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[indent][indent][indent][color=gray][sub][right][color=#A84B5E][b]Location:[/b][/color] The Dungeon, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria[/right][/sub][/color]
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Rael bit her lip, mulling over the thoughts as her group took the news… how normal people would take that kind of news.

Had anyone been able to look beyond Rael’s beguiled expression they would’ve seen a distinct difference between themselves and their red-haired comrade. Rael’s emotions weren’t full of dread or panic. In fact, it was the exact opposite. She just didn’t show it, but that was perhaps due to an entire childhood of being told to present herself perfectly. It was almost second nature to not show weakness even though in the real world she saw herself anything but strong. It’s part of why Pariah had been her escape. A world absent from the perception of the Moriyama Family, one of those ancient bloodlines that had earned her all of the prestige with all of the pressure on top of it.

“We’re descended from the Tokugawa Clan. Don’t forget.” The words of her father echoed in her head.

“A Moriyama should get higher scores than you did.” Her mother’s murmurs entered the backline of her brain, reminding her of her entrance exam into Tokyo U. 

Initially, leaving Kōriyama for Tokyo was supposed to be a blessing. A place away from her parent’s snipes and putdowns. But it was even worse. Her classmates acted like she thought she was better than them and her professors didn’t even notice her because she wasn’t particularly impressive. Hanako Moriyama was no overachiever and she was certainly not someone people noticed unless it was to scoff or scold her for something. It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t some genius child prodigy. The real world wasn’t a slice of life manga. It’s why Pariah Online meant so much to her. As Rael she had power. Control. She insulted people before they insulted her. Putdown them before they could think to condescend or patronize her. Laughed in their faces. But beyond all the moxie and gloating she did feel a peace in the simulation. Her parents weren’t expecting her to be the best, Rael was just… good. Naturally good at silly fantasy things. It felt good, so good that when she started trying she entered the Top 50 players.

Pariah Online was her rock and she felt more powerful and herself in-game then out-of-game. In fact, she felt more like herself than anywhere else even if she had basically used the same tactics that hurt her on others. It wasn’t a thought that crossed her mind at the moment, though, given the circumstances of the lethality of the game and all of the more real aspects of the world coming to life. It felt exhilarating and a little bit exciting. Not that she wanted to die, but really at the end of the day she didn’t care if Hanako Moriyama died. Her parents didn’t care for her as a child, only a tool. That’s why she was in the middle of marriage negotiations with someone she didn’t even know. They were to get married after she finished University. She laughed at the thought in her head. What would be more glorious than giving the proverbial middle finger to both her parents and his by dying. Couldn’t find much use for a corpse, could they?

[i]She was free.[/i]

For the first time in her life she was completely free.

She looked to Graves. He was stunned and annoyed that they didn’t have the gall to tell them until now. A fair point, but time ran differently in Pariah. They were technically in a dreamscape and the technology was a prototype. Then again, the general public didn’t know that. They didn’t know they were buying into experimental tech for a desperate company. So desperate they had changed their name from Koete Interactive to the Mizushima Gaming Corporation, banking on Toshiro Mizushima’s new ideas so much they could make a brand around it. The only reason she knew this was because of her family’s connections. Things were complicated. But it wasn’t the time to explain that kind of thing while Kalie was crying and Alja was breaking into a full-blown panic attack.

She looked at Benkei and then Kazuki. They were Japanese. Were they unfazed like she was? She wondered the thought before releasing the staff of her spear as it leaned back against the stone wall. She didn’t know why, but she moved to Kalie and put her hand on her shoulder. She wasn’t sure how to comfort her or Alja.

She wasn’t certain what to say. She couldn’t say “it was going to be okay” or “you’re not going to die”. It wouldn’t be fair to lie about something like that. Instead she managed one thing.

[color=#A84B5E]“Hey.”[/color] She said, putting her other hand on the opposite shoulder, [color=#A84B5E]“I’m with you.”[/color]

[color=#A84B5E]“I won’t [i]let[/i] you die.”[/color]
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