---

December had so many good memories of this game. She felt a little guilty about leaving her old guild, but it was to raise her son; everyone understood and wished her well. The nostalgia was refreshing in a way, but sad too. She couldn't be honest with herself though, and had been driving away every negative thought that popped into her head. Her reaction was instinctive. On some level she hoped, that if she didn't think about losing the place where she slowly got to know her sweet husband, or any of the colorful people they played with... maybe it all wouldn't disappear, if she just wished for it hard enough.

The festive hall, once crowded with all manner of wondrous items, constructs, and NPCs, seemed lonesome and, for the first time tonight, empty. The crowds thinned and the space between those remaining grew as more left after saying their final good-byes.

Others wandered around viewing interesting sights and sounds like socialites enjoying gallery night in a high-end arcology. She passed them by without a word. Her heart couldn't endure much more of this party, and she was wounding herself just by sticking around, but she didn't want to leave. Not yet anyway.

As she was filling a new cup of wine, she overheard some intimate confessions exchanged between a cutely dressed village girl and a sultry demoness. She hadn't intended eavesdrop. It just... happened.

As she listened, a knot began to tighten inside her chest and low, hollow feeling swelled behind it. If her avatar could make tears, she was certain it would be crying right now. She stared at the virtual red liquid idly sloshing in her glass, and briefly wondered if there was some kind of closure at the bottom. She only needed to drink to find out, and even brought it to her lips to drink, but stopped.

"It's not pathetic..." her tone was quiet and wistful. Once she realized she had said that, she felt a little awkward, but it felt right to say it.

She turned to Selena, her voice trembling as if fighting back tears. "I don't know what's waiting for you on the outside, but I won't believe that any of the time I spent here wasn't worth it. I met my husband here. Some of my most treasured memories are here! It's the same for you, isn't it? At what age does cherishing the things important to you become pathetic? I'd rather-" December realized only too late that her tone had grown harsh, as if scolding this poor stranger.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly. Embarrassed, her voice suddenly became soft and quiet again. Her impassioned flare vanished in an instant. "Please excuse me, I said too much."

With a polite /bow, she took her wine and briskly walked away. Her fingers nervously circled the rim of her glass as the seconds stretched into eternity. She needed to unwind and sort through the mess of emotions that tangled her heart strings into wicked knots.

Maybe I should just leave early?

---

@Hammerman@Rune_Alchemist

---

"It's not pathetic..."

Selena gasped. She was caught off-guard by the new voice that had joined the conversation she thought was private. She looked to where the voice came from and found a beautiful white-haired lady staring passionately at her. She looked like she was about to cry and her voice shook as she continued to talk to her.

"I don't know what's waiting for you on the outside, but I won't believe that any of the time I spent here wasn't worth it. I met my husband here. Some of my most treasured memories are here! It's the same for you, isn't it? At what age does cherishing the things important to you become pathetic? I'd rather- I'm sorry. Please excuse me, I said too much."

She abruptly stopped herself, then bowed as she left the two.

"Oh, please, don't leave!" Selena shouted to her as she raised from her seat, chasing after the lady. "I didn't mean to insult your memories!" She then grabbed her hands with her own before continuing. "I... I am merely talking about myself. I played this whole game as an escape from my real life. I... didn't really have anything out there." She then looked up at the lady's face. "You said you met your husband here. That's wonderful!" Selena smiled. "I myself am still unmarried so I wouldn't really know how that feels, but I imagine it must be a really wonderful thing." Her smile turned slightly painful at her second statement. She was not prideful at all at the fact that she was still single in her thirties.

Selena then released the lady's hands, putting her own hands in front of her dress.

"I did have fun playing this game. So many memories that I wouldn't forget. And that's why... this whole shutdown... it hits me hard. I really, really wish I can continue playing this game. But it's not to be and here I am pretending to drink my problems away..." Selena paused to let out a sad laugh. "I'll probably going to drink in real life too after this... Probably not the best idea since I'm quite weak to alcohol..."

Once again, Selena returned to her wry smile.

"So, how about we spend our last moments here drinking together?" Selena gestured towards the chair she had left. "I would love to hear about your stories playing this game. O-oh, and of course, if you don't want to talk about it, then I can tell you mine instead."

@BurningDaisies

Jack walked through the central Plaza slowly. Taking time to occasionally eavesdrop on others to see if he had anything relevant to join in and say. He only ever made friends with his Guild Mates and been friends with them for years. He was feeling socially awkward, he only knew the aspects of PVP and nothing else. He didn't know any of the Raid Boss's names, or have stories telling about a crippling defeat or a close Win against them. He didn't know where the best spots to mine or the best items to use in crafting weapons, since any weapon that mattered already was made by the game Devs, some were even displayed around. So Jack was shit out of luck.

He occasionally leaned to a wall or statue to listen to the stories spread by others. Some he couldn't imagine how amazingly boring they would of actually been, regardless of how much spice they added to make their Stories epic. Even occasional PVP stories of a Single Player taking on a group of 'Elite PKers' or their Pleb-tier guilds against another. They were all full of shit, just boasting to a bunch of PVE Carebears that didn't know the first thing of PVP group play. While he felt he needed to interject and possibly even offer them a duel to show off their oh so 'mighty' skills, he didn't. The game was ending in just a few minutes and none of it mattered. None of it really mattered to begin with... Hearing one last Story, he moved on shaking his head. Just waiting for him to pay his final respects and finally be able to crawl back to his bed. He had work at 6am and he wanted to just get this over with. He was distracted from his self loathing by a phrase he wasn't really prepared for.

"SCREENSHOT IN 5...4...3...2...1..."

Jack looked to his left and was behind two female characters. He looked quite dumbstruck with his jaw hanging loose and his bright Purple Eyes staring at the two in their pose. It took him a few seconds to realize that he had just completely Photo Bombed their screenshot. At first he wasn't going to say anything, probably get a good laugh out of them later when they realized a random skeleton face hidden among the other Player's Weapons. It was the last time they were going to be able to do it though, so he spoke up
"Hey... Sorry, but I kinda just Photobombed your pic. I'll move out the way so you guys can have your screenshot properly lol."
@13org

~Senna~

@Hammerman@BurningDaisies

---

Well, things certainly took a quite different turn then she was expecting. That was fine though, she quite enjoyed unexpected things. If you knew what was happening all the time, life was boring, no? She watched silently, giggling lightly to herself as Selena and December had their little discussion. Someone was getting a bit overly emotional, weren't they? It was just a game after all. As tough as it'd be to leave, that was life. Change happened. She chugged the rest of her drink and walked over to the other two.

"That's the spirit, Selena!~" She moved between the two women. "I'd love hearing about any stories you have. I'll even share some of mine, heh!" She removed herself from the women, walking back over to the bar. "I'm Senna, by the way. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

While more and more people disappeared as they bade their final farewells to a game that they loved, or in rare cases hated, especially if they were pked a lot, HideYourMen was busy flirting around with random men. His character had already managed to make a few player characters leave prematurely just to get away from the excessive flirting his female character was giving. Then there were those who responded in character which made it even more hilarious.

