"Friendships may fade, but the lessons learned from those connections will remain forever."

  Anonymous

  Milly, Calista, Rain, and Xavier left the Castle of Glass in the early morning, following the river into the mountain valley as the morning sun rose above them and sparkled off the blue waters of the eastern ocean. They ate breakfast as they walked, a collection of cold boar meat and the last slices of bread from Rain On My Parade. They had to pick away the bits of mold that had started to grow, but they savored every bite, knowing it was their last.

  Xavier marched at the head of the line, adorned in leather armor that covered his chest and legs and a dark cape strapped across his shoulders. He had been busy these past nine days in the wilderness.

  Milly watched him sprint ahead of the group every few minutes until he realized he left them behind and circled back in an impatient huff. She laughed each time, used to Xavier’s independence and gruff attitude. She was simply happy to be around him for the day.

  The feeling was not shared by Calista, who scowled at him after the third time he returned.

  “Why don’t you just slow down and remember that there are people here other than yourself?” Calista spat impatiently. “Go talk to Milly for a bit. You have barely seen her since we got here.”

  “Why don’t you stop being such a nosy little b…” Xavier spat back at his high school tormentor, until Rain interrupted him.

  “You know, these mountains are gorgeous,” she said chipperly, sipping on a new brew she called The Latent Ghost. “This world is designed beautifully.”

  Milly gave Rain a warning glance, her conversationg straying close to the knowledge they had from the memory orb. The knowledge that this world was designed by Oracle and Hephaestus and that they feared its flaws may make it another failure, was a secret they guarded between them.

  It is not that I don't trust Xavier. It’s just that…

  Milly did not want to finish that thought.

  Thankfully, Xavier and Calista were too busy staring daggers at each other to notice Rain’s slip of the tongue.

  “How much further?” Xavier asked impatiently, moving beside Milly.

  “Another twenty minutes or so,” she replied. “Can you just try to be nice to Calista? For my sake? Just… pretend they are your online gamer buddies or something.”

  “If they were, they would know how to play the game,” he whispered back with an edge. “I don’t play with newbies.”

  “We are all newbies,” Milly whispered back. “Even you, Xavier. Or do you not remember your first encounter with that goblin? Arrogance will get you killed faster than inexperience will. Just... get to know them.”

  Xavier was shocked at Milly's resistance - he was used to her simply rollin over - and awkwardly turned to Rain.

  “So… um… Rain. What are your stats?” he asked, the first question that popped into his head.

  Milly slapped her forehead as Calista held in her laughter, but Rain answered him as if it were the most interesting question in the world.

  “Oh, I had a hard time trying to figure out where to put everything,” Rain started, glancing up at the mountain tops. “You're probably better at this stuff than I am. I just ended up putting them all at eight. Except for my toughness, which is fifteen.”

  “The hell?” exclaimed Xavier, flabbergasted. “Fifteen toughness? I thought they called you the Alchemist. That is a magic and agility-based profession. Toughness is the last stat you should be increasing. You should…”

  Xavier looked like he was about to launch into a lecture about the appropriate allocation of points, but Rain gently interupted him.

  “I test my potions on myself before I give them to others, just in case I get something wrong. I thought having a high toughness would help me with that.”

  Xavier stopped what he was about to say. He blinked and looked stunned. “I…I guess that makes sense.”

  Xavier did not like being outreasoned, but he slowly fell in beside Rain for the remainder of their journey and they began bantering back and forth about Rain’s potions and the plants Xavier had seen out in the terrains. It was the closest thing to an actual conversation that Milly had ever seen from the man and, surprisingly, Rain seemed to enjoy it as well.

  Milly was grateful that Calista had brought Xavier along, yet she could not help but wish Xavier could have the same type of conversation with her. She thought back on that first day, about how much Xavier had taught her, and wondered what she had done so wrong that he decided it was better to leave her behind.

  “I…I don’t know if I really thanked you for yesterday, Milly,” Calista said, interrupting Milly’s darkening thoughts. “You saved my life.”

  “Yah, I guess you owe me one,” smiled Milly. “But it had its rewards.”

  Calista put a gentle finger on Milly’s centipede collar. “It looks good on you, Milly.”

  Milly reached up to her collar, and her fingers brushed Calista's palm. Instead of pulling her hand back, she let them there, feeling the softness of Calista's skin and the tingle in her fingertips. She felt her neck flush and her heart began to flutter at the touch.

  Rain's laughter interrupted the moment, and Milly pulled her hand away, embarrassed.

  “Do... do you want to see what talent I took?” Milly asked, fumbling awkwardly in her pockets as she tried to hide the growing blush.

