In a desert, in the throes of Chaos, the space in a particular area warped, showing signs of instability.
Soon, a tear appeared, spitting out a group of people.
Lyra rolled on the ground, her head throbbing, but she gritted her teeth and struggled to stand despite the pain, same as the rest.
"Are we lost?..again?" someone asked.
The sound was like prickly pins stabbing at Lyra's ear. Her face contorted in pain.
"No," Mr. Rhett said, a frown on his face. Despite his cool demeanor, Lyra knew he was going through pains too; she could see his tightly clenched fist even though he tried to hide it.
"The portal couldn't bring us all the way into the city because of our numbers. But... it brought us close enough," Mr. Rhett continued, his hand pointing toward a string of light, connecting the sky and the ground.
The team immediately understood. That was their way out of here.
So they staggered off, some holding onto one another as they advanced.
Just as they were steps away from reaching the light, they saw it flicker.
"Is it supposed to do that?" a young man asked.
Mr. Rhett did not reply, his eyes staring intently at the string of light.
Then, out of the blue, the light shattered.
"What... what happened?" Lyra asked, a gasp held down I'm her throat.
"Æther," Mr. Rhett managed to say through gritted teeth.
"Time for plan B."
At his words, some of the team members stepped forward, holding hand-sized screens as they tried to reconstruct the light, while the others kept guard.
As they worked, someone shouted in fright, "What's—what's that?"
The whole group turned to find a whirl of sand in the distance. It was gradually getting bigger and bigger.
A sandstorm! And it was inching towards them.
The team worked faster and faster in desperation, sighing in relief as they watched the sky light up.
Their expressions instantly faded to doom as it shattered again.
The air pulsed with energy as a glowing grid pattern appeared in the sky.
Lyra felt her heart drop to her stomach. It was a barrier.
Just then, a deafening roar echoed—the sandstorm had grown massively and was bearing down on them, its destructive wind tearing apart everything in its path.
Their eyes clouded with fear, but Mr. Rhett's voice sounded again.
"Switch to plan C."
"We have a plan C?" Lyra asked, grabbing onto Mr. Rhett. Visibility was very low, and you could barely see the person in front of you.
Glancing at her hands around his, Mr. Rhett smiled wryly. "There's always a plan C," he mused, releasing her hands to hold them properly.
"Everyone, bring out your tags... quickly," Mr. Rhett ordered. This was the only way left he knew, and it was by far the most dangerous.
Æther was blocking out their contact with the outside world. so they would have to find a way to break through the game world and reach out.
But that was easier said than done.
The void was unstable and destructive, A small turbulence in the void could kill the whole group, so they had to activate their tags immediately for Caspian to extract them.
A second delay could lead to the crowds extermination.
The group searched their bodies for their tags, producing them after some time.
"Shit," Victor whispered. The team turned to him, wondering what was wrong.
"My tag... I... I think I lost it," he mumbled, his eyes dropping.
"When I lost my arm... I guess it fell out," he explained, his voice low.
The team looked on, unsure of what to do.
Mr. Rhett stared at him quietly for a while them Walking over to Victor, he stretched out his hand, his tag in it.
"Here, take mine."
"W—wha... no, I can't do that."
"I'm not asking you... take it," he ordered, his eyes firm as he urged Victor.
"Why?" Victor muttered, it was crazy that someone would give his only way out to another person.
"I promise to bring you guys out safely," Mr. Rhett eyes suddenly blurred with something he couldn't read. "And when it's in my hands to do so... I will." Placing his hand on Victor's shoulder, he thrust the tag into Victor's hand.
He never wanted to endanger anyone. Though the risk was clear for all to see, he had made a promise to himself to bring them all out.
But Æther had played them too far.
"You've already lost your arm. I can't let you lose your life too." Mr Rhett whispered, losing a part of your consciousness body1qq was the same a losing it physically. It would be there but useless.
"Don't worry, I might find a way to make it out of here anyway." Mr Rhett said lightheartedly, a reassuring smile on his face.
His words were hopeful but the group knew the sheer impossibility of it
Victor suddenly felt tearful. Having lost his parents at a young age, he struggled throughout college, working side jobs while studying hard.
