Spiteful Healer
Chapter 82: The Shattering Pt. 1

Everything looked and felt unfamiliar. The clothing of the people around Aegis, the stars in the night sky above, and the architecture of the buildings nearby,- but he felt like he had mere seconds to take it all in. At the very least, he was aware he was no longer in Arallia, but in a dungeon by the name of Hrath’mir Fortress, and his objective was to survive. That sounded favorable, given his Pacifism restriction - he didn’t need to defeat anything to beat the quest, just survive.

He watched as several fully armored priests that bore the symbol of Eirene on their chestplates ran towards, and past him, stopping at the edge of the ground they stood on to get a view of the large city below. He moved to stand alongside them to grasp the situation he was in, staring with his jaw agape at the scene before him.

Aegis stood at what appeared to be the center of a large metropolis, on the third level of a multi-leveled city, staring over the edge of this third level to view the two levels below. There was a middle level, between where he stood and the ground level, then the lowest ground level itself, being the largest of the three. It was, as far as he could tell, roughly circular shaped, each level separated by a circle of tall walls, and from here he could see that the walls surrounding all three levels of the city were manned with thousands and thousands of soldiers.

Not all of the soldiers were dressed the same, but they were divided into sections and groups based on the colors and tabards they wore. From this distance Aegis couldn't make out much of the details on the symbols the soldiers were representing, though. Only that there were a large variety of factions being represented with these soldiers - it didn't appear to be a single unified army of one tribe but a collection of smaller armies working together. What drew his eyes in more were the large siege weapons situated on and behind the walls.

Apart from the walls, he saw the people of the city fleeing from the lowest level through the gates of the 2nd level, attempting to reach the gates of the 3rd level, but the upperlevels were smaller than the 1st and he could see from above that they were already too crowded to fit more. Everyone was fleeing from something, and the soldiers were preparing for a battle. But against what, Aegis couldn't tell.

“This is terrible. Hrath’mir wasn’t designed to protect this many people.” One of the priests beside him commented as Aegis looked to see his terrified expression.

“What do you expect? Their homes were destroyed. Hrath’mir is all that's left.” Another priest replied.

“They’re coming.” A third one pointed out over the horizon across the fields that surrounded the outermost walls of the city, and towards a treeline of a great forest visible in the distance under the clear moonlit night sky. Aegis looked and saw that the trees were moving like a wave, a cloud of darkness pushing forward in the direction of the city several miles off.

“Who is coming?” Aegis asked the priest.

“The Avatars of Darkness… all of them.” He replied terrified, his eyes visibly wide under his iron helm.

“Do not fear them!” A deep voice shouted from behind, causing them to turn around and look. Aegis saw now that he stood just outside a large chapel with the symbolism of Eirene constructed all around its entrance, two knight statues flanking the door. It was built at the very edge of this highest level of the city, and compared to the other magnificent and expensive looking structures nearby, it looked miniscule and insignificant. However, despite the elegance and royal appearance of the other buildings and streets of this third level of the city, he could see in the distance the soldiers ushering citizens from the lower levels to climb up and take refuge here. There just wasn’t enough space.

The one who had spoken wore clothes similar to Abrigalas, but that is where their similarities ended, as this person was a Dark Elf, like Luryala. [Great Prophet of Eirene, Seldor(Elite) - ??]. He was stepping out of the Chapel with a staff in his hand, taking in the scene below.

“Fear only makes them stronger.” He finished.

“What should we do, Great Prophet?”

“The Avatar of Eirene should arrive shortly. She will guide us from this impending darkness. It is our duty to not give up hope until that time.” He said in a commanding voice, but as he did, it waived as Aegis followed his eyes upwards. Aegis turned to see what he was looking at, a large winged beast was flying down from the night sky, shimmering with white feathers reflecting in the lantern light of the city. The soldiers nearby cleared out of the way as the creature got closer and eventually landed on the paved stone of the city in front of the chapel.

Aegis knew what this creature was, he’d seen them and heard of them before, but never so lifelike. The front of the beast looked like a giant, large, majestic snowy white eagle, while the back half from the torso onward was a large muscular lion. Talons and a beak, wings and paws. This was undoubtedly a gryphon. The gryphon was armored and saddled, and riding on its back was another Priest of Eirene with dents in his armor, looking badly wounded as he stumbled off its back.

“Greater heal!” The Great Prophet shouted as he rushed over and caught the soldier before he hit the ground.

