The rain continued its unrelenting downpour, touching Nico's skin as it fell from the sky. His lifeless eyes and body became just like the wind; cold.
'Shit... I died again, didn't I...?' he said to himself as he stared at the grey skies above. He chuckled internally. 'Guess with how reckless I act, it was bound to happen. Goddess Nyx did warn me, and I didn't listen... I hope Lindsey's okay... Laura too... Melissa...'
Right when everything around Nico turned dark, a small candle appeared and lit itself, leaving an amber and red flame. The longer the candle burnt, the hotter Nico's body started to become.
Eventually, the candle died out, but its flame continued to burn, eventually consuming Nico. As the flames practically are him up, his sensations began returning to him. He could feel, smell, hear and see once more.
{ A Phoenix has been reborn! }
When he heard the familiar voice ring in his ears, Nico sat up straight and took deep and heavy breaths, clasping at his chest as he did. His mouth felt dry and his eyes were bloodshot red, just like the day he first arrived in the video game world. Not that he could see them of course.
His hands were shaking as the nervousness and disbelief fell upon him. He was alive. But, how was he alive? Then, he remembered The Goddess Nyx's words:
'... Very well then. I shall provide you with yet, an additional skill. It will assist you in a dire situation, such as tomorrow. But, you can only use it once per week, so use it sparingly.'
Nico smiled brightly and looked at the sky, putting his hands together as he began thanking the Goddess. Then, he slowly stood up, feeling his limbs loosen and the aching of his muscles recede. "I've gotta get back to the guild."
***
"No, I won't go!" Lindsey exclaimed as she swat Laura's hand away.
"Why do you insist on staying here? Vortex is dead! We need to get out of here and find our own path," explained Laura.
Lindsey shook her head like a child. "No! You can't make me go! I'm not leaving! Nico wouldn't want me to run away!"
"You don't even know him!"
"Yeah well, lately...! It feels like I don't know you! So, yeah! Burn on you!" Lindsey said as she crossed her arms.
"'Burn on-' Look, now's not the time to be acting like a teenaged girl on her periods. We're-"
"Jeez, what's with all this noise?" Nico said as he walked into the room, gaining the attention of both Lindsey and Laura, who stared at him in astonishment. "Mh? What's wrong?"
Lindsey slowly walked towards Nico and raised her hands. Then, she placed them on his cheeks, feeling him, before backing away. She stepped closer once more and felt his cheeks once again, this time, tears streamed down her face.
She frowned slightly and began sniffling, burying her face in Nico's chest a second after. "Nico... You're alive..." she said in relief. "Thank goodness... Thank goodness..."
Nico smiled softly and brushed Lindsey's hair. "Don't go killing me off that easily." He stopped smiling and looked at Laura, who was mostly shocked than she was happy.
"... What happened?" Laura inquired.
Nico smirked. "I lived, bitch."
***
After explaining everything that had happened so far, Laura nodded as she retained the information. "Gatling Shot is a common move amongst humans, goliaths, demons and ogres. Genesis is a half-goliath and half-human, so it makes sense as to why his was so potent. Still, it doesn't explain how you just came back to life."
"That, I don't have an answer to," Nico responded . He wasn't ready to share the fact that a literal Goddess had been assisting him with his growth. "In any case, I'd like to use my death as my upper hand."
"What are you thinking?" Lindsey inquired.
"Genesis and Elayne already know that the two of you joined me. Now that I'm dead, where should you guys go?"
Lindsey rubbed her chin and began thinking hard. Then, she snapped her fingers and smiled. "We should make sure they don't find out you're alive."
"Very good. And, how do we do that?" Nico inquired with a soft smile.
After some time, Laura picked up on what Nico was suggesting. "... That's a bad idea. Lindsey won't even agree to it."
"But, it's worth a shot. At the very least, this won't make them wary of you two. It'll just prove to him that you need him more than he needs you," Nico explained.
"... Lindsey... We're gonna have to go back to Genesis..." Laura said as she looked at Lindsey.
"Huh? What?! I'm not doing that! I'm not going back to that fat bastard!" Lindsey shouted as she stood up.
"Look, if you stay with me, that'll just raise their suspicions," said Nico as he stood up and held Lindsey's shoulder. "I know how you feel about Genesis, but I need you two to find something on him so that we can go home."
"What makes you think we'll succeed?" Laura asked as she crossed her arms. "Genesis isn't exactly an idiot, you know?"
"But, he is a kingpin, a crime lord. He will do anything to feel like he's in control. If he sees two girls that left him for the guy he just killed, he won't even think about the fact that you once left him."
Laura sighed. "If Lindsey's against it, then so am I."
Nico sighed internally and held Lindsey's hand, then he placed his hand on her chin and tipped it slightly towards his direction. Lindsey felt her heart race and her face turned a little red from embarrassment.
Laura watched this unfold and furrowed her brows, feeling her heart race for a completely different reason from Lindsey's. Nico smiled softly at Lindsey and said:
"I don't say this often, but I'm certain that the two of you are more than capable of pulling it off. Especially you, Lin."
Lindsey blushed and smiled brightly. "W-Well... If you think I can do it, Nico... I guess there's no reason for me to refuse..." she said as she chuckled.
"Thank you. You guys should leave tomorrow to decrease any suspicion," he said to Laura as he sat back down.
"Didn't Melissa see you? Or atleast any one else who works under Genesis?"
"She wasn't at the reception when I returned. Besides, I move through the roofs of the buildings to avoid being detected by any potential enemy," Nico replied.
"That's smart... Maybe Lin and I should do that..."
"In the meantime, how about a temporary goodbye feast? Gathering information could take weeks, but it'll be worth it in the end. At the very least, I want to send you guys off with full stomachs."
Lindsey and Laura smiled. Then, Lindsey hugged Nico tightly, forcing him to pry himself out of her hold and push her back slightly.
***
In the middle of the night, beneath the black clouds of the rain, Melissa walked towards Genesis's mansion, ready to start her shift for the evening. She hasn't seen Nico ever since the early morning. Not that she was concerned, but she wanted to talk to someone who seemed very relaxed around her without having any lustful intentions.
With her line of work, and with how a majority of the people who spoke to her knew about her night shift, she felt as if she could never make a true connection with people. But, Nico gave her hope.
Nico made her believe that maybe she can have a normal friendship with people. But, the way he spoke this morning made her anxious.
'Is he still alive...?' she asked herself as she entered the mansion, where she was greeted by Elayne with her arms crossed.
"You're late," said Elayne.
"...I'm sorry..." Melissa apologized as she bowed her head.
"Whatever. Hurry up. I'll be waiting for you in the other room."
Then, Elayne walked away. As she did, the other girls glared at Melissa and murmured insults at her. Melissa ignored them and stepped into the changing room, where she dressed up in a transparent, brown robe and black pair of panties, revealing her ample breasts for everyone to see.
Then, she left the changing room and entered another room, where Elayne was waiting for her. Melissa locked the door and sighed heavily. Elayne approached her and draped her in her blue jean jacket, earning a smile from Melissa.
"Thanks."
"Don't worry about it," replied Elayne. "Big G is starting to get restless about you. I'm not sure about what I should do anymore..."
"... I'm sorry... If I didn't decide to get involved with him all those years ago..." Melissa said as she lowered her head.
"Hey, don't blame yourself," Elayne reassured her as she placed her hand on Melissa's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to get you out of this, cuz."
Melissa smiled softly and hugged Elayne tightly. "Thank you, cuz."