Civilization

I open my eyes to a dusty dark cave. I cough out some dirt that went into my mouth when I breathed in but almost immediately I hear a guttery scream next to me.

"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" - Kingston

"Kingston? KINGSTON! WHAT'S WRONG?" - Ian

I turn around to see Kingston spasming on the ground, a bloody red aura seeping out of him and enveloping the surroundings.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" - Kingston

I rush towards him, only to be met with a crimson red forcefield surrounding him. His eyes shoot open revealing blood-red eyes as well as a river of bloody tears. I bang on the forcefield with my hands, putting all my strength into each hit but to no avail.

Slowly, a ruby jaw forms around his chin, creeping upwards covering his eyes and then forehead. 2 black horns form above his head as a ruby skull forms around Kingston's face. His screams were never-ending, in fact, I feel they got louder.

"KINGSTON!!!" - Ian

"STOP! STOP! I DON'T WANT IT! I DONT'T WANT IT" - Kingston

"KINGSTON!!!" - Ian

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" - Kingston

Kingston's hands claw at the skull. I see his fingernails break and crack. Blood covers his fingers as he struggles on the ground.

"FIGHT IT KINGSTON! FIGHT IT!" - Ian

"STOP-P-P-P! JUST STOPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" - Kingston

His bloody red aura bursts out, shattering the forcefield around him and knocking me back. I land on my back but immediately get up, rushing towards Kingston. Dust and dirt cloud my vision, I wave my hand in front of me to clear it up before I saw Kingston hugging his legs on the ground.

His quiet weeping felt louder than his screams. A shattered ruby skull and black horns lie next to him as I see small clear tears drop to the ground. His face was full of small cuts and his hair was messy with his eyes unfocused.

I kneel down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder but he immediately shivers and tries to shake my hand away. He brings his hands up covering his ears and his body shakes uncontrollably as his eyes widen.

"Kingston…" - Ian

"S-S-S-S-Stop. P-P-P-P-Please." - Kingston

I swallow the saliva that had pooled in my mouth and reposition my legs so I sat comfortably. I have no idea what just happened, especially since the both of us just got into the game. I know Kingston wasn't feeling the best already but at least in reality he wasn't like this. Whatever happened, it has to do with the demonification that he experienced during his berserk state. Instead of pestering him for answers, I chose to sit quietly while I wait for him to calm down.

I watch over him as the seconds and the minutes tick away. Wind blowing into the cave was the only sound I could hear, next to my heartbeat and breathing. Kingston's breathing slowly became more consistent and he let his arms drop down to his sides as he turns his body so that he was lying on his back. He looks at the ceiling of the cave and tried to find his words.

"I-I-I'm sorry, for that." - Kingston

"No, don't worry about it. I don't know what happened and you don't need to tell me now. Just tell me are you okay to keep playing or should I kill you so you go back to real life?" - Ian

"I-I-I can keep going. Just slowly…" - Kingston

"Are you sure?" - Ian

"Yes." - Kingston

Kingston picks himself up, wobbling as he tries to stand straight. He wipes the blood off his face with his shirt and hands. However, his tired and worn-down expression tells me a different tale.

"Come on Ian. We need to find everyone else." - Kingston

"They will be somewhere not too far away. From what I remember this is the cave we slept in before we went into the crevice. " - Ian

"Okay…" - Kingston

Kingston leans against the side of the cave as he slowly limps forward. I get up quickly and place my arm around him, helping him walk.

"Don't push yourself. Just take your time, Kingston." - Ian

"I will…" - Kingston

As we got out of the cave we get greeted by our friendly golden wolves, Belle, Dawn, Razor, and Luna. The 4 wolves happily howl as they found us and not long later the rest of our group comes running down the mountainside. I hold onto Kingston as we wait for them to reach us. Noticing Kingston's condition, Solar attempts to heal him with her skill but nothing happened.

"How come my healing skill isn't working?" - Solar

"My HP is full. I'm under a severe debuff." - Kingston

"How long until it goes away?" - Ian

"Tomorrow." - Kingston

"What happened?" - David

I shake my head, signaling for them to not speak about the matter. Instead, I asked for a report on the situation as I noticed that Luke was missing yet everyone else was together. Even Kingston said, that Stellar and a couple of goblins that separated from the main group are back together as well.

"After the fight between the dragon and the golems, we were hit with a big heatwave, forcing us to retreat. A lot of us got injured during that time and we spent the night recuperating and healing." - Solar

"My group was underground at that time and instead of heatwaves we were experiencing an earthquake. The shaking didn't stop for a while and we felt like we were going to be trapped underground. Luckily the cave we were in didn't collapse and we made it out alive. After a while, we traversed back to the crevice and met up with everyone." - Stellar

"That's good and everyone is okay?" - Ian

"Yes sir!" - Everyone

"Ian…" - Sylvia

Shyly speaking near me was Sylvia. Her face was full of regret and guilt. Instantly, I knew something was wrong since Sylvia was last with Luke before I died. In her hand was The Moon's Ghost, and she shakily tried to give it to me. Tears were slowly streaming down her face.

"Sylvia… No matter what happened, I won't get upset. Please tell me." - Ian

"Luke he-he-he got taken away. Casper and Rautt took him back to the Horde saying that they wanted to make him stronger." - Sylvia

Through her tears, Sylvia tried to explain what happened after I died. We stood there quietly listening to her story. I could feel everyone tense up as they realize the difference in power between us and the Horde's 'Generals'. My heart ached a bit knowing that Luke who was one of the strongest NPCs I had with me, was taken away and overpowered just like that. I knew there was no way that Sylvia or any of us would be able to do anything in that situation. Knowing that information felt like I was hit by a truck.

I was weak. We are weak. Too weak.

"I know you might hate me for saying this Sylvia but we can't go after him…" - Ian

"WHY? WHY NOT?" - Sylvia

Grabbing my shirt and pulling me towards her, Sylvia screams at my face. Tears stream down her face as she looks at me with her sapphire blue eyes. However, I can only return her sadden expression with a look of guilt.

"We are too weak. I know you know this too. If we were to venture off to find Luke, we would be killed by anyone that is under the Horde. Not only that we wouldn't know where we are searching. Casper is a dragon. We can't catch up even if we tried." - Ian

"But…But…" - Sylvia

"Ian is right, we can't afford to go after Luke right now." - Solar

"Sad as it will be, we need to trust that Luke will survive whatever hell awaits him. One day when we are stronger we will search for him or he will search for us." - Stellar

"That's right, Sylvia. We need to grow stronger before we can rescue Luke properly." - Ian

Sylvia's hand slowly slips away from my shirt as she wipes her tears away with her hand.

"I know… I know… But… I-I-I let him go… I couldn't even try to stop it from happening. They… They were too strong and I'm… So weak…" - Sylvia

Sylvia breaks down crying, and a dark atmosphere surrounds the group. I see David and Gibing grip their weapons tighter in anger. Knowing their frustration is due to their own weakness. Solar and some goblins, shed a tear with Sylvia while Stellar looked away. The wolves howl to the sky as Celine brushes their fur, while the demi-humans look up as well. I let them have their moment of sadness before I tell him our next step.

"We are going to help a couple of people. They have told me they were stuck not too far away from here. We will move towards them before going home. They need our help and while we can't help someone we know at least we can lend a helping hand to those near us." - Ian

Everyone nodded slowly, picking up their baskets and weapons before heading in the direction towards the ArchWizardo.