HideYourMen sneaked up upon a rather robust looking Tiger demi-human character and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Such a powerful looking beast, I bet your prowess is known throughout your people. How about we get to know each other better."

The Tiger man turned around slowly, allowing HideYourMen's hands to slip over to the front without trouble. "I hear many compliments from beautiful women but I have yet to see such a lovely creature as yourself."

"Oh you are just too kind, now how about we get a little closer." As the two seemed to be getting into an intimate moment, it was rather funny to watch since of course the mouths didn't move which made the whole exchange look rather comical. The Tiger-man's eyes glowed as he activated a reveal status spell and in pure roleplay acting fashion, recoiled from the snake's touch upon learning her racial identity.

"Foul, heathen bred snake! Away with you and your devilish species!" The Tiger-man did a loud snarl emoji, which was unique to demi-human races, and stomped away in anger. It was all quite hilarious but such roleplaying days would soon be gone, as David had no plans on joining another MMO after this one, it did prevent him from being the best he could at his job, plus playing as a female in a somewhat realistic environment was perhaps not the best thing for him mentally.

HideYourMen did the /shrug, command and walked over to a dark skinned servant, a low-level NPC that was one of a few who he had brought over for the end. The NPC was tall, dressed like a high-ranking Egyptian official with white robes and various gold and jewel laded accessories. Of particular interest was a gold and ruby fitted collar around his neck which was a symbol of this NPC belonging to HideYourMen. Basically his story was that he was one of his character's man slaves that she kept around, but aside from a little restriction of freedom he really had nothing to complain about while in the service of a Goddess.

"You'll always stay by my side my wonderful servant."

"You are my life Mistress." Came the NPC's response along with a dignified bow as a show of respect to his owner.

"Yes, all would have infinite pleasure if they but bowed down and worshiped me, but alas it looks like my time on this plane of existence is done." A large clock had been installed at the back of the guild hall, the two hands were but a tick away from finding their place on the twelve mark. Fireworks had already started by this point as the few remaining people left counted down the final moments. Deciding to make as big a scene as possible, HideYourMen stood up on the most heavy laden table she could find, knocked over a bunch of random items in the process, and lifted up a golden goblet to the sky as if to praise the sun with its bright liquid.

"I thank all of you who decided to celebrate tonight and have stayed for these final moments! May the times we spent her never be forgotten! May our legends live on and our craziness never cease! Behold! The Apocalypse has come!" HideYourMen pointed with her goblet toward the clock as the hands clicked into place on the twelve, then something strange occurred.

While everyone expected their screens to go black as the game came to a close, instead a strange ringing could be heard in their ears and the world appeared fuzzy. David could feel his head start to tingle with a strange sensation as the annoying sound assaulted his senses, he certainly hadn't expected the end to be like this. Thankfully after about 4 seconds, the ringing stopped and the world came back into focus.

David blinked a few times in confusion, brought the goblet down to eye level and saw the red liquid swirl around at the bottom. This was puzzling as he could not recall Yggdrasil having such a realistic reaction for a liquid in a cup. He then realized quite few things, he could smell the sweetness of the drink, the clock was no longer on twelve but appeared to point to 6:47, also why in the world did he feel like he had two weights on his chest?

David Lording took a sip, he could feel the refreshing coolness of the drink as it slid down his throat, this was not something the game system should be capable of. Confused he dropped the drink which smashed onto the table and proceeded to douse its contents onto the food there. There was a lot more interaction with the environment from a simple goblet with raspberry wine than should have been possible.

The dark-skinned servant looked troubled as he retrieved the goblet and presented it back to his avatar while saying, "Is something the matter my mistress? Please tell me if there is anything I can do with my meager abilities to make you feel better? Perhaps you wish for me to give your divine grace a message?"

David looked over at the suddenly talking servant, saying all sorts of things he had never programmed into the NPC, and even more strange was the fact his lips, moved. "Errm, just shut up for a minute and let my brain process what's happening." All joy from before had vanished as David tried to figure out just what was going on. Had the end of the server somehow caused the system to malfunction and started to give him hallucinations? It seemed like it had to be some kind of dream but...everything felt so real, and he could acutely feel a certain lack of clothing on his body which should not be a thing considering it was just his avatar.

What in the world was happening?

@Rune_Alchemist

"Well that is quite impressive," The Watcher commented with an impressed expression on his face. "It's nice to see you have such strong feelings towards your companion. I have never had one myself as the Watcher operates alone or with a team of heroes. Although, their companions are acceptable."

It felt nice to have a bit of roleplay down before the shut down. Getting into character felt good.

---

Advent Imminent

---

Vander's attention turned to HideYourMen as the player called to attention the end of the world. He rose from his seat and saluted the clock as it reached midnight. Then something strange happened. The time changed to 6:47. He had to blink a few times just to make sure he was not seeing things.

"Am I seeing things?" Warrick murmured while scratching his head.

When his hand passed over his face he noticed his skin was slightly dirty and tanner. His arm was covered in the hardened leather of the Watcher's armor. He felt the weight of a bow holstered over his back and a quiver of arrows at his side. He picked out one of the arrows and threaded it through his fingers with an expression of puzzlement and confusion.

He placed the arrow back in the quiver and scanned the room cautiously to observe the reactions of everyone around him. "Huh."

The events of this post have been coordianted with pre-approved by the GM. It most likely involves everyone at the guild hall, but I'm Mentioning several who are most directly concerned

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Hammerman@BurningDaisies

So the time had finally come. A woman with Egyptian-styled 'clothing' and a bust of nothing less than titanic proportions, having elevated herself upon a prominent table, called attention to herself. Only scant seconds remained on the clock, visible in the upper-right corner of the HUD where Emile had sequestered it. Opening his eyes, the Comet Chaser thought it only fair to target the voluptuous lady as she made her little announcement, which in turn made his character's head face her as he drifted down to the ground. Of course, it also proc'd his Sylphic Visor, causing her level and HP to appear in his private chat channel. 95, naturally. In the briefest of moments that were left, the woman uttered a few words and then gestured to the guild hall's physical clock. Its ever-moving hands counted down the instants left. Five. In the end, Emile was glad that Yggdrasil was going out with a little bang after all, rather than a depressing slide to nothingness. Four. He quickly unlocked his target and looked around to find his niece. Three. There she was, standing near a few female characters by the bar. Had she decided to try drinking now, of all times? Two. Quickly he turned back to the clock, watching the big hand like a hawk as it moved for the final time. How's this gonna work, anyway? Black screen with a popup, maybe?

