The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes

Picking up the [Sublime Nectar Flower] was fairly easy, he just had to go up to a large, pale yellow flower, and wait five seconds for it to collect automatically.

It was about twixe the size of his palm, and had two layers of petals: large ones which hung clearly out to the side, and smaller, nearly-white ones bending upwards over them. The small petals almost looked bleached. The description read, 'A precious flower, it can be used to create [Sunray Elixir], which enhances healing spells.'

As he made his way back to Kruxol, he saw a small scattering of players making their way out into the wild, but most had been scared off by the sight of the Hashin arrival. As such, it was a fairly peaceful journey through the Northern trees, which shivered in a cool, gentle wind as noon approached.

Soon, he saw the edge of the tree-line and a few ruined buildings in front of him, a sign that he was nearing Kruxol.

However, before he could reach, he was interrupted by a loud outbreak of shouting behind him.

"Hey, Mara, I see someone!"

"It must be the Hashin Mage Toby was on about, Mara! He went North to get herbs, bet he's coming back now!"

"Yeah, Mitt, looks like Hashin to me! Let's get him!"

The last voice was brusque and hysterical, and clearly belonged to a female. It must have been Mara, because the others began to charge towards Cael through the trees.

Looking back quickly, Cael saw that these players had been riding horse and donkey Mounts to save energy, probably on their way back to Kruxol after a long journey. However, they dismounted in order to chase him more easily through the trees.

The trees here were fairly sparse, so he was able to run straight between them, occasionally taking a long step over some soft bushes.

Due to the movement speed buff, he was able to keep them at a distance as he raced towards Kruxol, although he had to veer sharply right to avoid one of them, a quick [Ranger] running in from his left. As he tried to weave around the ruined buildings to Kruxol, the players kept shouting after him.

"Don't think you can escape, Hashin!"

"We'll protect Kruxol from you!"

"I bet your leader's shocked when he sees what we'll do to you!"

Mara was the most bloodthirsty and enthusiastic, clearly enjoying the thrill of the chase. Her voice was fairly high-pitched, almost carefree-sounding, but took on a gravelly vocal fry when she was excited.

Although the Ranger nearly caught up with Cael again, a [Mana Strike] sent him flying away before the chase resumed.

Kruxol's buildings loomed closer, and it looked like Cael was close to safety.

But, to the surprise of his pursuers, he suddenly stopped cold. He had found himself trapped by walls on both sides.

In his rush, he had taken a wrong turn while winding around the abandoned buildings, and ended up in a cul-de-sac surrounded by three ruined buildings which blocked his escape. The doors to the buildings were barred from this side, so he had no way past.

Giving up on escape, he turned to face his pursuers.

They spread out to block his only way out. However, he noticed that the two males beside Mara seemed skittish.

"Mara, wait! That guy's not Hashin," the level 48 Ranger said, backing off.

"REALLY? Then why'd he run away like that?" Mara replied mockingly.

Despite her wiry frame, she cut a dominant figure among the group. The other two stood silent for a moment, reluctant to disagree with their leader even in an obvious matter. She stood confidently, like a lighthouse guiding her companions' roughshod ships, with her curly, blonde-dyed hair lighting up brightly in the sunlight.

"But... well, don't you see? Under his name, there's no Guild..." the Ranger mustered.

"Yeah, he's right, this guy can't be from the Hashin," the other male chimed in.

He was a level 45 warrior named [Mitrias], and seemed reluctant to fight. He didn't want to attack an innocent player, and also knew that Cael was higher-level than him and any conflict would be a personal risk.

Mara huffed. "Come on, you know Hashin can hide their Guild tag. Hashin are big cheats, you know? Stop being cowards. Let's attack before he gets away!"

Her compatriots were shaken by the charge of cowardice, since it wasn't far off the mark. Mages had a fearsome reputation for powerful area-of-effect attacks. While Mara might make it through the fight, the two of them could easily become cannon fodder, since she couldn't really shield them. And they had heard the rumours of IRL death, for which more evidence turned up with every passing day.

They still backed away, unwilling to get involved in the fight.

The Mage didn't seem intent on a fight, so they hoped she would take the hint and de-escalate.

However, she was unwilling to admit to any mistake, and flustered by the Mage nearly managing to get away. After the Hashin killed her friend, she was convinced that fortune owed her revenge.

Besides, killing a suspected Hashin would get her Guild more clout in Kruxol. After all, people didn't care about the details, they always listened eagerly when she had a story to tell. Neuro had already won some fame by fighting against DeathGang, but the news that they were now targeting the more fearsome Hashin would spread the word.