  Milly pulled out a smooth stone. She focused, and the stone began to levitate above her palm and rotate gently in the air.

  “Isn’t it wicked?” Milly said excitedly. “There's a psychic magic section in the talent map. I thought it might be a good complement to my elemental magics. This one is called telekinesis. It lets me move things with my mind.”

  “That is so cool, Milly,” said Calista, impressed. “And versatile. It seems like you are really growing into this whole witch persona.”

  Milly let the stone drop down to her palm and she put it in her pocket, smiling. “It don’t know about that,” she said softly. “It still feels awkward. Like a mask I have to don every morning.”

  Calista smiled back as they turned left into the forest.

  “We’re here,” she announced as she pulled out her spear, her offhand missing the shield that had shattered yesterday.

  The others drew their weapons. Xavier’s drew a longsword made from sharpened bone that looked far stronger than any of their rusty weapons.

  “You get better equipment the further you get from the Castle of Glass,” Xavier explained as he strode to the front of their line. “The enemies get harder too.”

  The cave and the clearing came into view, and Xavier darted forward with excitement.

  “This is a big deal,” he whispered, seeing the statues and stepping into the clearing with drawn sword.

  The moment Xavier crossed the threshold, Milly knew something was something wrong. The hair on her arms stood on end as she cast her eyes across the clearing. The body of The Crushing Wave was gone. The boulder was back on the cliff and the lip of stone repaired. There was not a trace of the fire-scorched flowers and grasses.

  The statues moved, and the clang of shield againt spear rang out across the clearing.

  “It's coming” Milly shouted, as a freight-train rumble from within the cave began to move towards them.

  “Shit! I thought it was dead!” Calista said, one foot already in the clearing. She tried to pull back to the forest, but the wall of solid air only let her move forward. “I can’t retreat Milly. I need to head in.”

  Calista stepped forward, spear raised and staring at the cave. There was terror in her eyes, but deep inside, Calista knew she was stronger than she had been yesterday, and she was anxious for a rematch.

  Milly took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing. Rain joined her a moment later, dagger in hand and a bottle of anti-venom in her pocket. She was a lower level than the others, so she stayed at the back until she was needed.

  “Four versus one is better odds than before,” Calista said optimistically. "Bring it on."

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  The Crushing Wave erupted from the cave and headed straight for them, its maw open and ready for a quick meal.

  “Stay together,” commanded Calista. “It's fast, but it cannot turn worth a damn. Use its momentum against it. Milly, use your fire to slow it down. Rain, you…Xavier! What the hell are you doing?”

  Xavier had dashed forward the instant the creature came into view, bone sword held aloft. He moved even faster than than the creature and closed the distance in only a few short seconds.

  “He’s fast,” gasped Milly as she shifted sideways to get a better shot. Powerful flames built in her palms, hotter than yesterday thanks to her increased magic attribute. “How the hell is he so fast?”

  The Crushing Wave struck with its pincers, trying to pierce Xavier and swallow him whole. Xavier ducked out of the way and brought his sword down hard. He severed one of the pincers with a sickening crack. His sword turned the instant the pincer had been severed, swinging horizontally and slicing through two of the creature’s legs before Xavier lost the momentum.

  The Crushing Wave roared in pain and outrage, its eyes fixating on Xavier, who was now vulnerable below its mass. It lifted its neck to strike.

  Milly’s fireball caught the creature in the neck and billowed out in a great wave that scorched half the creature’s outstretched flesh.

  “Lure it to the cliff,” Milly shouted at Xavier, pointing to the boulder above.

  It worked before. We can make it work again.

  Xavier did not respond. As the creature shook off the pain from the flames, Xavier continued to hack and slash at its legs and segmented body, as green fluid seeped from its wounds.

  “Xavier!” Calista shouted with renewed anger. “You're in the way. Move, dammit!”

  Xavier severed another three limbs, opening a section of the creature’s body. He planted his sword deep into its flesh and used his enhanced strength to haul himself up onto its back. He pulled his sword out and started stabbing down again and again.

  The creature gave a monstrous howl of pain, but Xavier had forgotten about the forked appendage on its back. It struck from behind, and Xavier went flying through the air, his sword left impaled in the creature’s back.

  He landed hard against the ground thirty paces away. The strike had cleaved his armor in two and left a painful slice across his back. The poison was already seeping into his blood.

  “Xavier!” cried Rain as she rushed over to Xavier with the vial of anti-venom.

