When Love Lasts: A Sapphic Short Story Collection

⚡️ The Lightning Mage: The Game, Part III

May 23, 2022

Word Count: 1,529

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Everyone explodes.

"Can we really not log out of this stupid game?"

"Are we really stuck here forever?"

"I want to go home and eat pizza!"

I pinch my nose bridge. My head is spinning but I need to think. Think about the story, think about other situations like this, think about Sword Art Online and Jumanji and every other story that involves being trapped inside another world. Think, Nia, think!

A revelation hits me.

"Cydney is from our world!" I yell.

The group quietens to stare at me. Ayah and Gabby stop their ongoing destruction of the cave, while Seth, who was rolling on the ground, stops mid-roll to look at me.

"Trying to get back to our world is something Cydney has always wanted to do throughout the book," I explain. "In the book, she left Lyn and joined the Witches and everything to achieve that. Maybe we can find some clues about returning home by looking through Cydney's profile."

All eyes turn to Kitty, who is in Cydney's body. She shifts on her feet as she lets out a nervous chuckle.

"Wh- What should I do, Nia?" she asks, her eyes fixing on me.

I soften my voice. "Don't worry, Kitty. Open up your settings page and compare them with mine. We shall play 'spot the difference'."

Scooting over next to her, we open our settings page together side-by-side. Everyone else huddled behind us, with Seth scratching at my feet. Our stats are extremely different—Cydney's skill list is exceptional, unlike my dreary encyclopedia list of potions, and her stamina and dexterity stats are off the charts. As we scroll through the page together, I spot an interesting disparity.

"Hold up," I say, placing my hand on Kitty's. I try to ignore the way she glances at me and focus on the 'Quest' section. "You have a different quest."

Indeed, my next quest is listed as 'Defeat The Kraken'. It is a quest written in the book as well, so I am not surprised to see it. But Kitty has a different quest.

'Find Sybil the Witch'.

"Don't you all have this quest?" Kitty asks.

One by one, everyone opens their quest pages to check.

"No, I have the same one that Nia has," Gabby says.

"Yeah, me too," concurs everyone else.

"The Kraken quest is the more conventional next quest to do because it follows the timeline of the book. Ants, quest, and then meeting the Witches." I pause. "Or rather, attempting to meet the Witches. All the characters were knocked out in that quest except for Cydney."

Once again, all eyes turn to Kitty.

"Kitty," I say. "You have a different path to take, so that's why your quest is different. And your path may be the path back home."

Murmurs float through the crowd as everyone takes in what I say. Seth is still scratching on my leg so I give him a little kick. Then, everyone's anxious eyes settle on me.

"So what do we do now?" Lorraine asks.

I pull on the straps of my bag and try to look as confident as my new body can manage. "Let's do Kitty's quest. Let's go find the Witches." I glance over at my health bar. "But first, let's take a break to recover our health points."