“Sir… the Avatar of Eirene… the caravan, they were overtaken at the western pass. The minions of fear... There were so many.” He struggled to get the words out, and as he did Aegis felt the wave of panic wash over every priest who heard it. The Great Prophet looked up at the stars while he helped the soldier back to his feet, his wounds now mended.

“Aegis, Lindor… please…” The Great Prophet whispered in prayer, and as he did Aegis looked up at the night sky to see that where the star Aegis shone brightly above was a second star glowing bright beside it that hadn’t been there on the night he stargazed with Clara. “What should we do?” He asked, but there was no answer, instead all the Priests looked at him expectantly for a few moments. Aegis looked back towards the city's outerwalls and saw the wave of darkness had passed the treeline and was now making its way across the open fields towards the city. Catapults and ballista began firing at the wave, and their burning projectiles crashing into the fields around the city illuminated for Aegis just what was within that wave of darkness. It looked to be an army of humanoid soldiers covered in black skin and tendrils, beyond anything Aegis had seen thus far - but it was hard to make out any real details from this distance.

“Survive…” Aegis mumbled to himself as he tried to grasp what the win condition was for this quest.

“The Silver Dragons, where are they going?” A priest suddenly drew Aegis’ attention to the skies far to the east of the city, where a flock of large winged creatures could be seen flying away, the moonlight reflecting off of their scales.

“They’re abandoning this land.” Another priest replied.

“Do not lose hope, you fools. If the followers of Eirene lose hope, then all is truly lost. I will pray to the High Priests in the remaining citadels, asking them to aid us with their light. The rest of you, it is your duty to protect these people. Spread the light of Eirene, and fear no darkness. Do not let this city fall.” The Great Prophet commanded them before turning to go back into the chapel. Once he was gone, Aegis looked around only to see the priests looking afraid and taking no action.

“We’re Priests of Eirene, our magic and healing can turn the tides of battle. We should assist the soldiers at the front lines.” Aegis suggested, pointing down to the main outer gate of the first level of the city that was soon to be under siege by the impending wave of darkness. “What's the fastest way to get down there?!” Aegis asked them.

“T-this way. I will lead us.” One brave priest spoke up after a moment of silence, and ran ahead. Aegis and a few others followed him, but the rest remained still, petrified in fear. As fast as Aegis and the other Priests of Eirene ran, they weren’t quick enough and the city was massive. The crowds of citizens running against them to flee the darkness didn’t help matters either. They’d started on the third level of the three leveled city, and by the time they’d arrived at the walls of the second level, Aegis could see in the distance that the battle had reached the outer walls. The flashing of magic flew left and right, fire, ice, lighting, arcane, arrows, explosions - it all mixed in with the misty darkness that overtook the walls. The darkness itself writhed as if it was alive, eerily similar to the darkness of the abyss that Aegis had just flown over on the Airship.

As Aegis stood along the wall with his fellow Eirene Priests, he looked around to see the soldiers manning this wall were all anxiously watching the battle in the distance, loading and firing their siege weaponry with arrows nocked. They were wearing the symbolism of the god Zeus, with lightning bolts engraved into their armor rather than stars like Aegis, and there were thousands of them by comparison to the handful of Eirene priests Aegis had seen.

“We need to get down there and help them, to hold the outer walls!” Aegis shouted at one NPC he'd spotted leading them, [Zeus Commander - ??].

“Are you mad? The outer gates won’t last, you’ll never make it in time.” He shouted back at Aegis as if he was insane. “This gate stays closed. If you want to be useful, help us hold this line.” He commanded Aegis, and Aegis took a deep breath. Looking at the length of the straight road leading from the outer gate, to the gate he stood at on the 2nd level of the city, he knew the Zeus commander was right, Aegis couldn’t get there fast enough. A few moments later, a large booming blast exploded at the outer gate, shaking the very ground they stood on as the outerwall and gate of the city exploded inward, sending chunks of rubble crashing down on the nearby buildings within the city's lowest level. Through the dust and debris of the explosion flooded in a wave of soldiers with thick black skin. Their bodies were uneven in muscularity, most having oversized arms or legs with armor infused into their skin. Glowing red eyes, sometimes one, sometimes three - whatever these creatures were, they were not uniform in appearance. Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Ready your arrows!” The Zeus commander shouted as a battalion of archers wielding longbows behind the walls all nocked arrows. Despite it being just a game, the realism was getting to him and he felt as though he truly was in the midst of a great battle. The sight of the hordes of enemies flooding down the main road towards them out of the darkness was absolutely terrifying. They let out horrendous screeches and roars, some of them breaking off of the main road to burst through the doors and windows of the shops and homes lining the street, and from within the buildings Aegis could hear the screams of terror coming from citizens who had been trying to hide within them.

