The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes

The white cottage, surrounded by wisps of mist like cirrus clouds, was decorated with an innocuous floral pattern. Crucis scanned it carefully from behind some trees, and couldn't find any differences from the cottage had had visited earlier for quests. Even the inside of this cottage was filled with the same stacks of swords in each corner, and small tables covered with messy paper, as the old man's cottage. However, Crucis didn't see anyone nearby, and, apart from a frail wind rapping hoarsely against the leaves, there was no sound nearby.

Cautiously approaching the cottage, Crucis decided to put off entering because it seemed like a trap. Since Duom had mentioned it as a notable nearby location, it was likely that some kind of event could be triggered here. He recalled that, early on the first day of the game, there had been a few posts on the forum with vague horror stories about the old man's cottage. While these stories were supposedly refuted soon after, once some larger players visited the cottage and confirmed that it was harmless, Crucis wondered if these stories might somehow relate to this Western cottage. As evening set in, the cottage's shadows were lengthening along the ground. Studying the trees in the woods surrounding this cottage, he found that they resembled what he remembered of the woods around the old man's cottage, although in this case with more mist and lifeless trees. Crucis' mind drifted back to his invitation to the Count's castle, and he walked closer to the cottage after considering that this was at least a less obvious trap.

He tapped a few of the trees near the cottage lightly, as they were arranged in the same position as the trees he had tested [Panoramic Strike] on. No targets were painted on these trees. Carefully, he withdrew his dagger and lightly poked the trees, wondering if there would be any further resemblance. To his surprise, after he poked the tree a few times a muffled voice rang out from the direction of the cottage, making a distorted noise that sounded congratulatory. The voice faded after a few seconds like a drowning man's voice as the water overwhelms him. Crucis glanced up, but saw nobody in the direction of the voice.

Crucis hid behind the trees, and tried to think back and remember what the old man had said when Crucis successfully hit the tree targets. He vaguely recalled that the man had said, 'Well done!' followed by a statement that even just 6 targets would have been enough. The noise he had heard just now from near this cottage sounded similar, but this time the words weren't enunciated clearly by the distorted voice. He glimpsed carefully at the cottage, but didn't see the old man. However, he got the sense that, if a voice was congratulating him on hitting the trees, then it was no use hiding behind these trees because his position there was known. He used [Stealth Cloak] and quickly ran to the left until he was behind the cottage.

It felt like a trap to enter the cottage directly, but Crucis decided that using the bug might let him inspect it more safely. He walked nimbly up to the back wall of the cottage, and used [Agile Step] to hop into the wall. He then stood stock still for a few seconds, making sure that nobody was reacting to him. The cottage remained still and empty. Crucis inspected the back corner of the room to his right, and found a pile of swords and daggers. These were marked as someone else's property, and he was not allowed to claim them. Frustrated, he shuffled towards his left, and found that there were a few small wooden cupboards hung on the wall. He hadn't seen these cupboards clearly in the original cottage, because they were hidden in the thick shadows at the back of the cottage, but in retrospect he did recall some wood jutting out in this part of the cottage. That was probably also a cupboard.

He noticed that one of these cupboards was built against the wall, and he could hence see into it from the wall. Slinking behind it, he saw a few items, but he couldn't reach into the cupboard due to a thick wall of grass along the back of the cupboard. He scanned the row of objects, and saw that they were quest items, including a [Silver Dagger] which he remembered having to obtain from a cave during the Assassin quest. He recognised a few of the others, such as the [Silver Bowstring] that Ronald had found, and the Mage quest's [Glowing Totem] which he had seen mentioned on the forums. This totem was carved in bronze, and had a pair of eyes on it, as well as two jagged wings on each side. It had a faint white glow around it. Crucis found it strange that all of these items, which players were continually told to obtain from dangerous locations, were all kept in a cupboard in the back of the cottage anyway.

