A notification forced Kaelin to wake up, letting out a disgruntled groan as she stretched out her hand for her phone. The sun had barely risen up, her face still in the darkness of her room. 'Who would bother to message me at a time like this?!' She cursed, bringing her phone to her face.
Scrolling past the password, her eyes out up seeing that it was Jarren.
[{Meet me in the game, don't keep me waiting}]
Seeing the time he have sent it to her, a wave of panic course through her as she signed into the game.
[{Player Kaelin has joined the game}]
Unlike before, this time it wasn't the cave and the weapons rack that she met but rather a white expanse of pure nothingness. Not far from where she was Jarren stood, his hands clasped behind his back with a welcoming smile.
"What a heavy sleeper you are." His joke eliciting a snark from Kaelin. "Well it is to be expected when the game is so fatiguing." With a wave of his hand, the distance between the two was closed and a wide ring circulating the two.
"Here is where we'll be focusing on your training. Not just the elemental but any other that you may wish to learn." Kaelin lost with the architecture of the place was met with a light jab to the gut.
"Argh!" Her cries further stretching the grin on his face. "What was that?! I wasn't ready!" She protested clutching to her gut. "You have to be ready." With another thought, a small spark formed in his palm. Blue with golden azure sparks that was brimming with power and potential captured her attention.
He didn't bother hesitating as he threw it into her mind sending the lady into a spiral of pain and agony. She fell to her knees, her teeth grit as she glanced at Jarren who towered over her. "You didn't think that it wouldn't be painful, did you?" His tease met with a click as she forced herself to rise to her feet, singes of smoke writhing all over her frame.
"You really have poor communication with your student." Jarren took it as a compliment as he brought a long bow to her. "Use this, shoot at the targets." Puppets came to be a few meters away from the two. Taking aim, she quickly unleashed rapid successions of lightning bows at the targets.
*Bam-Bam-Bam*
Her targets were bathed in lightning and destruction till they were no more. The smirk of satisfaction etched on her face demanded that he praise her. "Not bad, however let's see how you fair with moving targets." The puppets came anew, this time walking about in circles to which she dealt with them easily.
He raised the bar, this time having them run. Still she managed to dispose of them with relative ease. "Let's see how you fair with flying targets." This time crows flew far above the two, taking aim of the targets, she once again easily hit her targets. Jarren watched the whole scene with a grin on his face that suggested something darker.
"Not bad, so let's make a quick game from this." His words sending a shiver down Kaelin's spine.
[{Hit the targets within the required time}]
[{2:00}]
The two minutes began to count down forcing Kaelin to take action at the targets before. Jarren watched the whole thing as he mentally took notes of her actions.
[{Goal achieved with 20 seconds to spare, congratulations}]
She looked back at Jarren as if in stupor, knowing that he had something else in mind. "Not bad, however I've noted multiple problems with your technique." His hands drifted to her arms, his figure circling her from behind as he helped her hold the bow. "First of all, it would seem that you aim way too high for your targets, lightning is a potent element, aim where you want to hit."
*Whoosh*
Firing a bow, it landed squarely on the target's chest. "Second of all, your breathing slows your time to switch, you take way too long to move from one target to another." His words echoing in her ear which made her scalp tingle. "And finally, your understanding of the element is severely lacking, that's my problem." His chin resting on her shoulder before stealing a light peck on her cheek.
Her cheeks flushed pink, startled with his initiative as she cleared her throat. "...Of course." She managed to mumble beneath her ocean of stammers. "Well that will have to do for now. You can use this place for any use that you would wish. Training, contemplation or a safe haven to recover from the game's fatigue."
And with that he withdrew his hands off her frame before switching his attention elsewhere. Another figure came to be in the white space. Lyssara glanced at Kaelin before her gaze lingered on Jarren. "Does she have to be here?" Her question met with a chuckle. "Of course not, after all I'm sure that her mother's calling her right now."
Before she could ask, she was taken out of the game and into the real world. "Kaelin! I've been calling your for the past ten minutes and you didn't bother to respond!" Looking around, what met her was the glare from her mother. "I'm sorry mom I was just tired." Nysa however remained unbothered.
"What could you have done to make you exhausted?! Or we you up to something with man from yesterday?!" Kaelin covered her face with her palms as she got out of her bed. "Mom! Nothing happened between us!" Nysa watched her daughter move to the bathroom, her frame suggesting weariness.
"How are you still tired? You just woke up!" Kaelin had yet to fully recover from the dive the day before, her time in the space not adequate enough for her to be fully relieved of the fatigue. "Is there a reason for you to be here? Is this about the bow?" She deflected the subject. Nysa let out a short sigh, her brows furrowing.
