Night soon fell as we finished up the last of our business here in Cat Sith city.
"There. That was the last one." K affirmed as he waved away his last client.
"That took longer than all of our boss fights combined." Lizbeth chuckled with a poke.
"Hardest boss I've ever had to face." K joked which made everyone laugh.
"I would beg to differ." A female voice echoed from the darkness.
We all looked around but saw no one as the shadows lengthened from the rising moon.
"Show yourself." I ordered.
"I'm not hiding." She spoke.
We all looked around until I noticed a figure on the tip top of an angled roof. She giggled and swung one of her feet with her legs folded.
"There!" I pointed and the others looked too.
She was a midnight blue haired woman who had long low pigtails and a prevalent energy about her. She checked and played with her nails, giggling at me for being so frantic.
"Tetsuka. Didn't think I'd see your mug here in Alfheim." K remembered this foe from previous encounters.
"You're always so tense. I can fix that." She smiled.
That's when the clouds uncovered the big bright moon, revealing the silhouette of our aggressor within. She had a righteous pair of striking large bat wings and a tail resembling that of a devils. She sat cross legged and her back straight, letting out another giggle as we got a better look.
"Bat wings??" K was thrown off by the sight of them.
"Like them? They contrast yours very well." Tetsuka licked her lips.
"What do you want?" K felt the need to ask.
"You, smartass." She made it known.
K hesitated at first, being openly caught off guard by this admission.
"Not happening." He didn't even really want to bother answering.
"Not yet." Tetsuka giggled, exchanging a malicious look with Sinon.
"I don't like this, K." Sinon spoke up angrily.
"Nor do I." He replied similarly.
"Well, I suppose now's when I would tell you all about my immense powers and abilities, but I'm not going to. Instead, I'm going to leave you with the distinct knowledge of my existence in your magical world. Do with that what you will." Tetsuka giggled as she stood up on the rooftop.
"You callously show your face to those who will be responsible for your destruction?" K asked.
"I just wanted to see my precious Player1 again before our fight. I very much look forward to it." She winked and turned her back to us.
"I won't hold back." K assured.
"I know you won't." Tetsuka smirked before taking off into the midnight skies.
She disappeared against the starry backdrop and we were left amongst the empty streets.
"What do we do?" Sinon asked K.
"I don't know." He didn't look away.
Cat Sith, Sharp, Ice Queen: Sinon
"What can you tell me about the Vampiric uprising?" K asked.
"Wha?? The hell are ya talking about?" Argo was dumbstruck.
"The Vampires. And the Werewolves? It's going around right now. I thought you'd be the first to know." K assumed.
"I took a bit of a hiatus from info broking ta bag me an ultra rare mount, so I'm a bit out of tha loop on some things. Why, this recent or somthin'?" Argo informed.
"Fresh pressed off the printer. Speaking of which, your mount is one of the World Tree birds, isn't it?" K asked.
"Ya know your stuff. Yes, a one of a kind bird mount from tha highest reaches of the World Tree. It was no easy task ta obtain." Argo boasted.
"Vedrfulnir. I am quite familiar." K smiled and nodded.
"You know it?" Argo wasn't sure how he knew it's name.
"Who could not? I'm starting to think I'm the only one embracing the Norse roots of this world." K chuckled to himself.
"We're getting sidetracked. What can you tell us about Vampires and Werewolves?" I stepped forward.
"It's a disease that only affects NPCs as far as I know. It's used for certain quests and lore pieces but it's widely known to be within the backstory of the game." Argo regurgitated her usual info on it.
"It only affects NPCs?" Leafa repeated.
"It did." K corrected.
"But how did it jump ship to the player base?" Asuna wondered.
"Must have been a specific case." Kirito surmised.
"Or maybe a deliberate update?" Leafa proposed.
"Whatever the logistics may be, it's imperative that we learn as much as we can about them in hopes of counteracting Tetsuka." K explained.
"What about the werewolves?" I reminded him.
"We'll have to look into that later. For now, I feel we should focus our attention on the vampires. If DeathGod catches wind of their existence, he will no doubt try to manipulate them for his regime. We must prevent this eventuality at all costs." K was thinking multiple steps ahead.
"I hadn't thought of that. How should we go about it then?" I inquired.
"I think it's time we utilize our most powerful connections, the ones that reach far beyond the confines of our world view." K concluded.
"And who may that be?" Asuna asked with open curiosity.
"Not who, rather what. The eldest dragons of old will tell us much about a time long before ours. They will provide us with the insight we seek." K was confident.
"An avid suggestion, Spriggan King." Leafa giggled.
"We're headed to the mountain then?" I asked to confirm.
"Those who'd like to." K left it open ended.
"I'm actually gonna do some more digging here in Alne. I feel like there's a few more stones we could overturn." Lizbeth promptly stated.
"I'll go with you, Lizzy." Silica seemed rather excited by the idea.
"You two will get into trouble without me. We'll catch up later." Leafa smiled and waved to us as she followed them.
"What about you two? Up for a hike?" I asked Kirito and Asuna.
"I wouldn't mind a quest for knowledge." She looked over at him.
"I think my efforts would be better spent at the forefront." Kirito was honest.
"You're not going with me?" Asuna asked.
"As much as I'd like to, I wouldn't be able to shake the feeling of being needed someplace else. I think I should do my own investigation independently of the group. It might allow for the most cohesive answers to our questions." Kirito suggested.
"I understand what you mean, but are you really going to leave to do that?" Asuna wanted to know.
"I'm sorry, Asuna. This is what I do best." Kirito stated, stroking her cheek softly.
"Then I'll see you soon after." She held his hand on her face for a moment longer.
