Lucia was passed out on the couch when I got back. She still had her Glass in hand… stock prices? Maybe? She looked so very peaceful. The stress and tension across her body had lifted significantly. Her brows were still furrowed though, as if seeing something unpleasant.
I watched her for a moment, my mind inevitably drifting back to the rift. Although I didn’t want to admit it, it might’ve affected me more than I originally thought. Memories kept resurfacing, and haunting images wouldn’t leave my mind’s eye. I missed Elysia… I wish I figured out what happened to her.
I covered her with a blanket and headed off to my room. I was planning on watching more Glitch Scouts, but I guess I’d have to settle with just the Glitch Scouts: Riot! game. Didn’t wan’t to wake Lucia up. I was so very close to pulling Lana, the main character. Just one more pull surely.
I settled down in bed with Nivia, holding her tightly. The bunny cheered me on as the wheel spun round and around. It flashed brightly, revealing… an F-rank side character. Not even a good one either. It was one of the janitor bots from season two episode three, Cleaning Catastrophe. How disappointing…
Hmm… one more pull then? I glanced up at my currency. I was just short, but… phew, am I glad they added this infinite currency button. I never had to worry about drawing more. It made stuff so convenient.
[Nighteye looks on in worry. You know hitting the plus doesn’t just give you more for-]
I waved the message off. I was a bit busy at the moment, Nighteye. Surely you get it, yep? I clicked confirm and rolled again. Another side-character came out. Ugh… one more pull for real this time?
— — —
My eyes burned as I stared at my screen. How long had it been? This was the ultimate final last endmost definite pull… surely I’d get her now, right? What was the point of making me just pull again and again like this endlessly? What a slog… but Lana was just right there.
Just- just a bit more currency and I could get her. I tapped the free recharge button one last time-
“Declined?” I read the word out as an error popped up, my voice sounding more hoarse than usual. What was that supposed to mean?
[Nighteye sighs like a disappointed parent. She tried to warn you. Dark patterns, scum gimmicks, lack of legal oversight- these games are psychologically engineered to get your money.]
W-what are you talking about? Oh no… a sickening feeling welled up in my gut. Was that button- was it not what I thought it was? I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment before summoning up my SIGIL. Zero Nytes… almost all of my money, just gone…
I felt the world collapse around me as my Glass dropped out of my hand. Was this- was Glitch Scouts: Riot! one of those scams Pursius warned me about? No way, yep? If I couldn’t trust Glitch Scouts, what could I? Was Bastion even real? Or was this all just some demented trickster’s joke?
I tossed my Glass to the other side of the room and hugged Nivia tightly. At least she’d never betray nor leave me, yep. I could trust my companion of seventeen centuries-
“Aylin! C’mon, it’s dinner time. Stop moping around.” Kali knocked on my door. When’d she get home?
For once, I didn’t have the energy to refute her. I patted the stuffed bunny on the head and sat up, feeling absolutely heartbroken. It was like my best friend just stabbed me repeatedly in the heart- oh, so that’s how this feels. Ugh- why would they make such a cruel game?
I attempted to fix my expression and slunk out of my room. Lucia and Kali were already at the dining table, ready to eat. The meal was pretty simple, and passed by without much talk. The teenager seemed to be in her own world thinking about something as she glanced around thin air, and my roommate was busy with her Glass.
Kali, ever attentive, noticed my mood as soon as she put her Glass down. “You- uh- you okay?”
“…” I looked up at her for a moment before nodding. I’d just have to go work some more, so it wasn’t that big of an issue… I wasn’t even that upset about the Nytes. I was more upset that I still didn’t even pull Lana after all that time and money. I should- I should delete that game.
”You sure? You’re sulking quite heavily.” Kali tilted her head and she questioned me again.
I was a bit… embarrassed? Maybe more than just a bit, actually. I didn’t want to admit anything, so I just shrugged. This secret would die with me and Nighteye. No one else would ever know. “Nytes.”
Kali nodded her head sharply, the worry in her eyes fading slightly. ”Ah, the cat isn’t giving you a job?”
I shook my head. Sure, he’d given me a list of rifts on his payroll, but still no word on a job. And my last rift hadn’t exactly been lucrative. Then add in this? ”Been. Busy.”
”I see, I see…”
Lucia’s eyes twitched and she zoned into the conversation. “I can pay you. I hired you to guard me, right? So… um- just not right now. I’m trying not to use the accounts until I go back. I don’t want to risk anything tracking back.”
