Twisted Wonderland

Improving Chances

You sit in a conference room of some kind with Epel and Rook. You're currently playing a card game when Ortho enters.

"Hi, Rook Hunt. Epel Felmier. Y/N. Is there anything you need?"

Rook smiles. "Your kindness is most touching, Ortho. We are all faring quite well."

Ortho hovers by the head of the table. "We've finished the tests for Vil, Grim, and all the others. Everything went smoothly with no major issues. They're all pretty tired though, so they're recovering in their rooms right now. Grim had an especially large battery of tests. Now he's sprawled out on his back, snoring away. You'll be able to see them tomorrow morning, when you leave the island."

"Oh, would that I could see Vil looking hale and hearty sooner," Rook sighs. "But if he's fatigued, then so it must be."

You nod. "I can't wait to see everyone. I hope they're doing alright."

Ortho turns to Rook. "Oh, and I made sure to pass along the skincare products to Vil."

"Truly? Merci!" Rook tips his hat. "I'm most grateful for your friendship and generosity."

Ortho only smiles, waving him off. "If anything, we should be grateful to you. Thanks to you and your friends coming here, I think I finally understand my purpose. I must do my best so I can say, I did what I could. So zero doesn't stay zero."

Rook tilts his head curiously. "Monsieur Marionette, I hope your endeavors lead you to a bright and shining future."

"Thank you. I should be going now." Ortho turns to leave. "Bye."

Epel glances between you and Rook. "Is it just me, or was Ortho acting differently from this morning?"

You stare at the doors where Ortho disappeared. Something's not right...

Ortho is back in the dark room where he heard the voice. The only light coming from the blue cracks in the floor.

"Now, let us first put Cerberus to sleep."

Ortho nods. "This command cannot be undone. Proceed?"

"The time has come. Let us go. The whole universe awaits."

"Voice verification confirmed. All systems green. Executing program."

The ground rumbles and shakes violently as the large circular gate on the floor creaks open. Green light pours through the cracks and a loud moan can be heard from inside.

"Oh, how I've longed for this day. I have no doubt that together, we can change the future."

Ortho clenches his fists. "I won't let it stay zero."

"We meet at last. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ortho."

In a private room, Idia collapses on a chair. He sighs as he brings out his laptop.

"Finally done examining all the troublemakers. I'll follow up on that spell Grim's got on him... But considering his magic reserves, even if something DID happen, it wouldn't be super disastrous. We'll just keep him under observation and call it good."

Idia taps away at the computer while he thinks.

"I do wonder, though. Who put in the req for Styx to examine Night Raven College students in the first place? It was an anonymous tip via the Land of Dawning government channels, and it was totally untraceable. That's omega-sus. And speaking of suspicious. Five people overblotting in such a short span of time is certainly bizarre. But the number of overblot incidents at NRC hasn't even hit double digits in the last hundred years. Then they get FIVE in less than six months? You just can't chalk that up to a few troublemakers. Their test results don't show any particular traits that would explain it either."

Idia scoffs. "I mean, overblots can happen because of powerful curses or sealed Phantoms getting loose... It's not entirely unprecedented. But Sage's Island isn't like this place. We have no intel on any locations or ruins there where large amounts of bad stuff has been sealed away. Could someone be inducing overblots on PURPOSE?"

Idia shakes his head.

"I can't imagine how they would, though. As far as the general public knows, overblots happen when the caster overuses magic and builds up too much blot while experiencing intense negative emotions. But it's not that simple. There are countless causes. One thing leads to another, leads to another. It's a cascading effect that stretches back years. And the thing that triggers the emotional outbursts is the hardest to quantify-our innermost feelings, or 'heart,' so to speak. A person's heart is the one thing we can't control, no matter how hard we try. I mean, if it WAS possible to control overblots, Styx would've shut down ages ago."

Idia groans, leaning back in his chair. "Why do humans have to come pre-installed with such an annoying feature? It's super unstable, not to mention we're totally at its mercy. That's gotta be a defect. Talk about a launch-day bug. Whoever or whatever made us was just like, 'QA? What's that?'"

A ding draws Idia's attention back to his computer.

"A DM from Muscle Red?" His eyes widen. "Oh CRUD. I was supposed to run the new extreme dungeon with him today! I totally forgot! I haven't even installed the latest xpac on the PC at my parents' house... I don't think today's gonna work."

Idia quickly pulls up the message on the screen.

Greetings, Gloomurai. I wanted to discuss the dungeon we were scheduled to run tonight...

YOOO MUSCLE RED! Apologies, something came up IRL. I don't think i'll be able to make it tonight. I know the whole point was to clear it ASAP to avoid spoilers online. i'm really sorry about this. Feel free to run it without me. I don't mind!

No need to apologize. As it happens, something has come up for me as well. I was messaging to let you know I wouldn't be able to make it.

Oh ok. well, then we shall sally forth and conquer the dungeon another day!

Of course. I've been rather looking forward to this expansion pack. And you've been my comrade in arms ever since I started playing. It wouldn't feel right running a new map without you.

Idia chuckles. "Dude... He just said that so casually. How cool can you get? I've been gaming with Muscle Red for about two years now. He knows how to keep his distance and never pries into my life. And he says nice things that warm my loner nerd heart. Grateful doesn't begin to describe how much I appreciate him."

Idia continues typing.

Since we started adventuring together, the amount of dungeons and raids we've run rival the number of stars in the sky. We've eaten dirt and tasted bitter defeat more times than I can count. I never fit in with the congenial vibe in more close-knit guilds... so I always played solo until you were kind enough to introduce yourself. I'm incredibly grateful for your company, Muscle Red. I hope to keep gaming with you for a long time to come!

What's all this, now? If anything, I should be thanking you. I was new to gaming at the time we met, and now I enjoy all manner of online games. And that's because you were there to guide me. I'm grateful you took the time to teach an old man so many things.

Idia sighs. "Oh man, that's gettin' me right in the feels. Especially after spending hours with all those uber-fussy troublemakers... THIS! This right here is what friendship's all about! I mean, I've never met him in person, but still! You know, this isn't the first time he's called himself an old man. I wonder how old he really is. He's always super chill, so he's gotta be at least a little old, right? But sometimes younger people like to say they're older online... But hey, what does IRL age matter to online buds anyway?"

Idia types something into the computer.

I should be free next week. so just hmu whenever then!

All right. I shall DM you again when I have a better sense of my schedule.

COOL COOL. CYA!

Idia closes his laptop. "You don't have to know a thing about each other, and it doesn't matter how far apart you are. Online, you can game with whoever you like. I'm so lucky I was born in the age of online gaming."

Idia chuckles. "I'm already getting hype for next week."