**REAL WORLD**

Locke sighed as he put up his VR headset, staring at the ceiling above him as he once again recalled the horror he had just escaped from in the Eventide Crescendo. The group had gone to the Juk Prison, a place where something precious, some sort of “Incarnation,” was held captive by a group called the “Highers.” Locke didn’t really have much of a clue when it came to most of the things spoken about beforehand, but he had learned a lot in his travels through the field alone. The first thing he had learned about was the existence of the comatose players. That had been a shock, to discover that there were those in The World that could feel everything that happened, from injuries and spell damage to something as simple as the touch of a hand to an object. It was as if the game was their reality now, while their bodies were left behind in the real world. Of course, their comatose status did come with its own blessings- each of the comatose players that Locke had met had a unique and special ability, one that tied to each player’s individual Twilight. There were Nemera’s kinetic waves, Sidhe’s Deletion Critical, Zan’s ability to transform… all of it come about as the result of a Twilight imbalance.

And yet, Locke couldn’t help but feel for those who were stuck in such a situation. Even with their abilities, the comatose were required to feel every injury they suffered, and in The World, few things were completely unavoidable. Therefore, the members of The World who were trapped in the game had to constantly suffer under the weight of injuries, and while a healing spell could remove the actual damage, the memory of the hurt and suffering that they felt would still remain. To them, it was no longer a game- it was real. Locke hoped that, as he helped the Eventides with their goal to stop the Highers from doing whatever they had planned, he would never have to suffer the same fate. It was said that an imbalance of Twilight caused it, and the Highers experimented with a mix of Twilight and other data called Dread Code, which could temporarily Immerse a player in the game. Locke had seen at least two occasions where he was able to feel what Sekai and the others did constantly. He knew that there was a chance that the Dread Code (abbreviated to “DC”) could Immerse him permanently as well, but the boy was still more than willing to put himself on the line in order to help out the Eventides.

Of course, there was also something else he was doing as well, for the exact same reasons. The Zodiac, a group of AIs, were still out in The World somewhere, and their plan to remove all of the players from it was as real a threat as ever. While Locke would hate to be permanently removed from the game, it wasn’t so much of an issue for him as it would be for the comatose. What would happen if a program tried to forcibly remove them? Would they be ejected from the game, back into their real consciousnesses… or would they be trapped forever, thrust into a limbo between the game and the real world? Or would they die? No one knew what the results would be, one of the reasons Locke feared the completion of the Zodiac’s scheme. Especially with the people that he knew were comatose… Zan, Nemera, Sidhe, Alana…

Sekai…

Locke paused, wondering why that thought had felt different than the rest. It was as if he had put an emphasis on that name, a feeling beyond the natural kinship that had come as a result of fighting alongside the other members of the Eventide Crescendo. Something about the thought of the small Archer had triggered something different, something deeper than the usual. Locke considered why. Sekai… did mean more than the others, but for a less-than-normal reason. The main part was that Sekai reminded him a lot of his deceased friend, Marissa. They weren’t physical doubles, or anything, but there was a subtle similarity that made Locke feel like they were one and the same. It was a confusing feeling, one he wasn’t quite able to cope with, and he wondered if it was something like in a novel. Could he… well, could he feel something more for Sekai?

Could it be love?

Locke shook his head to clear the ridiculous thought. No, that was just silly. He only knew Sekai as the character in The World, a female Archer on the smallish size whom he had happened to encounter twice. Sure, she looked vaguely like the woman Locke had loved, but that was in the past. He had gotten over that, mostly, and it was over. Still, that lingering feeling bothered him. Something about it was bothering him, and he couldn’t figure out what. The boy considered simply logging in and asking her, but he doubted that Sekai would be willing to simply chat so soon after leaving the Juk Prison’s horrific field. Maybe while they were in the dungeon itself, they could talk things over, but for now, it was best to stay away. Locke didn’t like feeling uncomfortable, at least not in the way he did, but there was nothing he could really do at the moment to shake the feeling. It’d be better to just log on and go do something to get his mind off of things. Yeah, that was a good idea. In fact, Locke knew exactly what he wanted to do.

During the Juk Prison, the boy’s Twin Blade character and his allies had all fallen victim to death a few times apiece, and while most of the Eventides had a fair number of Resurrects, they were limited. However, a few had possessed the Rip Maen spell, which was incredibly useful for a small amount of SP. Baron, however, had ended up one level short of being able to cast the spell, even after all that they had gone through. That was why Locke decided to go ahead and log back into The World and head to a field quickly to get a bit of training in, and perhaps get that one level he needed. It wouldn’t hurt to be little more prepared for the Juk Prison’s dungeon, and Gyl had said that they should do whatever in the meantime. This was beneficial to the Eventide Crescendo, as well as a way to kill time, so Locke nodded, set on his course as he booted up his computer. Pulling out his notepad from a drawer beside the desk, he flipped through the pages until he found his list of Areas he could use for training in based on level. It was only completed through thirty-five, which meant that at the rate he was going, he’d need to update it soon, but it was enough for now. Locke’s eyes scanned over the page as he looked for the areas from the twenty-five to twenty-seven range.

Level 23… Θ Expansive Quicksilver Altar…
Level 24… Θ Buried Vengeful Walkway…
Level 25… Θ Lonely Law’s Core…

That last one piqued Locke’s interest as he glanced over the page once more, weighing going to a strictly level twenty-five field over going to a higher one for faster experience. However, the lower-leveled fields were less risky for a solo player out for some training, and if the Twin Blade was going to get that missing level, he’d have to avoid death. Plus, with weaker monsters, even if things got ugly he would be able to simply run for it, possibly ducking into the dungeon’s foyer to recover SP and restore his HP. In the end, it seemed that the field Δ Lonely Law’s Core would have to do the trick for now. Which, in the end, meant another visit to the city, Dun Loireag, the Root Town in the sky. Locke gave a deep sigh at that one, knowing that he would have had to at one point or another. He didn’t like the city because… well, of his fear of heights. Then again, it wasn’t so much his fear of heights as his fear of falling, and that city didn’t have any handrails or raised edges. It was connected by completely flat platforms, narrow and long, that hung over the abyss of clouds below. Locke wondered if people ever fell, and ended up getting a Game Over screen. He put it out of his mind again with a shudder. He was not going to think of that! Besides, his character had his Ethereal Angel Wings available in case he *gulp* did fall, so it wasn’t like he was just going to sink through the clouds or anything.

Locke knew that he’d probably be afraid of heights for a good long while, and he had plenty of reason to do so. Back when he was a child, around nine years old, he had fallen off of his roof while trying to fetch the baseball that had been knocked up there. When he had crawled across the tiles, one had broken beneath his knee, and he had slipped, falling to the ground and breaking his left shoulder. It had been a painful memory, one that was a little fuzzy from the subsequent concussion, but it was all the justification that Locke needed to develop his fear of heights. In games, they were neutralized, with no big deal, or rather in most games, but still, the drop in Dun Loireag was enough to make his knees turn to jelly.

Shaking his head once more, Locke watched the main background come up on his screen, a simple image of The World, same as he always had. The image of the Mac Anu Bridge, one Locke loved for the sunset view he had captured, stared back at him, and he smiled for a moment. Then he became serious. Without taking the time to think over it (since Gyl’s message at the end of the Juk Prison’s field had suggested a short period before they delved back in), the boy quickly pulled up his screen for The World, and input his login data the instant the opportunity presented itself. Locke’s fingers practically glided across the various keys as he put in every character he needed before hitting [Enter].

**THE WORLD**

The usual three rings of golden light appeared in The World, but instead of appearing in the usual plaza, out in the middle of Mac Anu, they instead appeared on a raised platform in Dun Loireag. Baron found himself disoriented momentarily, unused to appearing in the Theta Server’s Root Town. Instead of the usual brilliant sunset glaring in his eyes, the Twin Blade was subject to clear blue skies around him while clouds below acted as a sort of barrier to hide the distance to the ground from the various players. Baron wasn’t sure if he was glad or worried about that- while he was happy he didn’t have to know exactly how far it was until one smashed into the ground, it still scared him that, if he fell, he wouldn’t know how long he had to live, and would be terrified the entire way down instead of just near the end. Either way, he decided that he wouldn’t find out, and stuck to the platform he was on, rather than venturing out to explore the town. Again, he blamed his time situation, though in this instance it was more of a hurried justification than an actual reason.

