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Severance arrived in the courtyard in a flash of light.
The sun now soared in the sky, beaming down with oppressive warmth. Clouds nestled around it, occasionally drifting past its surface and casting the world beneath in a moment of cooling shadow.
The shift from the darkness of his bedroom to bright daytime felt jarring, so Severance automatically walked towards the doors of the clan House. It was dark inside, he remembered, and quiet, and that was what he wanted right now.
A heavy pressure built in his mind and chest, making it hard to breathe. A mantra had settled into place, and he clung to it with a desperate determination.
Don't think, don't think, don't think.
The two youngest of the clan, Tayci and Mirren, ran about the courtyard, shrieking and laughing as they played tag. Tayci ran right in front of him with a giggle and a "Hey Sev!" Mirren was right on her heels.
Severance didn't react, only a vague part of his brain registering their presence.
The doors of the clan House were propped open. As he went through, the cool shade of the indoors enveloped him. He stepped into its embrace gratefully, finally coming to a stop a few feet into the House's great hall.
And then he stood, because he didn't know what to do.
More of the Veiled milled about the Hall, chatting with each other or simply crossing from one room to another, carrying furs, tools, or baskets of supplies. Laughter rang out between groups, echoing in the hall. The atmosphere felt lighthearted, warm, happy.
It felt like he'd just walked into someone's home, intruding on the activities of a proper, functional family. Which he supposed it was, and they were.
He didn't fit.
The feeling that he was out of place grew, and suddenly he wanted to leave. Why did he come here? He was an outsider. He didn't belong here.
His discomfort tripled in an instant, yet his feet seemed to glue themselves to the floor. He wanted to leave. He wanted to stay. He wanted something, needed something, but didn't know how to get it or what it even was.
He felt lost.
"Severance?" A woman with short-cropped black hair noticed him first, and she came towards him. Behind her trailed Mouna, the quiet young woman who talked with her hands.
He stiffened in response, turning dull eyes upon the pair. The first woman, whose floating name proclaimed her as Irhaa, wore a smile that quickly faded.
"Are you all right?" Her head barely reached his chest, causing her to tilt her head back so she could look at his face.
He nodded mutely. Don't think. Don't think.
Her closeness was too much, but his feet still lacked the ability to move. He took a sharp, shallow breath that caught in his throat.
The world felt like it spun around, yet it didn't. Everything was crumbling down and yet it wasn't. He wanted to cry, but this body's eyes remained clear and dry. Its heart beat calm and steady, even though he felt like screaming and curling up on the ground.
Nothing made sense. Nothing fit right. The disparity tore at him and he found himself wishing that he'd never logged into the game. It made it all so much worse.
"Hey," Irhaa laid a gentle hand on his arm. "You don't look well. What's going on?"
He shrugged, more to dislodge her hand than anything else. Irhaa's brow furrowed deeply, and she exchanged a glance with Mouna.
Mouna's hands danced, carving intricate patterns in the air. Irhaa watched. "Good idea. I'll stay here."
With a small nod, Mouna turned and left, her stride carrying the effortless fluidity that every member of the Veiled clan possessed.
Irhaa didn't try to touch him again.
"Come on," she said. "Let's sit over here."
Severance let her lead him into one of the side rooms. This room was a lot larger than he thought it'd be, with rows of long tables hewn out of wood. Benches in the same style crowded against each table, easily providing seating for a hundred or more. More benches hugged the walls, layered with soft fur and cushions.
It was to one of these furred benches that she went. She sat on one end and looked up at him expectantly.
Wordlessly, he followed her cue and sat on the other end. The fur was a lot softer than it looked, and it felt warm and comfortable enough to sleep on.
He sighed, shifting his weight, before instinctively lifting his feet up as well. Curling up sideways on the bench, he hugged his legs and wondered if it was possible to just fade away. To go to a place where there was only nothing, where he didn't have to think and he didn't have to feel.
Stop it, he told himself. Just stop thinking about it. Focus on the game. It's why you came here, right?
"Did one of the other clans bother you?"
What? Severance looked up. She had her hands resting on her lap, her head tilted as she watched him. A little confused, he shook his head. Why would she even ask that?
"You look like someone took a chunk out of you. It's written all over your face. Even though it's the first time we've met, it's clear as day that something is wrong."
Oh. Severance dragged a hand over his face, as if he could wipe away all signs of his internal chaos. How could she tell, anyway? This body shed no tears, felt no pain. It wasn't even real. Nor was Irhaa or any of the other people in this place.
But Fenn was real. And he was gone.
A horrible shudder ripped through him, and he pressed his face against his knees. He blinked eyes that remained perfectly dry and stared at the far wall with a sinking desperation. The wall was a buoy in the storm, something to grab on to, but even it seemed to bob dangerously in the waves.
She was still looking at him. He could feel it. It made him feel like there was a giant spotlight beaming down on him from above, showing everything he wanted to keep in the dark. He drew his arms closer, hiding his face in them like a child.
"I'm only here to help," she gently said. "If you want to, you can tell me whatever's on your mind."
That sounded like a terrible idea. Even if she was just a bunch of computer code and pixels or whatever, he still couldn't bring himself to look at her. She was a stranger.
He kept his face buried in his knees, wondering how long it would take for her to give up and leave him alone.
"What's going on?" someone asked. It was a familiar voice.
Against his will, Severance's arms lowered enough so he could see that Mouna had returned with none other than Maun. The man looked the same as always, with his black, rogue-like attire and gleaming cobalt eyes.
"Maun," Irhaa rose from the bench. "I'm glad Mouna was able to find you."
"Find me she did. What did you need me for?" Then Maun's gaze found Severance. "Ah. I see."
