If faces in YGGDRASIL could show expressions, perhaps one might see hers droop in dejection as that realization slowly sank in.
Only now, at the end, do I understand.
Nothing she had done meant anything without people to share them with. Those days, the ones when she had been happiest, were gone forever.
That point was only driven further home when she came to the edge of the branch she stood upon, and looked down upon the merrymakers below.
A quick glance at the time revealed: [11:53:49].
The Plain of Iðavöllr spread below her, bathed in the light of the full moon above. There were several large pyres below, turning the people around them into elongated, dancing shadows.
Most of the people down there were humans or human-like creatures. They fired off cash item fireworks and other novelty items with wild abandon (they would be useless after tonight, after all). They flashed weird emoticons at each other, sharing strange jokes which rocked their groups with laughter, and so on.
GMs flitted between the groups, taking pictures and making amusing changes to people; an otherwise unthinkable abuse of power, forgiven because they would soon cease to matter.
But when she looked closer, there were also creatures like goblins, orcs and giants sharing in the festivities with them. Dwarves, the mortal enemies of the jotunn, rode on giant shoulders, while orcs and elves line-danced in the firelight, to the accompaniment of satyrs' pan pipes. Beings which would normally have killed each other on sight instead joined hands in the twilight hours of the game.
Further away, there was a gelatinous cube bouncing halflings up and down its polymorphic surface, while a graveknight posed for pictures with the clerics and paladins who should have destroyed it. Hitomi even saw a gazer — like herself, but untransformed — giving rides to and shaking eyestalks with people.
I should go down there, she thought. And indeed, she had already stepped off the edge of the branch, preparing to descend through the power of her innate flight abilities… but then she stopped.
It was true that she might be welcomed if she stepped into the firelight. Even if there were old enemies present, they would probably let bygones be bygones in the last few minutes of the game.
But she knew that deep inside, she would not feel comfortable there. She had avoided contact with others for so long that any attempt at pretending to fit in would be just that — pretending. There would be no connection there, none of the emotional involvement she sought. Worse, seeing others revel in their friendship and realizing that it would never be hers would hurt even more.
Thus, instead of descending, she rose, flying on silent wings.
She did not put her mask on, because she did not care who saw her. She returned her staff to her inventory, because she did not intend to fight.
Hitomi's eye looked up to the disc of the moon as she ascended.
It was now [11:54:33]
Seeing the moon up there brought back an old memory… a dream, perhaps. The desire to soar in the skies above Asgard, and look down upon the world in all its glory.
Her old group had fallen apart after she left it, so by the time she regretted her mistake and thought to ask for forgiveness, it was too late. All she had left were the faded memories of bygone days.
Hitomi smiled. Those had been good times.
Maybe that's why I did this, she thought. At the very least, I can fulfil one last wish before everything is over.
One thing they had always wanted to do was fly over Asgard and look down upon the world from its highest point. But dungeons and other obligations kept getting in the way, and then she had fucked up and that was the end of it.
Nothing she could do now could bring those days — or those friends — back, but she had long resigned herself to that fact. She knew this was an empty gesture, but she wanted to make it regardless.
[11:56:11]
Before long, she hit Asgard's skybox, the boundary which marked the upper limit of the world. The full moon still loomed overhead, but she knew that it was merely a virtual illusion; as ephemeral as the shooting star which flashed through the starry sky above her.
Even so, Hitomi made a wish upon that star.
I wish I could experience those days again.
It was foolishness, she knew. There was no shooting star to begin with, and even if there was, what were the odds that a distant astronomical phenomena could warp reality on her behalf?
Despite her attempts to rationalize it away, however, the hope — the prayer — in Hitomi's heart remained.
She looked down, and gasped. Asgard was every bit as beautiful as she had imagined. Perhaps the shroud of night had covered up parts of the scenery, but points of light danced in the darkness like fireflies; signs of life and activity, dusting the landscape that was gently lit by the glow of the moon.
Everyone, it's beautiful, she thought. I wonder if you managed to see something like this on your own.
Trails of sparks rose from the ground as that thought crossed Hitomi's mind. She focused on them — not hard, considering the visual acuity of gazers — and saw that they were fireworks. Some of them seemed to be heading right at her, and she wondered — are they aiming for me?
Not that it mattered. Everything would be over soon.
It was almost a relief.
[11:59:24]
Hitomi closed her eyes, counting down the moments to midnight, and the server shutdown. The soft thump of bursting comet shells came from beneath her, and she knew more would follow.
[11:59:46]
Then, the first fireworks burst near Hitomi, swallowing her in a bubble of blinding light. Of course, this was a game, and she felt nothing since it was not programmed to do damage. But to onlookers, it would look like she had disappeared into the light, and the thought was oddly gladdening.
[11:59:53]
Goodbye, everyone, she thought.
[11:59:58]
If only—
Klendathu Drop
There was a small mountain range on the western edge of the Re-Estize Kingdom. A pass ran through it, which one could still cross with some difficulty, but for the most part it formed a natural barrier which also marked the borders of the Kingdom and its neighbor, the Agrand Republic.
E-Asenal was the last major city in the Kingdom before that mountain range. From there, one could travel north and west into the mountains, before descending again into the a great swamp. Beyond that, the land was flat and open plains, with a road leading to the capital of the Agrand Republic, which was built up against the side of a mountain.
Evening had come hours before, and it had given way to the shroud of night. The stars twinkled in the skies above, but their light was washed out by that of the full moon.
It shone on the land below, and the grass on the plains swayed in the night breeze. Said breeze swept over a group of six people on top of a hillock, seated on flat rocks around a campfire.
But what were half a dozen people doing out in the open and at night? After all, not every corner of the Republic was safe for people to walk after sunset, even if most of its denizens were nominally loyal to the Dragon Lords which ruled this land.
A closer look at them revealed the answer — they possessed well-maintained wargear, yet there was no unifying style of dress or any insignia among them, which ruled out the possibility that they might be proper soldiers of some sort.
In other words, they were adventurers.