merely avoiding it until he had a clear idea of how to proceed. Charging in meant certain death…or close enough. They needed a plan, but what neither of them knew was that Canti already had one.

Canti: Balmung, Niko! Get ready!

Balmung: What for?

Canti: You’ll see! Just get it!

The Smoke Spirit was pursuing the two Blademasters anyway, plunging its arms down rhythmically in an attempt to trod over them. From behind, Canti went into action. He crouched and leaped straight into the dust-cloud, using a special skill called Quick-Flash, a sudden jump-attack. It looked like suicide. In seconds, the monster would invert itself and crush him. Except…when he swiped his blades in mid-leap, there was something solid in the mix. The loud-pitched noise of metal striking crystal was heard…and something flew out of the creature. Balmung saw it first; a small blue glowing orb… Acting before thinking about it, he flew up to the orb and struck it with his sword as hard as he could. It was propelled far by the impact, landing at the bottom of a dune. At the very second the orb was struck, the Smoke Spirit howled and exploded into nothingness. The experience dished out by the creature was…pretty good. A second or two after it dissipated, Canti hit the dirt, landing with a heavy thud and an imprint in the sand.

Canti: Owww…

Niko: Are you alright?

Canti: What? Of course! It’s just a game, right?

Balmung: Not just a game, I’m afraid. That monster could have been the one responsible for the latest problems in The World.

Canti: Wait a minute… Are you telling me that that thing could’ve put me in a coma? Like the incident a couple of months ago?

Balmung: It’s possible.

Canti began to curse under his breath, getting up as he did so. He felt so stupid! Charging in like that, trying to smack a target the size of a baseball in a dust-storm, had to be the most boneheaded maneuver ever recorded within The World! He felt like he was being laughed at now, even though his cohorts here didn’t even crack a smile. There was something way too serious about the way they were looking now. Without another word, Canti went to look at the little orb that he’d popped out of the Smoke Spirit. It had to be the core of its being, the very device that could hold it together. The orb was in one piece, but it was cracked. Canti picked it up for a closer look…and then dropped it all of a sudden.

Canti: You won’t believe what’s in there.

Niko: What is it?

Canti: I saw a face, one that wasn’t my own.

Niko: Then whose is it?

Canti: That guy in the mask, the Wavemaster with the glitch…

Balmung: You mean…Darkside.

Aaah ha ha ha ha haaa!!

An audible laugh could be heard coming from all over the place. The source, however, was in Canti’s inventory pocket. He fished around in there until he pulled out the Joker Mask, which was laughing at them. It also had red-glowing eyes and its grin appeared to be getting sharper by the second.

Canti: Not again…

Balmung: Again? What do you mean?

Canti: Back with the toads and frogs, it started laughing then too. I only realized why when you started calling out. This thing might have actually summoned those monsters into the town!

Balmung: The face of an unnatural monster…creating chaos… I must look into this matter myself. I suggest you two log out for the day.



At the end of the day, three players in The World logged off in unison, one of them still working soon after his departure. Balmung currently operated out of his home, not yet ready to move into CC central. In the shadows of his unlit room, he wondered to himself about this issue with Darkside. A mysterious glitchy player, a Wavemaster, who seems to know much of the game…including how to manipulate it. He couldn’t be as harmless as he claimed. If he were a hacker, Balmung dared to hope that he was faking a return to the Twilight and had to stop him before he went too far. But Balmung had been thinking…what if he wasn’t really human? If Darkside were trash data, a wandering incomplete AI like the denizens of Net Slum, then that would explain his glitch and data writing abilities. However…Balmung was more worried that he might be something else entirely, much like Tsukasa. A very disturbing thought indeed… The other two, Canti and Niko, were equally concerned. Their reasons were totally different, though. The Joker Mask was on Canti’s mind, an item that causes havoc in his very own hands… Both the mask and the so-called Wavema$ter were on Niko’s mind as well, but he was trying to see the connection between them. All three of them were settling on the idea of finding out all they need to know from the man himself. The only problem was how to do it… It’s not like he would be forthcoming about such things.

He was late. Before shutting down yesterday, Niko had Flash Mailed Canti, telling him to meet him at Mac Anu in what he perceived to be the morning so that they could look around for Darkside. Canti had agreed to this, but now he was late for some reason. Niko had swept the area here for any sign of that Wavema$ter, but to no avail. The cloaked man wasn’t here. Instead, he’d seen the usual rabble, some new faces, and thankfully not any toad monsters. But while things seemed to have calmed down somewhat, even from yesterday, one thing still bothered him. Back in that fight with the Smoke Spirit, he’d heard the voice, same as Balmung and Canti. In Niko’s case, it sounded very much like her.

“Hey, you awake?”

Niko: What the…!

The dark winged Twin Blade finally gated in, too quietly for Niko to notice while he’d been thinking. If he had done it on purpose, he would never know. Canti looked about as morbid as ever. He had considered asking the guy why he had this wicked-looking red and black character…only the answer was probably nothing more than style or mood. Perhaps he was a Goth in real life…

Niko: How come you’re late?

Canti: A weird thing about this mask that I found out earlier. It messes with the all the Chaos Gates, turning them all fiery and red, almost like me.

Niko: Don’t let it go to your head, Mr. Flame-God. That mask is a dangerous item.

Canti: Wait, lemme show you.

Niko: I’m not sure that that’s a good idea…

He wasn’t listening, though. Niko had to remember that Canti really liked fire for some reason. So, seeing an evil-looking portal pop up from the Chaos Gate must have seemed pretty cool to him. Canti pulled out the Joker Mask and held it up towards the gate. The transformation was immediate. With a flicker and a flame, the ring that formed the Chaos Gate turned crimson and crackled with fire. Niko was reminded of one of those circus rings…except this one looked like it could lead straight to hell. This turned a few heads in the town, including that Drake kid.

Drake: Hey, that’s really cool! How’d you do it? Does it go anywhere special? Lemme see! Lemme see!

Canti: Don’t bother, kid. It doesn’t go anywhere. I’ve tried.

Niko: You actually tried to use this thing? What if it took you to an unspeakable dungeon of hell where all the demons are at least a Level 80?

Canti: Then I’d be right at home. Don’t worry yourself. When I first saw it, I made sure that I’d saved recently before trying anything.

Niko: You…! You don’t understand… What if it sent you somewhere like where we fought the Smoke Spirit yesterday?

Canti: Oh, right… Yeah, I guess that was a bit reckless of me.

Drake: Smoke Spirit? What’s that?

Canti: Some kind of monster that’s not suppose to be in The World.

Drake: Really? I think I saw something like that.

Canti: Not now, alright? We’re talking important st-

“What the hell is that?”

Someone just gated in and saw that he was standing by a very different Chaos Gate. It was a Long Arm by the name of Aero, clad in a loose-fitting trench coat and pants that were red with black highlights. He had light gray hair, but was clearly a fan of the style of Crim, the Red Lightning. It seemed that the style of emulating your favorite legends was still an “in” thing. This one carried a rather neat-looking double-bladed pole-arm, which was not a very common item. After the newcomer saw the Chaos Gate in all its dark and horrible splendor, Canti decided to return it to normal. Once again, this commotion attracted the attention of others. Meanwhile, Aero confronted the three who were standing there.

Aero: What was that?

Canti: Long story. Have the time?

Aero: I think I can manage.

Niko: Canti, I don’t think we should-

“Excuse me.”

Niko: Hello? Who are you?

Another new arrival had walked in from behind Niko, apparently one of the onlookers that had seen the gate’s transformation. This was also a Long Arm, but very different from the one they just met. He had blue eyes, long silver hair, loose white pants, a loose white shirt, and a matching bandana. Aside from all that, there was a tattoo on his forehead, the kanji symbol for “Doubt”. Canti looked at this guy and immediately knew that he’d seen him around before. When he was searching for Crimson Dawn, he remembered seeing a Long Arm with that tattoo purchasing a Relief Lance. This was turning out to be a red-letter day…

Niko: Didn’t I see you in Xenogears?

“Perhaps. My name is Toshiro. I’m a long-time player, but I’ve been out recently because of all the errors in the system before now. I’ve been watching you ever since the incident with the toad monsters. I heard that mask of yours laughing at the time, and now I see that you’re experimenting with it.”

Canti: Yeah, so what? It’s mine and I’ve got nothing better to do with it. Besides, I’m beginning to think it’s important.

Toshiro: Yes, I think so too. That item seems to contain a great deal of power. Would you mind if I studied it?

Canti: With what? And how?

Toshiro: There is a place we can go…called the Alpha Server.

Canti: Never heard of it.

Toshiro: You wouldn’t. It’s not officially in The World, but functions as part of it.

Niko: Wait a second… I heard a rumor about this Alpha Server. It’s a proto-server that didn’t take during the production of The World, recently opened through a few clever tricks and backdoors. In other words, you’re a hacker.

Toshiro: Guilty as charged.

Canti: Ah geez… You were thinkin’ of examining it in a place like that?

Toshiro: Well, if it is important, we should be able to find out there. I won’t force you to go. The decision is entirely up to you.

There seemed to be something wrong with this picture here. It wasn’t anything about Toshiro that got to him, or Aero for that matter. Something seemed kind of off now, like there was something he was missing. Canti looked around and realized it in an instant. They were all looking at him, waiting for his answer.

Canti: What’re you all looking at me for? It’s like you think I’m in charge.

Aero: Well, that mask is yours, and it does seem important. So why not?

Canti: Because half of you I don’t even know, and…leadership? I hate that gig. Leave it to someone else. I just want answers. Let’s go, Toshiro.

Aero: Can I come? I wanna know what this is all about.

Toshiro: Certainly. We may need your help anyway.

Thus, a party was formed of Canti, Toshiro, and Aero. Much to Canti’s disgust, he was put in charge of the group. The trouble was that Aero was more of a follower than anything else and Toshiro had no intention of leading with his…shall we say…disreputable past. This left Niko alone with Drake, a little miffed at Canti’s sudden and irresponsible decision to hop ship like that. How was he suppose to find Darkside on his own? This left only one alternative…

Niko: Say…Drake?

Drake: Yeah?

Niko: Were you kidding before about the monster?

Drake: Nope.

Niko: Would you show me?

Drake: Sure, man.



It had taken a few moments for Toshiro to open up the proper path to the Alpha Server. It was a nameless haven for hackers, one far larger and greater in capacity than the Net Slums, owing much to the fact that the proto-server was far more localized in data location. Because they couldn’t simply select the Alpha Server from the list of options, Toshiro activated his backdoor into The World. It involved selecting and deselecting a series of keywords in a particular pattern that ended in simply approving the entrance into Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field. In no time at all, the three of them instead gated into an expansive white setting with several long and tall black spires. It was one helluva sight to see. Very futuristic-looking. Toshiro motioned for them to follow him to a nearby pedestal of some kind, which appeared to function as a terminal to the Alpha Server’s programming. Currently, there was nobody here but them.

Toshiro: We can use this to scan the properties of that mask, maybe even copy its data and apply it to other things. If it can truly effect The World as we’ve seen, then it would have to be a special form of hacking tool. Place the mask on the pedestal.

Wordlessly, Canti took out the mysterious Joker Mask item and positioned it in the middle of the pedestal’s surface. Afterwhich, Toshiro ran his hands over a spot in thin air to make a keyboard of pure energy appear. He began to type upon it rapidly, and a series of faint light-waves coursed over the unmoving mask with no apparent pattern, no rhyme or reason other than scanning its inner-code. This was a fairly lengthy process, so the other two were stuck standing around a while, which gave Canti some time to explain what this was all about to Aero.

Aero: So, your friend was used in some kind of freaky monster with another player?

Canti: Hah! Some friend! He would’ve cheated me!

Aero: Don’t you feel just a little sorry for those two? For all you know, they could be dead or in a coma.

Canti: Well…maybe a little b-

Toshiro: This is amazing!

Aero: What do you see, Toshiro?

Toshiro: It’s an approach to hacking like I’ve never seen before! The elegance… The potential… I don’t know where this came from, but this item is exactly what it claims to be!

Canti: Come again?

Toshiro: It’s a Joker Mask, right? Well, perhaps you’ve heard of a little thing present in a game called a Joker Code… It’s a little bug in the program that allows you to change and manipulate the entire game…assuming you know how to work the code. This item is a literal Joker.

Canti: Okay, now tell me why it laughs.

Toshiro: A deliberate gag, and a warning for when its in use. You said it laughs when it’s causing something to happen.

As if on a cue, the subject matter lying on the pedestal chose that very moment to utter out a crazy madman’s laughter. They could clearly see its eyes glowing red, its face twisting up slightly, and an inset of fangs growing out of its mouth, adding to the effect of its vicious appearance. Somewhere, somehow, something dangerous was going on…



Niko: Why here? There are no monsters in this place. It’s a holy ground.

He meant that in two ways. First, there was the simple and obvious fact that this was indeed a holy ground, complete with an actual church. The reason for this led straight to the second meaning of his words, that they were in the well-known area called Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, which had always been devoid of monsters. There were no dungeons, no field monsters, no nothing. It was a simple monastery and nothing more. However, Drake had continued to insist that there was a monster here as he led the taller Blademaster inside. The church’s inner-clockwork clicked on by without notice or care as they looked around. Strange… Was it always like this? There seemed to be more gears lining the walls now, a pit of clockwork in the center where once stood a pedestal. Also, there was a new plaque before the mystery girl’s statue. Niko observed this with interest as Drake spoke.

Drake: It was kind of floating around when I came here the last time. I’d just gotten through the door when I saw it.

Niko: Then what happened? Did you fight it?

Drake: You kidding? I ran. I know every monster in the game, and that wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t normal at all. I thought that it…it might be the kind that puts you in a coma when you die.

The kid was a little frightened of the thought of being thrust into a coma by these monsters. Truth be told, Niko was afraid as well. In the past, he’d seen some of the freak enemies that were spawned before and during the Twilight. Data Bugs… Creatures with missing parts to their bodies, glowing pieces of computer code jutting from them here and there. They were invincible, or nearly so, and could appear anywhere at anytime, without warning. This new rash of unexplained happenings had unnerved him as of late. Bizarre things occurring… Monsters that seem to be logical in design, but operating under a set of rules he did not know. What was going on in The World? Had the Twilight ever passed? Could it really ever leave them? Or was this a separate issue hinged completely on that man.

Niko: Darkside…

Drake: You say something?

Niko: Huh? Ah, no. Nothing at all.

They were soon at the end of the room, by the statue of the girl that had previously been in chains. Yes, he remembered that distinctly. In this sunlit room, the statue had had many chains leading from the walls somehow preventing the girl from trying to ‘escape’. It was an interesting piece of work, along with the plaque that was almost unreadable. Now, however, it had changed. As Niko looked at the statue of the girl, he saw that it seemed…relieved to be out of those chains. It was a message, as if to say “All is well”. The problem was that it wasn’t well just yet. Niko mused this, unwary of Drake’s approach to the plaque.

Drake: Skeith… Innis… Magus… Fidchell… Gorre… Macha… Tarvos… Corbenik… I’ve always wondered…what do they mean?

Niko: You never read the Epitaph…

Drake: Huh? What do you-

There was a sound, just then. No, not a sound. Not exactly. It was…a lack of sound, actually. It had come so suddenly, but they’d almost missed it as they spoke. Upon looking back now, it was clear and obvious what had happened. All of the clockwork in the room had ground to a halt at precisely the same moment. Drake pulled out his sword, as if he knew what was coming next. Niko trusted this gut feeling and followed suit, whispering over to him…

Niko: Is this it?

Drake: Y-yeah. Everything was stopped the other time too.

Niko: What’s it like?

Drake: You’ll see.

No doubt in that statement. He couldn’t believe their luck, trapped in this room with a mystery monster. Niko could feel cold sweat forming on his palms in the real world. It was happening again. There was a Battle Mode sign now and the monster was in here…somewhere. His eyes darted left, right, up, center. Nothing. Then…he saw it, seeping up from the bowels of the clockwork pit in the middle of the room. It was made of liquid. No, not just any liquid. It was very clearly made of a crimson substance. It was a beast of blood. Drake saw this and backed up a step. He wasn’t expecting that, but then…it did something neither of them could predict. It changed… As soon as it had gathered into one large mass on the ground, the creature began to pulsate, as if making a heartbeat, soon rippling and boiling until it shaped itself into a new form. And there it was… Drake’s monster was real and in the flesh. It had become a roughly spherical monster – one of flesh and blood – floating a couple of feet from the ground and showing off its sickening mass, covered in twisted human faces. It gave off a few shouts of agony as it turned, giving them a view of the decided front of the creature, which housed a demon’s visage instead of any normal expression, sprouting a horde of muscular tendrils from its hideous form as it gritted its rotten teeth at them. Beast’s name: Macabre.

Niko: Split up! NOW!

Drake tore left, Niko ran right, and the monster seemed indecisive for a couple of seconds before ramming its thick body toward the plaque, more towards Drake. It missed, breaking the pedestal there on impact, then turned towards the younger of two Blademasters. Three of its tendrils reared and flew towards him as if guided by harpoons. An addition pair followed Niko like pursuing serpents. The first two tentacles went over Drake’s head as he ducked, the third one managing to trip him up. He noticed that they ended in barbs, claws, and leech-like mouths. It would suck the life from him if he wasn’t careful! Still down from his fall, he swung his sword down on tendril #3, as it had embedded itself in the floor some. Striking it made the Macabre recoil the thing in pain, and it did the same for the other two appendages, though not Niko’s. No, he was on his own for that. The snake-like things attacking now were actually avoiding his swings.

Niko: Okay… Gan Zot!

A succession of yells from the main mass followed as the spell struck its wayward appendages, once again agonizing, even if the thing wasn’t in true pain. Then again…the idea behind it might’ve been that it was always in pain, which meant that these hits might be nothing to it. Niko took a brief look at the monster info…and froze. There was a status on this creature that he’d never seen before, but it was going to make their escape from here a whole lot harder. The Smoke Spirit had had “Magic Tolerance” on it. This one…had a little blinking sign that said “Regenerate”. Not the symbol for the spell of Rig Saem, mind you. This had a little drop of blood as its symbol and flashed that one word at him as if to mock him with every wink. That could mean only one thing…

Niko: No, it can’t be…

Stealing himself against the cold fear going through his mind, Niko ran to the beast as it turned its main face towards him. Tendrils reared to strike at him, but he was just a little quicker, leaping into his Revolver move and slashing into the blood-filled form. He noticed that his sword passed slowly through the mass as it cut the thing wide open. Then, as he finished, he looked carefully…and backed up in shock! It was true… No sooner had his attack terminated than the cut he made began to seal itself once more, making a gristly scar in its place. Drake also saw this, and he began to inch towards the door. The Macabre saw him moving, though, and knew what he planned somehow. A mouth opened automatically and shot a fireball over to the door, shutting it closed. The lock slammed into place, cutting them off from The World…and their soon to be ended lives.



No more of the insane cackling came forth from the mask’s mouth. It had remained silent ever since Toshiro had begun to access its inner-programming. He had discovered that the item had some sort of applicable use, after all. Strange as this little device was, it was a piece of code as advertised, and could therefore write whatever you wanted onto something. More than that, it could apparently copy its own coding, its own powers, into other receptacles. This had Toshiro intrigued the most, so he peeked into those files first.

Toshiro: It appears as if it were originally designed to modify weapons and armor, but then its purpose had been altered somewhat to render changes to characters as well. A player could wield the finest weapon or even take the form of a demon.

Canti: Or get minced into a freak monster with a weird mask?

Toshiro: Point taken, but you must understand that this is only a tool. It is not inherently evil no matter how much it cackles with glee. Here, I’ll show you what I mean. I’ll copy its data, its actual abilities, onto a weapon. And once I’ve done that, you tell me if it changes anything about the user in charge.

Aero: Okay, I’ll bite. You can use my spear.

Toshiro: Good. This’ll take just a minute…

Another pedestal, identical to the one the Joker Mask was laid upon, soon appeared next to the first. Aero was instructed to place his double-bladed spear on top of it and stand back. It was sound advice, really, because they had no idea what was going to happen next. Would it work or would it flop? Aero said he had a spare weapon, so at least there was no problem in losing the first one. Toshiro hit the EXECUTE key and both items began to float in the air, a stream of data going from the mask to the spear. It only lasted a moment, then the mask gave off a pulse of energy that threw them all to the ground. It wasn’t anything harmful, but it was clear that the transfer process had been interrupted for some reason. Toshiro was the first on his feet, heading for the terminal again.

Toshiro: There was a protective barrier preventing the data from being carried over to Aero’s weapon. I’m disabling it now.

With that done, Toshiro was able to more fully-connect to the mask’s inner-workings. The experiment could continue, and it would have a higher rate of success once implemented. However…before they could try again, there was a little winking light on his terminal. It was an error message warning.

Toshiro: Hold on… I think there’s a bug in the system.

Canti: Yeah, we’re looking at it.

Toshiro: No, not the mask. Something else.

DATA FLAG DETECTED; VOLUME EXCEEDED. ALLOCATING VIRTUAL MEMORY. . . . .INSUFFICIENT MEMORY. PURGING FIELD TEXTURES.

A computerized voice filled the air, giving a verbal warning of the error in question. The data-read of the Joker Mask was giving the system a hard time, so it was removing certain functions in order to save space, speed up the process, and continue in the action that it had been put up to. The black spires in the area soon vaporized, leaving holes into empty ‘data-space’ in their place.

Toshiro: That’s never happened before.

Aero: Well, it won’t be the last time. Look!

The color and the special textures of all the objects in the server began to melt away, also taken offline as another message spoke out from nowhere, this time proclaiming that all autonomous programs would be purged to make up for the insufficient memory in the system. This wasn’t looking good. Bits of data were now streaming around at random, making the server appear corrupted.

Canti: You’re overloading it… Kill the program!

Toshiro: I can’t! It’s running by itself!

Aero: Well, if you don’t do something fast, we’re gonna cause a blowout!

NOW COPYING. . . . .ERROR. FILE DOES NOT EXIST. CREATE FILE? CONFIRMED. ANOMALY IN SECTOR 3-3-1. FILE SIZE INCREASING BEYOND CURRENT VIRTUAL MEMORY UNITS.

Toshiro: It’s worse than I thought… The information on that mask is viral!

Aero: Did that blast-wave infect us?

Toshiro: No, but…

Canti: But nothing! We’re in serious trouble!

He pointed to the edge of the server, which was beginning to degrade and melt away at an accelerating rate. It was all going down, bit by bit, pixel by pixel. And what would it do to them? Who knows? The mask was doing it, so it might just put them all in a coma or worse. None of this would have made any difference if the Chaos Gate were still here, but the last data purge had removed it and now they were stuck without a prayer. The only option was to fix the problem. Canti went to snatch up the Joker Mask, but Toshiro stopped him.

Toshiro: Sever the connection now and it’ll crash for sure. I must finish what I started. I have to take control…

Canti: You mean transfer the data into yourself? Forget it! You said it was viral!

Toshiro: What can it do to me? It’ll infect my game and sprite. That’s all. Canti, you’re just gonna have to trust me. I’m willing to take the risk.

Canti: You’d better know what you’re doing…

He only nodded in reply before getting to work, desperately shutting out the noise in the collapsing server from his mind as he typed away in a hastened fervor. Despite all it was doing to their surroundings, the mask’s own data was wide-open now and usable. Truthfully, he’d been tempted to seize the power from the start, but he had also wanted to be sure it was safe. Even the lamest of hacker will watch out for a Trojan Horse. Finally, it was ready for him. He pressed a button and the program began to download into his character data.

Toshiro: In just a minute, I’ll have more than enough power to get us out of this mess. Cutting it a little close, I know, but…

Upon looking back to where his friends had been standing, he found that they were gone. They had disappeared without a trace. It wasn’t a case of being deleted, though, because there was someone in their place. As the server dwindled in size even more, Toshiro was given view to different player, one who was wearing white robes and a unique type of mask. Most intriguing was her staff, defining her as a Wavemaster like no other. Indeed, she was a player like no other…

Toshiro: You’re…Helba!?

Helba: That was a bold move… You’d better know what you’re doing.



Never again would he doubt the power of a few well-placed items during his quests. Niko had found that the hideous flesh monster that he and Drake had been forced into fighting was effected by the one-use spells that he’d picked up along the way during his quests. The Fireball Tempest hadn’t done much, but Drake had whipped out the one tarot card that casted Suvi Lei and put the beast to sleep. Well, it was only there for now, but Drake had a few more goodies in store…

Niko: Okay, so it’s still vulnerable to spells, but we can’t kill it. Not normally. It recovers way too fast. Any ideas?

Drake: It’s got its own rules, right?

Niko: Yeah?

Drake: What if something we got effected it in a way we never thought of?

Niko: Come to think of it, this thing seems effected by everything. Just not the way we want it to. Those scars remain even after healing.

Drake: I don’t see an element to it, so maybe they all do something special to it.

Niko: It’s worth a try.

By the time the Macabre came out of its slumber, Niko and Drake had traded some items so they could go into some serious spell-flinging. It tried a ram against Niko and just barely missed him, hitting a wall. Right after that, he used up a Lightning Bolt item and sent a good 20,000 volts through the beast. It reacted badly, in the sense that it was smoking and burnt in a way that fire seemed to have a problem accomplishing. However, the monster spun its massive bulk and knocked the tall Blademaster away with the impact of several flailing tendrils. Seeing that he had been knocked into some benches and was not getting up, it turned next upon Drake, who was ready for him. The Macabre was not even close to him when the Ice Floe spell went active. And in that act, Drake saw that he had frozen it in mid-air. Only…things frozen in mid-air never stayed there for long. It fell a second later, shattering into pieces. Drake leaned against a wall, breathing a sigh of relief. He didn’t have long to take a breather, though. As soon as he saw movement in the corner of his eye, he stared in shock as the Macabre moved once more. The ice had melted quickly and the creature was as blood once more, a bloody mass collecting in one place, oozing towards him. He knew his sword was useless and his spells would have no effect. He needed to burn it away, but lacked the element now. He gave his only Lightning Bolt to Niko and it was gone now, anyway… He was cornered, and it was closing in. Drake braced himself for the inevitable, but…it never came. Instead, there was a strange glow, a blast of some kind, and a peculiar explosion! Drake blinked once, finding nothing left of the monster. It had…vanished! He looked over to Niko, who was picking himself out of the broken benches in the room. The monster was dead and they were free, but…how did it just happen?



Darkness…static…and then…they appeared in Mac Anu as if nothing had happened. Only it really had happened, hadn’t it? For a moment, the two of them looked around, as if unable to comprehend where they were and how they got there. Yes, it was the Aqua Capital, Mac Anu. They were not hallucinating. There they were, Canti and Aero, both perplexed beyond imagination. Aero had his weapon back, but…he hadn’t picked it up back in the Alpha Server. No, he hadn’t because she had sent them away. There could be only one person…

Aero: Helba…

Canti: Huh?

Aero: That woman… It was Helba, the Queen of Darkness. She’s a hacker extraordinaire. Sort of like a legend…like Balmung.

Canti: My cup runneth over. What the hell was she doing there?

Aero: Saving us, I think.

Canti: Oh really? Have you noticed that we’re short one Long Arm? She got us out alright, but what happened to Toshiro, huh?

Aero: I dunno why she didn’t take him too. Maybe… Maybe he stopped the damage in time to save the server. Maybe they’re making repairs.

Canti: I don’t like this… First a whole bunch of things go wrong and then a hacker I never even heard of lifts us out, but leaves him behind.

Aero: Hey, c’mon. They’re both hackers. They’re probably talking shop.

A part of Canti wanted to believe that, wanted to be able to think on the bright side and deem it likely that Toshiro was safe and sound, even helping to repair the damage that had been done. However, he wasn’t the optimistic type. Events in his own life had made him bitter and cynical at times. He could no more shake that doubting feeling than hack off a limb. Canti knew it was his fault that this had happened. He’d let his curiosity about the mask cloud his judgement, and now someone had paid the price for it. He looked around for the mask now. It had appeared on the ground not too far from where they stood. As soon as he got close, though, it started laughing at him. Canti sneered at it…

Canti: Stop laughing at me!

Stop laughing at me!

Canti: What are you?

What are you?

Canti: Where did you come from?

Where did you come from?

Canti: ANSWER ME!!

Mwwwaaaaaaa!

It was mocking him! The little grinning device was actually making fun of him! It probably couldn’t answer his questions. It was a thing, a scrap of viral data. There was no active thought process. It wasn’t alive. He may as well try interrogating a toaster for all the good this was doing. However, he couldn’t stand to look at the thing anymore. It had been nothing but trouble from the start and he was getting tired of dealing with it. Before Aero could stop him, Canti brought his foot down on the mask as hard as he could, snapping it in half right down the middle. It screamed when he did that, which made him feel better.

Canti: Serves you right.

Aero: I’m not sure that was a good idea…

Canti: I don’t care. I’m getting out of this right now. It wasn’t my problem before. I just happened to stumble across this mess. If you want something done about it, go ask Balmung or someone. I don’t care anymore.

“Hey, Niko! Wait up! What happened back there?”

Canti: Eh? Now what?

Over at the Chaos Gate, the two Blademasters teleported in from the Holy Ground, Drake still asking him about the fight. He’d noticed a strange glow before and wanted to know what it was. Niko, meanwhile, was avoiding talking to Drake, apparently on purpose. He had other things on his mind. Then, as he saw Canti with Aero, he noticed something else. The mask… It was broken! And that wasn’t all. He could see it moving on its own accord. Before anyone else had noticed, the two pieces of the Joker Mask flew up to hover at eye-level with Canti, one side of its visage frowning instead of smiling. Its eyes burned with crimson a mere two seconds before it shot him in the chest. Twin beams of a blood-red energy pierced the sprite of Canti and pinned him against one of the pillars in the area. And then, something changed. Niko saw a band of green-glowing pixels, then a funnel-like shape, followed by the appearance of five glowing spires that gave it a star-shaped appearance. He couldn’t believe it! It was-

Niko: NO!!

Data Drain! The mask was going to use Data Drain! Niko acted without hesitation or thought. He did what he had to do to stop it from happening. He held up his right arm and pointed it at the mask, a band of light appearing on his arm shortly before another star-shaped data-device formed and fired just a second or two prior to when the mask’s deadly assault would have gone off. Lines of glowing data intersected the two halves of the mask and blew it apart, sending its remnants far away from this place. Niko deactivated the thing he had, his best-kept secret. He had promised to keep it secret and never to use it unless there was no other choice. But now, he could see that he had to use it after all. Canti had fallen to the ground a moment ago, but he was getting up now. The mask had hit him with those beams and there were still a pair of gaping holes in his chest, each one the size of a bullet-hole. He was okay…but he wasn’t too pleased about all this.

Canti: I swear I could feel that. What just happened?

Aero: I think it was trying to kill you, and then Niko stepped in and blew it away.

Canti: Niko? How?

Drake: The blaring-light thingy! He just beat the monster with it!

Canti: Niko…

Niko: *Sigh* I know… All eyes being on me… I’ve got some explaining to do…



He logged out of his computer for the day and found that it was just on the verge of overheating. It was all due to the virus in the server, of course, but it really got on his nerves. He’d managed to do it, to attain the power he’d been trying so hard to pry from that stupid mask. He only wished the server hadn’t buckled like that. Oh well… Canti and Aero got out alright, thanks to Helba. She’d spoken precious little to him, saying only that he’d best be understanding what he was doing. He found it odd that she would use the exact same words as Canti. She probably thought that he had the right idea… After that, the server was finished and he had been stuck in a sea of free-floating data. Fortunately, the Joker-data had made him able to exist in there. It would have frozen his account otherwise. Thus, the youth known to The World as Toshiro ended his day. Funny thing, though. He could have sworn, while just floating in the data-stream, that he was being watched. The virus was in his system now, but he was the one in control. No one would stand in his way. He had the power.