Throwing the keywords into the Chaos Gate, Baron sighed in relief when the three golden rings came down to envelop him, glad to be leaving Dun Loireag. He knew that his fear of heights was still a problem, and while it was completely irrational, the Twin Blade just couldn’t simply put it aside. That would be a problem, if he ever planned on using his wing items outside of the Arena- unless he was just going to skim the ground, that whole fear thing would become a small issue later on. Sighing, the Twin Blade knew that he’d have to eventually get over it, but since the Juk Prison’s dungeon would likely have lower ceilings, like most dungeons, flying would be very limited. Therefore, Baron could afford to put off his little task of confronting his problem with heights, at least for the time being. But later on, eventually, he’d be called to help again, and then it’d be necessary to learn…

Baron sighed. Usually he didn’t have such a problem in games. After all, that’s all they were: games; there was nothing else to them. However, The World was so realistic, especially with the VR headset that made everything look like it was actually happening, that it gave the Twin Blade a sense of suspended belief- he almost believed he was falling, etc. Even then, it hadn’t really been enough to balk Baron for more than a few minutes, especially at the Juk Prison’s waterfall, where he had literally leapt off of a one-hundred-foot drop with a cry akin to wild exhilaration. Of course, that had happened before his first experience being Immersed, and since then, since the first chance that he had actually felt what his character did, even for the briefest of moments, Baron had become terrified of the things that normally wouldn’t have fazed him in the least. That was the main root of his current discomfort towards heights, in the game, and for now, it was going to stick and keep him as far away from places like Dun Loireag as possible. He was now deathly afraid of the place, and wanted to keep away until he got over that fear.

The same three rings of light appeared in the field for the area Θ Lonely Law’s Core, depositing the Twin Blade on the cracked surface and vanishing. Baron stood atop a cracked plate of cooled lava, separated from others by a mere half-inch of lava before another plate became visible. While he would have to watch his step while walking through the field, the Twin Blade wouldn’t have a particularly hard time getting around. Battles would be a little trickier, lest he scorch a toe on the burning flow below, but again, it was still manageable. Checking his weaponry and making sure that his Fishskin blades were equipped. Combined with his Wyrm Scale and Dominic Fur, the Twin Blade had a decent Rue status for his level, something useful for boosting his Merrows spell. Since he was in a Vak-based field, most of the monsters would be weak against Rue, and therein laid Baron’s advantage. And for those who didn’t… well, he had his Emperor’s Crown, with GiRai Don, as well as all of the second-level skills for his class. Only his Gan-elemental attacks suffered somewhat, since all the Twin Blade had in that category were the level one spells. Still, he was prepared for almost anything, anyway.

Looking around, Baron caught sight of his first Monster Portal, not floating far off. Near it was a floating flame over a rocky mountain, shimmering against the burning sky. The Symbol would be useful for training, but its proximity to the Monster Portal meant that Baron had to move quickly, lest he leave himself open while getting the status boost from the Symbol. Grinning lightly, the challenge appealing to him already, the Twin Blade pulled his weapons from their sheaths, the twin knives gleaming in the burning sunset. He darted forward, his weapons held at ready as he quickly placed his hand on the glowing flame. A burst of light enveloped his body even as the soft whirring of the Portal activating was heard. The Ap Ganz effect became available on the Twin Blade’s status bar even as he turned to face whatever came to greet him from the portal. He wasn’t the least bit surprised that he got the one status effect that wouldn’t really give him much of an advantage, but that was the luck of the draw more than anything, right?

As the last view of the golden Monster Portal vanished, two figures emerged from the vanishing light, appearing briefly as silhouettes before becoming visible. Two snake-headed men, wielding wicked-looking scimitars and wearing heavy armor, moved forward with their weapons brandished. Baron recognized them from the bestiary as Lead Snakoids, a more powerful version of the basic Snakoids that he had encountered before. These ones were stronger than their predecessors, in both strength and resilience, and they wouldn’t be anywhere as easy to beat. Still, Baron had a leg-up on them, and planned on taking it to its fullest, one step at a time. Charging forward at the monsters, he began his attack, brandishing his Fishskin blades.

The first Snakoid was surprised as a Merrows summon exploded in its face, the massive serpent forming before Baron as it charged forth in a burst of Rue energy. The water elemental struck the monster head-on, striking a critical blow that left a resounding ELEMENTAL CRITICAL behind even as the monster fell from the blow, weakened to a near-critical level. Baron immediately engaged the other Lead Snakoid, his weapons switching out so that his Bloody Blades were instead in their place. A slash at the monster’s body was parried by a swing of the Lead Snakoid’s saber, while a retaliating slash was easily dodged by the nimble Twin Blade. They exchanged a few more blows, neither landing a hit, until the other Lead Snakoid got to its feet. Baron turned and dodged another slash from the first monster, then sent a freezing Rue Rom from his Yosetu and Fuyou to envelop the rising Lead Snakoid. A funnel of sleet and freezing water tore into the monster, jagged shards of ice tearing at flesh and armor, finally finishing the monster off as it fell to the ground. As it faded into data, Baron re-focused his attention on the first Lead Snakoid, his Bloody Blades coming back out and swinging about in a quick sideways slash.

The Lead Snakoid raised its sword to block an apparently obvious swing, but as the weapon came up in a guard stance, Baron’s Bloody Blades raked at the monster’s middle. Two deep gashes were left by the weapons, shallow cuts that leaked a yellow-red liquid similar to blood and yet not the same. Still, it wasn’t a large hit, due to the Twin Blade’s mediocre attack strength, but it was enough to cause the Lead Snakoid to stagger back, holding one hand to the wound to slow the bleeding. At that point, though, the monster stabbed its sword forward, cutting a shallow gash in Baron’s shoulder as the Twin Blade twisted aside to avoid the worst of the damage. Lunging forward with his blades, he was met by the Lead Snakoid’s sword, catching one of his blades with its edge. Unfortunately, at least for the monster, Twin Blades were aptly named because they had two weapons. While the Lead Snakoid tried to hold off Baron’s first blade with its sword in a one-handed grip, it had no opportunity to block the other weapon, which dove straight through the monster’s middle. So great was the force of the stab that Baron’s hand actually sank into the monster’s insides for a brief moment.

Sadly, while that blow would have killed most things in real life, the HP system in the game kept the Lead Snakoid alive even though a seemingly fatal wound through its stomach should have had it dropping to the ground dead. Still, Baron knew that it was simply because of the natural programming installed in The World- there was no help for it but to play along and finish things the “proper” way. Running forward again, the Twin Blade stabbed his Bloody Blades into the Lead Snakoid’s throat as he jumped into the air, coming down with one final thrust that easily pierced the monster’s windpipe. This time, its HP was also depleted, leaving the monster to fall to the ground and slowly dissolve into pure data, vanishing from sight. Sighing, Baron sheathed his weapons and walked away from the site of the battle, stepping along the lava cracks as he made his way towards the dungeon.

While Baron had no intention of going in and completing the dungeon, he wanted to use it as a base of sorts to go after Monster Portals from. That way, if things got ugly, he could retreat and rest. However, his main goal for the field wasn’t just to raise his level, which made hit-and-run more effective, but also to possibly improve upon skills he had found lacking back in the Juk Prison’s field. Throughout the forested area, Baron had found that he wasn’t particularly good when it came to battle strategies, and that was most evident in his battle against Saol. Several things had become obvious: first off, the Twin Blade was far too reliant on his magic, which had been doubly proven by the last fight he had been in just a moment ago. Against the Lead Snakoids, he had relied first on his Merrows and Rue Rom spells to destroy one, before focusing on his weaponry. However, when it came to close-quarters combat, he wasn’t horrible by any means, but he needed to be more reliant on his weaponry, lest he freeze up in a situation where he ran out of SP. In the end, that would be what got him killed.

His plan set, Baron resolved to handle the next Monster Portal with his weapons only, just to develop more of a tendency to use them. He would make an exception for any monsters with a Physical Tolerance, of course, and he’d use magic for healing, but aside from that, it would be weaponry only. That thought in mind, Baron continued his jog towards the dungeon, picking up the pace a bit as he slowly made his way south, towards a giant tower not too far off. It didn’t take him long to arrive, and soon, he was at its base. An intimidating ring of lava surrounded the tower, with only a small bridge leading to the other side and into the main entrance. The tower itself was made of rock, rising out of the lava pool, but unlike some of the unnecessarily tall towers that made up some of the field, this dungeon didn’t give a false goal of reaching the top. All dungeons went downward, bottoming out somewhere, so the added height served absolutely no purpose.

Checking his SP gauge momentarily, Baron saw that it was at full, as was his HP, so it was time to go and get some hunting done. Looking around, the Twin Blade was in luck- there was a single portal resting not far from the base of the tower. Pulling his Bloody Blades from their sheathes, since they had the highest P-ATK of his various weapon sets, Baron jogged forward, making his way towards the Monster Portal and keeping his blades ready. The portal immediately activated when the Twin Blade drew within its range, vanishing and releasing the monsters in a flash of golden light. From the portal emerged a single monster, gigantic in stature. Once the light faded, Baron realized that it was a walking suit of armor that looked like it belonged to a giant, wielding two enormous broadswords in invisible hands. Looking at the monster, the Twin Blade suddenly noticed a huge parallelism between the monster and Saol’s final appearance during the Juk Prison. The transformed general had been huge and hulking, flickering flames around his body, and he had wielded two monstrous swords too.