Pure primal fear began to creep up on Aegis as his hair stood on end from hearing the screams. It was just a game, he had to remind himself. He couldn’t see what was happening to the NPCs that were being engulfed by the wave of darkness as it crept over the city, but he imagined it involved their health bars hitting 0 very quickly.

“Steady!” The Zeus commander shouted as the wave of darkness closed in on the 2nd wall of Hrath’mir. The sounds of the roaring creatures got louder as they closed in, the stampeding of their feet shaking the walls that Aegis and the other priests stood on.

“W-what should we do, sir?” One of the Eirene priests turned to Aegis expectantly. He turned to see that there were only four of them now, the rest could be seen running for their lives away from the wall, back to the upper third level of the city. Aegis took out his shield and fastened it to his left arm.

“C’mon, think logically. This is a quest, the clear condition is to survival without losing pacifism.” Aegis whispered to himself anxiously. He could only reach one conclusion. “Heal the soldiers of Zeus, we can’t let them take the 2nd wall. Use everything you can to assist them.” Aegis ordered them and they all gave nods.

“YOUR LIGHTNING GOD WILL NOT SAVE YOU! YOUR SUFFERING FEEDS ME!” A loud booming voice shouted out from the darkness up at the walls.

“WE DO NOT FEAR YOU, AVATAR OF SUFFERING! FIRE!” The Zeus commander roared back. A rain of lightning-enchanted arrows flew over top of Aegis head and soared down on the creatures below, many of them being pierced and collapsing to the ground. Following that, Aegis watched as several Wizards on the walls began waving their staves, calling forth lightning from their hands and sending blasts of electricity forward into the encroaching forces.

A ball of flames from a nearby trebuchet crashed down onto the enemies soldiers, exploding flames and engulfing them with burning oil, causing them to writhe in pain and fall. Aegis saw a shimmer of hope, the soldiers of Zeus were strong and doing massive damage, it looked, for just a moment, that they stood a chance. That was, until Aegis saw it.

[Avatar of Suffering(Elite) - ??]. A tall black humanoid Knight adorned in pure black armor wielding a long sleek black wooden staff with a purple gem atop it. He stepped forward out of the dark mist alongside the hordes of dark soldiers swarming around him.

“Suffer!” He screeched in a maniacal high pitched voice, and as he did, a volley of black bolts of energy fired from the top of his staff towards the soldiers and wizards on the wall. Aegis dashed forward and slid in front of one of the Wizards with his shield up, then snapped his finger to create a guard in front of another. He’d managed to block two of the bolts.

You take 230 Shadow damage.

You are immune to this spell's effect and ignore it.

You take 301 Shadow damage.

You are immune to this spell's effect and ignore it.

There wasn't a lot of damage, but the effect part confused Aegis. It wasn’t until he looked over at the Wizards and Soldiers that’d been hit that he understood. The ones that had been hit did not die from the damage, but instead started writhing in pain, dropping to their knees and clawing at the point of impact. The bolt of energy didn’t simply explode and disperse, it began growing out tendrils and wrapping darkness around the affected soldiers.

“Finish them, before they become ghouls of suffering!” the Zeus commander ordered. Without any hesitation, the nearby soldiers on the walls drew their weapons and slashed at the writhing soldiers, killing them. Aegis wasn’t able to see the full effects of what the spell would’ve done, but he had an idea given the Zeus soldier’s reactions to it.

Looking closely now at the soldiers of darkness as they crashed into the walls and gates below, Aegis saw that the armor infused into their dark skin bore the symbols of Thor, Aphrodite, and other gods. These soldiers were not just mindless monsters - they were the defenders of the outer walls turned intoabominations. As this thought settled in, Aegis saw the Avatar of Suffering preparing another spell, and he knew what he had to do.