One

Everything became a blur. Bewildered, disoriented, and with his head ringing Emile felt as though he'd gotten drunk and in his stupor started spinning, though he could make out one thing through the haze: the sensation of falling backward. A second later, his back hit the ground hard, and the impact both drove the wind out of his lungs and seemingly kickstarted his senses back into gear. While everything was still fuzzy, Emile gave a groan, thinking that the feedback from the game's sudden shutdown had caused him to fall back in his recliner. ”Jesus Christ...” he muttered, blinking. The instant his eyes cleared and he beheld a vaulted stone ceiling, he jolted awake. I'm still in the game? What the hell happened? Botched shutdown... But something was off. He sat up, and found his consciousness bombarded by a series of realizations in short order.

The first thing that he noticed -that his vision appeared to have a slight yellow-green tint- slipped his mind when his eyes landed on the ample lady from before, still atop her table, and a little holographic readout blinked into existence in his peripherals. Still not understanding, he read the stylized font.



It wasn't unlike the PM sent by his Visor whenever he targeted someone, demonstrated only moments before, but instead of numbers it used description, as well as appearing somewhere else. Come to think of it, he could sense the weight of the visor on his head, and the clothes on his body. Somewhat dumbfounded, he could only mutter, ”Weird...” Compelled more by instinct than reason, he reached toward his face and, without any issue, undid and removed his helmet. The tint disappeared, and he turned the crested helmet around in his gloved hands to look at the front. The visor implanted over the eyes was clearly visible, one lens emerald-green and the other citrine-yellow. None of this makes sense. In Yggrasil, one didn't do any of it that way. For starters, characters always landed on their feet after a fall, taking fall damage if they had no preventative measures but otherwise able to move just fine. Players de-equipped items by bringing up their inventory tabs using hand motions. On second thought, this makes too much sense. Everything feels...freaky real... His thoughts were swept away as if by a cyclone as something clicked in his mind.

Emile stared at his right lower leg. There was nothing odd about it, other than that it was there. He could feel the texture of his boot and the ground beneath the heel as if it had never been lost. Now thoroughly shocked, he reached out with a shaking hand and touched it, then after confirming its existence gingerly tried to stand to his feet, moving just as he might in real life. He turned his head to look around, the material of his coat and collar stretching and straining just as one might were it not a data-construct in a game, and Emile reached his own conclusion. Taking a deep breath, he reached up and ran his gloves hand across his head. The surface was soft and smooth. A strange mixture of excitement and horror surged through Emile's veins as he reached down to his waist and drew one of his swords halfway.

In the reflection of the perfectly-polished blade was the face of an owl, staring back at him with lustrous golden eyes.

”Whoa.” The mirrored beak opened and closed, and Emile felt his own mouth move. ”Whoa! Okay...okay.” Even his voice was different. Had no clue how, or why, or anything really, but faced with all this evidence he had to accept it: fiction had become reality.

On the heels of that ultimate realization came a nagging thought. He attempted to open a menu, and nothing happened. I can't quit. Oh God, what's happened to the real me? And where's...?” He whipped his head around, not noticing that he was able to crane his neck much farther to the side than usual. By the bar he spotted a familiar shape, and even from here he could tell she was trembling badly. Liana. Putting all thoughts of the real world out of his head, he turned her way and started to move. At first he limped, not trusting the leg that had been nothing more than phantom pain for over a decade, but by the time he reached his niece's side he was running normally.

With a sobbing sound the Shoggoth threw her arms around the Strigiforme, and he wrapped his own around her in a comforting hug. His helmet bounced on the floor and rolled next to the leg of December, but Emile didn't notice. The bizarre texture of Liana's exterior almost made him recoil, but he controlled the impulse and instead murmured, ”Shush, baby. I'm here. I'm here for you. Just stay calm. Don't you worry about nothin'.”

Liana's body shook with another sob, and in a gargled voice almost as frightening as it was frightened she whispered, “Un-uncle what's, what's happenin', I feel...I feel naked, everything's...movin', I can't feel my legs, only things twistin' around oh my God please, Uncle E, what'd goin' on!?"

Slowly, Emile shook his head. ”Hush, baby girl. It's gonna be alright. Don't need be scared, everything's fine, just try an'...relax.”

“I feel...so h-horrible...like a m-monster....!”

About half a minute passed before something splattered onto the tile only a few feet away. Emile glanced at it on reflex, seeing the congealed blood and mucus melting only a short ways away from a village girl, a demoness, and a beastkin. With a gulp, he glanced upward.

A couple stories ahead floated the Beholder that Liana had summoned only a few minutes ago, except this wasn't the palette-swapped monster Emile remembered. It was a disgusting, nightmarish conglomeration of mangled flesh and protruding pig body parts, with writhing tentacles flailing in every direction from the central body that held its one enormous, blood-red eye. A hair-raising noise resounded through the guild hall, like nothing else they'd ever heard before.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV!

The abomination's eye lit up like a red sun, and from the gargantuan peeper issued an equally gigantic scarlet laser. The beam tore through the guild building's wall, obliterating the medium-quality masonry hastily purchased for Apocalypse Now's construction. As the monster turned, its beam traveled from the wall to the floor, destroying furniture and item alike with its raw power.

Liana screamed, burying her head in Emile's chest -the teeth on her headdress deflected by his Windbreaker- and the two hunkered down as debris began to fall from the decimated wall and ceiling.

Revenmar snapped to attention at the sound. It startled him, he was in deep thought, contemplating his existence and where his creator had run off too. It was a dull thing, guarding a door but it was a crucial task, he could not allow the beings in the guildhall to befall harm. Now looking around the room, he noticed the beholder in all of its infamy. He had never fought one of them before, but he would gladly try, and throw down his life to protect his new Lords and Ladies. Such was his overwhelming desire to protect and be a shield for the innocent but he would do anything for these Gods of flesh and bone.

With a clanking grind of metal on metal, Revenmar began to run at the thing, taking out his shield in the process. He barreled straight towards the Ladies who were at the bar, right toward the Beholder. He didn't have time to think, so he jumped, flinging himself at the creature shield first as it began to turn towards him. He collided with the Beholder's right side in the air with a sickening crunch, as three of the creatures eye stalks broke. He fell besides the creature, bruising his knees as he landed hard on them. He got up nonetheless and got into a fighting stance, his long sword glistening in the lit hall.

He looked at the creature, whose anger was now unrivaled in the room and spoke aloud for all to hear.

His voice was deep and husky. "You shall not harm my Lords and Ladies, creature! Your filth, ends here."

And with that said he charged the beholder.

He looked back at the beholder

Something miraculous happened. As Lexus Dominiel gained sentience, its mind and its past filled in the blanks, gaps and loose ends that invariably came with an imperfect, human creation, especially one whose personality was changed at the last minute as part of a joke. Lexus Dominiel's body stayed perfectly still, but its single mechanical eye swiveled in its viewing slit, back and forth taking in its surroundings. There were many gods in this location, doubtlessly lesser associates of the One True Lord and Creator, December. Many of them appeared to be gods of darkness and evil, but it was not Lexus Dominiel's place to question December's choice of company, after all, God works in mysterious ways. One question did come up and was worth asking, why hasn't the world ended yet?