A more perfect monster for combat practice didn’t exist.

With his Bloody Blades held tightly in each hand, Baron shot forward, slashing out with his Bloody Blades as he approached the Armor Shogun’s feet. The monster roared out its pain momentarily, taking a small hit to its HP, but its sword came down to sweep the ground near Baron. The Twin Blade jumped over the attack, the Armor Shogun’s sword going by beneath his feet. Baron landed a second later, but a blow from the monster’s gauntleted fist slammed into the boy’s middle, sending him flying backwards to bounce across the lava plates that made up the surface of the field. The Twin Blade staggered to his feet, picking up his weapons from where they had fallen to the ground nearby, and got back up, grimacing at the blow to his HP. Baron had forgotten that Armor Shoguns typically fell under the more physical category of monsters, though that should have been evident from its appearance, and had paid the price for staying up close. Still, it was good practice for his skills at evasion, too, as well as increased reliance on his weaponry.

Once he was standing again, Baron ran forward, his Bloody Blades held at his sides as he ducked under a swing of the Armor Shogun’s sword that was meant to decapitate him. Another slash was aimed at the monster’s leg, but Baron continued by running beneath it, coming out on the other side even as the Armor Shogun prepared to attack the spot in front of it, both blades held out at its sides. Baron was about to laugh, thinking he had tricked it, when he realized that the helmet portion of the armor had lifted up, and the entire breastplate was spinning in place while both broadswords were extended. It wasn’t fast, like it was an attack, but an arcane blue glow flashed into being from the motion, and the Twin Blade realized that his opponent was using a spell. A white glyph appeared around the Armor Shogun’s body, indicating it was casting the spell on itself, and then when Baron checked its status bar by targeting it, he realized that it had just increased its physical strength with an Ap Corv. That wasn’t good, considering that it was already strong, and added to the fact that the Twin Blade class was generally more fragile physically than a good portion of the other classes, that made things difficult.

Of course, Baron had his own ways of dealing with that, one of the reasons he collected medium-weight leg armor. Those pieces generally contained all of the status buffs, covering both the physical and magical aspects. At his level, the Twin Blade only had the ones that covered physical status, but it was all that he needed for this particular fight. Switching in his Dominic Fur and Mountain Boot, the Twin Blade cast a combination of Ap Corv and Ap Vorv, boosting both his physical strength and defenses. The combination was merely a buffer to counteract the Armor Shogun’s potent strength and armor, making the fight just a bit more even. Of course, it would have been slanted much more easily in Baron’s favor had he been using his magic, but since it was an all-physical fight, things were leaning towards the Armor Shogun. So it was going to be hand-to-hand for now.

Leaping forward again, Baron leaped above another blow, but landed on the blade that whistled through the air, hoping to get an attack on the Armor Shogun from a higher angle. Leaping off of the blade as it was twisted to meet its companion weapon with a clash of sparks, the Twin Blade found himself at the Armor Shogun’s enormous helmet. Baron’s Bloody Blades raked across the visor that would usually protect the wearer’s eyes, but since the monster was an animated suit of armor, it was empty. The attack was simply the best place that Baron could get a full swing in, and thus put as much power behind his attack as he could with that attack. A screech of metal on metal shot up from the strike, and the Armor Shogun’s HP took another small hit from the attack. Baron fell to the ground, landing on his feet, and rolled forward as he landed, getting back on the Armor Shogun’s blind side.

As he moved to safety, Baron realized that relying purely on his physical skills wasn’t helping much at all. Basic weapon attacks only did so much damage, and some monsters were stronger physically, meaning that just attacking wouldn’t do much good. Which was why the whole concept of magic and skills came into place, to provide a balance between physical and magical strength. In a sudden burst of revelation, Baron realized that he had forgotten some of the basics from way back then, overridden them with his own ideas as he had gotten stronger with more powerful spells and skills. He had lost that set balance that had been the most basic lesson of the game, tipped the scales so that they overbalanced. That had been what had caused his decline in combat skill over time.

Well done, Baron.

Libra? Is that you? Where have you been?

I’ve been here the whole time. However, it was you who has been unable to hear me. You broke the greatest of my principles, balance, which severed our connection through my data. Now that you’ve re-established it, we can speak once more. What more, I can also repress the other Zodiacs, since they seem to have been bothering you of late.

That was a greater relief than most could know. During the Juk Prison, the two Gemini, who together made up a member of the Zodiac, had caused Baron a good deal of grief with their constant babble in his head. Added to that was the fact that they were often trying to bring him down, mocking his work, demolishing the foundation of his confidence as they had gone along. For a while, Baron’s anger had kept it mostly at bay, but as the field had worn on, he had started to doubt himself, and a small seed of that doubt had come from their words. Now that they were gone, he could have some peace and quiet in his head, something that he had been without for the longest of times. It was a relief, really, to be able to finally think in silence. Well, mostly silence- Libra would be there, but he was a lot better company than the Gemini were, that was for sure!

Well, that’s a relief. So, now I’ve got a new and improved voice in my head and the other ones are gone? I guess there’s some benefit to keeping this balance.

You haven’t achieved the full balance yet, though. You are unable to use my power of equalization as long as your mind and soul are also in turmoil, the scales thrown to the wind. You may have regained my consciousness, but not the ability to challenge the Zodiac. You have to restore the balance completely before you can dream of defeating even the weakest of their group.

The power of equalization? That was Libra’s power to balance out the fight between Baron and any of the Zodiac, wasn’t it? If that was indeed the case, the Twin Blade was glad that he hadn’t encountered any of the enemy AIs yet! After all, if he had gone up against the Zodiac without the power to equalize their fights contained in Libra’s data, he would have been slaughtered and had his character deleted without even a chance at retaliation. From there, he would have been doomed, because along with Baron’s deletion, Libra’s data and the only hope for defeating the Zodiac would have been gone. Thinking about it, the Twin Blade realized just how enormously he had screwed up, and decided that it was definitely time to fix things before they got out of hand. Fortunately, a first-hand source on the matter was available.

What do I have to do?

I cannot help you there. Everyone has their own state of balance, based on who and what they are. As an AI to a human, I cannot fully comprehend your balance, nor would you be able to understand mine. I believe you should keep doing as you are, making these realizations, and coming to terms with various situations. All I can do is let you know when you’ve found that harmony again.

Right.

Good. Now that you’ve realized that, you might want to move.

Baron blinked at that last statement, and then realized that he was still in battle with the Armor Shogun. During his internal dialogue with Libra, the monster had come up and had both of its massive blades coming down to split the Twin Blade in two. Throwing himself to the side, Baron managed to avoid the majority of the attack, though the shockwave from the swords hitting the ground sent him flying, landing on his back a few feet away with some more of his HP vanishing. A quick Repth filled in the missing gap, and Baron’s HP shot back up to full even as he got back to his feet, switching his Emperor’s Crown out to replace his Fire Dance Hat. A GiRai Don erupted from the sky upon the Armor Shogun as Baron called forth the magic, a mix of three lightning bolts converging to smash into the nearest metallic object, which drew them like a lightning rod. The nearest, and biggest? That was the Armor Shogun. As a giant suit of animated armor, it had no chance against the energy flooding from the sky.

Smoking pieces of metal flew off from the impact of lightning on the armor, leaving the monster in some pretty serious shambles, but HP-wise, it still had about a quarter left. It was a slightly comical sight, though- one arm was missing, the knee joint of its left leg had melted slightly from the heat, leaving it lopsided; and, to top it off, the helmet was knocked clean around, so that it was pointed the opposite direction from the rest of the body. Baron almost lost his composure to burst into laughter, but he managed to maintain his focus and charged forward while the Armor Shogun was still distracted. This was the best opportunity he had to strike, and he was going to take it. Drawing up close, the Twin Blade let the Ani element overtake his Bloody Blades, the sheen of darkness wrapping around the two weapons and giving them a kiss of death that steel alone would not easily provide. It was time to end this battle.

“Twin Darkness!”

Leaping into the air, Baron began a rapid spin that left a spiral of darkness striking into the seared body of the Armor Shogun. The dark force left several deep gashes across the superheated steel, tearing through it like butter. A pair of kicks broke through the surface as well, though the heat on the Twin Blade’s feet caused some small HP damage. Another spin, larger than the first, collapsed the non-damaged leg and tore out a part of the Armor Shogun’s middle, and finally, the whole being fell to the ground in time to get hit by the last two slashes that made up the skill’s finale. Baron landed on his feet, slamming both of his weapons home into their sheaths, and turned to watch the Armor Shogun start collapsing, pieces of armor disconnecting at the joints and falling until they all collapsed in a pile on the ground with a large clatter. Baron grinned, checking his SP, and found it at a lower number than he would have liked. Frowning, he decided that it was time to revisit the dungeon, take a breather, and perhaps get to the bottom. Who knew- it might be worth it. With a sigh, Baron turned, and jogged towards the dungeon, letting his SP recharge along the way.