“Soldiers of Eirene, it’s our duty to stop that Avatar!” Aegis shouted. "Commander, hold back the ghouls and focus your attacks on the Avatar, we’ll do our best to prevent him from spreading his suffering magic!” Aegis shouted. The Zeus Commander looked at Aegis as though he was crazy, but Aegis didn’t have time to hesitate and jumped off the wall into the approaching swarm of ghouls.

“Healing Wind!” Aegis shouted as he flashed a bright white light within the darkness, drawing attention to himself from all that could see him, including the Avatar of Suffering. The Avatar fired another volley of bolts towards the walls, but this time Aegis was in range to cast a Guard right in front of the volley to block all 8 bolts.

He took the full damage from all 8 attacks, but he was immune to its effects, and seeing Aegis do this seemed to inspire hope in both the Zeus Commander, and the Eirene priests with him. The four Eirene priests jumped off the wall after Aegis and began casting healing magic on him.

“Assist the Eirene priests. Show them how the soldiers of Zeus light up the skies!” The Commander roared as blasts of lightning magic and arrows began to zoom past Aegis towards the Avatar.

“Ah, a light bearer. Disgusting, how you think you are immune to the sufferings of this world. Let me show you just how wrong you are.” The Avatar screeched angrily as he stomped forward towards Aegis.

“Hold the gate, secure it and don’t let the Avatar of Sufferings attacks pass our shields.” Aegis shouted to the Eirene priests who stood bravely behind him. As the archers and wizards on the walls cleared the ghouls of suffering near the gates, Aegis got a clear view of their name plates for the first time. [Suffering Ghoul - Level 30], the one he spotted said, though their levels varied and most were lower than 30. Some were even as low as level 1 and Aegis watched them fall from just being near the impact point of a lightning spell that crashed down around him from the walls above.

“Hrrraaah!” The Avatar stomped towards Aegis, waving his staff. A spear made of shadow formed in front of him and shot forward, but Aegis could easily brace it.

You take 120 Shadow Damage.

He continued to march forward, sending attacks at Aegis unrelenting as he began to cackle hysterically, despite the fact that arrows began to pierce his armor and black blood could be seen dripping down the dented black metal.

“Hahaha, HAHAHA!” He continued to laugh, as a bolt of lightning struck him, and a blast of flames erupted at his feet. It wasn’t that he wasn’t taking damage - he was taking a lot. The damage numbers far surpassed what Aegis had ever seen his party members deal back in the Caverns of Jia’nar. No, it was more as if the Avatar didn’t care, and was enjoying the damage. In fact, it looked as if he was getting stronger, and it was showing in his attacks as he sent another shadow spear at Aegis.

You take 340 Shadow Damage.

It was then that it clicked in Aegis’ head. Avatar of Suffering, is getting stronger from taking damage? It didn’t make sense. Aegis was stopping his advance by making his attacks focus on himself, but if Aegis’ theory was right, something like the Avatar of Suffering couldn’t be defeated by dealing damage to it.

“Pacifism…” Aegis thought out loud as an idea popped into his head. “Zeus Commander, stop your attacks on the Avatar of Suffering, you’re only making him stronger!” He shouted up at him.

“We must stop his advance at all costs. If the North gate falls, we stand no chance!” The Commander argued back.

“Please, just trust me! Focus your attacks elsewhere!” Aegis shouted at him as loud as he could. The Zeus Commander stared down at Aegis hesitantly for a moment before giving a hesitant nod.

“Clear the battlefield of ghouls, leave the Avatar to the Eirene Priests!” The Zeus Commander shouted, and his soldiers listened immediately. The arrows and spells focused on the smaller ghouls surrounding them. Once they had some breathing room, Aegis turned his focus back to the approaching Avatar of Suffering as the black mist followed him closer to the inner walls of Hrath’mir.

“Priests of Eirene, focus your healing light magic on the Avatar of Suffering. Make him at peace with this world!” Aegis shouted, and immediately after giving this order, the Avatar’s laughing stopped, as did his approach. He seemed to be getting serious, which told Aegis he had the right idea. The four Eirene Priests ran up to Aegis' side obediently and prepared to charge the Avatar.

“Minor heal is a touch spell, we need to get close.” Aegis said to them and they all nodded, shields drawn as they broke into a charge towards the Avatar of Suffering, with glowing light on their fingertips.

“Keep your filth away from me!” The Avatar shouted in a rage as he stomped his feet down on the paved roads of Hrath’mir, littered with the bodies of fallen ghouls. As he stomped, black slimy tendrils shot out from the base of his staff and began to writhe across the ground, growing wildly in all directions and thickening the further they got from the Avatar.