He saw that a small, grey-silver [Nickel Medallion] was sitting above the cupboard, wedged between the top of the cupboard and the wall. He carefully eased the medallion into his hands, and saw that it was made from a ring of worn iron-like substance, with a small coin attached on one side as a pendant. The faces of the coin were faded and the etchings on them barely visible, and the coin was by now a dull bronze shade. Crucis checked the item's description, but found that it was blank. He would have to check on it later, but now did not seem like an appropriate time for messing around with accessories.

As he moved slowly towards the left of the wall, his feet hovered past another small clump of swords and daggers. He saw that a few of these were marked as [Demonstration Sword] or [Demonstration Dagger], and were the kind that the old man would use if players required demonstration of the skill to be learnt, or for some reason needed further explanation of tasks like striking the targets on trees. While players could generally pick this up in the cottage, the old man could instantly teleport the weapons back into the cottage as soon as he sensed them leave it, so nobody had been able to take them. Crucis saw that the [Demonstration Dagger] was a dark grey, iron dagger which seemed to have sharp edges.

Crucis knelt down lightly, and reached for one of the [Demonstration Dagger]. As he reached out for the dagger, his foot slipped partially out of the wall and onto the cottage floor. In a moment, he heard the floor creak on the opposite side of the cottage.

Looking across the cottage, he saw a figure that resembled the old man NPC, but seemed to not be fully rendered. While the silhouette of their face was there, their skin had been replaced by a misty, white glow, and their eyes and mouth were empty black holes. The outline of their hands emerged - hanging out on both sides - from ragged snippets of their suit, which hung in the air along an occasionally-fading outline of an arm, and their legs were barely there at all. As this figure advanced towards Crucis to attack, it spoke with its large, black mouth wide open, making threatening, suffocated sounds which were distorted like the one which Crucis had heard earlier near the trees. He couldn't make out the words. Quickly looking above the figure, he saw the garbled red name [Szåffěúŕ], and beneath that a level display which continually flickered between level 900, level 1000, and a level with a 1 followed by so many zeroes that the full number did not display.

Crucis grabbed the [Demonstration Dagger] and ran swiftly out of the back of the cottage. Looking back, he saw that the figure had left the cottage through the entrance, and was now slowly advancing towards him. He hurtled away through the woods, brushing branches and leaves firmly out of the way. He heard the loud sound of slow, methodical footsteps crashing against the leaves some distance behind him. He stopped, and caught his breath as that sound stopped, and looking backwards he saw the figure turning to return to the cottage.

However, as he tried to regain his bearings, he was surprised to hear the sound of a sword past the layer of trees in front of him. He had nearly run straight into another player, a warrior who was grinding mobs. He saw that the other player had noticed his arrival, and was walking around the trees. However, this other player was only level 24, and was unlikely to attack him. While the player was holding out his sword threateningly as he approached Crucis, this sword dropped to his side immediately as the player saw the level difference between him and Crucis.

"Hey, man, I'm Blaso, I got lost here while I was looking around beneath Kruxol," said the player, "Can you help?" Crucis saw the player's name above their head.

"This is some distance to the West, how did you stumble here?" asked Crucis.

"I was walking down the path straight South, how am I supposed to have come West? That's ridiculous," said Blaso, argumentatively.

Crucis shrugged. "You shouldn't be questioning how you got here, you should be thinking about how you're going to get away."

Crucis used [Agile Step] to leap beside Blaso, and used [Stunning Dagger] on Blaso's left shoulder. Quickly using [Dodge Step] to activate his dagger's damage boost, he sprung back towards Blaso and used a [Panoramic Strike] to stab at the left base of the neck, then deepened the wound by slashing across it with [Ripper]. As Blaso tried to turn around and swing his sword, Crucis grabbed him in a [Chokehold], and swung the turning Blaso face-first into a tree using the warrior's own momentum and effort as propulsion. Blaso was now down to 7% HP, and he staggered to the ground from the impact, with Crucis kneeling down to follow him. Still holding the warrior by the throat, Crucis used [Black Spot] to cut a slit in Blaso's neck and then let the warrior bleed to death.

