Ivanda Circle

With his final life taken, our match comes to an end. The generated field slowly disintegrates, revealing the empty warehouse we were just in. I can see Lydia and Joey near the corner, as they haven’t moved. Though Joey is still unconscious, Lydia looks in my direction with an expression of relief. I must have worried her, as she is trying to hold her tears back. I hear a loud thud shifting my focus immediately. Even after his final life was taken he was still stubbornly standing strong on his feet. He must have reached his limit as he fell to the ground. I walk over to him to confirm that he is unconscious. That is quite the willpower he displayed, being able to stand on his feet for as long as he did. I take the crystal he was using which was wrapped around his arm. Despite being a far stronger opponent, he doesn’t seem to have a crystal, all that different from the others, I’ve seen so far. He was simply far more skilled than any opponent I’ve faced up until this point. That is cause for concern. Especially if new recruits are sent out more frequently during missions. My train of thought is interrupted as I’m reminded of a few of those recruits quickly rushing over to Lydia and Joey. I wasn’t able to do it before but I immediately started to undo the ropes Lydia was tied up with. As I’m undoing her bindings Lydia speaks up in a flustered tone, “I knew you could take him down!” Her confident words are betrayed by her demeanor. A mix of anxiety and relief, for which I can’t blame her. Though I couldn’t see them, Lydia was able to watch our match. I was pushed into a corner and if I didn’t use ‘Judgement’ back then, I probably would have lost. “I’m sorry for worrying you”, I say moving over to Joey’s bindings next. Finishing up I lift Joey's arm, trying to carry him as Lydia quickly follows suit lifting his other arm. With us both supporting him we carry Joey outside. Similar to on my way here, there was no resistance on the way out. Once outside, we are treated to a beautiful sight, one I don’t get to see often. Unlike the Sherrick Circle, there isn’t much light pollution in the Ivanda Circle, which is why we don’t get treated with this starry sky. For a brief moment, we forget the predicament we are in, too absorbed by the view. It is Lydia who snaps back to reality first nudging me through Joey. We both pick up the pace again as we move to a different location. After walking for about half an hour we decided we created enough distance and put up camp. Unfortunately, Joey didn’t regain consciousness during that time. On top of that, there isn’t much we can use to provide us with protection of the environment. After all, we weren’t exactly expecting to be camping out here. After a few attempts, we managed to make a small fire, which at the very least gave us some warmth for the night. After carefully placing Joey close to the fire I get back to my feet. Lydia looks at me slightly confused, asking if I am going anywhere. I explain how we are going to need some water for the night. A survey of the area also cannot hurt, as we are probably not welcome here. Separating now isn’t ideal, but we can’t leave Joey unattended, and carrying him around would put us all at risk. I place my hand on Lydia’s shoulder while holding my crystal before her. “Remember to use your crystal if a treat comes your way. I won’t be long!” Lydia doesn’t say anything but simply nods, as I then take my leave. It leaves a bad aftertaste letting them fend for themselves, but our hands are tied. I just have to make sure to do this quickly. After a final glance at them near the fire, I dash into the darkness.

After scanning the surrounding area for several minutes, I’ve learned a few things. Unlike near the warehouses, there are people scattered pretty much everywhere. They most likely don’t have anything to do with the Children of Rhea, but seeing their living conditions isn’t exactly a highlight of the day. Second, a lot of citizens seem to carry firearms around. Although they aren’t always visible, it is safe to assume most of them carry. I guess not everyone here is privileged to have crystal, so they have to resort to weapons. Lastly, although probably minor, the ground in various places I came across was relatively softer than I was used to. I didn’t notice it at the warehouses but in various areas here the difference is quite noticeable.

I lucked out, finding water, and now I’m finishing up my survey. I have been watching a slightly more populated area nearby for several minutes now and luckily nothing too outlandish has occurred. After concluding it is relatively safe, I make my way back to camp as I suddenly hear an odd sound nearby. Without a second thought, I grab onto the crystal around my wrist as energy is released. Bullets are fired and immediately deflected by the body shield created by my crystal. It probably would have been the end if I was a tad bit later. I look over where the sound came from and see two people standing, weapons drawn. Despite the darkness, I can still see a faint trail of smoke escaping from their guns. They are shaking as fear is written across their faces. Even though they are the ones that attacked, it seems they didn’t necessarily have ill intentions, probably attacking out of desperation. I turn around to ease their worries, but it doesn’t work out as intended as they immediately make a run for it. I look on as I absentmindedly watch their silhouettes disappear into the night. I must have a lot on my mind as even I’m surprised by how long it takes to snap back to reality. A quick shake of the head and I resume my return to camp.

