That Which Blossoms in the Cold of Winter II

---Chapter 14: That Which Blossoms in the Cold of Winter II

Crescent Island: the new area of Myth of Genesis Online. Currently, Quartz and the rest of his party were exploring the new locations to be found there, all while fighting off some of the new enemies they encountered along the way. Things were going smoothly. But then, Striker sprung up a sudden topic of conversation.

“Hey you guys, we should all totally meet up IRL!” he declared with an innocent smile.

“… Huh?”

Needless to say, it took the rest of the group a moment to process what he said.

“Wait, seriously?” Mint asked.

“Yeah!” Striker remained enthusiastic. “Dude, I am so drained from all the studying I had to do for my finals, I HAVE to take some time to kick back and relax with my pals. But all my college buddies are gonna be busy over the break, so I thought maybe we should all meet up instead! We’ve all known each other a while, right?”

“You would be the one to propose something like this…” Mint sighed.

“What? Is it no good?” Striker frowned.

“It isn’t a bad idea, it’s just that making the proper arrangements can be quite a hassle.” Rokugo commented. “But even putting that aside, you must remember that there are many players who’d prefer to keep their real life separate from their online personas.”

“Really?” Striker tilted his head. “But in the end, we’re all still ourselves, aren’t we?”

“Well, I can’t deny that.” Rokugo shrugged.

“Meeting in person, huh…” Quartz quietly thought to himself.

It might be kind of fun to see what everyone is like IRL…

Quartz glanced at Yui.

“Hm?” Quartz blinked.

He noticed that, for some reason, Yui wore a notably troubled expression.

“Yui? Everything okay?” he asked.

“Oh? Yeah, I’m good!” Yui’s smile returned in an instant. “So, are we all gonna do it? Go and meet IRL?”

“Well, I’m not opposed to the idea.” Rokugo replied.

“It’s not as if I’ve never met up with people I knew online before…” Mint mumbled. “Well, I guess it’d be fine with me.”

“Alright, alright!” Striker pumped his fist. “So you two are down for it. I already know Quartz IRL, so that leaves… Yui! You in?”

Striker glanced at Yui expectantly.

“Huh? Well, hmm…” Yui seemed to pause to think for a moment. “If you’re all going then, um… sure, I’ll go too!”

“Alright! We’ll have the whole gang!” Striker smiled.

“So I guess you just decided I’ll be there without even asking me, huh?” Quartz sighed.

“Of course, bro! After all, I could drag you all the way there myself if I had to!” Striker grinned.

“Yeah, yeah…” Quartz smiled wryly.

Still though… If Yui’s going, then…

Quartz couldn’t help but blush a bit as he glanced her way. The idea of meeting her in person began to make his heart race.

What could Yui be like in real life? The same as she is here? That’s kind of hard to imagine… Maybe she’s actually more reserved, and places like this game are where she can really express herself? Oh jeez, I’m just getting wrapped up in my fantasies!

As Quartz’s imagination started running wild, a notification suddenly chimed in the top corner of his vision.

“Striker, wanting to meet up is all well and good, but you require a plan to arrange such a thing.” Rokugo explained. “To begin with, we don’t even know where we all live relative to one another. If we’re lucky we’re all in Tokyo, but some of us may have to make quite a commute just to meet in person.”

“I see, I see…” Striker nodded as if he were learning something important.

However, after reading the message he received, Quartz had to interrupt the conversation.

“Guys, sorry to interrupt, but it seems like I’ve finally heard back.” he stated.

“You mean, it’s…” Yui asked.

“Yeah.” Quartz nodded. “The moderator Chronos is ready to meet with us.”

---

Towards the center of Crescent Island rests a lake hidden in the center of a forest surrounded by mountains. At the edge of the lake stood Chronos the moderator. After receiving the message, Quartz began making his way towards this location with Yui and Rokugo in tow. They’d left Striker and Mint to continue exploring without them for now.

After exiting a thicket and making his way into the clearing, a large lake came into view, and there Quartz’s eyes met Chronos’s.

“Greetings.” the moderator nodded.

“Good to see you again.” Quartz nodded as he approached. “I brought Yui, of course. And this is Rokugo, another friend of ours curious about the situation.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Rokugo bowed.

“Likewise.” Chronos responded. “I noticed you both were in the area, so I decided to contact you so we could continue our discussion.”

“Yes…” Quartz gulped, feeling a bit nervous.

“So, about this ‘Mermaid’s Tear’ you’ve asked about…” Chronos began, but then…

“SHAAAAAA~!” a large creature leapt from the lake directly behind Chronos.

“Oh no! Watch out!” Quartz shouted on instinct, but then...

Stab!

Chronos had already brandished his spear and turned around, piercing the creature behind him in the blink of an eye. Just before it dissipated, Quartz realized the shape of the monster.

“Wait, was that a mermaid…?” he asked.

“This is one of the new species of monsters the dev team developed to appear in this new region.” Chronos explained. “It’s called a Shriek Mermaid.”

Unsure of how to respond to the explanation, the trio simply watched as the loot dropped by the monster fell to the ground before Chronos, which he swiftly gathered up.

“Back at the arena, I couldn’t begin my explanation because this new area hadn’t yet been announced.” he spoke. “But now that we’re here, I can show it to you directly.”

Chronos lifted up one of the items dropped by the Shriek Mermaid and held it towards Yui.

“This is a new item called a ‘Mermaid Tear’.” he stated.

“What?!” Quartz was dumbfounded.

Wait, so this super mysterious secret item is just a regular loot drop from a monster?! Except it only appears in an area of the game that hadn’t been released yet?!

“No way… Is this really it?” Yui stared at the item, in wide-eyed shock.

Yui approached Chronos, who handed the item over to her. With that motion, the item then registered in Yui’s inventory.

“To think the solution would be this simple… I can’t help but laugh.” Quartz gave a sheepish chuckle.

“No, I don’t think this is over yet.” Rokugo commented with a serious look.

“Hm?” Quartz looked back at Yui.

“Well then, how is it?” Chronos asked. “Were the conditions of your quest fulfilled?”

“… No.” Yui gave a look of confusion as she looked at her quest status screen.

“Of course.” Chronos nodded. “I figured that would be the case.”

“Huh…?” Quartz was starting to get lost in the discussion.

“That new item…” Rokugo spoke up. “You said it was called a ‘Mermaid Tear’, which isn’t quite the same as the item we’re looking for, titled the ‘Mermaid’s Tear’.”

“Oh wait, you’re right!” Quartz perked up. “The spelling is slightly different!”

“Indeed.” Rokugo nodded. “So, what’s going on here, Chronos? Does this new item have anything to do with ‘Mermaid’s Tear’ we’re looking for?”

“To be honest with you, I don’t know.” he answered. “This was merely a test to see if the new item would fulfill the conditions and complete her quest. If it had actually succeeded, I would’ve left things there and moved on, but it seems there’s more to this than even I’m aware of…”

“Wait, what do you mean?” asked Quartz.

“Let me start from the beginning…” Chronos began. “It all started with the creation of this new item, the ‘Mermaid Tear’…”

[To be continued…]