2 - 3. In Your Hands, In Your Arms.

She regrets, not the action, but the manner in which it was done. She regrets the shock in Jun’s wavering eyes, the grimace in Noel’s smile, the way her choice seems inspired from fury and despair. She regrets these things immensely, but Nyx does not regret transferring her authority. She only wishes that she had been less impulsive with her timing, less manic, that she could be believed in this moment.

But she has been a crying mess for days now, and that is all Noel and Jun know of her. It’s why Noel is telling her to take it back, why Jun has one skeletal hand to his forehead, and it is for these reasons especially that she knows her decision is correct. Her fury towards the cruel system she has been placed under manifests in defiant sneers, trembling sweeps of her hand, and tears that leak out despite herself - these are not for Noel and Jun. A mere sentence across paper cannot assuage their fears. They misunderstand her. They are misunderstanding her. So she thinks.

Yet, the thought of having subordinates and lackeys rather than peers nauseates her. So she escalated. She has escalated. Nyx lets out a long, drawn out sigh, then shakes her head.

“Summoner…”

[ OUR dungeon. ]

“Was that how it was...” Noel’s red eyes are staring into space at nothing for a few moments before turning to her. Is that how I look when I’m accessing the screens? The woman before her lets out a little huff of air, then a gentle smile. “Very well. I understand. Our dungeon. I had been wondering why you were always so upset about Jun and I calling it ‘your dungeon’ but now it makes sense.”

“I cannot accept this, nor do I understand it.” Jun crosses his arms and stares at them both.

“It’s simple, dear Jun. She does not see this as a dungeon. The dungeon itself is one room, one floor, with only the two of us as defense. That’s not much of a dungeon.” Nyx blinks and then shakes her head. That conclusion wasn’t wrong, but the reasoning wasn’t right… But when Noel gives her a confused look, she scratches the side of her head and sighs. Where should she begin explaining it? She didn’t have a choice as to the order of things, but she had no intention of creating a… She doesn’t even know what a dungeon is.

But if it’s a giant death trap, she’s not interested.

“I apologize, but if this is not a dungeon, what is it?”

“I believe that is up to us to decide.” Nyx nods, lifting up her sheet of paper and pointing to just one word. Together. Jun’s eyes disappear for a few moments as one bony finger scratches at his skull. Then, with his own sigh, he nods.

“Very well, Summoner.” Nyx pouts, but he keeps speaking. “Then, there are a few things we must cover. I was unprepared to have. Privilege Escalation.”

“What a strange way to say equal rights,” Noel teases, leaning to the side slightly and bumping shoulders.

“But we are still not equal, as we do not own the dungeon.” As Jun speaks, his finger is sliding in every direction and his eyes are turned away. He pauses once in a while, then shifts his finger again, before speaking. “Summoner, do you have any advice for us?”

“You’re nitpicking, dear.” For a brief moment, Noel pats Jun’s back. Nyx’s eyes rest on the other woman’s hand. Noel pretends not to notice.

Closing her eyes for a few moments, Nyx imagines the screen spread out over the dining table. She’s used to the rising headache and pain at this point as she presses at her consciousness, flexing her focus to bring some sort of shared view forth. Jun had made a good point - transferring authority was probably not supposed to be possible. However, she had one advantage. Without knowing what was and wasn’t possible, she simply tried whatever she wanted without any preconceptions over what could and could not be. The pain recedes quickly and she blinks away the spots of light in her vision.

“Is this what your ledger looks like?” Ledger? Nyx turns her head towards Jun with a raised eyebrow as Noel’s concerned look fades. Raised a few inches off the table, her interface shines with a warm lilac color.

“It’s very pretty,” Noel whispers from right behind her, causing goosebumps to rise across her neck. She’s not about to get distracted, however, and she points at her screen, then sweeps her hand at Jun.

“A book. Pages move in and out.” And yet he had said it was a ledger before. Nyx squints a little, trying to imagine how that would look. It would probably be more like a catalogue than a ledger. Distracted with her thoughts, she turns her attention back to Jun, whose blue fire eyes are burning a little more intensely. Following his gaze, she sees Noel - who is not looking at either of them, but instead at the table. Is that a hint of red on the tips of her cheeks?

