Throughout the interminable night, figures would occasionally emerge from their abodes, drifting like restless spirits toward a singular destination.
The towering tree at night bore no resemblance to its daytime visage. The crimson fruits emitted a pulsating red glow, reminiscent of beating hearts; the entire tree adorned with these radiant orbs resembled an expanse studded with countless scarlet lanterns.
Monstrous creatures approached the behemoth, and as the vines swayed in the wind, they suddenly stirred wildly upon sensing their presence, lashing out in unison to ensnare them.
The captives were bound as bundles and transported into the tree's lofty canopy—a sacred realm that NPCs dared neither approach nor touch. The heart of the canopy was hollow, where a fathomless chute descended vertically, down which the creatures were cast.
Yet this passage was far from smooth or unobstructed; knobby tree galls protruded horizontally, while swinging vines thrashed about. As a creature tumbled downward, a swollen gall would expand to impede its descent, splitting open to reveal a grotesque human face that greedily licked its lips. A vine would lash across the visage, eliciting a piercing shriek from the captive before the face snapped shut and the gall retracted somewhat.
The corridor cleared briefly, and the creature resumed its plunge, only to encounter fresh galls where vines once again exerted their torturous influence...
However, the vines did not lavish such care on every creature; their thrashing was intermittent, and most of the time they scornfully ignored the avaricious faces of the tree galls.
Thus, the "monsters" Eric and John successfully entered the tree trunk. Amid the tumbling and jolts, Eric gradually regained control of her body.
Awakening amidst the turmoil, she struggled to comprehend her predicament. Her body was relentlessly jolted, and upon opening her eyes, she met the gaze of a contorted, resentful face. Startled, she momentarily forgot to breathe, turning her head to see yet another dripping mouth eager to devour.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Vines whipped fiercely, flinging the faces back, and Eric felt the ground vanish beneath her as she plummeted once more. Pain radiated through her body, and as she collided repeatedly with the tree galls, she understood the source of her agony. Though initially fearful, the presence of the vines assured her that she was not in immediate peril.
Suddenly, looking upward, she witnessed a man being swallowed whole by the agape maw of a gall. The very vines that had guarded her did not intervene. Too startled to ponder, she noticed one of the man's arms hanging loosely, a portion escaping consumption, hurtling downward and striking Eric squarely upon the chest.
Blood sprayed across her face, leaving her expression blank.
After several agonizing seconds, Eric felt herself land—plunging into a pool of water. The mental torment sustained for countless hours ebbed away, cleansing her psyche utterly. She emerged revitalized, clear-headed as never before.
With a spark of hope, Eric opened her eyes only to find herself upon a street.
Rising in astonishment, she discovered John lying nearby; he awoke shortly after, equally bewildered. "How did we end up here?" he inquired.
Two other players, a man and a woman, lay close by—complete strangers.
Not far off, the schemer and Big Eyes stirred, equally perplexed, with the schemer venting frustration: "I was so close to locating the Light Circle!"
In his dream, he had queried a newfound sister NPC who had answered his questions with gentle obedience. He believed he had uncovered a clue, nearly ready to pursue it.
"Damn whoever dragged me here—You guys still alive?" Startled to see Eric and the others, he expressed disbelief; being seized by the mysterious voice and transformed into the NPCs' "monsters" was considered a death sentence, so how could they have survived?
John retorted, "You aren't dead either."
Big Eyes muttered shyly, "I dreamed of the entrance to the Light Circle too—it's just beyond the big—"
The schemer clasped his mouth sharply. "Are you an idiot? Why on earth would we squander the precious clue we painstakingly won for others to exploit? You really are an idiot!"
Big Eyes hurriedly shook his head in denial.
He tugged Big Eyes aside, retreating lest Eric and the others overhear.
John then asked Eric in a low voice, "Do you think their claim of finding Light Circle clues in their dreams is credible?"
"I'm unsure. But it's rather strange that we all suddenly found ourselves here." Eric rose, keenly surveying their surroundings. They had appeared on a twilight street; windows on either side remained tightly shut, the world hushed and still, mirroring the scene at the mission's outset.
"It's nearly nightfall. We should hide first," Eric advised.
John nodded. "Let's seek refuge inside one of the shops."
Without delay, the two conferred swiftly, leaving no time to attend to the unfamiliar newcomers who had materialized alongside them.
"W-wait a moment, you're players too, aren't you? What in heaven's name is happening in this instance?" the man hurriedly inquired.
The woman swiftly grasped Eric's arm. "Sister, the instance—"
Before Eric could pull her hand free, doors and windows on both sides swung open, revealing an assembly of rigid, sullen faces.
Those faces turned in unison toward the four of them, their mouths opening with mechanical precision, uttering in chilling chorus, "Monsters there! Slay them!"
The voices rang with eerie synchrony, their intensity overwhelming.
Startled by the schemer's inquiry into the dream's Light Circle, Big Eyes trembled and hastily took flight. After several strides, Big Eyes called out anxiously, "Brother, they aren't talking about us; it seems to be about those others!"
Pausing to observe more closely, the schemer confirmed the NPCs' gazes indeed swept past them, fixed instead upon the slender man, the monkey-like woman, and two unfamiliar players. How cunning these strangers were, for he had never before discerned their presence!
A surge of elation coursed through the schemer as his mind raced: "Surely it is because we consumed the fruit that the NPCs deem us their own, while those few abstained and have thus been branded monsters!"
"Is that so? What then shall we do? They'll be struck down too!" Big Eyes mustered his courage to shout, "Run, quickly!"
Infuriated, the schemer delivered a sharp slap to his head. "Enough of your mouth! Do you wish to draw the NPCs' attention? If we are to survive this instance, heed me! Come on, while the NPCs are after them, we shall pursue the Light Circle!"
