Aya stepped out the door wary of her surroundings, just because she had moved in with Mars didn’t mean Lydia was up to no good. The woman was simply waiting for an opportunity to strike and Aya wasn’t crazy enough to give her the opportunity.

  She left the apartment complex, her destination being the small convenience store where Nisha worked. Her sneakers trudged along the crumbling roads of her apartment complex until it got to the beaten asphalt of the store.

  Aya pushed the door open and looked towards the counter to see a young man working there.

  “Welcome, I guess.” he said in the same uninterested tone Nisha would have. Aya gave a sheepish smile, knowing she didn’t want to buy anything she was only here looking for her friend.

  “Uh...I’m looking for Nisha…” she said hesitantly.

  “Why? She owe you money or something?”

  Aya was taken aback by the response. It wasn’t an odd thing to say. This was Axen City, debts and debt collectors were insanely common.

  “No, we’re just friends.”

  Her words raised the man’s eyebrow.

  “Well, a friend ought to know where she is right?” He asked pointedly.

  “You got me there, we’re recent friends.” Aya said folding her arms. What was with this attitude? Aya didn’t think she was someone even a little bit suspicious.

  The man said nothing, only continuing to stare at her with a blank face that said ‘You’ll never get me to talk’

  Aya threw her hands up in the air, with a defeated sound.

  “Fine then, have a nice day or something.” she said in frustration.

  The man only smirked as she stormed out of the store. Aya’s face burned, he was right but she wouldn’t admit to that. It was good Nisha had someone looking out for her, especially if she owed someone potentially dangerous.

  Aya was lucky she’d never fallen into that, though many tried. Fast money was tempting but it would sometimes cost a life.

  Her stomach twisted with worry for the other girl. Nisha could have been playing Moon Valley for the exact same reason she was.

  Aya knew from the forums that bosses could give a lot of gold, but there was also the potential to build up a character with rare stats and skills, and then sell the account for a ton of Lue!

  While Aya never thought she would be able to sell the account that allowed her to find the things her mother left for her, it was big business.

  “And to think this game came out not too long ago. It’s crazy.” she said as she walked. Her next stop would be the junk shop where she would find Renard. She had to thank him for the Revista he gave her at a discount.

  ----------

  Mars felt her phone vibrate in her pocket as she was busy packing up her things for the movers to take the next day.

  “Hmmm?” she reached into her back pocket and pulled out the device to see a reply to an earlier text.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  [I was pleasantly surprised to see your message, Mars]

  The text read from Atlas read. Mars rolled her eyes at the formality, it was one of the things that annoyed her when it came to Atlas.

  [Blame Aya, where do you want to meet up so we can hash things out] Mars texted back, she chewed her lip nervously, waiting for a response.

  [I'm free this evening, there aren't many places in Axen to go, is Canary Park okay?]

  Mars checked the venue’s location on her phone’s map, it was close enough to town and convenient enough to meet at.

  [It's fine]

  [Okay]

  Mars placed her phone face down on the table and exhaled deeply. She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache brewing from the stress of the interaction.

  “All I have to do is apologize right?” She said softly. She puffed her cheeks and sighed deeply wondering how she would drudge up the courage to face the man she had abandoned.

  “I don’t owe him anything, It was our parent's idea and I never agreed to marry him.” she said, despite her words, guilt ate at her heart. It was all so long ago but the wounds still felt fresh.

  “Friendships end all the time, he doesn’t owe me forgiveness.” Mars said under her breath, stuffing some clothes into a suitcase. The feelings bubbled up like boiling water, soon becoming too much for her. She let out a frustrated scream and threw the bundle to the floor.

  “Screw this! I need to kill something.”

  ----------

  The junk shop was the same as the last time Aya saw it. It brought a smile to her face to see the greying walls with peeling paint and janky store sign. She sped up running into the shop when she bumped into someone.

  “Oh excuse me.” He said, Aya nodded. Starring the blonde man up and down. He looked tired, like he was barely able to hold himself up. He pushed his glasses up his nose and began walking away. “You know it’s rude to stare.”

  “S-Sorry!” Aya squeaked and hurried inside the store.

  Aya only expected to see the old man tending the counter when she walked in. A girl stood there, thick hair pulled into two buns and the same shiny mahogany skin as the girl she was searching for.

  “Huh? Nisha?” She called.

  The girl turned to face her with an equal expression of surprise. Nisha’s eyebrows shot up at the sight of Aya, wondering what the girl was doing at her junk shop.

  “Oh, summoner. Why are you here?” Nisha asked bluntly.

  “Mage I…” Suddenly Aya couldn’t find the words to tell the other girl she was leaving. “I was looking for you.”

  Renard walked out from the shop’s back room, having to duck under the doorway due to his large form. Aya recognized the shiny bald head first before the fluffy mustache.

  “Renard!” Aya called with a wave.

  “Ah, it’s you again. How are you enjoying the Revista?”

  “Revista? At least Mark-III I hope.” Nisha deadpanned from where she sat.

  Aya chuckled nervously, Renard shook his head. From their interaction, Aya could tell Nisha was a long time customer of Renard’s, and that made her all the more sad she never got the chance to build such a relationship with him.

  “Actually, it’s great that both of you are here right now because I had something I wanted to say.” She started.

  “What’s wrong?” Renard asked, sensing something serious in Aya’s tone. He studied the girl’s sullen face and balled fists, Aya stared at the floor like a guilty child but as far as he knew she hadn’t done anything to offend him or Nisha.

  “Did you have a bad game session with your old equipment?” Nisha asked, sitting up with interest.

  “I’m….well I’m….”

  “Aya Brown!” before Aya could speak, a figure burst through the door nearly taking it off its hinges. It was the blond man from before and it looked like he had rushed back to the store as fast as he could.

  He had called Aya’s name but the brunette didn’t recall ever meeting this man in her life. The blonde man approached her slowly, making Aya back up in fear.

  “What the hell is wrong with ya, Fred?” Renard shouted from behind the counter.

  “Aya Brown we need to talk.”

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