Alert. Guardian drone 125,603 compromised. I warp to the distressed drone's location. I am in a snow-covered field. There is nothing around for kilometers, only the glittering crystal surface.

The drone is locked into place by an immensely powerful spell, mana bending the air and its unstealthed form. A woman is standing next to it. Casual clothing, like she just woke up from a pleasant afternoon nap, lilac hair cascading down the fluffy fabric. Her curios gaze turns to me, finding another curiosity to examine.

"You must be the elusive master of these constructs. Please, do forgive the impromptu invitation." The fae waits for a reply. When nothing comes, she releases the spatial lock on the drone. "Not the best introduction, yes. I was just mightily curious of their origin." She traces a finger on the drone's smooth surface. She shudders, and a soft laugh escapes her lips. "How conceited of me. You have me right where you want me... I am Narilis. May I know your name, master of machines?"

"Lucius."

"Lucius? You wouldn't happen to be Lucius of Harthes, would you?"

"The one and only. I checked."

"Did we have the same intentions, extending our invitations?"

"I do not believe so. If we want to take the fine details into account, that is."

Taking slow steps while looking at me, Narilis starts approaching my unmoving form. When she is close, her hand moves toward my face. A finger gently traces my cheek. I feel foreign mana squirm its way into my mind. Her perfect facade breaks, shock fills her eyes, and she jerks her hand back as if my skin burned her.

Tears start rolling down her face, the droplets evaporating midair. Then she slowly brings her hand back, and this time, caresses my cheek.

"Son of Earth." The words sound almost foreign coming out of her mouth, like she wasn't the one who said them. "I have been wondering who graced us with their protection." Narilis smiles as her hand drops down. She starts to laugh. The laugh abruptly stops in her throat, the violent cessation making her fall to her knees. She clutches her head. "It's too much!" she screams, the sound echoing unnaturally. "I would never! No!" Her nails dig into her face and she pulls. Five deep scratches appear on each side. Her delicate skin is savaged. The tears are lost in the spilling blood, but the now crimson droplets still evaporate into nothing. Her hands fall limp, and she slumps even further toward the ground. "Ah..."

The fissures snap closed. I offer her a hand. She takes it, gratefully, and I help her up.

"My apologies, Lucius of Earth. There is always a price to be paid if one wants to learn what one cannot. It hurts me so, to know what I might have done. Will you deign this ancient dullard with your forgiveness?"

"There is nothing to forgive, Elder."

"Thank you for the understanding. It seems you and I are kindred spirits, always getting stuck in the ever-uncertain future."

"Indeed. I've been working on it, though."

She chuckles softly. "So have I. ...If only it was so easy. Well, shall we start? You can go first, for I am sure that your ask will answer my own."

"I require an introduction."

"Ah, yes. He's been expecting you."

"Would you like to relocate somewhere more pleasant?" The fae simply nods at my question. I do just so.

***

"Can you not ask Tony if he'd help you?" Narilis asks Elisa. The fae has strewn herself on a dragged over couch, watching the display with singular focus.

The elf answers, "It doesn't work like that. He'd just say no in a roundabout way and give some vague excuse. The powerful NPCs are more like guides."

"Kinda like me?" Narilis says with excitement.

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Elisa snorts. "Looking real powerful there, Elder. Be careful you don't tweak your feeble back with that posture."

"Lucius!" Narilis shouts. "Elisa's being mean to me again!"

"Respect your elders, Elisa," I say. The elf shakes her head at me, an entirely unamused expression on her face. But inside, she is entirely amused.

"No I'm not," Elisa says.

"Don't read my thoughts, please."

"How am I reading your thoughts? You sent me a message..."

Narilis interjects, "I want to send messages, too."

"Play with your tablet, dearie," Elisa replies.

The fae huffs out a lock of hair out of her face. "Am I old or young? Make up your mind." She huffs again and pulls out a piece of jerky out of her pocket, starting to nibble on it. Was that a spatially expanded pocket? Hmm... Phew, okay, it was.

The time for the final confrontation is here. Argant has tracked down the group he was so concerned about, who turned out to be his adventuring party from when he was breathing a lot more regularly than now. The party of heroes. They want world domination because their deeds and they themselves were forgotten. Blah blah blah, and all that normal stuff for the endgame. Elisa looks to be enjoying it though, so that's good enough for me.

