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The scent of the sea gently hit Silver Wolf's nose as she walked along the roads of Seafeld City.
Among all the places to see in Planarcadia, this was likely the most relaxing one. It did not have the overexcited bustle of Duomension City nor the darker air of Dovebrook District. While it still carried the unique charm of Planarcadia, here, the sky was always bright, the streets not too crowded and the waves surrounding the city calm, lightly lapping at the docks near Silver Wolf.
The Stellaron Hunters usually did not make visits to places such as these. The cities they went to normally had more action, more danger; things Silver Wolf was much more familiar with.
Sometimes they'd go to a smaller planet and get some ice cream for all of them from a vendor, then sit by the seaside and talk amongst eachother. The view of the sea from where Silver Wolf was standing reminded her of a particular day. Such occasions were even rarer now though, ever since that day at the Herta Space Station where Kafka and Silver Wolf successfully placed the "target".
And of course, places like this was not even remotely similar to anywhere located in Punklorde.
A girl with an overstuffed backpack and a school uniform quickly ran by Silver Wolf, yelling a quick apology for nearly knocking into her, probably late to class. On the street across, a couple walked hand in hand, laughing as they chatted. The family they walked past bought a few pastries from the vendor nearby, their young son jumping in an effort to swipe the food from his dad's hand.
Even after all the catastrophies this planet had recently went through since the Phantasmoon Games started, the people continued living their lives as normal. Things were slowly getting better day by day in the aftermath of everything.
Good. That was good. The power of Elation had managed to prevent the bad ending from occuring, and so, the Stellaron Hunters' quest here was complete.
Everything was... good. As it should be.
Silver Wolf's feet abruptly skidded to a stop as she looked up, and saw her.
The girl she had been looking for stood against the backdrop of the sea, hands clasped behind her back and head turned towards the waves, watching the serene water. Her pink hair slightly swayed alongside the calm sea breeze wafting through the air, moving in tandem with her long fox ears.
Someone else may have compared the sight to a beautiful traditional painting drawn with vivid colours and careful brushstrokes on a canvas, but Silver Wolf thought it looked like something straight out of a visual novel CG. Perhaps the scene where the protagonist would speak for multiples lines in their inner narration about how the sun hit the skin of their love interest just right, causing their heart to grow even fonder of the person in front of them, who they were slowly falling in love with.
Then, the girl suddenly put one of her hands on the railing and bent over it, raising a leg and making little noises with the effort it took her to... try touching the sea?
Silver Wolf blinked. "What are you doing?"
Evanescia yelped in surprise and floundered for a bit, almost falling into the water, but finally managed to right herself after a bit of trouble and heaved a sigh of relief.
She turned to Silver Wolf, hand over her erratically beating heart and face still looking a bit startled. "You scared me! I almost fell right in!"
"I thought you would've been able to recognize my foosteps by now." Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow. After all, Evanescia had said multiple times before that her ears were very sharp, and that they were fox ears! Fox! Not bunny ears!
"I can, normally, but I was just too focused on the sea this time." Evanescia said sheepishly, moving her hand away from her chest as her heart started to slow down. She turned away from Silver Wolf, and gazed towards the waters again.
Silver Wolf walked forward to stand beside her, beginning to observe the view more closely as well. The clouds drifting through the blue sky, the tracks in the distance set over the waves, the water stretching on infinitely...
Silver Wolf broke the silence. "...The Stellaron Hunters are leaving Planarcadia soon."
She deliberately kept her head facing forward and her face turned away from the girl next to her, even as she saw Evanescia glancing at her from the corner of her vision, studying her.
After a few moments of silence between them, Evanescia turned her gaze back to the view in front of them as well.
"I know." Evanescia spoke musingly. "The Phantasmoon Games are ending too. The Phantasmoon will soon return to its normal state once more, and the people of Planarcadia will go back to their usual daily lives..."
"And... after that, what will happen to you?" Silver Wolf asked, idly drumming her fingers on her crossed arms.
Evanescia hummed lightly, "It's probably as you already guessed. I'll return back to my slumber at the core of the Phantasmoon Courtyard, and wait until the day my duties need to be fulfilled again."
Silver Wolf pursed her lips and looked down, eyes falling on the handrails instead. There was an irritating, gnawing feeling in her chest that she hated.
Evanescia turned to her and smiled with downturned eyebrows, "Come on, why do you seem so down today? It's weird to see you like this."