END OF PHASE ONE>>>>>

The sunset in this place was beautiful, and very well written too. If he had the chance to use a zoom tool on the graphics, he’d swear he couldn’t begin to make out the individual pixels. The sun was falling below the limits of Mac Anu right now, casting a shine of gold along all the waterways. It was simply magnificent. He had to preserve such things in The World, no matter what. This was his silent promise to The World, to himself, to everyone who played here. Niko cast his eyes away from the sun now, looking himself over. He wasn’t anyone special, not in appearance anyway. He was just an avid fan of anime, designed after the looks and styles of certain medieval-type characters. Call it cyber-cosplay, if you will. It was never his intention to make a name for himself, or even become famous in any way. He just wanted to have fun is all. That was the point of The World, to enjoy the game that hath been made. And being the ultimate game, it was the ultimate fun. But somewhere along the way…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Niko: Hey, what is this? Where am I?!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He got lost. It was a dark page in his past, one that had made him almost fearful of this place. After what happened then, he’d been too afraid to even go near his system. Niko felt himself shudder. Here he was, at a corner café in Mac Anu, dredging up the past again. The cold and tingling fear threatened to grip him. No! It wouldn’t be like back then! He wasn’t alone now. He had friends to help him through this. Although…he wondered how long he was gonna be able to keep them. This bracelet… This forbidden item… It was savior and destroyer. It could do just about anything if you only knew how to do it. It made him strong…but it also made him dangerous. His gripped his right arm tightly, wondering why he was given this burden, this thing on his arm. It had been helpful at the time, but why did he have it now? Was this his destiny? Was he to wield this bizarre device in The World for as long as it was subjected to viral power? Niko gritted his teeth in frustration. He was mad, but he knew not what for. He needed answers, but none presented themselves. Or did they? He soon became aware of a shadow nearby. It belonged to a player that he could swear had not been there a second ago. He knew who it was without looking. That shadow…had wings.

Niko: Balmung…

Balmung: You seem occupied. Is it about the bracelet?

Niko: How did you hear about that?

Balmung: I heard from several people that a strange glow was witnessed near the Chaos Gate yesterday. One of them was Drake, whom you know. He told me exactly what happened there.

Niko: That kid just can’t keep his big mouth shut…

Balmung: Then it’s true?

Niko: Yeah… All of it… That mask was gonna drain Canti, so I had no choice but to use it. And yet…even though I used it to save a life, somehow…I still regret ever having it at all.

Balmung: How did it happen?

Niko: No… Not here, and not now. Just sit tight and wait like everyone else. I told ‘em to give me some time before I tell them. Seemed to be a good idea, since Canti needed to make sure his computer was alright, as well as his sprite. Aero went out looking for Toshiro. I haven’t seen Drake in a while, so who’s to say what he’s up to? Just…leave me alone, okay Balmung?

The Azure Sky said nothing further. He just nodded and went on his way. Niko didn’t know it, but Balmung understood all too well what he was thinking about. He’d seen this before, of course. One thing that bothered him, though, was the story Drake had told him. While he had given Balmung a blow-by-blow story of how he and Niko defeated that Macabre, he mentioned that he never expected to see that creature in The World, as if he’d seen it somewhere before. He hadn’t put much effort into investigating that little comment because it seemed unimportant compared to the report of the Alpha Server crash. It had been hit hard with a self-replicating virus that soon terminated right after it was through, removing all but the smallest pieces of evidence. It had been much cause for concern, since the last major server crash had involved the final battle for the fate of The World. But now…with the Key of the Twilight exposed once more…he had to find out what was going on. Balmung made a mental note to investigate Toshiro as well as Darkside. He would have to keep this out of the hands of Lios for a while, though. He knew how that man reacted to these things.



It was hours later now, and as he had now resigned to telling them all that he could, he found it strange that things were quiet for a change. At the beginning of this mess, Canti’s stupid Joker Mask had been causing lots of weird stuff to occur. Aero had told him what happened with Toshiro. In a way, he was glad that Canti broke it in half. The only problem was that it might have been their only key to finding Darkside. After all, the Smoke Spirit was his creation, and maybe even the Macabre. The Twilight Bracelet couldn’t hope to find the guy without at least some implied direction. And now that his secret was out, he knew what was expected of him. He would do exactly what was needed, to defend The World… But first, it was time to share the truth behind it all with the others. He sent out a group Flash Mail, directing them to Beguiling Hunter’s Paradise, a forest-type area with comparatively weak monsters that were easily killed.

Niko: Finally getting back to my roots…

He set the three-word system at the Chaos Gate himself and transported himself into the place in which he planned to tell his tale. Ever since The World came out around the real world, it had been designed to create fields and dungeons this way. The actual system involved that categorizes them was unknown to Niko, of course. He merely knew this place by heart due to prior experience, which had a lot to do with the tale about to be told. There was a spot in the forest here, a clearing, that was ideal for this occasion. It was a genuine campfire circle with stone benches. One of the programmers had obviously added that in for effect, but the players liked it well enough. Niko sat down in one of the seats, namely the storyteller’s bench, and waited. It was not long before one showed up…

“Ya mind telling me why we have to gather in this lame old place?”

Niko: Nice to see you too, Canti. I guess that’s the closest I’ll ever get to a “Thank you for saving my life”.

Canti: Showing up like this is gratitude. Not tearing you up for making me wait covers the saving-my-life thing. You realize you could’ve killed the Smoke Spirit with that thing instead of us having to do it the hard way?

Niko: I wasn’t sure how it would react, and I had a hunch that we should run.

“What you mean to say there is that you heard the voice as well.”

Niko: Hello, Balmung. You’re right, of course. You saw right through me.

Balmung: I was going to ask you later, but then this came up. Tell me… Do you know who that voice belongs to?

Niko: Yes, but I want to explain it from the start if you don’t mind.

Canti: I hate long waits…

What seemed like a long wait for Canti, however, was a mere five-and-a-half minutes. It had taken Aero a few moments to get in shortly after Drake, who was strangely quiet today. Something about his expression said that he had thoughts of his real life on his mind. As for Aero, he’d taken so long because his search had finally turned up an answer. There was a post from Toshiro on the message board, indicating that the rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated. Hearing that he was alright had settled Canti’s frustration somewhat, since he’d been responsible in a way, and he ceased his torrent of angry mutterings.

Niko: Before I begin, I just have to say that there was a good reason for keeping this power hidden. The Admins would never let me keep something like this and I know that they might delete my account for even possessing it.

Balmung: You’re right. They would.

Canti: Get on with it.

Niko: Say…Canti? You’re alright from yesterday, aren’t you?

Canti: I’m fine. My sprite reset itself once I logged out and my vision cleared a bit later. Whatever happened didn’t last long. Now, tell the story.

Niko: Alright… The story begins right here in this field. It was back before the Twilight Incident. I was just a newbie then, hadn’t been in The World for more than a couple weeks, on and off. I chose this place at random, just for fun. It was only a little challenging for me, so I decided to check out the dungeon. Only, when I went in, the screen flickered and changed. I wasn’t where I was suppose to be…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Just imagine stepping down a pathway into a dungeon…and finding a whole different world, like Alice in Wonderland, except that this was too bizarre even for that old tale. It was an open field, one of a darkened mist. The ground was…living, then crusted, then full of codes and pixels – like it couldn’t make up its mind. There were confusing structure in the distance that looked alive as they drifted to and fro. This was a mess. There was no way that this place was how the dungeon was suppose to look. Niko cast his eyes around kind of nervously…

Niko: Hey, what is this? Where am I?!

There was a roar from somewhere close, behind a twisted spire of some sort. He also heard the sound of wings flapping. Neither of which was doing much for his confidence. The roar was…off somehow, like it had degraded in quality mid-way through the playback. It was very strange, but not as bad as the beast it was connected to! Rising over the spire, a monster that seemed to be a Red Wyrm decided to make an appearance. It was not a normal Red Wyrm. It was one of them, one of the invincible monsters that he heard were present in The World. The wings were tattered and holey. The chest had a couple of deep scars into its pixel-body, showing off code. There were green-glowing protrusions of data around the body of the creature at random, almost as if it were armor. It was not a simple opponent. It was a terror…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Balmung: A Data Bug.

Niko: That’s what it was, alright. You know of these things?

Balmung: I’ve had more than my share. All the undefeatable monsters of rumor were these very things. Its corrupted data changed the information governing how they operate, making them monsters with infinite health points.

Niko: Well, at the time, I was afraid to even touch one, let alone attack it. There are some things you just don’t mess with, and that was one of them.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He knew that the spoiled graphics implied that the monster was of a higher level than him, already too strong. He didn’t want to know what this strange glow did to it as well. Niko did the only thing that he could think of at a time like this; He ran. What else could he do? He was far too new to take on something as tough as that as thing was! The problem was that he was lost, totally without direction. He had no map to guide him, no familiar points to govern his movements with. There was nothing here to help him at all. And as the corrupted Red Wyrm followed him, other large beasts began to notice his activities as well… A Headhunter looking as if it had had a few bites taken out of it, a Hell Doberman with only half a face, yet another degraded Red Wyrm – all of these soon found him. It was sheer luck that he was a faster person than they were. They lost him once he ducked behind a half-finished structure and doubled back the other way. Soon, the Blademaster found a tower built upside-down, with its roof hatch being the only way to access it from the ground. Niko climbed his way inside carefully, and then ascended down into the tower until he found a stable piece of ground. This was, of course, the ceiling.

Niko: What a weird place… How did I ever get in here, and how do I get out?

“I think that I may be able to help you.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Balmung: As I suspected… It’s Aura, isn’t it?

Canti: Can I ask why you know so much?

Niko: He was with them, of course. I heard about it. Balmung of the Azure Sky assisting Kite, the bearer of the Twilight Bracelet.

Canti: I had no idea…

Aero: Neither did I, really. But then again, I was acquainted with someone who knew Orca of the Azure Sea shortly before his disappearance.

Drake: I heard about it, but I thought Mr. Balmung had had enough of hearing about it, so I kept my trap shut for once.

Niko: Now that you’ve all established yourselves, can I continue? Good.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He wasn’t sure if she’d always been there or if she’d just arrived herself, but as soon as Niko heard the girl’s voice, he rounded on her…and froze. Never had he seen such a character as her. What sort of player was she? Where was she from? Niko sat there, looking at a young girl with light silver hair and a flowing dress. Her eyes were a sort of light green with a gentle stare. He wasn’t sure what to make of this strange girl who had offered to help him. Just how would she do that exactly?

Niko: What a second… Who are you? Did you get sent here by that flash too?

“I was not sent here. I came here of my own free will to try and escape, but this has failed and I’m sorry that you were drawn in as well. My name is Aura.”

Niko: Was not sent here…? Wait a minute… You’re… You’re that girl in the church! You’re from that statue! I’ve seen you! But…how are you here? And for that matter, where IS here?

Aura: My existence was made possible through The World, but has also been stifled by it as well. This place…you could call it my original birthplace, in a way. You would know it as the beta-version of The World.

Niko: Beta-version…from the original software… You mean this is Fragment?

Aura: Yes, that is correct. I cannot be certain as to how you were brought here, but I can help you get out, at least.

Fragment was the given name for the beta-tested version of The World that was originally submitted by Harald Hoerwick. It originally used a different system to create fields and dungeons, using multiple letter combinations instead. Being the basic building blocks of The World, it would make sense that it still existed in some way, but as a half-formed purgatory filled with indestructible monsters? The odds weren’t so good on him staying alive for long like this, so…

Niko: What must I do?

Aura: If we can find the area in which the data corruption is greatest, a link to the rest of The World may be established.

Niko: But that means we’ll have to face those things out there! We’ll be killed!

Aura: There lies a way to combat them, but I am uncertain as to whether or not you would be willing to take this burden. Once attached, I cannot remove it as I am.

Niko: What is it?

Aura: It is a great power, one that can either create or destroy. It is also untested. I hope that it will work.

Niko: But it’ll help us out of here? We can escape with it?

Aura: Yes.

Niko: Well, don’t waste any more time! If there’s a chance to survive, we have to take it! I’ll take the responsibility, no matter what!

Aura: Very well…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Niko: It was the only choice, really. She was practically defenseless without the proper ability to use Data Drain herself. What else could she do but put it upon a willing test subject?

Balmung: Precious little. I heard from Kite how it was originally Orca whom she planned to bestow the Twilight Bracelet. However, I also know that it wasn’t the first to exist. Perhaps some of you are aware of-

Aero: A strange dumbbell-shaped monster? Yes, I am. All during the first wave of these Data Bug monsters, that creature had a habit of eating away monsters for their combat data. It would completely devour them. I had seen it doing this with my own eyes and I’m glad it was too preoccupied to try and kill us as well.

Balmung: It too had a bracelet, a real one that was made of steel.

Niko: The new version seemed to be made entirely out of data…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It had been a very lengthy process to install the strange device on his arm. This energy bracelet was now thoroughly entwined with his data. For as long as he walked through The World, this Twilight Bracelet would protect him. Or at least, that’s how it was suppose to work. In truth, these things could only be put to the test against a real foe. It was not as if they were short on degraded monsters to try this out on. No sooner had they stepped out, then a green-glowing Hell Doberman leapt out from behind some tossed aside refuse and made to tear Niko’s head off. As quick as he could, he rolled out of the way, but it doubled back on him and jumped again. This time, there was a reaction from the bracelet. When not in use, it was invisible, but now it appeared on his right arm and immediately spat out five prongs in a star-shaped pattern that launched the streams of data at the monster and apparently blew it apart into data fragments. Strangely enough, Aura seemed disappointed by this.

Aura: The bracelet is not working properly.

Niko: What do you mean? It got the job done.

Aura: It was designed to extract the virus and rewrite the monster into its original format. Instead, it seems to be furthering the degradation in order to destroy the monster. This, in turn, can make the server itself unstable.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Canti: You wanna run that by me again? I didn’t get a word of it.

Niko: Data Drain is just that. I aim this thing at a monster and drain some of the code in order to change it around. It rearranges into something else and I kill it. My bracelet wasn’t doing this. It was causing the virus in these monsters to grow more rapidly, all due to the fact that I was extracting the safer data.

Canti: So…the monster bursted because its data was unable to contain the virus anymore…and could infect the system itself?

Niko: That’s about it. If I caused a crash with this, we’d never have made it to the place she spoke of. I was afraid, then… Really, I think we both were, though I’m certain that Aura worried more for me than herself. Finally…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

They had been very careful to reach this area, to where the corruption was greatest and the data weakest. If it were his choice, he would avoid all of the monsters here and try not to Data Drain a single one. Along the way, Aura told him that these were Data Bugs, creatures who were the result of data manipulation and the purging of incomplete or viral data. Aura had also, in brief, explained the reason she herself could not remove these monsters or take down this nightmare zone of a Fragment design. To think that the program she regarded as her mother was the one responsible for her condition. It was designed to nurture her so that she could break free into The World as the Ultimate AI. Niko couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the so-called Ghost Girl’s plight. They soon reached the place in which Aura spoke of before. How ironic that it was the exact spot he had begun. Just who was it that had flung him into the heart of darkness? Nevermind that now… It was time for them to make their escape, but before that, Niko had something to say…

Niko: Aura, I want to help you take back what you’ve lost, to defeat the things that have been put against you.

Aura: No… I could never ask you to continue to put yourself in this danger. You don’t understand the full risk that you are taking.

Niko: I don’t care what the risks are. You offered to help me without a second thought and I want to return the favor.

Aura: But…

Before she began to retort, she stopped. Her eyes suddenly filled with concern as she looked over her shoulder towards an area in mid-air. There was a shimmering effect there. It grew rapidly and Aura seemed to gasp out a single word that Niko barely caught. The word was “Skeith”. The shimmering light soon became a portal for the strangest-looking monster that he’d ever seen. It seemed like it was something made out of stone, but given a sort of skin-color to it almost. The legs and arms moved as if they were attached to the gaunt torso, but they were not. It was a free-floating creature whose legs ended in lance-like points. The head appeared to be an unmoving masked helmet, a solid piece with bizarre horns that made it look like a crescent moon sort of symbol. It held onto a blood-red wand of some kind in one hand. Something in Niko’s mind told him to fear that weapon. He felt it was powerful beyond belief. Without delay, he raised his arm up and blasted at the thing with the power of the bracelet. One could only imagine his surprise…when the Skeith-being did the exact same thing and canceled his out!

Niko: He can Data Drain?!

Aura: You must get out! His power is far greater than your own!

Niko: I’m not leaving you!

Aura: I’m sorry…but you must.

He looked over to her just in time to see an arm raised carefully. When she did this, Skeith briefly cut off his attack, but only to identify what it was he was watching. Niko was able to figure it out right off the bat as he perceived white noise distortions on the screen. He was being transported back! Aura opened a gap in all the data and he felt himself falling through, unable to go back and help her…

Niko: AURA!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was silent now at the campfire circle. Niko had almost been unable to tell this part of the story, the single-most fearful and saddening event of his life in The World. At the time, he could not stop shaking, so he quit The World for a while. Skeith had unnerved him that much. It was a thing, a program, designed to kill without conscience… And as for his promise to Aura to right what had been wronged, that wish remained unfulfilled. He was far too weak.

Niko: She was right, you see. I could never have beaten Skeith. My form of Data Drain was exactly like his. It was used to bring chaos, to bring destruction. They would always cancel each other out, because Kite’s bracelet was the real antithesis to that thing. And besides that…Skeith was so powerful…

Balmung: I can tell you why this is. From what can be gathered, a Twin Blade called Sora was used in the programming of Skeith right off. Skeith was to embody the Terror of Death and Sora was a killing machine. He even killed players.

Drake: He PKed? That’s low…

Balmung: He learned his lesson.

Niko: Right. Well anyway… That was the last I ever really heard from Aura until the Twilight had been resolved. After she had finally been restored, I received a message to see her after she had already returned the repaired bracelet to Kite.

Aero: Well, don’t keep us in suspense. She obviously let you keep it, so how come?

Niko: She knew that when I finally got back into The World, I’d done all that I could to try and find her, and to keep the Data Bug population down. She believed that I acted responsibly with this “Beta-Bracelet” and let me keep it for as long as I didn’t cause harm with it…which has yet to come up.

Aero: But…isn’t it dangerous? She said it weakens the server!

Niko: I learned later that the one she gave to Kite did the same thing, really. Overusing it can have harmful effects on the server-

Balmung: And the player as well. I take it you still hear from Aura.

Niko: Of course. She warned me that something felt…off in The World lately.

Balmung: How do you meet her? We may need to talk. Normally, I would ask Kite, but he isn’t going to be here.

Drake: Why not? He’s cool!

Aero: The legendary Dot-Hackers are currently in trial, attempting to explain to the real world what happened in here. If there was ever a time for it to strike, it would be now, while they’re busy.

Balmung: “It”?

Aero: Can’t you feel it, Balmung? It’s evil…

Canti: Evil like…how? Evil like me?

Aero: No… Evil like Darkside. We have to go find him, and I know where.

Canti: You…! What?! How do you know?! You weren’t even in the loop until yesterday! How’d you learn where he was?!

Aero: I heard it from Toshiro…who received a mysterious Flash Mail asking him to come to Deluded Madman’s Paradise in Carmina Gadelica.

Niko: I see he retains that sick sense of humor… Who is Darkside? Does anyone know? Balmung, do you know anything about him?

Balmung: I went as far as to ask the Admins about Darkside, using his name-glitch as a cover for prying information. They’re finding it hard to trace. He must be a hacker if he’s covered up his tracks this well.

Niko: We’d guessed as much. Shall we go then?

Balmung: No, not all of us. We should split into two groups…

He didn’t want to manipulate them in any way. After all, they were just doing the very same thing he had been doing with Kite and BlackRose before, which was all that they could to keep safe The World. Still, he had to be sure that this took a direction in which all that must be done was completed. He held Niko up because he wanted the Key-bearer to take him to see Aura. While they were off doing that, Canti, Aero, and Drake – yes, it seemed that he was going to be a part of this too – would track down Darkside in lieu of Toshiro’s arrival. Toshiro himself would have come, but his computer was not running properly and he needed some time. The parties were divided, but there was a slight disagreement…

Canti: Why am I leader again? Why was I even leader the last time?

Balmung: I let you lead last time because I’ve grown use to following Twin Blades into battle. But in this case, you know more about this than those two. The senior member should always lead, as he has the most experience.

Canti: No way. This is The World, which makes the senior member the guy with the highest level. Aero, what level are you?

Aero: I’m 38.

Canti: No, not your age. You’re level.

Aero: That’s not very funny. What about you, kid?

Drake: I’m Level-69.

Canti: Yeah, so you- Wha? Really? That high?

Drake: Yup.

Canti: The kid’s in charge. I’m a lowly 25.

After a brief argument, Canti finally caved in and let himself be put in the lead, even though he didn’t want it. They only thing he really wanted to do was to tear into Darkside, for it seemed to him that this was all his fault. If he was the one who had created the Smoke Spirit, then that meant he was the man responsible for all the coma-victims, which included the two guys that made up that weird Joker monster he’d fought. That, in turn, made him responsible for the mask-related calamities that had been occurring and probably the Macabre creature as well. For these reasons, Canti was going to make him wish he’d never played this game…



Balmung: You know, you never explained how it was you continued to keep in contact with her. Were you afraid to tell the others?

Niko: Something like that. Aura would never trust me quite the same if I blabbed where I could find her all over The World. So, I have to keep it quiet. Since you know her, I’m sure you’ll be fine.

While the others had had to go and change servers to get where they were going, Niko and Balmung were remaining here in Mac Anu for their trip to find Aura. The words entered read Plenteous Smiling Hypha. At first, Balmung was confused by this. It was an ordinary field with an ordinary dungeon, a wood-element place where one could find a great deal of Thousand Trees…

Niko: Sometimes, I see a Wavemaster here with a cat. Not a real cat, mind you. A Blademaster who looks like one. She’s pretty cool, but I don’t even want to know what her story is. Could be an edited sprite, though, right?

Balmung: You could say that…

The field was literally filled with what appeared to be Aromatic Grass. If the cat that Niko spoke of was the one he thought it was, then it made sense that Aura might come here. Except…what was it that prevented anyone else from seeing her here while Niko was in the area? He got his answer as soon as they reached the dungeon entrance. Niko held up his right arm and the Twilight Bracelet glowed. He understood now. The reason for that story before was to explain himself fully, including where he would meet Aura even now.

Balmung: You’re opening the way to Fragment, aren’t you?

Niko: I never forget my roots, Balmung. The Epitaph of Twilight spoke of the Eight Phases, the AI-characters who would bring about the end for The World. Fragment became their native land. And so, when I went there, I was fighting on Skeith’s home ground. Now that they’re gone, it’s safe to return…

He activated the bracelet’s power and Balmung’s screen flickered strangely, like a lot of white noise and picture distortion before finally, he ended up in a place quite familiar. This place that Niko spoke of, the remnant of Fragment, it was the very battleground of the Phases. The enemy used this as their base of operations, and now they dared to tread on it in their absence. Of course, if it were clean, they would have nothing to worry about. As it happened, the area was not exactly clear of all the Data Bug refuse. Niko was surprised to find an infected Thousand Trees, probably spawned here because of an upsurge in viral activity while closely connected to the wood-elemental field. Balmung drew his sword, but Niko shook his head, aiming the bracelet at the creature and Data Draining it quickly.

Niko: I wasn’t completely honest about this bracelet. Kite’s required that a monster be exposed to data-manipulation, but my bracelet doesn’t work that way. The virus is protected by the monster-data, but I’m taking that data and leaving the virus behind. However, without the ability to drain viruses…

Balmung: No Gate Hacking. It can’t be done without Virus Cores.

“Precisely.”

There was a quiet sort of voice, both feminine and gentle in nature, to be heard from behind them. Both Niko and Balmung knew that it would not be long before she chose to show herself. After all, they were in what can only be construed as her personal territory, now that Morganna and the Phases were gone from The World. However, the appearance of the Data Bug was a clear testament to the fact that things were not entirely resolved just yet. Aura’s face took on a solemn seriousness as she spoke to them next.

Aura: The bracelet that I gave to you is a limited device, only a little stronger than the power of the Twilight Guardian. The other bracelet had been perfected once I changed it into a player-compatible item.

Niko: Don’t worry about it. It suits me fine. As long as I can use it for what’s right…then it has no limits.

Aura: I am glad to hear you say that. It will be needed again, since Kite is not present in The World… May I ask where he is now?

Balmung: He is telling the real world everything that has happened here, completely unaware that this is happening. I’ve tried to mail him, but it seems that he is not available at all. I can’t blame him. What he’s doing now is just as important as all this. I only hope that for whatever cause, we’ll do fine without him…



It is always night here. The town of Carmina Gadelica is magnificent in its view, a splendorous city full of lights and activity. It also happened to be a haven for some fairly high-level competitors. There were no less than three adult Grunties in front of one item shop, their masters busily preparing to go on some kind of big adventure. How ironic that they were going on one as well, but with considerably less equipment to handle. All they really needed were health items and such, which Canti could take care of on his own. Afterwhich…

Canti: We’re going where again? Demented Madman’s Paradise?

Aero: It was Deluded, I think. Funny, I don’t think those were very common words. I don’t think you can normally find them in the list.

Canti: Seems like that’s been happening a lot. Hey, kid!

Drake: Huh? What?

Canti: Wake up. We’re going.

The younger player appeared to be distracted somewhat, though by what was anybody’s guess. Canti didn’t give it any real thought. He figured that, like any kid, Drake had roughly a six-minute attention span, which was far too short for his own good. He just…didn’t like that look in his eye. It was like he was in deep thought over something, like he was far more profound than Canti might’ve guessed. Fat chance, but it still bugged him. They inputted the proper keywords to get where they were going…and were transported there almost instantaneously. When they arrived, there was a flinch from each of them. This place…was uber-creepy. The ground was dry and cracked, the sky was cloudy and full of lightning, and ugly protrusions from the ground that were like obsidian. Canti checked his map and the area status as they began to walk towards the dungeon…

Canti: Figures he’d choose a place like this… A higher-level field of darkness with an emphasis on Magic Portals. Worse yet, he’s probably hold up in a deep, dark dungeon that looks like a monster’s guts. We’ll have to-

Aero: Uhhh…Canti?

Canti: What?

Aero: I think that’s him over there.

Canti: Really? It’s that easy? Let’s go get him, then.



They spent some time catching up with current events that Aura was not aware of. The simple matter of fact was this… Aura was the AI of The World, which meant that as long as The World was safe and not causing any harm to the real world, she had no reason to look beyond The World at all. Many things go on in this place even without her realizing, anyway. She only sensed before that there was something off. Now that these two were informing her to the situation, perhaps she had a more insightful perspective on things…

Aura: I see. So, your friend had actually had contact with this new virus-carrier?

Niko: Sort of. Like how the bracelet was formed from an item, the mask was also a disguised program. Unfortunately, when Toshiro opened it, it crashed a server. I hate to think what would’ve happened if somebody put it on…

Aura: There is a definite mind behind all of this. It is too well organized to be a random occurrence. However, I cannot trace it to its source.

Balmung: We already know its source. There is a Wavemaster called Darkside who is clearly responsible. Although I hate to admit it, this incident appears to actually be caused by a hacker influence.

Aura’s expression changed from her serious gaze to a sudden surprise and confusion. Neither Blademaster was sure what that look actually meant, but they didn’t like it. There was something that she knew that Balmung may not have realized about this guy. But what? What had they missed?

Aura: It is impossible for the Wavemaster called Darkside to be responsible for what you have told me…because I have not sensed him in The World for some time now. There is something dark within the area your friends have gone, but it is not him.

Niko: But we didn’t say…

Balmung: She is one with The World, Niko. We didn’t have to tell her. But…if Darkside isn’t there…and he isn’t in The World… Aura, has he been in The World lately, like within the past few days?

Aura: No.

Niko: Impossible! Unless…

Balmung: It’s a trap.

It was a wide and flattish kind of valley, one that was every bit as dreary as the last and with no Magic Portals in sight. Aero found it to be strange that there wouldn’t be any portals here, but Canti pointed out that if he was a hacker, then all the portals could be removed from field entirely. The glitchy Wavemaster had his back turned to them all, most likely peering into an orb just like the one that was contained inside the Smoke Spirit. He didn’t move… They approached carefully, Canti inching closer every second as he was fed up with this guy.

Canti: Hey! Wake up in there! Your meeting’s been canceled and you’re talking with us instead! Are you listening? I said you’re talking with- AGH!

As he’d spoken, Canti had gotten right up behind the cloaked man and attempted to turn him around so he could talk to him, face to face. However, there was just one minor hitch in that plan… When the player swung around, Canti found himself staring into the grin of a rotted corpse! Darkside seemed to always have that dead look about him, but now he looked like he was really dead and gone, a sinister grin planted on his face long after departing this world. There was no player here, merely an undead doppelganger, which Canti pushed away and watched collapse into a heap at his feet.

Canti: What the hell was that?! He’s a friggin’ zombie!

Drake: It’s not him…

Aero: You’re right, it’s not. It can’t be. Players don’t look like that when they’re dead. They just turn all gray and vanish. This is just some kind of fake!

Canti: Fake?! He tried to grab me!

While they went on arguing about this, a rather unique thing happened with the body that appeared to be Darkside, or Darkside’s double. Something in its shadow began to shift around noiselessly. The three players did not see what it was, and they did not see the zombie-like corpse moving on its own. The ragged cloak of the rotted Wavemaster rose and fell as if something were writhing around below its surface. The zombie began to lift itself up, its mask falling away as it did.

Drake: He’s not the real thing, Canti! The real Darkside is a player like us!

Canti: Look… All I’m saying is that with all the weird stuff that’s been going on, we don’t take any chances and assume it’s him, okay? He’s been hacking through The World like a samurai in a lumberyard.

Aero: Uhhh…Canti?

Canti: Hey, don’t stop me now. I’m on a roll here.

Aero: Yeah, but…remember that zombie of yours?

Canti: He isn’t back on his feet now, is he?

Aero: Not exactly…

The fearful look in Aero’s eyes and the astonishment on Drake’s face did not do too well to inspire much confidence in wanting to see what was lurking behind him. Canti turned suddenly…and stared into a pair of empty sockets that belonged to Darkside, which soon became filled with strange writhing brown tendrils. He backed up a step and took in the whole picture. This wasn’t their Wavemaster. Not anymore. It was a sickly-gray dried-out corpse clad in ripped black clothing and a ragged black-leather cloak thoroughly infested with whip-like brown razor-tendrils. It was supported in mid-air by three similar black tendrils that had sprouted from the shadow itself. Just what did this mean? Every identifier of what they were looking at said “Darkside” except for the actual image being carved into their memory. It was a demented puppet on a string. Limbs flailed in reaction to the tendril’s movements. If this was Darkside, then he was long-gone…

Canti: Well, I can’t say I ever liked him anyhow.