The Eirene priests were nimble, dashing left and right to avoid the tendrils as they attempted to grab them. Any close calls they had in getting snatched, Aegis snapped his fingers and created a guard against the tendril, clearing a path for them right up to the Avatar of Suffering. One by one they reached out and healed him, but rather than filling him with warmth, he screamed in agony as the light infused itself into his black armor.

It was working, the first set of heals served as a shock and he wasn’t able to run, writhing in pain from the light as they continued to heal him, Aegis making sure to use his guard skill to protect the priests from any incoming attacks. But Aegis had gotten ahead of himself. A sudden loud stomping began to ring out from within the black mist behind the Avatar, and the silhouet of something large could be seen approaching, ghouls swarming around its gigantic legs.

[Corrupted Avatar of Zeus - ??]. It looked as though it was once a rhinoceros of sorts, but it had black bulges of pulsing skin all over its body. Its horn was shaped like a lightning bolt and gave off flickering yellow sparks, but nothing else about the creature resembled Zeus. It let out a horrific screeching roar before a blast of electrical energy shot out of its horn at the Avatar of Suffering.

“Dodge it!” Aegis shouted at the four Eirene priests, and they dashed to the side to avoid the large beam of energy that flew through the Avatar and beyond Aegis, directly at the gate behind him, exploding it into a burst of shattered wood and stone. The strike on the Avatar of Suffering caused him to twitch and twinge as residual sparks remained on his armor, flowing over his body. He let out a relaxing sigh of relief after he’d been hit, as if it undid the damage that the Eirene priests had caused with their healing.

“You revolting fiend, what have you done to our Avatar!?” The Zeus commander shouted in horror once he’d spotted the corrupted beast.

“I improved him. I have made him the embodiment of suffering.” The Avatar said as he took a few steps back to pet the snout of the rhino-like creature. “Don’t worry, he’s still awake in there. He sees and feels everything he is doing, he simply has no control over his body. He gets to enjoy watching his power be used to rip and tear to shreds the very things he sought to protect. IS THAT NOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FORM OF SUFFERING YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE?!” The Avatar screeched out with a cackle.

“Priest of Eirene, purge that insidious creature from this world with all the light you can muster!” The Zeus commander shouted in a rage. Aegis took a fighting stance and looked to do just that, the four Eirene priests quickly pushing their way back to his side as the ghouls rushed past the five of them towards the now destroyed gate.

“YOUUU SOUND ANGRYYY!” A third, unidentified voice yelled out from behind Aegis. This voice sent chills down Aegis’ spine, it was like a deep roar, but at the same time, an echoing whisper. “YOUR ANGER, IT FEEDS ME!” A floating wraith-like creature was hovering over the top of the walls, leaving behind a trail of black smoky mist as it soared towards the Zeus Commander. As it passed by the Zeus soldiers on the walls it seemed to be growing in size, knocking them off and slashing gigantic boney claws out at them, dealing large damage numbers as it got closer and closer towards the Commander and the Gate. Aegis couldn’t make out any of its intricate details, only that it wore a black hooded cloak and looked skeletal in form underneath, and had [Avatar of Anger(Elite) - ??] above its head.

“Sir, the Eastern Gate, it’s fallen! The armies of anger have breached the second level!” One of the Eirene priests shouted to Aegis anxiously.

Aegis had to think fast as he watched the Avatar of Anger close in on the Zeus commander.

“You have to stop being angry. You’re making it stronger!” Aegis shouted out, panic stricken, but as he said these words he knew it was impossible.

“So much optimism! I want to taste your suffering! I BET IT IS DELICIOUS!” The Avatar of Suffering shouted gleefully as he suddenly charged at Aegis from behind, the corrupted Avatar of Zeus at his side. He couldn’t do anything to help the Zeus Commander. When Aegis turned to protect himself from Suffering’s attacks, he heard a scream of agony coming from atop the wall. He could only glance back and see the Avatar of Anger lift up the Commander by the neck using its bony claws and seemingly suck the life force out of him.

That was bad enough, but Aegis and the other Eirene priests were pushed back towards the destroyed gate and couldn’t see more of what was happening on the walls. They did their best to hold the line at the gate, blocking attacks and impeding the ghouls from passing as the dark mist closed in on them, the Avatar of Suffering smirking from beneath his black helmet with the stomping Rhino beside him as they too walked forwards towards the destroyed gate.

