THE MOMENT
"My mom only made one of them, like me," Dara said. The teenage girl with dark hair walked through the forest with her friend, Abby. It was a cool, sunny day and the blue sky was easily visible from the forest floor. "It's as unique as a Unique Soul can get," she added.
"But why stop at one?" Abby asked. "I mean, I get why you're the only one of you; but why only one sword? Your mom loves selling Inanimate Uniques." Dara nodded.
"Yeah, but this was different," she added. The pair of girls walked deeper into the forest. The canopy overhead was growing denser and the sky was harder to see. "My mom says being God isn't easy because the universe tends to have a mind of its own. The sword turned out more powerful than she expected, and with different properties than she wanted. So, she stopped there," Dara said.
"That just leaves more questions," Abby giggled. "If it's so powerful, why is she hiding it on an active server? And why did she want me to know where it is?"
"My mom likes to hide things in plain sight," Dara grinned. "This server was designed for Druid quests," Dara said as they crossed completely into shadows. Sunlight could no longer reach the forest floor. "They can't use swords so the server nanos won't design any quests around it. If anyone comes across it, they'll just think it's decoration." The path stopped at a dense wall of trees that would take effort to squeeze through.
"And, they'd kind of have to be looking for it," Dara said. They stopped at the end of the path, but a sudden rustling coming through the wall caught their attention. Abby pulled the black visor off her face and stared forward eagerly. The spiders living in her eyes sockets inched forward to stand ready on her cheeks.
"Can I kill?" she asked Dara. But, her question revealed the culprit. A snow-white bunny sprinted out from the trees and into the forest next to the girls. "..nevermind...," the spiders retreated back into Abby's empty eye sockets as she slid her visor back on. The rabbit moved too fast for them to notice or care; but, if they had paid attention, they might have noticed rainbow fur on the back of both its ears.
"My mom wants you to know where the sword is, because you can equip it. She's not giving it to you yet...," Dara was quick to add that detail. "...it's more of an 'in-case of emergency' thing." Dara explained. She flicked her wrist upward and summoned her Slate. The grey glass pane hovered in front of her while she began tapping on it.
"Emergency? Your mom's God," Abby reminded her.
"Yeah," Dara nodded. "And, she'd like to keep it that way. The universe has a mind of its own, remember?" She tapped on the Slate one last time and the wall of trees disintegrated into white powder. They revealed a flat, glowing white surface on the other side. A sword grip wrapped with red leather jutted out of the center of the white circle. The number 57 was engraved in red on the white pommel.
"Unique Soul #57, La Espada," Dara gestured at the sword handle. "It has the power to cut through anything. Even universes," she said.
"What does that mean?" Abby asked. She took a step forward, then glanced at Dara. Her friend nodded at her and she continued to the handle.
"When it slices through the air it makes a portal," Dara said. She opened a black hole next to them just to point at it. "The only difference is, it's a permanent wound in the fabric of the universe. The portals it creates can't be closed."
"Neat!" Abby giggled as she grabbed the handle and pulled it up. Instead of coming out of the white floor like she expected, the handle pulled it up. "Whoa...," she stopped pulling it after a moment, then looked around at the white circle. She focused on the edge of the radius and pulled the sword up again slightly; the radius shrunk. "That's so cool!" Abby yanked the sword out all at once and the white floor disappeared leaving behind bare dirt. She looked at the sword and the blade looked like a solid piece of glowing white glass.
"Don't use it...," Dara reminded Abby.
"I won't...," Abby replied as she admired the sword. It was as light as a feather; but, it still gave her a sense of feedback somehow. She could feel its balance and boundaries just by holding the grip; she would have no trouble fighting with it if she got the chance.
"Wait...," Abby had a new thought as she gently put the sword back into the ground. The white floor grew around them as she ease ti down. "...it's not just about equipping it, right?" she released the handle and tilted her head away from Dara to indicate she was ready to move on. "Frost and Keys can too."
Dara nodded as a new portal opened next to them. She tapped her finger on her Slate and the wall of trees reappeared.
"I asked," she said. "Right now, you're the only one my mom really trusts. Frost isn't like the rest of us and Keys is a Swordmage; that sword would make him a little too powerful for my mom's comfort levels," she said. The two girls walked into the portal and disappeared. The forest was still for almost five minutes before a small, snow-white bunny hopped out of the trees. It glanced around, then it grew and changed shape. In moments, a teenage girl with golden-blonde double-plaited hair stood in its place. She stared at the wall of trees with curious awe.
"Forget the quest...," she mumbled to herself as she dropped a black card on the floor. It opened a portal and she began to sink into it. "... I have to tell someone."