Few players thought you could climb up onto the roofs of Sable’s cities: they always assumed invisible walls or some kind of wonky collision would stop you climbing them. Climbing up there required genuine parkour skills, but as you couldn't die within city limits, there was rarely any punishment for failure. The result was always worth it: the architecture of Kries was wonderful, and it was fun to see the players bumbling their way through the main story quests below. Of course, being up here could result in unwanted attention.
THEY’VE COME SO FAR SO QUICKLY.
Oblivia turned to see Draconautis behind her, its claws embedded into the tower, perching on the point like some kind of bat despite its size.
IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME, HASN’T IT? WE NEVER GOT TO TALK IN OUR BRIEF SCUFFLE YESTERDAY. THERE’S A LOT TO CATCH UP ON.
She couldn’t see the tail, which immediately meant she was on the back foot. She always recognised Draconautis, even though she never truly remembered what he looked like. She knew he existed, she knew what he did, but she never remembered fighting him. Whatever he did wiped the memories of everyone who’d come across the monster…all except for Cieth.
“What do you want from them?” She growled.
THINGS BEYOND YOUR UNDERSTANDING.
“I’ve seen some shit in this game, and I’ve understood it pretty well. Try me.”
I’M GLAD YOU THINK SO HIGHLY OF YOURSELF, BECAUSE I DO NOT.
The creature smiled at her, something that Oblivia hated more than anything. She put a hand on her sword, ready to shut the monster up if she needed to.
REGARDLESS, THE PARTY OF JAMES MARLOW HAS BROKEN SOME RULES. I AM HERE TO PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACE. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
James Marlow. Oblivia thought to herself. That must be Cieth’s name. I’ll keep that in mind.
“And yet you won’t punish me, the biggest rule breaker in the game’s history. You really are a hypocrite.”
The creature gave a wheezing growl that Oblivia interpreted as a laugh. “What’s so funny?”
YOUR BRAVADO CONTINUES TO ASTONISH ME.
“It’s not misplaced, though, is it? You can’t kill me in the city, no enemy or player in this game can. And even then, I’ve fought you off before.”
OH, HAVE YOU NOW? WHEN WAS THAT?
She completely ignored the braying insults of the monster. “I don’t know why Cieth is so important to you, but I won’t ever let you touch another party. I will never let history repeat itself.”
The laugh became much clearer, turning into a howl that deafened Oblivia.
WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ALIVE, MADISON PRESS?
Oblivia’s demeanour of confidence vanished immediately. “How do you know that name?”
Her temporary bewilderment almost stopped her from hearing the monster’s tail raking along the tower wall. It sprang up and tried to grab her face, but Oblivia pulled her sword out of the roof and blocked it with the flat of her blade. However, the talon grew in size to grab the sword and pulled it out of her hand, letting it fall down the tower. A few looked up to see where the blade had come from before it hit the ground and vanished. None saw Oblivia, just the night sky.
Oblivia lost balance on the slippery cobbles and fell off the building, but as it did so the tail’s claw combined into a single spear that stabbed her through the wrist, pinning her to the side of the tower.
Player within city limits. Damage cancelled.
Despite this, the tail didn’t move an inch. That was when Oblivia started to panic.
The dragon slowly clambered down the roof, its every footstep sending roof slates falling past Oblivia as she tried to pull the tail out, but to no avail.
I COULD HAVE SLAUGHTERED YOU BACK THEN…BUT I DIDN’T. I GAVE YOU TO THE GARDEN LIKE THE PARTY OF JAMES MARLOW, BECAUSE UNLIKE THE OTHERS, YOUR THREAT WAS MINIMAL.
The tail shot back through the roof, stabbing through Oblivia’s elbow. The helmet hid her grimace of pain and the armour hid her panicked breathing, but the monster could still sense fear.
EVERY ACTION YOU TAKE AGAINST ME HAPPENED BECAUSE YOU WERE ALLOWED TO. YOU DISOBEDIENCE IS OUR WILL, BUT YOU FOOLISHLY BELIEVE YOU SURVIVED THROUGH PURE STRENGTH ALONE.
The tail kept weaving in and out, stabbing through her body, sowing her to the side of the building. It moved onto her legs, slicing through them slowly and methodically as Draconautis savoured his meal. Her blood stained the stone, some dropping onto the statues below.
YOU ACT LIKE YOU’RE CLOSE TO THE TRUTH, LIKE YOU UNDERSTAND THE ESSENCE OF SABLE, BUT YOU ARE NOWHERE CLOSE.
It weaved through her right arm before stabbing into her lung. Her breathing had devolved into short ragged breaths. She could feel it slicing a path through her ribcage, going through bone like a needle stitching through silk, before transforming back into a claw to crush her heart.
AND YET YOU’RE STILL HERE DESPITE ALL THE PAIN. BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE. ALL YOU HAVE THE GAME THAT TOOK AWAY EVERYTHING, BECAUSE THE HELPLESS STRUGGLE IS THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES YOU FEEL SPECIAL.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The tail finally stabbed through Oblivia’s throat. Even without her organs, she was still alive. It didn’t matter how much of her body collapsed, so long as she still had hit points. Draconautis looked down at her, his teeth inches away from her face.
NOW, IF YOU WISH TO FEEL SPECIAL, IF YOU TRULY WISH TO SEE A PART OF THIS GAME NO ONE ELSE HAS. LOOK UP.
The spear of the tail struck her brain.