But before Lexus Dominiel could voice its concern, it heard the cry of some demonic beast as it saw the red beam carve through the guild hall. If memory served, one of the lesser gods had summoned this foul creature, yet for it to be causing destruction immediately upon the strike of Apocalypse, it was no doubt a great beast of Armageddon, summoned by the lesser god at December's bidding to cleanse and purify the world of sinners, albeit in a slow, inefficient manner, but it was not for Lexus Dominiel to question.

"Splendid, My Lord, this beast shall strike fear into the hearts of the unworthy," Lexus Dominiel declared in a booming, mechanical voice, praising December. Just then a knight, a champion of one of the other gods, attacked the creature. "Stop!" Lexus Dominiel called out, "Do not interfere with God's Plan!" However, Lexus Dominiel did not make a move to stop the knight, believing that December's beast of destruction was unstoppable and that the knight was merely throwing himself to his doom. Instead, Lexus Dominiel turned to its creator in fealty, bowing. "Mercy of Mercies, I do not presume to question your wisdom, but if this creature does not suffice your plans to destroy the world, then, as ever, I am at your beck and call. Give me The Word, and I shall punish the mortals and crush them with the weight of their own, innumerable sins."

@Lord Zee @BurningDaisies

"Lemme see it alreadyy~" Nyna said, with a /sigh emote, nudging Yasha.
"I'll make it my smartphone's background... To remind me of Yggdrasil and all the fun things we done here." Nyna said, smiling.
"Calm down Nyna!! I'll send it to you as soon as the game ends. I don't want to lose this... It's almost time..." Yasha said, sighing.
So it's really happening huh? It'll take a while, but I hope Hakawa company's game will have a combat system as good as this one..." Yasha thought to herself while looking to the big clock, quietly watching as it approached 0.

"Hey... Sorry, but I kinda just Photobombed your pic. I'll move out the way so you guys can have your screenshot properly lol." A strange voice coming from behind interrupted them.

"Waah! Didn't see you there!" Nyna said as she heard the voice, doing a /lol emote, jumping back.
"Don't worry about it! I'll send it to you too if you so desire. The more the merrier, after all, screenshots and sweet memories will be the only things that will remain after Yggdrasil ends, am I right?" Yasha said, turning to the undead with a smile.
"Name's Yasha. The hyperactive bunny over there is Nyna. It's a pleasure to meet you, even though it's already kinda late to say that, isn't it?" Yasha said to the undead, laughing.
"Hey heey~!" Nyna said, with a /wave emote.
"Ooh~ An undead!" Nyna said, getting closer to him to look at his avatar. Maybe a little too close.
"Don't see one of those every day!" Nyna said, hopping around him, smiling
"Welp, I guess it will be even harder now, right? lol" Nyna said, smiling to the undead.
"I hope we can meet each other in another game, maybe play together." Nyna said to the undead, with a cheerful smile.
"Nyna, it's time..." Yasha said, looking to her and pointing to the clock, which was almost hitting the time for the server to shut down.
"I see... We must bid you farewell for now. Shall we end it exactly how we began?" Nyna said to the undead, before turning to Yasha and kneeling on the ground with only one knee, touching the ground with her right hand extending her left hand with her fist closed, facing upwards.
"It would be an appropriate tribute to our fallen brothers, sisters and to this dying world." Yasha said, copying the gesture that Nyna did, touching her wrist with hers.
"A blade that shall hunt the sinners..." Yasha said, closing her eyes.
"Under the guidance of the true goddess of sin..." Nyna replied, closing her eyes.
"We shall bring punishment to the sinful gods and their followers." Both of them said together.
"Farewell, Sister." Yasha said, opening her eyes, with a sad smile on her face.
"Farewell, Sister." Nyna answered, her eyes open and with an equally sad smile on her face.

Both of them were expecting their screens to go black, but instead, they heard a strange ringing, as the world appeared to become fuzzy.

---

---

Nyna immediately tried to cover her ears. That ringing was unusually loud, it was strange, almost like she was hearing that in real life. As the ringing continued, she fell on the ground, pressing her hands against her big ears. The pain was almost unbearable. The ringing was pounding against her head, becoming louder and louder.

After a few minutes, having to endure the pain and ringing on her head, she opened her eyes again, the world seemed to slowly focus again, but something was different...
She could feel the green grass under her knees, it wasn't something that Yggdrasil had. The pain and the ringing had stopped, but her hearing was strange... She could hear much more than before, smell much more... Almost like she really had the beastmen's enhanced senses.

"W-what is happening here?!" She asked herself confused as she stood up and gently touched her face.
With her eyes wide open, she touched it again. It had a smooth feeling, exactly like skin, she could even feel her sharp claws gently scratching her cheeks...

Alarmed, Ha Yun looked around. She wasn't at the central plaza anymore. In fact, she had never saw that place before. Nyna was standing in a green valley. At north of her, a few miles away, she could see a tall mountain range, with a strange building at it's very top, on the other far end of the valley, she could see smoke, and a few buildings that appeared to be a village of some sorts.

"What in the world...?" Ha Yun said again, extremely confused. Even walking was weird, the sensation of the green grass below her feet, her sharp nails sinking in the earth as she flexed her toes, the warm breeze, gently caressing her skin and passing through her ears...

But Ha Yun's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain coming from her stomach, together with an audible growl. Was that... hunger?
At that second, her instincts appeared to be strangely stronger than normal. She started smelling the air without realizing. She needed food.
Running towards the forest that extended from the middle of the valley until the base of the mountain, she could feel the wind on her ears, the strange sensation as she ran with an unusual agility, much faster than Ha Yun could run in real life. It was at that moment that something clicked inside her head.
I... don't know if this is really happening but... I think I'm not Ha Yun anymore, but Nyna... she thought to herself, as an unexpected smile appeared on her face.
Other people would be panicked at that fact, but she was in fact happy... She didn't know exactly why, but for her, whom the real word had nothing to offer, nothing that really made her want to go back, it was almost a miracle being there.

"I can easily get used to this!" Nyna, said, running and jumping towards the forest wielding her Lunar Edge. It was still kinda weird that her instincts were so strong... but every cell from her new body yelled that she needed to hunt. She could feel that not only her body had changed but... somehow herself was also changing, the way she saw the world, reacted to it...
"This is... unexpectedly fun... It's strange but... I've never feel so alive!" she thought to herself, as she felt the smell of wild animals on the forest ahead, letting her instincts guide her. That was one side of being a beastmen that she had never experienced before. It was very different from being a normal human. Her strong iatincts told her exactly what to do, her powerful muscles were strong enough for her to keep up with her prey, or get away from a predator. Her sharp senses allowed her to hear everything around her and smell her prey. But on the other hand... She knew that even if she wanted to ignore her instincts, she could only fight against them for so long... It was one of the downsides of being a beastmen. The other downside she had already experienced a few moments ago, thanks to her enhanced hearing.

