The sound of flesh squelching reached Jax's hearing even before he got close. A broken branch of tree sat in the distance and he slid past the floor, skin digging into the mud and dirt but he did not care for much.His eyes fixated on the scene ahead where the night had everything blocked with darkness. Behind him, his friends had settled. Forge, Mira, Orin, and Eldric crouched just like Jax and hid themselves behind the branch.Each of them had prepared their systems for whatever might happen that night. In case things went heated.The screams had reduced into low shrieks. Immediately, Jax activated System Sight and began to scan the area.His gaze fixated on the NPC whose crawling led her to leaning against one of the tall trees. Pixel of blood could be scanned all over her face but Jax could tell that it was not hers.And that was when he shifted his focus to the ground and caught three fallen NPCs. They were freshly terminated, their bodies not yet dispersed into pixel.These were

The night was still very cold, frost hanging on the edges of the woods the cabin was made of. On the mattress lay Sophia's brother, still not opening his eyes, whimpering as great pain radiated through him.Jax wanted to help but he did not want to wound the lady more than he already had, according to her belief.He stepped outside before Forge could say another word and proceeded to meet Sophia for better details.She was in a much thicker coat that kept the cold from entering her skin. Her hair caught in the wind did not affect her as she stared into the dark space around them.Jax was a few steps behind her but did not approach any further. He was still thinking of how he would begin the conversation when Sophia spoke aloud."My parents, when I was younger, used to read me a story." Her voice carried a delicate warmth, something Jax needed to gather himself. "They spoke of how when an NPC left this world and vanished into the air, they

The portal glowed with a stream of dark emerald green at the edges, its essence charging all the way to the very centre that regurgitated the group.Four of them stepped through another version of a tree and were exposed to a harsh breeze that blew sand into the air.Jax covered his nostrils, eyes squinting as he looked ahead. Orin and Eldric entered last and as soon as Orin gazed at the sight in front of him, he groaned."Really, Forge?"Forge raised his hands up, a subtle frown settling on his face. "What? We're in a desert. What did you expect?""So there's no other tree that's close?" Orin groaned even louder as his palm slammed against his forehead.Jax scoffed, fighting against the temptation not to laugh. Orin was such a lazy one. Though they had expected to arrive exactly where the town was situated, they were in a desert and Orin shouldn't have expected trees to be loaded around for Forge to utilise."Even if there used to be a few trees around, perhaps they had been cut down