“You will not share?” Jun’s gravely voice rumbles in a way Nyx can only describe as stately. He really does give off a grand impression sometimes. Noel’s expression cramps slightly as she whispers. Nyx shifts in a little closer, leaning onto the table so that she can push her head into Noel’s field of view.

“A clipboard.” Nyx glances back at Jun, but the skeleton has moved his attention to the table.

Feature unavailable. Nyx huffs as she tries to imagine a blank canvas. Crossing her arms, she navigates through the menus with a few looks and brings up the shop menu. That one cursed item greets her.

“Fate… cutting… scissors?” Jun’s curious tone fades to a deadpan drawl in mere moments.

“A billion-?!” Noel’s voice sounds to Nyx’s left for a second. Yup, she’s spotted it too. That embarrassing and ridiculous item. What she’s after is something else. Although she can’t purchase anything, there is one thing she has that her companions do not. Besides the dungeon core wrapped snugly around her neck, of course.

[ Access Key: 0 P - Lets you access your Living Quarters ]

Brushing her left hand into her hair, she pulls her black hair back and flicks the dangling purple-red gem hanging from her ear. Noel glances at the screen before her, then at Nyx with an expectant look. Nyx wrinkles her nose and furrows her eyebrows, sighing.

“Ah, yes - no permission needed. Sorry, Lady Nyx.” She grumps over that too, wondering why she’s ‘Lady Nyx’ but Jun is ‘dear Jun’. That isn’t fair. Equal rights! While Nyx internally decries the injustice of it all, Noel’s hand slips forward and passes right through the menu. Nothing changes.

“Ah, it seems I can’t use your menu after all. My, how embarrassing.” She doesn’t look embarrassed at all to Nyx, just bemused, but before she can start internally cribbing about it Noel has moved her attention to her own menu. Something shimmers around her neck and underneath her top, forming a necklace a moment later. Glancing over at Jun, Nyx spots a ring of translucent purple-red crystal around the skeleton’s right pinky. There’s a small movement behind her.

When she turns around, Noel is patting her windswept hair down slightly and standing at the entranceway. A moment later, Jun flashes into existence next to her, then out again. He continues to blink in and out as Noel’s lips curl and she returns to the table.

“He’s like a kid who has to play with a toy once he gets his hands on it, no? It’s a little cute.” Nyx glances at Noel, snuggling into her blanket, and laughs silently under her breath. It is a little cute.

“I can teleport anywhere within your territory.” Nyx scowls. “Our territory, excuse me. That includes the perimeter and the top of the mountain.”

“However, you can’t teleport back in if you’re outside the bounds of the dungeon, can you?” Nyx’s head whips to the side. “It was only for a second, Lady Nyx. Just a moment,” she soothes, as Jun huffs.

“I did not test that. It would not do to leave our Summoner alone.”

“That stings.” Noel’s smile thins as she narrows her eyes at Jun.

“It was meant to.” He does not relent either, then seats himself upon the couch. “However, that would mean we are unable to enter this area from outside the bounds of the dungeon. Without assistance, at least.” Now it’s her turn. Though she had slipped out the night before, it’s still better to double check, she thinks. She gives a two finger salute and vanishes.

Cave, check. Mister Wall, check. The faint purple light of two moons illuminating the desert? Check. Dungeon core hidden behind a rock? Not check. It’s tight around her neck now, replaced by two small orbs. One is the regal purple of Jun’s cloak, the other the deep red of Noel’s eyes.

Reappearing at the entranceway with her surveillance window open, she spots a third orb now - the translucent black of her cave. It’s not the dungeon core, however, as that has now returned to its uncomfortable place around her neck. Nyx chews on the inside of her cheek. Something had changed. With Noel and Jun now escalated to her own level, that meant each of them had access to the living quarters without needing her. Her thoughts shift quickly before she comes to her conclusion - each orb was simply a new way for intruders to access her home. Before, Nyx carried their house around her neck, but she was also the only vulnerable point. Now, if she were to carry the core out to the desert and Noel and Jun were to never leave the dwelling, they would both be completely safe… and so being at home meant being able to be invaded. And each of them is now a means to invade, which means the dungeon core can now be inside the house? Nyx’s hand slides over her face as she lets out a sigh and slides back against the door.