"Your father wants you to get rid of it. I tried to convince him that you could keep it however he wasn't having it. So I'm here for it as I'm sure that you won't give it to any of the servants even if your father had instructed you to do so." Kaelin reached for the tap, covering her face with cool refreshing water before drying herself off.
"Here, you can have it. It's in my closet." Her lack of protest making Nysa grow skeptical. "Okay, I know that you wouldn't just give it to me so willingly." Kaelin played ignorant as she began to brush her teeth. "You want the bow or not? I've already told you where it is." Nysa felt that something was off with the situation, aware of how stubborn her own daughter could be.
"I know you Kaelin! You usually aren't this cooperative so out with it!" Kaelin let out a sigh, aware that even she was acting out of her range. "Mom, I have something to tell you." The air which had been casual grew tense, the temperature dropping down a couple of notches. Nysa's face grew grim, unsure with what her daughter would divulge.
"It's about Benedict. He's not actually a student I met at the Ark Facility but someone from way back. A couple of months prior actually. Do you remember about the trials that happened at Caelbridge Arcum?" Nysa made her way to Kaelin who was busy with her face as she applied her cosmetics.
"Yes, I remember." Her words hesitant. "Well do you remember who I had as.my partner?" Kaelin's words made Nysa's brows furrow as she didn't like the direction of the conversation. "Don't tell me that Benedict is..." The silence affirmed her worst horror. "How is he?! I thought that he was-" Kaelin watched her mother break down into a small panic attack, a playful smile forming on her face.
"Mom you don't have to worry. He's not that bad once you get to know him." Her words met with a gaze of skepticism and scrutiny from Nysa. "What do you mean that monster isn't that bad?! It's because of him that all of this is happening! The growth of Redfall, the death of thousands by the day and the birth of abominations!" Kaelin's smile didn't falter.
"That's way too much mom. He wasn't responsible with Redfall, as for the war, he's not actively in it. Nothing more than a spectator and the birth is because of the radioactive waste and mutations of the demons." She knew that calling Jarren an innocent bystander would be false however she knew that he didn't have much to do with the current affairs of the world.
"And here I thought that your father was merely superstitious with the boy. Turns out that it was that monster!" Kaelin still didn't break, watching as her mother broke into hysterical rants about Jarren. "The bow! Hand it over!" Now with the horrifying realization that Benedict was Jarren, Nysa wanted Kaelin to have nothing to do with him.
*Whoosh*
The bow materialized out of thin air, landing into Kaelin's hands which shocked Nysa. "It's far more than just an artifact or a gift. You know that power is what rules over the world and this is a piece of it. If we can get Jarren to aid us then I'm sure we'll survive this terror in Arcania. Far from it, I'm sure that we'll thrive." Nysa still appalled with the realization added on.
"And be nothing more than traitors to Reuthar. Sure but we can't let this world come to pass away for the sake of our own personal benefit. What about the rest who has nothing to do with this war?" Kaelin fell silent, unsure of what to say. 'Well I can't say that or I'll never hear the end of it.' The response in her mind far from empathetic or compassionate about those who died on the front lines.
"So what if you do manage to tell the capital? What action would they take and what use would you have if you took this bow away from me? He's already here and he's made it quite clear that he won't be moving any time soon." Nysa who had parted her lips had now words to respond. 'Even if Atherion does know, his actions are already focused on the crumbling west and fall of the east.'
'Not to mention it's not that he would automatically believe us without an investigation which would take far too long.' Nysa looked at the bow glimmering in the hands of her daughter, as much as she wanted to take it away from her, she knew that it would only complicate the matter. 'We can't deal with a monster like Jarren should he take the initiative to attack us.'
With a sigh, she was forced to admit defeat as she started to make her way to the door. Her frame now stopping at the door frame. "You said that you know Jarren, what exactly is the relationship between the two of you?" Her mind already hoping that it wasn't as bad as she would say. "It's a master and student relationship so there's no need to worry about me."
"Oh and this may come off as odd to you but I'll be gone from time to time." Nysa who was about to refute her words was met with an explanation about the game which left her speechless and baffled. "Oh, then try to train with your best effort and good luck." As much as she wanted to separate her daughter from such a horror, her hands were tied at the moment.
"You don't have to be so fearful for me mother. I'll be okay." Nysa stared at Kaelin's reassuring smile that forced her to exude a smile of her own. "If you say so. Your father won't believe this. But first you have to take your breakfast!" And with that Nysa took her leave, still digesting the influx of information.
Kaelin let out a sigh of relief, glad with the result she had hoped. Making her way out of her room, she could already picture the scene of her under Jarren's tutelage. "A master and student relationship..." She muttered to herself as a cheeky laugh escaped her lips.