Nyxfall 7: The Veilbreakers

"Did you find something?" Deimos shouted across the small stone room.

"Not yet…" Kai replied.

The water level was rising fast, and both of them splashed around, searching for any hidden compartment that might open a way out. Whether this was a punishment for their attack on the granny guide or simply the final test remained unclear. The lack of instructions only reinforced the possibility that this was less of a challenge and was more of a cruel way to punish them.

The granny, meanwhile, was still glancing around with her confused, aged eyes. When the water reached their waists, she suddenly climbed into the lone boat and started muttering to herself.

Kai and Deimos tried to ignore her ramblings, but it wasn't easy.

"..Oh yes. We had to keep moving. We moved a lot, from village to village.. It wasn't for nothing, though. Laybre fruit was always sweet—that was good. Becoming a village elder was never the goal. We fought. We had to. They never gave us another chance. Sometimes I wonder if we were better off without it, but then I see the little children—laughing, playing. There is trust in their eyes, the belief that food will be ready, that they will be safe. The elders will take care of them. No honor, no glory, no need for unnecessary strength, but love.. Unyielding love and unity—that is the true way for the fallen people.."

Kai suddenly realized he was the only one still moving. Deimos had frozen in place, and even the granny had stopped her nonsensical muttering. But Kai had caught her last words—fallen people.

Was she referring to the Nexus Kin? They were, in a way, fallen—rejected by both major civilizations on this planet.

He turned and saw Deimos staring at the granny, while she, in turn, blinked as if suddenly remembering where she was. Her behavior reminded him of people with that illness… Alzheimer's.

Kai had already checked all four walls and found nothing. It was better to move closer to the boat before the water rose past their chests. He waded toward it, and after a brief moment, Deimos snapped out of her trance and did the same. They stood on opposite ends, each gripping the boat's edges, while the granny sat calmly in the middle.

Without warning, Deimos pulled out her dagger and began approaching the granny slowly.

Was she going to kill her?

The granny had a green name—an NPC marked as a law abiding civilian. Killing her would be a crime, but with no one around to witness it, it wouldn't be registered as one.

"What are you doing?" Kai asked anyway.

"Can't you see?" She twirled her dagger between her fingers.

"She wouldn't still be here if the trial was done with her," Kai reasoned.

"What trial? Can't you see, insect? We failed! Your genius answer was wrong!" she snapped.

"And if I am right, killing her will truly make us fail the trial!" Kai shot back.

Something about the granny's mad ramblings felt a little too real. At the end of the day, Nyxfall was a game of choices—what one chose always mattered. Years of playing had made Kai truly appreciate the incredible stories this platform could tell. Unlike movies or online shows that force-fed their narratives, games allowed players to uncover the story at their own pace. It was a choice—one that made the experience far more intimate.

But the deeper meaning of a story, the larger-than-life art form, was not something every species in the galaxy shared. For most highly evolved life forms, intelligence was measured by how much wealth they could amass or how powerful they could become. The intelligence of morals, of true understanding, of making the perfect choice—these were deeper philosophies, concepts a life devoid of art struggled to grasp.

Kai had already noticed this in his past timeline. Many alien species thought the same way. And it seemed the Nexus Kin were no different. Deimos couldn't see the weight of the moral dilemma before her. To her, killing the granny didn't matter—because if no one was around to witness it, then it wouldn't count as a crime.

"The boat can't carry three people. Either you die, or she does," Deimos said matter-of-factly, her dagger stretched forward as the water rose to their necks.

Suddenly, the granny spoke again.

"Lafiel chose violence. I warned her. She wouldn't listen.. Thousands died a meaningless death. It was never the answer.. It never was.."

"Did you hear that?" Kai pointed at the granny. "She's telling us not to do it!"

Deimos scowled in irritation, her voice rising. "The problem doesn't change! Whoever stays behind is going to drown in the next minute! Have you forgotten that this woman had two machetes just a few minutes ago?"

Kai hesitated. He wanted to make the right choice to clear the trial, but it was a fact—the boat couldn't handle three people. And even if they managed to stay afloat, the room was sealed. At best, they'd buy themselves a few extra minutes before they all died anyway. And if that happened, everything in their inventory—everything they had collected in the entire in-game day—would be lost.

There was a chance, however, that if they both got on the boat, it would trigger an escape mechanism.

Decision, decision. He had to make a choice.

"Fine! You climb up," Kai said, his face set with determination.

He had decided. He was going with his gut. If he was wrong, then at least he would learn something crucial about this new timeline—that moral choices no longer mattered in Nyxfall like they used to.

'I hope I at least get some reward for clearing that first trial if I die..'

"Are you insane?" Deimos looked at him in disbelief, but she didn't hesitate. She hurriedly climbed into the boat, seating herself across from the granny.

The boat immediately sank a little in the neck-deep water. Just to test his options, Kai tried climbing in as well—only for water to start spilling in.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Deimos screamed, and Kai quickly let go.

There was no other option.

"Kind was the king in his humble cottage. What use had he for gold? People were his power, and people were his wealth. Burned them all, unquestioningly.. The screams in the valley had never been louder.."

'Perfect.' Kai thought bitterly. 'The granny is back to her nonsensical ramblings. Am I making a mistake? I'm about to lose all my monster meat and items. One of them was even a rare drop!'

But despite his doubts, he didn't feel like changing his decision.

The water kept rising. It reached his lips.

Kai kicked his legs and waved his arms, trying his best to stay afloat, but the longer he remained submerged, the more damage he took from holding his breath. He knew how to swim, but the game didn't just factor in his weight—it accounted for his entire inventory. He tried dropping useless items, but it didn't help.

The water would ruin everything. And worst of all, there was still no way out if he did manage to float.

Slowly, terrifyingly, Kai drowned in the glowing blue water.

The last thing he saw was Deimos' piercing, angry gaze as she muttered, 

"Idiot.."

And then, his vision darkened, and the world faded to black.