Something isn’t making sense. Somewhere, somewhere in her line of reasoning, she knows something is wrong. Are the orbs now outside means to invade, or are they simply miniature cores - one life for each of them? However, this is still one dungeon, so there should be one core. And there is, tightly wrapped around her neck. Nyx is so completely lost in her thoughts, she completely misses a blanket being thrown over her shoulders and face.

“I believe part of the point of being a team, Lady Nyx, is that you should share some of the burdens with us.” Peeking over the blanket, she withers underneath Noel’s mournful, betrayed look. Jun’s eyes are dim, barely flickering, and still. She stares at the floor for a few moments, then nods and walks over to the couch slowly.

Noel, no longer peering over her blankets, gives Nyx a hard look. Nyx nervously draws the translucent orb of stars from her choker, summoning the cracked dungeon core. Jun’s eyes light up and train upon the crack as Noel lets out a little gasp. The proof of her carelessness is right there. Her ears heat up as she sets the orb down. The dungeon core.

“Lady Nyx, are you alright?” “Summoner, are you in pain?” Nyx’s head pops upward as she glances between them. The sound of pity makes her skin crawl, the fear of being a pitiable, detestable little thing, but she shoves that down and offers a weak smile. Resting on the couch just out of her reach is the twinkling sphere, reminding her that to someone, this is all a game.

Her fingertips brush against the sphere. The sound of rushing water fills her ears and she’s back, back in that dark space with only the sound of artificial raindrops and only faint, blurry lights. There’s no Noel. There’s no Jun. There’s no anything. It’s empty, empty, empty.

She rips her hand from the core, face pale, and scowls.

“Nyx…?” Noel is to her side, hands hovering by her back. Nyx’s eyes slide towards those slender fingers, then to Noel’s face, grimacing slightly. You wouldn’t catch me anyway. Noel and Jun both avoided touching her, as if she was contagious - she pinches the bridge of her nose and steps back, sighing. She locks eyes with Jun, then tilts her head towards the core.

“Are you certain, Summoner?” She nods. His bony hand touches the core for only a moment before Nyx’s legs give out and her head feels as though it will split open. Her vision floods with incessant messages and bright lights and faintly, she registers the sensation of her shoulder hitting something hard.

[ THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. ]

[ THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. ]

[ THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. ]

[ THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. ]

[ THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. ]

[ YOU CAN’T ESCAPE THIS, COSMIC FAULT. ]

Nyx heaves, quivering, as her fingertips claw at nothing. The haze of pain lifts slightly as she regains consciousness, vision blurry. There’s something soft underneath her head, a pillow, and a blanket draped over her as she lies down on the floor of the dwelling. Noel is curled up in blankets, watching her from the couch. Jun is sitting against the far wall. Her shoulder hurts. Her head hearts. Her heart hurts.

Trembling, she points to Noel, then the sphere.

“No.” Too tired to argue, her hand flops down and she blacks out again.

・

“Never ask me to do that again.”

Nyx nods.

“I’m serious. You gave me a heart attack.”

But you didn’t - Noel’s furious gaze and red-rimmed eyes silence Nyx’s objections as she turns her head back down and nods.

“Summoner… I feel the same. I do not know what you wished to know or achieve, but I will not… I will not repeat that.” The choker around her neck is suffocating, Nyx thinks, but she nods anyway. After all, it’s her responsibility. Her burden. Not for the team. She closes her eyes, heaves a long sigh, then picks her head back up.

All this, just to give Noel and Jun a house key. They hadn’t even gotten into strategy. Staring at her two companions, however, she bites the inside of her cheek and shakes her head. Tomorrow. They can talk tomorrow.