"What… the hell?"
Junwoo was exhausted. He'd finished the bread and watched as the sky turned into a dark grey blur. Clouds meshed together, and an overwhelming wave of sleep crashed over him. His legs started to feel numb.
Something felt off, was it the bread? He examined the crumbs still left in his hands for any suspicious substance, but it appeared normal. Come to think of it, he hadn't had a lot of bread since he came here. And he'd never had anything with that tasty, sweet icing on top. The sweetness was addictive. Actually, he wanted more.
'Ah,' he finally clocked on.
His knees felt weak, unable to carry his weight. The fox tried to move, but his entire body screamed in protest. He couldn't bring himself to stand up, instead Junwoo tried to survey the area for a moment, at least as well as he could with his vision being slowly overrun by darkness.
Something moved.
A shadow of something… someone?
Junwoo struggled to crane his head up. He couldn't make the shadowy figure out clearly. Whatever it was, it waved a wary hand in front of his face. His body leaned over to the left and dropped down onto the cold, slightly damp bench. Looks like the rainwater had found a way through cracks in the roof's shelter above.
A warm hand removed the hood around his head and ran down his thick brightly coloured hair. Junwoo couldn't move his hand to grab the stranger and his body jolting slightly with each touch.
The stranger smelled… nice? Like freshly baked bread, croissants, pastries. The sweet smell of a bakery that was ready to open up for the morning. And their touch was so delicate, as if Junwoo was a precious diamond.
The relaxing motion of the hand was enough to push Junwoo over the edge. His eyes could no longer stay open. Inaudible mumbles could be heard, and a comforting tightness cast around his neck.
No – he knew exactly what this meant. He tried to fight further, but ended up falling and rolling over. At least, that's what he thought happened. At this point, he'd completely lost control.
…
Kaelsu's stomach turned to stone; a weight settled in his chest. He rushed past a crowd, he could've sworn he just saw Azadeus.
His fingers lingered on the keyboard, typing then undoing constantly. He wasn't sure if he should bring attention to this, but it might be his only chance. "Did anyone see a Jiuweihu here?" He typed out in chat.
No responses. Relief and dread tangled in his gut. He pressed forward through the swarm in Terrace, a popular RP hub alive with chatter and lantern-lit stalls. Music boxes played, performers shouted for attention, but Kaelsu could barely hear over the static pounding in his ears.
"Azadeus?" He tried again, hoping he was in the right place. His fingers felt stiff. The trail of destruction stopped roughly around this town, and angered footsteps could be vaguely seen in the grass nearing the portal.
Kaelsu activated his sprint and glided through the zone, but slowed down unexpectedly as the weather took a turn for the worst, with bright flashes of lightning lighting up the darkened sky. Waves of thunder chased after him with each step.
In the distance, through the thick haze, he saw a cowled figure on a bench. The summoner's eyes strained as fog started to settle. He tried to push forwards, but was weighed down by the surprise downpour. Raindrops clung to his clothes like a second skin. His legs caught by the weather, Kaelsu was hit with a slow debuff.
As he grew closer, the details sharpened. A grey cowl failing to protect honey-like hair from the wind. He could see pale lips parted in shallow breaths, and its expression was a dull hum while it lay on the bench. Kaelsu's heart slammed against his ribs. Panic sharpened in his steps when he saw a suspicious character next to him.
It was too intimate, he watched hands softly stroking down his hair and a wicked smile on this prowler's lips.
There was a soft glow coming from the fox, who used to be Azadeus and the character's eyes locked onto Kaelsu who tried to bolt towards them, rapidly summoning whatever monsters he could.
He continued to run.
"Stop!" He roared and before he realised it, the glow swelled into a luminous flash like a beam that opened from the clouds above.
Kaelsu thought he was prepared and lunged at Junwoo's hand with his, but his fingers barely touched him,lightly grazing him when he fell through the beam of light that vanished with a moment's notice.
Gone.
He was too late.
The bench was empty.
Falling to the floor delicately, the grey cowl that poorly disguised Azadeus. It was quickly soaked in a large puddle that had formed around a gutter from the torrential rain.
Kaelsu froze. He checked his chat logs for any sign of what just happened and who took his ex-partner. Nothing… nothing… his brow furrowed leaving a deep wrinkle on his forehead. He scrolled through pages upon pages of spam from gold traders, saucy messages from RPers and random chatter.
His character dropped to its knees. "No!" He screamed at his computer screen and slammed his fists on his desk. Kang Min steadied his monitor from the wobbling, a result of the impact from his rage.
He couldn't even see the person's name, whoever it was that took his Azadeus from him. He'd finally accepted that Azadeus was likely a Human. Someone in trouble.
'Shitshitshitshitshit-' was all he could think as the summoner opened up the map. His mind went back to the scene before him. Kaelsu needed to clear his mind and think for a moment – think before it's too late.
He scanned the map. The light had been yellow. Teleport, not death. But fifteen cities pulsed across the region, any one of them the destination. Too many.
…
"Are you going to attack or what?" A character with frizzy hair tapped their foot impatiently.
Junwoo stood facing an enemy monster with arms crossed and head turned away. The monster was paralysed from a previous attack and was an easy target for his next skill. Junwoo's health was full, and his status bar was stacked with ttack buffs and damage reduction buffs.
Yet he refused.
He wasn't afraid of losing to this guy, but refused to obey this stranger.
"Release me," Junwoo fired back, pulling relentlessly at the collar. His strength meant nothing against it. It looked far different than the one Kaelsu used – this one was black and had dull spikes protruding.
The stranger's smile was cruel. The battle wasn't about winning, it was about breaking him. With each struggle, it tightened and suffocated him to remind him that he was trapped.
"Why are you fighting it? The system recognises you as mine," the tone was a mix of playful, spiteful and perplexed.
"Attack," he finally commanded.
Junwoo's chest tightened and his skin burned. His hands froze mid-pull, tail lashing and his gaze flickering between the immobilised monster and the cruel smirk of his captor. Every instinct screamed at him to attack, to win, to move, but his anger was directed at the monster.
The monster that sat paralysed on the ground, whimpering in pain. It was far too low level for Junwoo. He could prod it and it would be gone.
But he moved forwards, regardless.
His body was no longer his own.