Silver Wolf shook her head and heaved out a sigh. "I'm just annoyed we won't be able to do that anniversary raid together. It gives better rewards if you do it with the player you're married to."
Shortly after their first meeting during the Cosmicon Collective tournament with Stelle, the two of them had become something like... friends. Apparently, Evanescia hadn't been fully acting when she hounded Silver Wolf before their match, as afterwards she had hounded Silver Wolf once again, this time asking for her user ID, and Silver Wolf had begrudgingly given it to her.
Turns out Evanescia was basically a living Planarcadia entertainment encyclopedia, being a hardcore fan of many of the games and comics Silver Wolf was also into. Ever since then, they had co-op'ed in many video games, went to a few Planarcadia Cons together and texted whenever they had the chance to (meaning when the existence of Planarcadia as well as themselves were not actively being threatened).
One of the MMOs they played had a marriage system which had extreme benefits for the players getting married, more than any other MMO Silver Wolf had played. Practically all the people ranking high in PVP leaderboards was married to another user. The system was not beneficial at all for Silver Wolf in particular though, as she had no intentions of marrying another player in-game.
She was supposed to trust somebody else to actually pull their weight and play well, and complete all the required weekly quests? No way. And the rest of the Stellaron Hunters all sucked at video games, so that was already not an option.
She could still maintain her PVP ranking fairly comfortably as of now, but if things started to get tougher, she'd likely have to create an alt account, farm some friendship points between her alt and her main, then do a wedding for them and continue to manage both accounts. It would be a huge pain to do so, but at least she'd be raking in the benefits of the marriage system.
However, in one of the earlier instances of Evanescia and Silver Wolf playing that game together, Evanescia had gasped as she noticed Silver Wolf's character wasn't married to anyone, and immediately proposed to her in that ridiculous way she talks when glazing someone in an attempt to convince them of something.
Silver Wolf... had actually agreed fairly quickly; after all, Evanescia was a surprisingly good and diligent player from what she had observed, and it would be good for both of their accounts, so why not?
So they had grinded friendship points together for a while and finally, went through with the wedding. The global chat had been fun to read when that happened, as other players had been expressing their shock over the announcement of the only top player without a partner suddenly marrying another user. Silver Wolf and Evanescia had both been snickering over call as they watched the messages fly in.
Maybe Silver Wolf should get started on that alt account idea and end their in-game marriage now though, if Evanescia wasn't going to be around to play much longer.
...She didn't want to.
Evanescia's smile fell a bit at the reply, and her face turned thoughtful as she put a hand on the railing and gazed towards the sea again. Silver Wolf stole a glance at her while she wasn't looking.
Suddenly, Evanescia raised her foot to the railing and hoisted herself up, climbing on top of it. Before Silver Wolf could even react, she jumped straight into the water.
Silver Wolf yelped and instinctively raised an arm to shield herself from the splash, though she didn't feel anything wet hit her skin. When she lowered her arm back with wide eyes, she was met with the sight of Evanescia in the water, energetically waving at her and beckoning her in. Strangely, she looked to be dry.
"Come swim in the water with me!" Evanescia called out, beaming. "Don't worry, the water in Seafeld City is basically just a painting, it won't actually get you wet!"
Silver Wolf recalled what Evanescia was doing when she first saw her today. "Was that what you were checking earlier?"
"Well, not really. I've known the waters of Seafeld City was akin to a painting and wouldn't get you wet for a long time. That probably wouldn't have changed in merely 15 years." explained Evanescia. "I was just testing the temperature and the solidity of the water, since those can change."
She waved Silver Wolf over again. "Come on!"
Silver Wolf stared for a few seconds, then put one hand on the railing and jumped over it, falling into the sea herself.
Her jump created a splash around them from the impact, yet it didn't make any sound. Silver Wolf immediately noticed that being in this water was clearly different than swimming in normal waters. Even if she could feel the waves against her skin, she remained completely dry.
She kicked her legs under the water to stay afloat and looked down at the sea. Curiously, she noted, "Huh, it feels like touching digital data that's not fully corporeal."
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Evanescia said brightly, relaxing into the sea and leaning back to lay on top of it. She then furrowed her eyebrows as if realizing something. "Although... I don't think we're allowed to swim here."
That kind of made it more fun in Silver Wolf's opinion; she loved pushing against the boundaries of rules and breaking them entirely. Nevertheless, she teased, "Is the Arbitrator of the Phantasmoon Games, the one who punishes any and all rule breakers, supposed to break the rules of Planarcadia herself?"