This meant that they were on the offensive. It was just a monster. It had to be! If it were human, then Darkside might really… No! There was no time to be thinking that! Without delay, Canti literally threw himself at the freakish monster with great abandon, his knives stabbing in with such force that he thought he could break the zombie down himself. It came as a great surprise to him when the black tendrils wretched the entire form out of the Twin Blade’s way as it launched its own attacks against Drake and Aero. Drake, for his part, backed off. He seemed unsure of what to do. Seeing this infested form had sent chills running down his spine in real life. The whips missed him entirely. Aero found it difficult to get out of the way of these searching, writhing appendages. However, he found that he could get them twisted up in his double-bladed spear if he just twirled it some. A distraction. Just a distraction. Hmmm… He wondered… In the next couple of seconds, Aero was pressing the attack, slicing away at the extended tendrils that forced their way out of Darkside’s supposed body. The thing lurched towards him as its support-tendrils lugged it forward. It tried to strike him down from both sides with its awesome reach. However, Aero simply pole-vaulted with his spear and kicked the creature in its dead face. Doing that threw the body off balance…and right on cue for a sneak attack from Canti, who literally backstabbed it. The zombie jolted, then threw him off as something changed. A whip struck Aero’s face once, and he felt a real sting of pain from it. Some kind of feedback…

Aero: He’s electrified himself!

Canti: You mean we can’t get close and finish him off?

Aero: How DO we finish him off?

Canti: Easy. What kills a zombie?

That left Aero speechless for a second. Usually, zombies are killed by getting decapitated or shot in the head. It didn’t look like anything of that nature was going to help here. Darkside seemed to zombie only in name, as he had always carried the appearance of a necromancer. Canti didn’t give him the chance to answer his riddle because he wasn’t willing to wait. The answer…was fire.

Canti: Vak Rom!

There was a reason why this had to work. Canti had figured it out, or at least part of it. The monsters and bizarre freaks that were infiltrating The World were able to exist like normal monsters, which meant that there were rules to govern them. But what rules did they play by? Obviously not that of the popular game they were playing this very second. No, they seemed to evolve along certain laws of how creatures operated normally, like in movies. And since zombies burn, Darkside was quickly caught and damaged severely by a tornado of flames. There was a screech from the monster, most unnatural for something like that, really. It sounded like the thing they were looking at was not the real issue here. The tendrils caught aflame and retracted into Darkside’s burning body…then launched all at once for the Twin Blade in reprisal! He was grabbed, hoisted, and thrown very hard into one of the obsidian spires. By now, there were more tendrils than body.

Aero: Drake! Back me up and let him have it!

Drake: Alright!

He had a wicked edge of a plan, just a thought. If he distracted it for a few seconds, their most powerful player here might be able to kill it. It was a gamble, but they had to give it a shot. Canti was already healing himself, but it was a low-level healing power he had, so they had to move now! Aero ran straight up to what was once Darkside and began to hack and slice at him methodically, then ducked out right before Drake was ready to strike. The proof of the kid’s high level was in the spell he cast. ‘Twas OrmeAni Kruz, the power to bring claws up from the ground to slice in darkness. He must’ve figured that the darkness element need not apply here unless specified. His attack had an even greater effect than he could have hoped for. It cut the body apart and critically damaged the tendrils. The black ones squirmed for a moment before retreating into Darkside’s shadow. Neither of them dared to proceed towards it, and neither did Canti once he saw what was going on. The corpse blackened and disappeared. Whatever they did, they had just won. Canti smirked somewhat at this.

Canti: That was pretty swift, kid. You sure you don’t wanna lead?

Drake: No way, man. Leadership cramps my style.

Canti: Same here.

Aero: Hey, don’t look at me. I’m not-

Just then, there was a rumbling from all around, an earth tremor that either caused or coincided with the white noise on the screen. Images flickered madly as everything began to distort. Then, something broke the surface from right where the shadow of Darkside had been. It didn’t just emerge from the ground, it came right out of the data, tearing a hole in the landscape as it rose. It…looked like a giant snake or a worm, something alive and frustrated! More of the screeching followed, and the three players of The World knew then that something dwelled in this place with them. Some sort of abominable creature… It whipped around without true direction, its mass crackling with a crimson energy that distorted the graphics as it cut through ground and air. It seemed to be searching for them, trying to finish them off even though it couldn’t find anyone. Finally, it plunged through the ground once more, leaving a long rip in the data-floor. An unearthly glow of red came off of that, soon fading. Canti, Drake, and Aero all looked around at what had happened. There were tears in mid-air and in the ground, all leading into layers and layers of pure data from The World. It was almost like an optical illusion that couldn’t possible be real, but it was. None of them had any desire to approach the holes, for fear that something might lash out at them once more.

Canti: What…was…that?!

Aero: A…umm…uhhh…monster?

Canti: Well, yeah…but what I meant was “What in the nine hells is a monster like that doing in a place like this?!” Some kinda’ snake…with viruses…breakin’ down the software… Where do you get stuff like that?

“With any luck, you don’t.”

Canti: Sh-

With the two of them trying to come to terms with what they had just witnessed here, and Drake simply unable to do much beyond stare in awe at the mess that had been made, it was rather easy to miss the delayed arrival of both Balmung and Niko. This latest occurrence had put Canti so much off guard that he dropped his controller upon hearing Balmung speak. He and Niko had broken off their contact with Aura shortly after they realized how much of a danger this ‘meeting’ would actually be. Darkside had not been within The World for quite some time, which meant that the person they spoke to before was nothing but a poser. And if Balmung was right, he wasn’t even a human being.

Balmung: Alright, who wants to begin?

Canti: Ask the Human Tape-Recorder. I’m taking a pill.

By “Human Tape-Recorder”, he meant Drake, but what was this pill about? Was he sick or was taking a pill suppose to mean taking a break? Well, that wasn’t important right now. Balmung surveyed the damage. It was going to take quite a bit of doing to undo the damage wrought here in short notice. While pondering this, he was able to hear from Drake a recounting of what had happened, though seen through the eyes of a child. He couldn’t understand how they could have been deceived like this! He had thought that Darkside was the cause for all of this, and then he turns out to be the puppet of a far greater power. But who? Or what? How much was truly happening under their very noses, entwined with the very fabric of The World. Aura had mentioned earlier that there was a mind behind this, and that she sensed a dark presence of some kind. She was convinced that it was never Darkside here and she was right. But if it wasn’t the mind of a clever hacker, then what? Was it all the virus? Was it all because of that mysterious Joker Mask? The Twilight Bracelet had been disguised as an item to inflict its purpose upon a chosen vessel. Could the other side forge its own mighty tool? There was already a bracelet that worked in reverse of the one he’d been better acquainted with. Could a virus create its own special key into the system? It was not a prospect he was enjoying thinking about.

Balmung: Aero, you were there with him and Toshiro. You saw what happened to the Alpha Server. Do you think that there is a connection between it and here?

Aero: I’m not sure. Something was overloading that server, which may have been the virus multiplying, but I can’t be certain about that. If you’re thinking that the mask might’ve spawned what we’ve just seen…I dunno. Maybe.

Canti: Well, I know that the two are at least connected, and I don’t just mean by Darkside. You wanna hear?

Aero: You sound kind of mellow. What’re you on?

Canti: None of your business. It just goes to my head and makes me feel weird for a sec. Now, do ya want the answer or not?

Balmung: We’re listening…

Canti: It’s the red glow. I knew it was familiar. That’s the thing that tried to turn me into shish-kabob. It’s all a virus, one that can make changes in The World.

Balmung: But you still have no idea what you’re really fighting here.

Canti: Ummm…no. Not a clue on that one.

Balmung: So, we have nothing to go on, then. I’ll probably have to question that hacker who told us about this meeting, except that he can’t even get on and- Niko, what are you doing?

Niko: I’m looking at a serious problem here.

He was over at the edge of one of the holes in the ground, looking down at it. It appeared as if he were peering deep down into the chasm of data and integrated code, but he was really looking at the edge. Balmung was the first to go see what he was staring at, then Drake and Aero, and Canti last. It was kind of hard for him to keep too much interest in small things like this during ‘pill-time’. For a moment, there was silence. Drake was the first one to speak up.

Drake: It’s dissolving…

Niko: It’s fragmenting the data, rotting away at the wound. If this is a virus, then it’s safe to say that it’s trying to format The World.

Canti: Aren’t the Admins suppose to have something for this? A retro…anti-virus program of some kind?

Niko: Without any clue as to what kind of infection we’re dealing with? They’d be in the dark as much as we are.

Balmung: Too true. There’s another way to approach this, but it won’t be easy. I’ve never actually tried contacting an actual hacker myself.

Canti: Oh, you mean her.

Drake: Her?

Aero: Helba. Canti’s been a little hot under the collar about her since the Alpha Server. He didn’t like the idea of Toshiro being left behind.

Balmung: I see. Well, I wasn’t planning on joining you in this. I have some other leads to follow, and I must make sure that this isn’t having an effect on the rest of The World yet. I’ll be in touch.

Niko: Be careful, Balmung. Those things out there are dynamite.

He didn’t need to be warned. Neverminding that as Balmung of the Azure Sky, he was a very capable player no matter who the enemy, he also knew just how dangerous The World could be if you gave it half the chance. Data Bugs alone were a terrible threat, since he had once almost been killed by one. But now, this new creature line-up was more than just your run-of-the-mill infection. It took more than high levels or a shiny bracelet to deal with them. You had to actually know what you were dealing with. Niko began to wonder if his bracelet would be of any use, or if even Kite could handle this.

Niko: No, nevermind… I’ve heard just how great he really is from Aura. He would never give in, not even when he’s powerless to stop The World from crumbling.



All the pieces from the puzzle were on the board, or at least all that had been thus far revealed. There was Aura, convinced of a presence and a danger to The World. There was Niko, the bearer of the Imperfect Key. There was Balmung, the Azure Sky Admin. These three alone were drawing events towards them as they tried again and again to discover what was happening to The World. The fact that Balmung was now part of the CC Corporation was fairly interesting. She wondered how well he would do… At the very least, he would not be a pighead about things. Niko was devoted, but somewhat inexperienced in this sort of event, which made him perfect for the job. But what really caught her interest as of right now were the two players whose fates were now inexorably connected to that Joker… She hadn’t been watching them too carefully until the data-transfer experiment back in the Alpha Server. She saw everything from then on in and decided to lend a quick hand to those in need. Toshiro had taken a greater risk than he realized, exposing that so-called power to himself. If it worked the way he said, he could rival even her ability or go so far as to surpass it. However, to control this virus…would not be an easy task. For his sake, as Canti said before her, he had better know what he was doing. And speaking of him, she would be most interested in seeing what this Twin Blade would do for The World. Definitely not the savior type, but with the right push…

“Helba?”

Helba: Yes?

“It is as you said. Another data corruption in The World. It grows stronger every minute. My power isn’t enough to stop it.”

Helba: That’s alright. I think I know who can.

She had been standing on the rooftop of a building in Net Slum, examining her data to pass the time. There was no doubt in her mind that they would come to this place, looking for answers. However, there was only so much that she could tell them. She had a theory, nothing more. Unlike the prior incident, this one was happening far too quickly. The stage was set and the players were out, but the story was progressing at a rate that would require them to speed-read in order to catch up. This latest confirmation of her scans had put a grim outlook on things. Her theory had yet to be disproved, and the evidence was leaning more and more to it. But…who was she just talking to? There was nobody there…



He loved this city. He wasn’t sure why, but Carmina Gadelica had sort of a calming effect on him. It was always nighttime here and the scenery was just plain awesome. The music wasn’t too bad either. Canti sat on a bench, looking up into space, the pseudo-space up in the sky that is. There was something about that inky black void, both the real-life one and this one, that he liked. It was mysterious. It was cool. It was…dark. He liked the darkness, of course. That was part of his character, and part of his mood. He’d separated from the others right now, just relaxing for now. Where were they now? Well…Niko had decided to check with Aura on how to contact Helba, Aero was going to go ask Toshiro about the place called Net Slum, and Drake was stocking up on items. He wasn’t sure how it was that Aero seemed to know all this stuff. Maybe he just read into a lot of weird news in The World, things that guys like Canti just can’t be bothered with. So boring…

“Excuse me, but are you in any way at all desiring to be left alone, because it was my intention to ask if this seat was taken so that I may sit, so may I sit or may I not?”

Canti: Uhhh…no…that’s…fine…I guess.

A totally unexpected confrontation, and a strange one at that. Canti’s eyes went about three feet to the left to find a peculiar character standing there. He was the only one around, so it must’ve been him that spoke. The funny thing was how he was both formal and highly-analytical in his approach to simply asking if he may sit at the bench he currently occupied. Canti wasn’t sure how to react, so he let him go. What a bizarre player… The red-and-black attire wasn’t too bad, but what was with the weird gasmask? And what kind of player was he?

Canti: I uhh, didn’t catch your name. Your player info isn’t coming up at all.

“The reason that I have not given my name is because you have not asked, in which I was expecting you to since my personal data is not accessible in any way at all, so when you ask about my player information, I answer by saying ‘My name is Spiritas and I am very different’, which means that I am Spiritas and a very different kind of player existing within The World.”

Canti: You’re a strange one, alright. Don’t you ever get tired of talking like that?

Spiritas: There is no need to ask a question such as “Don’t you ever get tired of talking like that?”, because it is a matter of fact that I cannot become fatigued or exhausted through the act of expressing what I have to say, such as the phrase, “I have information that you will need on your journey”.

Canti: Well, when you put it that way… Wait a minute. What are you talking about? Were you just saying you had something for me for real or was that just your idea of a joke?

Spiritas: For something to be real, it must be observed by someone so that it can be said to have existed in the first place. I was given to observe that I have in my possession the information you need to continue on what is called your journey, which is true because I indeed have such information to impart.

Canti: Helba. Somehow, I know this is from Helba. Okay, what’s the info?

Spiritas: The information I have to give states, and I quote, “The God of Black Flames shall meet the Queen of Darkness in the Lost Traveler’s Den.”, while also knowing that there is only a short time in which this meeting can take place and that the God of Black Flames is the only one the Queen of Darkness will see at this time. It is also stated that this is the server in which you must use to get there.

Canti: Hey, how does she know what I- Forget it. If I gotta go alone, then I gotta go alone. I’d better get going. Will you tell my friends what happened?

Spiritas: Oh yes.

He gave the odd player a glare of confusion then. After all that nonsense he was spouting, he decides to answer him with a simple “Oh yes” comment? Either this guy was nuts or he was deliberately irritating. Of course, Canti was unaware that Spiritas was anything but these things. He was perfectly sane…for an AI created in Net Slum. Canti, who had never even seen or heard about Aura until he heard Niko’s tale, had no experience with this. Without delay, he went over to where the Chaos Gate was located here and sifted around.

Canti: Now…what were those words again?

The message was a riddle, of course. If he hadn’t been reading the text that went with it, as per his game settings, he might’ve been stuck for a minute. But no, the Lost Traveler’s Den was the three-word setup for a particular field area. He set all the words into place and hit the confirmation button to see what he was getting into. For a moment, all he could do was stare. And then…

Canti: Is she insane?! I’m not strong enough to tackle this alone!

The Lost Traveler’s Den was a Level-50 fire-element field, a place with a fair few monsters and a deep dungeon. Canti immediately decided to go save his game data before jumping into something like this. There were monsters in there that were like giants to him. Once he had returned, he entered the words once more and stepped through the gate. Strange… There was…some static. It happened right before he appeared in the field. It was a desert, sand as far as the eye could see with a great deal of structures flitted throughout. Canti checked his map to see where the dungeon was…only to find it inactive. Someone didn’t want him peeking around the Den ahead of time. He was gonna have to search for Helba the old-fashioned way; by keeping his eyes open.

Canti: The one problem with all of this is that I might’ve ended up in a coma back at that other desert. Damn, I wish Niko had just kept his mouth shut…

Things were a lot simpler for him when there wasn’t a consequence for his actions, when he could put his life into his hands and take off without ever realizing there was danger afoot. Niko had told him what he needed to know for his own good, but Canti knew he would’ve felt better now if he was unaware of just how much a threat these hacked creatures posed to him. As he trekked across the long stretches of endless sand, he found himself looking over his shoulder every few seconds to see if he was being followed. No such enemies were coming from behind. In fact, no such enemies were making an appearance at all. The field was desolate, without life…or whatever passes for it in The World. Confused, Canti moved on, spying the entrance to the dungeon up ahead.

Canti: Maybe she deleted the monsters so I could safely get in…

Would she do such a thing? It was anybody’s guess. As Canti approached the dungeon, however, the ground began to shake and shudder, sand rippling under his feet. He had spoken way too soon, because it looked like the dungeon was going to attack him. It had been an alligator head poking out of the sand with its mouth open, but now it appeared to be unearthing itself. Canti leapt straight back as it roared at him with its open maw. Wait a second… That wasn’t right. Since when could an alligator make a sound like that? The answer to that question would come in the form of a messy explosion, followed by an even louder roar. The lizard had just given birth to a dragon; a Parasite Dragon to be precise. Canti had no doubts that this was somehow linked with Helba. He’d been badmouthing about her ever since the Alpha Server collapsed and wasn’t surprised now to find what might be construed as a hacker’s revenge. But then, if that were the case…

Canti: Why’d you bother to go to all the trouble?

Speaking out loud as if Helba were watching, as he was sure she was, Canti’s mind raced for a way to fight this black-and-gray menace. He was out of special items and the spells he had were too weak to handle a beast like this…or were they? There was something he’d noticed about this monster. It wasn’t casting spells. If it was a short-range attacker only… Canti smiled devilishly. This could be fun after all. The dragon approached with wings unfurled, its opponent doing the same. The only real difference between it and Canti was that it was a beast that could fly. However, it wasn’t going to get the chance. As soon as its wings started flapping, a fiery tornado shot up into its face. To any monster at this level, this was a minor annoyance at best. What Canti intended it for was a distraction. Instead of taking off, the Parasite Dragon just leapt for its prey, much more predictable. Canti let it come and then jumped right over its head, landing on the back, knives driving into the tough scales of the creature. Screaming an animalistic sort of pain, it shook him off and swiped its claws back at him. He was lucky to have rolled away. This thing could probably kill him in one attack. It breathed some kind of fire at him next. It wasn’t a normal flame. It looked kind of toxic. Canti ran around behind the dragon, making sure that he didn’t get caught in that.

Canti: Yeah? You breathe fire? So do I!

It wasn’t that fire spells were the only thing available to him. It was just that he abjectly refused to use anything else. Fire consumes entire cities, forests, people – nearly everything in the world. Truly, he was fascinated by the subject. It made one wonder how things were in the real world for Canti… After again succeeding in angering the monster, the Twin Blade regained its back and attacked a much more vital spot on the dragon; its wings. As it threw him off once again, he tore one of them open, forcing a shriek of pain from the monster.

Canti: Go on! Sing me your pain! I- Whoa!

He was about to proclaim how much he loved it when the big lizard took another swipe at him with the claws, then a bite and a leap to follow up. Losing use of a wing had sharpened its vicious edge, putting Canti completely on the defensive. Actually, it was more like a retreat. “When in doubt, get the hell out.” Those were words to live by in a video game when a battle seems a little too tough. You always had the chance to run off and think of some kind of a plan. Canti didn’t have a plan for this just yet. He just needed a little inspiration.

“Snakey Cactus!”

He got it. In every field and dungeon, there were random Grunty Foods sitting around with nothing better to do than shout their names out with incredible enthusiasm. Canti never liked Grunties, so he never had any need for these things. However, today was going to be a little bit different. He scooped up the freaky plant and held it behind his back until the dragon came near. Then, just as it was about to snap at him, he threw it in the monster’s face! Its jaws came down on vegetation instead of flesh and bones, which was enough to throw off ANY carnivore.

Canti: Lights out!

His blades came down on the monster’s eyes during its small confusion. From then on, the dragon was fighting blindly with its claws and random blasts of toxic fire. In other words, it was totally useless. Canti injured the tail, and then the other wing. His actions weren’t just of any game player fighting a monster, but of a vindictive hitman taking down a mortal enemy. He felt that old buzz of not caring what consequences he’d incur coming back. If he kept worrying like that, nothing would ever get done, including this whole virus problem in The World. He finally killed the dragon as it struggled to dislodge him from his back again. With his arms wrapped around the creature’s neck, he wasn’t going anywhere until his blades cut open its throat. It let off a final death-moan before falling heavily onto the sandy ground. Canti stood there as it disappeared. He looked almost out of breath, a small hint of a smile creeping up the sides of his mouth. As he went up a couple of levels, he fell back into the sand dune and laughed at the empty field. If that was some kind of revenge scheme from Helba, it failed! He laughed until he had no more to laugh at, and then…

Canti: What…?

He thought he saw something from the position he was in. It was like a mirage, but this wasn’t a real desert. Could they have mirages at all? He wasn’t sure, but it looked like someone was watching him, someone with pointed ears. Canti sat up and looked around again. Gone, if it was even there at all. He could swear that he saw someone standing there, looking at him approvingly or as though impressed by what he just did. What could it have been?

“Well now… I haven’t seen a battle like that in quite a while. Heavily outmatched, but you found a way to best the champion after all.”

At first, he thought that maybe the image he might’ve mistaken for a simple mirage had been a Helba-image, but that was not the case. Helba was not in any different form from the last time. Chances are, she never changed form at all, which meant that he must have been fooling himself before. The almost divine-looking Wavemaster standing over him had a slight smile, but otherwise her expression was unreadable. Her mask reminded him a little of Darkside, which only soured his mood. Did all these hackers play as god-like Wavemasters? Canti stood up before Helba with his deep black eyes glaring into the visor that represented her eyesight. His own expression was more than readable. He didn’t like her at all.

Canti: Do you enjoy toying with me like that?

Helba: I wasn’t playing games. Call it a sort of test. Faced with incredible odds, a person will act in so many ways, thereby defining what kind of person they are. Some rise to the challenge. Others fall or run away.

Canti: Uh-huh. And what does the self-styled Queen of Darkness think of the unwitting guinea pig before her?

Helba: Quite unique, if you really must know. Very reckless, yet very effective. Don’t think of it as a character flaw, though. Sometimes, an impulsive action is the right one. Shall we get to business? The tavern awaits…

Before he could ask, Helba’s staff glowed brightly and an image of some sort began to flicker into view, kind of like a mirage. It seemed…somewhat similar to a café from Carmina Gadelica. It shifted into view, bearing the name that was the same as this field area, the “Lost Traveler’s Den”. The irony hit Canti like a brick in the face. Being a hacker with a lot of spare time, Helba must have constructed a lost traveler’s den in this area like a mirage oasis that you can only find if you know the way. Helba created it, so of course she was able to make it appear at will. She invited him to sit down, which he did…but his attitude remained unchanged.

Helba: Now then… There are things that you wish to know from me, correct?

Canti: That’s right. You can start with Alpha Server.

Helba: Ah, yes. I knew you’d be asking me that one. You’re angry because I left your friend, Toshiro, behind in a situation that was most unsafe. But ask yourself this… Should you have let him tamper with that data from the start? I think you know the danger of it now.

Canti: We needed to know more about it. It was the key to this whole problem, at least at the start. Now, I don’t know what to think.

Helba: A key… Yes, I think you might be right. But in any case, the point about Toshiro is rather moot. He went through with his decision and sent the Joker data throughout his own system. Because of it, I was unable to remove him from that server. The virus prevented the command from being carried out.

Canti: So, it was never on purpose?

Helba: That’s not the way I operate. I don’t punish others for their actions. It’s been my role to advise, to caution, and to render aid when necessary. I gave a word of warning to Toshiro, knowing how dangerous the viral data could be. But now that I think of it…he might not be in as much trouble as I imagined.

Canti: He told me that it could rewrite programs or create new ones with ease. Hell, it seemed to do that on its own without anyone messing with it.

Helba: And now, there is an infection from that Joker which is spreading quickly into The World. You said yourself that it was the key to the entire issue. Does that remind you of something, of another important key in The World?

Canti: Are you saying that the mask was something like that bracelet Niko has?

Helba: It’s not impossible. However, I’ve been wondering just how much like it that mask really is. Or rather was. Destroying it might not have been the wisest move, but I suppose it was unavoidable. As I said, the infection is already spreading into the servers. It began in Mac Anu, but lately there has been a spearhead into the rest of them that is growing rapidly.

Canti: Tell me… Why am I even bothering with this stuff? There’s a million things I could be doing instead. So, why do I even bother with The World?

Helba: I can’t guess at your personal reasons, but I think I can say this… You want to know. The World is a mysterious place and you’ve just uncovered a new challenge. Just remember that this is as real as the world outside the game.

Canti: I won’t forget.

There was a slight smile on her face still, then she vanished before him into thin air, teleporting out of the field area. Soon, café also disappeared, leaving Canti alone in an empty desert. Not just devoid of life, either. It was literally empty, nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. He could see why that was, too. It was infected, much like the Alpha Server. The reason there had been a lack of monsters, a lack of anything spectacular or even a real dungeon, was that everything was being slowly purged just like before. He could just make out a hole in the sky above him, spreading out like a blood seeping from a wound. He found that there was no trouble for him in gating out, so he did. As he left, he couldn’t help but shudder, as if shaking off a presence. Hadn’t Aura said there was an intelligence behind it all? He’d forgotten to ask Helba about that, but at least she’d given him a piece of mind. Canti appeared in Carmina Gadelica now, alone. That was strange… Hadn’t the one guy in the gasmask told the others where he was? And wouldn’t they have waited on him to hear what Helba had to say? Nobody was here, though…

END OF PHASE 2>>>>>

They had opted to split up to more effectively get things done. It was a sort of command decision for the sake of the whole team, in which they would all report back at Carmina Gadelica later with all their findings. At least, that had been his plan. It didn’t exactly work out, though. Out of them all, only he and Aero seemed to be doing anything useful. Drake could get all the items he wanted. It wouldn’t make a difference in the end. The rules did not apply anymore, or not as well. As for Canti, he was lazy. He didn’t want to do anything more than admire the city. Well, it was nice, but they had a job to do! Aero had understood and acted without delay to find out what he could about Helba’s ‘place of power’, Net Slum. He also said he’d try and check in on Toshiro, who was rather quietly lately… That left himself, the bearer of the Beta Bracelet, as he liked to call it. To be honest, Niko actually preferred that it was not like the other. The responsibility that Kite must have had was enormous… Here he was, a lesser bearer of the bracelet, and he had enough problems as it is. For instance, while making his contact with Aura, a Flash Mail was sent to his computer from Balmung. It was regarding an upsurge in virus activity. Fields and dungeons in Mac Anu were beginning to corrode, much like the time of the Twilight epidemic. Effects were also showing in Dun Loireag and were even beginning to manifest in Carmina Gadelica areas. Balmung wanted to meet him in Dun Loireag, because it was a likely spot for the center of the infection. He just didn’t know where yet… Niko was unable to find Canti or any of the others when he returned to Carmina Gadelica, so he had to leave on his own. However, he was not in the mood to be talking to Balmung at this time. As he materialize at the Highland City, he found the Descendant of Fianna waiting for him there.

Balmung: Where are the others?

Niko: I couldn’t find them.

Balmung: I see… Can you use that bracelet to get a fix on the virus epicenter?

Niko: I might be able to, but there’s something I have to ask you first.

Balmung: What is it?

Niko: When were you going to tell us you were an Administrator?

Balmung: So, you found out… It must have been Aura that told you.

Niko: That’s right. And while she said that I could trust you, I’m not so sure. You’re an Admin of the CC Corporation and I’m in possession of a very dangerous item. Don’t tell me that you aren’t planning to do something about that.

Balmung: As with Kite, I doubt there’s much that can be done, but I’m not even going to make an issue of it. We need the bracelet, or any bracelet, to get us through this. I became an Admin in order to watch over The World. The only thing that has changed is that I have a little more power and influence.

Niko: Yeah, so far. I wonder how long before it looks to you like we’re the enemy, right along with that virus…

Balmung: It will not come to that.

Niko: Good. The only problem is that I can’t help you anyway.

Balmung: Why not?

Niko: Because the door is locked and my key doesn’t fit. The place we’re looking for is called Rotting Pseudo Grasslands, but it’s a Protected Area and-

Balmung: Your bracelet is incapable of Gate Hacking… So, that means that we’re locked out completely. I’d open it myself, but I’m betting that it was put in that status as a result of the spreading virus and can’t be removed.

“Not by ordinary means, no. But by my means, yes.”

The voice’s owner did not seem familiar to Balmung, yet he felt somehow that whoever it was, he should know him for some reason. This was largely due to the fact that Canti appeared to be accompanying him, but didn’t Aero mention someone that fit this description? He mentioned him with several useful reports on all that had been going on with the virus… He remembered. It was Toshiro. The Long Arm had returned from his offline isolation, at last. But what did he mean when he spoke about opening the Protected Area?

Balmung: Canti, this is Toshiro, isn’t it?

Canti: Yeah, that’s him. I saw him back at Carmina, looking around for something. He has the Joker in his system now, which means he can use it at will. That little barrier in there? It’s going down.

Balmung: It wouldn’t be the first time the power of the enemy was used for good.

Toshiro: Glad you approve. Now, if you would just step aside…

Maybe it was the so-called power that he had managed to secure, but Niko felt as if Toshiro was acting way too cool for a time like this. He shook his head, getting rid of the feeling. He was just a little paranoid, having already suspected that Balmung was going to act against him. That turned out to be a bust, and he didn’t even know Toshiro that well, except from what Canti told him, which wasn’t much to go on. It seemed to him, though, that he would not get along with Balmung, since Balmung was an Administrator and Toshiro was a hacker. However, Toshiro was willing, eager, and able to get the job done where his own skills lacked. He raised a hand to the Chaos Gate and it responded, creating a Red Gate in its place.

Toshiro: This Red Gate, which Canti stumbled upon, is a method of bypassing all security placed upon an area of The World. It’s the equivalent of a backdoor. It does not remove the protective barrier or even touch it, which means that once we step through, the door closes behind us, making sure that nobody else gets in.

Balmung: Or out.

Toshiro: Of course, we can get back out. Do you think I’d walk in there without the ability to re-open the gate from the inside? And since keeping an area sealed is the way Administrators keep other players out of harm’s way, I should think that leaving it in that state would make more sense.

Niko: He’s got a point. We won’t be stranded. We just won’t have any reinforcements. Speaking of which…where’s Drake? And Aero?

Toshiro: I haven’t seen the kid around at all. As for Aero, there’s no time to wait here for him. We have a virus on the move, going from server to server, devouring everything in sight and leaving its taint behind.

Canti: The four of us can handle it, can’t we?

Niko: Yeah…I guess you’re right.

Balmung: Then, let’s go. I have a feeling it won’t remain in one place for long. The Cursed Wave, or rather its effects, had a habit of moving around to avoid its pursuers and continue on its blighted mission…

The Red Gate responded as any gate would, instantly transporting them to the field area called Rotting Pseudo Grasslands. The first thing that they noticed was the rain, along with the black skies and scant lightning. This was a Level-22 darkness area, one that was almost like a grassland, as advertised, but everything was dead. Before anyone could ask whether or not this was the place, a loud clap of thunder was heard from overhead and the sky was momentarily nothing more than static, like bad TV reception. Beyond the rain, a strange sound was heard…

Niko: Anyone else hear that? It’s like…breathing.

Balmung: Whatever it is, it’s raspy, overlapping… I can hear more than one.

Toshiro: It’s over beyond the next hill.