Libra, you mentioned a full balance, a complete one. What did you mean by that? You said I had made a revelation, perhaps you can expand upon that a bit more?

Yes. When you found your balance in combat, realizing what you had lost, that connected us. That is but one of multiple balances that must be regained. From just your data alone, the bits and pieces of you that are recorded within your very being, I have developed a slight theory towards another of your problems. Your mind is unbalanced.

Gee, that was comforting. Great, so now I’m crazy?

That depends on your definition. What I mean is that your mind is in turmoil, unable to relax and assume the state of calm it requires for balance. If you can solve that particular problem while I work towards discovering the next, then we’ll try to regain your balance.

Alright, I’ll try.

Baron slowed his pace as he approached the entrance to the dungeon, gazing into the bubbling pool of magma surrounding it. The air shimmered around the entire tower, making it seem like one large mirage. The Twin Blade hardly noted that detail, though, as he considered what Libra had told him. His mind was in imbalance, which meant that something was messing with it big time. That was no surprise, though- after the Juk Prison, it was no wonder that his mind was a bit unhinged. Baron had seen things there that most normal humans would never have ever witnessed there, some of the most horrific brutalities ever known to man. The five monuments, especially, and the visions Sekai had described to him, visions only she and the other comatose were able to see through the Ganz Orbs as each was connected. Baron shuddered at those thoughts. He was supposed to find a balance to all of that? Where would that be?

Shaking his head in disgust, Baron kicked at the ground, sending a few rocks to plummet into the lava with a hiss of steam as they melted. Placing his hands on his hips, he started around the lava pool, heading towards the dungeon’s entrance as he mulled over the dilemma. He had to find a balance to the mental trauma he had faced? Gee, that was a swell idea. The problem was that Baron had no idea where to begin. Was he supposed to justify it? To come to grips with it? What was he supposed to do? Annoyed at his inability to understand it, the Twin Blade strode towards the dungeon with an angry pace, faster than his usual walk. Soon, he had reached the entrance, and he was no closer to an answer. It was as if he had hit a dead end- he needed Libra’s power of equalization to defeat the Zodiac, but if he couldn’t obtain the balance of self, he couldn’t unlock it. And he couldn’t figure out how to unlock it, especially with this mental turmoil he was in. What was he supposed to do?

Baron, calm yourself. The balance of mind is a delicate one- doubts, fears, angers, all of these disrupt it. This is one that both human and AIs share, as I have just realized. Close your eyes, slow your breathing, and try to simply relax, nothing more.

Closing his eyes, Baron followed Libra’s instructions. In the real world, Locke let the adrenaline of the moment fade away, the anger at his disability to understand vanishing into the darkness. His breathing fell to a calmed state, coming in slow, easy amounts, as he tried to relax. It wasn’t as easy as Libra made it sound, either- he could feel the tension in his muscles from reacting to the game, his body twitching reactively to match what his eyes had told him. Still, he tried to put such distractions out of his mind, though they kept coming again and again. Finally, with a sigh of disgust, he opened his eyes again, speaking angrily to Libra, even though the AI didn’t deserve it. Locke was just angry.

It’s not working, Libra!

Describe to me what you did.

Baron did so, quickly. Ah, I see. You were going into something akin to what you humans call meditation. That is not the mental state of balance you need. Now, based off of your data-created memories, I see plenty of fears and doubts, and those are what you need to get rid of. The minor ones, like your laughable fear of heights, won’t tip the balance- it’s the big one we need to deal with. And that is your tendency to doubt yourself, undermining your worth. Come to grips with that, if you can.

That was easier said than done. Baron had thought he had rid himself of that doubt back in the Juk Prison, during the fight with Saol. The Twin Blade had believed in himself and had fought back that feeling of worthlessness due to a surprising pep talk from the Gemini. Still, was Libra insinuating that some hint of it lingered, beneath the shadows? Baron considered that for a bit. Well, it was true that he was training to become more useful to the Eventides, but did that equate to doubt in his abilities? The more he thought about it, the more the Twin Blade made sense of it. Libra was right- Baron realized that he had wanted to get stronger to become useful, not to become even more so. He had made himself believe that he was of little worth, had done nothing. The truth was, he had done plenty throughout the Juk Prison, especially with gathering the Ganz Orb. He was useful, after all- he had just failed to see that. The realization was like a weight leaving his chest, something that he had desperately sought after for a while. Baron smiled at the cliché, but said nothing, and instead just headed into the dungeon.

There was work to be done, and a balance to regain.

A wet slap of leather on sweating stone told Baron that he had arrived in the dungeon. Descending down the small ramp that led through the entrance to the main foyer, the Twin Blade found himself in the classical stone cave-type dungeon that seemed to be fairly common, though he hadn’t been in one lately. Everything was made of featureless gray stone in those dungeons. This one was fairly typical as well, except that the stone had an orange tint to it from the heat of the field. Other than that, it was the typical foyer, what with a small door leading to the outside on one wall, and the other had a large archway that would lead into the first room of the dungeon. Whether it was a room with a Monster Portal or simply one that continued further on would be determined when Baron entered. In the meantime, it would be pointless to guess, what with the two-second walk it would take to get to the next room. Baron started along the way even as Libra spoke to him once more.

You’re doing very good, Baron. From what I can see, your balance is starting to become normal again. However, we still have a ways to go.

Great, I expected as much. So, any luck on the next issue I’m having?

No, and it’s proving a hard task to find it. Continue on with the dungeon and I’ll tell you if I find something.

Baron sighed. Alright, then.

Striding through the foyer’s main doorway, Baron found himself in a long, narrow hallway, one that extended a good distance before reaching another doorway on the far end. Between the Twin Blade’s current location and the exit, a single gleaming Monster Portal shone, its golden light reflecting off of the stone walls to mingle with the orange-gray hue they already possessed. Sighing, Baron brought out his Fishskin, knowing that he would probably be subjected to another long fight, and prepared himself for whatever emerged. The portal began spinning rapidly as he approached, sparks of light flying off in all directions as it spiraled inward, shrinking and releasing the being within. It was another large monster, too, though it wasn’t an Armor Shogun this time.

Instead of the giant suit of possessed armor, Baron was faced with a giant troll-like creature, something that seemed akin to the Goblin-type monsters with only a hint more ugliness than its smaller brethren. Purplish, mottled skin covered its body in a diseased fashion, making the Twin Blade momentarily think of a smaller Swath Hound, though it was nowhere near as hideous as the maimed and tortured beast of the Juk Prison had been. The monster, tagged a Cannibal, held a massive club with brutal spikes sticking out of it, ready to smash a target into the ground. The Cannibal wore nothing but an uncured hide as a makeshift loincloth, and its eyes, red and evil, were filled with a mindless lack of intelligence that gave Baron the shivers. There wasn’t even a chance of intelligence surviving in that mind! Still, a monster was a monster, which meant that Baron had to deal with it in order to get on with the game.

Before charging forward, Baron called upon his Ethereal Angel Wings, something he had forgotten to do during his fight with the Armor Shogun. Two soft-plumed wings of pure white rose from the markings on the Twin Blade’s backs, their color dulled lightly from the orange glow around him. A recent addition to his item list, the Twin Blade still hadn’t gotten used to using them. They would have helped with the taller monster from before, since Baron would have easily been able to get a clear shot at its head without any real difficulty and probably could have dodged the shockwaves that had sent him flying a few times in the battle. Oh well, what was done was done, right? Once his wings were ready, the Twin Blade launched himself into the air and began his own assault.

White feathers shone in the torchlight as they moved to send Baron flying forward at a speed that he was used to on land, but without the slight resistance from pushing off the ground over and over, so it was faster overall. He came up to the Cannibal quickly, stabbing out at the monster’s head with his Fishskin. The monster roared in pain, swinging its club as if trying to swat a mosquito, and came dangerously close to flattening Baron, one of the jagged spikes on its club tearing through the treasure hunter’s sleeve and leaving a shallow gash in his arm. Blood dripped from the wound, nothing vital at all, but still Baron knew that he had to be more careful- a direct hit could do some serious damage, and while it wouldn’t necessarily be fatal, the Twin Blade didn’t fancy himself as a smear on the floor. It might have been a bit messy, after all.