Warning
Visual System Failure
Her vision changed, the lights of the city fading away anVGhlIHNwZWFyIG9mIHRoZSB0YWlsIHN0cnVjayBoZXIgY nJhaW4uIAV2FybmluZwVmlzdWFsIFN5c3RlbSBGYWlsdXJlSGVyIHZpc2lvbiBjaGFuZ2VkLCB0aGUgbGlnaHRzIG9mIHRoZSBjaXR5IGZh ZGluZyBhd2F5IGFuZCB0aGUgY2l0eSB0dXJuaW5nIGZyb20gcHJpc3RpbmUgdG8gYSBnaG9zdCB0b3duLCBjb3ZlcmVkIGluIGR1c3QgYW5kIHZlaW5zLiBTaGUgdHJpZWQgdG8gbG9vayBkb3
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GlassAngel
Rising Slash
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Cobalt Corpse 2
0/20 HP
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N0aXRjaGluZyBpdHNlb GYgYmFjayB0b2dldGhlci4gVGhlIGZhY2Ugd2FzIGxpbXAsIGJ1dCB0aGUgZXllcy4gT2JsaXZpYSBjb3VsZCBzZWUgbGlmZSBpbiB0aG9zZSBleWVzLiB TaGUgY291bGQgc2VlIHRoZSBjaG VzdCBvZiB0aGUgY3JlYXR1cmUga GVhdmluZyBhcyBpdHMgbHVuZ3Mgd2VyZW4bJEIhRxsoQnQgZnVuY3Rpb25pbmcgYXMgaXQgc2 hvdWxkLCB
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Gungnir sat back in exasperation. “It’s a minigame! For a sidequest! How unlucky have you been getting?”
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hcyBpdCB0cmllZCB0byBwdW1wIG94eWdlbiB0byBhIGJvZHkgdGhhdCBkaWRuGyRCIUcbKEJ0IG5lZWQgaXQuIEFsbCB0aGUgd2hpb GUgYSBz
a3kgZnVsbCBvZiBleWVzIGxvb2tlZCBhdCBpdCBhbmQgYSBsYW5kIHRoYXQgbG9va2VkIGV2ZW4gZGVhZGVyIHRoYW4gaXQgZGlkIGluIGdhbWUuQW5kIHNoZSBrbmV3IHNoZRskQiFHGyhCZCBzZWVuI HRoZSBmaWd1cmUgYmVmb3JlLiBUaGVpciBzdGF0dWUgd2FzIGRpcmVjdGx5IGJlbG93IGhlci4U2hlIHdhcyBsb29raW5nIGF0IGEgZ29kLgV09VTEQgWU9VIExJS0UgQSBCRVRURVIgTE9PSywgTUFESVNPTiBQUkVTUz8U2hlIHRyaWVkIHRvIHNwZWFrLCBidXQgYW xsIHRoYXQgY2FtZSBvdXQgb2YgaGVyIG1vdXRoIHdhcyBi bG9vZC4gT0ggREVBUi4gSRskQiFHGyhCTSBWRVJZIFNPUlJZIFRPIEhFQVIgVEhBVC4RHJhY29uYXV0aXMgaG93bGVkIHdpdGggbGF1Z2h0ZXIu
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Nathan smiled and waved heartily to the other players, looking up at the capital city and finally realising what he had to do.
“Finally, after all these years,” He smiled. “I Y2FuIHNhdmUgeW91IEJyaWdpZC4i
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PVT8gWU9VIEtOT1cgVEhBVCBZT1VS
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Shana turned the corner and aimed her rifle into the darkness of Harman’s Street, lit only by flickering oil lamps that refused to die out.
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>Truesight activation in Kries seems to trigger an error.
Then it all returned to her. The world faded back into view. She was left back on top of a tower in Kries, Draconautis smiling harder than he ever had when he had killed her before.
YOU SAY WE CAN’T KILL YOU HERE. YOU ARE CORRECT. BUT THERE ARE WORSE THINGS IN THIS WORLD THAN DEATH, MADISON PRESS.
The tail unwound itself. Blood, sinew and bone broke apart as Oblivia’s body lost the only thing left holding it together. She plummeted, bouncing off gothic spears and statues before finally landing on the head of a gargoyle, hanging down off it lifelessly. The tower tried to stay normal, rebuilding the stone Draconautis broke and cleaning itself of her blood, but it did nothing for her.
She tried to breathe with pierced lungs, move her broken arms to open the menu and log out, but she couldn’t. She was trapped, her digital avatar locking her in a state of half death. She couldn’t even scream, unable to speak about what she’d just seen, unable to do anything to comprehend it but spin the image around in her head.
Visuals fixed.
A big ticket has been filed.
Kable Interactive apologises for the inconvenience.
She heard Draconautis’ voice one last time as he slunk into the shadows.
IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE DOWN THIS PATH, I CAN SHOW YOU SOMETHING THAT WILL MAKE YOU BEG FOR THIS INSTEAD.
The monster leapt across the rooftops, the players in the city of Kries not even noticing the monster leaping through the air and the kill it left in its wake.
James Stats: Level: 5 VIT: 250/300 STR: 15 DEF: 25 DEX: 10 SPL: 15 INT: 1
Amelia Stats: Level: 5 VIT: 150/200 STR: 25 DEF: 15 DEX: 10 SPL: 5 INT: 0
Grey stats: Level: 5 VIT: 80/150 STR: 10 DEF: 15 DEX: 10 SPL: 30 INT: 0 Healing Pool: 330/600
Patrick stats: Level: 5 VIT: 100/100 STR: 30 DEF: 10 DEX: 15 SPL: 25 INT: 0 Mana: 90/250