Aranea's only worry for a long, long while had been:
Main Scenario, First Act.
-The Drowned-
And currently, the First Act was progressing without her.
Sprinting down the mountain, the snow and ice slowly melted as they entered the dreary plains.
The base camp for the Abyssal Frontlines was up ahead.
"What do you think could have happened?"
Jumping over an outcropping of rocks, "Lost the luggage?"
Savana followed Silvia's footsteps and took the same path over the rocks, "Answer me seriously, she wouldn't ever lose the luggage. You know her, Aranea is no normal person. The fact that we can't remember anything or the fact that we subconsciously ignored looking behind us the whole time-"
"If you want serious, then the answer becomes even harder to figure out."
Savana spat out, "The rumours? Her attitude? Her goals?"
Unsheathing her sword, splatters of blood exploded through the air and combined with the ashy snow.
A Lowest Corrupted Beast dropped dead on the ground.
"Maybe all of them, maybe none of them. We don't know Aranea well enough to know the truth. It could even be that she cast Magic on us without us knowing."
"We don't have enough information to draw any solid conclusions."
Savana bit her lips, she guessed Silvia's answer would be something along those lines but that wasn't good enough for her.
She was...
Worried.
Her heart told her something was wrong.
She didn't think Aranea cast that Magic that tricked them.
Her gut instincts told her so.
Having thrown caution into the wind, the remaining members of the 1st Squadron stepped onto the scarred plains after an hour.
The Imperial Camp's main entrance was right in front of them, and beside it was a banner.
[Military Academy Collection Point]
With those words written on it, it made it easy for all the incoming arrivals to figure out where to go.
Silvia and Savana rushed ahead, and as they got closer they found their buzz-cut Mentor standing below it astutely.
"Mentor!"
Savana dashed past Silvia at Mentor, catching his attention.
"You've arrived, 1st Squadron." Passing his gaze behind Savana, he found Silvia and-
No Aranea.
Furrowing his brow, he looked back at the hectically breathing Savana, "Explain yourselves, did you abandon your Squadmate?"
Savana hurriedly denied the allegations, "No, Mentor! Aranea went missing just an hour ago!"
Mentor suddenly turned his gaze behind the two, at empty space, "You, explain."
Savana followed his eyes, she initially thought he was looking at Silvia but he wasn't. He was staring at the air. Silvia similarly followed his gaze and found nothing.
But suddenly-
Fwish!
-a lady with short, wavy black hair and eyes waved into existence.
She didn't wear a military uniform, she wore light-plated armour; a breastplate, vambraces, pauldrons, and cuisse. The rest of her body was covered with dark leather.
"I couldn't find her, I don't know what sort of Magic or power was cast but it confused the mind and forced our eyes away from her. She just disappeared at some point."
Mentor gazed dauntingly into her clear eyes, "Are you telling the truth?"
"Yes."
Maintaining eye contact for a few seconds, he eventually returned his eyes to Silvia and Savana.
"You two follow Instructor Florin, your personal Instructor, and head inside; we'll deal with the rest."
"Yes, Mentor!" Saluting him, Savana and Silvia warily glanced at their Instructor.
"Follow me."
Walking by them, Instructor Florin didn't spare them a glance and headed inwards into the Imperial Camp.
'Do survive this ordeal, you creature. I would like to personally treat you with a couple of techniques I've learnt over the years.'
Instructor Florin was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
She wanted the creature dead.
But she also wanted to kill the creature herself.
What a conundrum.
"Instructor, were there really no traces of Aranea?" Savana cautiously probed their Instructor.
"None, I checked multiple times." Speaking in a stone-cold voice, Instructor Florin decided to uphold a stoic, stern personality in front of them.
"I see."
Savana pulled back and looked into Silvia's eyes.
Silvia looked back and found a wary look within them.
[Careful of her.]
That's what those eyes told her.
Silvia moved her eyes to their Instructor but kept her gaze casual, a normal probing one.
'...Savana is right, every step she takes holds a bit of hesitant joy in it.'
They pointed the blade of their suspicions at their Instructor. She wasn't who she made herself out to be.
While Silvia wasn't really worried for Aranea, it wouldn't do them any good having a traitor as their teacher, protector and role model.
Savana and Silvia had to pay close attention to this woman.
-----
Realm Tear.
A dreadful combination of all that bled into the Mortal Realm which shattered the essence of the Realm and opened a pathway to another.
Aranea was staring at one.
'Why is this here?'
That question was a valid one.
-The Drowned-
The reason why it was called the sales killer was because of the Realm Tear. Realm Tears were something that should only appear mid-late game.
Yet in [Throes of Fortune] the very first Act thrust you into one head first without warning.
A Fragmented Realm, that's what you entered in the game.
And right now.
In front of her eyes.
As the Broken-Winged Giant gazed upon her dementedly.
She was faced with one.
The same one from -The Drowned-.
Aranea looked around her.
She had to get a good look at the area she was in.
Crust of Nine Abyssal Chains.
A sealing method from the Abyss used to both lock down a location and hide it from the outer world.
Looking up at the sky, a purple hue covered the dreary skies; rusted, black chains as thick as trees expanded across the dome, locking them in.
Ba-dump.
