RESETS: 42

  More screams broke out, caused by both the exploding buildings and Wexil luminously spawning between Uzi and Iker via the thrown dagger, and he acted as the bidental between two thrusting and longer daggers that were dodged just in time.

  "They are real? Is it a hologram?"

  "What the fuck is that?"

  The midbattle guests inclined more spectators to flee, and Iker dodging Wexil's designated thrust with a sudden bow left him vulnerable to a gut kick from Qubit. After getting the wind knocked out of his lungs, Wexil spun the medieval dagger within his tentacle to points downwards to Iker rather than sideways. Before the impale attempt Uzi poked both dagger hilts, telekinetically removing them both from Wexil's grasp. Aghast but aware Wexil dodged the first diving dagger while the one that had been pointed at Iker stabbed through Wexil taking him skywards. Becoming the conduit thanks to Qubit's punch, the glowing earthplexus vein writhing as Qubit's aura now captured both Iker and Uzi, keeping them frozen.

  "It's over," Qubit said.

  RESETS: 5

  "Come back you traitorous and conniving bitch!" Pager yelled from afar.

  You there? Iggy asked.

  The sudden voice almost stopped Monica in her tracks on the grid.

  You became an esper? Monica asked.

  Neigh, Iggy said. Sorry. I couldn't resist. I reincarnated in your imagination. You can jaunt now by the way.

  ... how the hell am I supposed to know I haven't lost my mind? Monica asked. I am in danger!

  You're not hallucinating, Iggy said. If you decide to no longer let your imagination run... you won't hear me anymore.

  Monica's desire for sanity got ahead of her because the inherent reverberation in Iggy's voice got cut halfway after he finished speaking, like an audio clip being paused. Running into something or someone, she almost tripped onto the wavy grid before catching herself by ramming a foot forward. In the corner of her eye she noticed fleecy and snowy feet beneath a magician's robe adorned with the darkest of blacks, beetle brown, and crimson.

  "Help me betray Maverick," Liesar requested. "He has no idea but I am the reason behind the delay in his loading. I have the existing one's best interest at heart."

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  You can jaunt now by the way, Iggy had said.

  Am I losing my mind? Monica asked herself.

  "I do not think so Baphomet," Monica finally said.

  "... wouldn't it be smarter to pretend to go along with my request and betray me later?" Liesar asked. "I can kill you with a mere thought. My cough could turn you into a less edible but toasty flesh tart."

  You can jaunt now by the way. Monica could not tell if she was remembering Iggy's remark or if he was actually speaking again. When Pager had communicated with her in past missions through a mindlink, it was hard to tell especially when he had repeated something he had said before.

  "Try it," Monica taunted. "So is that all you do? Ameen? My so called sister? Maverick? Pretend to like everyone and backstab them when it's convenient?"

  "Your entire family line loves engaging in backstabbery and being fake too," Liesar sneered, marching forward while raising his drooping sleeves to the sky, still facing away from the jaunter in the digital limbo. "It's always poke poke poke, stabby stabby stabby. Sometimes literally... or I guess Ember calls it being polite or having manners. I guess she is polite to her self-interest. You and your shitty sister are the last humans who could judge me."

  The fake breeze brushed Monica's shoulder once again, her smile and eyes contradicting each other. "For the first time ever, I have to agree. Thinking back... and seeing it for myself for who knows how long... probably only the author or God... our family put... Ember on a pedestal. Even named the flying city we ran away to after her."

  "I don't care," Liesar declared. "So do I have to kill you now or what?"

  Monica vanished.

  "I can't connect to her mind!" Pager yelled behind Monica.

  "Excuse me," Monica said politely while jumping into the digital scar Pager came from.

  COME BACK YOU STUPID B—

  RESETS: 42

  Iker broke Qubit's hold made of flux-light ever so slightly. A more substantial amount of the spectators turned to flee, and the answer as to why came as the silvery taste of blood that emerged on the back of his tongue. Within his wrist, at first, the veins seemed to be turning black, but upon spotting a blue one it became clear that what was burning and rupturing under his dark olive skin was his nervous system.

  "I did the kind thing and killed your ability to feel pain," Qubit said, his injured comrades behind him crawling away quietly. "Frankly... I did not think the fight would be this fast. I feel kind of sad actually."

  "You're only sad that you think the fight is over," Uzi was able to say upon Iker absorbing Qubit's nervous system attack directed at him and ver.

  Wexil's grunts descending should have been ample warning too, but the spoils of victory that came from the white in Iker's eyes turning into kindling embers relaxed Qubit too much. The long dagger that impaled Wexil and had taken him on a trip between Fornian skyscrapers pierced through both of Qubit's temples, his lights eyes losing luster and focus.

  "You're used to easy wins huh?" Uzi taunted at Qubit while his knees buckled.

  Upon the yielding from its second impalement, Wexil was given the chance to regain control of his levitation, his hind tentacles wriggling forward to free the long dagger from his two-sided wound, his own kaya form quickly sealing and healing the bleeding. Within a blink Wexil tried to give Uzi the same fate, however Uzi floated to the right before Wexil tackled him with the brim of his fan-shaped head, taking their fight somewhere else within the flying city.

  All that was left of the battle thus far were the two crawling soldiers begging for help, and a dead teenager still standing. The surface of his deadpan face under his hoodie looked like the roots of trees supplanting his skin, and if the earthplexus recordings were to be experienced through a virtualtop, both future players and spectators could smell what the stench of flesh going through the execution process of an electric chair would smell like.

  However, Iker's skull supplanted it all.