"Come on, you guys were leaping around everywhere to help in the dungeon! Why hide now?" she tried.

"Um... I just have a bad feeling about this..." the Ranger replied.

She shrugged in frustration, staring daggers at her compatriots.

As she shrugged, her loose tank top fell off one shoulder, and she hastily raised a hand to slip it back on. Her face and hands turned a pale white from embarrassment.

Noticing Mitrias staring at her exposed chest, she stared at him with rage in her grey eyes, a stare which caused him to stumble backwards with its venom.

But, to his relief, she quietly turned her eyes back towards the Mage, who stood expressionless on the far-side of the enclosed area.

Although her companions' behaviour annoyed her, she was confident.

After all, she was a level 60 warrior, easily over Cael's level. Her [White-Hilted Longsword] was brand new, a reward from a boss fight up North, and increased her max HP and CON significantly. And now she would get the chance to use it.

Brandishing it calmly, she charged forwards to close the distance between her and the Mage.

To delay her charge, Cael cast [Spark].

About six metres away from him, her steps slowed to a weak, uneven limp as her body began to collapse under the pressure of the mana. She had been expecting a [Mana Strike], and was preparing to use the [Fall Recovery] skill to roll to her feet immediately, but this spell caught her by surprise.

Soon, her feet gave way and she began to wilt towards the ground. This was exacerbated as she instinctively used [Fall Recovery], but had no energy to roll and just fell awkwardly to the ground. She lay there clenching her teeth in pain, as she felt a sharp pain rise from her now-twisted ankle.

This result was more than Cael was expecting, since she was a high-level warrior in good shape and could usually have braved the spell. However, due to his extreme INT the spell had overwhelmed her quickly, and been much more potent than she could have expected.

Cael began to charge a [Mana Sphere], while looking threateningly at Mara's two allies to make sure they wouldn't try to join in. The sphere glowed brighter and brighter, and he could cast it at either of them if they got in the way. Whenever they began to step forwards, he pointed it towards them, leaning forwards threateningly until they backed off.

They reluctantly stayed out of the way, but from their relaxed expressions still seemed confident that Mara would win solo. They weren't paying much attention to the details of the fight, except for nervously wondering if it was worth getting involved to appease Mara.

Only Cael had noticed Mara's pained expression as she lay hidden by the shadows of the ruins, her face contorting like a white clay mask over a fire. Her allies still thought everything was fine.

As the sphere charged, he stepped away to the side in order to put more distance between him and Mara. Attacking from range was a significant advantage for a Mage, so he tried to maximise the distance between them.

Finally, the fully-charged [Mana Sphere] was cast towards Mara, who was still groaning quietly on the floor - which in her light, high-pitched voice sounded almost like a whisper - and trying to get up.

Too late, she saw its light flash before her eyes, and tried to twist away but had no time.

It crashed into her with the sound of stormy waves on rocks.

She flattened against the ground, and cried out in pain. The sphere had landed in the area around her spine, left shoulder and the back of her neck, and she instinctively raised her left hand to the burning pain across her neck and spine.

Her ankle was also flaring up, after her desperate last-ditch attempt to avoid the attack.

Her eyes widened, and she tried to push herself up, sensing that this fight was more urgent than she had expected.

Before she could get up, Cael struck with a [Mana Beam], targeting her spine. This sent her flat against the ground again, and her spine quivered anarchically at the impact.

By now, she was on only 40% HP. The fully-charged Mana Sphere was incredibly powerful, when cast with a high INT.

Frustrated, she let out a cry of frustration and jumped to her feet. She flinched violently when she felt a sharp spinal pain as she tried to stand up straight, and again after an additional surge of pain from her ankle. She almost fell down, but managed to lean awkwardly to the left until she luckily found a comfortable position to stand without her ankle hurting too much. Her hands were frozen around her sword's hilt like centuries-old marble.

Despite the pain, she was determined, and began to run unevenly towards Cael again.

He took a few steps back, then cast [Mana Strike] to shove her harshly backwards. He had several ways to force her to keep distance, and with her aching spine it would be difficult for her to catch him. If she was at close-range, then she would usually have a clear advantage, but it wouldn't be easy to get there.

Due to her awkward posture, the spell's impact sent her spinning helplessly back across the ground. She skidded bruisingly against the dirt, trying to keep some semblance of balance, but eventually fell flat on her face with a high-pitched yelp.

"I knew it! You Hashin never play fair! But there's no way I lose to a weaker player like you, it's never happened," she said, running her mouth to console herself as she tried painedly to stand up again.