"Run with us!" Eric threw out the call, and without hesitation, she and John broke into a sprint. The two other players, a man and a woman, exchanged glances between Eric and the schemer's group. Observing the latter lounged complacently by the shop's entrance, they resolved it wiser to approach and seek information.
How could one run blindly when chased like this?
Since entering the instance, the two had heard strange voices; responding innocently had robbed them of all consciousness, leaving them utterly bewildered.
The schemer warned them fiercely, "Don't endanger us! Follow them quickly!"
"Brother, we're all players. Cut us some slack."
"Be gone, be gone! Who do you think you are? Stealing without toil—shame on you! Scram, scram, scram!" Seeing NPCs descending the stairs, the schemer, unwilling to be slowed by these fools, strode off swiftly, with Big Eyes hastening after him.
"Why is everyone so heartless?" the woman lamented tearfully, overwhelmed—this was only her second mission, and anxiety gnawed at her.
The man replied, "It seems they all head in the same direction. Let us follow suit."
Neither pushed to their utmost speed. Despite the NPCs' furious calls for slaughter, having never witnessed an NPC slay a player outright, their knowledge of the instance was scant; confusion and doubt clouded their minds, sapping their determination. When intercepted by an NPC descending the stairs, the man attempted a plea. "We haven't done anything wrong—"
A hammer struck him, denting his skull.
"Ah!" The woman's fearful scream preceded the next blow that landed upon her.
"Where do we flee? This street stretches far, and if all NPCs descend, it will become crowded!" John panicked.
"To the giant tree!" Eric commanded.
John brightened, "I also believe the Light Circle lies there. That tree is the instance's centerpiece, though do you possess firm clues? Will the Light Circle manifest beneath it now?"
"I was controlled by the voices; what about you?" Eric inquired.
"I saw you leave, then I was ensnared too, awakening here." Though puzzled by Eric's sudden topic shift at such a critical juncture, John answered honestly.
"I woke inside a vertical shaft filled with vines and galls bearing human faces; afterward, I found myself here. Only within the trunk of that giant tree could such a broad passage exist!" While a tunnel was possible, Eric judged from the vines and galls that she had been within the tree's body.
"…Hearing you, I recall a sensation of falling into water, then awakening."
"Yes, I fell into water as well."
John's confidence swelled. "Then it must be that tree. Let us hasten there!"
While they exchanged information, a multitude of NPCs had already surmounted the stairs, brandishing hammers, cleavers, and wooden clubs, their murderous intent clear as they surged toward Eric and her company.
"Slay them! They are monsters!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The clamorous cries reverberated tumultuously. Eric's heart pounded fiercely as she quickened her pace.
John matched her velocity; together they summoned their utmost speed, striving to escape the clogged thoroughfare.
Yet the feat was arduous. Pursued from behind and hemmed in ahead by fresh NPC reinforcements, Eric evaded rear assaults but found herself blocked before. Forced to weave through narrow gaps in the throng, a swinging bat struck. Eric dodged deftly, catching hold of the weapon in a backward sweep.
"Ah!" The NPC staggered, and Eric delivered a swift kick to his chest. His grip loosened, and she seized the bat, swinging it toward another NPC's head.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She struck with fervor, the force radiating through her hand despite the pain blossoming in her palm.
Utilizing the opening, Eric dashed onward, John stooped to reclaim a fallen hammer, wielding it to repel pursuing foes.
Thus, united in effort, they carved a path forward; yet the NPCs' numbers intensified, their ferocity closing all escape.
"Over here!" Eric called, plunging into a nearby stairwell.
The stairwell was dim and cramped; Eric ascended rapidly, reaching the rooftop in one breath. John trailed, struggling; after a tense ten seconds, Eric waited, then hurriedly barred the rooftop door with her bat.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The NPCs pounded fiercely upon the barrier.
"This way," Eric beckoned John to follow. During her earlier passage to the giant tree, she had noted that the instance comprised only this extended street leading to the tree; traversing the rooftops offered a viable escape route. With sufficient agility, they might find salvation above.
John forced a wry smile. "Parkour on rooftops, eh? I fancied that in life—didn't expect to keep playing after death, and in real life at that!" Despite his jest, he acknowledged this was their sole option.
Blessed by her bodily mutations, Eric darted and leaped across the roofs with fluid grace.
NPCs ascended stairwells of adjacent buildings in pursuit; Eric traversed rooftops with running, leaping, and climbing. The most perilous moment came as an NPC's grasp brushed her hand, yet she vaulted nearly three meters across a narrow alley to a neighboring rooftop.
"I... I can't do this!" John lamented, a step behind. After felling an NPC with a hammer, he faced the impossible—an almost three-meter chasm barred his path.
"Hurry! They're coming upstairs!" Eric urged.
John retreated several paces, braced himself, and sprinted forward—the leap!
He caught the rail of the opposite rooftop but fell just short, his body pitching backward, teetering on the brink.
Eric swiftly reached out, clutching his hand. She felt a sharp click as her arm dislocated, her entire weight pulling downward. John, shaken but resolute, heard her cry out, "Climb up fast! I'm losing strength!"
Scrambling desperately, fingers digging nearly into the wall, they exerted every ounce of strength; John's nails bent and broke, yet at last he hauled himself over the edge.
"Than-thank you!"
"Move quickly. I estimate we still have two-thirds of the journey ahead." Eric flexed her right hand; a surge of searing pain confirmed the dislocation. Unable to treat it herself, she resorted to a healing pack, wary of how the injury might hinder future climbing.
John's throat burned; each swallow carried a metallic tang. He could only nod in agreement, marvelling at his unlikely ally's prowess. His fortune was staggeringly good. If he survived this instance, he resolved, he would thank the young woman profoundly—for she was truly a remarkable person.