Before Nyna could arrive at the forest though, a horrible sound caught her attention. It was coming from the word building at the top of the mountain. Even as far as it was, Nyna still healed that sound very clearly.
Immediately after the sound, a huge explosion followed by a bright scarlet laser appeared, coming from the building.
Nyna would go there, but she was too hungry to think about anything other than getting something to eat, so she continued running towards the forest, trying to find a small animal, berries or anything she could eat.



"Nyna...? What's happening? Are you ok?" Akane asked as she saw her falling on the ground. Strangely enough, her avatar's face was twisted in a grimace of pain. Even though the clock showed 12:00, she still waited for the black screen. Yggdrasil was supposed to shut down right now... What happened? Did they resolve to postpone it for a few minutes?

But before Yasha could even try to help her, she heard a strange ringing on her head, the world started to spin, becoming fuzzy as she felt incredibly dizzy, it was hard to keep her balance, she had to kneel on the ground, using her hands to keep her from falling. Everything was spinning around her, a maelstrom of sounds and sensations, some which appeared to be too real and vivid to be from Yggdrasil.

The ringing and the sensations stopped as suddenly as they started, taking the dizziness with them. Yasha's eyes slowly started to focus again, things slowly becoming clear enough for her to actually be able to see. But they were different... The colors seemed to be more vivid, more... real. She could feel the cold and hard rocky ground, the small rocks were so real, even their texture and weight.
And somehow... It was rather difficult to breath. She had to actually make some effort to breath.

Slowly standing up, Yasha got really surprised when she realized that she had no idea where she was...
All she could see around her were mountains and more mountains, she was at the very top of a mountain range, which surrounded a valley down below. Just over one of those peaks, actually a good distance away from the mountain Yasha was, a strange building could be seen. Looking at the valley below, she could see a forest, and at the very far end of the valley, a small pillar of smoke reached the sky. It was coming from a small village.

Yasha slowly touched her face, feeling a strange smooth sensation. It was skin. Real skin. That only confirmed what she was thinking. She wasn't on Yggdrasil anymore. Yggdrasil didn't have the technology to emulate those complex sensations such as skin, smell & etc... In fact, she didn't knew of any game in the world that had that type of technology. It was impossible, right? To make something so real, so vivid.

"Ouch!" she jumped, alarmed, after she pinched herself. Even pain was something there... That couldn't be a game... right?
Just to clarify, she tried to bring up the menu, but it didn't matter how many times she did the gesture, nothing came up. She couldn't see the log off button or anything like that.
"This can't be real..." She said, trying to think rationally about what was happening. But it didn't matter how much she thought, she couldn't reach a 'logical' explanation for that. The only thing she could think, even if it sounded ridiculous, was that she had been transported to another dimension or something like that... Somehow, using her avatar's body.

First things first, walking all the way to the city was not an option... Especially without food, water or anything like that. Walking through the dangerous mountains to try to reach the strange building was equally tiring and dangerous. She had to do something.
It was an idiotic idea, but it didn't hurt to try... Making a gesture with her hands, she tried to see if Yggdrasil's magic worked there. It was crazy, but logic didn't seem to apply to that strange situation.

"Hah..." Yasha chuckled, uncertain if she should feel happy or alarmed when she felt a strange, but extremely good sensation running through her body. It was her mana flowing through her as she casted the spell. It was a very powerful sensation, she almost jumped back, caught by surprise. The spell she had casted was 'Fly', a relatively simple spell to any high level caster.
She could control it very well, as the currents of air swirled around her, levitating her from the ground, speed, height, it was easier than she thought that it would be.
Magic... I don't know where I am, but here it seems that it's real. I think that I like a world with magic more than the boring, dull world where I used to live..." Yasha said, almost laughing at how fantastic and unreal her thoughts were, before grabbing her rifle and inspecting it. It was even more beautiful now than on Yggdrasil.

"I need to gather information." She said, stopping the fly magic. Although her mana apparently was as big than it used to be on Yggdrasil, she was hungry, and before making any unnecessary movements, the best thing to do right now was trying to find other people to maybe help her and know exactly where she was. Luckily, she had a spell that would be perfect for that.
Waving her hand again, several magical screens appeared around her, a complex aiming spell, complete with reticule, automatically calculating the distance, wind speed and all information needed to shoot her rifle. But what she was interested right now wasn't that, but the aerial view of her position, shown in a small screen, which she promptly maximized, quickly confirming her position compared to the weird building at the top of the mountains and the village at the far end of the valley down below.

"Before doing anything else, I want to test one thing..." Yasha thought to herself, grabbing her rifle, pointing it up, aiming in an arc facing towards the village. The Requiem Aeternam started glowing as her mana passed through it. The aiming spell automatically turned on, displaying the Shell's trajectory, speed, range & all the numbers she could possibly want just as she started to cast the spell. A normal shot would suffice.

"Oh... So the macros I set up from Yggdrasil work here as well... Neat." She said, with a smirk.

Differently from Yggdrasil though, she could feel her mana crystalizing in a thin layer around the 'flare' spell, inside the rifle's barrel, it was so complex, but at the same time so natural, so... instinctive to her. It was beautiful. Casting a spell was almost like hearing a beautiful melody. It was truly an exhilarating experience.

She was almost pulling the trigger when a bright scarlet laser made her cancel it. Using her target acquiring spell, she was able to zoom at the building to see what was happening. Thanks to the laser having exploded the wall, she was able to see what was going on inside.
The laser seemingly came from a weird, ugly looking monster. Apparently there was a group fighting against it.
"Well... Let's see how this will end... Yasha said, sitting down and watching them fighting over the magic screen. If things went bad, she could send a small shot there... But that would depend on how they would deal with the situation. For now, the best thing to do was just sit down and watch, as she didn't have neither the energy nor the reason why to fight against that monstrosity.

(oops it posted twice...)

---

December was at a loss for words when she turned around to see the girl's concerned expression. She hadn't expected anyone to chase after her. She hesitated, unsure of what to do as Selena held her hands tightly and entreated her to stay and chat. The demoness approached and introduced herself as well. They both seem sincere. Not wanting to cause anymore trouble, her first instinct was come up with some excuse to decline their invitation, but none came to mind. December knew she couldn't flatly reject their earnest bid for her company, and part of her want to join them anyway. Perhaps talking about it might calm my nerves? she thought.

"It... It's nice to meet you both." She said with a smile. "My name is December-"

No sooner did the words leave her mouth than the world around her seemed to explode with dozens of new sensations. After the server's clock finished its countdown, every bright color in the room seemed hot and lively; they popped out towards her like an intensely vivid 3-D hologram before blurring heavily as her vision drifted in and out of focus. Sounds filtered into her keen ears; many she had never heard before, but instantly she knew what they were: the impossibly soft thud of Senna's blinking eyes, and the fast, rhythmic beating of Selena's heart. She could feel the acoustic resonance of every moving thing nearby as they sent tiny vibrations through the cool marble floor and into her feet. The taste of burnt sugar in the air told her their was strong arcane magic nearby. She watched as the world unfolded in slow-motion. As her faithful golem made his approach she could feel the low thrum of gravity magic holding his rigid form together and with it came the faint scent of ozone and the taste of thunder.