She sounded almost inebriated.

She turned her face angrily towards her allies, and the Ranger hesitantly began to approach Cael.

However, a [Magic Missile] was soon released, hitting both Mara and the Ranger.

She lost balance, landing awkwardly on her twisted right ankle, and threw herself meekly to the ground avoid exacerbating it. With no trace left of her early enthusiasm, she hit the ground like a leaf falling into Lethean waters, and found the dirt's soft embrace unexpectedly warm and comforting.

Meanwhile, the impact sent the Ranger staggering back, and he was reduced to 35% HP by one attack.

After looking blankly at his HP bar for a second, he began to run away, ushering Mitrias to join him in retreating to Kruxol.

"She's going to get us both killed! You know, maybe for good!" he shouted frantically, well aware that some players hadn't recovered from dying in this game.

"That lady has a death-wish!" Mitrias replied.

He was still bitter that she had caught him gawking at her breasts.

"You said it!"

Mitrias joined in the retreat, and the two set off hastily.

Meanwhile, a sense of defeat setting in, Mara pawed at the ground in frustration. "Cowards... but I can't give up just yet."

She wasn't used to being disobeyed, since she was one of the few females in a mostly-male Guild, and one of the better-looking.

She looked after them in askance for a few seconds, then virulently kicked and shoved her way back up to her feet. As she prepared to charge Cael again, he cast [Divine Mandate], reducing her to 30% HP and slowing her down. She trudged towards him aggressively, but her slow run gave him time.

He backstepped around the area while charging a [Mana Sphere]. When the slow-down effect ended, she finally managed to close in on him.

As she reached about a step away from him, he released the [Mana Sphere] right between her ribs. Her face deflated and she collapsed backwards. The spell was stronger due to her proximity, and she now had only 3% HP remaining as she rolled helplessly on the ground.

She had to use her legs to stop her motion, and shook heavily with pain as her ankle touched the ground.

For a moment, as she lay still, the area was completely silent.

Facing the dirt, she let out a plaintive sigh. She raised her expressionless, pale face towards Cael, propping it on her right fist, and spoke, barely a whisper.

"Hey, that elixir you're carrying... it's from the Cleric quest, isn't it? I should have seen it before. So you're a Cleric who was coming back, not Hashin, then?"

She pointed weakly at the small brown pouch hung around Cael's waist, which he had been given to store the quest item. Her eyes looked towards it too, like someone in a dream who had suddenly become lucid.

"That's right," he replied simply.

"I'm sorry! So sorry. Well, I screwed up, huh. Please forgive me, I'll leave you alone, I promise. We're not Hashin, who have to kill people in here, we can live in peace. Right?"

Seeing Cael's calm disposition, and stillness, through her clouded eyes, she assumed he was on board. But looking at her low HP bar, she shuddered violently on realising that, even if he let her be, any accidental damage from the environment could still kill her.

"Thank you, thank you!" she cried, through delirious tears. "Um. But... look, weird request, since you're a Cleric, would you mind healing me? I can't go back in this condition. I'll make it up to you, I swear."

"After you attacked me? You're sure confident, asking for help after all that."

Cael's voice was gruff, but lightly amused rather than fully hostile.

"Yeah, yeah, it was weird, I know! Um, but... look, I can be helpful, I'm, um, the leader of my Guild. Or I will be. Don't look at me so skeptically! Actually, after this... humiliation, I doubt they'll let me. But I'm still strong. And guys in my Guild worship me... Or they did, until you scared them away!" She tittered quietly, despite the situation. "Look, I can use my influence to help you out. Or I can help you personally. Honestly, I'll give you anything you want. Just get me back to Kruxol in one piece, kay?"

Cael knew that he had no way to hold her to that promise once she got back to Kruxol, and he didn't trust her. While she did actually seem willing to follow through with her words as she excitedly spoke them, people like her were like leaves in a tempest wind, and could easily change their minds in the spur of a moment. As the possible leader of a minor Guild, she was unlikely to be able to offer much, even if she wanted to.

She had seemingly been on a high due to the positive attention she received as a top Guild player, as well as due to her looks. Due to this, she had been impulsive and over-confident, since generally she was used to things going her way effortlessly. After hearing about her friend being killed by Hashin, she felt powerless and tried to make up for it with this impulsive attack.

If Cael wasn't highly overpowered for a Mage at his level, he would have been in a difficult spot.

But now he had won out.

"So you're going to lead your Guild? Why'd they pick a crazy girl like you?" he asked, with a hint of his stony Eastern European accent.