He managed to graduate with one of the best results in his set, and shortly after college, he had started a small company with his best bud.
But in his desperation to secure funding, he had joined this expedition team.
He had his whole life in front of him, a future he was yearning to build.
And when his desperation had nearly cost him his life, someone was willing to save him.
Nodding gratefully at Mr. Rhett, he collected his tag. It felt hot in his hand, just like his eyes.
The rest of the team watched on, different emotions brewing in their chests.
But they were soon drawn back to the issue at hand.
The storm had intensified, its fury encompassing them. As the heart of the storm approached, Lyra grasped her baton, stabbing it into the ground to prevent being blown away by the gale-force winds, sand blades tearing against her skin.
The others followed suit.
Mr. Rhett, his eyes flashing with a mix of desperation and determination, shouted at everyone to activate their tags.
Then, with a swift motion, he produced a device from his back and, moving forward, placed it on the ground before hastily leaving that area.
The device emitted a piercing sound as it exploded, the shockwave causing ripples in the air. A small tear in space soon appeared and grew bigger.
But the barrier around it gradually repaired itself, making the tear unstable.
"Enter quickly!" Mr. Rhett shouted, his voice barely audible over the noise of the storm.
The group pushed against the wind, making their way one by one into the tear as they soon disappeared into the void.
Soon, only Lyra and Mr. Rhett remained.
Staring deeply at her, he swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue.
Lyra returned his look before shortening the distance between her and the tear.
Mr. Rhett watched as she approached, a lump forming in his throat.
During the few days spent with her both in the outside world and here, he couldn't deny the pull he felt.
But not everything had a happy ending. Not everyone had a happy ever after
When Lyra was just a few steps from the tear, she halted.
Arching an eyebrow, Mr. Rhett watched as she came closer to him.
"Lyra..." But he couldn't complete his words as he felt her arms wrap around him.
Stunned, he froze. Then his eyes flooded with affection as he hugged her back, his jaw grazing her soft hair.
Lyra's shoulders relaxed as she made her decision.
This was a renowned expert, one who had a lot of responsibilities hanging on his shoulder, a lot of things to accomplish.
And here was her, apart from her family, she had no other purpose. Her eyes dropped as she recalled snippets of her life...without the weight of her family's problems weighing on her, she had no drive to continue the struggle.
Wouldn't it be better for such a talent to survive than an insignificant individual?
"I've had dreams and passions too. But I...I... can't even seem to recall them now," she whispered, raising her head to stare into his eyes.
Mr. Rhett couldn't hear her over the noise of the storm, but he knew something was wrong.
"What did you say?" he shouted over the roaring storm.
But Lyra simply smiled, ignoring his question. "My brother likes playing games." Giggling lightly, she continued, "He loves Nintendo consoles but is shy about it. He says he has grown past it."
Mr. Rhett was honestly confused. He had no idea what she was rambling about but e couldn't help but feel a faint premonition rising in his chest.
Soon, Lyra disengaged from the embrace and stared deeply into his dreamy eyes as she muttered, "Goodbye."
'This was it.'
Her end.
At least it was beneficial to someone else.
The storm was almost upon them. The wave of sand, as sharp as knives, dug into their skin but they didn't bleed.
Mr. Rhett clenched his fist, tearing his eyes off her, his vision blurring not from the sand.
Dabbing his eyes he turned to face the storm, as Lyra walked towards the tear that was steadily reducing.
But suddenly, he felt a strong tug on his arm, before he could process what was happening, he felt his body lurch into the void.
Surprised, he looked back to see the storm swallowing the slim figure of Lyra.
His lips moved, his brows furrowed as he whispered, "....Why?"
But the tear closed up. Shutting her view from his sight.
Lyra did not notice it. Thrown around in the storm, her consciousness was slowly breaking apart. It was excruciatingly painful.
Just as she teetered on the edge of life and death, her mind slipping into a forever sleep, she felt the air around her change. The violent winds suddenly disappeared.
Struggling to open her eyes, she saw a blurry figure squatting over her, with long black hair swaying in the wind.
But it was those green eyes, that even through the glaze seemed to strike her soul. It was those eyes that drew her fading focus.
'Who is that?'
She wondered as she succumbed to the darkness.