That was where the sound appeared to be coming from, and it wasn’t the only one either. As the four of them drew closer, they could hear something like writhing and squirming, as well as the sizzle of what might have been acid. The hill was a steep one with a gradual descent on the other side. Upon reaching the apex of it, though, there didn’t appear to be anything accompanying the noise. An empty valley was all that stretched out before them…for the moment. Balmung felt that the noise was getting closer to them, so nobody moved. Then, from the ground, the thing they had been looking for made its appearance. At first, there were only a few black-and-green tendrils, like vines. They shot from the ground and reached into the sky, followed by others only a second or two behind. Then, unbelievably, they pierced the clouds that lay above, straight through to the underlying code behind the graphics. Once this was completed, the creature rose from the ground entirely, tearing through the graphics of the ground to make room for its hideous body. It was like a tree, but not like a Thousands Trees kind of thing. Imagine an ugly tower made of tree trunk, twenty feet tall and over thirty feet wide at the base. Vines lined with barbs and eyes were everywhere, each one ending in a viper-mouth and letting off traces of a dark-green toxic mist. Red-glowing cracks played across the ground, indicating an extensive amount of roots. On several spots of the main trunk, there were…faces, each one about five feet in diameter. They looked almost human, but with an ugly shade of green on half-melted horrific visages that breathed heavy clouds of acidic mist. Whatever this creature was, it was the current source of infection. It had taken root in Mac Anu and worked its way through Dun Loireag. Now, the thing had already stabbed into Carmina Gadelica several times and was preparing to move on yet again. A monster like this, one that acted perfectly as a virus, was brilliant…yet also sickening and heartless.

Canti: There’s no way that thing’s gonna give a damn about any of our attacks.

Niko: Well, we don’t have a choice. D’you see what I see?

Balmung: That’s impossible…

There was an area near the base of the monster that seemed more like a pod with tendrils than a tree or plant of any kind. It was pulsating like a half-dead heart and had a large amount of the vines in that area especially. Bound in that spot by what appeared to be teeth was a player whose color scheme clashed with that of the plant’s. It was a Long Arm that they were all familiar with. Somehow, though there wasn’t any immediate answer as to why, Aero had come in contact with the virus earlier and was now caught in it. While the others were trying to grasp what was going on, Balmung had the answer already as he turned to strike at Toshiro!

Balmung: It’s you! It has to be! The virus areas were all sealed off by The World Administrators to protect the players, so how did Aero get in to see this creature?

Toshiro: What a shame… I thought I could fool you all.

Canti: Toshiro, what is this?!

Toshiro: It’s a little something I made up called a Toxic Harvester. It came to me in a dream. I had to build it, and I had to use it. With the power I have now, I can do anything at all. Aero didn’t believe me, but I’m showing him now.

Niko: What’s it doing to him?

Toshiro: Implanting a virus, of course. I want to see just how much it’ll take for him to snap.

Niko: Not for long!

Niko and Canti suddenly tore off in the direction of the Harvester. Toshiro moved to stop them, but was only able to knick the young Blademaster’s back, then he had no other alternative but to defend himself from the Azure Sky, whose sword was aiming to bring home the killer blow. Toshiro’s weapon was not the Relief Lance he had had before. It was something called the “Glaive of the Proph3t.” What exactly this meant was anybody’s guess. There was an energy within the blade, one that Balmung took care not to get hit by. All his power as an Admin was carefully leaned against this power, whatever it was. The only thing he could think of when he saw that weapon streaking towards him now was something that Canti had said about the virus, about the red glow. The blood-like hue of the virus was consistent, if anything. Now, as he struggled against this infected Long Arm, he hoped the hacker was not as skilled in game as he was in code.

Balmung: This power of yours… No good will come of it.

Toshiro: Goodness never entered into it. The power is mine and I will use it as I wish. You’re only angry because I’m now more powerful than you or anyone else in The World.

Balmung: You think you really control it? Don’t be a fool!

As that battle went on, another one was beginning. The giant sickening plant had sensed the approach of hostiles. Its faces seemed to scowl at the two players that were came for it. Roots and vines, all blighted with toxicity, came to reach out towards them from the ground and from the beast. Their aim was to get in close enough to free Aero and escape the Harvester’s clutches. That was the plan, but the creature’s defenses were going to make that difficult. The roots shot straight up in front of and behind Niko, trying to ensnare him quickly to take him out. He was able to slice through them with his sword, but they almost grew back under his feet as he jumped away. They had to be careful here. Canti had long lengths of vine pounding the ground as he ran by, their teeth trying to grab purchase of him and chew him to bits. If a viral demon like this were to snack on either on of them, they would be in a coma without a doubt. But as Niko slid by wall after wall of blighted roots, he noticed that his friend was not being wary at all. He was just taking on every assault as it came in without thinking about what would happen next. Niko ran through another wave of roots, slashing them apart with a Revolver strike. They were both a lot closer now, close enough to see that the faces on this bitter tree were looking directly at them. Canti was almost on the other side of the monster, from Niko’s view, but it was not the Twin Blade who was closer to Aero. From what he could see, Aero was in some sort of trance. The raspy breathing of the Toxic Harvester quickened without warning. Niko had to step back for fear that the gas coming from the faces would melt him. Then, a mighty crackling sound filled their ears as the beastly tree separated itself into different sections, all still joined at the hip, but each part acting as a deformed body to go with each face, reaching out to crush its prey! Canti leapt back as claws, vines, and a corrosive head all came down at him from above. Niko rolled to one side to avoid his, then – and he shuddered as he did this – leapt upon pod-section of the plant, where Aero was held in place by tendrils and teeth. His sword cut through the many vines cleanly, like a machete in the jungle. As for the teeth…he needed a little more time. They had a death-grip on Aero that almost went so far as to bite into him.

Niko: Wait a minute… It really IS like a mouth. Maybe I could…

A vicious stab of The World’s finest steel went into what Niko hoped to be a sensitive part of this mouth and he heard a bizarre screech from all directions. The ‘mouth’ let go of Aero and let him drop to the ground. Niko worried that the Long Arm would be preyed upon before he could help him, but there was another screech from the monster as Canti had managed to tear a long gash into the body of the thing where he was. It was going mad, trying to ensnare him, but he was fighting almost wildly out of control. He was laughing at it…

Niko: He’s insane…but I’ll be able to get Aero out quicker this way.

The young Blademaster was just gathering him up when a thunderclap occurred and Toshiro was standing before him. There was a look of such venomous anger on his face that Niko thought he might lose control of himself and go wild like his pet beast was with Canti. It was a terror, but it wasn’t quite as deadly as he supposed. It just seemed to fulfill the function of spreading the virus. But now…if Toshiro were here, then had he beaten the Azure Sky? No… He could see a point of white in the sky above and behind the demented hacker. He had simply escaped to try and put an end to the rescue plan.

Toshiro: You won’t take it from me. None of you will… This power of mine will run its course through the nine hells of judgement. And when it’s complete, one person will stand alone, imbued with its abilities forever more.

Niko: Nice prophecy. One problem, though.

Toshiro: What’s that?

Niko: You’re in my way!

His right hand came up to point at Toshiro from only a foot or two away. The bracelet he wore reacted accordingly and spread itself out into the five-point disaster known as Data Drain. Toshiro hadn’t expected it because he was not there when Niko had revealed his possession of the bracelet. Now, with the hacker unable to avoid his attack, Niko allowed the data-streams to lance into Toshiro’s body and do with him what it will. There was a scream – perhaps from panic or perhaps from agony – and then what Niko got back from him was integrated into his own data, but it was precious little. There was almost nothing of any good left in him! The virus had penetrated all throughout his system. Toshiro now stood before him with strange glowing veins covering his sprite body. Niko started to back away and draw his sword, but he was not doing that because of imminent attack from the hacker. He was doing it so that Balmung would not have to worry about hitting him when he struck Toshiro down. The Azure Sky came down just as Toshiro went to reach for Aero, but it seemed the infected one already knew he was coming and swung his glaive to meet the oncoming sword. He was caught between Niko and Balmung now, yet still remaining confident. The only thing was that something other than this fight, this event, was on Toshiro’s mind. Still, he had time to flaunt himself.

Toshiro: Don’t you get it? There’s nothing you can do to stop me. I have all the power in The World at my com-

Or did he? Just before he could finish speaking, there was an interruption in the making. A loud, ominous roar shook the ground and settled the rain. It was not the Harvester and wasn’t familiar to any of them…save for one. Balmung grabbed for Aero and immediately shouted for everyone to get back. He knew what it was that he heard. It was impossible, but he knew it just the same. It was also fortunate of him to have given that warning, because a large beam of energy shot through the Toxic Harvester from below its roots, tearing up through it and reaching up into the sky. A great force of destruction was ripping it to pieces. Several explosions would follow the primary blast, ruining the remainder of the monster’s core being. Canti was shouting something, his voice going unheard, but he was likely asking what was going on. Toshiro went to ascertain this for himself, trying to see down the hole created by the blast. As he approached, the hole began to twist and swirl like liquid, becoming a whirlpool of landscape. It only covered the immediate area to start, but Balmung had the feeling it would suck them all in. The valley lowered itself like a drain in order to pull in the remains of the Harvester. Toshiro had fallen in and Canti was trying to keep ahead of the collapse, running as fast as he possibly could. All he had to do was grab hold of Niko’s hand and Balmung would transport them out. Toshiro wasn’t the only one with a backdoor in and out of places. Canti was now forced to climb the landscape, as it was like a melting hill of wax. He reached out to Niko, Niko stretching his hand as far as he could, but at the last second his bracelet appeared on his arm and rejected him! A burst of energy threw him off of the hill to fall into a blackened abyss of nothingness… Balmung sent the three of them out then, leaving Canti to his fate.



Niko: You bastard!

Safely back in Dun Loireag. That’s where they were… The server was clean and the three of them were all intact. Aero was shaking off whatever it was that had been done to him, apparently unaffected by it now. It appeared that interrupting the process might have prevented any permanent damage, although Aero now had a splitting headache. But as for Niko, he was in an incurable rage, and he’d just taken a swing at Balmung with his sword, who had parried the blow with only some difficulty. His face was grim as he looked into Niko’s hateful eyes. He knew that what he’d just done looked incredibly deplorable to him. For his sake, Balmung couldn’t blame him. However, Niko was wrong…

Balmung: I had no choice, Niko. You didn’t see what I just saw.

Niko: That’s where you’re wrong. I just saw you running from something that clean-slated an entire field and you left him to…to…I don’t know what!

Balmung: I do, and I tell you that if I hadn’t acted, we would all be down there without a single prayer.

Niko: What was it, Balmung? What the hell do you know that I don’t?

Balmung: The World is almost totally self-sufficient. The data-compilation of this place creates AI characters and monsters alike. During the Twilight event, it even created its own defenses. When The World senses a threat to its own well-being, it takes steps to stem the damage as we Admins do. But while we would write a simple clean-up program to repair the data, The World creates an enforcer to destroy all harmful elements, especially out-of-control viruses.

Niko: That doesn’t explain why you left Canti behind!

Balmung: It does! Think about it… Your bracelet rejected him. I had a feeling that it might, that he might’ve been infected as well. Didn’t you see how that monster reacted to him? He was resistant to it. And when the bracelet reacted as it did, I saw the infection on his wrist, just like Toshiro…

Niko: And…now they’re both down there…with that thing you heard?

Balmung: Yes, that’s right.

Niko: Is there anything we can do for them?

Balmung: Not here…and not now. Did either of you find a way to get in contact with Helba? By now, I’m certain that we need her help on this.

Aero: I heard about a way. Do any of you know a guy named Elk?

Balmung: I do. He’s reliable enough.

Aero: Well, he said that a friend of his knew the current way into Net Slum, but also pointed out that we weren’t going to like it.

Balmung: Did she now?

Niko: “She”, Balmung?

Balmung: It’s a long story. Continue, Aero.



How did he end up in situations like this? As if it wasn’t bad enough that a huge propagating monster was infecting The World, they also had to have Toshiro turn against them and something else putting off a whole lot of power around here. And what was with that bracelet? Canti swore that when he got out of this place – wherever it was – he was going to find this Aura who made the bracelet and get it checked. Why did it repel his arm like that? He…ummm…errr…

Canti: That’s…not a good sign…

His wrist was now adorned with some red-glowing veins, something like what Toshiro was going through. And if he was looking anything like him at this stage of the game, he was in serious trouble. There was only one answer to the question that was popping up in his head; he was infected. Looking around, Canti saw that he and Toshiro – yes, he was here too – were in a desolate-looking place. The sky was pitch black, and there was no sign of any life. It was all one big empty field. He tried to gate out, or to log out. No good. They were stuck here. Somehow, Canti knew that this was Toshiro’s fault. He rounded on him, with the intent of PK on his mind, but stopped short when he heard the Long Arm musing to himself.

Toshiro: I just don’t understand what went wrong… The virus was suppose to enter him without any obstacle, but for some reason…it didn’t work.

Canti: I guess you’re not the all-powerful hacker-genius you thought you were.

Toshiro: Don’t provoke me, Canti. I can destroy you or Balmung or anyone I want now. The only thing that you’ve accomplished is to delay the inevitable.

Canti: What happened to you, Toshiro? You weren’t like this before.

Toshiro: Who are you to judge who I am? With this power, I…

Canti: What? Spit it out!

Toshiro: Your arm…

Canti: What about my arm?

The question was rhetorical, of course. He knew that his arm was carrying the infection. What he wanted to know was why Toshiro was glaring at it like a hawk. He did not answer, though, and Canti soon found out why. His eyes seemed to waver as they continued to glare. He knew that look. He’d had that look once. Insanity… Then, before he knew was happening, Toshiro’s face twisted into a sickening rage as he brought his glaive down at Canti to split open his head. The Twin Blade’s daggers came up in defense, just barely holding off Toshiro’s new strength. Then, with all his might, Canti pushed aside the glaive and spun himself around to plant his blade in Toshiro’s side. It had only taken a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. However, right after he stabbed the hacker, the glaive’s blunt end was smacked against his face, knocking Canti several feet away. He picked himself up and saw that while his adversary was terminally wounded, his sprite was not fading away into nothingness. Toshiro’s eyes briefly went from blue to red and back again. It was like he was a demon now, or something far worse…

Canti: And here I thought I’d finally PKed. Man, what a jip…

Toshiro: That’ll never happen. The virus was weak before, just a nuisance at best, but now it’s grown stronger. You won’t stop it.

Canti: That’s what you think, or have you forgotten that we’re trapped here?

They were brought down here for reasons he did not know. There was no way out and no one here besides them. It seemed to him like the perfect time to finish off this maniac. Maybe getting rid of him would change something, or maybe he’d put an end to this once he was ‘dead’. Canti was ready to jump him, ready to PK like he wanted to before. He wanted him to die. But then, just as he was about to move, a strange thing occurred. Something, like a root or a spiny tendril, shot up from the ground under Toshiro’s feet, propelling him up into the air several feet before he fell and hit the ground nearby. They were not alone… The entire field began to tremble with the might of an earthquake, and Canti soon bore witness to the return of a creature that far surpassed anything inside The World. At first, he thought it was the plant, that Harvester. But no… He remembered that something destroyed that monster. He saw it tearing up from underneath the ground, almost thirty feet away and still looking massive. Dark-blue twisted roots, a beating heart, a body that glowed with ambient energy, and a skull-like visage that reminded Canti only of Death, the Grim Reaper. Yet no reaper had ever possessed those eyes, that body, those teeth, that howl… Canti did not know what it was that he saw before him. He only knew that he was in serious trouble.

Canti: Hey, Toshiro? You think we can put things aside ‘till we get out of here? Well? Whadya say? Toshiro? Tosh…

He looked around, but did not see him. Toshiro wasn’t where he’d last been seen. He just wasn’t there anymore. Canti swore under his breath. The only way he could’ve gotten out was through the Red Gate, and that meant he was on his own and out of luck. The World seemed to be against him, first with Crimson Dawn, then with Darkside, and now Toshiro was out to kill him. But the Long Arm would have to take a number, because The World was throwing this thing at him and he didn’t even know what it was! It sat there, half-submerged in the ground before him like the plant had been earlier. The creature growled at Canti now, staring at him as if trying to decide what to do with its prey. Canti had the eerie sensation of being in a game of “Cat & Mouse”, with his new assailant playing the part of the oversized cat. It wasn’t doing anything yet, but it was only a matter of time before it decided to vaporize him.

Canti: So, this is how the Canti crumbles… And if I die here, what’ll happen to me? A coma? A game reset? Death? I’m done for anyhow with this infection…

“That all depends on your point of view.”

Canti: What the…? Who’s there?

Nobody was here at all, but he heard a voice just the same. He doubted that the monster was speaking to him. It was female voice, one younger than Helba, but it didn’t sound right for Aura either. Canti had never met her, but Niko described Aura as somewhat sensitive and very kind. This one sounded like a player, one that was perhaps around his age. He was sure he’d heard it, because the giant monster keeping an eye on him reacted to it…violently. It wasn’t sure where the voice was coming from either, but it was very keen on killing him now as a massive root came up from under his feet, throwing him into the air to land heavily on the ground. Canti picked himself up and jumped quickly to the right as another one came, and then another. A veritable forest of these things were popping up.

Canti: Hey! How do I stop this guy?!

“You can’t destroy Cubia. It’s far too powerful.”

Canti: Cubia…? Then, get me out of here! You’re a hacker, aren’t you?!

“I don’t have the power to move you. Not while you’re infected…”

Canti: Isn’t there anything you can do?!

“I can help you help yourself. That’s it. You’ll have to make Cubia leave before I can do anything more.”

Canti: Well, how the hell am I suppose to do that?

“Simple. Infect it.”

Canti: Infect it? How do I…? Wait a minute… I’m infected, just like Toshiro. I can use it against this thing. But how?

He stopped talking to the voice in his head and started listening to the one that was trying to help him. This monster, Cubia, was beyond anything he’d ever seen or heard about, but he had to wonder… If this thing was trying to kill him because of his infection, then the mystery voice had a good point about infecting it. He was a danger to The World. He and Toshiro and any other manifestation of the virus. So, he wondered, what would happen if the virus fought back? Grasping his daggers like his only lifeline, Canti sliced into one of the protruding root-like things that had sprouted from the ground. The root sparked red as he hit it, crumbling as numerous glowing cracks spread all over it. The process was slow, but definite. Canti tried another and achieved close to the same result. The infection had caused this. He’d been changed by it, like those monsters that were said to have literally ripped apart the players they attacked. But how was this possible? And why did it drive Toshiro to madness? He knew that if he waited long enough, he would end up the same way. Right now, all that he could do was deal with this enforcer, this giant beast that was trying to kill him. Cubia howled once, and then began to create two lines of its root-like tendrils, sprouting up like tall spires to act as a pair of walls. It started from the monster’s position, then continued in a straight line on either side of Canti. It was trying to corral him, trap him. It wanted an easy kill. Canti saw no other alternative than to run. He had to be able to keep ahead of it. The walls came up fast, but he was just managing to pass it…right up until Cubia blasted at the ground beneath him. He didn’t see what it had used, but the Twin Blade fell and the walls closed around him, sealing him in an arena the size of a football field.

Canti: You cheap-shot piece of sh-

Another explosion. No, more like a set of explosions. It was nearby, getting closer. He looked up and saw what Cubia used. From a series of holes in its neck and what had to be the shoulder area, a near-constant volley of fireballs were being delivered. They flew like lava-bombs, but carried a yield equal to a heavy missle. He felt that eerie sensation again, more so than before. He knew exactly what it was now. It was something that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Fear. This creature knew it could destroy him, and he knew that it was going to do that without delay. Why did she tell him to infect it? What could that do to a beast like this? Now, with his back against the wall, there was only one way to go. Madly he would run, straight into the line of fire, or as close as he possibly could. A pair of bombs exploded and he was off like a shot, tearing down the length of the warzone that Cubia built. A distinct howl, like a sudden reaction to his presence, was heard as a beam flew from its mouth, the same destructive power used on the viral plant before. Canti was a little to the left when Cubia fired, immediately jumping right, slamming himself against the spire-wall there. He was actually thrown somewhat by the blast, which left him tumbling around for a bit as more of the bombs came. He somersaulted and slid underneath the fiery missles, barely avoiding the blast following shortly after. He was a lot closer now. Cubia was dragging itself out of the ground some more, exposing a great deal of its jagged tendrils, many of which were now trying to spear him. Several hit at once. He barely had time to cast a Repth spell. Some of the tendrils he struck crumbled at the ends – due to the virus – and then quickly reformed. They were the ends, like fingers. Cubia could re-grow them forever.

Canti: Then, let’s get to the heart of the matter…

He was tired, the intense gameplay taking a toll on his concentration. Canti didn’t feel the controller in his hands or the VR device he was using, but he knew they had to be both glistening with sweat. Cubia was making a regular show of its anger, growling as its appendages tried to tear him limb from limb. He was only able to strike back at one-fifth of the jagged things attacking him. His HP wouldn’t last much longer and Repth just wasn’t gonna cut it here. He leapt for the beast, daggers blazing for a purchase of its main body. Cubia rose higher to avoid the strike, but Canti still made it, plunging one blade into what seemed to be the chest of the monster. Cubia shouting in apparent pain, the entire area shuddering as its cries went on. It threw him off and continued to rise, disappearing into a strange wavering portal. Canti fell to the ground, unsure of what had just happened. Why did it run? The damage he did was barely enough to take a chunk out of its body, hardly worth the commotion. Was it…afraid? Did it fear death as he had before? Death never seemed to bother him…right up until he was confronted by it. Canti eventually stood up from where he’d fallen. His HP had almost run out. He was in the red zone, ironically. Looking around, he saw that Cubia’s spires had vanished, but something new had taken their place. There was a player standing nearby, but no ordinary character, for certain. This had to be the owner of the voice from before. She had a custom-made sprite, one that either appeared like a Blademaster or a Long Arm. The color scheme of the clothing was a dark shade of maroon with silver-gray highlights. She was slim, but with the air of a combat veteran. Her eyes were gray, her skin Caucasian, and her hair dark brown, terminating not far down past the shoulders. Here was the part that caught his attention, though… She appeared to have a pair of fox ears and a tail, both of a brownish-orange color, tipped brown at the ends of each. She was hovering a few inches from the ground, giving off an approving glare, as if most satisfied by what she saw.

Canti: Who are you?

The first thing that had been remarked upon as soon as they arrived was the presence of rain. Sometimes, the weather in The World was downright depressing, and it only reminded them of previous battle in which Toshiro went mad and Canti was…what? Lost? Dead? In a coma? On the way to the dungeon, Balmung had explained the creature known as Cubia. It was suppose to be the dark side of the Twilight Bracelet, but…that wasn’t all it was designed for. As the bracelet had been given to Kite to protect The World, so had Cubia been made. And even though the bracelet was creative by Aura, Cubia sought to prevent contact between her and Kite. When the bracelet was destroyed, Cubia vanished. However…to say that it no longer existed would be false. Nothing in The World seemed to remain undone completely. That cat, for instance… She had been the one that had volunteered the information, through Elk, to head into the dungeon of Predatory Illusionary Safe Haven in Carmina Gadelica. This place wasn’t all that bad to the three of them, though the Killer Boxes with their confusion abilities were more than aggravating. Now descending, Balmung decided to shed some light on the story behind their benefactor. He figured that Niko in particular would be interested.

Balmung: Do you remember telling me you’d seen a cat with a Wavemaster before?

Niko: Yeah, I remember.

Balmung: Elk is the Wavemaster.

Niko: And this cat… Mia, was it? She knew how to get to Net Slum?

Aero: Hang on… You’ve met these two before?

Balmung: All part of the Twilight…

Niko: What’s the connection to Helba?

Balmung: Mia wasn’t what she appeared to be. She’s like Aura, an AI. She wasn’t even aware until she transformed into one of our adversaries. We had to destroy her, but she was reborn as her former self, apparently unaffected. Her memories had faded, but they weren’t lost forever. She knows The World very well…

Niko: So…why did she say we wouldn’t like this route to Net Slum?

Aero: Because the dungeon’s crawling with all sorts of hacked monsters, like weak monsters with high levels, some weird creations of their own, and even Data Bugs.

Balmung: The regular monsters can be killed?

Aero: Yeah, but what good is that?

Balmung: The Data Bugs being the only creatures invincible, we can leave them alone and focus on the other threats instead.

Niko: I like that idea. In fact, let me take point.

They had only reached the second level when changes began to occur. The dungeon itself did not go through any transformation. Just the monsters were different, like the squad of Level-40 Goblins coming around the corner behind them with little torches and pitchforks. Someone’s idea of a cruel joke was at work here. Not a malicious hacker, but one of the more deluded ones. Ironically, though, the entire lot of them were soon distracted by a Frankenstein Mobster. Imagine a tall, lurching Tommygun-wielding Al Pacino dead guy. This was the kind of nuttery that had evolved down here. There was a large monstrosity in a cavernous room called a Shoggoth. The Shoggoth was completely obscured by a dark violet gas, save for the claws and tendrils it lashed out with. What it was…was anybody’s guess. It never had to touch the ground and almost killed them all within the first ten seconds, right up until Niko activated Data Drain. Its destruction left behind no remains, not even the gas. The data absorbed by Niko was clean, though.

Niko: It was hacked. There probably wasn’t a body in there to attack.

Balmung: Another monster created by our adversaries?

Niko: Maybe, but I wouldn’t bet on it. It reminded me of those weird little squid-face guys. It’s all part of the same lore.

He was referring to some other creatures that they had seen previously on a different level. They were labeled “Cthulhuloids”. Apparently, they were medium-sized humanoids that walked on all-fours, had squid-heads, ribcage mouths, and atrophied wings. It was clearly a homage paid to H.P. Lovecraft, just screaming the word “Eldritch”. A Shoggoth was something obscure and creepy, an unknown kind of monster whose form cannot even be perceived without losing one’s mind. Then finally, after long last, the end of the road lay before them. It was the chamber of the Gott Statue, minus any gift-bearing obelisk where one should be. Usually, the appearance of one of these statues meant it was time to claim your prize and leave. However, their goal being different now, Aero had to check his directions to make sure. This couldn’t be right. There was suppose to be a door…

Balmung: Are you certain you read it properly? I know that some directions may be interpreted in several ways.

Aero: It’s all pretty straightforward. “The door lies in the room of the statue.”, and this is the only room where there’s a statue.

Niko: Really? ‘Cause I don’t see a statue. How about you?

The room remained silent after that, silent for perhaps a few moments. And then…the pounding began. At first, they weren’t sure if it were truly occurring, or if it were a sound error. Then, it seemed to grow much louder. As the sound came closer, they began to realize that the room was increasing in size. Either that, or they shrank. Whichever way it was made no difference, however, as the tall figure who soon came through the doorway was massive. In proportion to the room, it was normal, but the monster was a giant to them, a metal statue that bore the name of “Iron Talos”. Now, it all made sense. One final guardian to prove their worthiness, one final battle to pave their way to the Net Slum paradise.

Aero: Say, Niko… Can you…?

Niko: No way. My bracelet is giving me a big red sign on that thing. If I touch it with Data Drain, I could blow the whole room, maybe even the dungeon itself.

Balmung: I know how to defeat it…

They were about to ask how, but Balmung never gave them the chance. The Iron Talos was based off of a giant from Greek Mythology. Talos was originally a mammoth bronze giant whom possessed a real Achilles Heel. As it stomped their way, drawing a large broad sword from its back, Balmung swiftly flew around in back of it, looking for a weak spot in its ankles. Strangely enough, he did not find one. Perhaps it was better to think on your own than depend on a story… The metal giant attempted to stomp Aero flat, but the Long Arm was missed, and its foot was struck by Triple Doom…with no apparent effect. There had to be something to use against it. Such a towering creature had to have some weakness. Balmung realized it a second later, and rammed deep into the small of the creature’s back, where the thing could hardly even reach. It tripped forward, lurching off balance with great and heavy steps. Niko and Aero understood almost immediately, attacking the ankles when their compensation was in its greatest need. The giant continued to stumble across the room until it fell over entirely and smashed its head against the far wall, damaging it in a most terminal fashion. As soon as it was dead, the size of the room returned to normal. Afterward, the place in which the Gott Statue belonged…held what was known as a Helba Gate, a hacker door into the world she held within The World itself. Balmung, Aero, and Niko stepped towards it and each activated the gate in turn, transferring over to…



Balmung: Paradise.

Net Slum, the place of Helba’s rule and freedom to all hackers and cheats in The World. This was paradise to the lawless, to the fleeing, to the inventive, and to the malicious. It did not matter who you were, as long as you meant no ill-will in coming. Otherwise, the Lady of the land would be forced to throw you out. Neither Aero, nor Niko had ever seen any of this place. Only Balmung had. He explained the nature of Net Slum, of how all discarded data ends up here and that many sprites and supposed AI creations ‘lived’ here. How one defines the life of AI, one cannot say, but they would be quick to say that they are as real as anything else, or that everything else can be as fake as they are. Either point of view was acceptable enough. As the three of them navigated the mismatched buildings, they failed to see Helba at all, or anyone that they recognized. And not long after their arrival here, Balmung felt that they were being watched by eyes that were not Helba’s. Someone or something lurked atop those disfigured structures. There was a presence. He felt it there. Turning suddenly, Balmung drew his sword and shouted…

Balmung: Come out! There’s no use hiding! I know that you’re there!

“Who is hiding from what, Balmung? Are you saying that I should be afraid of you? Or perhaps it’s the other way around…”

Balmung: That voice…

Niko: I don’t believe it…

Aero: He’s up there!

Aero was pointing to a spire near a building top. Perched upon its irregular point was a figure mostly covered in darkness. It was only a trick of the light, or so they thought. For as the eyes of their pursuer burned into the core of their souls, a pair of functional raven wings unfurled themselves and a familiar form revealed himself in a most unfamiliar way… Canti looked down at them and laughed. It was very disturbing to hear him act this way. Had he finally gone insane? Balmung remained steadfast and awaited combat. If this was Canti, and he was looking for revenge, then he would welcome him to try. But the Twin Blade, in all his misplaced merriment, was not planning an attack. He leapt down from the spire and hit the ground with both feet firmly touching down without any imbalance in his step. Then, after casting an evil glare at the three, he grinned.

Canti: Sorry about the scare. I thought you needed one after leaving me in that hell-hole. Do any of you know what I’ve been through?

Niko: Some of it, I can guess. The rest, I dunno.

Aero: Are you still infected?

Canti: Right to the point. I like that. Yes, I am.

Balmung: Then, you’re dangerous. You’ll end up just like Toshiro, deranged and out of control.

Canti: I’m already that way. How much worse could I possibly get?

Balmung: I’m not willing to find out.

Canti: You’re not cutting me down, Balmung. Not after what I’ve had to deal with.

Balmung: Knowing what it was that attacked, possibly not, but we’ll see. What happened after Cubia? I assume you and it met. We all heard it coming.

Canti: Got that right. Who knew The World had a creature like that running around? I was terrified…and Toshiro just left me there!

Niko: You were alone against that thing?!

Canti: Well, sort of… I got a little help from this girl I met…

Niko: Was it Aura?

Canti: No, it wasn’t. It was…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Reyome.”

Canti: What?

Reyome: You asked me my name, and that was it.

Canti: Oh, sorry… I guess I was expecting a little more to it than that.

Reyome: Like what?

Canti: Like…why did you help me? Why are you here? Where did you come from?

Immediately after the retreat of Cubia, the lone Twin Blade had found himself being looked upon, maybe even appraised, by a player who was floating a couple of inches off of the ground…and appeared to be part fox in design. She had aided him against Cubia, albeit indirectly, and only chose now of all times to reveal herself. Of course, her appearance did not explain her nature, and her answers did not entirely illuminate all that was going on. Her immediate replies, for instance, were short and to the point; answering the question, but explaining little beyond that.

Reyome: I helped you because you needed it, and that was pretty much the reason why I came here in the first place. As for where I came from, you could say that I’m a friend of Helba’s.

