Laughter and giggles filled the air the amidst the poisoned swamp that a group of 28 different beings trecked through.
And while everyone was attentive and chatting at the same time chatting, each with their own topics in mind. None of them had yet to truly take their ears off of the couple not far away from the center of the group.
One is an undead of the highest order, he has white glistening bones visible with his prim, white, ivory-like skull emitting flames of bright flame from within his empty eye sockets. Garbed in academic robe with a handful of rings and a knarled staff with a horned skull at the top. Said undead who is now clutching his head and rubbing his non-existent hair as if in worry as he speak in hush but animated tone.
All the while the raven haired beauty next to him simply walked and looked towards the undead. Looking all amused at her companion's actions.
"I mean I get it I do! But! But!"
"If you want, I could ways leave Suzuki-kun."
"No! That would be disastrous for me! They would say I kicked you out!"
"Isn't that exactly what you're tryin-"
"No. I mean! Nevermind... *sigh~ seriously, though. You aren't joking are you? Cause this isn't funny you know."
Her eyes softened at his barely suppressed fear. "I know. And I wasn't joking about it either. As I said before, this must be kept secret. It is your life on the line after all. Never speak of it to anyone, not even your closest friends because you and I know, those assholes will use them against you if they could. You know this."
"I do." Suzuki answers sombrely. "Alright... I don't really have a choice do I?"
"The only way is to let it all go."
Suzuki scoffed. "Turn my back on a fortune I would most likely never see again in my entire life? I'm not that much of an idiot you know."
Eliza gives a giggle at his response.
"She giggled..." Peroroncino remarked.
"...she giggled..." confirms Buku-Bukuchagama.
"We could giggle?" asked Punitto Moe.
"How did she giggle...?" asked Tabula Smaragdina.
"Son of A- this b!tch is using a advance dive gear..." informa Ulbert.
"Language." chastised Touch Me.
"Damn... he is a lucky man."
"...do you think she's single?"
"Shut up hentai."
Not catching on to the nearby conversations, Momonga continued to listen in to his new found Aid.
"Remember, you can't chat about this either."
"I know. It is being monitored. But! Wait!"
"Don't worry about now and earlier. They'll only find fake traces of those exchange. I removed every trace of the original data between us during and after my character creation. But it won't last for long."
"Good..." Suzuki sighed in relief, only for his nerves to returns as he spoke. "My major concern now is my transfer. I work with three of them. Same company, same building and though we don't see each other often. We've always been close enough to know if something happens to the other. Can't I really tell them at least?"
"You already know the answer to that Suzuki."
"I know but! They've been close enough to be my family. We've looked out for each other whenever we could."
"Then just invite them to the Dome. I can get them tickets and a place of work but everything else would be up to them."
"...."
Eliza was worried seeing no response from him. "Suzuki?" she asked again.
"I'm in the Dome..."
Suzuki froze as he tried to wrap his mind over what he had just heard. Sure he had seen the luxury at his new place. True, the wealth may have gone over his head. But the Dome, is something else entirely.
In the current age, the only place still with even a hint of green in their world that isn't street lights, is at a Dome.
A construct of pure genius architecture. A program bought forth by the last of the Governments after the great fallout. It was looked to as a beacon of hope. A haven for mankind to rest out their poisoned world.
Being a city wide haven means limited spaces and so people did not mind being placed within stricter laws. One being controlled population, weapons control, and even controlled speech.
People did not mind if it meant starting fresh in a world that looked like heaven while hell is just a glass away.
But that hope soon turned to ash, as Governments toppled and conglomerates rose into power. The world shifted in a worst way. Straight to downright Tyranny.
Corpos fought against each other, governments fought against each other but in the end, Tyranny won. Why? because people are stupid and believed what the news flashed through their ignorant eyes.
And sadly, who ever cried out the loudest is the most heard.
In the end, evil won because the good people just wanted to live in peace and quiet.
And the Dome? It became a thing of envy. Paradise behind a piece of glass. Where so much as touching it or even looking at it wrong meant being taken advantage of by those who were assigned to defend it.
Corruption ruled, conglomerates rose to the top and governments fell in line and those who resisted? Not even six feet under, no. By then their victory had been so secure that there was no point to hide the body.
Let the world see the atrocities. And remind the populace who now stands in power.
Out of thousands, only a few hundred remained true to their original purpose. Everyone else suffered with no end in sight.
And he is now among the lucky few who stumbled upon the light beyond the tunnel.
Momonga laughed slightly at remembering history. Surprisingly enough... America endured and had little need for Domes. Not when they all banded together to fix their country. Giving the middle finger to their races, their colors, their genders and all those that came before and everything in between. No more white Americans, no more black American, no more Hispanic Americans, no more African Americans, no more Christians, no more Muslims, no more religion, no more United States of America.
Only America and its Americans. And that was all that is left. And with that, they endured. Some even say they were prospering.
The news gave rise to one prevailing theory. Since no one knew who actually launched the first missile, all eyes turned to the country that benefitted the most. And it was simple enough. With most of the world believing it too.
Russia endured, America endured, while the rest of the world suffered.... China most of all. A continent sized hot spot with nothing but fire, ash, soot and dirt...
The image itself gave voice to the theory that they launched the first missile and weakened the world so that they may rise together. Unhindered, unchallenged, and beyond respite, sabotage or retaliation. All so that they may come out stronger and united through it all.
A madman's plan. But the outcome was impossible to ignore.