You see what? Severance regretted coming here more than ever. Uncle Fenn was dead, and he was playing a game. Maybe he should just log out. He'd been stupid. None of this would help.
Not when Fenn was gone.
The breath caught in his throat. The world shuddered and he tightened his arms around his knees, as if attempting to hold it all together. He blinked rapidly before squeezing his eyes shut. He wished he could fall through the ground and disappear forever.
It wasn't like there was anyone who'd actually miss him. Not anymore.
"Give us some space please," Maun quietly spoke to the women. Both of them did as they were asked, leaving the large dining room with soundless footsteps. Once they left, Maun crouched in front of Severance so that they were eye level. "So."
Severance reluctantly opened his eyes. He looked at Maun's chin, unwilling to meet the man in black's eyes. Tension ran through him as he braced himself for the inevitable onslaught of questions.
Yet Maun did no such thing. He only smiled. "How about we go hunting?"
Huh?
Maun placed a warm hand on Severance's wrist. Without warning, the room exploded into white snow. There was a faint sensation of being displaced and the next thing Severance knew, he was standing on sandy ground.
Confused, he took in the new landscape around him. A cloudless gray-blue sky and vast ashy sand stretched out for as far as he could see. It was a washed out palate of desolation. Half buried buildings jutted out of the sand, ruins that hinted of a grand city that once existed in the past.
What was this place?
"Keep your eyes open," Maun said. He stood casually nearby, his gaze tracking over the surrounding area. "It might look empty, but this area is famous for arachnai nests."
"Araknee?" Severance repeated hesitantly. He didn't know what they were doing here or why Maun had suddenly dragged him here. All he wanted to was to curl up and disappear, and he was still thinking of logging out. But—
He didn't.
"Arachnai," Maun corrected. With a deft gesture, he slid both of his short blades free from their sheaths. He even gave them a twirl for coolness points, though it was entirely unnecessary. The guy probably had hundreds of points to spare.
Though his heart really wasn't in it, he couldn't help but ask, "What are arachnai?"
"Hm," Maun rubbed his chin. Then his gaze seemed to zero in at something behind Severance's shoulder. "There's one, if you're so curious."
Severance turned. And then he just about fell backwards onto his butt. A thing that could only be described as a giant, mutated spider loomed over him.
He'd never been a fan of spiders, but he'd never had a problem squishing one when he saw it. But seeing one this enormous towering before him was enough to sweep every last thought from his mind and replace it with sheer, unadulterated horror.
A dagger flew right over his head and thudded into one of the arachnai's many black eyes. Its hairy mandibles stretched wide, an angry clicking noise emanating from the open pit that lay between them.
Maun rushed past Severance, his other blade flashing in the sunlight. The man in black stabbed a second eye, grabbing onto his other blade at the same time. In the next moment, he yanked both of his weapons free, creating a gush of gray inky liquid from the ruined eyes.
Eight spindly legs shuddered before giving way, and the lean body of the arachnai collapsed. The second it hit the ground, the body started to hiss. A sickly yellow gas began to rise.
Maun moved quickly, only pausing to reach down and grab the back of Severance's shirt before he hauled Severance back as well.
"Stab their eyes a few times and they die easy enough," Maun explained. "But that gas is something else. I've seen it eat a man to the bone."
Severance craned his head in an attempt to look at Maun in horror. He even forgot the unpleasant sensation of his butt being dragged through the sand. "It actually does that?"
"Oh yes. It even disintegrates itself. Take a look."
Severance did. He regretted doing so instantly.
The arachnai's remaining eyes were melted streaks of goo that ran down its sagging face. Its flesh oozed from its bones like hairy slime. Gas hovered over the entire corpse, fading now, but still casting an eerie tint of yellow in the area around it.
Severance didn't think spiders normally had bones, but now that he'd seen a spider-shaped skeleton, he was pretty sure he wasn't going to sleep for the rest of his life. It looked even more freakish than the arachnai's outward appearance. And the skull, with all of its eye sockets...
He shuddered.
"As long as you keep your distance after you kill them, it's not that difficult." Maun sounded oddly cheerful as he released Severance's collar. "Although, if you get a couple of nests close together, it can get a little exciting."
"Exciting?" Severance repeated, voice rising in pitch. He got to his feet, still clutching his war fans tightly. A wary glance around showed no other freaky spider monsters in sight, but that didn't ease any of his nerves. What Maun thought to be exciting was surely going to be something absolutely horrific. He just knew it.
Clicking rose from the surrounding area. At first it seemed to come from a nearby pile of rocks, though there wasn't anything in sight. Then it came from the opposite direction. Severance turned to look. Again, he saw nothing.
Where were the sounds coming from? More and more of the odd, grating noise joined in until it was a cacophony of constant clamor.
Maun flashed his teeth when Severance looked his way in rising panic. "Sounds like we found ourselves a good sized nest."
Found?! Severance stared in disbelief. It was more like Maun purposefully dragged them to this exact spot, knowing full well what lay here.
Sand abruptly bulged upwards, rising into a large hill in a matter of seconds. It fell away just as two hairy spider legs—each as thick as Severance's arm—punched through. They rose up, before stabbing down, gaining purchase so that the arachnai could pull itself up.
Another two legs burst from the sand, followed by the others in rapid succession. Sand poured off as the rest of the body rose above the ground, revealing multiple black eyes riddling the head. Mandibles spread slightly before flaring even wider.
Chittering, the arachnai shuffled around to face them.
Severance was no longer thinking about his uncle. Instead, all he could focus on was the unsettling monsters all around him. That, and a single thought:
Maun was insane.