The mass of adventurers that were recruited for this climactic bout, including Argant himself, stay behind, taking care of the uncountable small fry. Our party goes on ahead, wading through more small fry on the way. Eventually, we descend to the deepest parts of the enemy's lair. An enormous spell circle in the subterranean depths is close to being completed, only our timely arrival putting a temporary stop to their master plan.

Two leaders meet in the middle of the sneakily designed arena. Elisa gets under the skin of their battlemage with frightening efficiency, earning us the initiative. Somehow, the elf has decided to play this fight straightforward, zero shenanigans. I am still skeptical, but she deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Elisa's character tags everyone with one of her most powerful spells, letting Nova sneak behind their formation and start harassing their support. Blake and the Porter rush headfirst. We are all so overleveled that no complex battle tactics are required yet, courtesy of every side quest being completed.

Finally, it is my turn. Eldritch god form, engage. Huh? Uh-oh. They have their own god-touched powers... Elisa shoots me a self-satisfied grin, already having suspected. Narilis is totally enthralled by the colorful action.

But as the fight progresses, leaning slightly in our favor, Elisa suddenly says, "Watch this."

"Please no," I say.

"Please yes," Narilis excitedly counters.

Elisa's character pulls out a bag and throws it in the middle of the arena. The contents shatter. The ground gets covered in black oil.

"What's that?" the fae asks.

Elisa answers, "A type of fossil fuel."

"Huh." Narilis thinks for a moment and then blinks away. Elisa sighs and employs a sliver of mana, covering the couch the fae was just lying on with a thin sheet of force. After a few seconds, a very dirty Narilis blinks back on top of the timely protected furniture. "Is this the same?" I nod in response. Premium stuff.

Elisa pauses the game and turns to Narilis, the elf's eyes devoid of any emotion. "Just because I read about you in history books does not mean I won't come over and give you a spanking."

The fae innocently grins at her angry host and cleans herself up with a flare of magic, depositing the crude oil inside a handy tear in space that appeared after another flare.

Elisa mockingly glares at her some more, trying not to start laughing at the fae's impulsive antics. Then she unpauses the game and returns to her oily attack. It appears that the negative effects of the newly created surface are not negated by the resistance of our transformed counterparts. What an interesting oversight she has discovered... A titanic being of mountain-cleaving power slips and painfully lands on his behind. Elisa bonks him with her staff a few times.

With all the advantages we've stacked on top of one another, the fight soon ends, and a cutscene starts to play. But even in victory, we are forced into a choice.

My party leader turns to me. "I'll do it."

"It has to be me, Elisa," I say. "You gave me a second chance after I betrayed you all. Let me repay that debt."

She stares at me while thinking, and I can see her eyes dampen. Then she looks away, a choice made.

And so, I stay behind to stop the out-of-control spell. Catastrophically.

Another cutscene starts to play. The rest of the party escapes by a hair, collecting all our allies on the way out. When they are a safe distance away, the enemy lair collapses. And as they all watch the destruction, accompanied by Narilis actually sobbing, my character reforms next to them.

"Oh." Elisa says. "Right. Why did you make me think that your revive ability would be disabled for the finale..." The fae's sad sobs turn into happy ones.

When the credits are over, we join Narilis on the other couch, recounting to her the game's events from the very beginning. I guess some people are just fine with spoilers. Though the story can be vastly different for each playthrough, so it's not that big of a deal, anyway.

After a time, a disturbance in the ambient mana precedes a teleportation spell resolving. An androgynous fae blinks into existence next to us. "Good day, all." Then they notice the still slovenly-looking Narilis. "Please show some dignity, Sister. You are making us all look like slobs."

Narilis sighs heavily. "This is the problem with you youngsters nowadays," she says, referring to a person that is tens of thousands of years old as a 'youngster'. "You put too much emphasis on appearances. Don't worry so much about what others might think and just be yourself. Life's easier that way." She finishes off by taking a hearty snap out of another piece of jerky.

The fae takes a few seconds to decide if they should even reply to her. Wisely choosing not to get sucked into the trap, they instead turn to me and Elisa. "A decision has been reached."

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