  Xavier grabbed a thick red paste from his pocket and spread it along the wound, gritting his teeth while he held back the spasms caused by the poison through sheer force of will. He grabbed the anti-venom roughly from Rain’s hands and downed the whole bottle.

  Milly pressing her hands to the ground and calling forth her flames, encircling the Crushing Wave in a wall of fire to buy them time.

  “Milly, I have an idea,” Calista said as she ran up beside her. “but you aren’t going to like it.”

  "Won't be the first time," Milly answered. "What do you need?"

  The Crushing Wave crashed through the fire wall and headed straight for Xavier, ignoring the scorching fire licking its appendages.

  Xavier smashed Rain’s empty anti-venom bottle on the ground in anger and rushed towards the oncoming creature. He pulled a rusted sword from his inventory to replace the one embedded in the creature.

  “Will of the Blademaster!” Xavier shouted. The blade glowed deep red and light flickered along its edge. He picked up speed as the talent took effect, his pain pushed to the back of his mind.

  Xavier and the monster collided in the middle of the clearing as Xavier ducked its initial strike and resumed hacking at the creature’s limbs, sending severed appendages flying into the grass. Except for every limb he severed, another slashed his arms, chest, and legs, leaving red cuts across Xavier's exposed skin.

  “Give me a boost as I jump,” Calista said, dashing towards The Crushing Wave as fast as she could. When she was a few paces away, she leapt skyward, her strength carrying her eight feet into the air as if she were an Olympic high jumper.

  “Now Milly!” shouted Calista as she reached her pinnacle.

  Milly concentrated on Calista, her hands outstretched as she willed Calista higher with her telekinesis. She felt the magic within her drain away quickly, but it succeeded. Calista soared higher into the air, pushed up by an invisible force.

  Milly gave a shout of success as Calista snagged the antennae above the creature's eye and hauled herself up until she was standing atop its skull.

  Calista thrust her spear deep into the creature’s black, featureless eye. It howled in absolute rage, but Calista kept her balance as it thrashed. She drew back her spear and struck it again, piercing through its other eye. Only this time, she kept pushing inward, feeling its tip carve through eye and bone and sinew, until it rested against the skull.

  Calista poured all her strength into a final strike, and drove the spear into the creature’s brain. Milly could hear the crack of bone as it breached its protection. The creature flailed as milky white fluid poured from its decimated eyes, which sent Calista crashing to the ground hard with bloodied hands.

  Milly rushed over to Calista just as The Crushing Wave’s body collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

  “That was amazing, Calista!” praised Rain, rushing over to Calista with her last dose of anti-venom.

  “Amazingly stupid,” added Milly, clutching both of Calista’s hands in hers, her arms shaking as she began to heal her.

  “Sorry Milly,” Calista whispered, wiggling her finger against Milly’s palms as Milly held them. “It was just… I don’t know…instinct. Oh, that feels so good, Milly. You have wonderful hands.”

  “Yah, well, your instincts scared me half to death,” Milly said, her heart pounding in her chest. “Don’t do that again. This contest is scary enough without the thought of losing you.”

  Calista looked into Milly’s eyes. “I don’t plan on going anywhere, Milly,” she whispered, and the stroke of her finger against Milly's palm grew more tender.

  “I wish you would go, you fucking kill-stealer!” Xavier shouted as he approached the women huddled around the injured Calista. He was covered in bloody cuts and green fluid, and his eyes flashed with a deep anger - deeper than any anger Milly had seen from the man.

  “A what?” asked Calista, eyes narrowed in defensive anger. “What the fuck is a kill-stealer?”

  “I had the situation handled,” Xavier spat. “Another couple of strikes and it would have been dead. Then you swoop in to be the hero, getting in the last shot when I had done all the hard work. A real fucking dick move in these types of games.”

  “This is not a fucking game!” Calista shouted back, wrenching her hands from Milly’s and pushing herself awkwardly to her feet. “This is real life. There is no kill stealing. No top scores. No extra lives. God, Milly and I were almost killed yesterday. Do you know how many people at the tower have died since we got here? Fifty-two. People we worked with. People we knew. I always knew you cared about no one except yourself, but I didn't expect even you to be this callous.”

  “Shut the fuck up!” warned Xavier through gritted teeth. “Why would I care about our coworkers? They ignored me, pitied me, or bullied me. Remember that? You were among them. What did you use to call me? The World’s Least Interesting Man? I know who you are. This nice girl routine is so see-through that it might as well be glass.”

