Aya pulled the Revista off her head and set it to the side, she rubbed her eyes a looked outside her window to find it was still afternoon. She hopped off her bed and listened to the bird chipping outside her window making Aya laugh at how normal and picturesque it was.

  Things like that would never happen on the grimy streets of Axen and it was even rarer that she would see such a thing on the smog filled streets. She got up and went to search for Mars, so she could make lunch for both of them.

  Upon finding herself alone in the apartment, Aya recalled Mars mentioned she would be going out to search for the local arcades within their street.

  Aya wished she had Mars’s inner strength, her face heated up at the memory of fainting at the thought of getting a new PacBook all by herself. It was embarrassing that Mars had to carry her back to her room.

  Aya inhaled deeply, calming herself down before he mind would begin racing. Her stomach growled, reminding her what she was doing in the kitchen.

  It was time for lunch and Aya went about making a sandwich for herself, Mars would probably get something sugary at the arcade leaving Aya to cook for herself before she went back into the game for another session.

  As the bacon sizzled on the pan, she checked her phone to see if Daichi had responded to her call but no missed calls came from the number she dialed, she did however have a few from her uncle and an unanswered text message from Atlas.

  [Call me Aya, I want to know how the move went!]

  The text message said, a smile crossed Aya’s face imagining the impatient expression Atlas probably had as he typed that. She wondered if he was still playing Moon Valley too.

  “No need to wonder when I can just call him, it should be about time for a break for him too.” Aya said dialing his number.

  The phone didn’t ring for too long before Atlas picked up.

  “How’s Mericross?” Atlas asked, he sounded tired and Aya could make out the murmurings of people in the background fading away, she figured he had just gotten out of a meeting and was now walking into his office to take a break.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “Better than Axen.”

  “Well that’s no surprise.” Atlas said, he sounded amused. Aya heard the door close behind him and the hearty sigh Atlas took as he collapsed into his chair. “How’s Mars?”

  “She’s awesome, the best roommate ever!” Aya chirped, ever eager to lavish praise on the other girl. “We’ve been getting used to the new city, Well mostly Mars I haven’t left my room.” Aya stirred her food in the pan and quickly slid the crispy bacon between two slices of bread.

  “Is that healthy?”

  “No more healthy than staying in that toxic office.”

  “Fair, but it’s technically not the same. Work is supposed to be stressful.”

  “Have you told your father about Moon Valley yet? You know The payment thing you told me about when we talked.” Aya said taking a bite out of her lunch, she put the phone on speaker so he wouldn’t hear the sounds of chewing as she tore into her bread with relish.

  “He’s not listening to anything I’m saying so I think I’m giving up on it.”

  “Ah…” Aya was quite over the phone for a bit, she wanted to encourage him but was no naive enough to force the matter. “Well I thought it was a good idea.”

  “So did I, becoming an official payment partner would have allowed us to spread the company’s reach, right now we’re being used mostly in...Wait I don’t want to talk about work, how are you finding the city?”

  “Haven’t left my room remember.” Aya laughed.

  “Sorry, I guess I’m a bit scatterbrained, profit margin’s not looking good at all.” Atlas said with a sigh. “At least Moon Valley’s been a welcome relief from it.”

  “You’re still playing, I thought you would too busy for it.” Aya said, she tried to keep the surprise out of her voice but had a feeling Atlas caught it anyway.

  “I thought so too, when will I see you in the game anyway?” He prodded.

  “Last I heard you were in Solstice Crossing.” Aya said trying to shift the direction of the conversation. “I’m in the Verdant Vale trying to solve a pollution problem.”

  “Ah yes, the Miasma. I’ll admit it keeps the game interesting for me, all sorts of beasts and infected people. It’s like a fantasy zombie game.”

  “You don’t find the infected people scary, I was terrified when I had to kill one!” Aya whined. She heard Atlas laugh on the other end of the phone and pouted. “Hmmmph! Well you don’t have to laugh.” she said.

  “I’m sorry, the game’s probably been pretty different up until that point for you, Mars told me a little bit when we talked.” Atlas said.

  “You mean most of the game is like that once I leave Bloom Haven?” Aya asked. Questions popped into her head, so what happened to the NPCs who left the quiet areas of Bloom Haven, could she even get to Alfinheim safely with all those infected by the Miasma running around?

  “Pretty much, there are safe havens through out but a lot of the Outskirts have these barriers blocking places, it can be tricky to traverse, I’m on my way to the Rowen Plains if you can catch me there, it’s a bit close to Beast Hollow so I might at least see Mars.”

  “Thanks for telling me, even though you know I probably won’t meet you.” Aya said with a bittersweet smile.

  “Anytime.” Aya heard the fondness in his voice and was touched by it. She didn’t have any friends in Axen due to the immense stress on her life, but maybe...maybe now could be the new start she’d always wanted.

  The sound of the door opening startled both her and Atlas, indecipherable sounds came from the other end of the line, followed by another deep sigh from Atlas.

  “Alright, I’ll speak with him in a moment.” Atlas said to someone, Aya couldn’t hear. The door opened again and shut behind whoever had come in during the conversation.

  “I’ve got to go, another meeting with the shareholders.”

  “Sounds boring, you should quit your job and play Moon Valley all day like I do.” Aya laughed, picking at the crust of her neglected sandwich.

  “I would love to but for now duty calls, don’t wait so long to call me next time. I...I like talking to you.” Atlas muttered shyly.

  Aya’s face reddened.

  “Well I like talking to you too, a phone works both ways you know!”

  “I know, bye, Aya.”

  “Bye, Atlas.”

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