Private Zakaden The Moon and Its Tides

[Toko]

"Yabaht..."
"Well, I suppose I'll just chalk that up as a business expense."
"Aah, gomen’nasai, Cain-senseeh!"

The lepus had quickly gathered her hands together as their palms rested against her lap, before bowing in the direction of the dark-haired man just as the apology dripped out from her lips. She hadn’t meant to kick the crystal orb with such strength as to maybe send it flying towards orbit, though a part of Toko was relieved that the man didn’t seem particularly bothered or upset about the turn of events. Instead his hands clasped together, the sound causing the rabbit to look back up at the muse as she straightened herself from the bow, before her ears perked up considerably at the suggestion Cain was tossing out.

"Ii tomo, I still have some time to burn before I need to log out."

Besides Toko would be lying if she denied that the surrounding areas of Zakaden hadn’t tickled her curiosity, though the hare hadn’t felt confident enough to go out and explore it on her lonesome after being warned of the disease that permeated about these lands. Sometimes it was quite easy to forget that this was nothing more than a game, but once that point was brought up by the veteran the fighter couldn't help but nod in agreement with a smile on her face.

@Cain Darlite

 

[Cain Darlite]

It was good that Toko had it in her to follow along with his whims. Even for a summoner such as himself, who still had partial access to the portions and mythology of Terrasphere buried over years of separation, the Crystallized Zalra was an unpleasant place to be. The amount of simultaneous actions that could be taken in the breadth of a clash mattered greatly, after all, and so too did two minds make shorter work of puzzles and conundrums.

"Then let us depart, whether in search of prey or adventure."

As one's focus shifted from one another to their surroundings, the natural beauty of the Shimmering Flats filled in the silence that stretched between the two near-strangers. Cold winds roused the crystal powder that had settled upon the ground, the zephyrs adorning themselves with the stuff of stars, while the moon itself was reflected a myriad of times by the reflective surfaces of the plains themselves. In daylight, it would take on the image of walking upon a rainbow, but on nights like these, the earth was granted a heavenly white instead, half-burying the plainswalkers in bright fog. And in the distance too, growing larger with every step, was the shadow of a giant's blade, jutting out from the earth to pierce the moon.

The Prism Cliff, more assuredly the home of Zalrite Beasts than these far-too-open plains.

"Mm, I may be a bit too forward with this," Cain spoke, breaking the silence, "But I must ask, Toko. What drew you to Terrasphere? Surely it has become common knowledge now, that it is a game that claims lives? And unlike some others, you appear to still have some attachment to reality."

 

[Toko]

The Flagbearer was left in charge of charting their course through the crystallized lands, her eyes roving over the surroundings as Toko took in the natural beauty of the Shimmering Flats. It was interesting to witness first hand, how something so bewitching could also be so dangerous for many, and a part of her wondered if the MIT faction would be able to figure out a way to counter the effects of Zalrisis—similar to what they’d accomplished when the Red Fever had spread through many adventurers but a few months prior.

""Mm, I may be a bit too forward with this,"" His voice cut through the comfortable silence that had settled between them as they explored the lands, causing the hare to turn her gaze back to the taller man and the question that escaped his lips. A valid one really, the inherent dangers associated with this game now common knowledge to most players that ventured within it. "Escapism, at least at first."

She had been at a rather dark time of her life when that email had first arrived, offering the woman a way to disassociate from the new reality her life had become as she submerged into a world that Nao would’ve never thought possible. The woman had never been one to seek out video games, though she knew of the most commonly popular ones, and it had only been a series of unfortunate events that had led to Nao being able to enjoy what TerraSphere had to offer. The knowledge of the dangers that the game carried, hidden under the wonderfully organic and realistic gameplay it offered, had meant little to a woman who’d lost her one attachment to the real world.

"Then I met wonderful people in this world, people that I would’ve never crossed paths with out there." Some had been fleeting, with wonderful moments shared between them shortly before they phased out of her life once more. Others had remained though, and had even become a constant in her life—both inside and outside of TerraSphere. "Not to mention the many possibilities open to us within here that would simply be dreams at best out of this space."

That dark time in her life had lessened, and while remembering the loss still caused an ache inside her chest Nao had slowly started to learn how to live with it. ”What about you, Cain-san? What drew you into this game?”

@Cain Darlite