December visibly shuddered and jerked her head strangely as if having smelled something foul. The hyperawareness of everything around her was overwhelming and her mind flashed white as her consciousness began to fade. She felt herself falling upwards. In reality, she was growing... and changing.

White fur and feathers sheathed her skin like grass growing at staggering speeds, while her hair became a rough mane that stretched along her spine. Her body bent forward onto all fours as enormous wings erupted from her back and spiny horns like those of a dragon curved out of her head. Her jaws grew long and her teeth sharpened, terrible fangs brushing against her lips. The legs bent and fingers turned to wicked reptilian claws with obsidian black talons. A skirt of feathers coated her flanks and a thick, lumbering tail unfurled beneath it, knocking away Emile's helmet. All these bestial features melded into a single gargantuan frame, no smaller than an elephant's.

Her transformation now complete, her senses settled down and her consciousness returned. Slowly she opened her eyes and staggered clumsily to her feet. Her eye level was so high, she immediately thought she was standing on a platform.

She tried to speak as if to ask what happened, but only a confused growl escaped her. It rumbled through the air like thunder. She stumbled backward frightened by the sounds she was somehow making. Her claws gouged the marble floor without resistance as if scratching soft earth, while her ungraceful tail knocked over a table behind her.

December had no idea what was going on. She didn't remember transforming. And since when could she feel, hear, smell her surroundings so intensely? Her avatar's perception was high, but that just handled in the background by the game engine. Did they do an update instead of shutdown?

She smelled aberrant, foul magic like a fetid nest of snakes coiling on a mound of filth. When she turned her attention to it, the simple beholder that had been floating idly before was unleashing crackling red lances of ruinous power from its great eye. The beams had already cleaved through the floors and walls, but an armored knight appeared to be engaging it combat.

As she desperately thought about wanting to speak and question her surroundings, she felt the muscles in her throat writhe, contort, and give way to accommodate a few rapidly growing nodules. She coughed with a deep, husky voice that she knew was her own, but was still altogether alien and strange to her.

Looking down at the two girls she was talking with before, and her divine construct kneeling in reverence, she began to realize her predicament. "Lexus?!" She turned to the other two girls. "What's going on?!" The alarm in her voice unintentionally sounded more like barely contained anger, as the predatory rumble in her throat pounded the air. She could scarcely control her own body as it reacted to her thoughts and mood.

---

@Hammerman@Rune_Alchemist@Stern Algorithm@Lugubrious

The closing day of YGGDRASIL had been a sentimental one for Spring, in the final moments he could not help bit feel bittersweet as he looked back on all his old memories. He should have been shocked when the game did not shut down when it was supposed to, but in fact he was relieved. Spring had always been bad when it came to handling change, so just a few extra minutes in this game he loved so much only brought a smile to his face and a warm chuckle. He looked beside him at Sapphire. Her presence had brought him comfort, with her at his side he felt that his old guild mates were too with him. Spring parted his mouth to begin speaking a quiet thanks to the NPC but before the words could leave his mouth...

Something was attacking the Apocalypse Now guildhall. What is this?!? A raid?!? Spring thought to himself as the feeling of adrenaline began to surge through his body. One last fight didn't seem like such a bad idea and so with a wolfish grin Spring readied his spear. His mind had become so focused on combat so quickly that he failed to notice the differences from YGGDRASIL, Springs hands tightened around the shaft of his spear getting a firm grip on it and he steadied his breathing. Everything was different and yet the same, this was not his body yet it was.

But he did not have to wait long to see what was happening, a knight was charging a monster. A beholder... The grotesque being was sending red beams of energy out from its eye. This discovery caused Spring to hesitate for a few moments, which allowed him to start on questioning things. He had never felt anxiety before combat within the game so why now was he suddenly growing colder, a slight sweat starting to form on his brow.

A sense of dread began to eat away at Spring like never before. However. A light gasp to his side pulled Spring's gaze. Sapphire was staring at the raging Beholder, her face no more expressive than it was when the night began; however, her hands shifted in front of her as she repositioned her grip on Faith's hilt. Spring could tell how tense her body was, one warrior to another. But she didn't move. Her eyes came down briefly and met his.

In one brief moment of understanding, he could see the question she wasn't voicing. She wanted permission to engage. Springs mind was clear of all negative thoughts, with the brave Sapphire next to him his resolve hardened and when he looked back at the beholder once more he no longer felt anxious. He felt his muscles relax as his body loosened up, he did not realise how worried he really was in that moment.

His cheeks turned slightly red from embarrassment as he turned once more to Sapphire. "We shall strike this beast together. Now with me Sapphire, let us slay this abomination." Spring began to move forward to engage the beholder. His movements were that of such vigour and confidence that none would have guessed this seemingly brave warrior had almost became a coward a few moments before.

@TaroAndSelia @Lord Zee @BurningDaisies @Stern Algorithm @Anyone else in the guildhall.

"Nn!" Sapphire answered with a nod. She faced the Beholder squarely and raised her sword high to her left.

Two balls of light appeared behind Sapphire's shoulders, spinning outward. Quickly they grew, then stretched. In a beautiful display of majesty, Sapphire unfolded her wings. Pushing the air aside in a short, sharp wind, her wings reached far out to each side. The pure white feathers glowed with a light brighter than mere reflection could produce. Then they folded back, again pushing a breeze into the space behind her. Sapphire crouched lower, tensed her legs, and drew her sword back just a little more.

The Beholder's attention was turning down, the colossal eye swiveling to face the guardian who had attacked it. It wasn't watching Sapphire.

Without so much as a word, Sapphire unleashed the power in every part of her body in one tremendous leap. Instantly she was passing just behind the monster. Her sword came slashing forward, digging deeply into the back of the Beholder and leaving a gash across its back from one end to the other. Her momentum carried right on to the ceiling, where she twisted her body into a somersault, 'landed' on her feet against a beam, and pushed off again, this time aiming straight at the top of the Beholder.

The monstrous eye was turning away from the warrior below to attack the warrior up above, the laser continuing its trail of destruction. Well before it could reach Sapphire, Faith's blade sank into the Beholder tip first, then continued sinking all the way to the hilt. Sapphire crashed down right behind, attempting to drive an armored knee into the abomination as well. "Disobedient," Sapphire chastised vehemently, kneeling atop its head.

Without releasing her grasp on Faith, Sapphire turned and jumped off, drawing her sword through the monster's flesh until it popped free at the edge. She tucked one wing and used the other to spin, giving one final slash as she departed, making way for another warrior's attack. She landed nimbly on her feet below, danced back several steps to reposition herself, and braced for another attack.

The Watcher would have enjoyed spending some time observing the reactions of everyone else to this change. The only problem with this was the Beholder that barged into the guild hall and started causing havoc. He quickly drew his bow and began to retreat to the other side of the room. The distance he could put between himself and the monster the better. The feeling of The Watcher's Bow felt comfortable in his hand. Somehow everything felt as it should be despite the odd circumstances.