  “People change, Xavier. You should try it sometime. You could be helpful at the Castle, but instead you choose to be the same selfish asshole you have always been. What, do you think because you have some, mostly useless, knowledge of video games that you will breeze through this? Be the lone hero, fighting through the danger without anyone by your side, like your favorite anime characters? ‘Oh look! Here comes Xavier, powerful and wise. He will save us.’ Grow up Xavier. That's not how the real world works.”

  “Oh, you think you're better off with friends?" countered Xavier, his face red with anger and hands flailing as he spoke. “You are a fucking fool - you are all fucking fools - if you believe this is that kind of game.”

  “It's. Not. A. Game,” Calista answered, emphasizing each word. “And, yes, you fucking child, of course we're better off together. What, do you think you can survive for over four years without relying on anyone else?”

  “What?” Xavier said, his eyes narrowing with Calista's revelation. “What do you mean four years?”

  Calista realized what she had said and covered her mouth.

  “Rain and I found… some information on the twelfth contest on our second night,” Milly admitted. “It said the twelfth contest lasted for just under four years before it ended in failure.”

  Calista sat back down to the ground next to Milly, grasping her hand.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Calista whispered. Milly tapped her hand comfortingly. The damage was done.

  Xavier stared at Milly with glowing eyes, his fury now directed at her. “Four years? Four years! You couldn’t have told me, Milly? I would have planned my build - my whole approach - differently if I had known this was a long-haul game!”

  “Xavier…” Milly whispered, trying to calm him down.

  “I would have picked different talents. Different attributes. I would have been searching for different things, fighting in different ways. You robbed me of that Milly!”

  “You were never around Xavier…” Milly started, but Xavier cut her off.

  “Well, you could have left me a fucking note, Mildred!” Xavier shouted frantically, as if his world had just collapsed. “I thought we were friends!”

  In an instant, all of Milly’s willingness to tolerate Xavier faded away, her self-doubt pushed to the side. For the first time, she saw Xavier through the eyes of someone who finally knew what a healthy friendship looked like.

  “And what have you given to that friendship, Xavier?” Milly asked, trying to sound calm though her anger built quickly beneath the surface. “Friendship is about give and take. What have you given me? We were each other’s only friends for six months, and you left me behind after our first day in this world. I was a terrified, lonely girl, and you left me behind. You left me behind!”

  Milly had tears in her eyes now, the truth of her outburst only becoming obvious after she said it. Calista squeezed her hand in comfort and Rain laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. Milly leaned into her two friends and stared up at Xavier, waiting his response.

  “Well, it seems like you made out just fine without me. You know what? You win. Is that what you want to hear?” Xavier said, suddenly eerily calm. “Xavier is a bad friend? Xavier is an awful person? Tell me something I haven't heard before. Why don't you just get on with abandoning me like everyone else has in my life, so I can go back to winning this game.”

  He emphasized the last word with a piercing glare at Calista.

  Xavier opened his talent web and made a quick selection. A moment later, his hands glowed with the blue aura of Healer’s Touch. “See Milly? I can heal myself now. I don't need you anymore.”

  Xavier turned his back on the women before the tears formed in his eyes, and strode into the cave.

  Milly felt her own tears fall as Calista and Rain embraced her.

  “Come on,” Milly said after she'd cried the last of them out. “We’ve got an arena to win.”

  Milly marched towards the cave entrance, and Calista and Rain following close behind.

  * * *

  The AI Director watched the four players enter the cave. It was time for the first real test of the God Contest.

  “Tutoria?” the Director asked in a high-pitched voice.

  Tutoria popped into being in the small control room.

  “Hi, Director! How can I help, cutie pie?”

  The Director rolled her eyes. “Are the four chosen Manifestations ready?”

  “Yes, Director,” Tutoria answerd. "Pinga, Lugh Samildànach, Cizen, and Hebe's manifestations were selected for this Arena.

  “It will be our first big test as well, Tutoria. The manifestations are part of every God Contest. Each God in Godhome is allowed to design one, and they usually modeled after their own appearance and personality. They like seeing themselves in the Contest, after all. It gives them an added thrill. Thankfully, they can't control their manifestations once they are incorporate into the contest.”

  “Yes, Director Cutie-Pie, that would be..." answered Tutoria with a slight hesitation. "Unexpected."

  "Tutoria? Is there a problem?" the Director asked.

  "No, cutie. No problem. Everything is ready to begin."

  The Director waved a dismissive hand and Tutoria vanished. She went back to staring at the monitors, the manifestations ready to deploy.

  “I'll make you proud, mother," the Director whispered as she watched the four players on her monitors. “I promise.”

  Next time on The Witch of the Castle of Glass - The Arena of Choice

  The Non-Canonical Aftermath: