This was it. This was how I was to die. The cat was gone at the mere mention of Tsukasa. They must have been terrorized by him somehow, but I couldn't think of how or why. I trudge back to the bench by the spring and gaze upon the glistening water once more. I couldn't help it, I was scared. Scared of the unknown, and what was to come next. A single tear rolls down my face like a marble right into the water below.

*Diinnnnggggg*

That sound rang in my ear as my tear hit the water's surface. Where did it come from? I leaned down to get a better look.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a deep voice from behind startled me so that I nearly fell in. When I looked over my shoulder I saw an intimating looking party of three; a twin blade, a heavy blade, and a blade master. The blade master had his sword drawn, casually pointing at me. I was frozen. "Safe to say that you're not an NPC. You're real alright."

"What are you talking about?" my eyes dart between the trio. I had no idea what they were talking about. The heavy blade then laughs Hartley.

"You mean you don't know? You're a hot topic on the message board as of late! 'A female blade master sits and waits at Grandpa's Spring, and she's be at it for days' some were beginning to think you were some sort of an unannounced event character or something." he gave a smirk and a shrug, twiddling his hand over the hilt of the sword on his back, much like a dance with his fingers on the finely crafted metal. I can't help but let out a nervous laugh, not knowing what to say or do in this situation. I was ready to flee, that's for sure, but I couldn't open the menu and I didn't have any room to move, period. The trio had me trapped. The blade master tilted his head toward the twin blade in the party.

"Nix, you want this one? Blight and I have been mowing them down all day,"

"With Pleasure." she cackled, drawing the daggers from their holsters with s flourish. I stood, paralyzed. I couldn't move. I couldn't flee. "So, you ready to die now?" Nix said, her eyes widening, her smirk growing into a wild grin. I braced myself. This was how I find out what happens when I die in this world. "Leave her alone." the trio stopped at the cold dry voice, looking over their shoulders toward where the voice came from. I knew that voice. I knew it anywhere.

"Or what?" Blight, the heavy blade, sneered. Tsukasa's face was unchanged, unflinching. He stared them down, unwavering.

"Uh- Blight? Isn't that-?" Nix's wild grin turned down, and her eyes turned into hollow voids of fear, "That wavemaster from the boards?"

"If he is," Blight grinned, "let's put him to the test!" the blade master of the group could hide his nerves as he put up a facade of confidence. He turned his attention to Tsukasa, along side Blight.
"R-Right. Let's put your famous ass to the test! If you want us to leave your friend alone, you have to go through us first!" the blade master boasted, the hint of a quiver in his voice. Nix looked between them shaking her head, her eyes still wide, and adrenaline beginning to take hold preparing her to flee.

"You sure?" Tsukasa's voice, devoid of feeling, still had an ominous air of menace. He hadn't even blinked since he entered the scene, staring the trio down as if reading their every nervous twitch and arrogant broad movement. His two simple words unnerved Nix further, leaving her to chatter her own simple words like 'let's go' and 'I don't like this', much to the ignorance of Blight who began to raise his large two-handed sword above his shoulder.

My own eyes flicker to Tsukasa wondering what he was doing. Wave Masters are a support class, it's almost unheard of for a Wave Master to be without a party. They usually take on the role of healers with the occasional magical attack, and the biggest reason for being a support member was the fact that spells usually take valuable time to be spoken- when alone the enemy has ample time to strike. I was on the defensive, unsure as to why Tsukasa felt unthreatened by the trio, when he himself was a much lower level. I really should have read the message boards before all of this, but I usually dismiss it all as idle gossip. It seemed rare that anyone there wrote anything important enough to read anyways.

"Sure we're sure pipsqueak. Hit us with your best shot!" Blight seemed to roar with laughter, but Nix began to run. The blade master among them looked nervously between his comrades, one standing with laughter while the other turned and fled so easily.

"okay, but remember, I gave you a chance." Tsukasa's voice seemed to have an odd sense of sorrow in it as he raised his staff up.
From out of the clear blue nowhere, a large, golden, barbell shaped monster materialized just above Tsukasa. As this thing morphed into existence, it gave a roar that sounded much like a bellowing whale song. It loomed overhead like a golden cloud, floating effortlessly like magic.

I stood paralyzed in fear at the sight of it. Out of all the things I knew about my friend, this was something I had no earthly idea of. The Blade Master and Blight the Heavy Blade watched this thing in awe, Blight being a little less confident than he was a second ago. Tsukasa's eyes flitted up toward the monster and quite plainly he said, "Not the girls. Go nuts." and tapped his staff upon the ground.

No sooner than he tapped the ground, the monster's smooth surface gurgle and bubbled, and a shower of golden, whip-like tentacles burst forth from its previously smooth surface. The duo began to fight in vain, slashing their swords at the appendages hurling toward them like a furious golden rain. Among the shouting and the chaos, Tsukasa walked calmly toward me, as I was still locked in a frozen fear.

He took my hand, and began to lead me away without a word. As we got some distance away from the scuffle, he simply said "don't look back." in a level tone. It wasn't long before I was hearing them scream. The pain in their voices seemed too real, unlike someone who was only losing a game. A chill ran down my spine when things fell into a defining silence just before he put his hand on my shoulder and we warped away.