The following days

The next day started with John's return to his home. Where he found mysterious new things that met him when he attempted to hand in the quest he had gotten in regards to the date. It was at that time that he finally allowed his mind to process what had happened. John’s finally clear mind let him fall into another fit of one of his favourite mental exercises, an attempt to find out how much he had screwed up during the date with Alice. Luckily for John, this time, he correctly concluded soon after that he had actually performed quite well in his date earlier.
Then after his mind cleared, he opened the quest screen in an attempt to once more advance his goal, only to find himself faced with a fancy new hand-in button, which was strangely placed near each completed quest in the Quests screen. It was as if it was trying to subtly tempt him to hand in those quests, though that attempt only succeeded with the one quest he had completed fully. In addition to that temptation, another obstacle still stood unsolved. The mystery about the strange **** that had blocked him from using Psychic Connection still prevented him from being able to hand in his quest to find evidence of others with magic. That was a mystery that would stay in the back of John’s mind, bothering him incessantly and just out of reach until he solved it. John thought about perhaps furthering his knowledge on the matter before the eventual return of the Council, unaware that such an attempt would be utterly futile as he lacked both the time and the resources to accomplish that feat. Regardless of that thought, however, he pressed the hand-in button for the only quest he was actually willing to hand in. A moment later, two popups appeared in response.

The XP awarded by completing the date was nice, but that was all it was. The possibility of what the item could be, however, made John as curious as he could have been at that moment. Luckily, that curiosity was given an answer only a moment later with another popup.

Item reward obtained: Spawning item

A bracelet suddenly appeared in his hand. It was one made out of some kind of metal that was not completely obvious, though if John were to guess, and he would guess incorrectly, it was probably silver. Drawn on it was a strange design that John could not decipher, though it looked a bit like a snake eating its own tail. A moment later he got another popup after using Observe on the bracelet.

The popup seemed to indicate that Alice's father had some connection to the Abyss, but John did not know how that was even possible. Curious about that possibility, John attempted to investigate the three attributes the bracelet had. The first was quite obvious, as he had seen it before in the drawing he had made. It was somehow magical, though in what way exactly was a mystery. The second was just as clear. It meant that the bracelet was made in a forge. The third, however, was somewhat more exotic. John guessed that it meant that whatever magic power it held was sealed inside it somehow, but since it wasn’t clear, he attempted to think of the attribute to gain more information. He got no new information for his efforts, however, but he did get a surprising popup.

Attribute description hidden, Observe skill level not high enough

One that made it clear he would have to look at that bracelet again in due time. For now, however, he placed the bracelet inside his inventory.

He went to sleep soon afterwards, determined to spend the next day with Alice, and ignore the wondrous events that had been surrounding him for as long as he could still do so.

The next day, a Wednesday, John went to school the same as normal, but an unsettling feeling had set in. It was mostly like any other day in spring, a beautiful, bright and sunny day but, luckily for John, not one that was excessively warm. The sort of day that was perfect for a date. The contrast was quite strange. He had already begun to worry about his situation, but the atmosphere around him seemed oppressively happy. At the start of the day, both John and Alice met up at school, and John decided to ask her to skip school with him. It seemed the previous day’s experience was good for both of them, and John was quite unsure of when he would once again have that chance. The council would be coming back, after all. Alice quickly agreed. When the two of them wondered where they could go on a date now that they exhausted their main hangout destination, they reached a strange conclusion. One that was somewhat railroaded by a certain plan of John. A plan to kiss Alice during sunset near a secluded lake they had gone to when they were younger. He was determined to do so as soon as he could, and this was seemingly his best opportunity. The first time they were there was a day unusually like the current one, it was a spring day just as bright and sunny as today. That day had a sunset that was beautiful. Just the same as the one John was expecting, and a romantic moment of silence that unlike the plan today, went unanswered. That strange conclusion was their decision to go on a slight journey of nostalgia, to go to all the places they had gone to when they were younger. First, they would go to The Arcade once more. Then, to the old parks and green places they had used to visit, and finally, to that secluded lake.

The plan went into motion when John met Alice just below the small staircase to her house and was interestingly met with a reciprocation of what happened the previous night. A kiss that even Alice was not expecting she would actually have the courage to give. One with just as much, if not more, passion and emotions running through it as John’s own attempt. Just like John’s attempt it also soon ended, but instead of them walking away from each other this time they began walking together towards their first destination, The Arcade.

When they reached The Arcade, they once again found themselves falling into their old habit of coming there for the games along with each other’s company, an activity that lasted for a couple of hours before John realized if they continued they would not make it to the lake at sunset as he planned. A plan that he was quite firm on keeping. Because of that, they continued on to the parks, simply walking around or sitting in them for a few hours until it was clear the sun was starting to set. They were able to make it to the lake just in time, however.

The date was quite lovely for both Alice and John, as they once again enjoyed both their time together and the mixture of nostalgia and new memories created by the now strange yet familiar locales. While the lovely time they had did not end when they eventually reached the secluded lake in the forest near town, it did change somewhat. It changed because of a strange event that broke the spell the date held on the both of them.

It began quite normally with the two of them reaching the lake and finding themselves charmed and enchanted by it and its surrounding area. The way the now sinking sun glowed with bright orange and red colours above the trees awed the couple. The sight of its rays hitting the water and covering the whole area with a beautiful glow would have amazed anyone, especially the likes of the two nerdy teenagers that were now standing and basking in that glow. The slight movements of the lake and the soft breeze that was able to reach them made the environment seem peaceful but somehow filled with purpose. All of these sights made the feeling in that secluded place quite magical, almost like it was whimsically taunting the teenager, who had his own magic and found himself there. That magic did not last, however, due to the appearance of a mysterious figure at the edge of the lake.

The mysterious figure was actually a teenager just like themselves. She was quite a beautiful one at that, with auburn hair, bronze skin and a slender frame that all radiated some deeper message John could not grasp, as if her body was built or trained with purpose. It was with that beauty being revealed, however, that came a look upon her face that was half surprised and half curious. Her eyes gleamed with the light of curiosity, but her face twisted with surprise.

“Hey!” She began with a half cheery shout, wanting to draw the couple’s attention. She continued a moment later, “Who are you guys?” she said, as if expecting the couple to be someone else, and her hand seemingly went to her back for a moment as if trying to grab something that wasn’t there. John, who was at this point confused, curious and slightly worried all at the same time, wanted to respond but realized he had no answer to this stranger’s question. It seemed that the lack of response did not help the situation, however, as a moment later the stranger began to back away from the lake and with a quickly uttered and somewhat less cheery “See you,” disappeared into the trees.

John’s mind raced in the attempt to understand what had just happened. The stranger’s reaction to the couple seemed weird to John, as for a moment she seemed to be expecting someone else. That did not seem so strange, but something in the back of John’s mind bothered him about the entire situation, something he could not place. Soon after, however, Alice drew his mind back to their time together with a small kiss on his cheek.

“You’d really rather think about that girl instead of spending time with me?” She said, in jest, as if reading John’s mind. John quickly responded. That response was made possible only because he did not know Alice had thought the same thing about the girl, and that the same feeling was in the back of her mind as well.

“No, of course not. That was just weird is all, who else even knows about this place?” John asked in response.

“Does it really matter?” Alice asked, with a clear tone of annoyance in her voice. While at the same time attempting to think of an answer to that exact question.

“No, you’re right,” John said, returning Alice’s kiss after doing so.

Apart from that strange incident, the two spent the rest of their time in that clearing in the only ways they could think of. They kissed some more. They spent some time making small talk, and some time in silence once more. The most romantic moment had been ruined by that strange appearance, however, and the rest of their time, while enjoyable, did not live up to what would have happened if not for that incident. Eventually, they once again separated for the day. By the time they did so, however, the sky was already pitch black, and they were standing beneath the stairs leading to Alice’s house once more. They promised each other that they would meet two days later at the lake before doing so, however.

The second day, John woke up, ready to go to school as usual. It seemed to him like an entirely normal day.