The next morning:
Skylar in his original form slowly open his eyes, waking from sleep. Covering his body up to is neck is a white blanket, and above him as he lie on a super large canopy bed covered in white sheets is its canopy of white transparent silk cloth.
"Hmm.." He grunts.
To his right where he turn to look is a neatly folded white blanket and a lingering scent that reminds him of who he slept next to the previous night.
"Oh.."
To his left where he turned to look is the back view of a stunning beauty—dressed in a pastel pink silk chemise with her dark-brown hair tied in a chingnon with a pin—rocking a floating cradle from which a low soporific hum is coming from.
"Hana, when did Blue princess logged off?"
"My lord."
His question gained the attention of Hana—the stunning beauty—She turned around and starts walking towards him.
While she approach the bed, Skylar waits; he busied himself by looking at the rolled up pastel pink curtain of the bed's canopy.
"My lord, it was yesterday before you left." She answered him as she climbs the bed and starts crawling on it towards him.
"I see."
Skylar's eyes return to her and he watched as she got closer to him until she reached him and side-sit facing him while she is propped with her right hand she placed on the left side of the pillow he is resting his head on.
"Are you alright now." Skylar said gently while looking her in the eyes.
Also looking at Skylar in the eyes, Hana nodded feebly and replied, "Yes my lord. I..."
"You can call me Sky. Drop the lord stuff." Skylar with a smile on his face while he is still looking her in the eyes interrupted the rest of her speech.
"Yes Sky." She agreed, nodding her head feebly.
She continued, "I am baking cake, is that okay?"
At her words, while still looking her in the eyes, Skylar beamed a smile and nodded slightly. Then he lowered the blanket and gently placed his left palm on her cheek, rubbing it affectionately.
How do they even know my favorites. I bet that Yami woman is behind it.
"Sky, there is also milk."
She said literally with no added layer of meaning behind it. However her words made Skylar look from her eyes to the cleavage of her large breast behind her chemise.
"Not this one Sky." Seeing his subtle action, she smiled coyly as she quickly draw up the lace neckline of her chemise.
So, she can flirt. Skylar chuckled at her response. He looked from her to the silk canopy of the bed above him as he withdraw his palm from the creamy white skin of her cheek.
"I have a lot to do today. First, I must visit those guys." Skylar muttered.
Like a response to what he said, Hana landed on top of his bare upper body, hugging him with the right side of her face pressed against his left chest, where his beating heart is.
Is this what they call a woman in love?
"Hmm..." Skylar sighed deeply. Then he placed his hand on her back and starts patting it affectionately.
"I will surely return by night time." He said softly, attempting to reassure her.
"Mm mm.." Hana crooned a reply, sounding like she understands. Yet she continues to hug him, taking in his addictive breath.
She doesn't want to let go, it seems...
Thinking in his mind, Skylar smiled while he still continue to pat her on the back.
***
Behind a fence-like flower hedge made from a flowering plants with blue, white, and pastel flowers shaped like a viburnum flower is a large simple yet enchanting single storey building facing it and behind it. Moreover, between the building about 250 meters wide and the flower hedge is a lawn of white grass, and dividing the lawn at its left side is a passway linking a wide gap in the flower hedge to the wide entrance of the building at its left side.
Meanwhile, inside a round room in this building—made of glossy white wooden frame structure trained with flower vines on the outside and chameleon glass for its walls—sat a woman of an aloof yet enchanting presence on a throne-looking, carved wooden armless chair with a very tall backrest.
"That's it everyone, I am quitting. I am leaving the faction."
Under a chameleon glass ceiling that has been adjusted transparent, thereby making the soft enchanting white light of morning seep through it; the woman of an aloof yet enchanting presence like that of a blue moon sitting at the center of this courtyard-looking round room of about hundred meter in radius sounded calm and serene, yet enchanting and alluring.
"Leader, how can we survive without you?"
With a lowered head, one of the people this woman wearing a veil on her face is addressing, one among the ones kneeling, who has a bob hairstyle with one part red and the other black, said with a sad voice like she would cry.
"Yes leader, why are you abandoning us?"
In a newsie outfit, Starboy, one of the kneeling figure, agreed with what the beauty with a lowered head said.
Rubbing his eyes like he is crying, he continued, "Sob sob... Why do you want to turn this poor boy into a lonely orphan. What did I do wrong... sob sob... If its because I have been spending all my money in kitty land, please forgive me... sob sob... I will only spend half of it going forward... sob sob... I will stop spending everything on fine bitches and..."
"My lady, is there a more specific reason you want to quit?"
Interrupting Star boy and having a conspicuous spiky blonde hair; one of the kneeling figures, a fit figure in black top and camo pants looked at this enchanting woman sitting upright on the throne-looking chair at the center of the room's white wooden floor.