The arrows he had in his quiver were armor-piercing arrows specifically designed for PvP, however, they would serve well in putting the beast's eyes out. He aimed and fired as he reached the opposite side of the guild hall. The arrow soared through the crowd gracefully and sunk into the central eye of the monster. Blood oozed from the newly made wound as The Watcher prepped another arrow to fire.

As the second arrow went flying, he still wondered what was going on. This felt too real to be a video game, and yet he had definitely come to the conclusion that Warrick Thane and Vander the Watcher had become one and the same. He certainly felt that way on occasion during intense battles, however this felt completely different than before. One thing was for sure: he would have to find out what changed.

There were more than enough players in the guild hall to handle this invading monster, so Vander decided to slip outside to scout out the situation. He slipped through a side door and ran down to a doorway that led outdoors through a side exit. He barely made it outside when he noticed just how much of a difference there was. The guild building no longer rested in a city, and now it stood atop a mountain. He stood outside the open door in awe.

Vander had explored the entire map of YGGDRASIL, and no where did the mountains look like this. "What the hell is going on?"

~Senna~

@Hammerman@BurningDaisies

---

It all happened so fast, Senna didn't really know how to act. First, there was the alcohol. She'd never actually drink in real life, if only because she was...well, a very angry drunk from what she had been told. Next was the...actually feeling things part. Everything felt so vivid. So real! At first she thought the 'shutdown' might have just been some attempt at a large scale update for some future project maybe, but that seemed silly. The air on her bare skin felt oddly real. And then the chaos started. Cat like eyes widened at the sight of the Beholder, at the subsequent people in the guild fighting it.

Her finger twitched. There was something oddly alluring about it. Watching them fight like that. Her mouth turned into a grin as she watched, barely containing the urge to join them. Her more rational mind however, managed to win over somewhat and instead she turned to her two companions. December had done something even more entertaining.

"I have no idea, lovelies," Senna chuckled, a voice that she wasn't entirely used to speaking with. "But isn't this just exciting?" The demoness started laughing as she spoke. "Isn't this just grand! Oh dear gods this is amazing and oh so interesting!" She couldn't particularly fathom entirely what had happened, but she could at least understand somewhat. A predatory grin.

Somehow, someway, the game had just become much more real.

"Sorry, sorry...Heh, I'm suddenly feeling a tad bit excited." She managed to calm herself down a tad bit, tearing her eyes away from the fight with the beholder. "I don't know what happened, but it seems perhaps this game just became much, much more real." That was the only conclusion she could come too, at least.


@drewccapp

Tania simply giggled lightly as the 'Watcher' replied, though said little else. She didn't have much time too, before the advent happened. At first there wasn't anything too noticeable. She was too busy focusing on gorging herself with supposed virtual food again - this time eating a doughnut that was twice the small fey's size. It wasn't until she felt herself being lifted from atop Lena's head did she pause. Even more so whens he was now face to face with the elf.

"...Lena?"

Who was giving her quite the unimpressed and stern gaze.

"My lady, it is perhaps not my place to judge your diet, but you are eating far too much." The elf began, earning a confused look from the Fairy. "Not to mention how much you've drank tonight! Are you trying to make yourself look incompetent? I realize you behave quite childishly sometimes but you are a queen aren't you!? You have to at least act somewhat responsible."

Tania could only swallow the doughnut and stare blankly at the NPC in front of her.

"Don't give me that look!" The Dullahan continued seriously. "You know exactly what you're doing! This isn't the Phantasmal Forest, you should be a little more dignified!" By now the Fey had at least managed to get her thoughts somewhat in order as she dangled by her wings. She had no idea what was going on, but assumed it was just a glitch.

"Ooookay, Lena." Tania started, uncertainty quickly leaving her voice. "Best NPC friend. I dunno what you're doing, but as your unquestionable queen, I order you not to care." Lena frowned, shoulders slumping slightly in annoyance as she gave Tania a somewhat hostile look.

"It seems that ego of yours is going to your head again."

"E-eh? Ack! H-hey, lemme goooo!" Before Tania could say anything else Lena started walking off with the tiny Fey in hand. Bad thing about being this size, was that her physical ability was reduced even further. "I didn't program you like this! Fey Abuse! This is fey abuse! I'll call Fey services you brute!"

"You are the one who made me, my queen."

"G-geh!" Tania had to rebuttal for that.

"Now please sit still and accept your incoming attitude adjustment." The arm that was holding her shield moved slightly and the fairy paled considerably.

"You forget one thing, Lena dear!" Tania replied quickly. "I am master of illusions! Laaaaater~!" The tiny little fairy in her grasp vanished almost instantly, causing Lena to sigh and turn her head towards a quickly fleeing fairy, out the door of the guild. She flew by Vander, taking note of the watcher and zipping over to him.

"Hey you, hide me!" She didn't give him any other explanation as she zipped over to him and hid behind them. Not a second later, the Elf in question came marching outside the doors. She turned her head towards Vander and walked over.

"You there..." Lena said, turning to the Watcher. "Forgive me for my intrusion, but I do not believe I received your name earlier. I am looking for a fairy around this size." She indicated Tania's size with her hands. "You wouldn't happen to have seen where she flew off to, would you? Running around like this is unbecoming of a queen and I would rather her not be harmed on my watch..."

---

Arthur couldn't help but get emotional as the minutes continuoudly passed - marming the little time he had until the end of something who was a big part of his life for years. Even his attempt of distracting himself by appraising the exotic items that covered a considerable share of the main hall hardly helped him in distracting himself from the painfully slow passing of the final minutes of the game - that seemed to distort time in such a way that even the small span of 5 minutes seemed like hours, as if purposefully messing with his perception of time to gift him some extra time in YGGDRASIL.

Ultimately, though, he decided that it wasn't worth it to stay in the hall - After all It wasn't like he had anyone to talk with and the act of examining the itens only made him even more aware of the imminent end of the game he loved - making his way towards the outer area of the fort, far from the view of the other members of the makeshift guild he joined to commemorate a little before the end of the game."Watching end of an era is actually quite the saddening experience." He sighed, his gaze filled eith melancholy as he watched the starry sky of YYGDRASIL for the last time in his life - a fitting goodbye for a game whose the only feature that aged magnificently was the graphics - going as far as closing his eyelids - at least mentaly, since his character wasn't capable of doing such a thing - for a second as he waited for the end of the game, memorizing the sight that would already be gone after he once more opened his eyes... And then he was forced to open them and face a whole new view.

Maybe due to the fact that even if he was mentally blocking his view his character still maintained his eyelids open, Arthur literally saw the world instantly changing around him, the stars changing to emcompass brand new constelations while excluding most of the previous ones and the surroundings changing from a fairly populated area in an instant - leaving the human turned devil completely flabbergasted as he tried to make sense of the situation. "Wha..? Wher..? Why?" His immediate reaction was - as the experienced player he was - try to understand his situation, surprisingly maintaining the calm in despite of his astonishment and try to understand what is happening - quite the surprising decision, since he didn't recall being so rational last time he checked.