This fight had ended quickly, as expected against a level 24. However, Crucis wondered if there was some kind of teleport near the Southwards route to the old man's cottage, which could instead divert people towards this cottage. Blaso had been lucky, since they had only come to grind mobs and not approach the cottage. At level 24, their map in this location was probably full of fog of war, and wouldn't help them much. Crucis noticed that he had obtained a lot of gold from this fight, but not many valuable items other than a [Rare Treasure Map]. He saw that this map depicted a place near Sanra, and decided that he would check it out when he went in that direction again.

He saw that the dead warrior had been grinding mobs of [Injured Young Boar]. These were weak, level 15 mobs. Crucis decided to test the [Demonstration Dagger] against them, but found that once placed in his inventory this dagger had transformed into a [Skeleton Dagger, level 0], a bone carved into a sharp point. This dagger had a small, black hilt. He looked at the blade's description, and it did not list any ability, while the weapon's damage was specified as 0. This seemed strange.

He attacked one of the boar with [Stunning Dagger] using this dagger, but was surprised that the boar was not paralysed at all and immediately shoved him firmly backwards. The attack had also dealt no damage. Crucis decided to test with a [Ripper], cutting a gaping, bleeding wound in the weak boar's side, but this still did no damage. He also noticed that, although the boar was bleeding heavily, the game did not give them the [Bleeding] status and they took no damage from the attack. Crucis frowned lightly, then calmly withdrew his [Silver Crucifix Dagger] and killed the boar quickly with a [Panoramic Strike] between the eyes and a [Dagger Twist]. He placed the [Skeleton Dagger, level 0] back into his inventory, quizzically.

Three other boars had started to approach him, but he quickly dispatched them by pulling out his [Black Cursed Draugr Light Sword] and using a quick series of [Slash], [Lunge], and [Overhead Slash] on the boars. As he was doing this, he heard a strange sound like wailing rise some distance behind him, towards the cottage. He guessed that this would belong to the character named [Irene], a female NPC with long, light-brown hair who was occasionally called upon by the old man to fight alongside players on certain quests. Some players had speculated that she was the old man's daughter, others talked about how they found the mission's fights harder because they were distracted by her looks. It was likely that this was a ghost simulacra of her.

Crucis caugbt his breath, then walked cautiously back towards the cottage, in the direction of the singing voice. He saw that a female similar to [Irene] was singing in a clearing, but like the old man in this cottage she had been reduced to a silhouette of sorts. While her light-brown hair was still mostly intact, her body was mostly reduced to the combination of silhouettes of skin and fragments of clothing. Crucis had heard that sometimes Irene would pass by the cottage, and the old man would offer a quest where Irene's high-pitched singing would summon a powerful [Valkyrie] boss. So far, nobody had managed to defeat this boss, since it was at level 80. He didn't see any boss in the area, but he approached cautiously to make sure that no Valkyrie attacked.

As he neared the clearing, the woman suddenly turned to face him, and advanced aggressively with both arms extended to her sides. Crucis saw that, like the old man, this woman's eyes were now empty black holes and her face wore a stiff, menacing expression. The female's name had been garbled from Irene to [Dnììĕ], and their level flickered between 40 and 50. As they reached Crucis, they lunged violently forward, and Crucis used [Dodge Step] to backstep away from the attack. He withdrew his [Black Cursed Draugr Light Sword], since the sword's long range would allow him to keep his distance from this unpredictable creature. As it neared him, he used a horizontal [Slash] to keep it away, while moving nimbly out of range of a lunge. He noticed that his feet were gliding over the ground in a blur, as a result of his recent Agility boosts from swordfighting.