Once Aegis and the other priests were forced back through the gate and could see the tops of the wall again from the inside, Aegis watched the Avatar of Anger fling the lifeless body of the Zeus commander down at him and the Eirene priests with great force. They avoided his body, breaking up their formation of five as the ghouls began to swarm past them. The only reason they hadn’t fallen yet is that it seemed the ghouls were avoiding attacking them, as if afraid of them, and this allowed Aegis to see the Zeus commander’s skin suddenly turn a white-ish blue, as he twitched around on the ground and eventually stood back up, his name changing.

[Anger Ghoul - Level 55] appeared above his head as he let out a terrifying screech and launched at one of the Eirene priests with bonelike claws that had replaced his fingers and broken through the tips of his gauntlets. Aegis was caught off guard by the entire scene unfolding before him, like that of a horror film, and couldn’t react quickly enough to block or heal as the Anger Ghoul took out one, then another Priest of Eirene. The remaining two saw Aegis’ look of shock and tried to flee amongst the other remaining Zeus soldiers that were now retreating back into the city towards the third level gates.

Aegis glanced to the east and saw indeed, the eastern gate had already fallen and the anger ghouls were swarming through the second level of the city, the black mist overtaking it. The screams of all the citizens that Aegis had seen crammed in the streets just moments ago from when he was on the third level could now be heard echoing all around him.

“Do you hear that sound, Priest of Eirene? It’s like a symphony of suffering, made just for me.” The Avatar of Suffering said mockingly as he moved to stand a few meters away. “Allow me to play you the chorus!” He screeched as he thrust his staff at Aegis, but at this point Aegis didn’t know what to do - he was completely overwhelmed by the difficulty of the scenario, how utterly hopeless it seemed, and as his mind was distracted, the spell that Suffering had cast on him had hit him without his shield to block it.

Aegis underestimated the consequences of being hit by one of his spells directly. Blind, searing white hot pain and agony surged through him, he felt as if his insides were melting and being ripped apart at the same time, all the while he had only taken a miniscule amount of damage.

You take 120 Shadow damage.

You take 123 Shadow damage.

You take 119 Shadow damage.

Every second that passed he took a bit more damage, it happened at short enough intervals that at no point did he ever get to stop feeling pain. It wouldn’t stop, unending agony at 100% pain threshold, and he couldn’t move, he’d been afflicted by paralysis and forced to suffer slowly through it until his health hit 0. He lost control of his senses, barely aware of the Avatar of Suffering cackling maniacally while standing over him, watching him writhe in pain as he held the tip of his staff pressed against Aegis’ chest.

*WARNING*

Mental Stress Levels are nearing the safe limit. You will be forcibly removed from the simulation if the current level of stress continues or increases.

[Force Log out] Take a break from the game and relax, you will respawn at the nearest Graveyard.

[Lower Pain Threshold] Threshold Change is currently Available for your account.

[Ignore] Keep Playing, acknowledging that Averon is not liable for any damages caused by continuing Simulation. (If conditions persists or worsen you will be logged out against your will as part of our Terms of Service)

Aegis didn’t have time to read the warning message, or press any button, as after a few moments more of taking damage a second message appeared.

*WARNING*

Mental stress levels have gone beyond the safe limit. You are being forcibly removed from the simulation. Emergency services will be called within 60 seconds unless otherwise instructed.

Eli’s vision went black for a second before he saw the Simbox opening up in front of him. He was covered in cold sweat as he stood up, breathing heavily and panting. He had to grab the side of his Simbox and lean against it, his legs wobbling still from the experience as he fumbled to press a button on the Simbox screen to cancel the emergency services call. Once he had, he stumbled over to the couch to recompose himself.

It took him a solid 10 minutes before he mustered up the nerve to stand back up. No longer sweating or breathing heavily, he walked back to his Simbox, double checking to see Jillian lying peacefully in hers. He was about to climb back in, but it was as if his body was resisting it. It took him a moment to come to terms with the reason - he was afraid of this quest. Once he’d realized it, he slapped himself hard on the face.

“Come on Eli, it’s just a game. You knew this quest was going to be hard. Get your shit together. It’s a test, you just need to figure out the solution.” He said to himself to psych himself up. “Round two, let's go.” He finally mustered up the courage and climbed back into the Simbox.

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