Twisting as he flew, Baron came around behind the Cannibal, diving once to tear a long cut down the monster’s back. The troll-like creature had a tough hide, so his blades didn’t pierce very far, but it was enough to take a small piece of the monster’s HP with little trouble. Baron came around again, calling a Juk Kruz upon the Cannibal as he switched his Firedrake Mail for his Ring Mail, the weaker armor providing the spell he needed to land a powerful ELEMENTAL CRITICAL against the monster. Normally, the spell wasn’t very powerful due to the fact that it was a basic one and on a piece of low-level armor, but between the extra damage in the strike and the large boost to Baron’s M-ATK that the Fishskin provided, a good piece of the Cannibal’s HP vanished again, lowering it down to roughly two-fifths. It howled in pain, bringing its club around again, and once more the Twin Blade flying around it was nearly hit by the attack, coming out with a small cut across his chest that had come from yet another jagged spike on the monster’s club.

Grinning at the exhilaration from the fight, Baron switched his Firedrake Mail back into the primary armor slot, bringing his P-DEF up some more before he continued his assault. Both of his status-boosting spells had worn off, and he didn’t feel like wasting the SP to renew them at that moment, so he stuck to his strongest sets of equipment, aside from the Emperor’s Crown that he kept equipped, and let those items determine his defenses, rather than use up his SP, even if he had a good deal of it remaining and was in no danger of running out in that battle. Maybe it was a touch of laziness, but that wasn’t really important, was it? Baron shrugged, not particularly concerned, and started to come about for a finishing blow when Libra interrupted yet again.

Baron. I believe I’ve found another imbalance. Your spirit is in unrest, which in turn fuels the doubt which you have resolved for now. You don’t want to move forward, to keep going. Something has damaged your spirit, and you have to figure out what.

Yeah, that’s nice, but I’m a bit bu-

CRASH!

Baron fell to the ground, dazed, as he slammed into a wall, distracted by his internal conversation with Libra. Stunned for a moment, the Twin Blade watched his health take a steady hit from the impact, before he staggered to his feet, rubbing at his head. While he didn’t actually feel the pain, it was more of a reflex than anything- Locke could have even sworn the sight had given him a headache. The Cannibal took advantage of the moment, coming forward to slam its club down. Baron rolled to the side, avoiding a crushing blow, and sprang to his feet, turning as he pulled out his Bloody Blades to replace his vanishing Fishskin. While the Cannibal was recovering from its own powerful blow, the Twin Blade decided to end things with one last blow, the green aura of Juk surrounding his blades even as he began to attack.

“Gale of Swords!”

The attack was similar to Baron’s Twin Darkness from before, a twisting series of attacks that did a good deal of damage throughout the whole combination. Even without an Elemental Critical, the Cannibal was easily at low enough health for the barrage of strikes to fell it, cuts lining a good distance of its body in a web of bleeding lines even as the monster collapsed to the ground. Baron grinned as he saw the monster fall, and sheathed his weapons, relaxing as the room unlocked itself and the Battle Mode ended. Casting a quick Repth spell to restore his HP, the Twin Blade started at a slow stroll towards the far doorway in order to allow his SP to slowly recover along the way. While he was walking, too, he wanted to ponder what Libra had said, to perhaps take another step towards the balance he needed for the power of equalization.

According to Libra, there was an imbalance of spirit, the drive to go forward being the key in that harmony. Clearly this wasn’t a more mystical contemplation as much as it was one of motivation. Baron wondered why he had an imbalance there- after all, he was training so that he would be stronger for the Juk Prison! He had already planned to go back there, no matter what. After all, he was already involved, and he wanted to at least see it through until they found Nemera’s cure in the dungeon. That thought made Baron wonder momentarily at what had become of Sidhe and Nemera while the Eventides were catching a breather from the Juk Prison. In fact, he considered sending them a Flashmail to get an idea of how they were doing, simply because he was concerned. After all, Nemera had looked to be near death or dead at the end of the Juk Prison, her Swath Sickness deciding to hit her hard right after Saol had been felled. Black veins beneath pale skin, sickly eyes- all of those symptoms were worrying to Baron, and he hoped that it wouldn’t take long to find the cure, before Nemera actually died. If she hadn’t already. Shuddering, Baron wrote up a quick Flashmail, worried about the leader of the Eventide Crescendo.

Baron waited for about five minutes, expecting a reply, but none came, which worried the Twin Blade. Sidhe was obviously concerned about Nemera’s health, and he had been rather upset when the group had split up, taking Nemera with him as they left the field. Baron had lost track of them after that, though in all honesty he hadn’t tried particularly hard, thinking that Sidhe could take care of the situation for now. There was no point in worrying about the two, much as the Twin Blade wanted to, since the leaders of the Eventide Crescendo tended to be more independent than anyone Baron had seen before. They would be fine on their own- after all, they were stronger than anyone else the Twin Blade had encountered, and not just in terms of strength, either. He decided that it would be best to simply let it go.

Once the whole business with Nemera was set aside, Baron went back to thinking about the whole “imbalance of spirit” that Libra had mentioned. The AI was clearly suggesting that he was hesitating, unwilling to move on. Baron didn’t believe that part, honestly- he was ready to go back to the Juk Prison and take down whatever evil was being created in the dungeon… Or was he? Baron realized with a start that he was hesitant about the whole affair, especially remembering the Swath beings that the Eventides had encountered during the Juk Prison’s field. Baron shivered at those memories- the images of the Juka Sprite men, women, and children who had been twisted and corrupted until they turned into those creatures were burned into his mind. One of those creatures, roughly named “Desperation,” had actually been the one that had given Nemera her Swath Sickness. And if the Juk Prison’s dungeon was possibly producing more… well, Baron was actually a little worried about encountering something similar. What if he ended up like Nemera, contracting the Swath Sickness, or even exposed to enough Dread Code to make him one of the comatose? Or both? That was Baron’s greatest worry- he could truly suffer a fate worse than death.

Maybe that was the source of hesitation that Libra had suggested, and maybe that was the issue that had caused Baron’s imbalance of spirit. He didn’t want to admit it, but he wasn’t sure that he wanted to go back. However, the Twin Blade’s sense of duty was what put him on the fence, standing opposite his fear of possible entrapment in the game, since he felt it was necessary to go and help Nemera get the cure for her sickness. Beneath the surface he had never made the decision, and was still struggling with the temptation to simply log off for a few days and pretend none of it ever happened. Sure, he could run into Sekai or Zan or someone else again, and have to live with their disdain, but he’d be safe. That was the coward’s way out, but it would still mean his safety.

Baron could see where that “imbalance of spirit” came from, now, as he came to that realization. He was torn between two decisions, and he had to settle it before he could regain his balance in that respect. Unsure of what to do, he decided that he should move forward with the dungeon, and maybe resolve things along the way. Until then, he could at least get that training he promised himself and, in the event he decided to go back to the Juk Prison, he could be prepared for worse horrors to come. Nodding to himself, the Twin Blade continued down the hallway, striding towards the doorway, and hoped that he could figure that out soon. He had the feeling that it wouldn’t matter which path he chose, as long as he picked one, but it wasn’t a decision he was sure about just yet.

The next room was a large square area, a torch lighting each corner of the area. The orange lights spread in a semi-circle around each brand, spreading towards the center of the room, but stopping a good distance away. In the middle of the area, an altar with stairs leading up to it rose from the floor, and atop it was another Monster Portal. Baron sighed as he eyed the portal, hearing the portcullis slam shut behind him even as the shimmering ring before him started to spin, preparing to release its monster. In the few moments he had, the Twin Blade swapped around his equipment until he found what he was looking for, and just in time, too- the Monster Portal had spawned its monsters the instant Baron had finished. The Twin Blade held up both of his Fishskin, praying that an actual Vak-Element monster came out this time. After all, it was a Vak field- shouldn’t there have been more monsters of that element around?

Fortunately, the odds were in the Twin Blade’s favor, for once, or at least mostly so, as a trio of smaller monsters emerged from the Monster Portal. Two of them were Grand Mages, from a family of monsters that resembled an elderly old wizard atop an orb of varying elements. These ones were atop a red orb, indicating the Vak Element, and that was in Baron’s favor due to his powerful Rue skills. The last monster was an odd one, a woman dressed in armor and wielding a spear, almost like a monster version of a Long Arm character. The outfit and appearance, though, suggested something like the Valkyries from Viking lore. As he backed away, Locke tilted his headset so he could glance through a bestiary he had pulled up for such situations, searching for the term “Valkyrie.” After a few moments, he found the one he was looking for: a Fresh Valkyrie, level twenty-one. Juk Element, as well. However, the bestiary purposely left out attacks and spells, so that it wouldn’t be too much of an aide for the players using it, and for that Baron was grateful- he wanted some element of surprise in a battle, lest it get too easy.