”’S fine.” I wasn’t really helping her for the Nytes anyway. If anything, it was a much more selfish reason.
”Still…” She rubbed her hands together uncomfortably. “I’ll be ready in about a week. Just figuring everything out while I have time. While their guard is down, thinking I’m gone.”
Kali looked a little surprised at Lucia’s words. Almost like- oh, had I never told her about the circumstances? “You in some kind of trouble, kid? Need help?”
“No, I’ve got it handled now. Just waiting on internal reports and investigations to make my move.” Her confidence seemed to lift significantly as she talked about the internal affairs of Cernobog. “I’m in a way better situation than I thought I was.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“If you say so…” She didn’t look convinced.
Lucia grinned up at her, making the entire room feel brighter. The heartache in my chest faded slightly at her brilliant smile. “Trust me, I’m fine.”
“There’s other sources of Nytes than just that Miix, Aylin.” Kali jumped back to the previous conversation.
Hmm… I could go to some of the other rifts Pursius sent me. I kinda wanted a break from rifts though. They were draining? Almost… hmm… I think Bastion called it miasma buildup? It didn’t really affect me all that much. It’d have to be a much stronger kind of contamination to overpower what he did to me. Still, I was getting a bit tired and the pay was hit or miss at the moment.
As for work? I could always check out that Lotus app. They had bounties and stuff right? Maybe there was something I could go and do nearby… Tomorrow though. I was tired after the Mimic’s Tear rift.
“Want. Bed?” I offered to Lucia and started to clean up my plate.
”What?” Lucia looked a little startled. “Where would you sleep?”
Well, I wasn’t going to sleep on the floor. “Couch.”
The girl shook her head erratically, sending her golden hair waving in every direction. ”No, no. I’m the guest here, right? I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Before I could refute, Kali piped up. “You have any spare clothes?”
“Um…” Lucia shyly glanced down at the table, a hint of a blush rising to her cheeks. “I don’t have much of anything at the moment.”
”You can borrow some of my old stuff then.” Kali waved her hand easily and followed me to the sink to wash her own plate off. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff I’ve been meaning to donate anyway.”
I almost offered to make her clothes, though barely held myself back. She’d probably be understandably confused when my Ebonshroud constructs expired after three days. Ebonshroud was good, but at the end of the day, it was just a temporary imitation.
”Will it… fit?” Lucia looked Kali up and down. Even at a glance, Kali was taller and broader than the short-stack.
“Might be a bit oversized, but better than nothing.” Her eyes shifted to a closet I honestly forgot existed. For as long as I’d lived with Kali, it’d been stuffed full of bags of stuff.
“Thank you. Really.” Lucia bowed her head. “I owe you.“
“Don’t mention it.” Kali patted the teen on the shoulder and smiled warmly. Heart of gold struck again. She picked up the kid’s plate and brought it over to wash off.
The conversation naturally shifted to a slightly lighter topic. And then it abruptly drifted right into stocks and markets and- ugh- it all went over my head. I tried to follow along, I really did, but old dogs…
Eventually though, Kali cleaned up and turned in. After settling Lucia in for the night, I returned to bed.
— — —
[Nyx - Lotus Associate]
[Level - 1]
[Help Wanted]
[Investigate rift break in Crypt]
[Pay depends on intel gathered]
[Throne Bounty - Dead]
[Type: Warden]
[Grinning Grayson, C-Class Warden]
[Smuggling, murder, armed robbery, arson, corporate espionage]
[100,000 Nytes + Grinning Grayson’s Items]
[Acquisition]
[Heavy Storage Drives ASAP]
[Up to 100,000]
[Bounty - Dead]
[Type: Gang]
[Slade Harper, Leader of Bleak Sky, Illicit Ripper Clinic South of Aegis]
[30,000 Nytes]
[Caravan Guard]
[Guard caravan headed to experimental satellite-city Epsilon]
[50,000 upon return/10 days expected]
[Assistance Requested]
[Muscle to protect Protocol 7’s Crypt clinic]
[3,000 Nytes + More if attacked]
[Acquisition]
[Mil-spec Chrome, any condition]
[Up to 100,000]
[Disappearances]
[Find the source of mass disappearances in Neo-Aiter]
[25,000 Nytes]
[Corporate Assistance]
[Use a piece of gear in rifts for research purposes]
[500 Nytes per rift + Prototype]
[Acquisition]
[Combat Drones, Riot Loadout]
[Deliver Southside Neo-Aiter]
[Up to 500,000]
[Gang War]
[Help the Cryosten Gang take out competitors]
[10,000 Nytes upon success]
[OuroSec Escort]
[Escort OuroSec Researchers through D-class rift]
[5,000 + rift loot]
[Courier]
[Pickup package and deliver]
[Danger: High]
[20,000 Nytes]
[Bounty - Alive]
[Type: Corp]
[Neon Felton, Synth-smuggler for Vesper Cartel]
[75,000 Nytes]
[Bounty - Dead]
[Type: Corp]
[Alexander Vladika, Security Chief]
[20,000 Nytes]
— — —
I sipped a cup of coffee early in the morning, browsing through the Lotus app. Not much had changed since last night. Lots of different stuff I could go and do. Those were a mere fraction of the app’s total list. Some sounded more interesting than others, and the pay for a few of these was insane.