However, the female ignored his backwards movements, and instead made a high-pitched ahriek that summoned a bright, glowing light in the air above her head. Crucis guessed that this was some kind of spell. The light was fragmented, and seemed to flicker lightly in the air. As the light begin to gather together into a ball, Crucis used [Stealth Cloak] and snuck behind the creature. The ball of light crashed down onto the ground where Crucis had been standing, causing a fierce explosion that sounded like white noise. Crucis heard a voice among the sound of the explosion, and it seemed to be saying, 'The enemy,' in a low-pitched voice. However, Crucis was aware that white noise could lead to vague sounds of voices, so he wasn't sure if that voice was actually there.

Not dwelling on the matter, he plunged his sword into the back of the woman's head with [Lunge], then drew it out and stepped back. The woman's HP had fallen to 80%, and she lunged in the direction of Crucis' attack. As her lunge fell short, Crucis landed a firm [Overhead slash] on the back of her neck as she leaned down after the lunge, and black-grey blood began to ooze out of her neck. As he considered whether to attack again, she let out a muffled wail and Crucis was sent falling backwards hard onto a tree. Although his shoulders ached from the blow, he made sure to quickly roll his body behind the tree in order to prevent her from striking him as he recovered. She was screaming something at him with a distorted voice that had a slight tinge of compassion, and to Crucis it sounded like she was trying to say, 'The Valkyrie is a tough enemy, good luck!' repeatedly. He assumed that, while she was 'talking,' she wouldn't use a spell on him because that was seemingly connected to her singing voice.

As he expected, she had walked near him, and he sidestepped around the tree as she flung her claw-like fingers forwards to attack him. Her blow glanced off the tree, sounding faintly metallic. Crucis drew his [Silver Crucifix Dagger]. He decided that, since she needed to sing in order to cast spells, he should aim for her throat to restrict her to melee attacks. Using [Agile Step], he stepped around the tree until he was beside the creature, and struck the lower right side of her neck hard with a [Stunning Dagger] stab which rooted her in place. He used this time to lock in a [Chokehold] with his right arm, and slash across her wounded throat with [Ripper]. Black-grey blood poured on the ground of the woods. As she regained movement, Crucis kicked her back and sent her colliding face-first into the tree, causing her body to go limp. Holding the chokehold tightly, he felt her trying to sing but experiencing difficulty. To shut her up, he used [Black Spot] to cut across the front of her throat, then followed up with a dagger twist that caused the creature to throw up its blood.

He was alarmed when the creature suddenly shook violently, pushing him a step backwards and causing his chokehold to loosen slightly. It let out a strained note, and Crucis realised that it had just about managed to sing. The effort of singing the note caused the creature to throw up more blood and stop singing, but Crucis saw that a faint spot of light had appeared in her right hand. While she hadn't managed to cast the spell fully, due to her injured neck, Crucis was still concerned about what this could do. Using a [Panoramic Strike] to worsen the throat wound and keep the creature distracted, he grabbed at her trailing right arm with his left hand and shoved the light into the creature, where it made a small explosion that shaved off 3% of her HP, leaving her at 34%. He concluded that the incomplete spell wasn't that threatening. However, he was still frustrated that the creature was trying to sing, and he felt their effort as he gripped them hard across the throat.

He tried to press the creature's throat harder, but this did not stop the ripples of pressure rising as the creature attempted to sing. However, he felt the creature's throat relax as he used his left hand to withdraw [Toxin gas] and spray that over her throat wounds, causing further small cuts as her wound crept slowly across her throat. To finally keep her quiet, he kicked her legs out and held her by the throat as she flailed around in the air. He slammed her face down hard into tree in front, and knelt down to follow her as she fell to the ground. She had only 7% HP remaining. After slashing across the inside of her throat wound with a [Ripper] across the top of her throat, he watched as she bled to death. He made sure that the body had stopped moving before he released it, and saw it fall in a heap.