The opening was a standard one for Baron of late, something he had been doing since he had received his Fishskin blades, but it was one he had enjoyed more than anything. The Merrows spell erupted from the Twin Blade’s weapons, an enormous serpent appearing behind him even as it roared out an aquatic challenge, its fierce yellow eyes locking on one of the Grand Mages, which was stationed near its companion and unable to move once the spell locked onto it. The Rue summon shot forward in a burst of energy, striking the Grand Mage dead on. The shockwave actually struck both of the monsters that were near each other, and the initially-targeted one immediately died. The other held on with a bit of its HP, but a Rue Rom from Baron’s Yosetu and Fuyou ended that dream. At that point, the Twin Blade pulled out his Bloody Blades once more, and prepared to go head-to-head with the Fresh Valkyrie, the only monster left from the original group.

Ducking under a blow from the monster’s spear, Baron’s foot shot out in a sweep kick aimed to knock his opponent to the ground. However, the Fresh Valkyrie leapt over the attack, slamming its spear downwards in a smash, though the Twin Blade target rolled to the side and avoided the blow. Slashing as he rose from the ground, Baron landed a light cut on the monster’s side, nothing deep or serious, yet it took a small chunk of HP upon contact. Twisting to his left, the Twin Blade avoided another forward stab, and his knee came up in a smash at the Fresh Valkyrie’s elbow, an attack aimed to release the arm’s grip on the spear. Unfortunately, his angle was off, so all Baron did was knock the arm aside and angle the spear to bash him in the side of the head. That definitely wasn’t part of his original plans. Grimacing at the self-imposed drop in HP, the Twin Blade sent a Gan Zot up between himself and the Fresh Valkyrie, creating a stone pillar that slammed the monster in its middle and sent it flying back with a resounding ELEMENTAL CRITICAL. About half of the monster’s remaining HP vanished from the attack, and a following Gan Don lowered that remaining amount to a quarter. Finally, racing around his Gan Zot pillar, Baron leapt upon the fallen monster, stabbing both blades into it and finishing it off, a bright Critical Hit flashing overhead as the damage was doubled. It was overkill, considering the situation, but dead was dead.

Sheathing his weapons as the Fresh Valkyrie dissolved into data, the Twin Blade turned to watch the gates blocking each doorway rise up into the ceiling, vanishing from sight. Soon, the room was completely silent again, nothing echoing in the empty chamber. Sitting on the steps of the altar, Baron sighed, relaxing for a moment so that he could regain his SP. As he did, his mind naturally shifted back to his situation with his decision. During that fight, he hadn’t really thought about it, but while he wasn’t doing anything, he wanted to consider it again. Nothing said he had to decide right then and there, but every moment spent on it led closer to that final choice.

Baron decided to try something objective, perhaps to see if he could come to a decision now. Pulling up a small Notepad program on his computer, Locke raised his VR goggles so that he could see the screen. The page was divided into two sections, and labeled: on one half, there was “Reasons to go back to the Juk Prison,” and the other half had “Reasons not to go back to the Juk Prison.” Considering the options, he started filling out the different lists as thoughts came to him. Some of the reasons for going were “To save Nemera,” “To stop the Highers,” and “Helping the players of The World.” Reasons for not doing so were “The chance of becoming comatose,” and “The price of failure.” Baron kept filling in those lists, until he finally couldn’t think of anything, a second before his SP hit full. When he checked them, he was daunted by one particular fact- both sides were completely even. The lists were the exact same in length, with an equal number of reasons to go or not to go back to the Juk Prison. Pausing, Baron looked them over, wondering if he had forgotten something, and then sighed. So much for objective…

You forgot one item, Baron.

I did?

This may just be my opinion, but under that first list, you need to add “because it’s right.”

Baron froze, considering what Libra said. Out of all of the reasons he had put down, the Twin Blade had forgotten one that had been the most important to him for the longest of times. And yet, considering reasons to make his decision, he had only gone towards either the cowardly or the heroic answers. But out of all of them, he had forgotten one final response, the one that centered around a single aspect that fell apart from any separate category- the moral response. Morally, Baron knew that it was right to do what he could for everyone, not just because he was helping those in The World, but simply because it was right. Even if only one person suffered for it, the Twin Blade would have been willing to go all-out. Somewhere in his mixture of pride and cowardice, Baron had forgotten his integrity, his morals, everything that made up what he was. And now, in a rush, they came back to him, stating the obvious. The decision was made, there was no other contemplation left to be done- Baron had made his choice.

I see you’ve made your choice, and have settled your imbalance of spirit. Might I ask what you decided?

Yeah. I’m going back.

I see. I think you’ve made the right decision, Baron. You’re a man of morals and strong heart.

Just barely on that “man” part. I just turned eighteen, you know.

Age does not determine the quality or strength of spirit.

Baron laughed at that, aloud, but he had no problem with doing that, since no one was around to hear him and wonder if he was insane. Libra, after all of their more informal conversations and talks, had suddenly lapsed into some deep and meaningful quote. It was just funny in an odd way, really. Baron had gotten used to the AI even after a short time of having him around, almost like an old friend who was so similar to him that they were like brothers. That made sense in a way, since Libra had put his data into the character Locke had created, something that he had decided simply because he had sensed some compatibility between the two of them. In essence, Baron and Libra thought very much alike, and it was so evident in how well they interacted. After all, the AI could have been cool, aloof, one of those high-and-mighty justice types who cared nothing of the people it considered as its tools. But no, Libra was a likeable person, very much like Baron, and the two worked together well.

Getting up from his position on the altar stairs, Baron brushed the stone dust off of his black pants, a slight gray film coming off to fall on the ground. His SP and HP gauges were at full, and everything was good, so he decided it was time to go a bit further in the dungeon. The Twin Blade hadn’t made a decision regarding whether or not he’d go all the way through dungeon, but he figured he’d stick around until he solved his imbalance and regained his use of Libra’s power. However, Libra hadn’t said anything as of yet, so Baron assumed that the AI was trying to figure out another angle that was missing. So, while he was waiting, the Twin Blade headed towards the far doorway, the one that would lead a bit deeper into the dungeon. As he approached the doorway, though, Libra cut in once more with a bit of interesting news.

Analyzing you, Baron, I’ve seen that you’ve nearly achieved enough of a balance to access my power, but you’re not quite there. There seems to be one more major imbalance that needs to be fixed, but unfortunately, I cannot tell what it is. I know that it’s there, like I can see it, but it’s something beyond me. I have never encountered this before, being an AI… therefore there’s nothing I can do about it.

Can you describe it?

Well, it’s hard to define… it’s warm, for one thing, but not warm in the sense of temperature… I don’t know how to describe that. It provokes something… something inside me. I’m not sure what. This is too far beyond me, too complex, to even try to understand.

Baron thought about that for a moment, considering the vague information that Libra had given him. The description sounded vaguely familiar, though it was faintly so, something that he just couldn’t recall. The Twin Blade tried to figure out what it was that an AI wouldn’t know as well as a human, something that was beyond programming. Unfortunately, the idea eluded him, was beyond his mental grasp. Sighing, Baron strode through the doorway on the far side of the room, the stone archway passing overhead as he entered. He decided that he’d try to figure it out as he went through the actual dungeon, hopefully figuring it out before too long. After all, just sitting there and dwelling upon the situation wouldn’t do any good, and the Twin Blade had come to the field so that he could become stronger for the dungeon of the Juk Prison, to do his utmost for the other members of the Eventide Crescendo.

The next room was a second large hallway, its end far off in the distance before it split into two diverging paths. No Monster Portal marred this room, much to Baron’s relief, which gave him another chance to think, to reflect on the last of his imbalances that Libra was describing. So far, the Twin Blade had fixed the imbalances of body, mind, and spirit… so what was left? Metaphorically, they had covered all of the aspects that made up a human- the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. So then what was missing? Certainly there wasn’t anything else, not at least that Baron could come up with. Sighing, the Twin Blade ran through the list once more. The imbalance of body had been fixed when Baron had freed himself of self-imposed limits that he had put on himself in battle. The imbalance of mind had related to his mental state- fear, doubt, anger- all that broke the balance that he needed to keep his grip on Libra’s power. Baron had accepted his doubts and moved on, getting over them and putting his mind in harmony. The imbalance of spirit, which had just been resolved only recently, had related to his drive and indecision, and was partially tied into the imbalance of mind. Once Baron had made his final decision, it had cleared up, and he suspected that it was only his indecision that had set him off-track.

So what was left?

Baron shook his head and considered what he had been through in the last day. The Juk Prison had seemed to take a lot more time, though in reality, it had really been just that: a single day. The Twin Blade took a moment to remember the horrors of the Juk Prison, to harden the resolve to go back and stop the atrocities. Images flashed through his head- The Desperations, Despairs, and Confusions; the Falls Golem, standing over them with an orange glow erupting from it; Liam and the other acolytes within the Templum Krake, who had slaughtered the Juka Sprites within; the Losts, the final chase with the Swath Hound, and finally, the showdown against the monstrous Saol. The Wild Hunt’s general had been the worst by far, though, pulling out numerous schemes and tricks to destroy the Eventides, and yet somehow they had prevailed, defeating the evil man and ending his cruelty once and for all. Baron had thought that he’d have some rest between the field and the dungeon, and was going to take advantage of that time to train, and then everything else had happened.