Aranea locked her eyes on her suitcase.
"How does it feel?"
She reached her hand out at it, at her suitcase.
"Being locked in here, with me?"
And clenched her fist.
"Does it feel good?"
But the suitcase was beyond her reach.
"Does it feel... Dreadful?"
Aranea lost her suitcase, the luggage was outside of the seal.
His voice buzzed in her ear like a mosquito, she didn't care about it in the slightest.
But her suitcase-!
Aranea rushed her hands into a hidden compartment in her uniform, reaching in...
Nothing.
She ran out.
The feeling of dread sunk into her stomach.
"I see that you do." Licking his lips, the Broken-Winged Giant flapped his wings, sending clouds of dust and infected rubble flying around the sealed dome; the flakes of Corruption bore on the ground beneath them.
No.
I need them.
Sweat began dripping down her face like a waterfall, her arms and fingers spasming lightly; her skin began feeling itchy, her body uncomfortably hot.
Her throat felt dry.
Trying to scratch her arms, Aranea was blocked by the
She tried removing it but it just wouldn't listen to her.
No!
I need it!
Gulping the air, Aranea shifted her eyes to the massive chains in the sky.
"I need to destroy it."
Zip-
A burst of air smashed toward her from below.
CRACKLE!
Stepping aside at the last moment, she smelt the pungent Abyssal Power wafting from its arm. His squirming veins rushed with blood and Abyssal Power, she could see it right in front of her eyes.
It was just centimetres away.
A burst of adrenaline dumped itself into her body.
And with it came the pain.
'It hurts- It doesn't.'
'It doesn't hurt- It does.'
These thoughts rattled her mind as her hair violently swayed in the rushing winds.
While she was absentminded, the veins of the Giant's arm beside her abruptly burst. Sending out a sickle of Abyssal Power into her face.
Colliding headfirst into her Mana Barrier, Aranea was sent tumbling away; her body rolling and collapsing in on itself.
Boom!
Crashing into the ground, a dome of dust rushed out from the impact.
A small crater formed in the ground, and in it was a quivering, manically whispering Aranea.
"Fine."
"...Not fine."
"Fine-"
Her mind drifted away from the battle, her soul into the darkness.
Accompanying her were her best friends.
Looking down into the tiny being in the crater, the Broken-Winged Giant cackled a repulsive laugh, "Are you crazy?"
Aranea's darting eyes swivelled up, down, left and right repeatedly. The reddish hue within them turned a darker hue of crimson.
But this wasn't the effect of the drugs.
This was the effect of the withdrawal.
"Crazy?"
"I'm crazy!"
"Not crazy-!"
Babbling out those words, Aranea's hand suddenly darted up and clasped her mouth shut.
Her wild eyes regained their calm.
I'm not crazy.
I'm sorry for saying that.
...
I know.
...
It won't happen again.
Don't worry.
...
I won't.
Lowering her hand from her mouth, a trail of blood followed it. Dribbling down her mouth, Aranea tasted the vivid metallic taste on her tongue.
Mana gradually pushed on her back, raising her out of the crater.
Landing on the ground, she stumbled over her feet as she tried to gain her balance back.
Her hair covered her face, blocking out the Broken-Winged Giant's iron gaze.
"Feeling up to it again?" Egging her on, he cracked his knuckles as he spat out a mouthful of putrid, black blood on the ground beside him.
Having those balls of Abyssal Power explode in there wasn't so pleasant.
Taking a deep breath, Aranea-
"Ha."
"Haha."
Planting a hand on her face, Aranea truly began laughing.
Not out of madness or anything, she just found it funny.
All those times she told them not to take them and said those words to them...
So this was how they felt.
Disgusting.
Both her and the drugs.
"Fuck, have you actually gone crazy?" Cracking his neck, he prepared Abyssal Power on his fists again.
She lifted her head.
Her hair parted, allowing her eyes to poke through.
The blood leaking from her mouth dried.
"Obviously I haven't, can't you tell, retard?" Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Aranea reached her right arm into the sleeve of her left arm.
Such an exhilarating fight. It was still safe but it was really fucking fun.
Like she thought.
Nothing was more fun than grinding and Levelling up.
Not even those fucking drugs.
"You want a fight?" Licking her lips, Aranea's eyes sharpened.
"I've been asking for one this whole time, retard." His mocking voice was just as unpleasant as his laughing one; gritty and pungent.
Even the smell from his breath reeked.
Aranea gave no shits though.
This was just another day for her.
Chuckling at his retort, "Let's fight then."
Zing~
Aranea carefully pulled out her weapon.
The sheath was a lacquered black with silver, archaic engraving; the hilt of the sword had a beautiful swirl of etchings chipped into it.
She continued pulling, and pulling-
Until a sword that reached from the tip of her head to her waist was pulled out.
In comparison to its size, the weapon was surprisingly light.
Aranea gently hugged it with both arms as she stood; smiling warmly at the Broken-Winged Giant as she held her only weapon.
"Your a swordsman? You? A Mage?"
Aranea shook her head.
She could see why he misunderstood.
"Incorrect."
Stroking her masterpiece-
"This is."
-her watery eyes gazed with moist love at the sword.
"My staff."