Most stories tend to start in the beginning, or before the true beginning, but not all of them do. Some take place after the 'Happily Ever After' or soon after the epilogue of the other, effectively starting another epic or story of some kind. That is where this story kicks off- Right after Fayt, who was on his way to Underwood through the forest of Awetum, was ambushed and dragged to an unknown location.

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I awoke with a groan and immediately moved my hand to touch my forehead as lightly as possible. It was throbbing and I could have sworn I saw stars before everything went black. If someone were to ask me what happened before I fell to the cold hard earth, I would tell him or her that it happened too fast for me to have properly assessed.

All I did know was that I seemed to be okay for the most part, but then again I am not a doctor, nor any of the Winwintar classes, so I could not say for sure either. Still I forced myself, pushed my body into a sitting position, and rummaged through my inventory for a potion. Popping the cork, I guzzle it down like the precious liquid it was. Bitter - That was always my immediate reaction to drinking potions of any kind and it always amazed me how realistic Cyberpolis to be able to give you the sensation of flavors despite being a game. It was probably best to have mentioned that I have been playing this game for a little over five years and it still does not cease to amaze me.

As I sat there with the bitter taste of the potion still dancing across my tongue, I made a mental note to take in my surroundings now that my vision was not as blurry as it was when I first awoke. The dried ground and decaying trees around me made me think that I was somewhere near Underwood, but you could never be sure with this game. I could have been teleported into some random event area, but why would a GM knock me out to do that? No- This was not an event area, it had to be Underwood since there was not the beautiful reds, oranges and purples that decorated all of Awetum.

When the world finally seemed to stop spinning, I slowly rose to my feet so I could get a more proper assessment of where I had awoken. If anything, the place that I arose in, looked to be a cemetery of sorts- But unlike the ones that I had seen screenshots of on the Cyberpolis website, this did not look like some area that was just sitting in the open. The walls and the lack of sky further proved that point. Letting the damaged wheels of my mind turn over all the facts as I collected them, I came to the assumption that this was a dungeon of sorts. My attacker, or attackers, probably dropped me off in here in hopes of looting my body should I die. Therefore, following that assumption, they were probably nearby. Regrettably, fighting them in the condition I was in would prove idiotic since it felt like I would keel over at any given moment.

I slowly began to work my way through the cemetery with the help of the tombstones that lined my impromptu path while occasionally having to weave around the open burial plots - Resisting the treasures that lined the bottom as well since a low fog was sweeping over the ground. The odd coloration of the cloud made me wary of it, since it was most likely poisonous- But then I remember that I was lying on the ground and might have breathed in some of it. Erring on the side of caution, I double-checked my player information screen in my inventory but was relieved to see that I was not poisoned. I did grimace slightly, however, when I say another slur of ailments that were slowly wearing off; Dizziness was the first and Silence was the other.

Around the time, I made it to what seemed to be the dead center of the room; a prickly sensation ran up my neck. The feeling was so intense that I felt the tiny hairs on my arms in real life stand on edge. Breaking my stride and slowing to a stop, I leaned against one of the grave markers - A giant cross - and surveyed the room again. The flash of a black mass caught my eye, but it had vanished before I could get a decent fix on it. The only thing that I was able to make out was that it was hovering low to the ground and seemed to be using the fog as a cover. Therefore, I decided to do what any other player that was having trouble controlling their avatars did. I searched for an exit and made decided to make a break for it.

Well, I WOULD have made a break for the exit, had there been a clear-cut one in sight. Biting my lip, I steadied myself against another grave marker and held my ground as I searched for whatever was in the room with me. I got the idea to summon up my mini map to assist me locate it, but grew frustrated when I saw that the picture was snowy.  That exchange resulted in me closing out the screen.

Another flash in the distance revealed to me scales, which made me run a mental check of all the monsters that I knew of that, had scales. Snakes, Basilisks, Lizards, Gorgons, Fish… Fish, why fish? That would not have made any sense. Shaking my head, I stuck with those and cross-examined them when the figure vanished again. All of them seemed probable except for the lizards. The way the creature was moving meant that it was probably a giant snake, which in turn could be a basilisk since there had been stories that made them out to be the king of serpents. The gorgon was a scary thought since I did not really want to become a human statue right now, since the idea of losing a days worth of experience and a decent chunk of gold would make me a very mad man. Insert the overused line of how you would not want to see me when I am mad.