So, thinking back over that, the Twin Blade was sure that he had resolved any other issues that were plaguing him, even though Libra insisted that there was one more. Baron knew that the AI was obviously right, since he knew more about what he was dealing with than the boy did, but unfortunately, the treasure hunter was at a loss as he tried once more running through everything he had seen and done, both in the Juk Prison and out of it. After he had made it out of the area, and had logged off momentarily, there had been about a fifteen minute period where… wait. Baron started as he began to wonder, not believing that it would be so simple, and yet he thought for a moment he knew what that last issue was. He doubted it a few times, but the more that he thought on it, the more logical it seemed. After all, AIs didn’t feel emotions like love and such, did they? Or could they? Regardless, Libra didn’t seem like one who had experienced such a feeling, which would explain why it was alien to him. Still, Baron decided to try and answer it himself in the only way he could think of, without speaking with Libra first. The AI wouldn’t be of much use, after all, and Baron knew he was making the right choice as he typed out a quick Flashmail.

Reading it over once, Baron hesitated, wondering if he should send it off. The mouse icon was over the “send” button, but the Twin Blade was unsure, not knowing if Sekai would be willing to come on such short notice, especially with nothing more than a vague reason behind it. Still, he knew that he had to talk to her, to get things in the open, and finally solve the problem he was having- an imbalance of the heart, as Libra would probably define it. It was a difficult one, for sure, since the Twin Blade wasn’t sure how he was supposed to resolve it. He supposed it was like the imbalance of spirit- once he made his decision, things would be right again, regardless of what the decision was. However, it had to be honest and sincere, real. Baron couldn’t just say “I don’t like her” and be done with it. That was why the Twin Blade had decided on setting up a meeting, so that he could figure it out personally. He just hoped that he was doing the right thing.

What are you planning?

Apparently Libra had read the Flashmail. You’ll see, but I think I’ve got things figured out for the last imbalance. Let me try to do this.

…Very well.

Baron nodded at the response from the AI, glad that Libra had simply let the matter go without questioning it further. If he had asked for more information, the Twin Blade would have been hard-pressed to explain- after all, love wasn’t something that could be converted to mere words; the matters of the heart were almost instinctual, something that was felt without thought. But Libra had let the matter drop, giving Baron a bit of a breather instead of putting him through his mental paces trying to figure out the best way to explain a human feeling to a scientific program. The Twin Blade almost laughed at the absurdity of the notion, but jumped when a beep indicated a Flashmail response, and he hurriedly opened his inbox, seeing the message from Sekai. He quickly scanned it over, his eyes racing to find an answer.

Phew, that was a relief. Baron had worried that Sekai would have asked for more information, something he couldn’t really give, not just then. Turning, the Twin Blade started making his way back towards the foyer of the dungeon, hoping to make it there before Sekai so as not to be rude and leave her waiting. He was still trying to sort things out himself, playing the whole scene by the ear, and hoping that he didn’t say or do something wrong that could seriously mess up the balances he had achieved so far. The mind and spirit were two very fragile ones, after all, and while Libra was likely screaming at him for the severe disruption to his mind’s balance from all the doubt and questioning, Baron didn’t even notice, as he tried to figure out what he could say, what he could do, to get the answers he wanted. Finally, as he was making his way through the last doorway, he had something worked out, somewhere to start. From there, it all depended on what was said. Still, sitting against the dungeon wall, the Twin Blade dropped into thinking, mentally rehearsing what he had planned to do.

Sekai arrived a few minutes later, her face calm, though somewhat submissive, timid, as if she were worried or afraid. Baron had never understood that fear that Sekai seemed to constantly possess, considering that Kira was always at hand- after all, the female Long Arm wouldn’t be letting anything happen to her companion. Heck, even Baron was intimidated by the frigid woman, and few things did that to him. Heights, for one thing… But that was another matter. Still, the Twin Blade wondered at the woman’s trepidation, though he never really inquired, in case it was a sensitive matter that he shouldn’t delve into. After all, everyone had their secrets, and Baron knew how that was for sure- he wasn’t going to pry, not just yet anyway. Not until he was sure about his other issue, first.

When Sekai called out his name, Baron Baron looked up, surprised at the interruption, but smiled when he saw the Archer approaching. He had been waiting for only a few minutes, yet she had been prompt, much to his pleasure. As he watched her, he tried to sort through his feelings, a mixture of both joy and disappointment at seeing her approach. But what was he to expect- for Marissa to come walking through the door, her arms wide open as she drew close. A light sight escaped his lips as he stood from his sitting position in the wall, getting to his feet in order to greet Sekai properly.

“Ah, Sekai. I’m… glad you could make it. Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

Baron almost swore mentally at that note of hesitation his voice had used to betray his mixture of feelings. It was stupid to conceal them, really, since that was part of what he needed to talk to Sekai about, to fix the imbalance that had been created by the uncertainty in his heart. Still, he tried to remain calm, unimposing, lest he project something he didn’t actually mean. The female Archer chose that moment of silence to move in, though, her eyes curiously roaming over the Twin Blade’s outfit, as if something was different. With a start, Baron realized that his appearance was different. Sekai hadn’t been at the Elimination Arena event, so she couldn’t have seen him, could she? It was almost laughable that the Twin Blade had missed such a small detail, but such things tended to be overlooked.

Finally Sekai spoke, a formal stance and polite attitude coming to the front, as if in habit more than actual practice. “It was no trouble at all, is... everything alright?”

Baron was quiet for a moment, considering Sekai’s actions and posture, even her words. She seemed… unusually confident. It was odd, especially as the female Archer had drawn close and examined him, but he had done his utmost not to flinch even as his heart gave a little flutter, the personality that Sekai was showing turning into an unusual comparison to Marissa’s. Baron, standing there as his friend performed her inspection, had wished that she hadn’t pulled such a one-eighty on her attitude; he had expected Sekai to act like she had upon arrival- quiet, somewhat timid. To think that a whole other side of her was revealed in that instant, something more forward than the small, fragile-seeming Archer he had come to know, was mind-boggling, but only for a moment. Soon, Baron caught his voice even as Sekai spoke to him, asking the question he had roughly expected. His reply was practiced, rehearsed, and much more smooth than his greeting had been.

“I’m alright, Sekai, though I appreciate your concern. However, I only wanted to speak to you about a few things, if that’s alright. I’d imagine Kira’s gonna be listening in, am I right?”

Sekai blinked in confusion for a moment, something that Baron hadn’t quite expected, but it didn’t take a major revision of plans to get things working again. Still, he wondered what had brought about that expression, something he hadn’t planned for, especially when it had Sekai biting her nail, though that may have been a nervous habit. Baron almost smiled at that, the fact that the game could produce such realistic effects. Of course, Sekai was actually a part of her character, the two merged due to whatever had caused the real-world player to go comatose and trap her in The World, but it was still amazing to see such realism at times. Once more, Baron had to focus to shove his scientific curiosity away and get back to the matter at hand, just in time to hear Sekai speak again.

“Um... maybe my flashmail hadn't gotten back to you after all. I was under the impression that it was just me you wished to speak to. If... if that wasn't the case, I'm truly very sorry, she can be here in a few minutes if I call her. She stayed back at the Cathedral to wait.”

Baron shook his head, surprised at the twist of events. Kira wasn’t here? That was unusual. Usually, the woman would leave Sekai’s side for long, and was overly protective of the Archer, at least in Baron’s view, though he could be wrong. Still, Sekai had said that Kira was “at the Cathedral.” What cathedral? Maybe she meant the cathedral at Ä Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. Regardless, it was a chance of plans from what Baron had originally expected, throwing off a few mental expectations, but still, the Twin Blade continued on full steam ahead, willing to continue with his self-created script as long as he could. If worst came to worse, he could always improvise, but this part was fairly important- after all, if he didn’t broach the situation right, things could get ugly. He had to start it off slowly, though, since he hadn’t mentioned the Zodiac to Sekai before.

“Alright, I need to first explain that, while Kira isn’t here, there is another watcher present, only he is, in essence, like Kira is to you, without the ability to manifest, etc. Well, maybe not the same, but he is there. Actually-”

Baron broke off for a moment, wondering. Is there a way you can talk to her?

Actually, yes. Only if you allow me to use your lips, though, and that is it. It has to be completely voluntary.

Baron returned to his real conversation. “Actually, Libra himself can explain. One moment.”