I arrive a bit later than I had intended, but I shake the bottle of water I managed to procure with a smile on my face. Lydia who is sitting next to the fire, stands up to greet me. I hand her over the bottle as I look over to Joey. No progress on that front, unfortunately. “He hasn’t moved since”, Lydia quickly adds, after taking a large gulp of water. She hands over the bottle back to me, but I hold up my hand and shake my head. I already had the chance to take some water, earlier, so she should focus on herself.
“Did anything else happen, when I was away?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.”
I take a seat next to the fire, and Lydia quickly follows suit next to Joey. We both sit in silence staring at the fire. A lot must be going through Lydia’s mind. I know I have. Once again, she ends up breaking the silence first.
“I don’t think I have thanked you yet for saving us.”
“Don’t mention it. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you behind.”
“I guess that is just like you. Do you think Joey will get better soon?”
“He will! My father once mentioned that losing in Crystale can be quite taxing but it doesn’t outright kill someone. It probably takes a bit longer for him”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Hearing me mention my father, causes Lydia to turn her gaze away. She knows, my relationship with my father is strained and she probably didn’t want to bring it up for my sake. I shake my hands with an awkward smile, telling her there is no need to apologize. After taking another glance at Joey, I figured I might as well change the subject.
“What brought you on this mission, Lydia?” Hearing the question, Lydia looks back at me. Her demeanor becoming more serious.
“Honestly, I have been starting to doubt if this was the right decision for a while now. My parents have been struggling for a while now and I heard going on these missions, can provide a hefty pay. Just like Joey, I ended up being talked into it. But it’s obvious that I’m not fit for this. I couldn’t even protect a teammate. No… a friend.”
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened. No one could have known The Children of Rhea would have such powerful users at this point.”
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t excuse that I couldn’t protect Joey. Or even myself.”
Her expression is turning darker by the minute so I attempt to change the subject again.
“So, what is it you are looking forward to the most when we get back?”
“A bath would be nice”
“That’s it?! I guess you are pretty easy to please, huh.”
“Hey, that’s mean! I guess I should consider those lunches off the table then”
“NO, anything but that!”
“I guess you really are siblings…”
“I don’t think it is a sibling thing. Anyone would fall over themselves if they could get a taste of your lunches.”
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere.”
The banter back and forth reminded me of the days at school and slowly I could see Lydia become her old self again if only, it was for a moment.

Several minutes pass, as Lydia cuts the conversation short and looks at her watch. It is getting closer to midnight. We still have a hike ahead of us tomorrow so we figured we’d rest up until then. Seeing how she has gone through a lot I volunteer to be the first to stand guard, letting Lydia get some well-deserved sleep. She gives in and lies down. Despite the uncomfortable setting, it doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep. The hours on guard quickly feel like an eternity. Switching my focus from the fire to the stars in the sky to pass the time. I’m not sure if I should be happy or not, but noteworthy is happening. Every so often my thoughts linger on my last opponent. He was powerful, and if more of them were among the Children of Rhea, we should be more careful about who we let on these missions. Let’s just hope my dad catches on to this quickly.

After a few hours passed I switched with Lydia to get a bit of shut eyes, before being woken up by Lydia a few hours later. The sun is starting to rise and fortunately, nothing substantial happened during the night. We grab our things and carefully lift Joey off the ground. He hasn’t woken up once, which is a bit concerning, but once we get back to Sherrick Circle he can finally get proper treatment. Determined, we both start our long walk to the new meeting point of the next group. The walk was eerily quiet, but I guess we both said what we wanted the night before. Getting back home was our main focus, as we hardly felt the weight of Joey anymore. It took us about 20 minutes to arrive as another Jeep was waiting for its members to return. In the driver's seat, I can see a woman flicking the steering wheel with her fingers. Isn’t that one of our teachers? What is she doing here? She notices us too as she quickly exits the vehicle and runs towards us. “Lydia! Lloyd! How good to see you are both alright.” She then looks at Joey as her joyful expression quickly turns more grave. She asks what happened, after which we both explain what happened after our team returned home. She nods in understanding and sighs in relief knowing at the very least we are okay. Before we get to exchange other pleasantries we get interrupted by a group of 5 walking up to us. They are wearing the same uniform and appear to be our seniors. Their faces look familiar, although I don’t know any of the higher graduates all that well. They appear to be in distress as they are panting heavily. One of them seems to be incapable of walking on their own as she is supported by 2 others. She isn’t unconscious though, like Joey. After catching their breath one of them finally speaks up.
“We have a problem!”