When the prickly sensation came over me again, I had an immense urge to turn in the direction from which it felt like something was watching me. The temptation was almost too great, but still I manage to resist the urge. Instead of looking, I pushed off from the gravestone I was leaning against and sent myself rolling across the floor. The ground behind me had exploded and the ground shook on impact from when the creature that I saw collided with it. Sure, I might have been able to catch it, but in my gut, I knew that it would have won in terms of sheer strength and weight. I hazarded a glance backwards and saw it in all its glory. Thank the stars that it was not looking back.

The body of this beast was half woman and half serpent- A Gorgon if I ever saw one, but to call it a she would do injustice to all the females I knew. This thing was not human in another other than part of its appearance, and unlike the dream I had of a spider boss after the reset of Cyberpolis, this beast had its modesty covered with a thick breastplate that covered its entire torso. However, one should not be ogling the monsters bust, unless they were some giant pervert and could care less about living. It had long claw-like fingers that looked as sharp as any sword I had ever created in my smithery, long matted hair that flailed about as if it was living. Which it probably was for all that I knew. You know, snakes for hair like Medusa. The entire body was also a sickly green color with splotches of yellow and rust red on the fingertips.

"Well fuck…" I muttered before scrambling to my feet again and running. Having spoken, I probably gave myself away, but I could not help it. I thought I was thinking to myself, not thinking aloud. As I jumped behind another row of gravestones, I smashed my shoulder into the corner of one, which threw me off balance and caused me to hit the ground hard on my back. The momentum made me tumble over myself a few times. When I stopped rolling, I noticed how dangerously close I was to falling into one of the open graves. Swallowing a slur of cusses about how much hitting my shoulder hurt, I heard a voice echo through the room- A mixture of boredom and fading amusement coloring the words.

"Well this is boring. I thought you would at least put up a bit of a fight."

"It can't be helped, can it?" another voice mused, male by the sound of it, "If he doesn't entertain us soon, we'll just have to up the stakes a little."

"Ha-ha! So true," the girl sang, amusement slowly creeping back into her words and giving them life.

What was with that? Do those two see me as some sort of toy for their amusement? Snarling, I attempted to push myself to my feet again, but went crashing back down on my face. Something felt off- Did my arm dislocate itself when I hit the grave? Perfect. Rolling away from the grave, I was about to force myself to sit up with I say it again. I froze instantly as the monsters blood red eyes peered into mine and we became locked in a gaze that would not be broken for quite some time- Not if I wanted to get out alive. However, I was slightly surprised that I did not turn into stone. Was this creature, this Gorgon, more along the lines of someone's summoned monster rather than just some random boss of the graveyard? If so, that realization was both good and bad. Good, because that meant I will not turn into a stone statue. Bad because the attacks had to be trigger from the Summoner, and that meant that I could still be turn into stone, but not by just looking it in the eyes.

Figuring that just sitting there would not amount to anything; I rolled onto my back against, lifted both of my feet and pushed off the ground to plant a kick in the Gorgon's stomach. This in turn sent it flying backwards a few yards. When I hit the ground again, I mentally kicked my own ass before rolling onto my stomach once more and scrambling to my feet. I broke into a run, my right arm dangling at my side- no longer useful until it was healed up- and I attempt to strategize on the run. The creature has built for speed and it was more than likely physically strong. The fact that it reeled back so much from a single kick meant that it was light and possibly had low endurance. The more information I gathered, the more hope I had of winning this little fight.

Sadly, there were always curve balls to throw. Arms exploded from out of the ground in front of me and a few dozen skeletons slowly began crawling out of their graves to join the fray. The expression I was wearing right now was not a pretty one. The Gorgon was recovering from my surprise kick and now a legion of skeletons blocked my path. It was time to switch from defense to offense.

My first hit was rather explosive as my foot found the sternum of the front most skeleton and kicked it backwards into a group of another three or four. By the sound of it, I had broken a few of its bones, but it did not seem to take it out completely. Steadying myself again, I brought up an arm to block an incoming attack before swinging my leg into the side of another pursuer. As the skeleton stumbled to the side from my attack, I lashed out with my good arm and caught it by its heads that I could pull it back towards me. A sickening crack echoed in the closed chamber and the skeleton's mangled body fell limply to the ground. One pain in the ass down and a handful of pests left to exterminate.

