"Dragonkin? What? What happened?" Leila immediately shouted once her status was open. Edward was glad the inn had thick walls. Otherwise, other tenants might complain about the noise coming from Edward's room. She quickly looked at Edward, her eyes still wide with shock, "Isn't that what yours is called? How did that happen?"
"Yes. When I interrupted your fight with Dan, you must've used your Amnesiac Origin to copy my own," Edward explained. He leaned forward, "You got kind of unlucky with it, though."
"How?" Leila asked with a smile. She appeared to be looking at her stats and her skills with a smile on her face, "This Origin is great! It's so powerful! My AGI and WIS are both higher than they should be! Not to mention I have such a powerful skill!"
Edward watched silently, unsure how to explain the truth behind her Origin. 'Hey, by the way, your appearance in the game is now your real-life appearance. Hope you don't destroy any buildings by accident!'
"Honestly, I don't know how to explain this," Edward whispered. However, before he could begin to explain the complicated situation before him, Ikarus suddenly flew into the room— a bird in his mouth. Edward gazed with a calm expression— he had gotten used to the sudden surprise— but Leila yelped in surprise and shot her hand forward in an instant. Her fist was clenched— almost like she was attempting to punch Ikarus from three meters away. However, instead of her fist somehow stretching forward to cover the distance, a gout of orange flames erupted from her knuckles and flew toward Ikarus. Edward gasped as the dragon quickly performed a barrel roll to dodge the sudden attack. In doing so, he landed closer to the bed than he meant to and dropped his prey in the process. Edward stood up, knocking the chair back at the same time.
As Edward's chair slammed onto the floor, the ball of fire struck the wall ahead of Leila and immediately ignited the wood.
"Shit!" Edward shouted as he rushed forward. He ripped the blanket off of Leila's bed, then threw it toward the fire in an attempt to extinguish it. The blanket slammed into the wall with such force that the fire immediately went out. Once the situation was calm, Edward slowly turned back around and faced Leila.
'She can summon fire? What the fuck!' Edward thought to himself as he forced himself to stay calm. Leila gazed upon the burnt wall with a guilty expression before turning to Edward and flashing a pretty smile.
"Uh, whoops?"
︽
[Master Pyrokinesis]
Allows the user to manipulate the raw power of fire by moving their body to imitate its effects. This skill is already quite powerful, but it hasn't reached its greatest potential. It isn't powerful enough to manipulate dragon fire, but it is more than powerful enough to impress the strong and bully the weak.
This skill can be upgraded.
︾
'She didn't get [Dragon Tame] as her first skill,' Edward realized as he read her skill's information. After the incident with the flames, Leila willingly shared her skill's information.
"This is bad, really bad," Edward said to her as he looked at the burn mark just next to him, "You need to gain control of your skill's abilities or you'll end up burning buildings to the ground. I was worried you might misuse your strength and hurt some people by accident— now I'm concerned you'll kill them."
"What are you talking about?" Leila asked, "Nothing that happens in the game is important, really. We can do whatever we want and there wouldn't be any major consequences."
Edward's eyes dropped to the ground as he took a deep breath. Ikarus had already climbed atop his shoulder and began snoozing— like normal. The bird had been tossed out the window to never be seen again. As Leila's words echoed through the room, they were met with silence.
"Leila," Edward said after a moment. His voice was serious and a little sad, "I'm sorry. I truly am, I didn't think you'd ascend as soon as you copied my Origin."
"Ascend?"
"It's too late now. The damage has been done, you only need to look for yourself," Edward said. He looked up at Leila, then removed his mask. His hood dropped to his shoulders and revealed the rest of his face. Leila listened patiently, "Your avatar's abilities and appearance are both permanent. In both this world and the real one."
At first, Leila thought he was nuts for talking like that. Edward explained the situation deeper— starting from the very moment he drank the Elixirs at the bottom of the dungeon. Leila tried to listen but began to become irritated with every sentence escaping Edward's mouth.
When he finally explained how his appearance had changed— Leila snapped.
"Stop fucking with me," Leila spat, "This is some elaborate joke meant to piss me off. If I could get onto my feet, I'd storm out of here right now."
"It's true. Log out and see. Go to a mirror and look at your reflection," Edward told her. Leila was silent for a moment. Then, her body suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. Her bed became empty— the sheets still disturbed from when she was using them. Edward didn't move from his chair as he waited patiently for Leila to return.
Only a minute or so later, the bed was illuminated with another flash of green light. Leila had returned, though she appeared different. Her eyes were dazed and unfocused— like she was staring into a horizon that didn't exist. Her entire body was still. Not even a single muscle twitched.
"How?" Leila asked. Her voice was much deeper and filled with fear as she spoke, "How did that happen?"
"I don't know. I don't think Avalon is a game, though. It's too real for that," Edward answered. He took a deep breath, "The point I wanted to make was this: I'm sorry. I know what it feels like to have your face ripped away from you— it's like you died somehow. Everything I was changed the moment my world turned upside down. When I look into the mirror and see a stranger staring back at me, I become afraid. I don't want to think that I'll somehow be found out and treated like a lab rat. I'm afraid that my abilities will change me— turn me into some sort of monster. The old you is gone now, and there's nothing either of us can do to get her back."
"Will I get used to it?" Leila asked.
"Yes, slowly. When I first saw my new face, I was frozen in shock for hours. I think I've accepted it, though. After all, I still share the same face— it just looks a little different," Edward answered.
Leila nodded, then chuckled, "I used to be a blonde. It's funny. I used to want to dye my hair. Now, I want it to go back. I used to have brown eyes, but when I saw myself with green eyes it felt like a mask had been sewn to my face. In the game, I guess we don't notice the differences. But when we gaze in our mirrors, the same ones we've used to gaze at our usual faces? The change hit me like a truck."
She lifted her hands and a horrified expression moved across her face, "What if I can't control myself? I live with three others— each of us has been friends since we were born. I don't want to burn them away. I don't. I don't want this!"