Realizing how his mind has wondered off, running away from his own questions he could only nod, with slumped shoulders and- "*sigh~ The world is fucked up huh." Momonga laughed bitterly as he walked.
"Hmm?"
He decided to change the topic after seeing her questioning look. "Of all those who would find you. It had to be me. I feel like I'm too lucky that I don't deserve it."
Eliza observed him for a moment. Her red eyes surprised him, as if they sparked to life as she walked. And when she spoke, his eyes never left her red lips.
"You are human. Who are you to decide what is lucky? What is Fate? What is Destiny? Or what is Coincidence? You live with what you are delt with, just like anyone else in the world. You are no different than the rest no matter how much wealth you have. You can be sure of that."
"No one is equal." Suzuki says with a bit of mockery dripping from his words. Flashes of the unfairness dripped like drops of venom.
Eliza softly held his bony hands, surprised at the warmth coming from her. "Suzuki listen to me, this world is cruel and it is ugly. I'm saddened to see it fall so far from how it used to be. But you can't spend every moment pursuing what may or what would have been. Be selfish Suzuki." her words jolted him. "Be selfish, for your sake and everyone around you."
"You need to make do with what you have. For only from above can you help those you consider your loved ones. Just acknowledge the past but move on from it. Lest, it would drag you back. Back to a place you did not want to be in."
"In her honor, her hopes, dreams and prayers for you. Please, Suzuki... you must first learn to live."
Suzuki stood there, frozen and gazing emptily at nothing. His eyes hollowed and for a moment, he was there again. A helpless little boy who could only watch as his mother fall from exhaustion. The woman who drove herself to death making a meal, all so that she may see her son smile.
He saw the despair in his male and female coworkers. The limps, the stains, the tears, the empty eyes, the torn clothes, bruises, cuts and smell.
The corpses lying on the pavement, those who begged through the rain that slowly melted them. And those who threw themselves from the top of the buildings.
For all the horrors he had seen and felt, he could only imagine what she endured. All for him.
With his fist clenched in anger, and eyes burning with determination. He gave her his answer.
"I will."
Strong words that seemed to hollow down the virtual world around them, freezing everyone in place. All but her. One whom he now realized look too much like his mother. And with her hand on his cheek, he leaned in closer, relishing in relief at her presence.
"Good." was all she said, but it was enough to make him smile.
And then they continued on. This time with her wrapped around his arm.
No one dared ask what was said. Only that they could see the change. As if their leader had shed off some weight that had held him down for too long.
"So!" Peroroncino took her attention. "How long have you been playing Eliza-chan~"
"Oi! Hentai!"
"Watch your tone Hentai-niisan..."
"Whhhaaatt..." Peroroncino whines. "I'm just asking."
Eliza answers with a bit of laughter escaping her lips. "Its alright everyone. Truth be told, I had been playing for a while but as for the real question, I've known Momonga for less than a year." Eliza answers, her humor spiling to ease them to a conversation.
"Then you should know that this clan has rules." says Ulbert.
"I do. Its why I never really joined your Clan. My character is indeed a human based Cursed Paladin but I'm moving towards a more Aasimar build and then move to Tiefling. See if I could get that Lesser Nephalem unlocked along the way and maybe raise to a higher race."
"That's insane. No one has reached a build as solid as you're attempting. Most of Nephalems are half baked." said Tabula. "At this rate, your character is more fan theory than anything. The only viable option to get it is through a World Item."
"You mean with 'The Seeds of the World Tree'?"
"Exactly. The angel race alone is a good start but it is difficult to level. You would need a foundation of Divine Caster classes and builds centered around Faith all the while being careful and aggressively increasing your Karma. Only then do you get the chance to reach the level of an angel of the middle circles and even then, you would be starting at the lowest of them all once more."
"Demons aren't easy either." added Ulbert. "The required quest to even begin is daunting enough. But their distinct... requirements... made it obvious to anyone what you were actually going for. Which made players susceptible to witch hunts or relentless player killing. A piece of advice, if you're not into Player Killing, don't attempt this path."
"And that's just one of the two sides of the same coin." says Hero-Hero. "You can only imagine what it would take to reach Nephalem."
"Well... its a good thing I have the Seed of The World Tree then."
"..."
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"..."
"Ok... somebody has to ask." says Mekongawa. "Why bother with the build then?"
Eliza smiled making everyone nearly trip on themselves. The fact that she could show genuine emotion is truly astonishing and slightly envious. Even more when her character is truly beautiful. So when she spoke, all eyes where on her.
"As you all know, a second characters is not possible in this game. Well, that was by design. After all, a second account can be made.... for the right price."
"Tsk! Leave it to greedy corpos." remarks someone.
"This character of mine is something akin to an experimental account. Its what I use to discover and explore. All the while making sure that my true account -My main character- receives all the benefits. This is why I can do what I do with little care about the repercussions."
"That's kinda dangerous." Touch Me cautions. "That would also mean that you never truly master any class at all. Having to switch from one to another. This game isn't exactly forgiving to those who are brave. Some have fallen too deep that the way out looked too bleak and decided to just move on."
"Well, I ain't worried. I'm rich and live in a Dome." everyone halted for a moment at what she said. "And I am far from a slouch. Now my life is easy enough and could go easier." Eliza then turned to the Undead walking beside her. "If only a certain someone would accept my invitation."
"..."
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"..."
"..."
"..."
"...WHAT!?"