Canti: Net Slum.

Reyome: You’ve heard of it? Good. We’ll be heading there shortly.

Canti: You said you couldn’t move me while I’m infected. Does that mean you have the cure?

Reyome: …Nobody has the cure.

Canti: Then why do you even bother? Why bother to go to Net Slum or anywhere else if none of you can help me?

Reyome: I can’t help you, but as I said…I can help you help yourself. The virus isn’t terminal. The others…lost something to it before they changed. I don’t think it will happen to you. If you use it more constructively, it may not turn on you.

Canti: Toshiro believed the same thing. Look where that got him. Well…what’ve I got to lose? Let’s go Helba-hunting.

Reyome: That’s more like it. Now, suppose you put those wings of yours to good use and fly out of here. Or use that Red Gate the other one used.

Canti: Wait a second. Wings? What are you…talking…about…?

He only noticed after she said it. Canti had undergone a slight change. The raven wings on his back that were there for decoration were now actual wings. He’d edited his character sprite to suit his needs, which was in terms of speed and flight. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Balmung’s face… Balmung… The legendary player had left him here because of the infection. The next time they met…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Canti: …I was gonna have to play a little joke on you, which I did.

Balmung: I see. And where is Helba?

Canti: She’s waiting for us. And she’s not the only one…

Canti took them back the way they came, knowing that eyes were upon him every step of the way. Balmung was scrutinizing, Aero was staring in wonder, and Niko was stealing glances with guilty eyes, as if he felt responsible for the Admin’s actions that abandoned him to the fates…and the fates were not kind to him. Canti had changed. He seemed somewhat hardened by battle, possibly because of his fight with Cubia, or because of what the virus might be doing to him. The red vein-lines of the infection were still at his wrist. Niko was the first to notice that his eyes, which had been glowing before, were now black again, and he felt they were a little more frightening now than they were before. The Blademaster silently hoped that the virus didn’t make him end up like Toshiro. Canti led them to the very arch they had passed through to arrive here in Net Slum, finding out that there was now a pair of newcomers. The first was Helba, of whom they expected to see. The second…was Drake, whom they did not expect…

Niko: When did you get here? And how?

Drake: Well…I guess I haven’t been totally honest with you guys. I’ve been in contact with Helba ever since after…after…

Helba: Darkside.

Balmung’s gaze narrowed as both Niko and Aero’s expressions turned to shock. It was like they’d unearthed a terrible ghost by mentioning him again. Niko remembered…that there was something bothering Drake at the time, had been ever since the issue of the infected Wavemaster arose. But it wasn’t even the real person in here, just a shadow. A mere puppet… But then…what had happened to the real Darkside? Had he simply stepped out? No, that wasn’t it. Drake’s eyes were of concern, of forced courage, and of sadness.

Balmung: What about Darkside? He was never here for any of this. It was all just an illusion made by the virus.

Helba: True, it was a deceit, but the sleight-of-hand goes deeper than that. The information, the sprite character, and the mind of the player himself had to come from somewhere. That much could not so easily be faked.

Aero: Then, how…? Helba, you don’t mean…a coma?

Helba: I’m afraid so. Drake told me about it. It began to explain a few things…

Niko: What did he tell you that was so important?

Drake: Darkside is…my dad. This character is his old one, which he let me have before he took on a new one. He said it was one of his favorites…

This was really hard on him, and the rest of them could all understand why. Imagine, after the long rash of game-related coma-victims stopped appearing, that you suddenly received a call that your father had been put under a coma by similar circumstances. Drake hadn’t even heard about it until a few days after the fact! People in his father’s profession were use to not hearing from him for that long. So, when Drake had spoken to Darkside the last few times before that battle…he didn’t realize – nobody realized – that he was talking to a ghost, a charlatan, a total fake! Niko glanced over at Canti. He’d already heard this before, and now looked somewhat grim because of it. Oh, he tried to look like his usual self, but the game was becoming far too serious for that and he knew it.

Drake: My dad told me that he was working on something… Something to do with The World. He never told me what.

Balmung: He must have been investigating the Twilight.

Helba: No, he wasn’t. His purpose was far more benign than that.

Balmung: You know what it is?

Helba: All I truly know is that he was head of the creative department in a major entertainment corporation, and that he was investigating The World itself.

Aero: I see now… This fits in with those reports of other companies trying to create their own version of The World. He wanted first-hand experience!

Niko: That would make him the source of all this. It has to be.

Helba: He is the source, and yet he isn’t. To better understand what you’re fighting against, you should consult my other informant.

Balmung: Whom is…?

“Standing right behind you.”

A bemused smile from Helba was seen, although it did not last. This was not anything besides a dark time. The toll of victims was light now, but it would expand exponentially soon if left unchecked, both here in The World and elsewhere too… As the rest of them turned, they found themselves looking at what had to be the same girl described by Canti, the one with fox-like appearances. Both Niko and Balmung had heard of the sort of being she portrayed. It was the role of a kitsune that she played, better known as a spirit fox. The type varied, as the lore of their kind boasted over a dozen different ‘species’, but that was not important right now. What mattered was that this was the one Canti spoke of. She was not hovering at this time, but something Balmung suspected had to be addressed before they could continue. That there was no report of a hacker such as her made at the CC office was very unlikely, so that only left one alternative…

Balmung: You’re not really human, are you? You’re an AI.

Reyome: That’s right, but I’m more than just that. I have memories that do not belong here. I know things that I should not know.

Niko: What do you mean?

Canti: She’s not of…The World.

Niko: You mean she’s part of the virus?

Canti: Not exactly. Would you tell them what you told me?

Reyome: Certainly. What you seem to think is a simple virus is not that at all. It has no pattern, no programming at all. At least, it didn’t at first. Darkside found something in The World, something powerful enough to draw him into a coma. When that happened, his mind went into The World, as others have in the past. Something different occurred, though. Things began to change, new creatures sprang up out of nowhere. They were created by him, and they weren’t harmful. Well, they didn’t use to be…

Niko: So, they came from his mind, somehow… Where did you come from?

Reyome: I don’t remember everything. I remember family, friends, having fun… I remember The World, clearly, as if I’d been here before. And also…I know all that there is to know about the world those monsters came from.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but it seemed as though the telling of what she knew about herself was somehow distressing. Niko didn’t understand how she could have the memories she claimed to have that weren’t her own. Perhaps it was because they were fake? There was no way to tell, because her knowledge about the enemy appeared genuine. Also, Niko had thought that he’d seen a look of concern on Canti’s haunting face. If he were any other sort of person, Niko would have written this off as a ridiculous notion. But since he was acquainted with an AI himself, he could understand the feeling.

Reyome: The creatures you have fought before all came from a place known as the Dark Dominion, an RPG that Darkside was the original creator of.

Aero: Never heard of it.

Reyome: Naturally. It isn’t fully-developed yet.

Balmung: So, what you’re saying is that the creator of a game is turning The World into his world with his mind.

Reyome: That about sums it up.

Niko: How does a mind create a virus?

Reyome: Easy. You take the concept of an ultimate power for evil and have it come in contact with something viral.

Balmung: As in a Data Bug…

Helba: It’s worse than that, I’m afraid. Have any of you noticed that a peculiar pattern is emerging through all of this, and a familiar one at that?

Niko: No, not really.

Balmung: Coma victims, bizarre monsters, incredible viruses- No, that can’t be! Helba, you can’t be serious! How can you say that it’s happening again?

While their attention was off of her and onto Reyome, Helba had sent Drake away, who had business to take care of in real life, such as praying for the soul of his father. There wasn’t much more he could have done here in his condition, anyway. He needed rest and he needed time before he could be of any help. In the meantime, Balmung caught the revelation that was beginning to unfold.

Helba: It’s completely possible and I have been correlating with Reyome to be sure. There are monsters who operate under different rules from The World. There is corruption in every server, though not all that extensive yet. There is a virus of incredible power at work behind the scenes. And of course…there are the Phases to consider as well…

Niko: The Eight Phases from the Epitaph? We haven’t seen anything like that.

Helba: Ah, but you have. You just don’t recognize them.

Balmung: This is impossible, Helba. Everything that worked to bring about the disaster of the Twilight has been destroyed.

Helba: And how can that be if The World still stands? You can’t eliminate such a force, only change it or redirect it, even suppress it. Because of Aura’s existence, there should be no trace of that force remaining active. And yet, even now, Data Bugs are returning, Cubia has resurfaced, and we are already in Phase Four.

Niko: Wait… Even if we don’t recognize them, they must have some connection to the Epitaph. Has anyone seen a monster with the key to destruction? Skeith was like that. It was the Red Wand monster you heard about.

Canti: I’ve seen something like that.

Niko: Where?

Canti: A monster made out of two players with a face like a-

Niko: Joker! That mask was the key…and we let it loose. I let it loose…

Helba: It was only a tool. The deed was done before Canti ever defeated it. This is a process that uses the capacity of a human brain, guided by a set of vague guidelines for the production of a False Twilight that could be just as dangerous as the last.

Balmung: Perhaps even more so… Aura told us that there was a mind behind this, but I don’t believe that mind is conscious, or even in control. And yet, it is all happening at an inconceivable rate.

Helba: The human brain is vast in its resources. We only use 10% of its full potential as is. Imagine what a machine could do with it.

Aero: I don’t think we have to imagine. It can turn an idea into a complex back-door code, or turn a guy on his friends with the promise of ultimate power.

Helba: I did warn him… But he was unaware of the full danger he was in. Even I didn’t know at the time. There is a mind behind this. Don’t mistake what Aura knew. The World has given rise to AI in the past. It can do it again.

Canti: Except that this one has access to a great deal of power. It creates monsters, doubles of people, powerful infections – the works.

Niko: This is happening all too fast. Let’s see… The first Phases gave rise to the later ones when they spread their infection… Does anyone know what the other False Phases were? There might be a pattern.

Balmung: The new Phase monsters still fit the title. Darkside was deceitful, the Harvester was propagating, and Toshiro… He was prophesizing. We still need a pair of schemers, a temptress, an avenger, and…what?

Niko: A Corbenik, a rebirth… I dunno about this. It doesn’t make any sense. The infected Darkside was still there before the Joker Mask, and Toshiro actually created the Toxic Harvester.

Canti: It doesn’t matter, Niko! It’s not playing by the rules because it doesn’t have to! Ya think Armageddon’s gonna wait for a true fulfillment of prophecy?!

He was right. It didn’t have to make any sense because, in the end, it never would. They were dealing with a unique problem, and the true cause still eluded them. True, the information was definitely necessary to make any sort of plans against it, but how to act? The World was crumbling faster than before and this wasn’t even a true virus they were handling. It acted as one, but only due to the fact that it was the concept of a life-consuming force. What could have made all of this possible? Something they missed… Something The World still had within it, intact and untouched by the end of the Twilight. Balmung thought on this most deeply, the answer coming to him with sudden realization…

Balmung: I know who must be responsible.

END OF PHASE THREE>>>>>

It should have come to him from the start. The answer was always sitting there, innocently passing away the time while thinking darker things just under the surface of that smile. Helba had said that the power that created the Twilight could not be destroyed, only changed or redirected…or suppressed. There was a being who was a part of it all, whose true self was kept a secret until the last moment, and this very entity still existed today. As Balmung left Net Slum for the lounge in the Admin sector, the very core of control-system for The World, he grimaced. It was going to be very hard to tell Kite about this… Balmung appeared in utter darkness, his eyes perceiving nothing, and then…he came. It was common for Administrators to take the form of NPCs, so as not to raise suspicion. Lios was, as usual, no exception to this habit, appearing before him with grim look to his face.

Lios: I got out as soon as you contacted me. What did you find out?

Balmung: Things have taken a turn for the worse. For all intents and purposes, we are facing a new version of the Twilight, and I believe this has occurred because a remnant of the old program initiated it when first in contact with a coma-victim.

Lios: This is very serious. I assume that you are prepared to take extreme action?

Balmung: I’m prepared to do what I must. I’ve found two infected players in this mess. One of them is insane, and the other…I’m not certain. To be honest, he always seems to be a little out of his mind. I believe I know the ultimate cause of this and I will soon confront it.

Lios: I’ll want a full report later, and don’t inform the other staff. We can’t afford to have a panic at this stage. If the Twilight returns, we may definitely be shut down for good after this lawsuit.

Balmung: I understand. And yet, I know not how I should proceed…



The screen flashed the log-out sequence as he reached up and pulled off the VR device. In the darkness of his room, only the computer itself cast light upon the place, giving a vague outline of the mess in here. He lived like a slob. Clothing, a few books, a spare part or two, the little plastic bottles… The computer was setup near the carpet-covered floor, illuminating his features only slightly. The boy was 17, and his whole body began to ache like he was 65. “Helluva day today”, he muttered to himself before leaning back for a minute. He stared up at the ceiling, thinking about today, thinking about all that he’d seen. It was something that went beyond The World. Did that make it real or just a better fantasy? Helba had told them everything they needed to know. It was a right ugly picture to look at and it was only gonna get worse. He felt sorry for the problem with Drake and Darkside. After all, his dad had been gone…what? Three years now? This was all getting to him. He was actually afraid today, afraid to die. He always thought he’d just burn his way past the gates of hell itself, but he was just fooling himself. There was no way beyond death for the living, and if he wasn’t careful, he was going to die himself, or worse. And yet, here he was, still going on and on, fighting like a madman for no better reason than thinking it was all harmless fun. Well, it’s not all that fun for the coma-victims. Is it, you ruddy bastard? You went and played with fire, and now you’ve gotten burnt. They’ll all burn because of your own lust for danger and high-risks. Damn nice work if you ask me…

“Ah shaddap… Just a lousy voice in my head…”

A plastic bottle is opened, a couple of pills are removed and swallowed whole. It wasn’t anything serious, just a little something to help him doze off…and let his brain off the hook for a while. He’d rather change places with the coma-victims, anyway. At least they didn’t have nightmares all the time, nor did they have a weird infection that could make them go crazy. The boy whose screen-name read Canti left the waking world for the land of slumber. He will not dream, because the medicine is actually designed to inhibit this. The exact reason for the medication was unknown, but none of it appeared to be of any danger to him. While asleep, Canti’s Flash Mail activated then, informing him of a new message waiting to be read.



“Geez… He’s already late…”

The message that had been sent to Canti’s mail folder was a no-reply letter, asking him to log in an hour after it was received. Specifically, it was a request for him to meet at The World’s Relic City, Lia Fail. The fact that it mentioned the Omega Server in the message was to be the part that got his attention. Why would anyone want to call him there? Of course, it wasn’t just anyone that wished to see Canti under the circumstances. It was a young Blademaster in casual clothes, a rather odd appearance for The World, but not unheard of. Yes, that’s right. It was Drake who called. He waited on the steps by the Chaos Gate, his expression finally lightening up as Canti appeared, albeit in a groggy manner.

Drake: Alright! You came!

Canti: Uh-huh. Now tell me, why did I came? I mean, “come”. Why did I come here to this place?

Drake: Well…can we talk?

Canti: Here? Or on a quest?

Drake: On a quest, Sorrowful Satisfying Excavation.

Canti: Alright… Lead the way. What the hell am I doing here?

The two of them stepped back over to the Chaos Gate and Drake input the root words for the field in question. On the Omega Server, this was a Level-85 field, an icy tundra filled with several different kinds of high-level creatures, some of the worst in the entire game. Canti just stared at the area information for five whole minutes before saying anything. He’d forgotten where he was. Despite its pleasant atmosphere, Lia Fail was the toughest place in The World. You’re not just a pro for playing there. You’re almost a legend.

Canti: You’ve got to be kidding me.

Drake: Is the great Canti afraid of a challenge?

Canti: The great Canti knows when he’ll get his butt kicked. C’mon, kid… I’m less than half your level. All the monsters are gonna laugh at me.

Drake: Man, you must be losing your edge. I’ve been asking about you. People are saying stuff like, “Yeah, that Canti’s an alright guy, a real nutjob. He’ll take on anything.” You can’t let down your fans.

Canti: Alright, alright… Just watch my back, okay? This place still chews people like me up for breakfast.

That being said, Drake added Canti to his party and they traversed into the ice field. Canti hated it immediately. Snow and ice as far as the eye could see, a sterile-looking landscape that seemed devoid of life, and a chilly wind that sent mist around to fog up vision were not things that he thoroughly enjoyed in an area. Drake tossed a Fairy Orb into the air and watched his map give the location of all the Magic Portals around. There appeared to be close to ten within the limits of map-vision, with indications of several wanderers running about. That’s when the Twin Blade noticed something odd about the party menu on his screen.

Canti: It says here that we’re a party of three. Who’s this other guy?

Drake: Just a guy I know. We met when I first joined The World. He’s a real stickler for the rules, but his skill is impressive. We get along alright. I guess he must have gone ahead. That’s okay, since…you know.

Canti: Yeah, there’s a couple things I gotta get off my chest too.

They started out into the dead lands, carefully keeping their eyes open for wandering monsters and the portals that they knew were close by. The idea here, apparently, was that Drake had set up this gathering, but that the other guy went on ahead because he had to wait for Canti. Being separated was not a very swift idea, but it was inevitable, and they had to deal with it. Although…there were all kinds of monsters around here that the Twin Blade had never even seen before. The Dark Asteroid had to be the strangest one so far. The two of them played heavily on the weaknesses of their foes, such as the preference to close-range attacks for the humanoid beast, or the exploitation of the slow and cumbersome nature of any and all Drygon creatures they saw. All this while talking and heading for the dungeon.

Canti: So, you’re worried about what’ll happen to your dad when this is over.

Drake: That’s right. I dunno if he’ll wake up, stay in a coma, or…even die…

Canti: I know how you feel.

Drake: Did you ever lose anyone in your family?

Canti: Both of my parents are gone. I have to work to support myself, mostly. It’s why I joined The World, you know? I don’t have to think about stuff like that here.

Drake: Oh…I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have-

Canti: Nah, don’t say that. We’ve both got problems. May as well share ‘em.

Drake: Thanks.

The dungeon lay before them now. It’s a dark castle-like structure, not so noticeably icy on the inside, of which Canti preferred over hanging around outside. The battles they fought to get here were slow-going because of the sheer strength of their foes. Canti made himself out as a huge distraction, letting the Blademaster catch the beasts off guard. The result was a leveling-up pair of players. Even Drake wasn’t suited to this level. As they traversed the first-floor halls…

Drake: I feel like I’m not making a difference, like I’m useless.

Canti: Why do you say that?

Drake: Everybody else has got something cool about them. Balmung’s an Admin, Niko Data Drains, you’re infected with that weird virus, and Aero has all that information about stuff. He’s connected!

Canti: I’d rather be connected than infected. There’s nothing cool about this virus. D’you think I wanna end up like Toshiro?

Drake: That’s something that’s been bothering me. Why do you think you’ll change like he did?

Canti: He wasn’t so twisted before… I have a hard time believing that that’s even the real guy in there. I don’t even understand how it happened. Reyome said that he lost something. Am I losing it too?

Drake: Well, I think you’re acting different than before. I thought you were suppose to be crazy, not grim all the time.

Canti: The World is being turned upside down and I’m in the middle of it. How do you keep a straight face about that?

Drake: I dunno. You fight like a madman. I never saw a Drygon so confused.

Canti: That’s the wisdom of a Speed Charm talkin’. You don’t understand… Ever since Cubia came by, I’ve been feeling like my number’s up. I never gave a damn about death until now, when I’m sure it can happen!

Drake: You mean like right now?

He pointed over down the hall, towards a doorway they needed to go through that was currently host to a lingering specter of some sort. It appeared to be a kind of floating dead form. It was cowled and holding a scythe. This was bad. They had apparently run into a rare form of Lich Lord – the kind that you don’t hear about, but may still exist – which has equal strength in magic and killing-power. Also, it was one of these Physical Tolerance creatures. Very nasty… It had already noticed them and was proceeding to race around like mad, casting heavy earth spells. It took on Drake first because he was closest. He and Canti retaliated with magic, but their actual spells were still the kind best-suited for Fort Ouph and, unfortunately, Mac Anu. The Lich Lord was not dying very quickly at all. They were going to get their characters blown to piece at this rate. Even Canti was out of luck. He could try to infect it, but only if he could touch it. That was when…

“Knight’s Bane!”

The shout seemed to come from above them all. An item that negated the physical repel-wall was thrown in and the player who used the item followed through from this maneuver with a leaping overhead strike from his sword into the Lich Lord. It suffered greatly because of this. The new player had to be on a higher level than Drake’s even. Canti watched as he killed the monster. It was a knightly form of character, his armored body crimson and gray, with a horned helmet and red eyes that could glow. It was a Blademaster worthy of that designation, a clear long-term veteran of The World. Drake introduced him.

Drake: Canti, this is Silver Knight, the other guy in our party.

Canti: Good work on the monster. I love the horns.

Silver Knight: Thank you, although I find it strange that a Lich Lord would be that way. I never had to use the Bane on one of them. I had mine saved for all of the Pumpkinheads I’ve encountered.

Canti: Someone might’ve mixed ‘em up on purpose, or edited them.

Silver Knight: Yes… Speaking of which, where did you acquire those wings? They are not common within The World.

Drake: He…uhhh…got them from a special event.

Silver Knight: Much like the One Sin? That is where Balmung of the Azure Sky gained his wings, and his status. What did you fight for those wings?

Canti: A monster that can’t be defeated. Not now, not ever. I survived. That’s all.

Silver Knight: A monster that cannot die… Was it shaped like a dumbbell, by any chance? I have seen a few things in the past that are…less than reputable.

Canti: Dumbbell? No. A lot bigger, a lot badder, and a lot better than me.

Drake: Is that what’s been bugging you?

Canti: Yeah… Maybe it’s not death I’m afraid of…but the inevitable, where I have no chance of survival. I’ve always had a small chance, at least.

Much of the talking had to be put on hold for battle. They were a level or two down and a new breed of monster was beginning to spawn, that being the Dark Starfish. Canti had to admit that these were indeed stranger creatures than the ones outside. And the afore-mentioned Pumpkinheads made their appearance, but it seemed as though they were a little under-par for Canti’s raw knife-wielding skills and general speed. It was outside the treasure room that they stopped.

Silver Knight: So then, Canti, when were you going to tell me the reason your arm is glowing? It does not appear to be a natural appearance prescribed by The World.

Canti: Yeah… About that…

Silver Knight: You need not explain. I have experience in these matters, so I know an infection to the system when I see it. Your character sprite has taken in a virus that has corrupted and changed your data. You don’t even know who you are anymore. You’re lost and looking for a way out.

Canti: What are you saying, Silver Knight? You saying I want to die, now?

Silver Knight: Black as they are, I can see it in your eyes. You’re a harbinger of doom, destined to destroy all that stands around you. Were there still a gathering of the Crimson Knights, I would have attacked you with everything I have to purge you from The World. I can do that still…if you want it.

Canti: You don’t wanna try that, fella. There’s more to me right now than what a level determines. Whatever I have might be powerful enough to kill even you.

Silver Knight: I’ve been dead before…in many ways.



“It’s nice to take a break from adventuring now and then…”

The grassy plains were quiet as always, aside from the music playing in the background. He switched it off a while ago, though, preferring instead to put on some easy listening music of his own and relax along with his partner. A mirthful smile came across his lips as he enjoyed this simple pleasure. Lying in the grass, looking up at the mock-sun was something they both enjoyed. Of course, it wasn’t so much the scenery that made him smile, but rather the presence of his friend here with him that delivered such joy. He was a Wavemaster without a care, one who was gray-haired in dark-blue clothing. His handle? Elk.

Elk: Don’t you think so, Mia?

Nearby, thinking to herself, was a rather feline-looking Blademaster, one who looked somehow hacked in terms of appearance, but it was known that this was not the case. The violet-colored cat-warrior gave Elk a sidelong glance with her clever eyes and a smile right before stretching. Her existence being entirely within The World, Mia had decided to make the best of her ‘life’ and enjoy herself, an act which included lazing about for a while every now and then. Ever since the battle against her other self for her resurrection, Mia had mostly gravitated towards Kite and Elk, perhaps her two greatest friends under Tsukasa. However, it was also known that she was not against lending a helping hand, which was why when Aero posted on the message boards for an inquiry about Helba and Net Slum, she contacted him indirectly and helped him out. She was aware of the problems in The World. She just didn’t mention them often to Elk. The boy needed a break from danger. Why trouble him about something that they weren’t involved in yet?

Mia: Yes, I agree, Elk. It’s good to have a break every now and then, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Elk: Is there something happening?

Mia: There could be. I wouldn’t give directions to Net Slum without reason. I have a feeling…but nothing more than that. I know there have been infections, but there is something wrong with it…

She stopped, her eyes darting left to right and back again. Taking a look out over Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field, Mia did not see anything out of the ordinary as of yet, but she knew that it was there. Under the ground, behind the sky, shifting inside of every piece of the landscape. The infection had become quite reclusive, acting with an unnatural intelligence. No longer obvious, she wondered if the Admins would believe it to be gone and lower their guard. The Administrators in charge while Lios was otherwise engaged had spent their day trying to pull apart this new virus, even though the most they could do for now was to slow its progress. Their anti-viral software was like a barricade against a flood. The virus would flow right over it after a while, dissolving the barrier with little effort. Mia had been compelled to act, but there wasn’t much she could do that Aura hadn’t already done. She had examined it and left the proper information for others who needed to know what was going on. The process of handling a situation like this wasn’t easy. A snap of her finger would never do, under the circumstances. However, Aura was no closer to accessing the source of the chaos than anyone else. Mia herself had helped in a small way. She wondered, though…

Mia: How long will it be before they seek me out?



Sword clashed against knife-blade. Sparks shot abroad. The Blademaster had the upper-hand, yet the winged Twin Blade was unyielding. But just because someone as unnatural as Canti had the power to fight back didn’t mean that the former Crimson Knight would give up either. Silver Knight had realized a great deal about himself and his ways back before the Twilight even began. Like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, he had to turn away from darkness and face the light of truth that was present within The World. The truth was that not every bug he came across in the system was a bad thing. That which is different is not always evil, or at least not so dangerous. Canti, at least, seemed very evil, but only to the extent of playing the part of his character. Could he be trusted with the burden he now carried? That was up to him and his blade. If the Twin Blade couldn’t break his own power, what use was he against the ultimate threat? The two of them jumped back, putting a few feet of distance between each other, then began to attack once more. Canti’s wild swings were only predictable a second or two before they were flung, but Silver Knight had the focus needed to defend against one slash, and the next, and so on. The winged one was becoming frustrated. He seemed to draw a great deal of his initiative from emotions. Anger, humor, mellowness, arrogance, deviousness – these and more fueled his character.

Silver Knight: You’re not going to beat me that way.

Canti: Of course not! I’m just getting in the mood…

Mood… There, he said it. He confirmed it. Canti went through mood-swings that seemed to change his style of thinking and fighting, depending on the way he feels. Drake was watching this and he could tell that this was far different than what he saw earlier. Canti was so foolish when fighting angry, impulsive and without thought about how he should handle the situation. Then again…he might have had something planned. Because, in the next instant, the Twin Blade pulled back and let loose a technique that Silver Knight had never even heard of!

Canti: Infernal Deathstrike!

What was this? Neither he nor Drake had ever heard of this attack! Canti now swung his blades wide and hard in such a way that the Blademaster’s sword was careening around in the direction each strike when hit. The Flaming Tongues in Canti’s hands were glowing bloody-red. A slash got through to Silver Knight, a glancing blow. Another one came, a shoulder hit. Then, the latter half of the technique played through and the dark Twin Blade delivered a barrage of stabbing motions, many of them piercing Silver Knight’s armor to take a great deal of health out of him. He fell to one knee, Canti standing over him now. Drake was nearby, his sword drawn out. He wouldn’t let Canti finish him. The Twin Blade stepped away and Silver Knight relaxed.

Silver Knight: Where did you…? How…?

Canti: I got it from the Admins. When I first came to The World, I made a deal with them to have the wings, even though they were fake. Then, after I won an event, I requested a weapon to go along with them. That’s the Flaming Tongues. They included two special techniques – Quick-Flash and Infernal Deathstrike – that use up all my SP. I rarely use them because of how much it costs. My bar has to be full for it to work.

Drake: Whoa… That’s like…killer, you know?

Canti: I told them it was perfect, taking my life into my hands like that. So, fallen knight, do I pass your test?

Silver Knight: Just leave. She’s waiting in Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field.

Canti: Who is?

Drake: Yeah, man. What are you talking about?

Silver Knight: The one for whom the Twilight calls…



He had been standing there a whole five minutes, just thinking about what he had to do. Could he go through with this so casually? Could he allow it to continue any longer? All points were leading back to one conclusion. The fault of this mess they were in was due to a curious human, but the cause was a remnant from the Cursed Wave, a shadow of the Twilight. What else could the garbled information that was brought forth from Darkside’s mind have come from? Balmung’s resolve began to harden. Mia was the key to all of this. He had to quarantine and delete her, though any whom she considered friend would be heart-broken, surely. But Balmung kept this all in perspective. The World was crumbling around their feet, like shifting sands. If he did not destroy the foundation of this disaster, it would overwhelm them all. It was then, however, that he had some company. A pair of players he knew would be coming now materialized nearby.

Balmung: I knew that if I sealed the area off, you would immediately suspect something. Now that I have your attention here, I must ask you both to leave.

Aero: But…didn’t you come to see her too?

Balmung: Yes, I did.

Niko: Wait, he’s not thinking of- Balmung, you can’t! She helped us!

Balmung: Very convenient of her to tell us how to reach Net Slum, taking the most dangerous of routes. We could have posted a message or waited for Helba to seek us out, but we took the bait in question, foolishly.

Niko: There was no guarantee of being contacted that way and we needed to get there. You can’t do this! Not without proof!

Aero: Balmung, consider what you’re saying. Why would she do all this?

For that question, that one simple inquiry, Balmung finally decided to face the two of them directly. His visage was cold and determined. He was not going to be reasoned with on this, not when he knew what he was doing. If they wanted answers of him, they would get them…and so much more.

Balmung: You ask that question, but do you consider what you’ve said? Just what sort of proof do you require that has not already been provided? This entire situation was brought about because of an active remnant of the Twilight and all parts involved. Mia is Macha the Temptress, the sole survivor of that ordeal.

Aero: I don’t buy it. Until I see her level a blade to my neck, there’s no evidence.

Balmung: It may come to that.

Niko: No, Balmung. I already checked on this. If Mia were connected to this at all, don’t you think she would know?

Balmung: Aura… Yes, perhaps you’re right, but that remains to be seen. In any case, you didn’t come here to stop me. What are you two doing here?

Aero: As I said, we’ve come to see her. Niko believes that since she is the former Sixth Phase, a change might occur, and Toshiro might get involved.

Realization of such a possibility shown on Balmung’s face. Whether or not Mia was the source, she still was a prime target for the deranged Toshiro to take advantage of. He was about to tell them that it was far too early in the stage of things for such a change to occur, but then he remembered what Canti had said. There was no rhyme or reason to this False Twilight. It was playing out on a script made of corrupted data and half-eaten dreams. She could change at any time.

Balmung: A prior warning could have averted this misunderstanding.

Niko: Give us a break, man. I only thought of it a little while ago.

Balmung: Well, we’d best be on our way, before-

Aero: What’s that?

