Kill the Lights

"Try shooting at the sky," I say to Lucy.

"I'm not wasting my stamina over something useless."

"Just do it!"

She gives me a scoff before looking away.

The attacks of the Phantom cease, giving her time to aim upward. She releases the laser-like arrow into the sky. It explodes into a flash of light in mid-air, followed by a painful bellow of the Phantom.

"It worked!" I tell her.

"Yeah, but how?"

That question is answered as the spotlights darken, making dim lights more obvious. A face so large in the sky is staring down at us. It looks like a skull but its eyes are large and bright! It grits, looking at us in disdain. So, that's why they don't allow Shadowclutch in the Rave. I get it now! It was to conceal the Phantom in the sky!

"What is that?!" Lucy exclaims.

"It's the real Phantom! Kill it!"

Hordes of zombies have been summoned to attack us again. They're easy to survive but take longer. Lucy flies in the air and shoots all she can. Her every shot is now hurting the Phantom. Its screeching is torturing my eardrums! Come on! Kill it already before I go insane!

She aims and charges a powerful attack. Her bow is gathering light and intensifies as seconds go by. Once it is bright enough, she lets go of it. It's like a thick pillar of light. So bright that every corner of the Underworld is lit up. I'm blinded although I'm closing my eyes. I feel the rumbling. After that, a shockwave blasts me away along with the zombies. On the ground, I massage my eyes and blink profusely while hearing the loud roar of pain of that monster. There is once again a flash of light from Lucy. Another explosion occurs. I grab onto whatever I can. A pole serves as my anchor. That was not the last as she fires yet again another shot, not letting the Phantom take a break. It is with her fourth shot that a more catastrophic explosion happens. My grip is too weak! I get blown away until I hit a wall.

I open my eyes and Lucy's casual Daemon face fills my vision. She smiles so wide that her eyes close. "Come on, get up," she says, pulling my hands.

On the ground, I sit. Ugh. . . my head, it hurts.

"What happened?" I ask. "The Phantom—"

"I beat the crap out of it."

Just like she said, the Phantom in the sky is no more. Its flesh puppet is done as well as the DJs. Their hosts are now free although some of them died. She leaves me here and tends to the survivors with the help of other guards. To the balcony of Zaori, I gaze. She's not there anymore, probably went back inside.

I stand up and make my way there on foot. So weak, that I can't use my Shadowclutch or even take a step in a single second. Then I just noticed I can use my UI now. I'm instantly Level 52. Apparently, I spent ten months being controlled and tortured. I surpassed level 50 before the deadline. I never want to suffer that again. It's a miracle that I didn't go mad.

Although. . . I'm quite thankful. If it wasn't for that, I won't have discovered a part of my past. I don't know if that memory is fabricated, but I have a feeling that it wasn't. It was legit that it's my forgotten memory. My mother was here. This is the "Server" she was talking about. And I'm going to find out what she left for me.

As I enter Zaori's room, I hear giggling and smooching noises. A guy is on her as they're on the sofa. They're kissing and I'm not gonna wait until they finish.

"Zaori," I say.

"Join us," she says.

"No."

"Why not?" She stops, pushes the guy off of her, and sits up. "Oh, right. I'm all yours for one whole night. I'm sorry, my love. That was months ago so I almost forgot. And now that you're here, I can introduce you to Azgoth, my 3rd husband." He's a tall and buff Daemon with large saber fangs and thick horns. "He just came back from a quest."

"I want to talk to you," I say.

Azgoth looks at me as if he just got disrespected. I'm sorry if I interrupted you from whatever it was you were doing. I want to say that but I'm smart enough not to. I don't want to fight while I'm this weak. I must survive until I find out what is in the Edge of the Server that my mother left me.

"Alright, then," she smiles and gestures with a tilt of her head. Azgoth takes it as a sign for him to leave us. Once he's out of the room, she jumps and embraces me. "I'm so worried about you, my dear."—an obvious lie.

"Let go of me." I push her away.

"So hard to get," she mocks as she lies back on the sofa. "Come here," she says, spreading her arms and legs.

I shake my head and say, "All I want is to discuss something with you."

"I won't talk unless you're in my arms."

"Don't act like a child."

"Hmmph!"

I look to the side, pent up with her teasing. "I want out."

"Out?" she asks.

"Yeah."

For a while, she blinks a couple of times. I assume she doesn't know what I'm talking about. "Okay," she nods. "Now, come here." She reaches out with her arms like a baby in a crib.

"I want a divorce—if that's what it's called in this world."

"Divorce?!" She sits up, yelling. "Why?!"

"I didn't expect you'd care that much."

"Of course, I care! You're a part of me now!"

"Don't kid yourself. We're strangers to each other. I didn't even decide whether I wanted to marry— uh. . . be a part of your harem. It was a spur of the moment when I just came here without knowing anything."

She brushes her hair with her fingers over her head. Her face turns serious. "Why do you want to do this? Tell me the reason."