["Dogma of The Void"]
A dense pool of shadows expanded from the player's boots before shapes erupted from the darkness; a flight of abyssal dragon heads soared towards the mages. The draconic maws moved swiftly and erratically, curving around and avoiding any semblance of direction before they sprung forth, snatching the mages into their jaws.
"AAAAAAA-!"
"Ngh! Let go–!"
"Killawot! Des–!" Yumeko yelled out, witnessing the two mages be swept into the air, carried by the jaws of the abyssal beasts.
Zero held his hand up before clenching his fist shut, invoking the secondary activation of the skill:
["Dogma of The Void: Burst and Burn"]
"No–" The bandana-wearing pugilist rushed over in an attempt to stop Zero, but it was too late.
An explosion of pitch-black flames came from the draconic heads, dissolving into a volatile reaction that knocked everyone back, except the caster himself.
It was a [Legend] rank skill, specializing in its quickness and damage capabilities; that much was shown as the two mage players were cast away from the virtual world as only particles of their avatars remained in the dust.
Yumeko stared with an agape mouth, unable to say anything as only two members remained of the Black Moon guild.
"No…" The pugilist remarked in disbelief.
To the last remaining couple of the dismantled guild, countless hours of hard work and dedication were wiped away in mere minutes by the hand of one person. In the leader's mind, memories of the guild's foundation rushed to the surface, recalling the humble beginnings of the "Black Moon Assassins."
["Once I became level ten and was given the ability to create or join a guild, I already knew what I wanted to do. I was a follower my entire life. Doing what was told of me, never saying no–whether it was my parents urging me to take any singing gigs as a child, no matter how sketchy it was or how much I disliked the manager. Or if it was biting my tongue and working for scum of the earth who took advantage of the talents of the agency. I knew that here, in this virtual world infinitely far from our own, I could be a leader."]
Yumeko held her hands close to her chest, looking at the ground where only particles of her guildmates' avatars were left. She brought her gaze up to the black-armored swordsman that stood across from her, retrieving his sword from the marble.
"I take back what I said before," Zero told her, resting his sword against his shoulder.
"What?"
"Your guild," Zero clarified, "It may have been weak, but they had guts. It wasn't their strength that damaged me, though. It was yours. Those amplification skills you have are top notch. You're good, Yumeko."
"Don't patronize me," the singer said scathingly as she held her microphone-sword up, making sure the broadcasting drones were on her before she looked over at the pugilist, who remained knelt, out of breath, "Marcus."
The bandana-wearing player, wearing only leather straps on his chest that hardly covered his tan torso, looked over, "Yeah?"
"I'm going to use it," Yumeko told him.
Marcus gulped as his eyes widened as if choking on the air on his lungs, "...On me?"
"You're the only one left, Marc–"
Before the guild leader could finish her sentence, the words were caught in her thought as a blade slashed across the neck of the pugilist. Fluid scattered before particles followed; the dark figure walked by, having casually used a stroke of his sword as the pugilist fell to the ground.
"Marcus–?" Yumeko gasped out.
The pugilist clutched his throat, reaching his hand out to the leader from afar, "--Yume…-"
Fragile was life in Abyss Online as Marcus' avatar broke apart completely from the singular stroke of Zero's blade.
"Sorry, but I've had enough of your little games now. Got a bit boring," Zero coldly apologized.
"Is this how you live in here?" Yumeko quietly asked.
"Live?" Zero responded.
Yumeko had a look of silent disdain in her eyes before following up, "All alone. Don't think I don't know about you. Everyone can look up general stats…"Zero"--the player that spends multiple days in-game at a time."
"What're you getting at here? Giving me a lecture? You of all people?" Zero asked.
"I spent my time building something–sharing my experiences with others. We shared this journey together…and now it's over," Yumeko remarked, looking around at where her guildmates once stood, "But, you? All of this time and effort, just to do it alone–for what?"
The snow-haired man looked at her before breathing out, "That's the difference between you and I. People like you came to Abyss and got scared of how difficult it really was, so you took it easy and played friends in a guild–"
"Took it easy?! Is that what you think we did–? What everyone in a guild does? Don't compensate for your loneliness and put the rest of us down."
"You chose to attack me, so don't get mad at me when your own choices come back to bite you in the ass," Zero advised as he pointed the end of his sword at the bard, "Are you finished? 'Cause I'm done listening now."
Yumeko silently looked at him before swinging the microphone to her lips as a fire seemed to embed itself in those jeweled irises of hers, "I came here to put on a show for the world, that hasn't changed."
A swirl of cold wind encircled the woman, rustling her skirt and brushing her long, silken hair like the illustrious feathers of a raven. Something about the shift in temperature along the pressure sensed prompted Zero to raise his guard.
'--A last ditch effort? No, why do I have a feeling she actually has something–something that isn't just some thoughtless retaliation?' Zero questioned.
Yumeko's voice sank in a melancholic tune into her microphone, "This is my final request, my Moons. Before you leave this world, part with me but one gift: your undying strength and belief in me."
["Moonlit Requiem: Waltz of The Otherside"]
Astral hands extended from the ground, devoid of physical form as they surrounded the woman as she closed her own hands, crossing her hands over her chest. The limbs of the fallen caressed the now lonesome woman, spiraling around her like a curling dahlia flower.
Though Zero considered attacking amidst the shift, the presence of the broadcasting drones made him reconsider: he wanted his victory, and consensus as the best, to have no stains on it.
'I've never seen someone use Moonlit Requiem on an entire fallen guild. Talk about unorthodox. In a one-time-death game like Abyss Online, using a skill that converts nearby, recently fallen companions into a temporary boost to all stats is insane,' he thought.
Finally, the ethereal hands pulled away, waving as they revealed the transformed player: Yumeko's hair seemed to subtly glow, gently swaying on its own as a silver uniform with ghostly flags draped was now worn on her body. It was a total shift; one that Zero had never seen performed to such a degree within the game.
"What a hypocrite. You gave me that lecture for playing solo, but you invested in a selfish skill like that?" Zero remarked.
Yumeko parted her eyelids as her irises had inherited a platinum complexion, shaped like crosses, responding calmly, "You may see it as selfish, but this is the deepest wish of my precious Moons. This is their last stand; their final gift to me."
["Ultimate Sleuth"]
[ATK: 60,000] [DEF: 85,000] [AGI: 70,000] [MAG: 70,000]
'I hate to admit it, but this woman has done something I can't deny is spectacular. Turning a skill considered useless into an all-powerful trump card like this, just for this moment, is amazing. Right now, her stats likely surpass every other player in Abyss. They damn sure are higher than mine right now,' he thought.