A singular voice in Balmung’s head muttered “Too late” as he heard the inquiry. He cast his eyes in the direction Aero had indicated. There was something floating there in the distance. It was small and white… The Administrator seemed to grimace as he realized that not only was it in their way, but that it was also quite familiar in appearance. Resigned, he gestured the other two to follow him as he approached the floating device. Coming closer, it was clear that his assumption had been right. Two halves of the same mask hovered there, rotating quietly. It was the same mask that Canti had split and Niko had destroyed. The jester-like quality of the visage remained largely the same, though now scarred in places. Someone or something had gone to the trouble of reconstituting its data. The three of them edged around it carefully, watching its every move.

Aero: Twins…

Balmung: I know.

Niko: I can take it out. It’s still trying to be an item.

Aero: Wait! Niko, don’t!

Too late. He was already holding out the arm in which the Beta Bracelet was emplaced. It reacted according to his wishes and spread out into the five points of destruction. From there, the Data Drain was activated and it lanced into the target before him, slicing through without effort and causing it to explode. Niko grinned, but that grin soon faded as he noticed movement around where the mask use to be. His eyes narrowed, glaring into the scenery that was…shifting around. Then, he saw a new Joker Mask appear, still in halves, just as before. Another one appeared, and still one more. They seemed larger than the last, also more angular with what looked like…teeth? Two halves of the mask opened and shut like the mandibles of an insect. What was going on here? They looked more like heads… They hissed and spat, and all three of them clearly heard a screeching sound, along with a strange chattering. Then, all at once, the truth behind it all was revealed. Their threat was a creature closely akin to a snake and a scorpion, dark-gray in color. The masks were as serpent heads with mandibles. The body of the beast was a rough exoskeleton with something like a white tattoo of the Joker Mask on its back, along with two functional eyes. The legs numbered in eight, the claws in four, and the tails in five. There was combat information for this monster, though it wouldn’t do them much good.

NAME: Hydra-Scorpion
LEVEL: ???
HP: ???

This monster reeked of a morbid creativity, its very concept a thing of terror and insane upbringing. Balmung could not decide if it were Toshiro’s doing…or that of the mind they were ultimately facing up against. Experimentally, the Azure Sky took a swing at a head, quickly lopping it off in mid-neck before it could strike back. It had an effect he hoped that it would not. The large serpentine head on the ground disappeared as the creature grew two more in its place. It skittered towards them now, snapping its claws menacingly. They would find this opponent nearly impossible to defeat. It was effectively immortal.



She finally stood up, Elk following suit only because of the look in her eye. Mia was wary of something. Yes, there it was. There was trouble in paradise. A fog had rolled in, after a fashion. It was like a wall, separating the rest of The World from their present position. They were in a giant cage that failed only to blot out the sky. How could she allow herself to fall into such a trap? And who had set it? Mia heard footsteps belonging to a single player. She and Elk both looked in time to see a strange Long Arm emerging from a place in the fog. He looked to be terribly corrupted by the virus that she perceived in the server itself. Toshiro paid their stares no mind. He did not care what either of them thought of him.

Toshiro: So, I’ve finally found you. Good. We must prepare. It’s continuing at last. The Twilight will pass as it should, with the destruction of the real world itself!

Mia: Oh? And what do you expect me to do?

Toshiro: You must help me, of course. I have the power I need, but allies are important in any assault. Join me, and we will take over The World.

Mia: Heh. Silly boy…

Mia cast her eyes downward for a moment, chuckling at Toshiro’s offer of The World and the destruction of all things beyond. Hah! As if she felt enticed by such an offer for even a moment! It was not like the last time. Not at all. Mia smiled as she looked up and glared at Toshiro again. Now, her eyes were almost completely red, save for the pupils. It was as if Macha had returned. And yet, that could not be the case, as her words reflected Mia’s ideal self.

Mia: I am The World.



The one for whom the Twilight calls… Canti scratched his head, thinking about what the Silver Knight had said. Meanwhile, he was healing himself now, obviously not thinking of attacking him again. And Drake? He’d gone to sneak the treasure out and already came back, clutching a few items in his hands and flashing a little grin. That smile… He knew that it was forced, a fake. Drake had been hurting ever since he saw him at Net Slum. Net Slum… He got it!

Canti: Silver Knight, do you mean to tell me that you were sent here by the only person who could be a remnant of the Twilight?

Silver Knight: She is more than just that. When I was made aware of her existence, I realized that this cat, whom I had originally begun to pursue as a Crimson Knight, was the only being that remained to receive a power that had nearly destroyed everything we know.

Drake: Then, she was the cause! She’s the one who put my dad in a-

Silver Knight: No, Drake. She did not.

Drake: But…you said…

Silver Knight: When all the fragments of the Cursed Wave dispersed, they had to go somewhere. All data is put in its proper place. And when Macha was destroyed for good and Mia came to be once more, all that remained of Morganna Mode Gone flowed into her.

Drake: That doesn’t explain why you say she’s not responsible!

Silver Knight: Because she is growing, changing. She has no desire to commit these strange acts. They were originally formed from a desire to survive, and now she has. Something else truly caused those comas, but I have yet to find out what.

Canti: I’ll find out…

Drake: Canti… You’d do that?

Canti: I want to find out, but don’t get me wrong. I may be in the thick of it, but I won’t lead you. I am not a leader, got that?

Drake: You’ve got some serious issues about that leader stuff…

Canti: More than you realize. I guess we’d better get going. Silver Knight, will you be okay or what?

Silver Knight: Leave me be. There is much that I have to think about.

Canti: Man, he’s a really strange guy…

The winged Twin Blade did not bother to run or use a Sprite Ocarina to leave this place. He simply raised his left arm – the one with the infection on it – and called forth the power of the Red Gate. Red rings formed around both players as they disappeared from the dungeon. In the meantime, Silver Knight was in deep thought, considering the events going on around him.

Silver Knight: What would you do…Lady Subaru?



The battle was not going well. Every time one of them tried to attack, either a head or a claw from the beast would get in the way and get chopped off, and then it would grow more limbs, more heads, more anything in its place. Currently, as Niko chopped off a second leg, the Hydra-Scorpion they were facing had ten legs, seven tails, six heads, and eight claws – all on a body that was growing and expanding in a most bizarre fashion, as if it were mutating.

Niko: I don’t understand. Why would it keep growing back?

Balmung: Remember the Iron Talos?

Niko: Of course. We tripped it up at the heels and broke its head open against a wall. So what?

Balmung: It’s another theme taken from Greek Mythology. It’s both a regenerating hydra and a chimera of some sort. We have to get to its real body, or else it will keep growing until we’re nothing but flies to it.

Aero: We’ll give you cover. You’re the only one that can get on its back.

It was uncertain as to how effective that cover could be. By spells or by normal attacks, the creature seemed to recreate its limbs as quickly as the Greek legends would have them. While it did this, however, the whole of the beast’s attention had shifted. Balmung saw his chance and took it, leaping up high in order to take flight over the many appendages of the Hydra-Scorpion, its mutating body now massive and bulging in places. In fact, as he landed on top of it, Balmung thought that there might even be something familiar about it. Two large eyes opened on its back, and then a mouth split open sideways between them.

Balmung: No…

The tattoo of the split Joker Mask was simply the marker for a real face, a monstrous one with horns and a menacing glare. Now, he knew what it was that this creature reminded him of. It was becoming a head with appendages all over it, all of which resembled hair… His blood went cold with the realization that he was standing atop the head of a giant Gorgon. Even if only a head, it still had the most lethal part: Its devastating glare! The eyes were beginning to look at him… Balmung turned his head away and plunged his sword into one of them. He heard its terrifying scream as he was suddenly bitten and stung several times before being thrown from its bulk. The legendary Blademaster fell to the ground and tumbled over a few times, seeing that it was now a complete head of a Gorgon, with hair of talons, tendrils, stingers, and snakes. He’d managed to give it a handicap, but now he was poisoned and paralyzed, his entire body racked with pain.

Balmung: Don’t look it in the eye! Not even for a second!

This little ‘pet’ of Toshiro’s – if indeed he did create it – would kill them all. He was certain that it was a Gorgon, which would mean that this mask-faced demon would turn any person that looked it in the eye to stone. At least, that’s what he thought it would do. Averting his eyes from the abomination, Aero tossed him an Antidote to cure his physical ailments. The pain ceased shortly after, and Balmung began to focus on a plan. If they could just blind that thing…



Toshiro: Don’t sell yourself so highly, Macha. You’re only a tool. You exist to fulfill a part in the Epitaph of Twilight and that’s all.

This did not seem to get any reaction out of Mia at all, but Toshiro noticed that her compatriot was more than a little disturbed by the comment. Elk was sometimes nervous about things a lot, but he had passionate beliefs, especially when it came to where he stood with his friends. After all that they had gone through, he wasn’t about to allow some freaky Long Arm to insult his friend like that! It was over for her dark half now. She couldn’t be a tool any longer. That part of her was dead, and yet…that glow in her eyes came from somewhere. Elk drew up his staff, preparing to cast a powerful spell. Mia flung out a hand before he could, signaling him to stop what he was doing.

Mia: Don’t do it, Elk. At least, not yet. This boy is filled to the brim with the power that threatens to consume The World.

Elk: Alright, Mia, but be careful.

Truthfully, Elk was not worried at all about the battle that was about to take place. His concern was only the aftermath. Once Mia was finished with this boy, would she return to normal again? The glow in her eyes might have been merely a trace of the cat-like Phase, but as he had been told before, the data of The World can never truly be destroyed, only reconfigured after deletion. Monsters become EXP. Items became spell effects. It was all in the written code of the world. Mia had told him that beneath the code of The World, the new adversary lurked. It was mostly dormant, but awakening soon. Until then, there were its apparent servants to deal with. Mia now stepped forward to do just that.

Mia: You seem confident. If you believe that I’m simply a tool, then why don’t you try to make me join your crusade?

Toshiro: I will do just that…

The Long Arm had had enough. Pulling the Glaive of the Proph3t out from his back, he twirled it quickly and brought it to swing down at Mia. She did not move from where she stood. The Blademaster simply drew her Executioner sword and blocked the downward attack, one-handed. Mia gave off no emotions, save for satisfaction in her easy defense. Now, she took a proper fighting stance and began to press forward her own attack as if she were swinging a saber in a duel. In a way, it was a duel, but Toshiro did not have the patience for such a thing. After parrying aside a few of Mia’s swings, the infected player took a step back – just to gain a little extra room – and spun-swung the glaive in a manner that was too forceful to defend with one hand properly. Upon striking Mia’s blade, however, she moved with the momentum as her sword went down so she could kick Toshiro’s face. She then landed on all-fours and jumped away as a renewed thrust of the weapon attempted to take her down before she could move. There was a red glow to the blade of that pole-arm now. This required a slight change. Mia’s executioner took to flames as her other hand began to form a sword made out of the purest crystal. The flaming sword had merely been elementally imbued to offset the icy touch of the other. Although, the crystal sword was no ordinary weapon. Mia had taken the program for a powerful anti-virus in to create it. Toshiro moved to slice the cat down the middle, but was caught between the two swords in a scissor-lock. Then, Mia leaned left and spun around to attack with a Dual Revolver ability, the damage of which would have bit deeply into Toshiro’s health if he’d been playing by the rules. Instead, after only staggering for a minute, he became intrigued.

Toshiro: I’ve never heard of a class such as this.

Mia: Just a little something I made up. You can call it “Sword-Dancer”, if you like. It’s a unique style…

Toshiro willed himself to hover over the ground so that he could project the dark powers at his command in the form of slices that tore through both sky and ground. The slice attacks broke against the force of Mia’s blades, and then she leapt up towards the Long Arm to plant the crystal sword into his hip. However, even as he writhed in pain, Toshiro’s will created a blast-effect that threw Mia to the ground and a lot of static into the air. The crystal began to melt into him at this time. It was trying to enter him and spread through his entire body, an act which would freeze his account. Overcome by arrogance, Toshiro had forgotten to do what a hacker always does. He forgot to think outside the box. But now that he was made aware of this, be began to force his infection to push back the strength of the anti-virus. He looked winded, but still in control. He casted a crimson lightning bolt at Mia’s other sword, painfully forcing it out of her hand, which she grasped protectively as Toshiro leered insanely at her.

Toshiro: Did you honestly believe that that was all you needed to do? I am god of the machine now! My power is endless!

Mia: Not if he doesn’t realize what I’ve really done. He’ll be weakened for a while yet.

She had a clever plan, but he still had more power. It seemed as though Toshiro were growing dependent on it, which was possible. If his character died, anything might happen. This entire situation was still unknown to her, though. All she could do was wait for that one moment to strike with her everything she had. The only solace there was in this was that she had Elk to watch after her once it was over.

Aero: Niko! Look away!

He was the first to be lured in. The still-intact eye of the former Hydra-Scorpion stared at him…and he saw his whole life ahead of him. There was a hypnotic effect involved. It reflected desire. Niko saw everything that he ever wanted in that eye, and everything he wanted to become. He saw track meets along with conventions and books. He saw girls of his age hanging out with him in a very romantic fashion. He saw everything in that one eye and was lost in it. And before he knew it, a blinding-white beam shot forth from the eye and struck Niko, turning him into stone. Neither Balmung nor Aero had to guess that this was effectively paralyzing the real Niko. It was then that the monster Gorgon head targeted Balmung exclusively. It crawled over in his direction and used every appendage to snag him before he could fly out of the way. As it stung and struck him hard, the eye of the thing managed to sneak a peek into Balmung’s eyes as well. Even he could fall prey to such a thing, and Administrators weren’t immune. Having now eliminated its two most viable threats, the Gorgon turned more casually towards Aero. He closed his eyes, though, which would keep him from immediate harm.

Aero: You’re not turning me into stone…

The only problem with this was that he still couldn’t see his enemy. But maybe…he didn’t have to. If he could just listen carefully enough so that he could remove that eye, he would have a blind creature to handle, lacking the threat of a stone sleep. Aero only hoped that killing the beast would revive his friends. There was no spell or item for being petrified. He began to back away carefully…then stopped. There was slithering behind him. In fact, as the Gorgon drew nearer, he felt that the appendages would totally surround him and allow the creature to eat him. Aero did not stand still and let it happen, though. He knew that it would try to paralyze him, so he responded to all the tail-attacks that he could, listening only for the faint swoosh sound of a tail-thrust. Spinning his double-bladed pole-arm, he stopped them and stabbed into other limbs. Finally, he heard the Gorgon lose its patience and attempt to leap at him, jaws wide open. Aero also leapt, even though he knew it was crazy to do so.

Aero: If Canti can get away with it… Triple Doom!

Wide slashes into the head were made, and the remaining eye was hit by one of them! It soon became useless and the Gorgon head became a howling, blinded beast. Aero opened his eyes carefully as he saw it lashing out at random. Now that it was a veritable forest of flinging appendages, his task was much harder than it was before. It would do Niko and Balmung no good if he died before he could get them revived. Steeling himself, he…stopped. He was about to move, but a flicker of motion caught his eye. There was someone standing behind the creature now, not hacking away as limbs, but carefully stabbing them, disabling several at once. Aero looked carefully and saw a youthful face.

Aero: Drake! When did you get here?

Drake: Just now. Help me out, will ya?

Aero: No problem.

The head was still a threat, but Aero had less to worry about with Drake on the scene. His high level would tip the balance and make it possible to kill this thing quickly. Flailing around as it was, Aero found that it was actually easy to stab into the limbs and disable them. When the Gorgon attempted to turn and bite Drake, it was possible for the Long Arm to strike at its main body. They were killing it. The process was slow, but steady. Of course, there was one thing on Aero’s mind about Drake. How did he know to come here?



The infected hacker was only toying with her now, playfully delivering zaps of crimson energy like he was having some target practice. The target was moving, naturally, because she didn’t like the feel of that power. As for the possibility of getting near Toshiro, it would be hard to accomplish that while he was ten feet up in the air. Elk was itching to help her, but she still refused him this. His skills were best left for the aftermath. Meanwhile, from Toshiro’s view, things were not going according to plan. He was doing alright, but the Gorgon-turned Hydra-Scorpion was now dead. He felt it go, it having been one of his creations, then looked down at Mia. She was the weak link in this chain of theirs. But even if she didn’t cooperate, her death would bring about the next step. The Twilight would return and this time, they would be victorious! Toshiro began to chuckle as he prepared a final blast to render the weaponless feline destroyed. That was when Mia noticed something high up in the sky, behind Toshiro. It was dark…and had wings. She stood ready for what came next. For in the next moment, that form plunged down in the blink of an eye and stabbed a pair of red-glowing daggers into Toshiro’s exposed back. Both he and his attacker fell to the ground after that impact, the daggers flying free of his body. Toshiro got up and saw who it was that assaulted him.

Toshiro: Canti…

Canti: You left me for dead, Toshiro. I thought I’d repay the favor.

Toshiro: I won’t let you take it from me!! It’s mine!! Mine!!!

He was out of his mind! Canti rolled out of the way as the Glaive of the Proph3t came swinging his way. The mad Long Arm had him separated from his weapons and he didn’t trust the properties of his current infected status to prevent harm to his person at the hands of that glaive. Helba had warned him about it. The glaive was a special kind of encoded weapon developed by a great hacker who had since moved on from The World. The Proph3t was his name, and he lived up to it by plainly stating that his little creation would one day come in handy, when The World was threatened by the incarnation of evil. Corruption and desolation was the effect of viral attacks, so his special device was an effective tool against it. As Canti was forced to move farther away from his weapons, Mia picked up hers and made to attack Toshiro from behind. He swung back the deadly glaive, but failed to realize that it was a deliberate attempt to give Canti an opening. Canti took it, elbowing Toshiro in the side and running for his daggers. He made it to them just as the Long Arm shot at him with a beam of darkness lancing out from his fingers. Canti was struck in the shoulder, but he managed to throw one of the Flaming Tongues straight into Toshiro’s left eye. He fell back in terrible pain as he pulled the knife from the socket of the player sprite’s eye. The damage was done. Code leaked out of the wound. And Toshiro felt…weak all of a sudden. Mia knew what this was. It was the end for him. The anti-virus’ secondary effect was operating smoothly. Since it could not freeze his account, it was depositing large amounts of data on the harddrive of Toshiro’s computer, effectively filling it up. This prevented any great intake of the power bestowed upon him. Toshiro was running out of power, of life, of anything. Mia readied herself to chop his head off and finish it.

Canti: Wait!

Mia: Why? While he’s a pawn of the enemy, he’s dangerous.

Canti: He didn’t start out this way. He wasn’t some power-hungry creep. He took in the virus like that to save me once. You’ve already disabled him. Why bother killing him now?

Mia: I thought you wanted to kill him. He is still dangerous, you know.

Canti: So are you, but nobody’s trying to decapitate you, are they?

Mia: I won’t say they haven’t thought of it, but go on. Are you saying that Toshiro here is actually sane?

Canti: I just thought of it. He’s controlled, and maybe you’ve found a way to release him. Let me talk to him.

Mia: Alright…

The cat moved aside to allow Canti to do whatever he was planning. He didn’t know what the Twin Blade meant, exactly, when he said she might have found the way to release Toshiro from the grasp of this dark power that seemed to influence his every thoughts. Effectively, the virus had scrambled his brains into what it wanted him to become: a monster. Perhaps depriving him of the power was the solution. Mia remembered her last epiphany, transforming into Macha and trying to kill Kite. Truly, the only way for him to have helped her was the way that he did. Regarding Elk quietly, Mia decided that maybe it was better that Canti at least try to reach his friend. He was standing close enough to be killed by the Long Arm, though. If Toshiro decided to use what last remaining vestiges of power he had left, he could destroy the Twin Blade very easily.

Canti: It’s over, Toshiro. Time to give up the ship.

Toshiro: No… I can’t quit now!

Canti: It’s going to destroy you. Everyone that’s been in contact with that thing has had their life ruined. Think of Darkside… He was just a puppet, nothing more! Hell, he’s the one that started this mess and he’s in a coma!

Toshiro: That won’t… That won’t happen to me.

Canti: It’s going to eat you alive. Use what you’ve got left to save your life. Get it out of your system! I know you didn’t really want the power to do all of this.

Toshiro: Why…are you doing this? I tried to kill you…

Canti: Idiot! If I let you die now, they’d only spit you back up as a zombie like they did that Wavemaster, or Crimson Dawn! I don’t want to lose any others…

Toshiro: What do you m-

“Canti!!”

A sudden shout interrupted the exchange between Canti and Toshiro. It was Aero that they heard, sounding more than a little distressed about something. He ran towards them, seeing that the fight was over already. He regarded Mia and Elk with a quick glare, acknowledging their presence, but focused his attention on Canti again, which meant that whatever it was would more directly involve him.

Aero: We’ve got problems! Niko, Balmung, and I were fighting this thing that became some kind of Medusa-head, and it froze them in stone. Drake came by to help once I cut out its last eye, but when we defeated it, the two of them were still stone! I don’t know what to do! The game doesn’t have an item to cure this!

Canti: Well, what do you expect me to do? I’m no cure-all! Ask Mia!

Mia: Uh-uh. This is the doing of that virus. My power against it is limited. You’d better hurry. They could be slipping into comas even as we speak.

Canti: But…I don’t know what to do.

Toshiro: You don’t have to… It’s my fault…so I’ll handle it.

The Long Arm stood up unsteadily and walked in the direction that Aero had come from. He was in no condition for this, but there was no one amongst them that was going to stop him from doing this now. Toshiro came to realize that Canti had been right to warn him. He’d let the power feed on him, like a parasite. He was just so fascinated by it that he couldn’t let such a thing go to waste. Now, the errors of the past would finally be corrected. He had set these events in motion and they were unstoppable until the end. The only thing he could do now was to make sure that some of them were left towards the completion of the new Twilight. Canti, Mia, Elk, and Aero followed him to where Drake kept an eye on the stone statues of Niko and Balmung. There, he let go of the glaive in his hands and focused code-in-energy-form to condense around the two petrified forms. With the energy working on them, Toshiro’s strength left him and he fell into a kneeling position. He looked over at Canti, who knew what was going to happen next, yet he had no idea what exactly was to take place. Toshiro was finished, but…would he die? Go into a coma? There was no answer, but he would soon fade without a doubt, as even the kanji symbol on Toshiro’s forehead ceased to exist.

Toshiro: It’s funny… I actually knew this would happen. I was the Prophet, you see, and…I knew that one of us fall.

Canti: I won’t be far behind. I’m still in the same trap.

Toshiro: No, that’s not true… Not unless you saw it…

Canti: Saw what? Toshiro, what do you mean? Toshiro? Dammit, don’t go now!

His time was up. He barely had the strength to even give him an iota of warning. The virus had shown him something, a sight not meant to be seen by normal men or women. Like Darkside, Toshiro had been overwhelmed and changed by it in his mind. The kind of psychological damage let loose on Toshiro was gradual, but definite. Whatever did it to him, it was something that Canti had yet to see. Toshiro fell, his HP reduced to zero. He turned gray and disintegrated, just as all dead players do. And then, not even five seconds later, a reaction was felt by all. The entire field began to rumble and flicker with white noise. All who stood there now felt a certain measure of dread, because they knew what was coming. Like before, with Darkside, a monstrous thing suddenly began its attack. Straight from beyond the encoded ground or the graphical sky, something emerged and lashed out at them. There was more than one this time… As they ripped holes in the fabric of the very game, the screen flickered and shot out static at random. It was almost too much for the game. Balmung and Niko had both awakened in time to see this, but it was Balmung who immediately understood that the serpents were not as they appeared to be. They were not creatures, but appendages, all belonging to a single entity that had yet to be seen. Meaty and vein-filled tendrils, glistening with crimson energy, trying to tear them apart along with the field. Huge jagged scars were being left in the air and ground.

Mia: Now, Elk! Now!

Elk: Right! PhaGani Zot!

This was what Mia had been waiting for. They had to push this thing back, force it away. She had had the young Wavemaster save his energy for just such an emergency. Now, as an avalanche came to fall upon the appendages, there was at least a fighting chance. The power wielded by the strange tentacles kept its focus on Elk’s magic, rather than the things it was trying to kill. Even Mia could not imagine what it was that they were fighting, besides the virus. Her only intent was to get everyone out alive. If the creature only reacted to the death of one of its human servants, then this would only last for a short while. There were half a dozen of its tendrils and slightly more players present than that. Elk’s repeated castings were a suitable distraction for it and the rest of them were at least capable of fighting back while much of the power being flung around here was wasted on falling stones. Of the group members who were actually fighting the thing, it seemed that the most effective attacks were coming from Balmung, Canti, and Mia. A shrill cry that could only be described as unearthly howled from all directions at once as tendrils took damage. One of them even ‘died’ when Niko, Balmung, and Drake sliced it off with their attacks. The others took several deep and horrifying wounds before retracting. The tears in the field gave off a hideous red glow before the light faded away entirely. Balmung inspected the remains of the one ‘dead’ tentacle. It may as well have been a genuine monster, for all its system-born data, all sundered by the virus. It was clear to him that the dark powers, the crimson energy, and all of that hellish and morbid stuff was the true manifestation of the virus. That was the code. All of these forms, including the False Phases, were mere engines of destruction wrote by a source that nobody could know. Dormant now, Balmung plunged his sword into the muscular form and it disintegrated. It still followed on basic rule of The World. Dead was dead. He looked over and saw Mia pick something up from the ground, a lance of some sort. Surprisingly, she handed it to Canti!

Mia: Here, take this. You won it fair and square.

Canti: The…Glaive of the Proph3t? I’m no Long Arm. What gives?

Mia: It’s an important piece of equipment and I think he’d want you to keep an eye on it. You’ll find a use for it at some point. Like the man said, it will come in handy when The World is threatened by evil.

Canti: I’m not sure it belongs in my hands.

Mia: Then find out whose hands it does belong in. Come on, Elk.

Elk: Right behind you, Mia!

The two of them gated out before Canti could say any more. He handled the glaive, but could do little more without being a Long Arm. What had she meant by saying that? It was as if he were expected to find the exact owner of the weapon, such as its creator. Well, good luck there. Putting it away into his own personal inventory, Canti looked over to his remaining comrades, all of whom were looking about as winded as he felt. The workout involved here was ludicrous. To be forced into such a long succession of battles like that would wear down anyone’s stamina. He stepped over to Balmung, who seemed lost in thought.

Canti: Would you like to share with the rest of the class?

Balmung: She wasn’t the one…

Canti: She wasn’t the one what?

Balmung: Not the one responsible. The origin of the False Twilight is a remnant of Morganna’s power, and Mia was the only recipient.

Canti: Then, there has to be someone else.

Niko: Helba is in the dark on this one, though. Even Aura… How do we figure this out, anyway? There isn’t exactly a trail we can follow.

Balmung: We still have one lead. Canti, that girl we spoke to, the one who knew the origins of the virus. Is it possible that she has seen the source, or would she have merely known about it?

Canti: I don’t know and I’m not asking.

Balmung: What?

Niko: Why not?

Canti: I’m not sure I can trust you anymore, Mr. Azure Sky. You left me for dead and then you came here to delete an ally of The World. Now, Toshiro’s gone and I’m the only one in control of the power he had. How long before you take me out?

Aero: Get a hold of yourself, Canti! You’re starting to sound just like him!

Canti: Right now, I really don’t care, man. I got attacked by a knight before coming here, a high-level Blademaster. I’ve got good reason to be pissed off. I need to know where you all stand on me being a part of this. Either you’re with me or against me!

For a moment, nobody spoke, but instead looked into the many fissures in the newbie field where the tendrils had struck. Canti was part of this, regardless. It may be possible for him to be sundered by the virus’ spell, but there had to be hope that this would not happen. He hadn’t killed Toshiro. He had saved him, allowing him to fade away naturally and not become a puppet that hung from the darkness. Balmung glared at Canti…until there was finally a response.

Drake: You said you’d find out what this was all about. I believe it.

Aero: I’m not gonna hold a grudge just because you’re crazy. We’re all a little freaked here, I know.

Niko: You kidding? You’d be lost without me, man.

Canti: Well, Balmung, what do you have to say?

Balmung: It was never my intention to destroy you. I want to cure you, before you lose yourself. Now, will you go and ask her for us?

Canti: The answer’s still no. She would have told us if she knew.

Balmung: Then, we have no idea on what to search for.

Canti: Oh, we have something. You’re just not gonna like it. See, the ball’s in their court now. They’re gonna make a move against us. All you have to do is sit and wait. Sooner or later, the Avenger will come.

Niko: Damn, I almost forgot about that. Whatever’s out there, in those holes, it wants us bad. Canti, you should be espec- Hey! Where’re you going?

Canti: To bed. The kid woke me up and I need to crash.

Niko: But…you can’t! Not now! What if we need you?

Canti: Niko, read my eyes. “SLEEPY…” I’m no good when I’m dead on my feet, anyway. See you later.



He made his exit via the Red Gate, which slipped him directly to the login screen where he immediately signed off. Getting up from where he sat, a tired and listless player sauntered over to his bed and collapsed into it, more exhausted than he had been when he went to sleep the last time. One thing that still plagued his mind, whether in slumber or out, was the growing concern for his own sanity. Aero was right. His reaction to Balmung was uncalled for. Furthermore, he had no idea why he felt that way at all. The man had honor and talent, and he had already explained the issue of their main disagreement. Toshiro’s warning was what disturbed him the most. He was suppose to see something, whatever it was that seemed to be pulled the strings in The World now. Was he slowly losing himself to a nameless evil that bit into his own brain? He hoped that that was not the case. And while he felt safe, sleeping away from the computer, there was still the matter of the effects of the virus. Canti was most certainly infected, but was his operator also doomed? For on his left arm, just above the wrist and barely noticeable even in proper lighting, was a scar. It was direct match of the infection on his sprite arm…

END OF PHASE 4>>>>>

Almost a day went by without any noticeable event that was out of the ordinary. Ironically, the suggestion made to wait for the enemy to make the next move actually drove the others into making preparations for this very action. The Administrators were advised by Balmung to keep an eye open for viral movements within sectors, so that they could trace all possible signals and attempt to locate the true source of this chaos. He himself would want to deliver his sword unto that entity and delete it from The World. The Azure Sky now sat and waited in Lia Fail, underneath a cherry blossom tree, reading a quick Flash Mail from his long-time partner, Orca. He was talking about the court case. Apparently, CC Corporation was not to be extensively held liable for the Twilight Incident, since it was now quite clear that no employee or player within The World was responsible for the bizarre coma cases that had appeared. If any blame to that could be established, it could be construed as the fault of Harald Hoerwick, whose creations were perhaps a little too free in terms of will when it came to the development of the Ultimate AI.

Balmung: “We have only to deal with some of the individual families involved, who will all probably be compensated for as a show of good faith.” Hmmm. Well, at least their future looks bright…for the time being.

He had seen Drake with Niko and Aero, using the boy’s higher level as a means of support in difficult areas to build up experience quickly. The process was called tanking, if he recalled right. The higher-level player draws the fire of the tougher enemies while the weaker party members attack them until they grow in EXP quickly. Niko didn’t necessarily need it, though. The Beta-Bracelet allowed him to absorb clean data from The World. No matter what level he was on, his own attributes were increasing. It gave him an edge, one similar to the one that Canti had obtained, but safer. That reminded him… Where was Canti? He couldn’t still be sleeping, could he? True, it was a rough night for him, but what could possibly tire out a player who goes out of his way to walk the path of a madman? Just then, a shadow cast itself on the ground nearby, one that Balmung had seen before.

“It this seat taken?”

Balmung: Not at all.