"Checking my surroundings for clues should be my primary priority. If this is a last raid we'll get some undesired company soon." He made his mind and started the quick casting a simple spell that ecery mage used at least once: Fly - Decision that immediately made him frown, suddenly aware of the extra changes that happened around him: He could literally feel his mana coating him, dispelling the air resistance as it quickly lifted him above the fort, and he could feel the wind around his body, smell the grass that was originally under him and even feel his eyebrows moving as he frowned. This... This isn't right. I've tested some of the latest games of the company for bro recently and they're nowhere as good as this when it comes to replicating the human senses. What the f- is going on her..!? Before he could think deeply about it, a nearby part of the fort was suddenly pierced by something that looked like a laser, once more diverting his attention.

He immediately decided to once more enter the fort, as there was at least a small possibility of someone in the group knowing what was happening, flying towards the nearest entrance just to be surprised by three presences standing in his way, two elfs and a strangely small being that was most certainly a kind of fairy, seemingly roleplaying something. "Ahn... Excuse me for interrupting you, but... Perhaps... Any of you know what is happening here? Why does everything feel so... Real?" He cancelled his spell, landing in the ground nearby to the group. While he hated disturbing their fun, getting some info about the situation still took priority over being polite.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@drewccapp

@Rune_Alchemist

Vander gave Tania an amused look as she basically ordered him to hide her before using his body to hide herself from her follower. He really had no obligation to follow her command. He raised an eyebrow as shortly after Tania hid her follower approached him and promptly began to explain how Tania ran off. He felt surprised at the sudden change in how the follower behaved.

He decided to throw Tania under the bus. "I can see why you're running away. Your silent companion is quite... animated right now. I am Vander the Watcher by the way."

@Spanner

Suddenly another player joined them. At least, he assumed the approaching devil was a player. The Watcher did not recall seeing him in the guild hall, but even with his eyes he may have missed a detail or two. No one was perfect after all. The fact that he was flying meant he was a spell caster.

Vander crossed his arms and shook his head. "No idea." He then pointed out the open door towards the mountains. A cloud rolled by obscuring vision for a few minutes. "This is no part of the world that I know. What magic can suddenly move an entire guild hall filled with heroes and their companions out of the city and into a mountain range? Does anyone here know?"

---

When the shift happened, Selena was merrily conversing with her newfound companions. Thus, she didn't realize that the timer had hit zero and everything was supposed to go blank.

But instead, she felt a terrible ringing inside her head, making her pause in her tale, closing her eyes and pressing both of her hands onto her forehead. Thankfully, the terrible sensation didn't last long, so soon enough, she opened her eyes once more.

And what she saw really, really surprised her.

Everything seemed so realer than before, as if this was not a game at all. She looked down to her wine cup and saw how smooth everything looked with no pixels whatsoever. And the way the wine moved inside the cup, it was just like in real life. They didn't have anything like that before.

And then, she smelled it. The scent of the wine assaulting her nose. She took a sip at the wine and sure enough, it actually tasted like proper wine this time. Quickly, she put it down. She had a feeling if she continued, she would really be drunk.

What happened? Wasn't the game supposed to be over now? This looked like a massive update in realism instead.

She then tried to open her system setting to check the version of the game, but soon found out that she couldn't do it. The menu just wouldn't appear.

"H-hey, what's going o--"

She reflectively jumped out of her seat, pushing the chair she was down to the floor with a loud crash, and drew her knife when she saw the beast sitting where December should've been. When the knight made his appearance and bowed down to the creature, saying things like "punishing the mortals" and the like, Selena became even more suspicious on the creature. Only after the creature spoke that she understood that it was December all along.

"D-December, i-is that you? W-what happened?"

Meanwhile, she heard her other companion, the demoness, laughing at the situation. She said the game somehow had become so much more real, and she had to agree with her. When she moved, she could feel the rustle of her dress on her skin, something she could never feel before. She tried twirling around and sure enough, the hem of her skirt moved fluidly, just like how it was supposed to in the real world.

And then, she saw the battle going on across the room with the beholder. And even from this distance, she could feel its evil aura, granting fear into her heart. She never really felt something like this before. It was as if the creature was truly real, and not just a monster.

"No time to think now. Let's take down that thing first," she announced to December and Senna. After they took care of it, then they could all gather together and figure out what in the world had just happened.

She began casting her hexes one by one to the creature from a distance. Anything you can name of; poison, paralysis, blindness. She also used her debuffs, decreasing each and every stat the creature has. To her perplexion however, she couldn't see any of the usual messages when someone got hit by her curses. Could it be that none of it was working? But from what she could tell, it seemed the creature was slowing down, so it should work? So then why were the pop-up messages and symbols not appearing?

@Rune_Alchemist@BurningDaisies

---

"Farewell SilverCoffee...Now our enemies rest." A blue-skinned Shaman Troll shook SilverCoffee's hand and logout, disappeared after a few seconds. The last few guild members of the guild Royal_Food_Court(RFC) has gathered at Apocalypse Now just like the rest of the last few remaining players who wished to stay until the very last moment in the game Yggdrasil. Although the guild RFC already had its gathering a few hours ago at its own guild area, SilverCoffee and a few friends decided to stay until the server closed down as a respect for the game which brings a lot of good memories into his life. The endless hours of grinding and looting, participating raids or exploring new area whenever a new expansion was announced, he will cherish those memories forever.

It was the last minute before the server will shut down forever. All of SilverCoffee's friends and guild members were already gone after bidding farewell to each other, which left SilverCoffee sitting on a dining chair alone at the moment. He decided to get up and walked slowly towards the balcony of the guild hall. Surprisingly, nobody was outside when SilverCoffee stepped outside. The only things he saw and heard were the fireworks. "I thank all of you who decided to celebrate tonight and have stayed for these final moments! May the times we spent her never be forgotten! May our legends live on and our craziness never cease! Behold! The Apocalypse has come!"

"This is it." SilverCoffee thought. He closed his eyes, expecting for the end to come. But instead, SilverCoffee felt a loud ring in his head. Next, came the rising panic, the dizzy feeling and the need to get low to the ground. When SilverCoffee somehow managed to wake it's all over, the world has moved on around him. SilverCoffee got up as if he had just taken a nap on the concrete like the tramps. He turned his sight back to the players inside the guild hall. Everyone has similar reactions.

The server was supposed to be gone by now... Why are we still here? SilverCoffee looked confused and shocked at the same time. The sparks in his brain desperately trying to connect the dots but instead just causing a short circuit. The world around him looks so real as if he was actually...here...? There were the smell and the weight of the armours and weapons that were warping around his body. The cold winds that blew across his face. These things never felt so real in his entire gaming life.

"Don't tell me that I'm trapped in Yggdrasil." SilverCoffee seems very puzzled by the whole incident.