He checked his inventory, and saw that after killing this creature he had received about five items. These included a [White Half-Mask], [Magical Conch Shell], [Physical Lunge Skill Book], [Poison Necklace], and [Love Letter]. He had already heard of the [Poison Necklace], and knew that it was a necklace laced with poison-coated spines, and would poison the wearer and others who came into contact with it. Crucis didn't have any use for it at present, so he ignored it for now. The [White Half-Mask] had a flat, curved surface, and was designed to cover the top half of the face. It was a very bright white, and as Crucis inspected it he saw that it glowed brilliantly in the surrounding mist.

He noticed that he could pick up some of the black-grey blood staining the ground, as if it were a normal item. Collecting it into a vial, he placed it carefully into his inventory. It was marked as [Blood of ?].

As he looked at the curved, grey-white [Magical Conch Shell], he felt a gust of wind blow through it and a soft, sonorous sound like a whisper emerged from the shell. Along with this, a faint bloom of light emerged in the air near the conch shell. Crucis supposed that this was related to the magical effect of the shell. This [Lunge] skill didn't seem like it would help him out, since it over-committed the user and made them an easy, unmoving target if they missed. However, he realised that he could use it in the Skill Mastery feature, in order to upgrade his [Ripper] into a skill named [The Ripper]. While this upgraded skill was still mostly the same, the strike grew in precision and depth as the opponent's HP decreased. This meant that, against low-HP opponents, it would look like a slow, measured cut at a precise location, rather than a fast and slightly anarchic slash across the skin. Crucis decided that this might be useful in closing out fights quickly, so he upgraded the skill.

He now had two skills upgraded in Skill Mastery: [Stealth] had become [Stealth Cloak], and [Ripper] had become [The Ripper]. This left him with one remaining slot.

He finally checked on the [Love Letter], which was a white piece of paper decorated with pink floral patterns around the edges. There were some words written in the centre of the page, in thick black ink:

"Dear Irene,

"I was so glad to see you again, life in these woods becomes so dreary without you that you could scarcely imagine. The blonde strands glowing on your magnificent brunette hair are like the daylight on the soil and trees. I was pleased to see you wearing the blue dress I bought you, it looked very elegant as it hung loosely from your shoulders.

"Are you having any difficulties moving into the woods? I have plenty of wealth still, and could probably hire some of the townsfolk to help you if necessary. I was very impressed with your father's knowledge of fencing, but isn't he a bit overbearing at times? We were getting along fine, then he started scolding me for asking too many questions. I don't know anyone who asks as many questions as he does!

"Would you be interested in coming West again to visit my home? It is a short walk, only about 10 minutes from your cottage. I would have enjoyed touring you around my mansion in Asuodar, but the savages who invaded our peaceful Kingdom of Asuor have driven all of us to hide in places like this. But this home, though smaller, is still much more expansive than the cramped cottage that your father keeps you in. You can frolic and enjoy your splendid youthfulness, and we can be together for as long as you can make up an excuse for! Please reply with your thoughts.

"Yours truly, Sam Bisraufel."

Crucis found this letter strange, as he was fairly certain that Irene did not have blonde hair. The figure he just fought just had light-brown hair, as did Irene in most images posted by players on the forum. There were no 'blonde strands' to be seen. Bisraufel may have just been paying Irene a cheap compliment, but the specificity of the letter, from someone who had clearly been close to Irene, made Crucis uncertain. Further, Crucis had explored this Western area of the woods and found no sign of Bisraufel's large home, nor of Bisraufel himself.

As Crucis looked up from the letter, he heard loud footsteps crushing the leaves from the direction of the cottage. He looked up, and saw a figure approaching from the distance: the familiar silhouette of the old man NPC, with the name [Szåffěúŕ]. Crucis turned and ran Eastwards, away from the replica cottage. He glanced at his map occasionally, and tried to direct himself towards the mark which Hiroto had made to indicate the next swordfighting quest location.