It was not that he had ever met this player before. It was merely that he had seen him around for a while and knew him to be a seasoned fighter. He was a grim-looking sort, with red eyes and a horned Viking helmet, armor adorning his body like a knight. Indeed, he was just that, and Balmung recalled Canti saying that he was accosted by a knight. This one, this Silver Knight, was clearly the one the Twin Blade had been talking about, because that player now spoke of Canti himself.

Silver Knight: I will make this short. I know who and what you are, and I know that you know him, that Twin Blade with the infection.

Balmung: I make no attempt to deny it. What do you want, then?

Silver Knight: I have been in your place, Balmung of the Azure Sky. I know what you must be thinking about, even now, for I have been there before.

Balmung: Ah, yes. I recall them, the Crimson Knights. You were there at the very beginning of this, before any true sign of the Twilight had come.

Silver Knight: Indeed. My Lady Subaru had put her trust into the Wavemaster whose staff would summon that strange monster. In order for me to understand that trust, I had to change my ways before they destroyed who I really was. I am still yet a knight, but I have grown to understand that not all things before me cast in shadow are inherently evil.

Balmung: You do not believe that Canti will become a pawn for the evil spreading into The World.

Silver Knight: I do not. He is a troubled fool, shrouded from the light and twisted into something horrid, but I have yet to see a true darkness about him.

Balmung: I will keep that in mind when next I see him.

“Man, that was messed up!”

“Yeah, who’d’ve thought they’d host an event like that out of the blue.”

“Tell me about it. We almost didn’t get away.”

The conversation between Balmung and the veteran player ended abruptly as a pair of Heavy Blades spoke up about something that caught the ear of the Azure Sky. There were no such events being hosted for today! What were these two talking about? Balmung gave them a careful look, and then stood up to have a word with them, his curiosity piqued.

Balmung: You two! What event are you talking about?

“It’s an attack on Fort Ouph. The place is overrun with the walking dead.”

Balmung: The…dead? I don’t recall any sort of event like that being authorized.

The Admins still working at the CC Corp office at this time always liked to keep others informed of their actions, whether it was a special event to be held at a certain field or a minor bug-fix in the long lists of code created to hold The World together. Nothing of this sort had been posted at all. Fort Ouph was only a fort in name. No plans to change that were in the works as of now. This could only mean that the ‘event’ that the players were describing to him was a contrivance of the viral power upsetting The World, much like what had happened in Mac Anu.

Balmung: Silver Knight, how would you like to act in the name of justice once more? I may need an experienced hand in this.

Silver Knight: I would be glad to.



In Mac Anu, the Chaos Gate activated to admit the presence of Mia and Elk. They had just come back from the newbie area that had been so horribly mangled by the unknown monster associated with the virus and everyone who had been infected by it. Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field was important to The World. It was usually the very first place that newbies headed into for quick EXP. When Mia and Elk dropped in there, it was still torn up as it was when they left it. The Admins had been unable to effect repairs, largely due to the virus. However, Mia had been able to stabilize the graphics, knowing now of the link to the Twilight it all tied into. If only they knew the original source, they could prevent this from ever happening again… Mia went off to gather in some interesting rumors, as something was bound to pop up sooner or later. It was Elk, however, who found something first. He’d just looked back at the Chaos Gate for a moment as someone logged in.

Elk: Huh? Isn’t that…Canti?

That’s who it appeared to be, but something was clearly wrong. The winged Twin Blade had sort of a frantic look in his eye, a difficult thing to manage with those black pits. Regardless, he appeared on edge about something. That was unlike him. He looked around carefully, then noticed Elk and almost immediately set the gate to take him somewhere. It couldn’t have been an ordinary field, because he’d disappeared under the veil of the Red Gate. Mia returned soon after.

Mia: Saw him, did you?

Elk: Well, yeah…but he looked kind of…afraid.

Mia: I know…and he has good reason. The infection is spreading.

Elk: Isn’t there anything we can do?

Mia: Not us. It’s her game now.



It was just as those other players had said. Fort Ouph was overrun by all kinds of zombies and the walking dead. Balmung and Silver Knight had had to cleave through more than a dozen of them around the Chaos Gate alone because they had followed the other players this way. A number of fights were taking place all around the fort. Zombies who looked like dead players, monsters who belonged in the game, and monstrous golems of undead flesh wandered the pathways, making this server a hazard to any visitor. None of the player-based zombies appeared to have special powers, which was certainly a boon. However, it was also clear that the entire army was resistant to physical attacks because of a natural endurance to pain that all undead share. Nevertheless, the two Blademasters were able to make their way to what seemed to be the center of the mayhem. Just as a Long Arm on a Noble Grunty rammed through a small group of zombies, Balmung saw it, but did not believe it. There was no possible way…

Silver Knight: I’ve never seen one quite like that. I assume you know what it is.

Balmung: It’s a Red Gate. The virus effecting The World right now uses this type of medium for the calamity it causes. Somebody had to have set this up, though.

Silver Knight: Do you believe it was him?

Balmung: I’m not certain. There’s been no sign just yet. But if it wasn’t him, then who? As far as I know, nobody else is infected.

Silver Knight: Well, before we discover the answers you seek, it is best that we do what we came here to do.

Balmung: Right. We’ll take this gate to wherever it leads and cut off the supply at the source. Maybe then, we’ll see who’s responsible.



The hue of the sky was boggling to the eyes. How could a sky ever look that way? He didn’t know. This part of The World was like a forgotten castaway. Even those who resided Net Slum weren’t fully aware of this place. With all of its bizarre constructions and upside down buildings, he was reminded of an old painting made by one of the old masters, like Pablo Picasso. Then again, the indecisiveness on what the ground should be made of seemed to defeat that concept. This was the place that Niko had described, the world within The World. This was Fragment, and it was her domain, much more so than even the rest of The World itself. Here, an AI could come and think without much possible chance of disturbance. In this case, however, there was going to be one guest who wasn’t on the list. Nevertheless, as he approached, she was aware of him without even looking.

Aura: You are Canti.

Canti: That’s right. You must be Aura.

Aura: I am, but…why have you come here?

Canti: You’re the one in charge of The World. Not Balmung and not Helba. You have all the real power. I needed to come to you for this.

Aura: You mean the infection on your arm.

Canti: Yeah… It’s gotten worse. I see it as a scar on my arm, my real arm. It’s doing stuff to me in the real world. How can it do that? It’s all just a game!

Aura: The medium for the effect is through your senses. Everything you see, hear, and feel from The World is translated to you by way of your computer system. The virus has expanded on this, however, using knowledge of the human brain to force itself onto other players by way of your interactions.

Canti: You mean it made my own body do this when I was infected?

Aura: Yes, and I know that you want me to remove the infection, but I don’t know how this can be done.

Canti: Will it stop if I kill the source?

Aura: It seems likely.

Canti: Good. Then, all I have to do is find it and- GAH!!

One of the many problems with viruses would have to be their flair for bad timing, if even unintentional. Of course, with such an affliction being created from a human mind, it can be hard to tell whether or not this sudden upsurge against him was really a coincidence. Canti felt as if his sides were about to rupture, his left arm aching from where the infection mark was as well. He knew it didn’t start from there, though. That was just where it had been exposed. Truthfully, it must have began when the Joker Mask shot him and attempted to Data Drain him soon after. He noticed that his left arm was trying to move on its own.

Canti: Big mistake…coming here… It wants to…take you out…

The virus wanted him to make a move against the very heart of The World, but he wasn’t going to let it. The headset was telling him to “Kill” repeatedly, and the graphics were playing up a bit as he heard it laughing, laughing at him again. That same twisted laughter, every single time! That mask was everywhere, even after he’d destroyed it, and now it wanted to be him! Well, that wasn’t going to happen… Canti’s right arm came up suddenly and he stabbed his own wrist, again and again, laughing along with the clown that wanted him to perform for its own amusement. Was it funny now?! Was it worth the chuckle now?! Canti rambled as he continued on in his self-abuse, the infection reacting after a short while, as if fed up with him now. The pain increased all over his body as something emerged from his sprite. He fell to his knees as it happened, then fell forward once it was out. All that he knew was this red haze and a terrible agony all over his body. He barely managed to look up and saw… Well, it was hard to say, really. There was a certain resemblance to his character, but it was shaped like a heavily-armored being, rather than a versatile Twin Blade. It had no weapons, but it was all metal and winged like an angel of darkness. It had one red eye, unblinking and uncomprehending. This was their Avenger, the Merciless Soldier.

Canti: Ummm….Aura? Run.

She didn’t need to be told. Even before the winged creature of vengeance turned to stalk her, Aura had already disappeared from the field, leaving Canti behind. Why the Soldier left him too was what he didn’t understand. It simply disappeared by way of a Red Gate, no doubt in pursuit of Aura and other targets. Canti tried to get up, but he couldn’t move. His entire body was covered with infected wounds, and his wings were tattered badly. A broken player lay here, his HP slowly draining towards zero. It was in the red zone already. Whatever happened to him must have occurred when his alter ego emerged…



According to the information, the field they had been taken to by the Red Gate was called Merciless Evil-Eyed Fallen Angel. However, it did little to live up to the name. There was not anything especially terrible about this place. The most harmful of creatures in it had to be the Miasma Wyrms, which were relatively small and irritating on the grand scale of things. The two Blademasters swatted those away like insects in between the sudden attack of zombie players. This place was a wasteland, nothing but rocky tundra, stone formations, and bizarre statues as far as the eye could see. The dungeon was almost as interesting, just a dilapidated fortress that seemed to be bent on waging war with Fort Ouph, as if the event had been real. Of course, this could never be the case. The room of the Gott Statue turned out to be the end of this zombie conga-line, the pit where the statue would be having been filled with a dense mound of undead beings.

Balmung: Undeleted ram…

Silver Knight: Undeleted, you say? I would have thought that such things end up at Net Slum. Not stored away for the enemy’s use.

Balmung: Not everything ends up there. Monster and player data is regularly stored in other memory banks, usually creating a large cache of old data that sits there for a while before getting deleted. The virus merely picked it up and put it back into play.

Silver Knight: I causes so much trouble from so little effort.

Balmung: Yes, but this particular move was a futile one. Such data is powerless to the whims of an Administrator.

In other words, it was largely just reconstituted data that was scheduled for deletion. Balmung leveled his hand at the mound of evil that lay before him, energy condensing before it into an Admin’s delete command. Once ready, he launched it into the data mound and watched as it disintegrated into nothingness. He and Silver Knight turned and left the room, preparing to return to Fort Ouph in case a few of the undead beasts remained intact. It was not until they had come down a long tunnel that they heard echoing footsteps. They stopped, wondering who had followed them in here. Balmung turned around…and stopped. This was…

Balmung: Canti?

…a monster. The resemblance to the Twin Blade he knew ended once it left the shadows. It had only the vague impression of Canti, the basic shape of him. In truth, the next Phase of the False Twilight had come. The Merciless Soldier stepped towards them at a steady pace, as if there was no rush in its errand of murder. Silver Knight held his sword high and charged the oncoming warrior. He did not understand how this creature was to be a danger. It neither held weapons, nor did it appear to give off any clear hellish power. The whole thing seemed to be nothing more than a pale substitute for the original. And having fought the player whom this monster had spawned from, Silver Knight knew that he wouldn’t be quite so challenged. Of course, even as he prepared to slice the Soldier apart with diagonal slash, he had failed to take into account that nothing was ever as it seemed. As his attack connected, the False Phase split open into a multitude of fragments, as if it had splintered into many blades and metallic spikes. They simply floated and hung in the air for a while, the rest of the Merciless Soldier still intact, and then a number of the blades struck at Silver Knight like missles before returning to the body and repairing it. It stole a fair chunk of his health for that, and he backed away for the moment, as the Soldier did not follow them just yet.

Silver Knight: Another monster that cannot be defeated. I seem to have the poorest luck with those. Do you have a suggestion?

Balmung: Beyond exercising a little more caution, nothing comes to mind.

Their opponent began to move again, this time heading straight for Balmung. This Soldier clearly had some intelligence behind it, what with the way it chose to go after Balmung instead of retaliating on Silver Knight. Or perhaps the monster just regarded him as the higher threat. In either case, the Admin waited a moment, then proceeded to slash his way through as the creature neared. The force of his attack had broken it apart again and he was able to move through it, but not without it getting in a few quick cuts before reassembling. Then, just as Silver Knight was about to strike it again from behind, its back exploded into a volley of deadly spikes, tearing out more of his HP, and damaging the actual sprite of his character. Silver Knight almost fell to his knee, but staggered far away, down the hall.

Silver Knight: We must withdraw to the outside, get more breathing room.

Balmung: Agreed. The hallway is too narrow for a battle like this.

So saying, the Administrator used his transport command to send the two of them directly to the surface, as if a Sprite Ocarina had been used. The scenery that they emerged into was not pleasant. The field was now degraded as it had been during the Twilight. Static shot at the screen every minute or so. Like their immediate situation, things were becoming worse.



Canti: Am I dying?

The Twin Blade still lay upon the ground, his body unable to move. The dull throb from the event that had created his metallic doppelganger still made itself known. Aura had said that the virus had gotten into his head somehow, as it did with everybody it attacked. Darkside was in a coma, his mind locked in this game. Toshiro was corrupted by it, manipulated almost to the very end. Mia’s latent abilities as a part of the real Twilight had emerged. And to top that all off, every player who lost a battle to one of these unknown beasties were in a coma just like the last time. Helba had explained to him that the Twilight had used a similar medium to create the coma effect. This time, an extreme had been met. Someone had died… That’s what worried Canti now. He was almost out of time.

Canti: Is this how I’m suppose to go? My brain stuck in here without a body to go to? Do I move on? Do I get stuck in here for all eternity? I know I wanted to see my folks again, but I didn’t want it to be this way. I’m suppose to go out in a blazing hellfire, not plastered and helpless. Dammit, I refuse to die like this!

Even if death wasn’t certain, he still could not accept it. The World had become something more to him than a game, something symbolic, one could say. It was his gateway to the underworld, to the endless hordes of battle where he would stand at the ledge between life and death. The World had always been his release. Lately, it had become more like his obsession, to find the meaning of why he exists. Oh sure, he was perfectly capable of living and supporting himself alone, but why? If given the chance to live or die, what choice would he make? There was no answer to this question. Parts of him sometimes wanted to die while other parts stubbornly clung to life without fail. He’d always made himself deny it, but his mind thought about it clearly enough. Now, he was forced to confront the issue, and he didn’t want his life to end. Not this way.

Canti: I’m not gonna die like this. If you want me out of the picture, you pick up my knife and stab me to death with it!

He began to concentrate on all the strength that he had, trying to will himself to move or for something to happen. Canti soon felt his arms and legs again, and not so much the enforced agony that sapped his very will. His movements seemed a little sluggish and his character sprite was still full of holes, but his HP had stopped falling. That would’ve been fine enough for him…if he hadn’t heard a threatening sound, like a roar from above the clouds in the sky. He knew that voice, and he knew what was coming.

Canti: Okay, now I’m dead.

“Really? Why would that be? You’re not in any danger.”

Canti: What the- Dammit, where are you?!

“Up and behind you.”

As the sky darkened and the clouds thickened, Canti looked around to find the source of the voice, finally casting a gaze up and behind himself to see a familiar figure hanging in the air as if she belonged there. Even amongst this chaos, Reyome appeared completely calm, as if the imminent arrival of Cubia meant nothing to her. Perhaps this was because Cubia wouldn’t attack her. He didn’t know. The point was that the skull-faced titan was already lowering itself from the clouds.

Canti: What do you mean there’s no danger? Big blue up there is the worst kind!

Reyome: You’re worried about him? Cubia isn’t even viral. He exists to preserve the stability of The World. He’s only trying to eliminate the infection.

Canti: Won’t that kill me too?

Reyome: Character death, I think.

Canti: You think?! What if you’re wrong?

Reyome: Then, it’s been nice knowing you.

Canti: Couldn’t you just help me out a little?

Reyome: Why do you ask me that when you don’t even need it?

Canti: You’ve got a funny sense of the word “need”!

The banter going on between the two of them was soundly ignored by Cubia, who had no greater desire than to set this wrinkle in The World straight and to move on to the next task. The giant enforcer let loose another howl as about half a dozen fireballs exited the yellowish pods on its neck and shoulders. They streaked down towards Canti and exploded on impact, the Twin Blade having been in no condition to dodge at all. However, as the smoke cleared, he still appeared to be in one piece. More to the point, he was completely healed, wounds and all!

Canti: Okay, how…?

Reyome: I told you there wasn’t any danger. I’m running a program that makes Cubia believe you’re vulnerable to fire, which you’re not.

Canti: Rey, I don’t absorb fire.

Reyome: You do now. You keep forgetting that the virus is changing the data of your character. The way you look is the way you are.

It made a certain amount of sense, once he had it explained to him. He had these wings, for instance. They didn’t use to work, but now they did. His character was all fire and brimstone and evil, and now that had a function as well. The virus had its upsides with the downsides. Thankfully, he didn’t hear any of the laughter anymore. After getting up, Canti looked up at Cubia, then over to Reyome.

Canti: Well, if you didn’t come to help me, then what did you want?

Reyome: Helba wanted me to find you or the others while she stayed on tracking it.

Canti: Tracking what?

Reyome: The source. She found it.

Without even another word, Canti activated the Red Gate and left the area, Reyome following soon after. If the final piece of the puzzle was finally coming into focus, then there was no time to waste here on Cubia. They would have to take care of it later. During this time, The World’s greatest champion hovered for a just a moment as it worked its way through the deceptive program, then disappeared into a wavering portal once realizing that the targets were no longer present.



Silver Knight: Will they take long, then?

Balmung: No, I sent it to Niko. He keeps a good eye on the mail.

Silver Knight: It seems strange that an Administrator would require the help of others in a battle such as this.

Balmung: Any advantage that I can make use of at a time like this is welcome. Even a False Twilight can test the limits of my strength.

Silver Knight: You mentioned that it used humans… Was that truly the same player that I have faced before?

Balmung: I don’t know, but I will find out.

Silver Knight: Indeed. It comes.

He indicated the sudden burst of red rings, indicating the use of the Red Gate. Whether or not it was the real Canti, it clearly had access to some of his powers and had a rather unique composition…of blades. Silently, the Merciless Soldier trudged towards them, practically a zombie, or a combatant so focused on the desire to kill that all other things were excluded. And so, it proceeded towards its given targets, who had been waiting for it in the field area of Merciless Evil-Eyed Fallen Angel. Balmung and Silver Knight soon separated, attempting to confuse the hellish Soldier. It was a dismal failure, as the monster quickly exploded into volleys of deadly spikes and blades. Balmung knew better than to stand still as this deadly storm of impalement tried to skewer him. He flew to one side, allowing the blades to destroy a nearby statue instead. Silver Knight also dodged to the side, barely ahead of the damaging shards of the Soldier, taking what would appear to be negligible wounds. The monster reformed, apparently learning greater methods of attack each time it launched itself against an opponent. And yet…something seemed to be lacking. It was almost as if the creature were holding back for some reason. Soon, it moved again, advancing on Balmung. Extending its arms forward, it launched the bits and blades of those limbs at him, one grouping after another, as he was forced to parry it all away with his sword. It was a relentless assault that would tire him out, eventually. At least, it would have, if the Soldier’s body hadn’t been blown apart by a data explosion. Niko stood by one of the Stonehenge-like structures, both Aero and Drake coming into view as his Beta-Bracelet faded. There was a look of concern on his face…and Balmung knew why.

Balmung: I don’t think that it was Canti.

Niko: Maybe not, but where is he then?

Balmung: My records indicate that he was in Mac Anu for a short while, then he dropped off of the normal path.

Aero: Hey…guys? Get a look at this…

There was a flurry of motion not far from where they all stood. From the ground and from the sky, the blades and spikes returned. The Data Drain had not helped at all. The Merciless Soldier became whole in mere seconds. The problem was beginning to show itself, though. Data Drain effected monsters and players, for the most part. This creature should have been effected, but it wasn’t. The monster was made up of objects, ones without stats or weaknesses of any kind. Without even an HP gauge, there would be no way to render damage. It’s entire body was made out of sharp objects. How do you kill a knife? They needed a plan, and quick.

Drake: Maybe we can break it apart. I mean, all the little parts.

Silver Knight: A wasted effort, even if we could.

He was right, of course. The monster before them was simply bits and pieces of metal held together by an unknowable will. The Soldier looked at all of them gathered…and became a lot more active than it was before! A direct leap for Silver Knight closed the gap in half a second, right before it raised a hand to backhand the veteran-player as if he were a mere gnat. His sword came up in defense, shattering the arm, but the flying blades still caused damage. He fell into a roll to put some distance between himself and the Soldier, his sprite looking wounded by the several glancing blows he received. From behind, Drake sought to avenge the knight with an attack on the Avenger, but the upward slash did only break the creature apart. It was useless, no matter how much power he put into it. His opponent partially broke apart, turned to face him, and then reformed to kick him hard in the chest, an act which set Drake tumbling across the wasteland. Magic was equally worthless in this fight. The spells would impact and cause the creature’s body to ripple strangely without apparent damage. It was becoming more brutal by the second, learning at a staggering rate. When Niko tried once more to Data Drain the monster, he found it spreading its pieces out so as not to be struck. Thereafter, the mass of twirling blades and spikes shot out at random directions, picking away at all of their HP before coming together once more. They were all exhausted, and it was looking around, as if trying to decide who it was that it would finish first.

Balmung: It has no weaknesses…

Niko: Balmung, I don’t understand. How can it be immune to your Admin power?

Balmung: It’s a clever loophole for us both. The way it’s made up prevents Data Drain, but not editing. However, the virus you’re trying to effect protects it from my abilities. It’s a Catch-22…

Silver Knight: “That’s one helluva catch, that Catch-22.”

Balmung: “It’s the best.” We must find the loophole into its own system. There must be something we’ve missed.

Aero: There is.

Before anyone could ask, Aero’s grip tightened on his double-bladed spear and literally jumped at the bladed monstrosity. Several voices called out for him to stop, but he didn’t. He saw what it was that kept this thing going. He’d looked at it for long enough to make a sudden realization that had to be acted upon before their enemy had a chance to adapt. Because his weapon was equipped with blades at both ends, he was able to slice into the monster’s body to break it apart twice as quickly as the others. As he guessed, the Merciless Soldier almost never offered any real resistance to attacks. It flew apart, its pieces flying this way and that, unhurt by these attacks. Aero still drove his weapon through the body, not satisfied until it was completely dissembled. Once this had occurred, he made a hasty grab for one of the creature’s pieces. He threw everything into that grab…his hand closing over something that was not a blade or spike. It was an eye. The Soldier had a single eye, glowing blood-red. Compared to the rest of it, this part was tiny. And judging by that red glow, this part was its life. Aero did not need much in the way of confirmation, because every wayward piece of the Soldier soon came flying directly at him, trying to cut him to ribbons before he could bring it to any harm. There was almost no chance of being able to bring a killer blow onto the eye and hold it in place. Aero instead had only one risky option… He flung his fist at the nearest barrage of blades trying to kill him and allowed them to do all the work.



Helba: …which was the break I really needed to track it down. Now, you can find it no matter where-

Canti: Holy sh…!! Not again…!!

Near the archway in Net Slum, Helba had been explaining to Canti the way in which she had finally managed to locate the source of their problems. He was, in turn, to relay this information to Balmung, Niko, and the others so that they would be able to hunt down the Twilight remnant and put an end to its corruptive ways. However, just as she was finishing, Canti suddenly felt a writhing pain in his body, far too similar to how he’d felt during the emergence of his double. He recovered quickly this time, unhurt by the sensation with no ill effects. However…

Canti: Something’s wrong… I’ve gotta go.

Helba: I’ll be waiting.

Even at the very second of her egress, she regretted leaving. She was no longer a helpless victim in this place. The World was her domain now, and she was suppose to be in control of it. And yet…she had taken the advice of the Twin Blade and departed. Why? The creature that had emerged from him in those pieces… It had done horrible damage to him along the way. He was in terrible danger, and yet she had fled. The more logical part of her mind told her that the new monster was not really interested in either of them. It was an Avenger. It wished to bring pain and suffering to those who defied its creator. It knew from Canti who to strike, and Aura had not made that list just yet. But still…why did she run? The only answer that presented itself was for the same reason Cubia ran… The infection. The power behind the virus was malicious and terrifying. Of course, now that the Avenger was nowhere in sight, Aura felt that she should have done something. She felt that Canti had had his own help, but not his friends. And then, as she was trying to decide on her next course of action, she felt it.

Aura: No…

When her mother had attempted to stifle her birth and corrupt The World with her being, Aura could feel the sensation of players being defeated at her hands. The way their spark or spirit seemed to fade itself instead of mere character death disturbed her greatly, and she became no stranger to the sense of loss. Now, what she felt was this… Two sparks of life were shown brightly in her mind’s eye. One was light and one was dark. At first, she was glad to see the dark light fizzle out like a candle…but then she felt a terrible shock from the other one as it too was soon to be snuffed. Whatever had happened, it was nothing good…



The eye of the Merciless Soldier was thrust into its own oncoming blades. A lack of foresight, ironically enough, was what had killed it. It bursted into flames of the darkest crimson light in Aero’s hand. Unfortunately, the Long Arm was hardly in a position to be concerned by this, as the inherent risk of his move was that he might not come out of it alive. The blades that didn’t destroy the eye continued on their way to serving deadly damage to Aero, most of which he was unable to avoid. The blades tore into his arm and chest terribly, and soon he fell to the ground. The others were gathered around him in an instant, both Drake and Niko trying to apply healing spells to their comrade, but with little effect.

Balmung: Why didn’t you just tell me? There are safeguards for an Admin!

Aero: It was learning fast… Had to act faster before we died…

Silver Knight: A noble way to meet your fate. You have my appreciation.

Drake: Don’t talk like that! He’ll be alright! He- He’ll be fine!

“Oh my god… What the hell happened here?!”

Several sets of eyes were cast over to where the sound of a gate in had just been heard, followed by the shocked voice of the one who just arrived. They had suspected – or rather, hoped – that it wasn’t Canti trying to kill them, but his appearance here was a surprise nonetheless. The winged Twin Blade had come now, onto this battlefield, and was unable to take in what he was seeing. A litter of blades all over the place, a small blast-mark on the ground, and one of his friends looking as if he’d been mauled by a tiger. As Canti came closer, his sudden fear was confirmed. Aero was terminal. He cast a questioning glance around, but nobody would look him in the eye. None except Aero.

Aero: Hey… We were worried about you…

Canti: Worried about me? What about you, huh? Getting torn up like that…

Aero: Hey, gimme some credit… I beat the damn Phase, didn’t I?

Canti: Yeah…

Aero’s body then became lifeless, his eyes staring up at nothing. He was just a shell now, his real-life self no doubt gone from The World in a fashion much more permanent than character death. Balmung knew that it was just like the other victims of this virus, their characters torn apart and their minds following suit. The other Administrators within CC Corp confirmed that the new rash of coma victims appeared to be suffering, as if caught in a nightmare. To have this sort of thing done to them was too cruel… Balmung looked from face to face, taking in what this terrible loss was doing to the players around him now. Niko was staring at Aero’s body, his hand clutching the spot where his bracelet would appear. Silver Knight seemed as motionless as a statue, no doubt dwelling on this turn of events in somber reflection. Drake was in a kneeling position, his arm wrapped in front of his head and his body quaking slightly. He was probably crying, but Balmung couldn’t tell. Canti… Canti seemed the most agitated. His hands were shaking, his teeth were gritted, and his eyes were twitching somewhat. Balmung tried to remain stable in these conditions, and so it was he who first broke the silence.

Balmung: Drake… Log off for a while.

Drake: No…

Balmung: You need a break to cool off and-

Drake: Leave me alone! You’re not my father!!

The kid’s glare was so venomous when he shouted at him that Balmung just couldn’t to press the issue. He should have, but he couldn’t. Drake was already in a fragile emotional state. Pushing him now, like this, would hit him hard enough that he might simply snap. If he excluded him now, the boy would feel useless when he was not. He had a right to this as much as anyone here, more so in some cases. Balmung said nothing further to Drake, and spoke not another word. Not until the Twin Blade of the group spoke up himself.

Canti: It should’ve been me…

Balmung: What do you mean? You wouldn’t have had any better chance.

Canti: The hell I wouldn’t! That thing was created from me, and I should’ve been the one to handle it!

Balmung: If it was from you, then it would have already known what to expect from you. That monster was learning fast. Aero saved us all.

Canti: I know, I know… I hate that it happened, that he’s really gone. He really got into this because of me, you know. Just so damn curious…

Niko: Don’t talk about him like that. You know there’s always hope. All we have to do is-

Canti: Kill the source? Maybe. I hope so… Helba was telling me about it. She said she had it tracked down from when a lot of data was dumped into the dungeon around here. The virus didn’t have any other servants, so the source had to set up the file itself.

“And that’s when I had it. Oh, it’s a spry little thing, but it has my mark on it now. Speaking of which, you’ll be delighted to know…she has him.”

From out of the blue, there was Helba. She merely appeared there, Reyome not but three feet to her left. They came bearing good news. Or at least, it was a little better news than before, just a little hope. Aura had intercepted the wayward spark of Aero’s being. He was not beyond help if they could only succeed. There was one thing that seemed a bit out of kilter here, though. What were the two of them doing here, out in the open? Helba was best-known for conducting operations out of the line of sight. And as for the apparent kitsune, she was not known much for making appearances at all. Canti had seen her the most, really.

Canti: Wish you said that before…

Niko: It doesn’t always work, Canti. It’s not always a sure thing.

Balmung: You two are here for a reason. What is it?

Helba: There is a problem, one that involves the virus.

Reyome: It also concerns an old acquaintance…

Balmung: And that is?

Helba: They’re both coming here.

As the ominous message was passed on, a tremendous shake-up of the surrounding area occurred, followed by a sudden change in the color of the burning sky. It became inundated with stormy weather as the earth tremors increased and soon created white noise as well. Nobody really needed to ask what was going on here. They knew, or knew part of it. From the ground, beyond the very code of The World, their ungodly opponent waited, the consolidation of a virus and dreams of ultimate power. And from the sky, a massive creature comprised greatly of many blue veins and of computer code, a Reaper-faced abomination descended upon The World and howled in anger. Cubia had returned, and the virus was coming as well.

Niko: You have got to be kidding me… They should be fighting each other, not us!

Helba: They are. The two of them are the apex of two extremes, The World and the virus. Now fully aware of each other, a battle will break out.

Balmung: In that case, we should evacuate immediately. Let them destroy each other. We’ll only get in the way.

Helba: It’s far too late, I’m afraid. As soon as they arrived here, the server locked itself, isolating everything and everyone to wherever they stand. None of us may leave, unless by alternate mode of travel…

As Helba allowed herself to trail off, the field graphics twitched around a bit and a shrill cry of inhuman proportions filled the air, as if to mock the presence of Cubia, who only stared and growled as it grew in size. The two entities were almost ready to strike and all eyes soon focused on Canti, whose infection was unimpaired and fully-capable of removing them from this hell with the Red Gate.

Helba: Like it or not, it’s your move, Canti. Our fate rests in your hands.

Niko: Yeah, some choice! No pressure, right?

Silver Knight: Indeed. So…are we going?

Canti: No… We’re staying. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t want this damn monster to live another minute longer. For Aero… For Toshiro… For Darkside… Let’s finish this, all of us.

He did not truly have to convince any one of them. They all had mixed feelings on the matter, but the most prevalent of thoughts was to do what they had come here to do; to save The World from destruction. And in the shadow of the titans that threatened to consume them all, they would stand their ground in total defiance of their power. The ground shook, the graphics fragmented… Their opponents were nigh, each player standing ready for battle. All except one.