"Old soldier, for how long have we been in rank zero?" The woman asked the man with a scar on his face—Old soldier—as she attempts to answer his question.
"My lady... over a year."
Old soldier replied with a wry smile on his face, and Some of the other 80-70 people present—especially those on their knees—lowered their heads in shame as he answered.
"4 months 20 days, Old soldier. That's a little over a year and a half in simulation time..."
The woman being more specific appeared to scan some faces—mostly the faces of those standing behind those kneeling.
Appearing to return her focus to Old soldier, she resumed. "Tell me one thing significant we have achieved with me as your leader?"
"?...?"
"Leader, its not your fault." The earlier beauty with red and black bob hair spoke before Old soldier who is scratching his head as he think of an answer could reply.
"Its because we are all useless, right, everyone..."
She turned her head from one side to the other, expecting the others kneeling to agree verbally or gesturally with her. However, none did, instead, some of them hung their head in shame and the rest avoided eye contact with her.
The woman after appearing to scan selected faces sighed and turned to the beauty. "American, I understand your sentiment. My mind is made up already. I am not fit to lead. And I hope the faction selects a new leader as soon as possible. The faction must not dissolve."
"No... mummy don't go." Star boy with the appearance of a grieving mother that lost all her nine healthy sons in one night—tears streaming down his face, eyes blood shot and boogers hanging to his nostrils—suddenly starts crawling fast towards the woman like a baby until he was held back by Old soldier who grabbed his brown, worn out-looking messenger bag across his shoulder.
"Old man let me go. Don't stop me sob sob..."
Star boy resisted Old soldier's hold as he try to continue his quest of reaching the woman in spite of angry glares directed at him by some of those kneeling.
"My lady, what do you plan to do next?" Old soldier asked the woman while still holding back Starboy who has not stop sobbing and mumbling.
After a short few moments, the woman replied, "I want to focus on my self. I will continue as a solo player for some time..."
"Why don't you join me, Lingyue"
A voice that seems to come from nowhere, attracting everyone's attention and making them put up thier guard as they search for its source, interrupted her.
*Shwing* "Who is there..." Drawing his sword, one of those standing—a young handsome boy— shouted as he extend his astral coating of energy to his sword that brightened up and starts humming.
However the voice continued anyway: "I need someone's assistance. Lingyue you would do..."
"Lord..." The woman blurted, and the others turning thier back followed her gaze resting on a figure—in a black hoodie and gray cargo pants—who is sitting on the wooden floor of the room with knees up and back against the wooden column of the entrance door to the room, and with a crystal glass device the size and shape of a mobile phone he appears to be focused on, held in his hands sideways.
"Are you interested?"
The figure said and raised their head towards the woman, revealing a pair of mysterious green eyes that appears to glow in the dark under the hood covering their head. Then the woman—Lingyue—with a veil covering her face stood up from her throne, and immediately, in one fluid movement; her figure that appeared to turn blurry—looking like moon light and floating over everyone and a small tree on her path—flitted across the room, closing the gap between her and the figure in a tenth of a second.
"Lord.."
Reaching near him, Lingyue dressed in a snow white Ao dai—with its ankle-length tunic having a golden inscription trimming on its neckline, hemline, sleeve hems and the two high slits on its two sides—took a seat on Skylar's left in the same manner.
Shifting closer, her shoulder preseed tightly with his intimately, she continued, "How did you find our place?"
Skylar before answering her caught sight of a creature with blue eyes peeking at him from behind the top of the wooden throne it is hiding behind. He chuckled, then replied, "Diana gave me your address."
"Lord, have you joined her faction?" Said suddenly and with panic, Lingyue grabbed his forearm while simultaneously turning her veiled face to look at his side profile blocked by the hood covering his head.
Hearing her question, Skylar did not respond right away; he chuckled softly, rubbed the top of the device where his index finger laid as he holds it sideways three times—shutting it off—and then he put it in his thigh pocket, securing it in place by fastening its pocket's velcro fastner. Moreover while he do all this, his eyes scan the people in the room; majority he already met and the others he has not seen before—who all appears perplexed by their leader's uncharacteristic behavior and are being lectured who he is or might be by those who know about him as they all watch him and Lingyue with all their conversations happening under hush voices.
"I did not join her faction." Skylar returned his focus to her, turning to look at her face completely covered by a white veil.
He continued, "She left her faction, and you can say she and I joined a recently created faction. And the reason I need your assistance is I am a top executive of that faction..."
"I also want to join." She interrupted eagerly, holding his fore arm tighter and moving her veiled face closer to his. "I mean I will help you. How can I help you?"
Nice... Skylar grinned.