Lucia was going to make her move in a week, so anything that’d take too long was out. She asked me to protect her, and that meant following her into whatever plan she was hatching when that time came around. Even if the entire corp turned against us, I’d ensure at least she could get out safely.
The Acquisitions were likewise out. I didn’t know what most of that stuff was, so there was no way I could get a hold of them. Sure would be convenient if I had the items requested on hand, but the world didn’t work that way, unfortunately. They were worth a lot though. Maybe I should start looting more?
That left a few options outside of the rift ones. Mainly, the hits, gang war, protection for Protocol 7’s clinic, and investigations. I was leery about the investigations since they could take a while, but most of the other stuff looked fine.
Hmm… what to do, what to do… I stared into Nivia’s eyes for several long moments before coming to a decision. The Courier job didn’t sound so bad. The pay was really high too for how easy a job it looked like.
I’d have to go rent a bike or something though. Wouldn’t be very professional to show up in a cab, now would it? And… well, it was marked with a high danger rating by whoever set up the contract. A cab would probably be able to get me where I was going—cabbies were just built different—but the upcharge?
I clicked on the bounty and accepted it. My screen shifted to a chat window with what I assumed was the client. ‘Nyx? I’ve heard of you. One of Pursius’s Strays?’
’My reputation precedes me.’ Ah man, I loved texting, yep. I couldn’t really speak long sentences any more, but that limitation was gone like this.
‘Enough of it, at least. With Lotus now?’
‘I’m with whoever pays me.’ And… well, there were a few limitations. Basically though.
’Thats what I like to hear. Here’s the location and a picture of the package. Come armed.’ A second later, both came across. The package in question was a set of black briefcases. ‘Don’t care if you look inside or something happens. The goods just need to come in one piece, lock?’
‘Yep.’ Easy enough. If they were willing to pay so much for a simple package delivery, it was probably something pretty valuable. Maybe refined ether cores? Drugs? Tech? Didn’t really matter.
Pickup at a warehouse in the sub-district of Tlatec and deliver it in south Olton. Tlatec sat on the southside of Aegis, right next to where I liked to go and sit on the wall. After pickup, I’d just have to cross Aegis up into Olton, which wouldn’t be too bad of a drive.
As for driving itself? Cars were out. I was never good with auto-carriages. Bikes and four wheelers were easy though. Quite similar to horses all things considered, albeit simpler to control. I should have enough Nytes on shards to pay for it, though it’d wipe me out fully.
The client and I went back and forth a bit more as they filled me in on what I needed to know, how they wanted it picked up, and how they wanted it dropped off. Before too long, the chat window closed.
The package would arrive at the pickup in a couple hours. I better get going now so I could get a vehicle and arrive on time. I stood up, Ebonshroud flowing out of me to form a hoodie. Just missing the mask for now.
Lucia sat on the couch in loose black pajamas, staring into her oculus. I thought she went back to sleep after breakfast. She tapped on the side of her oculus, pushing up the lense covering her eye. “Are you going out?”
”Yep. Call. Me. Need?” I waved my Glass as my throat stung.
”I will… Oh! And Kali said she wouldn’t be coming back tonight.” Lucia glanced at my attire, her silver eyes flicking to the side for a moment. “Stay safe, Aylin.”
“Yep!” I waved lightly. Hopefully this wouldn’t take too long.
