/~Contrario~/
I had tried to forget. I did.
But trauma doesn't die, does it? It hides its ugly face beneath the calm waters, waiting to claw its way back to the surface.
Two months ago at Nova's outskirts. I was nothing but a rookie scout, trying to earn favor within a mid-tier clan. I joined them on a mission that fateful day. It was supposed to be a routine recon. We didn't know Kyra and Axel were already there. It turns out they were there clearing a bounty. I watched them disintegrate every one of my teammates. They did it slowly, one by one, laughing as they did it.
And then they found me where I was hiding.
Axel shot my legs out first, laughing like it was just a game. Kyra bent over me, with her blade tracing down my throat. "Run," she said, "If you live, make it interesting next time we meet."
They let me crawl away. That night, I lost more than just blood. That night I lost sleep, my pride…I lost my humanity to those monsters.
Now, back in this moment, seeing their silhouettes again, standing over the dead bodies of five of ours, I was living through the same thing that happened months ago. It was like I was back on the ground, crawling through the blood of my former clan mates.
Renn and Jennifer asked if I knew them. But I was too frozen to even answer a yes or no question. I couldn't move, I couldn't even breathe.
And then they spoke again.
Kyra, with a smirk on her face, said, "Still trembling, Conny? Thought you'd be tougher by now but I guess you're just the same lame pussy."
---
/~Jennifer~/
Contrario was paralyzed. I've seen and experienced fear before but never have I ever felt like this. His knuckles were white, his gaze locked on them like he had seen ghosts that had stepped out from his past.
"Take him to the medic," I snapped to one of our teammates still alive.
The twins didn't flinch a bit. Kyra twirled her blade In her mouth and Axel spun his sniper casually.
"Cute attempt at defense," Axel yawned. "But you're not the job. He is." He said pointing to Contrario.
I took formation with Renn and the others. But five were already too injured to move or probably dead from the amount of blood they had lost. I felt what was coming before it started.
Axel vanished first.
I felt a round slicing past me, leaving a cold trail in its wake, and one of our guys dropped dead, brought down by a headshot.
Kyra danced between two others, her blades like streaks of white light. The rhythm was dark, it was blood. Screams and their victims were gone.
It was two against eight, and we were losing with three more of our teammates dead, it was now two of them against five of us
Renn activated his fourth avatar. Konan the berserker. To back him up, I used my tank-class Sentinel. We managed to push them back. But I was down to my last bar of energy. Renn was dripping both sweat and blood, panting, but still pushing with cracked armor and all.
"We're out, I don't want to die here, Jenny." he muttered.
"Sadly, it feels like they're just getting started," I said.
Kyra leapt through the air, landing a clean hit to my flank that sent me flying. Renn got hit by Axel's blade to the gut. His avatar flickered and then de-synced.
"Renn!" I shouted in despair as I saw Renn fall helplessly. If not for his avatar that hit would have sent him straight to whatever was beyond this hell we lived in.
I was the last one standing.
I rolled over and Kyra was in the air already with her blade coming for me. She landed over my body with her blade driving straight for me and then…
---
/~Contrario~/
I don't know how I stood. In that moment all I felt was rage. Maybe not just rage…...pure instinct. I just wanted to survive
They tried to kill Jennifer.
I wasn't fast. I wasn't skilled. But I moved.
My fist caught Axel across the chin, hard enough to send him flying. Kyra's blade grazed my cheek, but I caught her wrist, twisted and snapped it.
She backflipped away, laughing hysterically. "Finally, Conny. You're fun now."
I didn't care.
"Are you with me Stray?"
Stray activated and took a defensive stance. I pushed both my avatar and myself to the brink. I was everywhere at the same time, parrying, ducking and countering their attacks. They came like shadows from every corner but I responded like lightning.
Axel aimed a kick. I caught it midair, grabbed the leg, and spun him midair before slamming him through a column.
Kyra's sword came again from behind me, I disarmed her with a side-spin throw I didn't even know I could do.
I didn't feel anything, my pain at that moment was a blur. Everything I saw was red.
Then they got serious.
Kyra and Axel swapped to their second-to-last avatars. It was a merciless combo with full Damage Per Second builds.
Kyra vanished in a flash and appeared behind me, as I tried to dodge Kyra, from above me, Axel landed an explosive strike.
Everything blurred and only the prolonged ringing sound echoed in my ears.
I was down, my limbs were numb, and my vision was fading. I could feel the cold hands of death picking me up and pressing me against her soft cold skin.
But I saw flashes of Jennifer, Renn and my fallen teammates. Their faces I could feel the weight of their trust.
I refused to die. Stray had gone back in
I forced myself up, everything around me was spinning, my blood dripping and my gear damaged beyond repair with some pieces beaten into me.
"Stray," I said, barely above a whisper, "I'm not done yet."
He synced back in, almost unwillingly, and I stood in a battered combat stance, I no longer had any weapon I was left with just my bare fists.
Kyra approached me. She had no weapon in hand now. She was just…....calm.
She stopped in front of me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"I don't know what the hell you're made of, Conny. But you've earned our respect."
I looked into her eyes, dazed, trembling.
"I hope you survive this."
And with that, she gently pushed me back down… and walked away with Axel.
As the sound of their footsteps faded, so did my consciousness.
They didn't kill me…....does that mean I am.....stronger now?