Evanescia pouted a bit. "Anything not involving the Phantasmoon Games does not fall under my jurisdiction..." After trailing off for a moment, she continued with a different tone, "Besides, I decide the rules of the game, and I say we're in."
She smirked proudly, as if she just made an extremely funny reference, and looked at Silver Wolf expectantly. Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow at her.
"I don't get it."
Evanescia protested incredulously, "Yes, you do! You're an Emanator of Elation, you break the fourth wall as much as I do!"
"No, I don't." Silver Wolf said, fully knowing she does. "Maybe you just misinterpreted my dialogue from previous quests."
"That was a fourth wall break!"
"Was it?"
Evanescia's pout from earlier made a return again, much more pronounced this time. Silver Wolf stifled an amused smile at Evanescia's eccentricities, which she had come to feel very fond of.
Suddenly, an idea popped up into Evanescia's head and her expression turned from disgruntled to mischiveous. She quickly moved her arms and splashed water in Silver Wolf's direction in retaliation for messing with her.
Silver Wolf squawked as the seawater hit her face. Even if it didn't feel wet like normal water did, the sensation of it on her skin was still very noticeable. Evanescia giggled at the startled expression on her face.
Silver Wolf narrowed her eyes.
Well, two could play that game.
She tapped into her Aether Editing powers and conjured up a few guns, filling them with water and aiming them at the other girl. With a simple flick of her hand, they immediately started spraying water on Evanescia before she could even react.
"That's cheating! Cheating!" Evanescia yelled, trying to cover her head with her arms. "You're out!"
Evanescia pulled out her blade and tried to block the water rushing towards her with it. When that didn't work, she instead started slashing at the guns, making them fade into pixels with her masterful swings.
Silver Wolf snickered and threw a thumbs down at her, simply making more and more guns spawn around Evanescia as she moved. Easy as pie.
Without warning, Evanescia determinedly dove inside the water. Silver Wolf looked around, attempting to track where she was going, but it was impossible to see into the bright blue brushstrokes of the sea.
For a split second, she contemplated diving into the water too, until she was abruptly grabbed from below.
Evanescia wrapped her arms around Silver Wolf's hips and dove back out, making Silver Wolf double over her shoulder. Silver Wolf yelped at the sudden action and kicked her legs in an attempt to break free, but Evanescia, with her considerably taller height, did not budge.
"This is cheating!" Silver Wolf whined— no, didn't whine, thank you very much. "Let me down!"
She could feel Evanescia's body below her trembling with the force of her laughter, and she struggled more in the tight hold. She finally placed both of her hands on Evanescia's shoulders and managed to pull away a bit, looking down at the other girl.
The sight she saw took her breath away.
Evanescia's eyes were closed and she was openly laughing, the sound happy and so, so vibrant. Her cheeks and the slope of her nose were flushed slightly pink, and the bright sun over the two of them hit her skin just right. Her hair was disheveled from all the moving around, the messy strands curling around prettily on her cute face.
She was so close to Silver Wolf, enough for her to feel Evanescia's body warmth seeping into her skin.
Evanescia opened her eyes, and her face softened at the way Silver Wolf was staring at her, with widened eyes and reddened cheeks. Her smile turned exceedingly tender — an expression just for Silver Wolf's eyes. This moment was shared between them alone.
She was so close that if Silver Wolf leaned in, she could...
Could...
Silver Wolf looked away.
Evanescia sensed the change in Silver Wolf's demeanor and slowly lowered her, keeping her hands on her hips. Their bodies remained close, a mere breath away from eachother, as they floated in the water in silence.
The noise coming from the streets hit Silver Wolf's ears. The daily bustle of Seafeld City, all the people simply living their lives, continuing on with their normal, mundane days. The students, the cheery kids, the workers, the couples...
Silver Wolf opened her mouth, then closed it again, trying to find the words.
She started, "Do you ever wish... you led a different life? Something more... normal?"
Evanescia pondered about the question for a few moments, idly rubbing circles on Silver Wolf's hip with her hand. "I suppose... I do."
"Sometimes I daydream about being a highschool girl. Waking up late for class, panicking once I realize, getting ready as quickly as I can and running out of the house at full speed with a toast in my mouth, like that classic trope." Evanescia smiled. "Or, well, I guess it wouldn't be much of a normal life, but at times I imagine myself in the universe of the Fluffy, being a Nameless and freely traveling alongside the Astral Express, embarking on countless adventures with my trusted companions right beside me..."
