The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes

Chapter 143: Out From Below

Crucis quickly swam up towards the statue, and found a small, white panel next to it.

Sliding this open allowed him to pass up, through a square-shaped opening, and he emerged from the water in what seemed like a large chamber. The statue stood tall above him, depicting a man holding a laurel in one hand and a crown in the other.

Hearing a few voices nearby, he slunk behind the statue as he quietly emerged from the water.

The statue had another, small artificial pool in front of it, which looked surprisingly deep. On the other side of this was a large, majestic white hallway, with golden decorations across its walls.

Three players paced this hallway, one female and two males, and he overheard their conversation.

"The last red light was here, right, Mark?"

"Yeah, it was the girl, wasn't it? She was somewhere around here, but I don't know where. We've tried diving in here, but nothing."

"That pool is hella deep, you reckon she could've gone to the bottom somehow? Maybe there's somewhere to hide there."

"I swear, this thing is, like, bottomless. No way we're finding that girl."

"Well, at least her friends will be proud. From beyond the grave, at that. Those guys just threw themselves forward to defend her, thirsty much?"

"What, you're miffed we wouldn't do that for you, Melissa?"

"Oh, never! I'm glad you guys know your place."

"Tell you what your place is? On the streets, in a red-light district in Stockholm!"

"You guys do give me Stockholm Syndrome sometimes. But why did everyone else leave?"

"Oh, they said that the red light disappeared, someone went outside to check. We can't see it from in here anyway, though. Mind going outside to check? We'll stay in here in case anything happens, still wonder where that girl went."

The female duly departed, leaving the two males loitering around and soon sitting down lazily against the walls.

They were both level 54, and taking on both of them at once would be difficult, especially if he had to make his way through the water first. There was also the danger of Melissa hearing the fight and running back in.

Instead, he decided to use [Arbitrate], and withdrew the red stone he had obtained from the tribal ritual. This instantly produced heavy lag, with the skill and object combining to augment this, and meant that the players wouldn't notice his movements.

He descended into the water, and found that it was too difficult to swim right now, since the lag slowed down his movements enough that he would sink too much between each stroke. Instead, he clung to a railing on the right side of the pool, and shuffled across it until he reached the other side.

Hauling himself up, he walked past the boys without them noticing. He estimated that the lag should last for about 90 seconds, which was enough for him to reach outside.

As he reached outside, passing through a large, arched door, he saw the female, 'Melissa,' was fighting a male who had ambushed her outside the hallway. Her username was [MissDiamond], and she was in the Guild [Silk & Ice]. Although the lag made it difficult to make out the details of what was happening, since the players seemed to just skip from one position to another, he could see that both were keeping to a somewhat safe distance, and using probing strikes, reluctant to get hit by a Divine Weapon.

Melissa was furious about the attack, as she had been hoping to just take a few steps outside, look around, and go back in.

The attack had taken her by surprise, but she sensed it in advance and agilely rose her sword to the side to deflect the first attack. Since then, it had gotten more even and cagey, with neither side willing to take the initiative.

However, soon Melissa managed to trap her opponent's sword low near the ground, and stepped forwards to press it into the dirt. Her brown hair flew like wings on each side as she, feeling a surge of confidence, raised her sword and directed it towards the opponent's chest.

The opponent jagged back in shock, and took the blow through the mouth instead. Blood flooded his mouth, and Melissa took a few firm steps forwards, driving him back until he lost grip on his sword and let it fall. The battle was over.

Melissa continued moving forwards with nervous energy, not willing to let her opponent escape after the attack, but soon he stilled and began to sink down. Her long steps took her close to him, and, to her surprise, she recognised his face. He was a guy who had attended her high school, and he had actually been fairly popular back then, while she had still been a bit of a shrinking violet. She looked more closely, and shuddered as she realised that it was definitely him, down to the obnoxious buffalo tattooed on the back of his neck.

She suddenly felt a chill of loneliness, as she realised that he was only the second person she had seen here whom she knew from outside.

And the first who wasn't a family member.

The sword stuck in his mouth had carved its way around his head as he had stumbled backwards, and he was dying quickly. She withdrew the sword thoughtfully, and held him close as he died, letting his last warmth flow through her. His eyes stared at her with a hint of recognition, though he was wordless.

Despite the wounds, she could feel a hint of his breath across her neck as he died.

If she had met this man normally, they could have talked for hours, because they were from the same city. It would have been almost like being back home again.

But she was trapped here.