The sensation from the Gorgon crept over me again and I jumped to the side as it sped past me into the skeletons ahead. I stumbled slightly, but managed to catch myself before I fell into one of the many pits. As I recovered, however, an arrow lodged itself in my thigh. The urge to scream bloody murder was almost too good to pass up, but I did by grinding my teeth and glaring daggers at the Skeleton Archer that shot me. I could not afford to look at it for very long since the Gorgon was right there on its mountain of bones, but glare I did until my heart was content. Then I ripped the arrow from my leg, cast it aside and ran full out towards the archer- The Gorgon be damned.

As my body crashed through the frail Skeleton Archer and as my fist turned its skull into a painful explosion of bone shrapnel, one of the two spectators gave out a delightful cry. She cooed to her partner how delightful the fight was and how much fun it was to watch- Me, her own hand picked gladiator, doing battle with the summons of her counterpart. My stomach churned as I sat there mounting the skeleton as it vanished, with my right arm still dead at my side. I was right in my assumption of them viewing me as a toy, and the thought pissed me off. It made me want to kill them just to end this, but I had no idea where they were watching me. Maybe the only way to end this was just winning the fight.

Once more I pushed myself to my feet, but I threw open my inventory as I stood. The icy blue screen gave off a small glow as it lit up the space around me. I shuffled through it quickly and found my weapon of choice- Fenrir - and materialized the giant sword as I pulled it from the screen. The weapon gave off the chilling cold of Winwintar despite it having been in the furnace of my smithery. It is originally a two-handed weapon, but given my strength stat from picking Sum-meira as my hometown, I could easily wield it with one hand. Sure, it would throw my balance off a little, but the added firepower it offered would be a plus in this fight. Not to mention I could use it as a shield.

Bounding forward with the sword dragging behind me, I ducked under the swing of a skeletons axe and whipped the blunt edge of Fenrir in a rising motion. The metal smacked hard into the skeletons side, but it did not stop there. The swing continued through two to three others, effectively shattering the brittle spines of the undead creatures. The massive blade lodged itself into the ground and I pushed it further in so I could follow up with an addition attack with the momentum of both the swing and my running start. As my body left the ground from the jump I executed the second the sword was stuck in the earth below me, my foot swung up and took dislocated the head of a forth skeleton. I lost my grip on the handle of my sword, however, and I started into a rolling sprawl across the ground. This time, regrettably, I could not stop before I fell into one of the pits. The Gorgon followed me soon after.

If someone ever told you that having several rows of teeth that looked as sharp as a thousand blades aimed at your face was not a frightening experience, then you should call bullshit on them unless said person was Chuck Norris or the current Corporal of the Offense Department.  How do I know that? It was probably because that was what I was staring down at this current point in time. My lungs were burning for oxygen as I struggled in the grave with the Gorgon on top of me. It would not budge a single inch in either direction and everything was starting to get hazy again. The poisonous fog was not helping my health any, since the meter slowly ticked down to nothingness that was would deplete should I decide to inhale sharply. My options were wearing out the longer I stayed there, so I did what any person that might be stuck in my position would do; I smashed its face against the side of the pit until it released me, but that did stop it from wrapping its hands around my throat in the process.

With the Gorgon now slain and its brains smeared all over the wall of the open grave, I sucked in a deep breath of the stagnant air that filled the graveyard chamber. The skeletons had disappeared and in their place stood a giant mausoleum with two avatars sitting atop it. Both wore long gowns of ivory and their skin was a similar shade of that sickly color. Their eyes were perfect globes of an infernal abyss and their hair was black as a raven's feathers and matted closely to their skulls. The girl had a look of victory as her twin pouted eerily before she spoke some murmured words. The last thing I saw as I feel to my knees was her malicious grin and observing eyes before she, and her twin, both vanished before me and my world went black once more.

I awoke with a groan and immediately moved my hand to touch my forehead as lightly as possible. It was throbbing, but there was a warm clothes draped over it. I moved both my arms and everything just felt perfect, it was as if I had never been hurt in the first place, but I still remembered everything perfectly. The image of the twins haunted my vision as I closed my eyes. Was it all a dream perhaps? A woman entered the room and told me that her guild found me in the middle of the road and that I had lost a fair bit of health. Her medic friend had patched me up after her Sum-meiran friend had dropped me off in their guildhall. When she left, I searched my inventory: My sword was there and so was the potion I had used in the graveyard. My character status screen showed no sign of me ever having received a status ailment, nor did it show anything else. The only thing I DID see was a private message in my inbox.

"Thank you for playing with us, and Happy Halloween." The name of the private message read 'Invalid Player ID.' God I hated this time of the year.