Amidst the gentle embrace of the calming breeze, its tendrils carrying a faint tinge of iron from the lingering scent of blood, Alayn's steps drew him closer to the campsite. With a mere thought, he conjured his ability card into existence, a seamless motion that seemed to conjure it from thin air, deciding to check his credit balance—his spoils from ending the enemy team. The card's display activated in his mind with a simple thought. "11978 credits, huh?" he mused, tilting his head and scanning the digits. "Add that to the initial 248, and it seems they had a collective stash of around 4730 without including the 2000 credits that blond women got from killing Mortis. Not a bad haul," he chuckled under his breath, a hint of amusement in his voice. With his financial audit complete, he touched the card, activating the live location function. Curiosity got the better of him, leading him to want to know the whereabouts of the remaining enemy team members. Opening the live location feat
The echo of determined footsteps resonated through what was once a bustling town, now reduced to a desolate maze of crumbling structures intertwined with nature's reclamation. Verdant tendrils wound their way around the remnants of human habitation, and a gentle breeze carried the subtle scent of damp earth and decaying wood as Alayn's team pressed forward, their hearts set on discovering a safe haven to establish their camp. Options had presented themselves, each bearing a semblance of potential respite: a house, still standing amidst the encroaching wilderness; a broken parking lot, its cracked asphalt a mosaic of abandonment; twin storefronts, their shattered windows revealing a glimpse of former commerce. Yet, with each potential location, Alayn's discerning eye detected lurking dangers, and he skillfully presented these hazards to his comrades, guiding them toward a more secure path. Time had ebbed away, a good forty minutes slipping by since their departure from the fallen par
As minutes flowed by like water in a tranquil stream, Alayn felt a subtle gaze graze his senses. Turning his head, he found Evelyn gracefully making her way towards him. A warm smile danced on her lips as she settled beside him on the fallen branch. Meeting her gaze, Alayn's own lips curved in response, his eyes then drifting upwards to the moon, a sentinel of the night. "It's quite chilly, isn't it?" Evelyn's voice carried a softness, tinted with a touch of playfulness. Her hands rubbed together in a bid to conjure warmth, her sleeves rustling like leaves in a gentle breeze. Alayn, too, began to rub his hands together for warmth. "Indeed," he agreed. "I have that temperature-changing blessing, but it doesn't work in tandem with the light blessing." He confessed with an almost rueful chuckle. "And in our haste, I forgot to pass it to someone else." Evelyn's eyes crinkled in amusement, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. "It happens to the best of us," she remarked, her voice
Amidst the grim tableau of fallen comrades, Alayn stood in stunned silence, his gaze locked onto Evelyn. She, who had once stood beside him as a trusted teammate, now felt like a specter of betrayal haunting the ruins of their trust. In the wake of this heart-wrenching sight, Alayn grappled with the enigma before him. How had Evelyn managed to deceive not just him, but their entire team? The realization that an enemy had cunningly infiltrated their midst was a bitter pill to swallow, and the consequences were tragically irreversible. Evelyn's serene smile, unchanged despite the carnage, cast an eerie contrast against the grim reality. Slowly, she approached Alayn, her footsteps echoing in the cavern of his shattered understanding. Alayn's gaze flitted back to the lifeless forms of his teammates, their faces now pallid masks of death. He trembled, struggling to comprehend the depth of the deception that had led to this massacre. The realization settled in—he had failed to safeguard
"How about we eat something? I have some supplies I bought from Solarael." Experiencing a profound sense of déjà vu, Luvern gradually lifted his head at the sound of Evelyn's melodious voice. His hand instinctively moved to his neck, a gesture born from the lingering confusion that clouded his thoughts. He found himself immersed in a sea of uncertainty, struggling to piece together the unfolding reality. As his gaze swept the scene before him, Luvern's eyes settled on his teammates, each seated around him on the ground. His younger sister's innocent yet puzzled expression caught his attention, her curious eyes fixed on him. Her presence, along with the visible well-being of his comrades, flooded his heart with relief. In that moment, he grasped something profound yet unsettling - it wasn't that nothing had happened to them, but rather that nothing had happened to them... yet. He began to realize, with a heavy heart, the full extent of what had befallen his team—the haunting memorie
Blood gushed from her shoulder, a crimson cascade that starkly contrasted with the allure of her emerald green eyes. Evelyn's glare, despite the pain and the shock, bore into Luvern with an intensity that matched the throbbing agony. A collective shockwave of disbelief rippled through the onlookers, Alayn included. The single bullet Luvern had fired had severed the veil of assumptions, revealing a side of him that none had anticipated. The knowledge of Evelyn's duplicity and the poison's presence in the food cans had prompted their vigilance, yet no one had fathomed the depths of Luvern's determination and the readiness he carried to protect. Luvern's persona, once synonymous with intellect and kindness, had unfurled an unexpected layer—one painted with the stark hue of raw determination. Amidst the turmoil, Aidan's voice pierced the tension, a voice grappling with the grim tableau. "Wait, wait. Are we certain she's an enemy?" His inquiry hung in the air, a question tinged with dou
"Finally, I can make it through this," Evelyn's inner voice echoed with a mixture of relief and pain. She clung to her wounded shoulder, beads of sweat tracing down her darkened visage and nape. Her gaze fixed on Alayn, a complex blend of emotions swirling in her eyes. "Luvern would be the ideal target, but his anger towards me is too intense," Evelyn's thoughts whispered in the depths of her mind, strategy forming like threads of a web. Her survival hinged on her next steps, her ability a weapon she wielded with calculated precision. In the midst of her contemplation, a faint purple hue touched her emerald eyes-an invocation of her power. Her gaze focused on Alayn, a chosen target under the moon's soft glow. The ability, a gift from her divine superior, Eternum—the God of Existence-unleashed its tendrils, ready to weave a new thread into the fabric of their reality. As she directed her ability toward Alayn, Evelyn's mind swirled with a mixture of strategy and reflection, navigatin
"Contracts ?" Listening intently, Luvern's brows furrowed in a mix of confusion and realization as Alayn began recounting his discovery of the contracts. The tale unfolded, describing a seemingly mundane visit to a shop, yet the implications were anything but trivial. Alayn's voice remained steady, painting a picture of how he had initially dismissed the idea as irrelevant. A wry smile tugged at the corner of Luvern's lips. He couldn't help but appreciate Alayn's meticulous strategy, his ability to keep such a pivotal aspect hidden until the right moment. The team's dynamics were gradually coming into focus for everyone, and Evelyn's actions began to appear more insidious in contrast. Luvern's mind oscillated between Alayn's explanation of the contracts and his fervent desire to see Evelyn face the consequences of her actions. Despite acknowledging the prudence in Alayn's approach, Luvern couldn't entirely suppress the simmering anger that surged within him. The haunting memory of h