Canti: I believe this is yours.

Reyome: What makes you say that?

Canti: It’s a hacker weapon. Who better to use it than you?

Reyome: A fair point. It does appear as if it were meant for me.

Canti: As foretold by proph3cy…

The kitsune AI graciously accepted ownership of the weapon known as Glaive of the Proph3t. If it were truly meant to be wielded against darkness and evil, then now was certainly the time to put it to good use. A mere ten seconds later, the ground nearby shattered to admit into The World an abominable form. Within a hazy abyss, they could see it now, the very creature that had been formed by this virus from the beginning. It was an eye… Not just any eye, however, but one such that was gigantic in form. Perhaps even larger than Cubia, it was filled with an endless torrent of the red glowing power of darkness, the crimson blight that had infected The World and people in it. The pupil was a large slit, and the entire thing was held inside two eyelids that looked as if they could come together like a mouth, the edges having been adorned with grayish bone-like fangs. From the back, sides, bottom, and top were where its thick, meaty tendrils came from, extending great lengths and each one being nothing more than a finger to it, though even one of them could fling a player far. The look of hate and vile corruption in its gaze bore into each and every one of them. Now, more than ever, they knew that it had to die, or else they would do so in its stead. The entire field shook now, and stable ground was quickly becoming a rarity. Everything around them fragmented as Cubia and the eye soon engaged in battle. Tendrils from Cubia and the red-glowing thing below seemed to shoot off in all directions as the pair of titans blasted away at each other with their power. A pure-energy beam from Cubia’s mouth… A blaze of destruction from the dreaded eye… They met halfway and tried to force the other back as a great many appendages sought to tear each other apart. The players who had had no choice but to watch for now soon saw an opportunity as an explosion rippled throughout the entire area.

Niko: They’re locked up with nowhere to go. Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?

Silver Knight: Tip the scales in the favor of the creature we do know.

Niko: Exactly!

A sound plan… In fact, it was the only plan. With the ground soon far too degraded to be of any use, the only things that could be stood upon were the tendrils of their enemy and Cubia, who were now literally locked in combat with each other. Tendrils were used as pathways to get closer to the fray. Because of the extent of the spread, neither was actually capable of getting a clear shot with their big gun anyway. The only drawback was to watch for volts of their respective energies that traveled along the path to try and deal damage to the other. Canti and Balmung were the first to make it over, by flight, and began to hack away at bits of tendril, as long as it wasn’t a part of Cubia. The others came in soon after, following this plan to the hilt. A problem only manifested after both Cubia and the eye became aware of certain interlopers during the fight. Neither of them seemed to appreciate such an interruption, and set about to kill them while still trying to kill each other. What neither of the entities were aware of was the Armageddon Factor. With their power spreading out as it was, each trying to find some way to eliminate the other, they would ultimately collapse The World and destroy the minds of everyone in it. And still, they fought… The warning came from Balmung as a large number of Cubia Cores appeared in their vicinity. Not long after that, something manifested for the side of evil. They were humanoids, each one carrying a spear with three blades holding a red crystal that was set into the head. Their bodies were black and appeared as if they were armored shells instead of alive. With no face and a single eye set in the center of the head, they looked as if they were an elite demon-guard. Monster information identified them as Slayers. Their weapons emitted beams of crimson power. The pace of the battle changed from one of subtle sabotage to a fight for their lives. The Slayers could fly as effortlessly as Helba, and were quite formidable in their offensive skills. They chased after them all, scattering their numbers. Canti and Balmung were each given three to duck and dodge and weave away from, while Niko and Drake were pinned down with eight.

Niko: When I attack, you move like the wind.

Drake: Got it.

He let loose his Beta-Bracelet on them, firing the five-point shot at one and then the next. Unbelievably, it worked! The first two Slayers shattered in a data explosion as his attacks plunged right through them! That meant the infection of their powers were only stored in the weapons. Niko followed up Drake, who slashed up at one Slayer who was reeling from the blast its comrade gave off. After a few hits from him, it broke apart and a spirit seemed to evaporate from it. Freaky… Elsewhere, Canti had landed on a cluster of Cubia and was using his blades to fight off the Cores. Nearby, Reyome was clashing pole-arms with a Slayer. It soon lost to her as she flipped her spear up under its own to disarm it, then decapitated the strange creature. Canti ducked as he saw a new Slayer pop up nearby and allowed one of the Cubia Cores to bean it in the face before sidling over to the Long Arm.

Canti: You said you knew everything about this game? The…Dark Dominion?

Reyome: That I did.

Canti: Then what is all this? I need to find a weakness.

Reyome: This whole thing is the ultimate power of destruction, a creature simply known as the Dark Power. Don’t worry. Your abilities won’t be hindered by it.

Canti: Wait… How? The infection came from that thing. How can I harm it with its own infection?

Reyome: Oh, that’s easy. It’s no longer its infection. It’s your infection. You beat it, remember? Back when you were with Aura…

Canti: I didn’t lose to it… I fought back! That means I’ve got nothing left to worry about!

Reyome: Except dying, here and now.

Canti: Oh, right. Uhhh…thanks.

Reyome: Don’t mention it.

Things were not going well, despite Canti’s possible new lease on life. Because the Slayers and Cubia Cores had separated them all, it was difficult for Helba to heal anyone when only Silver Knight was in range and needing it from accumulated damage. He’d taken on four at once and they had caused damage to each other that put them all in the red zone. Helba finished the Slayers off with a spell and cured the former Crimson Knight, but even a hacked character had limits. If the others didn’t come around soon, they would be left to their own devices to heal with…and those wouldn’t last very long here. She had last seen Balmung up higher, closer to Cubia than anyone else. Canti and Reyome were closer to the evil eye, with Niko and Drake not too far from them.

Helba: We should move further down to meet the other four.

Silver Knight: Because you believe our chances of success will increase by forgetting about the young Administrator?

Helba: No. Because he is not forgotten…and not alone.

If Balmung had heard Helba when she said this, he would have argued rather convincingly on that point. For the Descendant of Fianna was now surrounded. They had cut him off and nearly blasted him out of the sky, despite Cubia’s own interference with their plans. Twenty Slayers were standing around him now, some of them fighting off the manifesting Cores nearby. He was in the worst kind of trouble right now. If he tried to fly, it was more than likely that their beams would shred him to pieces. The only thing that kept him from immediate death was the fact that they preferred to engage in close-quarters combat when a foe was near enough. But while this benefited him, giving him a fighting chance, they were all skilled combatants and their spears still contained the dreaded power from the eye. For a moment, they waited. Then, as three advanced upon him at once, the scene exploded all of a sudden as a strange barrage of attacks filled his vision. He was surrounded by data explosions as each and every one of the Slayers were destroyed. The attack came from above, and the first form to hit the ‘ground’ from up there was none other than…Mia?!

Mia: Sorry I’m late. The Flash Mail barely made it out of here. You can thank Helba for that.

Balmung: So, you came to help us?

Mia: That’s right. And I brought reinforcements.

Balmung looked up suddenly as several shadows passed overhead. He wasn’t sure how they did it, but he was glad to see them here. That blast from before had been from an item that could change the rules of The World, as if to make it sit up and beg. That attack had been Drain Heart. The Dot-Hackers return to cast their lot into the chaos below… Balmung smiled slightly as he saw Elk using a healing spell. A tall warrior with blue face-paint came stepped down from above now, grinning as he swatted away a piece of Cubia.

Orca: Some mess, huh?

Balmung: So, how did you all get here?

Orca: The message from Helba went directly to Lios so the rest of us would see it. He drove us to CC Corp on ‘official business’ so we could join you.

Balmung: I suppose we can no longer call him a “Pighead”, then.

Orca: Got that right. Now, let’s do this! Just like the old days!

The Descendants of Fianna were joined again amidst the battle as two other legendary players cut through opponents with incredible strength and speed. One red Twin Blade, one pink-haired Heavy Blade… A well-oiled fighting machine when together and still powerful players when apart. The sudden attention of the new enemies diverted the attentions of the Slayers somewhat. And as the bulk of their number came to fly closer to Cubia itself, Helba and Silver Knight were able to reach Niko and Drake, who were both exhausted.

Niko: I’m all out of SP and we used up all our restore items.

Helba: I have a way of handling that.

Between the Slayers and the energy volts rippling through this area, the two of them had been forced to use up a lot of items. Helba supported them all with Rig Saem and Rig Gaem. This did not immediately solve their problem, but it would in due time. In the meantime, Helba explained what was going on to them.

Helba: I took the liberty of calling in some friends. They have arrived on schedule, but I still wonder what we could do. That eye holds exceptional power, as does Cubia. Drake, do you know anything about this creature?

Drake: I…no, not really…but, it’s just an evil eye, right? We can hurt it.

Helba: We’ll find out soon enough.

Both Canti and Reyome noticed the lessening amount of Slayers in their vicinity, but there were still a fair number of them around, plus the eye itself was nearby. As they came closer to it, the thing began to notice them in particular. There was an oppressive heat coming off of it. The effect was not so strong to Canti, but only because of the change in his character. Also…

Reyome: Hmmm… I think it wants you.

Canti: Again? No thanks. Let’s go put its lights out.

Reyome: You handle it. I’ll draw its minions away.

Canti: Hey, come on… We can handle them.

Reyome: This creature affected your life. It’s your business.

Canti gave her a questioning glance. Go alone? That monster was megatons more powerful than him. What could he do on his own against such a monstrous foe? Of course, now that he thought of it… It was the ultimate challenge, and that was something he enjoyed. However, he felt that it was strange that she would refuse to approach the eye along with him. Then, he suddenly came to realize something that had not occurred to him before.

Canti: In a way, this thing is your creator, isn’t it? It’s Darkside… Reyome, if we destroy it, what will happen to you?

Reyome: I…really don’t know. There’s still so much I don’t understand. However, I do know that nothing will remain if it’s left unchecked. Go now.

Canti: Alright… See you later.

As he came within spitting distance of the eye, Canti was able to see more clearly into its details. The redness surrounded the pupil seemed to be like that of a chaotic storm of crimson fire, the giant slit so oppressively black that it looked as if it were…cutting into the eye? Canti blinked and stared into the center of the eye. The slitted pupil was an inky void, a gape set into its very being. Was there more to it than this giant monster? What if it contained something?

Canti: The source… We found the source!

This was an entrance! The oppressive-looking eye was a ruse to keep them from wanting to get too close! Canti took his Flaming Tongues carefully in hand and leapt through the void. As soon as he crossed the breach, he disappeared and the entrance sealed itself to become an ordinary eye afterward. No trace of Canti could be found, although he had been witnessed in his crossing over by not only the foxy AI during her fight with the Slayers, but also by two others…

BlackRose: I can’t believe he went in that thing.

Kite: I hope he knows what he’s doing.

Reyome: He doesn’t have a clue, but I doubt that’ll stop him.



On the inside, the Twin Blade materialized instantly. Much to his surprise, he found that he had somehow materialized inside of a church, or something like one, anyway. It looked very much like the regal interior of the Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. There were benches on a marble floor, an altar and a podium, soft white light from tall windows… Behind him was the only indication that he had just traveled through an eye to get here. The shape of the eye appeared to be outlined in the same white light behind him. Canti scanned around the room. Only one thing seemed to catch his eye. There was a man bound to a stake in this room, the entire thing held up be ropes attached to a crude block-and-tackle on the ceiling. It was kind of funny when you thought about it… Here, there was a church-like setting, but lacking in any real sign of religion. Not any sign at all. It looked more like someone had picked a monastery for a lynch party. The man appeared to be not only tied to the stake, but wrapped in a straitjacket with a glazed look in his eye. He had longish black hair, straight and mussed up terribly. Things around him were…somewhat fluid, as if a simply force of will held them there. For a moment, Canti wondered where he was. None of this made any sense.

Canti: No way. Uh-uh. I don’t buy it. Quit fooling around with me!

As if a response was to be given unto his demand, the room shifted and changed all of a sudden. It was no longer a church of any kind. It was hell. The walls were flesh and stone, the bones of many fallen warriors littered the ground, and it now genuinely resembled the interior shape of an eye, assuming you were inside of one that was hollow. The outline of the eye behind Canti now looked as it did on the outside, dark and oppressive. Ahead of him, the man he saw before had changed as well. He looked as if most of his body were a mass of blood, still in a humanoid shape, but attached to a more massive accumulation of this crimson liquid. This was the heart of the virus, and the face of the man he still saw had to be the one whom it had come from. It was Darkside’s true face, but it wasn’t his soul. Canti knew…it couldn’t be. If he understood Drake well enough, this man could only be evil by way of being in character. Not when under a coma. It was simply not the way he was. Canti, therefore, smelled another deception. And without quite understanding how, he reflexively flung a wad of black-and-orange flame at the face of his host, and it revealed itself in truth. It was a Joker Mask, the darkest one yet.

Canti: You… It all comes back to you! You and your damn codes and viruses! How could you do this to them?!

There was no response…save for the mask leering at him. Canti’s anger flared and he felt as if his blades would sing spectacularly when he finally put an end to this thing. He’d been fooled by the false hope that the source of Darkside’s coma had been in here, that he could end the False Twilight by destroying whatever lay inside of this strange cavern. Well, he still could do the latter. With this being the equivalent Eighth Phase, it would all end here.

Canti: You’re trying to play god, but you’re really a fake. Everything depends on that freaky smile. That’s the connection. Without it, you’re toast.

There was a shrill cry of rage, both from the outside of the eye and from the wicked-looking Joker Mask itself. The humanoid shape collapsed as the whole of the blood-mass came together and flowed at him, as if to envelope him into its being. Canti rolled out of its way and slashed at its bulk in passing. No effect. It was just a liquid, and he had no Rue spells, nor even Rai. He tried blasting it with Vak Rom, but the fire spell only seemed to agitate it. All the rules had failed in here. There was no great rhyme or reason, if even a skewed form of that nature. This was the extension of a human brain, and it thought fast. Canti was only able to leap so far ahead of it, unable to think of a plan besides slashing at it, head on. It was his infection now. That’s what she said. But how to make it work? He plunged the dagger in his left hand at the Joker Mask itself and nicked it. That would’ve given Canti great pleasure if not for three things. First, it was a tiny victory, if even one to be had. Second, it was able to heal that little scratch without a problem. And third, the mass of blood had wrapped itself around his arm to get into him via his infected wrist. It started saying things right into he head!

Join with us…Be with us…Seek with us…Bleed with us…Laugh with us…Sing with us…Cry with us…Kill with us…Heal with us…

An endless mantra of pleads and orders, offers and threats – all shouting throughout his mind, grabbing for purchase of his senses. As far as the monster was concerned, it already had him. But having him and keeping him were two different things. It wanted them dead. It wanted its champion to rise up and destroy all who stand before it. And amidst the chaos in and out of his mind, Canti shouted…

Canti: I submit!!

…and the dementia began. The mask screamed out shrill laughter as it took to energizing its new servant with power and with madness. Canti’s entire body soon began to catch aflame, his body glowing darkly and his eyes turning red. He was becoming a demon of The World. And why stop there? He had all manner of power at his command now. Why stop at the edge of mortality? The blood-mass and snickering Joker Mask let him go as his whole body thrummed with energy.

Canti: No longer will I be known as a simple Twin Blade. For now, I am truly the God of Black Flames! And as such…

He had been facing the outline of the eye, ready to go forth unto The World with his mandate of decimation, when he turned suddenly, his glowing eyes glaring into the empty sockets of the snickering mask, a sly grin appearing on his face.

Canti: I have no further need of you!



Moments before it happened, the battle became utterly silent. Every piece of Cubia and the Dark Power, every Core and Slayer, and every player on the field knew… Something was up. The players had no idea what, and Cubia likely didn’t either, but the eye of the Dark Power was then made painfully aware of what had transpired…as a gigantic explosion tore several cracks through its ‘body’, a mass of fire and darkness rocketing out from the pupil, having broken through it like a stainglass window. Tendrils ruptured and minions broke. The figure among the flames took a massive chunk from both of the mighty titans, especially the dreaded eye. It had moved so quickly that almost nobody could tell what it was until the black-and-orange inferno seemed to finally run out, the power somewhat expended. Canti stood upon a cluster of ‘dead’ tendrils which simply floated there. His eyes did not glow anymore and his body did not flame out of control. His arm still bore infection, but it mattered not anymore. For he was not insane. Some of the others gathered nearby to hear what had happened, wary that while neither Cubia nor the Dark Power seemed to be moving, it did not mean they were harmless.

Niko: I don’t believe this… You did it again. You didn’t even think, did you?

Canti: I didn’t have time. That stupid mask was all over me.

Helba: Strange that it would reappear like that…

Balmung: Is it defeated, then? It doesn’t appear to be active.

Canti: I don’t have a clue. I used everything it gave me when I let it charge me up.

Silver Knight: That was a might bit risky. You are a fool.

BlackRose: I don’t care if he’s a total idiot. He’s alright in my book.

Canti: Uhhh…thanks. I think…

Mia: You know… It might be wise to check on it first before we celebrate.

Niko: She has a point. Let’s get this over with before… Hey, where’s Drake?

Balmung: I thought he was with you.

Niko: He was. Anybody see where he went?



There were some things that had to be taken care of alone. That was what he believed, and that was what his father believed. While the rest of them had gone after what must have been Canti flying up there, he snuck off in the other direction, towards the damaged eye. The fact that it wasn’t breaking up was proof that it just wasn’t dead yet. The actual glaring eyeball had been blown out. It looked more like a beaten-up machine of flesh now. Drake stepped quietly up to the hole that Canti had made. The Twin Blade had promised his help and he was grateful for that. Now, it was his turn. This was a matter that only family should handle. No person in The World should have to burden themselves with killing his father…except for him. Entering the eye now, he saw the gristly scene that Canti had witnessed, only it was far more surreal when one was trapped. Drake looked around and saw what looked like a mass of blood trying to be humanoid. There was something of a mask in all that. The left side had only a few crumbled pieces and the right side was thoroughly cracked. It wasn’t laughing anymore. Only sour moans escaped its so-called mouth. Drake froze for a second, looking at it.

Drake: Dad…

The thing that had no form lunged for him and he ran left, sprinting up and jumping off of a wall to take a Revolver slice in mid-air that seemed to decapitate the mask from its bloody body. It landed near where Drake hit the ground, face up and trying to form more of its crimson-hued self to set upon regeneration. Drake got onto his feet and raised his sword up high.

Drake: I’m sorry.

He plunged the sword into the remainder of the mask and an explosion of pure white consumed everything around him as a man’s scream of agony could be heard. Whether or not it was the man behind Darkside was never made clear, only that this final explosion shattered the eye of the Dark Power, its tendrils, and all of its deadly influences still active in The World.



The light faded soon after its conception. And with it, all traces of the virus and any of the damages it rendered upon The World vanished like it had never been there. The wasteland field they had been standing in was repaired, the monsters were back to normal, and everyone who had fought so hard was now standing there, completely unharmed. Well, most of them. Nobody saw where Helba disappeared off to, and there was no sign of the AI, Reyome. And while, for a moment, things appeared to be safe, there was another matter to attend to… Up in the sky, looking as though it too was untouched by the light or the Dark Power, Cubia loomed over them all, an audible growl escaping its mouth.

Canti: What the hell does it want from us?

Kite: It might be me, because of my bracelet.

Niko: Could be mine too.

Balmung: Canti! You’re still infected!

Canti: What? This? Forget it. It’s part of my character now, same as the wings.

Balmung: It may not leave us alone until we vaccinate you.

Canti: It doesn’t want me, Balmung! It wants the source of this mess!

“That is correct.”

An unexpected voice caught all of their attentions. It was a girl’s voice, a kind and gentle one that echoed throughout the area. The owner of the that voice materialized a moment later, not very far from where Cubia hovered. It was Aura, looking most pleased from having had the destruction of The World averted.

Kite: Aura…

Aura: It is good to see you are all well. The only thing left to do is to find the source and send it on its way so that no relapse into the Twilight can ever occur again.

Niko: Can you call off Cubia? Isn’t he suppose to be your guard dog?

Aura: Cubia is the guardian of The World, and runs independently of me. However, I am able to put it to sleep if there no longer exists a threat to The World.

Niko: Well, we’re not dangerous. You know that. We’ll finish this ourselves.

Canti: Aura… Did they…make it out alright?

Aura: They are all fine, including the player called Darkside.

Canti: Damn…that was lucky. So, who wants to go find this remnant thingy with us? I got what we need from Helba to track it down.

END OF PHASE FIVE>>>>>

There were five of them in the end. After Aura had said that Darkside was okay, Drake had taken off like a shot, no doubt to go see his old man recover in the hospital. Orca mentioned that he wanted to take a break so he could fill Lios in on the details of what happened in person. Mia had said that she was glad to have taken part in this and helped it along its way, but decided that she would fancy a little ‘cat nap’ right now. Elk, naturally, preferred to hang out with her in this case. As for Silver Knight, he had no interest. The rest of them could handle it, a group which consisted of Canti, Balmung, Niko, Kite, and BlackRose. Technically, the party system listed them as two groups, but they were not hunting for EXP. Deep within the dungeons of Mac Anu’s Jealous Bloody Furnace, the final mystery awaited. Their elusive enigma lurked down here, and Canti had a bead on it.

Kite: So, she let you keep yours for the same reason?

Niko: Yeah, just as long as we’re careful with it. By the way, how was court?

BlackRose: A nightmare… All those smug lawyers trying to get around the issue and blame us when we’re the ones that saved them!

Canti: I hate people like that.

Balmung: Did they ask Orca or any of the others what it was like to be a disembodied soul trapped in The World?

Kite: They did, and it helped, because every one of them that remembered told the same story, that Aura saved them.

Niko: Then, The World isn’t going to be shut down?

BlackRose: No way. They’ll never tear it down. It’s been proven safe, and just in time too. D’you know what they’d say if word got out that all this happened?

Balmung: They would say that CC Corp was derelict and worthless, not deserving to be in charge of something as grand and magnificent as The World.

Canti: Hey, everybody… I got a bite!

The small-talk was over now, as their quarry was residing in the next room. Crossing the threshold into it, the room sealed itself and the five of them viewed its interior. It was a large square room, dark and stony in appearance. In the middle of the room stood the source of their troubles. Balmung reacted first.

Balmung: I don’t…believe it.

Kite: What is it?

Balmung: I’ve seen this monster before.

The monster in question was indeed something that he had encountered before. Whether or not it was an ordinary Data Bug or something bizarrely different was something that had yet to be figured out. Balmung explained in brief that he had first seen this creature blocking the path of three players during the very beginning of the Twilight. It had been Bear, Mimiru, and Subaru that he had been protecting that day, the beam of the monster’s terrible power eating away at his HP. It did not manage to kill him, but he was unable to kill it either. The beast was a very strange one, its body having taken the shape of a gristly stone Question Mark with short green tendrils at its bottom. The tendrils and its ‘mouth’ dripped with an acid that ate through data. Now, before anyone could attack, it reacted to their presence, spearing its tendrils into the ground to create a sudden onrush of icicles that spiked out of the ground towards the group. Most of them spread out. Canti surrounded himself in black-and-orange flames as the ice attack came near and melted it away before it could harm him. Afterwhich, he flew at the creature, blades poised to stab into the stony structure of its being…when it veered off at the last second! One minute, it was stock still. And in the next, it had quickly hovered to the left and vanished. The dark Twin Blade stopped and looked around. No sign of it… Then, he heard Kite shouting out.

Kite: It’s under you!

Confused, he cast his eyes downward and found himself standing on an outline of the so-called Enigma that appeared to be every bit as alive as the physical being. It had some strange abilities… One such power at its disposal was a sudden volley of stone spikes that jutted from the ground where the outline still appeared. They launched out like missles and caught the Twin Blade in several places as he tried to jump out of the way, reducing his HP significantly. He distanced himself from it, remembering that it was still a coma-maker. The Enigma then appeared to them all as a distorting hologram that spun around. Both Kite and Niko had a large portion of HP sucked from their bodies as the transparent object moved through them, though BlackRose had ducked. From there, it returned to its original state, turning towards Kite with his single eye glowing. He recognized that as a charge-up for super attack and ran at the creature, swinging his blades at it. The Enigma tried to be evasive here, but it couldn’t disappear during charge-up and the Twin Blade simply possessed far too much skill and experience to miss it more than a few times. He jumped as far out of the way as he could when the energy blast came, just barely avoiding it. Balmung was already on the offensive when the light cleared. He had the power to kill it now. Or at least, he suspected so. When his blade struck the creature, the screen flickered and sparked. He could see the Enigma as a true Data Bug, with bits of green-glowing material sticking out of it. The look didn’t last long, but he knew now, as did the others. If they could force it into that state long enough and use Data Drain, they could destroy it.

Balmung: Canti, BlackRose – coordinate your attacks with mine. Kite, Niko – you know what to do.

BlackRose: Leave it to me!

The Heavy Blade ran in low and swiped her sword at the lower part of the Enigma, causing it to lose its center of balance and spin off at an angle before trying to right itself. However, before it did, the ‘mouth’ of the beast began to shoot off acid pellets around the room, which melted the walls and parts of the floor. One had almost hit Balmung, but he had ducked and then came in to attack. Like when Canti attacked before, it vanished. This time, it was on the ceiling. Lightning bolts sizzled from floor to ceiling and wall to wall before it was done, damaging everyone. When it reappeared, Canti was nearest, so it attempted to use its charge-up shot on him. What it was unaware of was that he had been waiting for this to occur ever since he saw Kite fighting it before. His SP was full. Canti let loose his Infernal Deathstrike move, which was also very hard to avoid. The screen flickered and sparked again, this time casting the monster in its raw data form for longer, like a matter of seconds. When it returned to normal…it wasn’t normal. There were some cracks in its design, glowing in a red hue. It was weakened by Canti’s attack.

Canti: Hey, get a load of this! I infected a virus!

Balmung: Technically, it’s not a real virus, just the result of one. And the same implies to you.

This didn’t seem nearly as important as the fact that it was now more susceptible to their attacks. And as BlackRose ran in to slash at the bizarre thing, it launched its tendrils into the ground in preparation for its ice attack. However, this would be prevented as a Dark Traitor was flung at it and a Level-4 darkness spell activated, sending claws up at the Enigma as a distraction while BlackRose went to damage it further. The item was Canti’s, which he had purchased much earlier, but saved for a ‘rainy day’. The screen filled with flickers and white noise, the normal appearance of the monster breaking up permanently while this happened. It now looked as if it were made of smooth black crystal, like onyx, while still in the same question mark shape. There were also spikes of green-glowing viral information jutting from it, but they weren’t there for glitches. They suddenly extended and moved around like energy lances, trying to cut everyone around the room into pieces! There was only one thing that could be done…

Kite & Niko: Data Drain!

A green impulse from two different Twilight Bracelets, a pair of five-point stars forming, a quick charge-up of energy…and then the dual blast of the greatest power in The World. Two angles of fire from two different players, both aimed at the same thing. One reaped viruses to return information to normal. The other extracted safe data and allowed naked viruses to destabilize. Like two opposite sides of a coin, both quite were formidable. The Enigma was struck by both at once…and everything exploded into fragments of light. Nothing remained of the creature shaped like a question mark. The last remnant of the Twilight Incident had finally been secured. Once the battle was done, everyone healed themselves. The Twilight Bracelets faded from view, and the room began to repair itself. There was, however, something strange. The monster had dropped a single piece of paper with a single word written on it. Balmung picked it up and read aloud.

Balmung: “Because.”

Niko: What’s that? Some kind of riddle?

Balmung: An answer, actually.

BlackRose: What’s the question?

Balmung: I have no idea.

Niko: Then why write it?

Balmung: Just…because.

Kite: Heh heh heh heh….

Balmung: Anyway, I would say that that puts everything back in order.

Kite: Kinda’ weird how something like that could bring back the Twilight.

Niko: Not that we blame him, but it was all because of the thing hijacking Darkside’s brain. A little imagination can go a long way.

BlackRose: It must’ve been some imagination to create that big eye.

Niko: Yeah. It was suppose to be a part of that RPG thing he was making. It sure made one helluva virus.

Balmung: Yes… Speaking of which, Canti, I must insist that you… Wait, where is he? Did he die in the battle?

Kite: No, he was alive. I saw him.

Balmung: Then where did he go? I still need to run a proper vaccine on his character to remove the virus.

Niko: Maybe that’s why he’s gone.

BlackRose: But…he couldn’t just disappear, could he?

Balmung: He could with the Red Gate. What could he be trying to pull this time?



Topside on Jealous Bloody Furnace – home of the Red Wyrm, the Bee Army, and the Hell Dobermans – one such Doberman wandered nearby the entrance to the dungeon just as a player appeared. If it had been due to the use of a Sprite Ocarina, the fire-dog would have noticed immediately. In this case, however, it should be noted that a backdoor like the Red Gate was as silent as a whisper. Thus, the Hell Doberman never knew what hit it, as Canti sliced it apart from behind rather neatly, admiring his own clever handiwork.

“You left them without saying goodbye.”

Some whispers could still be heard, assuming the ears are sharp enough. Behind him, hovering a few inches off of the ground, was perhaps one of the only beings capable of hearing the Red Gate. Ironically, the only other two that were capable of this feat were the same as this one. They were AI. With a knowing smirk on her face and her arms crossed in a smug way, there lurked Reyome, always the one for surprise entrances. Canti responded without turning.

Canti: So did you.

Reyome: Don’t be absurd. Goodbye is forever, and I fully intend to stick around.

Canti: Same here.

Reyome: You know he’ll try to remove those extras from your data if you and he ever meet again. Are you sure you want to risk that?

Would he want to risk it? That was a question that had real meaning to a guy like him. Walking into danger and taking all kinds of risks was what he liked out of life. Before, he thought it was the way to see beyond death, but now Canti felt different about it. He looked upon it more as the proof that he was alive than anything else. The thrill was his calling, the very spice of his own life. Looking back at the AI now, Canti grinned mischievously.

Canti: He’ll have to catch me first.

Reyome: Sounds like fun. Mind if I join you?

Canti: Hey, I’m not picky. Sure. Just one thing…

Reyome: Only one? Ask your question.

Canti: You said before that you had memories of stuff other than The World, stuff outside of it like having a real life. Why do you remember those things?

Reyome: Tell me… Do you know what a kitsune really is?

Canti: Some kinda’ fox spirit, right?

Reyome: Pretty much. There’s a lore about how these spirits have been known to inhabit human bodies from time to time, or that they use to be human themselves before they died and were reborn. That’s pretty much what I am. These memories of mine were just somebody that Darkside knew. They are mine…and yet not mine.

Canti: Whoa… That’s deep. Uhhh…tell you what. I’ll never bring it up again if you promise not to tell. I’ve got a feeling that I wouldn’t like the whole answer. Whadya say? Deal?

Reyome: Deal.

Canti: Great. Then, let’s get out of here.

Reyome: Where to?

Canti: Net Slum. There’s this guy I’ve been wanting to catch up with. Talks a lot. You know who I mean?

Reyome: I believe so.

Having decided, Canti snapped his fingers in a theatrical fashion, activating the Red Gate once more. The kitsune and the winged demon vanished in a display of blood-red teleportation rings, presumably to arrive in Net Slum. Because the False Twilight Incident was kept quiet for the most part, and also due to his outlaw-like nature, Canti did not become a legend in The World like the Dot-Hackers. However, his name would be spoken in hushed tones, behind the scenes and outside the public eye. For no place better did the God of Black Flames live than in rumor and intrigue, in shadows and mystery…