Milton noded.

"This isn't Konan Country, is it?" Nyx scanned the shoreline. Yes, the shoreline. They were standing on a beach. Everything was so peaceful. The waves lept upon the shore and the ocean sang in low tones. Mist drifted above the icy waters.

"Peaceful, though, is it not?"

"I can get all the peace I want when we find Celly. This place looks more like an island. Konan's not an--" Nyx lent a sharp side glance at her companion. "You had something to do with this. How? I don't know. But you did. This place is just too weird!"

"Come take a walk with me." Milton started up the shoreline.

"I don't have time to a walk."

"On the contrary. We have all the time in the world."

Nyx wrinkled her brow. "Nani? Care to explain what you mean by that?"

"There is no set time. Time as you know it does not exist in the same terms here, nor does your concept of reality." Millie paused and breathed deeply, letting out a long low sigh. "You're correct, we are no longer in Konan Country. We are on Angel Island."

"But Angel Island?!?" Nyx began to laugh. "There's no such place. It doesn't exist -- it's just something I made up when I was little, it was--" her laughter died and her voice escaped her.

"You special place? Yes I know. And now you must know the Truth."

"The Truth? You mean that crapassbullshit Celly was trying to shove down our throats before she snapped? I never really got it."

Milton stood very still and looked away from her. He stared into the vast unknown beyond the rising mists. "None of this is real. We are characters created by the avatars. This war, this Game, is only one of their many tales which they've spun. We exist because of them. As an Otaku you are supposed to be enlightened with the Truth in order that you may be able to fulfill your duty to the Game."

Nyx's mind shut down and her body became numb. She felt her knees buckle and she knew that she would faint at any moment. "Wh--what? Are you saying that I'm not real? I'm standing here am I not? If I'm not real, then neither are you!"

Milton stared into her eyes and spoke. "Yes."

"But I'm living, I can feel my heartbeat and I have felt the sword run me through."

"Just because we are created does not mean that we are mindless and are nothing. Think of it like this. The avatars are our Gods, our creators. They direct our lives. But we are living."

There was so much to comprehend. Nyx wanted to be swallowed up by the rising tide. But she knew Milton was right. She did have a life. She was real as far as she was concerned. She looked at him standing there. He and Seth were the closest thing she had to a family. 'He's here. He always will be, he always has been. I'm not alone.' She wished to remembered exactly what they had shared before she was thrown into this world--what life she led, but that would be for another time.

"Then I accept this Truth--on one condition. I don't want to go through this alone. Please, I don't want to be alone." She extened her hand to him and he took it and held it to his chest. He embraced her. Yes, a family--Milton and Seth were like her brothers now.

"You will never be alone. That I promise you." Milton didn't want to let her go. He held her tighter. 'I am here, my love. I have searched a thousand life times for a soul like yours, a soul so true, a soul so pure. I want to lie with you forever,' he thought to himself.

Nyx pulled away and smiled. "Now what?"

"You train. When the time is right, I will bring Celly here and she may gather you as her ally. But for now, you must hone your skills."

"What about Seth?"

"Seth? I'm sure he's not missing us."

-------

Seth was chugging down his fith bottle of sake. "Good stuff." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I've never had this much freedom or this much fun. All the sake I could want... all the fresh prey! Life sholdn't be this good! Best of all, no Primogens, no Sabbat and Brujah to worry about. I'M FREE!" Seth poped open another bottle and guzzled down jauntily. "The backlash of being Kindred is that I can't get drunk! BAKA!"