She giggled. "Oh, don't write me off like that. I have more talent than you'd think. You just made me look weak. Honestly, I'm impressed, how come you aren't in a Guild with skills like that? I bet you'd become a senior member."

"Sign-ups are closed. Good to know that if you're going to lead a Guild!"

"Ah! Oh yeah, heck, I forgot. Honestly, you could probably get far in a bigger Guild like Communion. They're our allies, I could put in a good word for you if sign-ups started up."

"Aren't Communion pretty small as well?"

She seemed surprised. "No, they're like thrice our size, when I go to meet them they have tons of players active... Well, I guess my Guild is a bit small. Maybe for some of you guys who know the big Guilds, we all look small. Heh." A sheepish pause. She knew that admitting her Guild's small size didn't help her bargaining position. She wasn't entirely sure why she had blabbed that out. "Look, I hope you don't hate me for what I've done? You don't, right? I'm so, so sorry. Just help me up, I'll make it all up to you."

She stretched out her warm hand.

He began walking forwards gently, and her heartbeat skipped around excitedly, loud enough to hear.

He began to reach out his hand, but instead of grasping hers, he used it to cast [Spark]. She withered back to the ground face-first, and, although her mouth opened to plead further, no words came out. Instead, her face scrunched up and tears began to flow freely.

Thoughts raced like sighs through her mind. 'It's not fair! I persuaded him! I thought I did - and I must have, why wouldn't a guy... I shouldn't die like this... I still have to know...' She was cut off when her head went numb and she had to put her remaining effort into painfully continuing to breathe.

Her ribs felt like blades were sticking into them with every breath that swelled through them.

Finally, as her face drooped weakly into the dirt, Cael used [Dark's Tendrils] to kill her off.

The tendrils wrapped around her arms and legs, which were spread like a starfish, and drained the last life from her.

Since she had just been busy with dungeons and quests in the North, she gave plenty of drops. He'd have to go through them more thoroughly later.

Some of the more interesting ones he glanced included an [Alchemist's Mortar], which could be used to begin learning the Alchemy tradeskill, a [Sealion Necklace] which increased Sailing skill, and a pair of [Starfish Gloves] which increased Alchemy skill. In fact, she seemed to have dropped a few more items from the Starfish set, which would all boost Alchemy. This would help when he started the tradeskill, which he'd probably try out in the evening when he was tired after coming back from dungeons.

Presumably this meant she had been at the so-called 'Aquarium Dungeon', a level 50 dungeon to the Northwest of Kruxol where players fought their way through a set of claustrophobic underground tunnels bordering a lake. Through glass panels, players could see the teeming wildlife of the lake, and most drops were based on an aquatic theme. The dungeon had an optional boss, [Poseidon Devotee], and judging from the quantity of drops Mara had fought that as well.

She also dropped 100,000 gold, which wasn't bad. He could get more by selling some of the items she dropped which he didn't have a use for.

There were a few items there that would help with later content like Sailing, he could keep them in [Storage] and come back to them when they became useful.

He walked around until he found the entrance to one of these ruined buildings, where he hid behind a large, fallen stack of cupboards and drawers. A few people passed by on the way Northwards, but not many.

He heard a few [Neuro] players on their way to look for Mara, but they seemed to think she would be further North. They raced Northwards on their Mounts, not even glancing towards the ruins. A few of them got cold feet and could be heard returning to Kruxol, afraid to go out into the wild where Hashin had been seen so recently.

While waiting for his redname to expire, he looked through his inventory again for anything else buried among Mara's drops. He found something useful which he had overlooked in his first, cursory look through: a small [Vested Power Spell Scroll]. This was a rare drop from enemies of the type 'Devotee,' such as the [Poseidon Devotee] boss.

It allowed you to temporarily designate someone as a [Magical Puppet], changing a few things like the element of their next attacks to match your last spell. In testing, it had been found useful for taking advantage of bosses with weaknesses to certain elements or types of damage. He wasn't entirely sure about the details, and he couldn't read the scroll clearly in the dark, shadowy ruins.

He also found a few odds and ends among the loot, including a few incomplete Fragments of various items, a [Kaxil Regional Map] which updated his map to display landmarks in the area near Kaxil, and a few notes and postcards.

Soon, the redname had worn off. He had a short walk to Kruxol, and in under a minute he was back.

A few [Neuro] players hovered around the edge of the Kruxol border, pestering anyone who entered with questions about whether they had seen Mara. However, he just shrugged it off, saying he didn't know who that was, and made his way back towards the Cleric trainer.

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