Everything was silent for a moment, before Baron spoke again, but this time his voice was not his own. The new voice was deeper, richer in feeling and tone, the inflections smoother than they sounded in the Twin Blade’s internal dialogues. But no, this was clearly Libra speaking, and it was easy to tell the difference. Baron just hoped that this sudden alteration to his plans wouldn’t cause everything to fall to pieces, but it was important to let Sekai know what was going on. After all, keeping another observer secret was letting a voyeur in on a very private matter, something that was unfair and cruel to the uninformed parties. That was the whole reason Baron wanted Libra to talk to Sekai for a bit, so that she would get to know who the third party in the conversation was there.

“Hello… Sekai, is it? My name is Libra. I’m glad that I have the opportunity to talk with you.”

Sekai quickly bowed and made what was probably an appropriate response, though Baron couldn’t be sure. He had already inferred that the Archer was Japanese, and since the treasure hunter had very little knowledge of Japanese customs, he could only guess at Sekai’s actions. “Haji- I mean, it is a pleasure to meet you, Libra-san, thank you for treating Baron-san kindly and guiding him.”

Libra, unfortunately, didn’t have control of the body, as his connection with Baron probably would never allow such a thing, so he had to give the Twin Blade the proper mental cues as he went along, which led to the slightest of delays that could be subtly detected, but not really made sense of. A warm smile greeted Sekai’s response as Baron’s body bowed back, though somewhat stiffly since Baron hadn’t the faintest idea of what to expect. Somehow, Libra knew what he was doing, and the Twin Blade was doing his best to keep up, though he really hadn’t a clue. The bow was as formal as Sekai’s, though again it was still somewhat awkward, almost unpracticed. However, when Libra started speaking minor Japanese, it even surprised Baron.

“Goumo, Sekai-san. I haven’t been with Baron all that long, actually, so he’s done everything up to this point himself. However, I’m afraid I’ll have to dispense with formalities for a moment since I’m only speaking through Baron to give you the opportunity to meet me. He didn’t want to be rude with an unknown third-party listener around. I hope you don’t mind my presence.”

Sekai- and Baron, for that matter- were both taken aback by Libra’s fluent pronunciation of Japanese. The Twin Blade wished that the friend that he had floating around in his head would at least be clear once in a while, to stop throwing out surprises like that. It was useful, of course, since it definitely could make Sekai feel more comfortable, but still, the Twin Blade hated being caught off-guard so easily. Something about not knowing what to expect, while it added to the fun and mystery of anything, also irritated the boy to no end. One couldn’t plan or predict without knowledge of every little detail, and yet Libra had pretty much blown things right out of the water at that point. Baron hoped that he’d be able to recover, even as Sekai spoke, a slight, and shy smile that the Twin Blade hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing before.

“I have, um, grown used to there being at least one individual with an, as you and he both have called it, unknown third party around. So, um, it doesn't bother me, if that is what Libra-san and Baron-san are concerned about. It... it's actually a bit, um, how does one say... normal? For me at this point.”

“Not at all. See, what I believe Baron wants to talk to you about is a matter of the hea-“

Baron cut Libra off at that point, hoping that Sekai hadn’t caught enough of that statement to piece it together, or if she had, that she didn’t understand the idiom. The AI would have blown things to bits had he gone and been so straightforward with his statement. The Twin Blade took control of his voice once more, relieved that he had jumped to the front in time, but he still had to cover for Libra’s slip. Baron hurriedly tried to think of something to say, perhaps to divert Sekai’s attention away from what had almost been said. Fortunately, he had a quick, agile mind, and his experience in the field of drama had given him some talent in improvisation, so he was able to recover quickly.

“Sorry about that, Sekai. Libra, unfortunately, misunderstood why I intended to speak with you. See, though he is an AI, and can feel the full range of emotions and such, he hasn’t had experience with a good portion of them, being what he calls ‘completely neutral.’ So he misunderstood my pleasure at being able to meet with you as… something more. I apologize. Now, for the real reason I asked you to come here- I wanted to discuss something with you, to clear up why I’ve been so… well, distant with you since the lighthouse at the Juk Prison. I feel sort of guilty for letting it continue so long, but this is something better spoken in private.”

“To be honest, it may seem strange, but you remind me dearly of a… long-departed friend of mine. Her name was Marissa, and while you two don’t look alike physically, you’re very much alike in spirit and strength. When I saw you, standing through your suffering after whatever had grabbed you when we left the mines, you reminded me strongly of her, something I had tried to forget. You see… I had loved Marissa. I was there when she died, and I thought a part of my heart had died with her. However, that moment revealed that it wasn’t yet gone, and it began to linger, and fester. Unsure of my feelings, I tried to remain distant, until I sorted it out. But I think I finally understand it, now. You’re not Marissa, but my mind tried to use you to fill that void I felt. However, I’ve come to terms with that. I… I just wanted to make sure you understood my aloofness of late, and not take it wrong. I value you as a good friend, and I don’t want anything to cause that to end.”

Sekai’s face flushed, something Baron hadn’t expected. Sure, he was confident that she would understand, but not be embarrassed when he mentioned that he loved another. Had the Archer thought, perhaps, that he had loved her? Maybe, a few hours ago, he would have agreed, but he had realized exactly what was going on. Still, that flush faded into neutrality when the Juk Prison was mentioned, and Baron continued on, gauging Sekai’s actions as he went along. She went as predicted when Marissa was mentioned, though- the Archer looked genuinely sorry for Baron, something he was a bit embarrassed about, but he appreciated the support. He hadn’t told anyone else in The World about Marissa, and this was the first real step to getting over his loss. Also, it was nice to clear things up with Sekai, especially with her kind response, though she had difficulties with the proper word choice.

“I-I'm so very sorry for your loss, that... that must have been such a painful moment and to have been reminded of it... I... I was troubled, a little, by what I thought was some kind of inner struggle, especially there near the end of the battle with Saol-san, but I... how do I say it. I'm not... I'm not glad that such an event happened and caused such painful memories for Baron-san, far from it. I am, I believe, glad that Baron-san was able to get everything resolved and get, um, closure? I think the word is. Um... I'm sure Marissa-san is Baron-san's, um... guardian spirit? I'm not sure if that is the proper term for the position but, I believe she is guarding over you and that your feelings have reached her. I... um, I value Baron-san as a good friend too, and I don't... I don't see why that would change at any time in the future.”

Baron smiled lightly, his heart warmed by Sekai’s words. Both the soft smile and the kindness behind it almost made him take back his words from earlier, but watching the Archer, he had to admit that it wasn’t quite love that he felt. No, that part of his heart, the truest part, had been buried with Marissa. What the Twin Blade now knew, though, was that he cared for Sekai, not as a lover, but as a dear friend, almost like a younger sister. As an only child, he had never really gone through such a thing, so couldn’t completely compare, but he was sure that it was what he was feeling. The thoughts resolved, Baron nodded at Sekai’s words, his mission done. He actually felt the balance restore itself, marked by a lightness in his chest that hadn’t been there before. Yes, things had definitely worked out. In the real world, a tear was coursing down one cheek, but nothing of it was reflected in the Twin Blade’s response.

“Thank you, Sekai. You have no idea what that means to me, really. And yes, I’m sure Marissa is out there, watching over me somewhere. In fact, I know she is, and she’s waiting for the day where we’ll be together again. Anyway, I think we should get going now- Gyl could call at any moment, and we’ll need to be ready.”

Baron walked past Sekai, heading for the doorway, and he turned and stopped right before he exited, a sudden thought crossing his mind. The light from the outside made him little more than a lightly detailed shadow, his face hidden slightly, but the grin was more than evident on that face.

“Oh, and the next time you see Kira? Tell her she looks good as a blonde, alright?”

Baron grinned once more before he strode out the doorway, making his way to the field, and he stared at the lava-formed land around him, content for the first time in a long while. Sighing in relief, he realized that he had figured out the last balance himself, understanding it and moving past it with a maturity that he hadn’t realized he possessed. It was a good feeling, something that he wished he could keep, and he knew that he would need it for the upcoming conflicts with the Zodiac. That sense of balance was what would allow him to control the power of equalization to use on the AIs, and so, he had to remember how it felt, and be able to call it forth at will. Not something that could be done right away, of course, but once the Juk Prison was done, he would definitely have to get some practice in.

For now, though, it was time to log out. Baron wanted to get a bit of rest before the next half of the horror began.

((OOC: I'd like to note that, if the case is that I get three levels and very little else, I'd like it to go to two levels and get the extra equipment, if that is allowable. Thank you.

WISHLIST: Scarab Earring > Peasant’s Cap > Ranger’s Boots > Holy Tree Mail > Lincoln Green > Air Bracer > GP))

Baron --> +1 Level - +Scarab Earring - +Lincoln Green - +Air Bracer - +Oak Anklet - +Mage's Soul x2 - +Resurrect x2