Silver Wolf listened to her quietly, gaze tracing the lines of the waves below them.
When she was young, Silver Wolf would sometimes daydream too.
She usually did not have the luxury to — too focused on simply trying to stay alive. But she had heard the stories, the snippets of internet comics popular in Punklorde. The plotlines where the MC would get stronger and stronger, continuously leveling up, defeating every foe in their way, expertly hacking and fighting their way to the top, until they solidified themselves as the strongest there ever was.
Silver Wolf fantasized about being that person. About being so strong that nobody could kick her down, that nothing in the vast universe could give her any trouble, that she wouldn't feel so weak and helpless ever again.
But she was not the type of person who would only dream without acting. She was the kind of girl who would kick and scratch and play dirty and fight and endlessly struggle against her circumstances, climbing and climbing that seemingly insurmountable mountain, crawling up out of the depths of that dark pit she was born in, never stopping no matter how wounded her hands got.
She had to. Or else she would have died.
Then she found the blank cartridge, and those fantasies became closer to reality.
So she leveled up, more and more and more until she couldn't anymore, until the Stellaron Hunters found her, and she met and fought her future self just as she had fought against every other obstacle in her life — putting her life on the line, with a sort of desperation most others would not be able to understand.
The rest of the Stellaron Hunters did understand though. All of them had come from unique backgrounds, had struggled due to different things throughout their lives, and had come together under a shared goal and a promise made to each of them.
Silver Wolf may have been an orphan, but she had a family. The Stellaron Hunters were more of her family than any blood relative could've been.
And in general, Silver Wolf was not someone who would wish for a normal life. Such a thing sounded incredibly boring, like a filler but mandatory slice of life quest with no skip button. Neither she nor her life was ordinary, and she was content with that — rather, she much preferred it.
And yet...
She couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to go to school with Evanescia.
When Evanescia inevitably overslept, would Silver Wolf have been the one to wake her up? Would she also oversleep, or wake up on time but just decide to skip class to game all day? Maybe she and Evanescia would ditch school together and secretly go to an internet cafe, or swim in waters of a city they were not allowed to swim in. Just two girls having fun in eachother's company.
Would Silver Wolf have met the Stellaron Hunters then? She wanted to have.
She wanted Firefly to be the ordinary girl she wished to be; her, Evanescia and Silver Wolf often hanging out at school together as a trio, during the times Stelle didn't whisk Firefly away to make out under some stairway, probably. She wanted Blade to live peacefully without suffering, as a normal person without the curse of immortality and countless tragedies of the past weighing down on him. She wanted Kafka to be happy and not put distance between herself and others, even people who were the closest to her, and for those golden threads of destiny she spoke of to not turn into shackles around her wrists.
If in that life all of them were still family and Silver Wolf introduced Evanescia to them, what would they say? Would they take the opportunity to tease Silver Wolf — which Evanescia was sure to enjoy — for finally bringing a friend home? Or maybe... a girlfriend?
It was useless to think about these things. They would never happen. They weren't even in the realm of possibility, not in this version of the universe.
Silver Wolf would keep moving towards the future alongside the Stellaron Hunters without stopping, without being able to stop, while Evanescia would continue to observe the endless Phantasmoon Games, and they would eventually become a mere footprint in eachother's memory. Silver Wolf did not believe in fate, not really, but she knew there was no other future for the two of them. There couldn't be.
She knew this, all of this, yet she still wondered. And she still wanted.
"I don't want to leave." Silver Wolf admitted, breaking the silence between them. The vulnerability felt like ash in her throat. "I don't want you to leave."
"I know." Evanescia hummed quietly. "Me too."
"I don't want this moment to end. I want to stay here, and not have to move onto the next quest, the next storyline where we go on our seperate ways."
"I know. Me too." Evanescia said.
"Are you going to say anything other than 'I know, me too'?"
Evanescia let out a laugh, "I'm agreeing with you!"
Silver Wolf's gaze remained on the still waters, not turning towards Evanescia's face. At the lack of a reaction, Evanescia's voice turned more gentle.
"Silver Wolf." She called out.
Silver Wolf glanced at her, not sure what kind of expression she was wearing. Evanescia moved back a little, that softness still on her face, and started to speak.
"In my eternal life, I've experienced many first meetings, as well as farewells. I have interacted with countless people, gotten to know them, and they became my treasured companions, yet in the end, they disappeared or we became strangers. This cycle repeats again and again, under the endless watch of the Phantasmoon.