"That you will, darling. Take care of her you two." Kirito looked to us.
"Count on it." K and I both said at the same time.
We looked and smirked at each other before looking back to watch Kirito give Asuna a kiss and then departing.
"Alright. Shall we get moving?" Asuna turned to us with a sure smile.
We scaled the mountain path and neared the plateau that our local dragon perches on. The snow cover was minimal but it still caused us to be cautious with our steps.
"So K, what made you so interested in dragons?" Asuna made conversation.
"I find their presence and wisdom very alluring. Something about the gift of living thousands of years, amassing a vast modicum of knowledge is truly intriguing. I'm always fascinated by the idea of speaking with one and learning all that they have in their lifetime." K elaborated.
"Do you think you could learn all their knowledge just by talking?" Asuna wondered.
"You'd be surprised the things you could learn from a conversation." K smiled back at her.
"Who dares disturb my peace?" A booming voice rumbled the skies as we scaled the mountain peak.
"It's just us, Dinok. No need to be alarmed." K greeted as we joined the dragon on his plateau.
"Greetings again, Kendov." The dragon turned and cracked a faint smile.
"You two have pet names?" Asuna was attentive.
"Less so pet names and more so titles of respect. Tho, his is a nickname." K chuckled weakly.
"Kendov and I have begun a meaningful rapport in our mutual search for knowledge. We speak at length together from time to time." The dragon appreciated.
"I thought you referred to yourself in the third person." K noticed the change in dialogue since last they spoke.
"As I had said, I learn thru observation and self practice." The dragon specified.
"Why did he call you Kendov?" Asuna wondered.
"In their tongue, it means warrior or fighter. At first, he would just call me that without much of a second thought. When I found out it's meaning much later, I found myself familiarizing with the word. And so it stayed with my blessing." K explained.
"And what is it you call him? Dinok?" Asuna tried her best to repeat.
"That is correct. It means Death in their language, a shorter form for his native name." K elaborated.
"How meaningful." Asuna looked up to admire the dragon.
"What brings your curiosity to me this day? I'm honored that you brought those closest to you." The dragon began our conference.
"Actually, I'm-"
"Highly potent infectious diseases have begun to spring up all around Alfheim in a way that seems unprecedented. We seek your knowledge in this field to pinpoint their origins." K interrupted Asuna who was going to correct Dinok.
"You seek the origins of Vampires and Werewolves." The dragon knew already.
"That is correct." K nodded.
"How did you know without being told?" Asuna wondered.
"When you've seen as much as I have, some signs are tell tale." Dinok explained.
"Fascinating." She placed a finger on her chin.
"Enlighten me, Kruziik. How did it all begin?" K stood respectfully.
The dragon inhaled deeply before looking out to the horizons far beyond the games reach.
"The very first vampire was not a true vampire in the same sense that your people see them now. No. The first, was a gargoyle that had been cursed to life by the gods, bringing it's infectious diseases alive with it. A mixture of flesh eating, blood siphoning and ravenous tendencies make up the symptoms of a traditional vampire, but as you know them now, they've grown more methodical and calculated." Dinok elaborated.
"We heard that this disease was once limited to the NPCs of the game. Was that at one time true?" K asked.
"Yes, before the separation of the elven races, these diseases were purely speculative and only affected NPCs." The dragon continued.
"There was a time before different races?" K was making sure he heard that right.
"A tale for another time, Kendov." Dinok hushed K's intrigue.
"Right, sorry." K quieted himself.
"Yes, it was a time before your distinct races were established. It was a time before war, a time of peace." The dragon looked back on those years sadly.
"What happened?" I asked.
The dragon paused for a moment to look solemnly at the snow between us.
"After the gods meddling created the first vampire, it didn't take long for the virus to spread. It infected the elven population and the gods sought to clear the slate, to begin their precious world anew, but some disagreed. A great war broke out amongst the gods, and the elven people fought back against their vampiric invaders. The situation, tho fruitful at first, turned grim and the final stand was made at the World Tree. Alfheim was on the brink of collapse, and only a blade was to stop it's total annihilation." Dinok foretold.
"A blade?" K tilted his head.
"A sword, blessed with the pure light of the sun, that could create such a solar flare that it would instantly vaporize those infected with the disease." The dragon finished.
"And that worked?" Asuna inquired.
"That was only one half of the truly gruesome endeavor. Once the vampires were dealt with, the gods began to strike each other down with great prejudice. The morally good Gods, referred as the Greys, abandoned their ideals in order to kill the gods that thrived in this environment, the ones known as the Brutal Gods. Injustice befell them all and only a few remained to tell the tale." Dinok concluded.
"What happened to those that remained?" Asuna wanted to know.
"Some chose to succumb to a peaceful passing. Others disguised themselves as the creatures of old in hopes of finding an opponent worthy enough to claim their lives." The dragon finished.
"Does that mean...?" K seemed rather excited by the idea.
"Sadly not, Kendov. I am not one of the gods." Dinok clarified.
"Damn..." K snapped his finger.
"How are we to locate this sun sword?" I asked.
"The location of the blade has been lost to time, but it's last known whereabouts was said to be somewhere in the North." The dragon told.
"That's quite a broad search area." K stated.
"One would expect as much when seeking out an ancient weapon." Dinok replied.
"Point taken." K smirked a bit.
"What if we can't find it?" I asked.
"There is a castle located nearby there that is home to a family of NPC vampires. They possess more knowledge about the disease itself than I. They may aid your search." The dragon told us.
"Thank you, dragon." Asuna wanted to be respectful as our conversation came to a close.
"You are very welcome, Kendoffen." The dragon bowed its head.
"What does that mean?" Asuna whispered to K.
"Warriors."