"I guess, in a way, it's melancholic, yes. But I think... there is also something beautiful about it." Evanescia mused.
She looked at the serene sky above them, voice thoughtful, "Throughout a person's life, they will keep on experiencing new things. Meeting new people, saying goodbye to others, watching the world they've come to know slowly change over time, and making unforgettable memories. They will live through moments they wish would never end, even if they already know it will, as all things are wont to do.
"Yet it is because these joyful moments inevitably end that we cherish them so much, that we keep them in our hearts and minds and replay the memories we experienced with the people we love over and over in our heads. Do you know why flowers are beautiful? Because they are so fleeting.
"All we can do is make sure to live each moment to the fullest, so that when they end and we later think back on them, there are good feelings and longing, but at least no regrets. Just happiness that it happened.
"So... let's just live in the present. Away from the horrors of the past, and the future we don't want realized; all the what-ifs, and the what could've beens." She slightly raised her hands in the water, gazing intimately at Silver Wolf. "Before tomorrow comes... let's swim in waters we're not supposed to be in, play video games until dawn, chat about everything and anything like lifelong friends, and just enjoy ourselves in the moment."
Silver Wolf swallowed past the lump in her throat and stared at Evanescia, unable to tear her eyes away from her dazzling figure.
Living in the moment, making sure to have no regrets — these were things Silver Wolf already lived by. She didn't need someone to tell her that. But it felt different coming from Evanescia.
From... the girl Silver Wolf had fallen for.
No regrets...
Rather than taking the hands offered to her, Silver Wolf instead reached for Evanescia's face and pulled her down to kiss her.
Evanescia kissed back immediately with the same fervour, the same desire and desperation. Her lips were soft and her mouth tasted sweet, like the bubble tea she liked to drink.
One of Silver Wolf's hands moved to Evanescia's nape to pull her even closer, even deeper, and Evanescia responded by curling a hand around Silver Wolf's waist. Silver Wolf admittedly barely had any idea what she was doing, but when she softly bit Evanescia's lip, Evanescia let out a little moan, and that sent a thrill through her.
After a few moments, they pulled back and stared at eachother. Both were breathing heavily, still close enough that their noses were brushing against eachother.
Evanescia's cheeks swiftly reddened at the disheveled, flushed way Silver Wolf looked, and she buried her face in the other girl's shoulder with a flustered squeal. Silver Wolf snickered a bit and moved her arms to Evanescia's back, hugging her closer.
She felt just as embarrassed herself, but also unbelievably giddy and happy. It was... a weird feeling, but a good one too.
"I guess I finally unlocked your special CG scene there, didn't I?" Evanescia mumbled into Silver Wolf's shoulder, voice muffled.
Silver Wolf hummed, agreeing. "The way you were able to speedrun maxing out my affection points is pretty impressive."
Evanescia raised her head, smiling cheekily. "So you admit I'm a good speedrunner?"
"Not a chance." Silver Wolf deadpanned. Evanescia may have been better than average when it came to normal gaming, but definitely not speedrunning.
Evanescia pouted and Silver Wolf pinched her cheek. She liked cute things, and Evanescia was very cute.
That pout melted back into a happy smile pretty quickly. "Hmm, I remember reading online that there will be a video game Con today near the @ Gate. Should we head there next?"
"Sure. There was a video game store in Duomension City I wanted to check out before I left too."
"Great! Let's continue our date there!"
"Date?"
"For all intents and purposes, this is a date, isn't it?"
"...I guess so. I'll TP us there."
"Teleporting? No romantic stroll through the city instead?"
"Maybe I just want to show off my T0 abilities to my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?"
"We're basically girlfriends at this point, aren't we?"
"...You're right. Aah, just hearing you say that makes my heart beat like it's going to jump out of my chest! Esteemed Wolf, I've actually been a huge fan of yours all along, I really have been captivated by you since Chapter 1, Volume 1 of the Fluffy-"
"You don't need to glaze me after we've already started dating."
Many system hours later, a feminine voice spoke to her companion.
"You've been staring out that window for a while now, Wolfie. How unlike you. Did you like Planarcadia that much?"
"Mm, it wasn't bad. Some of the games were pretty fun."
"But the games aren't what you're thinking of, is it?"
"..."
"The path of destiny is long and vast. As long as everything doesn't end, I'm sure you'll see her again one day."
Silver Wolf looked down at her phone, their married MMO accounts and Evanescia's offline profile reflected on the screen.
She hoped so.